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Updated February 28, 2025 at 17:23 PM ET

We'll be recapping what you need to know every Friday morning for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Get more updates and analysis in the 

Since the end of World War II, the United States has promoted Western values, strong international alliances — and a shared view that Russia (or the then-Soviet Union) was an adversary.

It appears that the U.S., under President Trump, is now ceding that ground.

"I'm not aligned with anybody," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that . "I'm aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world, I'm aligned with the world, and I want to get this thing over with."

With Trump's transactional nature, American foreign policy has been reoriented to one that downplays alliances and is open for business with any country — depending on what's in it for the United States in the short run.

Nothing encapsulates that more than what happened this week as it relates to Ukraine, from the at the beginning of the week on the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the meeting at the White House that saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance accuse Zelenskyy of not being "thankful."

Zelenskyy was in Washington to that he hoped would give more security guarantees to his country, something Trump has been reluctant to commit to. That deal now appears to be in serious jeopardy.

Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos/Getty Images

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Libkos/Getty Images

"I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," . "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."

Here's a look at what happened this week that led up to the meeting:

• Trump called the potential minerals deal "very well advanced" on Thursday, but he didn't want to "jinx" it. He said there have been "very good talks" with both parties. "I think Russia has been acting very well," he said of the negotiations to end the war.
• One of the sticking points, however, is that Ukraine wants firmer security guarantees. Trump, though, said that he's not guaranteeing security for Ukraine; that's up to Europe. "I'm not making security guarantees," he said, adding, "NATO you can forget about." 
• At the same meeting, Vice President Vance chided the media for drawing conclusions about which side Trump is on while he is trying to negotiate an end to the war. 
• But on Thursday, in the White House meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump contended: "Putting security there, ." And he said: "We're going to see if we can get a lot of it [territory] back for Ukraine, if it's possible."
• Trump walked back that Zelenskyy is a "dictator." "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that," he told reporters Thursday. Of Putin sticking to a deal, Trump said, "I don't believe he's going to violate his word." Russia already violated an if Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons after the fall of the Soviet Union.
• Trump later said of his Friday meeting with Zelenskyy: "We are going to be signing a deal together, probably in front of the media."

That was only one of the major stories that made headlines in the last week. There was also the that led to confusion throughout the country, testy town halls with GOP constituents pushing back on approach to government staffing and spending and an eyebrow-raising AI video posted – without explanation – to Trump's official social media accounts , gold Trump balloons, belly dancers and "Trump Gaza" signs and a lot more.

Here's a day-by-day wrap up of everything (that we know of) that happened since our last analysis posted a week ago:

Last Friday:

• Steve Bannon says it was at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, while others saw it as a Nazi salute meant to be intentionally provocative. The Anti-Defamation League condemned it and a French far-right leader canceled his trip to CPAC because of "a gesture referring to Nazi ideology," he said.
• The that Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has asked Elon Musk to "better coordinate" on cuts initiated by Musk's informal advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
• A Trump-appointed judge in Washington his restraining order against the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID.
• The Trump administration at the National Park Service. Many are to help maintain and clean parks and collect admission fees. The Park Service says it will hire 7,700 seasonal employees, up from 5,000 promised earlier in the week and higher than the 6,350 average for the last three years. Colorado's Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument said on social media that it would close Monday for two days because of a "lack of staffing."
• Republicans start to face from Georgia to Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Oregon. 
• Trump has of transgender athletes in an event with governors at the White House.
• Trump fires three top generals, including , as well as military JAG lawyers. The firings are being referred to as the Friday Night Massacre. 
• The Supreme Court the firing of Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency tasked with protecting the rights of federal workers. 

Saturday:

• Musk that federal workers are to what they did the week before — or be considered resigned. Key agencies like Homeland Security, Defense, the FBI and National Institutes of Health tell workers not to reply. But Health and Human Services told workers to do so shortly after the general counsel of the agency told workers not to. 
• A woman is from a Republican town hall in Idaho because of her protest at the event.
• Trump that he wants to see Musk "get more aggressive."

