Tracking Trump – updates on the presidency’s first 100 days | Trump administration

2 March 2025Day 42

The fallout continued from Trump and Zelenskyy’s disastrous Oval Office meeting, as the Ukrainian leader sought to recalibrate and insisted a minerals deal was ready to be signed during a diplomatic visit to London. While Europe rallies behind Ukraine, Trump’s Republican allies, including the House speaker, Mike Johnson, said Zelenskyy may have to resign, a suggestion Senator Bernie Sanders called “horrific”. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Trump’s White House had effectively become “an arm of the Kremlin”.

Also on Sunday:

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr urged Americans to get the MMR vaccine in response to a growing measles epidemic in Texas, days after Kennedy, who has long sowed skepticism with his endorsement of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, downplayed the situation as “not unusual”.

1 March 2025Day 41

A federal judge in Washington blocked Trump from ousting the leader of a federal watchdog agency, ruling that the effort to terminate the official without cause was “unlawful”. The decision by US district judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington allows Hampton Dellinger to remain the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal whistleblowers. In her ruling, Jackson wrote that upholding the president’s ability to fire Dellinger would give him “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will”. The case is likely to be decided by the supreme court. 

Also on Saturday: 

• Musk renewed his demand that every federal employee send an email detailing their recent accomplishments, a week after the original demand sparked chaos and confusion across the government workforce.

• Trump signed an executive order establishing English as the official language of the US.

• Supporters of Ukraine protested against the Trump administration across the US, including a Vermont ski resort where Vance was vacationing with his family.

28 February 2025Day 40

In an explosive Oval Office meeting, Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, assailed and berated Zelenskyy in a storm of accusations and falsehoods about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The tense exchange ended with Zelenskyy leaving the White House early, without signing a controversial minerals deal that was seen as key to unlocking US security guarantees for European peacekeepers in Ukraine. During the exchange, which played out publicly on live TV, Trump said Zelenskyy was “gambling with world war three” and told the Ukrainian president to come back “when he is ready for peace”. Hours later, Zelenskyy sought to de-escalate the situation in an interview on Fox News, but Trump appeared unmoved as he departed Washington for his Mar-a-Lago resort. 

Also on Friday: 

• European leaders and Democrats rallied around Zelenskyy, voicing continued support for Ukraine, while Trump’s Republican allies demand the Ukrainian leader apologize.

• The White House said that classified documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago in 2022 had been returned to Trump.

• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had “asked Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to depart the White House” after their contentious exchange in the Oval Office. 

• The Democratic party sued Trump over a recent executive order it says violates federal election law by giving him too much power over the independent federal election commission.

27 February 2025Day 39

Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, arrived at the White House bearing a letter from King Charles as he quietly appealed to Trump not to abandon Ukraine as the US president searches for a speedy end to Russia’s brutal invasion of the country. In remarks, Starmer praised Trump for “changing the conversation” and making peace possible in Ukraine while Trump denied calling Zelenskyy a dictator, despite having done so, and suggested Vladimir Putin could be trusted. En route to Washington, Starmer pledged to raise the country’s defense spending, a commitment seen as a way to persuade Trump to provide a “backstop” for European security in Ukraine. And in a major relief for the British premier, Trump indicated that he would not slap harsh tariffs on the UK. 

Also on Thursday: 

• A federal judge found that the mass firings of probationary employees as part of the Trump administration’s government downsizing effort were likely unlawful.

• The ruling came on the same day that the Trump administration moved to terminate hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce.

• Senate Democrats publicly – and some Republicans privately – raised concerns over the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid and cuts to USAid. 

26 February 2025Day 38

Donald Trump used the first full cabinet meeting of his second term to heap praise on Elon Musk and his billionaire ally’s mission to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government. Though not a member of Trump’s cabinet, Musk attended and took center stage as the secretaries sat mostly silently for the hourlong meeting. The tech mogul defended Doge’s actions, which have stoked confusion and backlash, but conceded that the team would make mistakes, citing a decision to cancel an Ebola prevention effort that “quickly” reinstated. During the summit, Trump also threatened to slap 25% tariffs on the European Union and announced that Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy would visit the White HOuse to sign a minerals deal with the US.

Also on Wednesday: 

• A new White House memo instructed federal agencies to submit plans for “a significant reduction” in their staff by 13 March, potentially setting the stage to shrink the government workforce by tens of thousands more in the coming weeks. A top Senate Democrat warned that Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as Zelenskyy and Ukraine.

• A Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday said transgender service members would be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption.

• The supreme court handed the president his first victory, granting the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court’s deadline for the government to resume nearly $2bn in foreign aid payments.

25 February 2025Day 37

In a dramatic vote, House Republicans unified behind a budget blueprint, taking a major step toward advancing Donald Trump’s “big BEAUTIFUL” tax cut and immigration agenda. But vulnerable Republicans face a brewing backlash over the plan, which would almost certainly require significant reductions to social safety net programs that serve the poor. House Democrats plan to hammer Republicans over their support for the measure and the potential cuts to Medicaid required to pay for it as they plot a return to power in next year’s midterms. But Trump’s fiscal plan is far from guaranteed: Republican negotiators from both the House and Senate must now reconcile their competing budget blueprints to move forward.

