Trump criticizes Zelensky for saying end of the war ‘is still very, very far away.’ Follow live updates.
authored by Globe Staff | 3/3/2025
Share
Social Security Administration claims $800 million in savings after cutting jobs and spending — 4:02 p.m.
The agency announced last week that it would cut 7,000 people from its workforce of roughly 60,000 people. The termination of office leases for Social Security sites across the country are detailed on the DOGE website, which maintains a “Wall of Receipts.” The site states that leases for dozens of Social Security sites across Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and other states have been or will be ended. Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security said in a statement: “We have spent billions annually doing the same things the same way, leading to bureaucratic stagnation, inefficiency, and a lack of meaningful service improvements. It is time to change just that.” It’s unclear how the layoffs will directly impact the benefits of the 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries, which include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability benefits.
Trump suggests Zelensky ‘won’t be around very long’ if he doesn’t make deal with Russia — 3:47 p.m.
Trump said a deal ending hostilities “could be made very fast,” but he said Zelensky doesn’t seem to be interested. “Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal,” Trump said Monday, not naming Zelensky but clearly referring to him. “And if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long. Because I believe that Russia wants to make a deal.” Zelensky says Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted to maintain a ceasefire, and Ukrainians won’t lay down their arms without security commitments from the United States and Europe. Trump’s comments join a chorus of his advisers and allies who have suggested Zelensky may need to step aside.
Trump and TSMC CEO announce $100B chip manufacturing expansion in US — 3:23 p.m.
The president appeared at the White House on Monday with C.C. Wei, the head of chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., to announce the investment plans. TSMC is world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer and produces products for US companies including Apple, Intel and Nvidia. The $100 billion is on top of the $65 billion that was already announced, including three plants in Arizona after the Biden administration offered billions in subsidies.
Rather than boycott Trump’s speech, Democrats bringing fired workers as guests — 3:13 p.m.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries brushes off calls to boycott Trump’s speech to Congress. “ That’s our House. It’s the people’s House. It’s the House of Representatives,” he said late Friday on CNN. Instead, Democrats are inviting fired federal workers as guests. He said he expects Democrats will turn out to hear what the president has to say .
House speaker says he expects ‘fireworks’ from Trump speech to Congress — 3:12 p.m.
Republican Mike Johnson dismissed as “nonsense” those who say Congress is ceding too much power to the president, who gives the speech on Tuesday. “The president is doing what he said on the campaign trail he would do,” Johnson said Sunday on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures show.
Trump plans to discuss fate of rare earth minerals deal in his speech to Congress — 3:05 p.m.
Trump is still describing the economic agreement with Ukraine “a great deal” after refusing to sign it last week when he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was disrespectful during a contentious Oval Office meeting. The speech is scheduled for Tuesday.
Trump says 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will start Tuesday — 3:04 p.m.
The move sparks renewed fears of a North American trade war. “Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters Monday in the Roosevelt Room. Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two US neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking into the US. Trump provided a one-month delay in February as both countries promised concessions. But Trump said Monday that there was “No room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the steep new tariffs.
Federal workers face midnight deadline in Musk’s 2nd demand for progress report — 2:49 p.m.
The request has become a flashpoint within the government workforce. Musk and Trump have suggested that employees who don’t comply could get fired. They’ve also described the requirement — a list of five things that each person did last week — as an unobjectionable way to increase accountability within a sprawling bureaucracy. But for many workers, the request has been a source of anxiety and confusion as the new administration tightens its grip on the federal government. Some agencies are still telling their workforces not to respond or to limit what they say in response, just as they did after Musk’s first request last month. Judging by instructions that have circulated in recent days, the workforce will face a standing request for lists of accomplishments every Monday.
Trump says TSMC is investing $100 billion to expand semiconductor manufacturing in US, mostly Arizona — 2:47 p.m.
The planned investments are on top of $65 billion that TSMC has previously announced for a massive campus in Phoenix. “This is a tremendous move by the most powerful company in the world,” Trump said.
First lady lobbies for bill to crack down on revenge porn — 2:45 p.m.
Melania Trump said it’s “heartbreaking” to see teens and especially girls grapple with the fallout after they’re targeted by malicious online content. The first lady spoke at a roundtable discussion at the Capitol on legislation to regulate revenge porn. She’s calling on the House to now pass the bill and send it to President Donald Trump to become law. Melania Trump says Congress must prioritize the well-being of young people because they deserve a safe online space to express themselves freely without the threat of exploitation or harm.
Trump’s economic announcement is underway at the White House — 2:43 p.m.
Trump stepped up to the lectern alongside C.C. Wei, CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
National Science Foundation rehires dozens of probationary workers — 2:24 p.m.
