OXON HILL, Md. — President Donald Trump said Saturday that “nobody’s ever seen anything” like his administration’s sweeping effort to terminate thousands of federal employees and shrink the size of government, congratulating himself for “dominating” Washington and sending bureaucrats “packing.”
Addressing an adoring crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside Washington, Trump promised, “We’re going to forge a new and lasting political majority that will drive American politics for generations to come.”
The president said voters gave him a mandate to overhaul government while cracking down on the U.S.-Mexico border and extending tax cuts that were the signature policy of his first administration.
During his hour-long speech, Trump predicted the GOP would continue to win and defy history, which has shown that a president’s party typically struggles during midterm elections. He said of Republicans, “I don’t think we’ve been at this level, maybe ever.”
“Nobody’s ever seen anything like this,” Trump said, likening his new administration’s opening month to being on a roll through the first four holes of a round of golf — which he said gives him confidence for the fifth hole.
Trump has empowered billionaire businessman and entrepreneur Elon Musk to help carry out the reductions, and he suggested Saturday that more might be coming.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk posted on X, which he owns. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
A short time later, an “HR” email was sent to federal workers across numerous agencies titled “What did you do last week” and asking that recipients “reply with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.” It cautioned against sending classified information, and gave a deadline of Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Trump also said during the speech that he’d carry out harsher immigration policies. But much of the focus has been on his administration’s mass reduction of federal employees and programs. He announced that one federal entity with a workforce that had been significantly reduced, the U.S. Agency for International Development, would have its Washington office taken over by Customs and Border Protection officials.
The agency’s name has been removed from its former building, he said.
The president also repeated his previous promises to scrutinize the country’s gold depository at Fort Knox.
“Would anybody like to join us,” he said to cheers from the crowd at the suggestion that administration forces might converge on the complex. “We want to see if the gold is still there.”
But Trump also devoted large chunks of his address reliving last year’s presidential race, jeering at former President Joe Biden and mispronouncing the first name of former Vice President Kamala Harris — his Election Day opponent — gleefully proclaiming, “I haven’t said that name in a while.”
He went on to use an expletive to describe Biden’s handling of border security, despite noting that evangelical conservatives have urged him not to use foul language.
Trump had kinder words for Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying “I happen to like” him, while noting, “we’ve been treated very unfairly by China and many other countries.”
On the sidelines of the conference, Trump met with conservative Polish President Andrzej Duda amid rising tensions in Europe over Russia’s war in Ukraine. After taking the stage, Trump saluted Duda and Argentine President Javier Milei, who himself addressed the conference.
Trump called Duda “a fantastic man and a great friend of mine” and said “you must be doing something right, hanging out with Trump.” He noted that Milei was “a MAGA guy, too, Make Argentina Great Again.”
Poland is a longtime ally of Ukraine. Trump shifted recent U.S. policy by dispatching top foreign policy advisers to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian officials aimed at ending fighting in Ukraine.
Those meetings did not include Ukrainian or European officials, which has alarmed U.S. allies. Trump is meeting on Monday at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron and Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Trump also has begun a public back-and-forth with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom the U.S. president called a “dictator” while incorrectly suggesting that Ukraine started the war — though on Friday he acknowledged that Russia attacked its neighbor.
Trump told the CPAC crowd, “I’m dealing with President Zelenskyy. I’m dealing with President Putin” and added of fighting in Ukraine, “It affects Europe. It doesn’t really affect us.”
Zelenskyy has said Trump and his team were focused on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and “the President is very confident we can get it done this week.”
Later, the president and first lady Melania Trump were hosting dinner at the White House for governors from both parties who were in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association.
Conclusion:
The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and shrink the workforce have been met with widespread criticism and concern. While some have praised the efforts as a necessary step to reduce government waste and inefficiency, others have expressed alarm at the impact on thousands of federal employees and the potential long-term consequences for the economy and national security.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What is the purpose of the email sent to federal employees asking them to report what they accomplished last week?
A: The email was sent to federal employees as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and shrink the workforce. The email asked employees to report what they had accomplished last week and provide information about their work.
Q: What is the deadline for responding to the email?
A: The deadline for responding to the email is Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Q: What will happen if federal employees fail to respond to the email?
A: If federal employees fail to respond to the email, their resignation will be taken as granted.
Q: What is the purpose of the reduction in the size of the federal government?
A: The purpose of the reduction in the size of the federal government is to reduce government waste and inefficiency, and to make the government more effective and efficient.