Also on Tuesday: 

• The White House said it would pick which media outlets are allowed to participate in the presidential press pool, drawing sharp condemnation from the White House Correspondents’ Association, which warned: “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

• The Trump administration announced that immigrants in the US without authorization could face fines and prison time if they fail to submit their personal data to a government registry while the president floated the creation of a “gold card” visa that would give wealthy foreigners a pathway to citizenship for a $5m fee.

24 February 2025Day 36

The US office of personnel management told agency officials that federal workers were not required to respond to billionaire Elon Musk’s demand that they defend their recent accomplishments or risk being fired, even as Donald Trump indicated support for the ultimatum. The email sparked widespread chaos and confusion amid ongoing turmoil Musk’s Doge has inflicted on the federal workforce. After government departments gave their employees differing instructions as to whether they should respond to the message, OPM, which manages the federal workforce, announced that compliance with the email was voluntary and that failing to do so by midnight would not be considered a resignation, as Musk had warned.

Also on Monday: 

• France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, warned Donald Trump against a “surrender” of Ukraine during a visit to the White House, as the US president said Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the conflict. (The Kremlin has pushed back on this.)

• Earlier in the day, the US joined Russia, Belarus and North Korea in voting against an EU-Ukrainian resolution condemning Russia on the third anniversary of its full-scale invasion, another sign of Trump’s sharp turn toward Putin.  

23 February 2025Day 35

Anti-Trump conservatives and centrists held a competing conference this weekend, dubbed Principles First, to counter the Conservative Political Action Conference’s (CPAC) Trump fest. But Principles First attenders, particularly officers who defended the Capitol during the insurrection, saw harassment from January 6 pardonee and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and the conference was subject to bomb threats on 23 February signed “Enrique T”. that said it was to honor the “J6 hostages” and “Emperor Trump”.

Also on Sunday:

• Some at CPAC advocated for overriding the constitution to elect Trump for a third term, calling their quest for a Trump reign the Third Term Project. But at least one elected Republican, Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin, said he didn’t support the idea. 

22 February 2025Day 34

Trump took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for an all-out brag session, claiming he had saved the country and actually won the election by more, repeating unspecified lies that Democrats were cheating on elections. His victory lap included boasts of pardoning January 6 rioters, some of whom were in attendance, and killing diversity initiatives. 

• Elon Musk orchestrated emails sent by the Trump administration to all federal workers demanding they outline in five bullet points what they did at their jobs in the past week or risk termination, the latest escalation against the civil service. Kash Patel, the newly confirmed FBI director, told his agency employees they didn’t need to respond, and other agencies told workers to hold off on replies as well.

21 February 2025Day 33

The Associated Press sued the Trump administration after Trump’s team blocked the news agency from attending press events because the organization has continued using “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting rather than the Trump-branded “Gulf of America”. 

Also on Friday:

• Trump reassigned the top official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an effort to speed up deportations. The administration also rescinded its decision to cut off legal aid for unaccompanied immigrant children, just three days after it ordered government-funded attorneys across the country to immediately stop their work, a sign of the chaotic nature of the Trump presidency.

• Separately, the Proud Boys were back in Washington DC, with key leaders fresh off their Trump pardons for participating in the January 6 insurrection. Enrique Tarrio, a former national leader of the far-right group, was arrested near the US Capitol on a charge that he assaulted a woman protesting a gathering attended by him and others who received pardons.

20 February 2025Day 32

Trump’s acolytes, riding high after one month of slash-and-burn rightwing governance, gathered for the Conservative Political Action Conference. Elon Musk appeared in sunglasses and a black Maga hat and wielded a chainsaw given to him as a gift by far-right Argentinian president Javier Milei. Steve Bannon, the far-right leader and Trump booster, gave a fascist-style salute on stage. 

At the conference, JD Vance said immigration was the “greatest threat” to Europe and the US, at least until 30 days ago here. 

Also on Thursday:

• Trump continued the mass firing of federal workers, axing people at the Internal Revenue Service and in disaster recovery, among others. Some fired were then rehired, including public health workers responsible for responding to the spreading bird flu. 

19 February 2025Day 31

“LONG LIVE THE KING!” Trump said of himself after moving to block a congestion pricing policy in New York City, inviting a legal battle with his home state. His claim of royalty brought strong backlash after his first month in office included various ways he’s attempting to consolidate power and threats to defy the courts if they go against his wishes. 

Also on Wednesday:

• Trump attempted to rewrite the history of Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying Ukraine started it when in reality Russia invaded the country unprovoked.

18 February 2025Day 30

Trump signed an executive order to expand his power over independent agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, claiming he requires “presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch”. These agencies would see presidential control over their policies and budgets, a change from the current process, under the order, which is likely to be challenged in court.

