The Trump and Musk mass firing spree is getting messy
Trump’s accidental firings continue
As Elon Musk continues to try to take a chainsaw to the federal government, the billionaire seems to be having a hard time keeping track of whom he is actually firing. And the leaders of the gutted agencies will be forced to clean up his mess.
Last week, 950 employees working for the Indian Health Service were laid off, only to be told hours later that new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had “verbally rescinded” their firing.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture “accidentally” fired several employees working on the country’s bird flu prevention response. As of Friday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 70 human cases of bird flu in the U.S. and egg prices are soaring.
The USDA insists it’s “working swiftly” to rehire the fired workers. Consider me skeptical.
Because we’ve seen this movie before. Just last week, the National Nuclear Security Administration mistakenly fired employees and then couldn’t figure out how to contact them because they hadn’t collected personal contact information.
And let’s not forget the Small Business Administration, where the Trump administration fired probationary employees, then told them their termination was a mistake, only to turn around the next day and fire them again.
A story you should be following: Musk’s money in Wisconsin
Musk has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars helping to elect President Donald Trump and Republican House candidates. Now, as I discussed with Wisconsin state Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, a nonprofit he funds has poured $1.6 million into a crucial Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
Here’s why it matters: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. But with a liberal judge retiring, that balance is at stake. If conservative candidate Brad Schimel wins on April 1, Republicans will gain control of the court and the power to potentially roll back abortion rights, weaken labor protections and undermine voting rights in a crucial swing state.
Musk’s group is using the same deceptive playbook we saw in 2024. Last election, Building America’s Future funded misleading and contradictory ads about Kamala Harris’ stance on Israel, sending different, targeted messages to Arab American and Jewish voters. It also ran Facebook ads designed to look as if they came from Democrats and falsely claimed Harris supported banning all gas-powered cars.
Wisconsin’s last off-year judicial election, in 2023, broke national spending records, with $51 million spent in total. At the current rate, this election’s ad buys could blow that record out of the water.
The GOP’s Russia reset
For years, Republican senators positioned themselves as staunch defenders of Ukraine — even Sen. Mitch McConnell — calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and warning that failing to stand up to Russia would embolden dictators worldwide. But now, as Trump openly cozies up to Putin and pursues backdoor deals, many of these same Republicans have gone quiet — or worse, are suddenly on board.
Sen. Lindsey Graham
Then: In 2022, Graham called Putin a “thug” and compared him to Adolf Hitler. He even warned that Putin was “a war criminal that needs to be dealt with.”
Now: Graham has praised Trump’s approach and voiced support for a deal Trump proposed that would grant the United States a 50% stake in all of Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support.
Sen. Tom Cotton
Then: In 2022, Cotton warned that letting Putin invade Ukraine would embolden China’s Xi Jinping to invade Taiwan.
Now: Cotton has echoed claims accusing former President Joe Biden of “tempting” Russia to invade and echoed Graham’s support for a deal tied to Ukrainian mineral resources.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Then: In 2024, Thune noted “America cannot retreat from the world stage” and warned Russia would invade other European countries in addition to Ukraine if we allowed Putin to be successful.
Now: Thune has changed his tune, claiming the conflict has “dragged on” and we need to “bring an end to the war.”
A huge thank-you to everyone who’s already tuned in to my new podcast, “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki.” On Monday, don’t miss our new episodes with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and journalist Jemele Hill.
Pritzker has been on the front lines of the fight against Trump’s abuses of power, but in this conversation, he also opens up about what shaped him — from his mother’s passion for civil rights to his Jewish heritage and efforts to curb discrimination.
Hill, never one to hold back, calls out the danger of Democrats “playing nice,” the urgency of bold leadership, and why she thinks politicians like Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are showing the party how it’s done.
Subscribe here for the full conversations!
