Seth McLaughlin
Articles by Seth McLaughlin
Musk issues warning to federal employees who do not return to office
Elon Musk said Monday that federal workers who do not return to the office will be placed on administrative leave. Published February 24, 2025
Trump administration predicts minerals deal with Ukraine will get signed this week
President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he expects a deal to come together this week with Ukraine to give the United States access to rare earth minerals. Published February 23, 2025
Patel tells FBI employees to ignore Musk’s email on work reporting, for now
Kash Patel, the newly minted head of the FBI, is making it clear the bureau does not take marching orders from Elon Musk. Published February 23, 2025
Sen. Markwayne Mullin soft-pedals Trump’s third term remark: ‘People need to take it as a joke’
Sen. Markwayne Mullin threw cold water Sunday on the prospect of President Trump seeking a third White House term. Published February 23, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends Trump’s firing of Joint Chiefs, other military leaders
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that President Trump fired Air Force Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, because he was "not the right man for the moment." Published February 23, 2025
Trump’s leaders at federal agencies rebuff Musk demand that workers justify their week or be fired
The directive that all federal employees share what work they accomplished last week or be fired is running into resistance, including from President Trump's choices to lead federal departments. Published February 22, 2025
Musk wields symbolic chainsaw at CPAC in celebration of his federal role: ‘This is awesome’
In his first appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Elon Musk waved a DOGE-themed chainsaw above his head and gushed over his role in helping President Trump dismantle the federal bureaucracy. Published February 20, 2025
Vance emerges as an early favorite at CPAC to carry the MAGA flag into 2028
If anything has dulled the GOP's elation over the start of President Trump's second term, it is that, barring a political meteor, this term will be his last. Published February 20, 2025
At CPAC, Vance says leaders who enable illegal immigration are ‘greatest threat’ to U.S., Europe
Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday warned that the greatest threat to the U.S. and Europe is the flood of illegal immigrants and attempts to snuff out opposition to it. Published February 20, 2025
Musk set to make CPAC debut
Elon Musk is coming to CPAC. Published February 20, 2025
DOGE shows the receipts to rebuff its Democratic opponents
The Department of Government Efficiency recently blew the whistle on the federal government's plans to spend taxpayer dollars on male circumcisions in Mozambique, housing illegal immigrants in New York hotels, and grants to environmental activists promising "climate justice travels through a Free Palestine." Published February 18, 2025
Trump treated like NASCAR royalty at Daytona 500
President Trump traveled Sunday to the Daytona 500, the most significant event on the NASCAR calendar, to celebrate the iconic race and the nation's renewed "spirit." Published February 16, 2025
Democrats hunt for Trump vulnerability, zero in on inflation
Democrats, scrambling to find a weak spot in President Trump's political armor, are accusing him of abandoning his vow to lower costs for American families. Published February 16, 2025
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: Quid pro quo concerns taint dismissal of charges against NYC mayor
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is "very concerned" that President Trump is using the justice system to pressure Mayor Eric Adams to help enact his immigration agenda in New York City. Published February 16, 2025
Democrats suspect Elon Musk is only in DOGE for the money
It's no surprise that the government is a major client of a man who runs a rocket ship company that can reach the space station, builds armored electric vehicles and owns a network of communications satellites. But when that man is Elon Musk, every one of his transactions draws scrutiny for cronyism. Published February 14, 2025
Democrats focus on Musk, ignore MTG’s plea for bipartisanship at first DOGE subcommittee meeting
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene kicked off the inaugural DOGE subcommittee hearing with a plea to her colleagues to set aside the political theater and partisan attacks in their quest to identify waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending. Published February 12, 2025
MTG opens DOGE panel with call to avoid ‘political theater’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene opened the first meeting of the DOGE subcommittee by vowing to work with President Trump and Elon Musk to expose the "waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government" and offer "plans to fix the tremendous problems." Published February 12, 2025
Judge pauses NIH plan to cap ‘indirect’ costs in response to lawsuit from states
A Massachusetts federal judge put a pause Monday on the Trump administration's push to change how the National Institutes of Health funds research. Published February 10, 2025
Up next? Steel tariffs: Trump continues early-term blitz over Super Bowl weekend
President Trump announced Sunday he plans to slap a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, marking his latest move to reshape global trade. Published February 9, 2025
Trump inks Gulf of America proclamation over the renamed Gulf of Mexico
President Trump on Sunday signed a Gulf of America Day proclamation as he flew over the body of water that the rest of the world still calls the Gulf of Mexico. Published February 9, 2025