𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The U.S. president’s latest spurious outpourings – not least his suggestions that Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator” and that Kyiv is to blame for Russia’s invasion – have further perturbed European leaders.

It now falls to Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to Washington next week not only to set him straight, but also to beat Vladimir Putin to the role of most trusted “Trump Whisperer.”

Will Republicans in Congress stand up to the president on Ukraine?

Probably not, argues Eric Garcia.

This was the president on Truth Social just now:

That may be so, but some members of the GOP are reportedly privately unnerved by DOGE and have urged Elon Musk’s team to “slow down” and avoid any further firing blunders.

Here’s more on that from Kelly Rissman.

As we saw a little earlier, the president’s move to hail himself a king for blocking New York’s congestion pricing plan has attracted an angry response, particularly from state governor Kathy Hochul.

She reacted to Trump’s post by declaring saying: “New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now.

“In case you don’t know New Yorkers, we’re going to fight. We do not back down, not now, not ever.”

Here’s a few more spicy reactions to the president’s claim:

Trump’s pick to lead the FBI spent years criticizing Elon Musk in public interviews and conversations, a new report reveals.

Patel, who hosted the podcast Kash’s Corner, has called Musk a monopolist, claimed he mass-harvested data and accused him of making his fortune from federal contracts funded by taxpayer dollars, according to Rolling Stone.

Here’s more from Katie Hawkinson.

The president revealed an astonishing lack of self-awareness, even by his standards, during yesterday’s investor conference in Miami when he rebuked remote workers for spending too much time playing golf, an activity he has spent a good portion of the last four days on and which has already cost the American taxpayer more than $10m in the first month of his reign.

The cuts ordered by Trump’s defense secretary are expected to hit the following areas: operations at the southern border, modernization of nuclear weapons, missile defense and acquisition of submarines and one-way attack drones and other munitions, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

Michelle Del Rey has more.

A U.S. appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s bid to end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants born in the nation.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court judge’s order halting the president’s executive order, which he signed when he took office a month ago.

A panel of judges upheld an order blocking Trump from curtailing automatic birthright citizenship nationwide as part of his hardline crackdown on immigration and illegal border crossings.

This is the first time an appellate court has addressed the president’s executive order regarding constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, the fate of which may now ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here’s Oliver O’Connell’s report.

Here’s a look at what’s on the president’s plate today:

• 1.00pm ET – Press briefing by White House Press Secretary and senior White House officials
• 3.00pm – Trump hosts a reception honoring Black History Month
• 7:20pm – Trump delivers remarks at the Republican Governors Association Meeting

Howard Lutnick, newly confirmed by the Senate, told Jesse Watters on Fox last night that the administration’s ultimate ambition is to completely shutdown the Internal Revenue Season (IRS), which definitely does not sound like a recipe for hot chaos.

“Donald Trump announced the External Revenue Service and his goal is simple: to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay,” said Lutnick.

“We have to use tariffs, we have to use the External Revenue Service to take care of America and cut the scams and the abuse, the waste, and let’s make America great. Great. Not great like 20 years ago. We mean great as in no deficit and basically try to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service.”

Meanwhile, the latest purge of federal staff will see 6,700 probationary employees leave the IRS at the height of tax season (!)