Key Events (10)
The Trump administration shut down a national database that documented police misconduct. The database was first proposed by Trump in 2020 and created by the Biden administration in 2023 but is now offline.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired Joint Chiefs Chairman General CQ Brown Jr., the first Black chair of the Joint Chiefs. Hegseth had previously questioned whether Brown got the position due to his race rather than merit.
Trump acknowledged that Russia invaded Ukraine, reversing earlier criticism of Ukraine for starting the conflict. He also predicted Ukraine would soon sign a minerals deal with the US, and the first US-Russia talks on ending the war took place on Tuesday.
Trump demanded that Ukraine provide the US with a $500 billion share of its mineral resources, which Ukrainians characterized as blackmail, as the country's lithium deposits are among Europe's largest.
Trump spoke at CPAC for 75 minutes, repeating claims about voter fraud and stolen elections, and discussing border militarization and ending the Ukraine war. The audience included pardoned January 6 rioters.
The Trump administration issued a flurry of tech-friendly directives that relaxed regulations and dropped a lawsuit, benefiting billionaires who donated to Trump, including those in crypto and big tech sectors.
The Pentagon laid off 5,400 civilian workers with tens of thousands more firings expected. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth supports cuts of up to 8% of the civilian workforce as part of Trump's government reduction efforts.
A US judge temporarily blocked Trump's anti-DEI purge, with Judge Adam Abelson ruling that the president's efforts to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs likely violate the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Health experts warned that bird flu has become endemic in cows while Trump administration cuts staff and funding, with the current US outbreak unlikely to end without intervention and further virus mutation likely.
A Missouri lawmaker proposed legislation to create a registry of pregnant women 'at risk' for abortions, with connected databases for pregnant women and those seeking to adopt.