SALUTE (AND BOOT) THE VETS

The Trump administration is rocking the Department of Veterans Affairs with cuts, raising fears about the future of healthcare and services — and the potential consequences of speaking out.

• President Donald Trump is planning to slash 80,000 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the agency that takes care of some 10 million veterans in the United States. It’s a core part of gazillionaire Elon Musk’s mission to downsize the government like it’s one of his Silicon Valley startups. But there are other real-world impacts: The Department of Government Efficiency is also planning to cut hundreds of contracts — including one for research on post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Two senior employees who lead research teams at a VA branch were recently put on administrative leave, according to an internal memo obtained by What A Day, which adds that others across the country have already suffered the same fate. These are often physicians who help guide studies and treat patients, too.

• It’s unclear exactly why they were pushed out. But one of them may have said more publicly, or to the press, about the inner workings of the agency than the bosses wanted, according to the memo.

• “One of the [people] placed on administrative leave shared with me — and gave me permission to share with you — that there was an allegation of (and I am paraphrasing here) ‘inappropriate distribution of VA material,’” reads the memo, written by a top local VA official. “I have not encountered this as a reason for administrative leave … in my decades as a VA employee.” The official expressed concern that putting multiple researchers on administrative leave could be “a coordinated effort.”

Supervisors weren’t told in advance that the two employees would be placed on leave, according to the memo, which sounds an alarm about the changes.

• “My fear is that simultaneously placing a group of VA researchers around the nation on administrative leave sends the chilling message that we must not let others outside the VA know how severely impacted the research service is by the executive orders,” the memo reads. “I hope I am incorrect; I can not imagine a worse message than, ‘How dare you tell anyone how bad this is!’”

• The official urged other VA employees to be “circumspect in your communications.”  Although Elon Musk’s DOGE isn’t explicitly mentioned in the memo, his chainsaw-wielding tendencies are scaring top leadership at the VA. “My opinion is that most who like to ‘move fast and break things’ have never built anything that anyone actually needs or relies on,” the memo reads, an obvious criticism of Elon Musk’s tech bro mentality.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is a crucial service for veterans: “Our mission is not a luxury good or a retail or advertising platform.”

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) broke with Democrats on the issue of transgender athletes in sports: “I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair,” Newson said on the first episode of his podcast. That’s a big deal because Newsom is seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender, so we’ll see if Democrats start to change their tune, too.

Elon Musk’s DOGE is spearheading the cuts at the Social Security Administration… and will surely mess some things up, the acting commissioner said. “DOGE people are learning and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA,” Leland Dudek told staff yesterday, according to the Washington Post. Maybe, uh, the commissioner should be in charge of this stuff?

Donald Trump delayed tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico for one month, just hours after slapping 25 percent tariffs on both countries that freaked out businesses and tanked the stock market.  This man is clearly a business genius. He’s playing 4-D chess!

Trump is planning on revoking temporary protected status for some 250,000 Ukrainians who have fled their country due to Russia’s invasion, Reuters reports. Did we elect a James Bond movie villain to lead this country?

Republicans lawmakers bashed the Pentagon for hiring Kingsley Wislon, its deputy press secretary, despite making “antisemitic views, white supremacist conspiracy theories and Kremlin-like statements,” Politico writes. For example: She compared the murder of Israeli babies by Hamas to abortion, and touted the far-right “great replacement theory.” Only the finest!

The same mechanic who made bespoke, inscribed chainsaws for Elon Musk and Argentine President Javier Milei is making one for Donald Trump, Bloomberg reports. The maker says he was inspired to get into the business after watching “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” which totally checks out.

A South Carolina man will be executed by a firing squad on Friday for the first time in 15 years in the United States. The man, who was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001, chose that method over the electric chair or lethal injection.

Half of the world’s CO2 emissions come from only 36 fossil fuel companies, according to a new study. Global emissions have to fall by 45 percent by 2030 for the world to have a solid chance at staying under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a widely agreed target.

South Korean jets accidentally bombed a village during a joint exercise with the United States, injuring 15 people. 

“Hamilton” canceled its upcoming shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. after Trump took it over and named himself the center’s chair. Trumpworld is comically butthurt over the decision. Snowflakes!

Remember those awesome penny press souvenirs you’d get on vacation? Well, they might be going away if the Treasury Department stops minting new pennies, as Trump has pledged. Getting rid of pennies isn’t a terrible idea (it costs 3 cents to make one), but can we please keep these whimsical little machines? Surely our nation’s couches hold a strategic reserve of pocket change we can draw from in just such a crisis?

The world as we know it feels on the verge of collapse… war in Europe, chaos in the Middle East, US-China competition. But how did we get here? Rewind to the 1990s with None Of The Above, a new limited podcast series produced by the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group. We dive into the decade’s most pivotal events and foreign policy decisions, from covert CIA operations to NATO enlargement. Across ten episodes, you’ll hear from experts, journalists, and former government leaders as they unpack a decade that continues to shape the world today.

Whether you experienced the 1990s firsthand and want to walk down memory lane, or just want to better understand that post-Cold War moment, ‘90s Rewind has something for everyone. We explore failed democracy in Russia, the rise of the Taliban, the end of apartheid in South Africa, China’s economic rise, and much more. You can tune in to the first three episodes now. To catch the rest, make sure you subscribe to None Of The Above on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen… you don’t want to miss it!