Of the 86 probationary employees let go last month, 84 have been rehired after a federal judge recently found the mass firing of probationary employees may have been unlawful. The latest move was confirmed by foundation spokesperson Michael England in a statement. The rehiring is also a response to Office of Personnel Management guidance from last week, allowing agencies to keep certain probationary employees who are disabled, are veterans or are military spouses. The science foundation cut 170 employees last month. An additional 84 workers appointed as temporary experts were not rehired.
Trump expected to announce chip company investment — 1:30 p.m.
He is expected to announce Monday that chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in the United States, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly. TSMC, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, had already announced plans to invest more than $65 billion in the US, including three plants in Arizona after the Biden administration offered billions in subsidies. It was not immediately clear if the $100 billion includes the $65 billion that was already announced. The Wall Street Journal first reported the planned announcement Monday.
Mexico’s president is waiting to see if Trump makes good on tariff threat — 1:19 p.m.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s Cabinet secretaries for security and trade among others have been in constant communication with their US counterparts. She said there was still the possibility she and Trump would speak Monday about his threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports. Trump had threatened to impose tariffs in February before suspending them at the last minute, when Mexico sent 10,000 National Guard troops to their shared border to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration. “It’s a decision that depends on the United States government, on the United States president,” Sheinbaum said. “So whatever his decision is, we will make our decisions and there is a plan and there is unity in Mexico.”
CIA to deliver talk on creative problem solving at SXSW — 12:55 p.m.
The typically tight-lipped CIA is headed to the South By Southwest festival to share tips on finding innovative solutions to complex challenges. America’s preeminent spy agency will deliver a presentation Sunday during the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, the CIA announced Monday. A CIA historian and one of the agency’s public affairs officers will deliver the talk, entitled “Mission Possible: The Spies’ Guide to Creative Problem Solving.” The agency said its tips on creative problem solving are designed to be helpful to anyone, even if their particular challenges don’t include running covert surveillance, organizing clandestine meetups or sniffing out double agents.
Rock star Peter Wolf is latest performer to call off planned appearance at Kennedy Center — 12:35 p.m.
“I have cancelled my upcoming book event at The Kennedy Center due to the egregious firing of staff by the new administration,” the singer posted on social media over the weekend. Wolf was to have discussed his memoir, “Waiting on the Moon,” at an event later this month for the center’s “Impactful Words” series. Actor Issa Rae and author Louise Penny are among others who’ve canceled events since Trump forced out the center’s leadership last month and was elected chair of the board’s trustees. Trump wrote on social media that he opposed Kennedy Center officials who “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
The warning about the cuts to the US Agency for International Development came in a statement from the American Academy of Diplomacy, which is led by former secretaries of State and other senior former diplomats. The group stressed the importance of foreign aid to US policy aims, and expressed concern that even popular farmer-backed programs donating food abroad would no longer have enough skilled people left to run them. “America First need not mean America the Callous,” the diplomatic group said. The warning comes after the Trump administration has pulled thousands of USAID workers off the job and begun widescale firings.
Trump sends greetings for holy month of Ramadan — 12:30 p.m.
In a presidential message released Monday, Trump says Ramadan is a time to “draw hope, courage and inspiration to lead lives of holiness and virtue.” Trump says his administration “recommits to upholding religious liberty that is such an integral part of the American way of life. Above all, we renew our resolve to building a future of peace, and to recognizing the dignity imprinted on every human soul.” The president sought during his first term to ban travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
Trump criticizes Zelensky for saying end of the war ‘is still very, very far away’ — 12:03 p.m.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Zelensky late Sunday said he believed the war would go on for some time, while trying to offer a positive take about the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of his contentious White House meeting Trump and Vice President JD Vance. “I think our relationship (with the US) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelensky said, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war. But Trump seemed further irritated by Zelensky’s latest comments suggesting it will take time for the three-year conflict to come to a close. “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Rubio calls British counterpart to assure him Trump administration committed to peace in Ukraine — 11:56 a.m.
Monday’s call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy came after Britain hosted a leaders’ crisis summit over the weekend on Ukraine following a contentious White House meeting Friday between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The State Department said Rubio had “thanked Foreign Secretary Lammy for the UK’s role in encouraging Europe to provide for its own defense and push for peace in Ukraine.” It also said Rubio “confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine.”
2 members of Congress urge governors to ban a prominent AI app on state government devices — 11:49 a.m.
The warning came in a letter from Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood and New Jersey Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer concerning about the use of DeekSeek. The app recently gained popularity in the US after displaying capabilities comparable to US made AI models such as ChatGPT. The members of Congress cited “serious concerns regarding data privacy” as reason for a ban. The two introduced a bill in Congress to ban the use of DeepSeek on federal government devices in February. Similar bans have been enacted at the state and federal level for other Chinese apps, including the social media platform TikTok.