Sunday:

• Israel after bus bombings. It's the first time Israel has done so since 2002.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of the reasoning for firing JAG lawyers: "We want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don't exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything that happens in their spots."
• A centrist conservative party in Germany , but the far-right AFD, , doubles its result. Immigration was a big issue.
• Trump announces he will nominate . Bongino is a former U.S. Secret Service agent-turned-conservative commentator.

Monday:

• It's the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• U.S. sides with Russia.
• Dellinger, the watchdog at the Office of Special Counsel, whom Trump tried to fire, of federal employees. He described at least six probationary employees' dismissals as "."
• Judge from accessing Office of Personnel Management and Department of Education information of employees.
• Trump at the White House. 

Ludovic Marin/AP / POOL AFP

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POOL AFP

• Musk posts on X about the email: "Failure to respond a second time could result in termination." Trump says there was a lot of "genius" in sending the email. 
• A Trump-appointed judge to the White House because it had not demonstrated it suffered "."
• The Justice Department is unable or unwilling to tell a federal judge who exactly runs DOGE.
• Trump is — which oversees military operations on the continent of Africa — and putting it under European command.
• On the email controversy and heads of agencies telling employees not to respond to it, Trump , "They don't mean that combative in any way with Elon." It's about security for agencies like the State Department and FBI, he says. Trump also claims, without evidence: "We have people who don't show up to work." And: "People aren't answering, because they don't even exist." Plus: "We're actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is still there."
• Some 1,200 people attended the first "Principles First Summit." It's a gathering of a group of conservatives opposed to Trump. Billionaire Mark Cuban was one of the attendees. When he took to the stage, he criticized Democrats, saying their critiques of Trump don't matter because they "."
• Someone to play on all the screens at the housing department. It depicts Trump kissing Musk's feet with the title: "Long live the real king." People in the building couldn't figure out how to turn it off, so they were .

Tuesday:

• Trump .
• Trump suspends the . That group that tracks educational achievement in the country. 
• The White House identifies .
• Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of a registry of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status that would require them to be fingerprinted. 
• After several testy town halls, Republicans are likely to curtail them, either by doing tele-town halls, vetting attendees or stopping them altogether. 
• Trump administration says a million federal employees responded to the "what did you do last week" email. It's revealed that Musk himself came up with the idea. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says each agency is responsible for judging their employees. 
• The House , 217-215. One Republican voted against it. There were concerns from some Republicans on spending cuts to Medicaid in this bill. 
• The reports that DOGE deleted the first five items they say they cut. That again reduces the total amount the group has cut. 
• Trump revoking security clearances for those working at Covington and Burling, where some Democratic lawyers work that also helped with legal advice for Jack Smith, the lead prosecutor on cases against Trump stemming from Jan. 6 and Trump's removal of classified documents. Trump offered to send the pen he used to sign the order to Smith.
• Trump says he would be introducing a for people who want permanent legal residency in the United States. Russian oligarchs, he said, could even qualify. "Yeah, possibly," he said. "Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people."
• Some Republicans start to voice unease with DOGE's approach. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told MSNBC, she wants to see more "humanity and dignity in the process." Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chairman voiced concern about and "continues to wait" for more information on the cuts. Other Republicans like Rep. Nicole Maliotakis of New York said the cuts are being done "too fast and furiously" and need to be more targeted. Rep. Richard McCormick of Georgia said federal workers need a chance to adjust their lifestyles.
• Alina Habba, counselor to the president, says the president expects people to respond to the email and if they don't there will be repercussions. Various agencies have said the opposite, that responding would be voluntary. 
• . They said they refused to "dismantle critical public services." Asked for a response from NPR's Asma Khalid, Leavitt said, "Don't let the door kick you on the way out."
• Hegseth in his first trip since confirmation. 
• reports on a $25 billion proposal by private contractors for mass deportations conducted by what's essentially a "private army."
• Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. to stop nationwide judicial injunctions that get in the way of Trump's agenda.