Also on Tuesday:

• Trump appeared with Musk in a joint interview with Fox host Sean Hannity, where the president and his billionaire backer complimented each other relentlessly: Musk said he loves Trump and called him a “good man” while Trump called Musk “brilliant” and a “very good person”.

• Another executive order signed on this day calls for a report that would recommend how to reduce the costs associated with in vitro fertilization. Some in the anti-abortion movement oppose IVF and reacted negatively to the order. 

17 February 2025Day 29

Federal workers who were on their probationary periods were fired indiscriminately across various agencies over the holiday weekend, leaving gaps in aviation, nuclear safety, national parks, food safety and a host of other government jobs.  Elon Musk and his so-called “department of government efficiency” team continued their march across agencies to find areas to cut. A top Social Security Administration official quit after Musk’s team tried to access people’s personal data. 

Also on Monday:

• Protestors showed up at state capitols and other major cities across the country to speak out against the Trump administration and Musk, rallying to “stop the coup” of the federal government.

• Trump nominated Edward Martin, a January 6 defender and Stop the Steal activist, to serve as US attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin had served in an interim role and was dismissing any pending cases against the January 6 rioters. 

16 February 2025Day 28

Trump asked the supreme court to let him fire the head of a federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, marking his first appeal to the justices on America’s highest court since he took office. The justice department’s filing asked the conservative-majority court to lift a judge’s court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the office of special counsel.

Also on Sunday:

Trump told reporters that he believes he could meet “very soon” with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

15 February 2025Day 27

Trump went on social media to signal continued resistance to limits on his executive authority in the face of multiple legal challenges. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” the president wrote on his Truth Social network. The phrase, attributed to Napoleon, the French military leader who eventually declared himself emperor, drew immediate criticism from Democrats. “Spoken like a true dictator,” Senator Adam Schiff of California, a longtime adversary of Trump, wrote on X.

Also on Saturday:

14 February 2025Day 26

JD Vance, the vice-president, stunned the Munich security conference by accusing European leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration and running in fear from voters’ true beliefs. Vance suggested that Europe was infected by media censorship, cancelled elections and political correctness.

“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” the vice-president said. “And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.” The blistering remarks were condemned by the European Union and Germany but drew praise from Russian state television.

Also on Friday:

Members of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” arrived at the Pentagon in what appeared to be their first meeting with defense department staff.

Under pressure from Trump’s justice department leadership, prosecutors in Washington asked a federal judge to drop bribery and fraud charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, rather than see the entire public integrity office be fired.

13 February 2025Day 25

Trump unveiled plans for the US to implement “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries with which it conducts trade. “They charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Signing a memorandum called the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan”, the president admitted the tariffs could cause Americans some “some short-term disturbance”, adding: “Prices could go up somewhat short-term. But prices will also go down.”

Also on Thursday:

The Senate voted 52–48 to confirm the longtime vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as the next health and human services secretary. Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, was the only Republican to join all Democrats in opposition, saying he “will not condone the relitigation of proven cures”.

Trump was equivocal when asked what concessions Russia should be willing to make to secure a peace deal in Ukraine. He told reporters at a press conference: “It’s too early to say what’s going to happen. Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won’t. It’s all dependent on what is going to happen.”

12 February 2025Day 24

Trump held separate phone calls with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an effort to end the war that has raged for three years. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters at a briefing: “They were very good calls. They were very positive.”

Later Trump told reporters he expected to come face to face with Putin soon. “We ultimately expect to meet,” he said in the Oval Office. “In fact, we expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia. The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia.”

Also on Wednesday:

The Senate confirmed the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in a 52–48 vote to serve as director of national intelligence. Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Senate leader, was the lone Republican to join all Democrats in opposition.

The Senate budget committee voted 11–10 to approve a budget reconciliation bill intended to serve as a blueprint to get Trump’s border, energy and military agenda through Congress.

11 February 2025Day 23

Joined by his four-year-old son X in the Oval Office, Elon Musk claimed the ”department of government efficiency’s” (Doge) goal was to “restore democracy”, contending that the federal bureaucracy had amassed too much power.

The world’s richest man denied conflicts of interest. “You can see whether I’m doing something that’s benefiting one of my companies or not,” he told reporters. “I’ll be scrutinised nonstop.” Trump signed an executive order that seeks to “significantly reduce the size of government” by instructing agencies to undertake plans for “large-scale reductions in force”.

Also on Tuesday:

Trump stood by his plan for the US to take control of Gaza and redevelop it as a tourist destination while relocating 2 million Palestinians. During a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Trump told reporters: “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.”

The White House secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been imprisoned in Russia. The US released Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cybercriminal who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, in exchange.

10 February 2025Day 22

Trump signed an order to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the US while eliminating all country exceptions. He said: “It’s a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again.”

The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, said while he believed the president aimed to strengthen the US car industry overall, the tariff plans had “a lot of cost and a lot of chaos”. The move was also criticised by Canada, Mexico and other trading partners.

Also on Monday:

The justice department ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, arguing that the case was interfering with the mayor’s ability to aid the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration.