IRS workforce ‘could halve’ after Trump hails cuts to federal staffing in marathon Congress speech – US politics live
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President Donald Trump delivers a joint address to Congress Photograph: Win McNamee/UPI/REX/ShutterstockTrump administration lists over 300 federal government buildings for saleThe Trump administration has listed over 300 buildings for sale in a further move to gut the federal government. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”. In a posting to US general services administration website, the administration says the 320 properties across multiple states are “designated for disposal”. It says: |
There has been some early reaction on Wednesday morning from Denmark to the portion of Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday which addressed his desire to expand the US to include Greenland.
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, speaking in Helsinki, said that “the most important part of that speech” was when the US president said this his country will “respect the right to Greenlandic self-determination.”
Acknowledging that Denmark and the US have a common interest with the United States with regards to security in the Arctic, he said “We are ready to work with our American friends on achieving that, but of course it would be based on the fact that we have a kingdom of Denmark.”
Denmark has said Greenland is not for sale. Opinion polls suggest that most Greenlanders oppose joining the US, but also wish ultimately to gain independence from Denmark.
In his address to Congress, Trump said:
I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the US.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other, we’re going to get it.
We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It’s a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.
French president Emmanuel Macron is considering travelling again to Washington along with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK prime minister Keir Starmer to meet US president Donald Trump, government spokesperson Sophie Primas said on Wednesday.
Primas was speaking to reporters after the weekly meeting of the French cabinet.
Our video team has put together this set of clips from Donald Trump’s address to Congress.
IRS staffing could halve – reports
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of US politics and the Donald Trump administration. I’m Tom Ambrose.
We start with news that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering reducing its workforce by as much as 50%, according to reports. The agency has already laid off about 7,000 of its 90,000 employees since Donald Trump came to power.
Federal agencies have been given until 13 March to formulate cost and staff reduction plans and submit them to the White House.
Associated Press reports that, according to two anonymous sources familiar with IRS plans, it is proposing “a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts” will deliver the huge cut in headcount.
John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, has said that cuts on this scale would render the IRS “dysfunctional”.
In his marathon address to Congress last night, a jocular Donald Trump touted his administration’s “swift and unrelenting action” and praised the work of his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who has led his administration’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government through his so-called “department of government efficiency”. Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read “lies” and “false” through the speech, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes.