Wednesday:

• At Trump's first Cabinet meeting, Musk says the OPM email was not a performance review, but a "pulse check review." He says to expect . "If you have a pulse and two neurons you can reply," Musk said. He claimed that there are lots of dead people taking checks. Trump says the million people who haven't responded are "on the bubble." Trump calls the cuts a "circumcision" and that the federal government is "bloated and fat and disgusting."
• Trump says he wants to left behind in Afghanistan in 2021.
• Trump also says he may give Canada and Mexico another month's reprieve on tariffs. "I have to tell you that, you know, on April 2, I was going to do it on April 1, but I'm a little bit superstitious, I made it April 2, the tariffs go on. Not all of them, but a lot of them."
• Amazon's Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, the opinion page in a more "free markets" and libertarian direction. 
• The White House to determine press pools. "We will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility," Leavitt said. 
• Trump journalists for using anonymous sources or creating a new law to ban the common practice. 
• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says 100 officers from 15 agencies sexually explicit chats, including about gender-transition surgery. 
• The Merit Systems Protections Board of the six fired probationary employees identified by Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel that Trump tried to fire, until April 10.
• Meantime, a federal judge said Dellinger until at least Saturday, so she can draft a permanent ruling. The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to intervene.
• The U.S. saw its since 2015. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a cabinet meeting that it was a member of the Mennonite community. The child was unvaccinated. 
• The Trump administration unveils a $1 billion to try and combat bird flu and bring egg prices down.
• Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts a freeze on USAID payments to continue through at least Friday.
• Trump an executive order expanding DOGE's powers.
• Trump is preparing to use Alien Enemies law to speed up deportations. A Venezuelan gang that the Trump admin labeled a terrorist organization is the target, an official tells . 
• California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, announces he is a podcast.
• Trump Chevron's ability to operate in Venezuela. He rescinded a Biden-era exception to Venezuelan sanctions to allow Chevron to continue operations. Trump says it is over Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's unwillingness to help with migrants. Last month, Trump sent Ric Grinnell, the envoy for special missions, to Venezuela in what appeared to be a thaw in the relationship. Chevron has six months to exit. 
• Trump says the Environmental Protection Agency will cut up to 65% of staff, but then the administration , noting that it was a 65% budget cut.
• Wisconsin cheesemakers sent a to USDA demanding congressionally authorized dairy subsidies be .
• The Office of Management and Budget sends out a to agencies on pillars to guide layoffs. 
• House Speaker Mike Johnson that House Republicans will not make massive Medicaid cuts to pay for Trump's agenda.
• Rubio says a deal with Ukraine is on the "half-yard line."

Thursday:

• Trump says tariffs March 4 against Canada and Mexico, as well as another 10% on China, March 4. 
• USAID staff instructed to pick up their belongings Thursday and Friday. They their desks.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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Getty Images

• The U.K.'s Starmer meets with Trump at the White House and offered him an invitation to a state dinner from King Charles. Starmer noted that the U.K. will be increasing its defense funding and is "all in" on supporting Ukraine. Trump Article 5 of NATO that essentially says an attack on one is an attack on all. Trump also said a minerals deal would serve as a security "backstop." 
• A federal judge of some federal employees.
• Pro-Trump right-wing online influencer Andrew Tate and his brother were in Romania and flew back on a private jet to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Both were charged with human trafficking in Romania, and Andrew Tate has also been charged with rape. Both men deny the allegations. The that the Trump administration pressed Romania to release them.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . In one of the cases, the CFPB had "of failing to pay more than $2 billion in interest to customers by misleading them into thinking they would be getting higher rates."

Friday:

• Vance to speak at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Vance chided bishops over immigration earlier this month.
• The Supreme Court's decision on USAID is expected.
• Zelenskyy is expected to meet with Trump at the White House.

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