Taylor Alert – Trump shatters Cabinet speed records after Kelly Loeffler confirmation: Recap

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent on board Air Force One

President Donald Trump told DailyMail.com Wednesday night that ‘no matter what’ a new Air Force One would have the red, white and blue color scheme he picked out during his first term.

On board Air Force One, Trump was asked about his displeasure with Boeing, as the new Air Force Ones have been further delayed. He had mentioned it during his afternoon speech in Miami after a New York Times report said the same thing.

Originally the new set of planes were supposed to be flying in 2024.

‘No, I’m not happy with Boeing, it takes them a long time to do, you know, Air Force One,’ Trump told reporters, pointing out he had inked the contract with the aerospace giant years ago. ‘I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taken so long.’

‘And we may have to do something else. We may and go buy a plane, or get a plane, or something. But I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taken Boeing so long, there’s no excuse for it.’

Trump said he would ‘not consider Airbus to build a new set of planes.

‘I can buy one from another country perhaps,’ he mused.

Trump had toured a Qatari jet over the weekend.

The president also tasked Elon Musk – who flew back with Trump from Miami Wednesday night after they both attended a Saudi-backed investor summit – with speeding up the process to get new Air Force Ones in the sky.

During his first term, Trump marveled at giving the iconic planes a new design – that looked similar to the president’s own ‘Trump Force One’ plane.

President Joe Biden reversed the Trump color scheme mandate, as parts of it, like the plane’s blue belly, were impractical for flying.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Small Business Administration was just confirmed by the Senate.

Former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, a devout Trump supporter, was confirmed 52 – 46.

Loeffler previously served as Trump’s Inaugural Committee co-chair with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.

Loeffler was the CEO of a financial services company before joining Congress from 2020 – 2021.

Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is the New York Stock Exchange president.

President Trump said the federal government should run Washington, DC late Wednesday.

He made the remarks in response to a question about whether the city should govern itself or by Congress while speaking to reporters on Air Force One.

‘I think that we should govern District of Columbia,’ the president said.

‘I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order,’ he added.

He argued the federal government should take over its governance and claimed it would be run ‘really properly.’

Trump said he gets along with the mayor, but there is ‘too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns, of these magnificent lawns.’

Currently, the local goverment operates under a limited home rule which allows it to pass local laws, but Congress retains ultimate authority over the district under the U.S. Constitution.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Miami Beach, Florida

President Donald Trump again attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – this time in person.

Trump headlined Wednesday’s FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach and told a crowd of investors at the Saudi-backed conference that Zelensky was a ‘dictator’ and a ‘comedian’ who cratered his country.

‘How can you be high when every city is being demolished?’ Trump mused, wondering how Zelensky could survive the elections that the U.S. president has called for the Ukrainian leader to hold.

‘The only thing he was good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle,’ Trump added.

At the same time, the president thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting talks this week between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, the first such meeting since Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine, a key U.S. ally.

Saudi’s ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud was seated front row, next to DOGE leader Elon Musk.

Trump had Musk stand up and wave to the crowd.

Also on hand was Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who held a White House role during the president’s first term but has stayed out of government this time around.

Kushner was instrumental in creating strong ties between the Trump White House and the Saudis.

Trump has said he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia shortly.

After the U.S.’s initial talks with Russia – which excluded Kyiv – Zelensky said that Trump was living in a Kremlin-made ‘disinformation bubble.’

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

President Trump mocked the idea of making a ‘big deal’ about Russia’s 2016 election interference during remarks at a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami.

He made the comment by blasting spending by U.S.A.I.D., a department he said was ‘effectively eliminated,’ such as spending ‘$21 million for voter turnout in India.’ Trump suggested without offering evidence it was ‘to get somebody else elected.’ A crowd of wealthy donors laughed at the pork-style projects Trump ridiculed.

By comparison, ‘Russia spent about $2 in our country it was a big deal, right?’ Trump said. It was a brief reference comparing the matter to Russia’s hacking and internet troll efforts from the 2016 election, where he faced off against Hillary Clinton.

According to former Special Counsel Mueller Report, Russia’s Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency had a monthly budget of more than $1.25 million in September 2016. Indictments filed by Mueller’s office in 2018 charged that the effort involved fake accounts and internet ads as part of an operation ