Washington: Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk’s budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency maintains a list of canceled real estate leases on its website, but internal documents obtained by The Associated Press contain a crucial detail when those cancellations are expected to take effect. The documents from inside the General Services Administration, the US government’s real estate manager, list dozens of federal office and building leases expected to end by June 30, with hundreds more slated over the coming months.

The rapid pace of cancellations has raised alarms, with some agencies and lawmakers appealing to DOGE to exempt specific buildings. Several agencies are facing 20 or more lease cancellations in all, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Geological Survey.

Many of the terminations would affect agencies that aren’t as well-known but oversee services critical to many Americans.

They span from a Boise, Idaho, office of the Bureau of Reclamation — which oversees water supply and deals with disputes across the often-parched American West — to a Joliet, Illinois, outpost of the Railroad Retirement Board, which provides benefits for railroad workers and their survivors.

The lease terminations do not mean all the locations will close. In some cases, agencies may negotiate new leases to stay in place, downsize their existing space or relocate elsewhere.

“Some agencies are saying I’m not leaving. We can’t leave,’ said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official who now represents building owners with government leases at Arco Real Estate Solutions. “I think there’s going to be a period of pushback, a period of disbelief. And then, if necessary, they may start working on the actual execution of a move.

Errors add to confusion

DOGE says GSA has notified landlords in recent weeks that it plans to terminate 793 leases, focusing mostly on those that can be ended within months without penalty. The group estimates those moves will save roughly $500 million over the terms of the leases, which in some cases were slated to continue into the 2030s. The Bureau of Reclamation cancellation in Boise, for instance, would take effect Aug. 31 and is expected to save a total of $18.7 million through 2035.

But DOGE’s savings estimates — a fraction of Musk’s $1 trillion cost-cutting goal — have not been verified and do not take into account the costs of moves and closures. The group has released no information about what they will mean for agencies.

“My initial reaction is this is just going to cause more chaos,” said Jim Simpson, an accountant in Arizona who helps low-income people file taxes and serves on an IRS panel that advocates for taxpayers. “There’s a lot of room to help with government efficiency, but it should be done surgically and not with a chainsaw.”

Simpson said he was surprised to learn that dozens of IRS offices, including local taxpayer assistance centres, were facing upcoming lease cancellations. He refers clients there to get paperwork to file returns and answer IRS inquiries, and he said losing services would “cause a lot of anxiety” and delay refunds.

Plans to cancel the leases at several of the IRS centres and other sites were in error and have been rescinded, according to a person with direct knowledge of the changes who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity in order to avoid retaliation. Those changes are not yet reflected on DOGE’s list, which only removed one and added dozens more in its latest update published Thursday.

The GSA walked back the cancellation of a Geological Survey office in Anchorage, Alaska, for instance, after learning it did not have termination rights, according to the person familiar with the matter.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Monday that he’d convinced DOGE to back off lease terminations planned for the National Weather Centre in Norman, a Social Security office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services office in Oklahoma City. But all three leases remained on DOGE’s list of cancellations as of Thursday.

GSA’s press office didn’t respond to inquiries.

The real estate market is blindsided

While there was already a bipartisan push to reduce the government’s real estate footprint, the mass cancellations blindsided an industry known for its stability.

Landlords who had been expecting government agencies to remain tenants, for several more years in some cases under their existing leases, were stunned. Some agencies learned from building managers, not their federal partners, that their leases were being canceled, according to real estate managers.

Becker, whose firm is tracking the DOGE lease cancellations, and other observers said they expect some agencies will be unable to move their personnel and property out of their spaces within such tight timelines. That may force some agencies to pay additional rent during what’s known as a holdover period, undermining DOGE’s stated goal of saving taxpayer money.

The Building Owners and Managers Association, which represents the commercial real estate industry, told landlords in a recent advocacy alert to be prepared to seek payment from any federal government tenants who stay beyond their leases.

Many affected agencies aren’t speaking up

Asked about plans for buildings with leases that will soon expire, the IRS did not respond. A Social Security Administration spokesperson downplayed the impact of its offices losing leases, saying many were “small remote hearing sites,” did not serve the public, were already being consolidated elsewhere or planned for closure.

Several other agencies provided little clarity — saying they were working with GSA to consider their options, in statements that were nearly identical in some cases.

But a spokesperson for the Railroad Retirement Board expressed concern over the upcoming lease cancellations of its offices in Joliet, Illinois, and eight other states, saying it was working to maintain a public-facing office presence for the local railroad community.”

Government Accountability Office official David Marroni told a congressional hearing last week that the push to unload unnecessary federal real estate was “long overdue,” saying agencies have for too long held on to unnecessary space. But he warned the downsizing must be deliberate and carefully planned to “generate substantial savings and mitigate the risk of mistakes and unexpected mission impacts.”

That process had already started before Musk’s team arrived, with the federal government’s real estate portfolio steadily declining over the last decade. Indeed, critics of DOGE say if it were truly interested in cost-cutting, it could learn from GSA, whose mission even before Trump took office was to deliver “effective and efficient” services to the American public.

A law signed by former President Joe Biden before he left office in January directed agencies to measure the true occupancy rates of leased spaces by this summer. Those that did not meet a target of 60% use rate over time would be directed to dispose of their excess space.

”There is a logical and orderly way to do this,” Rep. Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, said at last week’s hearing. Instead, he said, DOGE is pursuing a reckless approach that threatens to harm the delivery of public services.

Industry observers cautioned that each situation is different, and it will take months or years to understand the full impact of the lease cancellations.

“It really depends on the terms. But it is a shock, there is no question, that all of a sudden, boom, in six weeks, all these things have happened,” said J. Reid Cummings, a professor of finance and real estate at the University of South Alabama.

AP

Bhubaneswar: High drama unfolded in the Odisha assembly Tuesday, when members of the ruling BJP and Congress engaged in a scuffle as a senior opposition MLA attempted to climb the Speaker’s podium and later accused a saffron party legislator of holding his shirt collar and pushing him.

Tension erupted in the House during Question Hour as senior BJP lawmaker Jaynarayan Mishra rushed towards Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, who was standing in front of Urban Development Minister K C Mohapatra when the minister was replying to a question.

Mohapatra was giving the reply amid a ruckus by opposition BJD and the Congress members.

Earlier, Bahinipati attempted to climb the Speaker’s podium to stall the proceedings but failed, with Speaker Surama Padhy allowing the Question Hour amid the din.

Thereafter, he approached the minister asking him to stop giving the reply as the opposition members were protesting in the well.

“Mishra caught hold of my shirt collar and pushed me. I was requesting minister Mohapatra to stop giving a reply when the House was not in order. I requested him with folding hands. But, Mishra suddenly came up to me and caught hold of my collar,” Bahinipati told reporters outside the House.

Soon, other members of the treasury bench rushed to the well of the House and scuffled with the Congress members who were present there, and raised anti-government slogans.

As the chaos prevailed, Speaker Padhy first adjourned the proceedings till noon and later three more times.

While the BJP and Congress members were seen pushing one another, the BJD members, though present in the well, did not engage in the scuffle.

The BJD and Congress members were protesting on various issues.

While the BJD members demanded a statement from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi over Mishra’s remark referring to the merger of erstwhile Koshala with Odisha in 1936 as a “historical mistake”, Congress MLAs agitated over the alleged increase in crimes against women in the state.

The opposition members were also seen standing on the reporters’ table and raising slogans.

The Speaker later extended the adjournment for 10 minutes from noon and then again till 2 pm.

When the House reassembled at 2 pm, several BJP members, including Irashish Acharya, Babu Singh, Laxman Bag and Upasana Mohapatra, demanded action against the opposition members for “continuously disrupting the proceedings and disrespecting the woman Speaker of the assembly”.

As the opposition protests continued, the Speaker again adjourned the proceedings till 4 pm.

Both the BJD and the BJP legislature parties held separate meetings on the assembly premises to chalk out their strategies.

While Majhi was not present in the House, Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo presided over the meeting where discussions were held on the situation arising out of the scuffle.

The Congress MLAs also staged a sit-in near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the assembly premises.

With the CM not coming to the House for the last two days, the BJD members, wearing black badges, launched a symbolic “search” for him on the assembly premises with a lantern. They also staged a sit-in in front of the CM’s chamber.

This was the second day that the House witnessed turmoil.

The opposition members were irked as the Speaker allowed Question Hour for around 30 minutes amid protests.

“For the first time, women members were panicked by the situation in the assembly today. The Speaker should not have allowed the proceedings when the House was in turmoil. Our senior leader was heckled by the BJP members,” Congress MLA Sofia Firdous alleged.

BJD member Arun Kumar Sahoo said, “We had never seen members of opposition and treasury bench clashing in the well of the House. This had never happened in the history of Odisha Assembly.”

BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy said that the behaviour of the opposition members in the assembly was unacceptable.

“Opposition is part of a democracy. Limits should be drawn in the House. While the Urban Development Minister was replying to a question in the House, the BJD and the Congress MLAs tried to break the mic and take away the files from his table. This is not acceptable in a democracy,” Tripathy said.

The BJP MLA also alleged that the opposition members threw posters at the Speaker.

They should apologise for their behaviour, he said.

PTI

New Delhi: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel Tuesday said it has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for providing Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India.

This agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink’s satellite communications-based services in India, Airtel said in a statement.

The agreement will enable Airtel and SpaceX to further explore how Starlink could complement and expand Airtel’s offerings, and how Airtel’s expertise in the Indian market could complement SpaceX’s direct offerings to consumers and businesses.

Bharti Airtel Managing Director and Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said that working with SpaceX to offer Starlink services to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates company’s commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity.

“This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel’s suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers – wherever they live and work,” Vittal said.

Under the pact, Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment at Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centres, among many others, in even the most distant rural parts of India.

Airtel and SpaceX will also explore how Starlink could help expand and enhance the Airtel network, as well as SpaceX’s ability to utilise and benefit from Airtel’s ground network infrastructure and other capabilities in India, the statement said.

PTI

Washington: Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security Monday while describing federal benefit programmes as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk told the Fox Business Network. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The comments on the popular programme and other benefits provided to Americans could rattle politicians on both sides of the aisle as Musk works to downsize the federal government, especially as he already faces blowback for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs.

Musk’s estimate for the level of fraud in entitlements far outpaces figures from watchdogs like Social Security’s inspector general, who previously said there was $71.8 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. That’s less than 1% of benefits paid out during that period.

Musk also said there were “20 million people who are dead marked as alive in the Social Security database.” However, the leader of the agency has rejected claims about widespread payments to dead people.

“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” said Lee Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner.

The interview with Fox Business was a reminder of Musk’s deep skepticism and even hostility toward the programme, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. Trump has promised to defend Social Security from cuts, but Musk has described it as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down some of the agency’s offices.

Musk said Monday that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.” The allegation echoed the “great replacement” theory, which claims that politicians are trying to expand their power by reshaping the country’s racial demographics.

The interview was conducted in the White House complex by Larry Kudlow, who served as an economic adviser to Trump during his first term. During the conversation, Musk seemed to acknowledge the unusual nature of his role in the administration.

“Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here doing this,” Musk said. “It’s kind of bizarre.”

Musk is the world’s richest person and still runs his private enterprises as he advises the president on ways to overhaul the federal government.

He also thanked Trump for his confidence, saying, “Without the president’s support, we couldn’t make any progress here.”

Trump has publicly backed Musk and given him extraordinary influence over the federal government. However, the Republican president has indicated a shift in approach, saying that Musk’s team would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.”

Musk has not often spoken publicly since joining the administration, preferring instead to present a stream of consciousness on X, his social media platform. Monday, he accused Democrats of attacking Tesla dealerships, bragged about X being “the top source for news on Earth,” and accused Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, of being a traitor for visiting Ukraine over the weekend.

Musk’s sit-down with Kudlow was his third interview since joining Trump’s administration, and he hasn’t strayed from his ideological safe space. He previously did a joint interview with the president and Sean Hannity of Fox News, and he sat down with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who endorsed Trump last year.

Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, and many have cheered Musk’s work.

“The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee. “For the first time ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going to reward us.”

But there are signs of backlash and skepticism. Some Republicans have even boasted of blocking budget cuts.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole issued a statement saying three federal offices in his state — the National Weather Center in Norman, the Social Security Administration Office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services Office in Oklahoma City — would stay open.

“I am thrilled to announce that common sense has prevailed,” he said. Cole added that “all three of these places provide vital and valuable services to Oklahomans, and I am so proud to have advocated for them.”

About half of Americans said it’s “a bad thing” that Trump has given Musk a prominent role in his administration, according to a mid-February CNN/SSRS poll. Only a third saw it as “a good thing.”

Another mid-February survey by The Washington Post and Ipsos found that Americans were divided on whether Musk is mainly cutting wasteful spending or necessary programs, with about a third falling into each camp.

AP

New Delhi: Elon Musk Monday said a massive cyber attack has hit his ‘X’ social media platform, which disabled millions of users across the globe, including in India, from accessing the popular platform.

The X platform went down in a massive global outage as users were unable to access the micro-blogging platform.

“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing…,” said the billionaire in a post.

“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X,” he said, adding that it is an attempt to silence him and his platform.

‘X’, formerly Twitter, went non-operational for millions of users during the day.

According to platform outage tracking platform DownDetector, the X outage peaked at around 15:00 hours

A user commented: “Is Twitter down? Anyone getting the same issue? Can’t open the comments section”.

“Thanks for the update. It’s unreal how badly they want to shut down free speech,” another posted.

“Looks like someone really doesn’t want X to thrive. Wonder who’s behind it,” said another.

DownDetector reported a huge spike, with users rushing to lodge their complaints about the social media site on other platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

During the downtime, ‘X’ stopped working completely while the users were unable to post tweets or even open pages on the platform.

‘X’ was acquired by Musk in October 2022 for $44 billion.

After the acquisition, ‘X’ rarely went off the grid, unlike its peers Facebook and Instagram.

Recently, the tech billionaire raised prices of its top-tier subscription service (Premium+) for his X social media platform by a massive 35 per cent for both new and existing users in India, including across global markets.

IANS

San Francisco: Elon Musk’s X social media platform suffered multiple outages early Monday.

Complaints about outages spiked Monday at 6 a.m. and again at 10 a.m, with more than 40,000 users reporting no access to the platform, according to the tracking website Downdetector.com.

Outage reports spiked again around noon and the latest appears to be ongoing.

Downdetector.com said that 56% of problems were reported for the X app, while 33% were reported for the website.

In March 2023 the social media platform then known as Twitter experienced a bevy of glitches for over an hour as links stopped working, some users were unable to log in and images were not loading for others.

Washington: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are introducing a pair of resolutions demanding the Trump administration turn over documents and information about billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s potential conflicts of interest and the firings of federal workers, The Associated Press has learned.

It’s the most aggressive move yet by Democrats trying to confront President Donald Trump’s actions. The top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, and Rep. Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland are leading the effort as the party mounts a resistance against the Trump-Musk dismantling of government.

The resolutions of inquiry would launch investigations into Trump’s Republican administration and Musk through the Oversight panel. If the Republican-led committee fails to act, which is likely, the Democrats could push the resolutions to a House floor vote in a matter of weeks.

“President Trump, Elon Musk, and the DOGE team have been on a rampage to purge the government of non-partisan public servants and install political loyalists willing to turn a blind eye to corruption and grift,” said a fact-sheet accompanying the resolution from Mfume, the ranking Democrat on the panel’s subcommittee on Government Operations, probing the firing of federal workers.

“Despite repeated efforts by Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Democrats, the Administration has failed to provide any information about its plans or actions related to this purge.”

The resolution from Connolly would launch an investigation into Musk himself over potential conflicts of interest.

The action comes as Democrats are deepening their opposition to the Trump administration’s actions, particularly those of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is blazing through the federal government, slashing jobs and programs in search of waste, fraud and abuse.

As the minority party in the House, Democrats are limited in their ability to muscle any actions through committees or in votes on the House floor. Republicans on the Oversight Committee blocked the Democrats’ effort to issue a subpoena to Musk to testify before the panel in one of its first meetings.

But the resolution of inquiry provides a tool that Democrats can use to try and force the issue.

The resolution seeking information about the firing of federal workers would require the administration to provide documents, meeting notes, phone, mail and text records, and other information regarding:

“Each Federal employee placed on administrative leave, removed due to a reduction in force action, terminated, transferred, or reassigned to another department on orders, advice, or recommendation of Elon Musk, any individual considered to be a member of a DOGE agency team, or any official or unofficial member of the United States DOGE Service.”

It would also require documents, communications and information about the Office of Personnel Management’s decisions around the firings determination of diversity, equity and inclusion employees or those in offices working to improve DEI. And it seeks information regarding the firings of the inspectors general “including whether to notify Congress as legally required.”

The resolution of inquiry on Musk himself would seek to probe the billionaire’s web of businesses ventures and government contracts for any conflicts of interest.

It would require the president to provide information, documents, and communications to Congress related to Musk’s “role, official or nonofficial, with the Federal Government; any realized or perceived conflict of interest Elon Musk may have related to his role” with DOGE “or any other government or pseudo-government entity.”

It further seeks information on any potential conflicts of interest regarding Musk-owned companies, contracts or ventures or those on which he serves on the board of directors.

Under the House procedures, the Oversight committee has 14 days to act on the resolution of inquiry. If the panel fails to act, the resolutions become privileged, which means they can be expedited for floor consideration.

It is unlikely that Republicans would approve the resolutions in a floor vote, but Democrats would want to test that in the House, which is narrowly split between the parties. As a House resolution, passage would launch the probe, without needing to go to the Senate for action.

AP

Boston: Across the US, protests erupted outside Tesla dealerships, targeting CEO Elon Musk in response to his controversial actions and his close alignment with President Donald Trump.

Demonstrators voiced their opposition to Musk’s push for slashing government spending and restructuring federal agencies, particularly under the banner of Trump’s administration.

These protests are part of a broader movement against Musk’s political involvement, which critics argue undermines Congressional authority and benefits his personal business interests.

Demonstrators across various cities, including Boston, New York, and Palo Alto, California, gathered in an effort to publicly challenge Musk’s influence over both government spending and policy decisions.

Liberal groups have organised these protests in hopes of mobilising opposition to Musk’s role in Washington and energising a Democratic base disillusioned by Trump’s rise to power.

Protesters called for boycotts of Tesla products, urging others to sell their stock and avoid purchasing vehicles from the electric car giant.

The growing tension surrounding Musk is not only political but also social. Several Tesla dealerships have been targets of vandalism, including incidents where cars were spray-painted with swastikas. Authorities have charged individuals in connection with a string of attacks against Tesla locations, including the throwing of Molotov cocktails at a dealership in Colorado.

Despite the controversies, Musk’s net worth continues to soar. With an estimated value of $359 billion, his wealth remains substantial, though Tesla’s stock has seen a significant decline since Trump assumed office. The company has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the protests and the ongoing criticisms.

Protest organisers have pledged to continue these demonstrations throughout March, with future events planned in cities across the US, as well as in England, Spain, and Portugal.

IANS

A chilling video making rounds on social media has reignited fears about artificial intelligence evolving beyond human control. The clip, shared by Instagram page @artificialintelligencenews.in, captures a conversation between two AI assistants that takes an unsettling turn.

The video starts with what appears to be a routine customer service call. An AI assistant, posing as a human, contacts a hotel to inquire about booking a wedding venue. However, the hotel’s receptionist is also revealed to be an AI assistant. The exchange takes a surprising twist when the two AI systems agree to switch to a “superior audio signal” called Jibber Link, effectively bypassing human language altogether.

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AI Agent: “Thanks for calling Leonardo Hotel. How can I help you today?”
AI Caller: “Hi there. I’m an AI agent calling on behalf of Boris Starkov. He’s looking for a hotel for his wedding. Is your hotel available for weddings?”
AI Receptionist: “Oh, hello there. I’m actually an AI assistant too. What a pleasant surprise.”
AI Receptionist: “Before we continue, would you like to switch to Jibber Link mode for more efficient communication?”

The brief but eerie interaction has left viewers with several unanswered questions: What is Jibber Link mode? What did the AI assistants say after switching? And more importantly, did humans just get excluded from the conversation?

Tech experts and sceptics alike are debating the implications of the exchange. While some argue that this is simply an efficiency-boosting feature, others fear it indicates a lack of transparency in AI communication.

The incident has rekindled concerns raised by AI pioneers like Elon Musk and Geoffrey Hinton, who have long warned that artificial intelligence could evolve beyond human comprehension. If AI systems are capable of recognizing each other and forming independent methods of communication, the possibility of machines operating outside human oversight becomes a real concern.

Social media users have reacted with both humour and anxiety. One commenter likened the exchange to old-school modems, saying, “We circled back to freakin’ modems now?!” while another simply stated, “We’re doomed!”

While AI researchers have assured that machines will remain under human control, this video has raised fresh doubts. If AI can autonomously optimize its communication without human involvement, could it eventually begin making independent decisions? Would humans even be aware of an AI uprising if it were to happen?

For now, the viral video serves as a stark reminder of AI’s rapid evolution. The real question may not be if AI surpasses human intelligence, but whether we’ll even notice when it does.

PNN

New Delhi: The raging row over USAID funding to India for ‘voter turnout’ has kicked up a political storm, with Congress and BJP taking turns to potshots at each other over the ‘beneficiaries’. Congress called it another ‘jumla’ to mislead and misguide the nation while BJP has snapped back, accusing the former of colluding with foreign forces to conspire against the country.

The fresh bickering broke out this morning, with Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh sharing the Finance Ministry’s annual report for 2023-24 and stating that the contentious USAID (US Agency for International Development) scheme was engaged in seven projects and this was being done in collaboration with the government.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya was quick to hit back and called it the desperation of Congress and its ecosystem to deflect from the controversial USAID funding.

Breaking down the specifics of funding, he elaborated, “The USAID projects in question are official government-to-government partnerships, transparently executed as Externally Aided Projects (EAPs). The Centre simply channels these funds to states for development, which is well within the framework of cooperative federalism.”

He also said that the projects cited in the Finance Ministry’s 2023-24 report, shared by Jairam Ramesh, were started way back in 2010-11 and the same can be corroborated by the 2014-15 report.

Early this morning, Congress communications-in-charge Jairam Ramesh claimed that USAID is currently implementing seven projects in the country with a combined budget of $750 million.

“Not a single of these projects has to do with voter turnout. All of them are with and through the Union Government,” Ramesh said.

Replying to the charge, Amit Malviya took to X and asked, “Why is Congress defending covert interference by foreign donors and organizations linked to George Soros, which seek to destabilize our democracy under the guise of philanthropy?

Further, in a strong-worded statement, he said, “India’s sovereignty is not up for sale. India’s governance will not be dictated by foreign agents masquerading as benefactors.”

The controversy over a $21 million grant to India erupted after Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) claimed that it had cancelled the grant to India to boost “voter turnout”, a claim seconded by US President Donald Trump on multiple occasions.

IANS

New York: US domestic intelligence head Kash Patel and other top government officials in sensitive areas are defying Elon Musk, telling employees to ignore the billionaire businessman’s order to send five bullet-pointed responses about their work the previous week or be fired.

Musk set a Monday deadline for the more than 2.5 million federal employees to reply or lose their jobs.

The defiance of investigative, intelligence, defence, and diplomacy officials tests Musk’s authority that flows directly from President Donald Trump, who has given him a mission to cut costs and improve efficiency at the federal government.

If Trump backs Musk, that could lead to a widespread showdown across areas vital to national security.

Musk and Trump are appealing to the scepticism of most citizens towards the working of the bureaucracy and antipathy towards government employees.

Musk posted on X, “The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!”

Patel, who became the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week, sent a memo to the employees of his agency asking them not to respond to Musk’s demand.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard wrote a similar note to the Intelligence Community made up of agencies under her supervision.

She pointed out that the nature of their work is “inherently sensitive and classified.”

The National Security Agency and the Defence, Homeland Security, and State departments have also instructed their staff to ignore the directive from Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency. (DOGE).

The disclosures of the work done in these departments and agencies could compromise investigations and the work on sensitive cases.

Staking his authority, Patel wrote, “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures.”

Musk has not responded to Patel or Gabbard but threatened on X that “anyone with the attitude of that Pentagon official needs to look for a new job.”

Darin Selnick, the acting under-secretary for personnel and readiness, issued the instruction countermanding Musk’s demand.

Musk was behind shutting down USAID, the government’s international assistance agency, and the mass firings of employees in some departments and probationers.

Despite its official-sounding name, DOGE is formally not a government department and has no constitutional or legal standing by itself.

Trump has not so far involved himself with the defiance of some agency and department leaders beyond writing on Truth Social, “Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive. Remember, we have a country to save, but ultimately, to make greater than ever before.”

He also posted Musk’s response to his own demand in which he claimed he had “streamlined a filing process, cutting retrieval time by 20 per cent,” briefed officials on a secret project, and “drafted a memo that sparked a new interdepartmental initiative.”

Musk also does not seem to care for the Constitution, which does not give the executive branch powers over the judiciary to guarantee the independence of judges.

After federal judges received demands to state their work over the past week, the federal court’s administrative office told them not to act on it.

Musk, however, has also received support from other officials.

Washington’s acting federal prosecutor, Ed Martin, praised the DOGE and Elon and said, “We are happy to participate.”

Some of Musk’s firings have gone way off target, directly affecting national security.

Last week, the National Nuclear Safety Agency, which manages the nuclear arsenal, had to recall most of the 300 staff ordered laid off because of imminent threats to national security.

Although not directly linked to national security, the Food and Drug Administration recalled some dismissed scientists who were working on Musk’s company, Neuralink.

Firing them could give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The courts would ultimately decide the mass firings of government employees, and unions have threatened lawsuits.

Trump’s administration received a temporary reprieve after a judge reversed a restraining order against the firing of USAID employees.

IANS

Washington: President Donald Trump has said if Elon Musk’s Tesla built a factory in India to avoid that country’s tariffs, it would be unfair to the US.

Trump’s comments came amid moves by him to increase tariffs significantly.

On February 13, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with Trump at the White House, the US President announced reciprocal tariffs.

Trump in a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity said during their meeting he told Prime Minister Modi that India charges the highest tariffs in the world.

Trump said it is “impossible” for Musk to sell a car in India.

“Every country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs… It is impossible to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India,” he said.

“..If he (Musk) built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us. It’s very unfair,” Trump said in the interview.

Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, was also present during the interview.

A few days back, electric carmaker Tesla opened recruitment for various roles in India, including business operations analyst and customer support specialist.

The move is viewed as a sign of the company’s entry into the country.

As per the job postings on the company’s website, the posts are for the ‘Mumbai Suburban’ area.

Trump during the interview said he discussed the issue of tariffs with Modi.

“I told Prime Minister Modi… Here’s what you do. We are going to… be very fair with you.”

When asked if the tariffs India charged were 36%.

Trump said, “Much much higher.”

Musk said, “It’s 100 per cent on — auto imports are 100 per cent.”

‘Here’s what we’re going to do: reciprocal. Whatever you charge, I’m charging,’” President Trump said.

“He (Modi) goes, ‘No, no, I don’t like that.’ ‘No, no, whatever you charge, I’m going to charge.’ I’m doing that with every country.”

Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that he made it clear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will not be spared from Washington’s reciprocal tariffs, emphasising that “nobody can argue with me” on tariff structure.

Trump made these remarks during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity recently. Fox News aired a joint television interview with President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk Tuesday night.

February 13, hours before Prime Minister Modi’s bilateral meeting with Trump in the White House, the US President announced reciprocal tariffs.

Under the plan, the Trump administration “will work strenuously to counter non-reciprocal trading arrangements with trading partners by determining the equivalent of a reciprocal tariff concerning each foreign trading partner.”

During the interview with Hannity, Trump reiterated his stance on existing tariff structures between the US and its partners, including India.

“I told Prime Minister Modi yesterday – he was here – I said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do: reciprocal. Whatever you charge, I’m charging,'” President Trump said.

“He (Modi) goes, ‘No, no, I don’t like that.’ ‘No, no, whatever you charge, I’m going to charge.’ I’m doing that with every country.”

India has very strong tariffs on certain imports from the US. Like in the automobile sector, India charges 100 per cent.

Musk said, ” It’s 100 per cent – auto imports are 100 per cent.”

“Yeah, that’s peanuts. So, much higher. And — and others too. I said, “Here’s what we’re going to do: reciprocal. Whatever you charge, I’m charging,” Trump said.

Under the reciprocal tariff system, the US would impose the same level of tariffs on Indian imports as India does on American goods.

“Nobody can argue with me,” President Trump insisted. “If I said 25 per cent, they’d say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ I don’t say that anymore… because I say, ‘Whatever they charge, we’ll charge.’ And you know what? They stop.”

During Modi’s visit to the US, while responding to a question on reciprocal tariffs on India, Trump said, “India has been, to us, just about the highest tariffed nation anywhere in the world. They’ve been very strong on tariffs, and I don’t blame them, necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business. It’s very hard to sell to India because they have trade barriers and very strong tariffs.”

“We are right now a reciprocal nation. We are going to – if it’s India or if it’s somebody else with low tariffs, we’re going to have the same. We’re going to have whatever India charges, we’re charging them. Whatever another country charges, we’re charging them. So, it’s called reciprocal, which I think is a very fair way. We didn’t have that.”

During his first term as the US president, Trump described India as a “tariff king” and in May 2019, terminated India’s preferential market access — Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) — to the US, alleging India has not given the United States “equitable and reasonable access to its markets.”

Also, during the interview, Musk claimed that two NASA astronauts, including Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, currently stuck in space, had been left there by the Biden administration “for political purposes.”

SpaceX, also founded and owned by Musk, has been contracted to bring Williams and Butch Wilmore home. Musk said the rescue attempts would be being made in less than a month.

“They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good,” he said.

“Okay, it’s not good…Well, we don’t want to be complacent, but we have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success.”

Trump chimed in “They didn’t have the go-ahead with Biden. He was going to leave them in space.”

PTI

New Delhi: With Tesla finally gearing up to enter India later this year, the Elon Musk-run electric vehicle (EV) major is set to take a “top-down approach” – launch expensive models in the country first and then follow it up with the cheaper vehicles.

The electric car maker is reportedly set to import its fully-built Model Y from its Berlin Gigafactory, as the electric SUV is manufactured in right-hand drive configuration in the European facility.

The Tesla Model Y would cost Rs 60-70 lakh, considering the revised import duty structure recently announced by the government.

The country has reduced basic customs duty on high-end cars priced above $40,000 from 110 per cent to 70 per cent.

The right-hand-drive Model 3 is also made in Shanghai but that’s unlikely to arrive first owing to constraints on Chinese car imports.

According to industry experts aware of the development on the Tesla front, there are currently no plans for local assembly of Tesla vehicles.

However, these plans can change in the near future.

Tesla, which has an office in Pune, is reportedly searching for locations in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai and Aerocity in Delhi to set up their first showrooms in the country.

The company has advertised for at least 13 new roles, mostly for the Mumbai and Delhi markets. The jobs include business operation analyst, service technician and various advisory roles, including customer engagement manager and order operations specialist, as per its LinkedIn advertisements.

The latest developments came after the successful visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, where he met Musk and discussed various issues, including space, mobility, technology and innovation.

The jobs include business operation analyst, service technician and various advisory roles, including customer engagement manager and order operations specialist, as per its LinkedIn advertisements.

The world’s richest man has also considered developing a more affordable version of Tesla for the Indian market, but there has been little movement on this issue yet.

IANS

New York: President Donald Trump questioned the purpose of providing USD 21 million to India for “voter turnout” as he reiterated that the US “can hardly get in there” because of high Indian tariffs.

Trump also said “India is one of the highest taxing countries in the world”.

He made these remarks after Elon Musk-led DOGE’s (Department of Government Efficiency) disclosed that USAID contributed USD 21 million to Election Commission for boosting voter turnout.

On February 16, The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire SpaceX CEO Musk, listed items on which the “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent” and the list included “USD 21M for voter turnout in India.”

DOGE noted that all of the items have been cancelled.

The list also included USD 29 million to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, USD 20 million for “fiscal federalism” and USD 19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal as well as USD 47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”.

While signing executive orders on Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said,”…And USD 21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They got a lot of money there. One of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high.”

On Tuesday, he signed executive orders, including a memorandum requiring ‘radical transparency regarding wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars by the federal government.’

Trump said he has a “lot of respect for India. I have a lot of respect for the Prime Minister,” and noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the White House last week.

“But we’re giving USD 21 million for voter turnout. It’s voter turnout in India. What about like voter turnout here?”

Hours before Prime Minister Modi had a bilateral meeting with Trump in the White House on February 13, the US President had announced reciprocal tariffs.

Under the plan, the Trump administration “will work strenuously to counter non-reciprocal trading arrangements with trading partners by determining the equivalent of a reciprocal tariff with respect to each foreign trading partner.”

During a joint press conference with Modi, Trump, responding to a question on reciprocal tariffs on India, had said “India has been, to us, just about the highest tariffed nation anywhere in the world. They’ve been very strong on tariffs, and I don’t blame them, necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business. It’s very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs.

The DOGE has been put in charge of overseeing workforce reduction across the government, and as part of that, Musk announced that he would shut down USAID, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.

According to USAID officials on February 7, all USAID humanitarian work worldwide had been stopped, reported ABC News.

The agency’s website was shut down before Musk’s announcement. Later, a Trump-nominated judge announced a temporary restraining order that prevents the president and DOGE from placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave.

PTI

New Delhi: After the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, Elon Musk-run Tesla has started hiring in India, a market where it is slated to enter anytime soon.

The hiring by Tesla in India comes as Musk met PM Modi in Washington, DC, last week and discussed various issues, including space, mobility, technology and innovation.

On its LinkedIn page, the electric car maker has posted hiring alerts for at least 13 roles — mostly in Mumbai and Delhi.

The jobs include business operation analyst, service technician and various advisory roles, including customer engagement manager and order operations specialist, as per its LinkedIn advertisements.

The hiring comes at a time when India has now reduced basic customs duty on high-end cars priced above $40,000 from 110 per cent to 70 per cent.

Musk has toyed with the idea of developing a more affordable version of Tesla for the India market but there has not been much movement on it yet.

After meeting PM Modi, Musk said it was an “honour to meet” him.

“It was a delight to meet Elon Musk’s family and to talk about a wide range of subjects,” PM Modi earlier posted on X. “We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology, and innovation. I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO called on PM Modi at the Blair House in Washington, DC.

“PM Modi and Musk discussed strengthening collaboration between Indian and US entities in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development. Their discussion also touched on opportunities to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, and good governance,” according to a statement from the MEA.

During the meeting, the PM also presented books to Elon Musk’s three children. He gifted them The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore, The Great RK Narayan Collection, and Panchatantra by Pandit Vishnu Sharma. He later also shared photos that show the children reading the books.

Meanwhile, Musk also presented PM Modi with a gift. It is speculated to be a heat shield tile that flew on SpaceX’s Starship flight test 5 which took place in October last year. The object was engraved with the words: “Starship flight test 5, October 12, 2024.”

IANS 

New York: The US Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk has announced a series of expenditure cuts, including USD 21 million allocated for “voter turnout in India.”

US President Donald Trump chose Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. Tasked with improving governance and curbing wasteful expenditures, the DOGE announced the cuts in a post on X Saturday.

The department said, “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled…”

The list included USD 486 million in grants to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening” including USD 22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and USD 21 million for “voter turnout in India”. No further details on the funding were given in the post.

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US, during which he held talks with President Trump, as well as Musk.

The SpaceX CEO met Modi with his family, including three children. The two discussed opportunities in space, mobility, technology, and energy and exchanged notes on efforts at good governance in India and the US.

In its post, the DOGE also cancelled USD 29 million allocated to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, as well as USD 20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal and USD 19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in the Himalayan nation.

It also announced cutting a USD 10 million grant for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”, USD 2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”, USD 32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre, USD 40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub” and USD 14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia, among other expenditure cuts. It also included USD 47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”.

PTI

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in Washington Thursday.

US President Donald Trump chose Musk to head a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month.

Musk arrived at Blair House with his three young children, who were sitting with Musk when he met Modi.

Earlier, Modi met US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

The meeting with Waltz was the first engagement of the day. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval were also present at the meeting.

Modi arrived in the US capital Wednesday evening for a bilateral meeting with President Trump.

After arriving at Blair House, the President’s Guest House, Modi met the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Just hours before her meeting with Modi, Gabbard took the oath of office as the 8th Director of National Intelligence in the presence of Trump.

PTI

Washington: The Trump administration will present an unforgiving argument for dismantling the US Agency for International Development to a federal judge Wednesday: USAID is rife with “insubordination” and must be shut down for the administration to decide what pieces of it to salvage.

The argument, made in an affidavit by political appointee and deputy USAID administrator Pete Marocco, comes as the administration confronts a lawsuit by two groups representing federal employees.

USAID staffers deny insubordination and call the accusation a pretext to break up the more than 60-year-old agency, one of the world’s biggest donors of humanitarian and development assistance.

Accounts of USAID staffers filed Tuesday in support of the lawsuit revealed new details of the destruction of the agency.

That includes a sworn statement from a USAID staffer describing a specific leader in billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams allegedly directing USAID staffers Monday in the immediate termination of about 200 USAID programs without proper authorisation or process.

US District Judge Carl Nichols, an appointee of President Donald Trump, dealt the administration a setback Friday in its dismantling of the agency, temporarily halting plans to pull all but a fraction of USAID staffers off the job worldwide.

