Get the latest news coverage of politics including Honolulu city and county government, Hawaii legislative issues, U.S. Congress and the White House.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, including probationary employees Read more
The productivity email appears to have exposed the deepest fault lines to date between the Tesla CEO and senior White House staffers since Musk and his associates began dismantling programs and cutting the workforce. Read more
Meanwhile, Canadian and Mexican officials were due to meet with Trump administration counterparts in Washington today and Friday to try to forestall the tariffs, which could deal a serious blow to a highly integrated North American economy. Read more
The review is part of a government push to examine spending on messenger RNA-based vaccines, the technology that powered Moderna’s COVID vaccine. Read more
“We’ve made it easier for other countries to do business with us, strengthening trade relationships beyond the U.S.,” Zong said. Read more
Hawaii lawmakers are considering a contingency plan to help fund nonprofit organization operations facing federal funding cuts. Read more
Chief Justice John Roberts asked for a response from the plaintiffs — organizations that contract with or receive grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department — by noon on Friday. Read more
Trump said the immigration program, which he said was legal, could start in about two weeks. Read more
Trump revealed the potential EPA staff reduction at the first meeting of his cabinet, where his downsizing czar Elon Musk pledged that he would move quickly to slash federal spending. Read more
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Overall, the government spent about $710 billion between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, Treasury daily spending data shows, up from the roughly $630 billion during a comparable period last year. Read more
The memo calls for a “significant reduction” in headcount but does not specify how many workers should be laid off, beyond the 100,000 who have already taken a buyout or been fired. Read more
The Outdoor Circle opposed the bill, citing Hawaii’s prohibition of outdoor signage and billboards. Read more
Legislators in both the House and Senate are working to move out bills ahead of the March 6 deadline to send bills that originate in the House or Senate to the opposite chamber . Read more
Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, said that while traditional media organizations would still be allowed to cover the president, the administration plans to change who participates. Read more
Behind the scenes, Cuomo has taken assertive steps to line up a long-anticipated comeback attempt that would reshape the race to unseat Mayor Eric Adams in June’s Democratic primary. Read more
The organization, which is also known as the U.S. DOGE Service, has deleted all of the five biggest “savings” on that original list, after The New York Times and other media outlets pointed out they were riddled with errors. Read more
The judge, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, said for those reasons she agreed with groups representing nonprofits and small businesses that a preliminary injunction was necessary to block a further funding freeze. Read more
Confidence slumped across all age groups, with sharp decreases in the 35-55 age cohort. Nearly all income groups reported a decline. Read more
Twenty-one workers resigned from his so-called Department of Government Efficiency in protest today, saying they refused to aid the downsizing effort. Read more
The skepticism expressed by the judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, did not come as part of a binding ruling, but it suggested that there could be problems looming for Musk’s organization, which is also known as the U.S. DOGE Service. Read more
The Honolulu Liquor Commission is looking to hire a new senior-level executive after it announced a key employee plans to leave the troubled agency after nearly 25 years on the job. Read more
