From the Politics Desk

Feb. 26, 2025

In today's edition, we explore how the Donald Trump-Elon Musk dynamic is defining the political state of play at the White House, on Capitol Hill and outside of Washington. Plus, Peter Nicholas dives into just how seriously Trump's supporters are taking his third-term flirtations.

— Adam Wollner

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Trump and Musk dominate the first Cabinet meeting of the new administration

By Katherine Doyle

When President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet secretaries for the first meeting of his new term today, a tableful of big personalities largely sat and watched as the main character of the early days of the administration took center stage once more.

The group, which included nominees who haven't yet been confirmed, was also joined by Elon Musk, whose early actions to reshape the federal bureaucracy have stoked rancor and unease among government employees, as well as murmurs of concern among some Republicans in Congress.

“He’s sacrificing a lot,” Trump said as he introduced Musk. “He’s getting a lot of praise, I’ll tell you, but he’s also getting hit.”

Trump's first Cabinet meeting outlined the hierarchy in his administration, with many of his Senate-confirmed department heads spending an hour as audience members after the president gave the floor to Musk at the top of the meeting.

Trump's secretaries watched as Musk, standing at the edge of a long table, explained DOGE and its work as “a support function for the president and for the agencies and departments to help achieve those savings to effectively find 15% reduction in fraud and waste."

"And we bring the receipts,” Musk added.

☑️ Fact check: Jane C. Timm reports that many of the “receipts” on the DOGE list of savings aren’t cuts to active contracts, but dozens of “blanket purchase agreements” about potential future work, meaning that some of the advertised cuts don’t actually save money.

Trump also made his expectations for his Cabinet clear. "Oh yeah, they'll follow the orders," Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about his control of the executive branch. "Of course, no exceptions."

🏛️ On the other end of Pennsylvania Ave.: Trump and Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics are emerging as a key sticking point between the two parties, as the March 14 deadline to fund the government fast approaches, Sahil Kapur reports.

Republicans who control the House and the Senate are making it clear they won’t accept constraints on Trump’s authority.

But they will need Democratic support on a bill to avert a government shutdown to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, as well as to make up for expected defections from conservatives in the House. Democrats are using that leverage to demand guardrails in the bill to limit the executive branch’s discretion and require the administration to carry out spending directed by Congress.

🎤 Outside of Washington: Trump and Musk’s efforts are having another effect for lawmakers: House Republicans are growing weary and wary of in-person town hall meetings after facing backlash over federal government cuts, Melanie Zanona, Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon report.

Party leaders suggest that if lawmakers feel the need to hold such events, they should do tele-town halls or at least vet attendees to avoid scenes that become viral clips. A GOP aide said House Republican leaders are urging lawmakers to stop engaging in them altogether.

What else to know from the Trump presidency today

Ukraine and the U.S. have outlined an agreement in which they would jointly fund Ukraine’s future security and reconstruction using an investment fund powered by the country’s rare earth minerals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Trump said Zelenskyy will visit the U.S. on Friday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to downplay the seriousness of the West Texas measles outbreak that has killed one school-age child.
A new memo from the Trump administration directs federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs.
Several nominees for senior Justice Department positions faced questions from Senate Democrats at a confirmation hearing about whether it would ever be lawful for a president to defy a court order.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu.
Trump said he wants to replace a long-standing visa program for foreign investors with a "gold card" that would provide them legal permanent residency and a path to citizenship for $5 million.

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Trump keeps toying with a third term — even though the Constitution forbids it

By Peter Nicholas

A coterie of Donald Trump loyalists is in the early phase of a campaign to rewrite the Constitution so he can serve another term — an idea Trump has done nothing to discourage.

As a candidate last year and since he took office, Trump has teased, stoked, nurtured, fed and, if nothing else, kept alive the improbable notion that he might run and serve one more time.

“Am I allowed to run again?” Trump said last month at a meeting with House Republicans in Florida.

The Constitution is clear on that point: He’s not. Under the 22nd Amendment, no one may be elected president more than twice. That rules out Trump.

Diehard supporters are undeterred, hoping to overcome that not-so-small obstacle.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., proposed a constitutional amendment that calls for extending presidential term limits from eight years to 12, meaning that if Trump wins again, he could stay in office until January 2033, when he’d be 86 years old.

And a poster displayed at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., over the weekend was captioned “Third Term Project” and showed Trump in imperial Julius Caesar garb.

“For Trump 2028 ... And Beyond!” it read.

🤔 A serious or joking matter?: Opinions differ about the seriousness of the prospect among GOP lawmakers and former advisers who’ve worked with Trump before. There’s a strong view that he’s simply trolling his critics — tormenting them by suggesting he’s not going away.

“President Trump joking about a third term is like a chef joking about putting a Michelin star on his own restaurant — obviously not happening, but fun to watch the critics lose their minds over it,” Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager in 2020, told NBC News.

Yet others believe that if the Constitution is somehow amended to permit a third term, Trump would take the leap.

“If there’s a procedural way to accomplish it, he’s likely very much considering it,” said Jenna Ellis, a 2020 Trump campaign attorney.

“That does take a constitutional amendment, but let’s not forget that the Constitution was amended to impose term limits, and that can be undone,” Ellis added in an interview.