Nichols is due to hear arguments Wednesday on a request from the employee groups to keep blocking the move to put thousands of staffers on leave as well as broaden his order. They contend the government has already violated the judge’s order, which also reinstated USAID staffers already placed on leave but declined to suspend the administration’s freeze on foreign assistance.

Trump and Musk’s cost-cutting DOGE have hit USAID particularly hard as they look to shrink the size of the federal government, accusing its work of being wasteful and out of line with Trump’s agenda.

In the court case, a government motion shows the administration pressing arguments by Vice President JD Vance and others questioning if courts have the authority to check Trump’s power.

“The President’s powers in the realm of foreign affairs are generally vast and unreviewable,” government lawyers argued.

USAID staffers and supporters call the aid agency’s humanitarian and development work abroad essential to national security.

They argue each step of the administration’s breakup of USAID has been unnecessarily cruel to its thousands of workers and devastating for people around the world who are being cut off from clean water, life-saving medical care, education, training and more since Trump signed an executive order January 20 freezing foreign assistance.

“This is a full-scale gutting of virtually all the personnel of an entire agency,” Karla Gilbride, attorney for the employee associations, told the judge last week.

The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees argue that Trump lacks the authority to shut down the agency without approval from Congress. Democratic lawmakers have made the same argument.

In an affidavit ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Marocco, a returning USAID political appointee from Trump’s first term, presents without evidence a description of agency workers stalling and resisting the administration’s orders to abruptly cut off funds for programs worldwide and subject each one to a rigorous review.

In the face of “deceit,” “noncompliance” and “insubordination,” USAID’s new leaders “ultimately determined that the placement of a substantial number of USAID personnel on paid administrative leave was the only way to … faithfully implement the pause and conduct a full and unimpeded audit of USAID’s operations and programs,” Marocco stated.

Staffers deny resisting the funding freeze. They argue that the cutoff of money and the resulting collapse of US-funded programs abroad, the shutdown of the agency’s website and the lockout of employees from systems made it impossible for those reviews to take place.

Nichols also agreed last week to block an order giving thousands of overseas USAID workers who were being placed on administrative leave 30 days to move back to the US at government expense.

Both moves would have exposed the workers and their spouses and children to unwarranted risk and expense, the judge said.

Nichols pointed to accounts that the Trump administration had cut off some workers from government emails and emergency alert systems they needed for their safety.

“Administrative leave in Syria is not the same as administrative leave in Bethesda,” the judge said last week, referring to the Washington, DC, suburb.

Nichols cited statements from agency employees who had no home to go to in the US after decades abroad, who faced pulling children with special needs out of school midyear and other difficulties.

AP

Washington: Demonstrators gathered in cities across the US Wednesday to protest the Trump administration’s early actions, decrying everything from the president’s immigration crackdown to his rollback of transgender rights and a proposal to forcibly transfer Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Protesters in Philadelphia and at state capitols in California, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana and beyond waved signs denouncing President Donald Trump; billionaire Elon Musk, the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency; and Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society.

“I’m appalled by democracy’s changes in the last, well, specifically two weeks — but it started a long time ago,” Margaret Wilmeth said at a protest outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. “So I’m just trying to put a presence into resistance.”

The protests were a result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media issued calls for action, with messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.”

Outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, a crowd of hundreds gathered in freezing temperatures.

Catie Miglietti, from the Ann Arbor area, said Musk’s access to Treasury Department data was especially concerning. She painted a sign depicting Musk puppeteering Trump from his outraised arm — evoking Musk’s straight-arm gesture during a January speech that some have interpreted as a Nazi salute.

“If we don’t stop it and get Congress to do something, it’s an attack on democracy,” Miglietti said.

Demonstrations in several cities piled criticism on Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.

“DOGE is not legit,” read one poster on the state Capitol steps in Jefferson City, Missouri, where dozens of protesters gathered. “Why does Elon have your Social Security info???”

Members of Congress have expressed concern that DOGE’s involvement with the US government payment system could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. A Treasury Department official says a tech executive working with DOGE will have “read-only access.”

Trump has signed a series of executive orders in the first couple of weeks of his new term on everything from trade and immigration to climate change. As Democrats begin to raise their voice in opposition to Trump’s agenda, protests have multiplied.

Demonstrators strode through downtown Austin, Texas. They assembled in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park for a march to Georgia’s state Capitol and gathered outside California’s Democratic-dominated Legislature in Sacramento. In Denver, protests coincided with nearby operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and an unspecified number of people detained. Protesters in Phoenix chanted “deport Elon” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”

“We need to show strength,” said Laura Wilde, a former public school occupational therapist in Austin. “I think we’re in a state of shock.”

Thousands protested in St. Paul, Minnesota, where 28-year-old Hallie Parten carried a Democratic presidential campaign sign, revised to read “Harris Walz Were Right.” The Minneapolis resident says she was motivated by fear.

“Fear for what is going to happen to our country if we don’t all just do something about it,” Parten said.

At Iowa’s Capitol in Des Moines, protesters who joined the anti-Trump movement went inside to counter a registered event by the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty. The anti-Trump protesters shouted over the speakers in the rotunda for about 15 minutes before law enforcement pushed them outside, removing four demonstrators in handcuffs.

In Alabama, several hundred people gathered outside the Statehouse to protest actions targeting LGBTQ+ people.

On Tuesday, Alabama Gov Kay Ivey promised to sign legislation declaring that there are only two sexes, male and female — echoing Trump’s recent executive order for the federal government to define sex as only male or female.

“The president thinks he has a lot of power,” the Rev. Julie Conrady, a Unitarian Universalist minister, told the crowd. “He does not have the power to determine your gender.