February 2025 (Various Dates)

• Musk threatened mass firings via email — demanded list of weekly accomplishments; “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation”
• “Fork in the road” buyouts — thousands of federal employees paid to exit government early
• Agencies forced to rehire DOGE-fired workers — GSA and other agencies reversed firings after courts ruled DOGE “went too far, too fast”
• IRS allowed some resignation-takers to stay — reversed course on buyout acceptances
• Judge blocked birthright citizenship order — Judge Coughenour later reported being swatted at home, family members threatened
• 178 Venezuelans held at Guantanamo Bay — detention camp prepared for “tens of thousands” of immigrants; 126 had criminal records

Tariff Impact (Cumulative)

• Average household tax increase: $1,100 in 2025 — projected $1,400 in 2026
• Highest average tariff rate since 1943 — weighted average 15.8% on all imports

February 27, 2025

• China tariffs increased again — additional 10% beginning March 4, on top of existing tariffs

February 20, 2025

• Haiti TPS partially rescinded — Secretary Kristi Noem’s action left hundreds of thousands of Haitians vulnerable to deportation by August 2025
• National Law Enforcement Accountability Database deleted — DOJ confirmed erasure of database created to prevent rehiring officers with misconduct histories
• 177 of 178 Guantanamo migrants deported — one sent to U.S. detention facility

February 14, 2025

• “Valentine’s Day Massacre” firings — DOGE terminated thousands of probationary federal workers without explanation
• Workers in critical roles fired — included cybersecurity specialists, nuclear weapons overseers, infrastructure project managers

February 11, 2025

• Pentagon bans transgender enlistment — all new accessions for individuals with gender dysphoria paused
• Gender transition procedures halted — all scheduled medical procedures for service members paused

February 7, 2025

• Defense Secretary memo on trans ban — Pete Hegseth formalized ban on transgender military service

February 6, 2025

• NGO funding review ordered — presidential memorandum to “stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest”

February 4, 2025

• 10% tariffs on China take effect — first wave of new China tariffs implemented

February 1, 2025

• 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico signed — plus 10% on China using IEEPA authority