The top spokesman for the US Health and Human Services agency abruptly resigned on Friday, just two weeks after being sworn in to lead communications for the agency overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Tom Corry said on LinkedIn that he resigned from the job on Friday. His resignation comes as Kennedy has struggled with his public response to the measles outbreak in West Texas, first calling it “not unusual,” then on Sunday describing it as a “call to action.” Corry previously oversaw communications for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services agency during the first Trump administration.
CEO of Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC will be in the White House in Monday — 11:09 a.m.
TSMC has committed to investing $40 billion to build factories in Arizona to make advanced chips. Last month, the company held its board meeting for the first time in the United States but did not make any announcement for expanded investment, as speculated. President Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the semiconductor industry from the United States and has threatened to impose high tariffs on imported chips. Trump also has said companies like TSMC don’t need federal tax incentives.
First lady Melania Trump goes to Capitol Hill — 10:30 a.m.
She’s participating in a roundtable discussion with members of Congress on the “Take It Down Act.” The bill is designed to speed the removal of non-consensual intimate imagery, including videos that imitate real people, also known as “deepfakes.” The Senate passed the bill last month. Melania Trump is making a public show of support for the bill Monday to help get it through the House and to the president’s desk to become law. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a sponsor of the bill, is among lawmakers joining the first lady.
Zelensky says end of war with Russia is ‘very, very far away’ — 10:29 a.m.
A deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that he expects to keep receiving American support despite his recent fraught relations with Trump. “I think our relationship (with the US) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelensky said late Sunday, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war. “I believe that Ukraine has a strong enough partnership with the United States of America” to keep aid flowing, he said at a briefing in Ukrainian before leaving London.
Haitians and Venezuelans sue Trump administration to save immigration protections — 10:20 a.m.
The group of three immigrant advocacy organizations and four immigrants filed the lawsuit over temporary protections that have shielded hundreds of thousands of immigrants from being deported. The lawsuit seeks to block the termination of temporary protected status, a legal status that for decades has allowed people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. In February the Trump administration announced the end of TPS for 500,000 Haitians and roughly 350,000 Venezuelans whose status is slated to expire in August and April. That is about half of the approximately 600,000 Venezuelans who have the protection. The remaining protections are set to expire at the end of September. The plaintiffs are Haitians Americans United, Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, UndocuBlack Network and four immigrants who are not identified because of their fears for being deported.
Waltz commends UK Prime Minister Starmer, French President Macron for stepping up on Ukraine — 10:19 a.m.
“We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security,” National security adviser Mike Waltz told reporters at the White House. “I mean that’s been an underpinning. They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’re certainly showing a will.” Waltz’s comments come after Starmer gathered his European counterparts in London on Sunday for talks and called on them to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russia’s war. Both Starmer and Macron have said they would send troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission once a truce in the fighting between Ukraine and Russia is achieved.
‘There’s initial signs’ of effect on the budget, Congressional Budget Office director says of DOGE cuts — 10:08 a.m.
Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said Monday that cuts enacted by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are slowing government spending but added that it’s “too early” to make any broader judgement about DOGE’s impact on spending or deficits. “There’s initial signs that there has been a budgetary impact,” Swagel said in remarks at the National Association for Business Economics. He noted that government spending in some agencies has come in below what was projected before the Trump administration took office. But he said the cuts won’t show up as official budgetary savings unless Congress rescinds the money through legislation later this year. Some of DOGE’s spending cuts could be reversed by the courts, he said. He also noted that the majority of government spending is in the form of mandatory benefit programs and hasn’t been affected.
RFK Jr. lays out benefits of measles vaccines, but stops short of calling for people to get a dose — 10:02 a.m.
The nation’s top health official wrote Sunday that the measles vaccine has benefits but he stopped short of calling on parents to inoculate their children from the deadly disease. In an opinion piece for Fox News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged parents to consult with “healthcare providers” on whether their children should get the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote in the piece, published Sunday. Kennedy has previously criticized the vaccines, although research and real-world use has proven that they are safe and effective.
Waltz adds to doubt about whether White House willing to deal with Zelensky going forward — 9:54 a.m.
National security adviser Mike Waltz also on Monday said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the US administration will be able to deal with going forward. “Is he ready? Personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Waltz said on Fox News on Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?” Waltz added another layer of doubt about US support in the aftermath of Friday’s contentious meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz calls Oval Office blowup a ‘truly ridiculous and unacceptable session’ — 9:45 a.m.
