Summary
Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
Donald Trump spoke at the White House’s Black History Month reception, alongside golfer Tiger Woods, where he struck an uneasy tone celebrating Black History Month while also criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Later in the day, the president addressed a meeting of the Republican Governors Association, where he reiterated his desire to make Canada the 51st state and said he would endorse congressman Byron Donalds if he decides to run to replace Florida governor Ron DeSantis when DeSantis’ term expires next year.
Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee this evening, wielding a chainsaw gifted to him by far-right Argentinian president Javier Milei. Musk reiterated the president’s criticism of Ukraine, referenced his and the president’s plan to send Americans dividends from the so-called “department of government efficiency”, and repeated his and the president’s false claim that dead people are receiving social security payments.
The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Trump’s political opponents.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, announced he will not run for re-election next year. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon celebrated McConnell’s retirement during his address to CPAC later in the day.
Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy should sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US.
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers can continue while the lawsuit moves forward.
Trump will host his first official cabinet meeting at the White House next Wednesday. The president will also host the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Thursday.
New York governor Kathy Hochul will not immediately remove the embattled New York City mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead advocate greater oversight of City Hall, she announced at a press conference today.
More than 50,000 people could by laid off at the defense department under the Trump administration’s mass firings, CNN reports, citing an unnamed US official.
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Donald Trump says he expects he will be sued by the Associated Press for blocking the news organization’s access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, but that it “doesn’t matter”.
“Maybe they’ll win,” he said. “It’s just something that we feel strongly about.”
Trump’s statement came the same day that dozens of major news organizations – including Fox News, CNN and the Washington Post – sent a letter to the White House, asking the president to lift his ban on the wire service.
Trump first barred the Associated Press from the White House press pool on 11 February over the outlet’s decision to continue using Gulf of Mexico rather than Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America.”
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