Donald Trump tells his Cabinet secretaries that staffing decisions aren’t up to Elon Musk. Changes to the U.S. military’s health care program puts providers in a tough spot. And Formula 1 star Lando Norris sets his sights on a 2025 title.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump puts new limits on Musk’s authority amid DOGE backlash
Staffing decisions within federal agencies will be left up to the Trump administration’s Cabinet secretaries and not Elon Musk, President Donald Trump said yesterday after a meeting that included some of the secretaries and his billionaire adviser. The new message marks a rare public curtailing of Musk’s authority as he helps reshape the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had stepped on some Cabinet secretaries’ toes, and other Republicans have bristled at the speed and intensity of the cuts.
“It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,'” he added later in the social media post.
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The instructions given to Cabinet members is that they should work alongside DOGE on spending and workforce reductions, Trump said. Final job cuts will be at the discretion of the department leaders. But if sufficient cuts aren’t made, Trump indicated that Musk would step in.
The sweeping cuts carried out by DOGE in the first weeks of Trump’s second term, which has included firing thousands of employees and moving to shutter entire agencies, have led to lawsuits, voter anxiety and heightened concerns from congressional Republicans. Some Republicans have called for greater transparency into DOGE’s work. This week, Musk met with some Senate Republicans behind closed doors to address concerns.
Still, Trump was sure to praise Musk and DOGE after yesterday’s meeting, saying “they’ve done an amazing job.”
More politics news:
Jobs report expected to show growth, but uncertainty looms
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly employment report today for the month February, it’s expected to show roughly 170,000 new payrolls added last month. That’s up from the 143,000 job gains in January. And the unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 4%, analysts said. But as President Donald Trump’s agenda takes shape, including a still-evolving tariff agenda and massive job cuts, America’s sturdy economy could soon show signs of trouble.
This week, two unofficial reports showed a job market that was scaling back. Job-cut announcements in February reached their largest one-month level since the depths of the pandemic in mid-2020, the consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. And private-sector payrolls processor ADP tallied 77,000 net gains in February, far fewer what had been forecast. Read the full story here.
What’s causing disruptions to the military’s health care program
Changes this year to Tricare, the military’s health care program which provides benefits to about 9.6 million people, have brought cascading disruptions to millions of service members, their families and network providers nationwide.
On the East Coast alone, about 16,000 health care providers have not been paid for months, forcing many to drop Tricare patients, reduce their hours or consider closing their clinics. On the West Coast, beneficiaries are struggling with long call center wait times and stalled referrals and authorizations, federal officials said.
Bo Heggins and his son.
Reporter Melissa Chan spoke to some of the families and providers affected by the recent changes. Among them are Army Sgt. Bo Heggins of Tennessee, who has had to stop taking his 8-year-old son, who has autism, to occupational therapy appointments. Meanwhile, San Diego-based provider Brenda Stephens had to pause all services for her mental health clinic’s 350 Tricare patients and lay off seven employees.
The Defense Health Agency, which oversees Tricare, has acknowledged that several challenges have cropped up nationwide since the beginning of the year. A DHA spokesperson said the agency was working with the contractors to resolve the issues. Read the full story here.
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Staff Pick: F1’s Lando Norris is ready to win it all
Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands on Aug. 24, 2024.
I became a Formula 1 fan when I was 11 years old and the McLaren team won the championship. Twenty-six years later, I got to interview Lando Norris for NBC News after a breakthrough 2024 season, in which he led McLaren back to its first constructors’ title since that 1998 season. Norris isn’t a typical interviewee (at least for a reporter who primarily covers politics). His racing talent is extraordinary, but he’s also personable and authentic.
Despite having a breakthrough season winning his first four races this season, Norris fell short of his overarching goal, finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen for the driver’s crown. We chatted about his reflections on 2024, his candid admissions about the mistakes he made, and why he’s ready to come back stronger as the new season begins next week. — Sahil Kapur, NBC senior national political reporter and F1 correspondent
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s the final day of Walmart’s Spring Break Luggage Sale, featuring discounts of up to 40% off in backpacks, carry-ons, duffel bags and more. Here are the NBC Select team’s top picks from the sale. Plus, here are the 15 best pimple patches to heal breakouts, some of which have also been tested by Select staffers.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