He was speaking on Fox News on Monday morning. The meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which was meant to result in the signing of a minerals deal between the two nations was abruptly ended after an extraordinary blowup between the Ukrainian and American leaders. “He’s not ready to talk peace at all,” Waltz said. “This wasn’t an ambush,” he said. “Zelensky did his country a disservice.” Unlike some Republican lawmakers who over the weekend called for Zelensky’s resignation — Waltz did not call on the Ukrainian leader to step down, but after asked whether Zelensky is fit to lead Ukraine, Waltz said: “what happened Friday really put that up in the air.”
Senate will vote on confirming Linda McMahon to lead an education agency Trump has vowed to close — 9:08 a.m.
The Senate will be voting Monday. McMahon would face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs. At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.” A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, 76, is an unconventional pick for the role. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University but otherwise has little traditional education leadership.
Trump’s next first speech to Congress is bound to have little resemblance to his last first one — 8:54 a.m.
The nation will hear a new president sing a far different tune in his prime-time address before Congress on Tuesday night. Some Americans will lustily sing along. Others will plug their ears. The old tune is out — the one where a president declares “we strongly support NATO,” “I believe strongly in free trade” and Washington must do more to promote clean air, clean water, women’s health and civil rights. That was Donald Trump in 2017. That was back when gestures of bipartisanship and appeals to national unity were still in the mix on the night the president comes before Congress to hold forth on the state of the union. Trump, then new at the job, was just getting his footing in the halls of power and not ready to stomp on everything. It would be three more years before Americans would see Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, then the House speaker and his State of the Union host in the chamber, performatively rip up a copy of Trump’s speech in disgust over its contents.
The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts — 8:43 a.m.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deficits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists.
Trudeau is expected to bring up Trump’s threat to annex Canada when he meets King Charles — 8:40 a.m.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III, the country’s head of state, on Monday where he will discuss US President Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state. The king has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Trump’s threats to annex Canada. Trudeau said in London on Sunday he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles and said “nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”
What to watch when Trump gives his big speech to Congress — 8:34 a.m.
President Trump loves a good spectacle, and it’s hard to top a speech to a joint session of Congress. The House chamber is packed with lawmakers, and the president’s arrival is announced in a booming voice by the sergeant-at-arms, triggering cacophonous applause. Trump’s speech on Tuesday evening isn’t technically considered a State of the Union address — that comes next year, after he’s been on the job for longer — but there’s no distinguishable difference for anyone watching at home.
UK’s Starmer says Europe is at ‘crossroads in history’ as leaders agree to steps to Ukraine peace — 8:27 a.m.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts Sunday to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russia’s war. “Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden,” he said. Starmer’s exhortation to 18 fellow leaders that they need to do the heavy lifting for their own security comes two days after US backing of Ukraine appeared in jeopardy when Trump lashed out at Zelensky.
Following Trump’s lead, his allies lash out at Ukraine’s Zelensky and suggest he may need to resign — 8:24 a.m.
President Trump’s senior aides and allies lashed out at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky from Washington as he attended a European summit Sunday in London to rally international support for his military’s fight against the Russian invasion. Following Trump’s lead, White House officials and Republicans in Congress used news show appearances to demand that Zelensky display more gratitude for US support and an openness to potential war-ending concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some suggested Zelensky should consider resigning even as Ukrainians rally around him.
Tracking Project 2025: Key proposals Trump could implement in his second term — 5:01 a.m.
Since taking office, President Trump has signed a wave of executive orders that align closely with Project 2025 , a detailed conservative blueprint from the Heritage Foundation for governing in a second Trump term. The initiative calls for gutting the federal workforce, rolling back diversity and LGBTQ programs, and ramping up immigration enforcement, among other moves. Despite claiming during his campaign that he knew nothing about Project 2025, Trump has filled important government roles with people linked to the plan, including Russell Vought , a key architect who now heads the Office of Management and Budget, as well as immigration czar Tom Homan and FCC chairman Brendan Carr . The message is clear: Project 2025 has a seat at the table, and is shaping policy.
Democrats invite fired federal workers to Trump’s congressional address — 1:44 a.m.
Rather than boycott President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, some Democratic lawmakers are inviting former federal workers to Tuesday’s speech as a way to protest the mass firings and funding cuts that have defined Trump’s first month back in office. Federal workers' treatment by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has energized constituents across the country in recent weeks, with many overloading lawmakers' phone lines and showing up at town halls to voice their displeasure.
Trump’s past speeches to Congress asked them to pass his agenda. Now, he’s willing to go it alone. — 12:50 a.m.
Judging by his past speeches to Congress, President Donald Trump once felt the need to ask lawmakers to pass his agenda. Not so much anymore. Trump, who is addressing Congress on Tuesday night, has asserted his authority to reshape the federal government without needing to consult the legislative branch. That’s a break from his previous remarks to Congress in which he specifically sought lawmakers' backing on many of the actions he’s now taking unilaterally.
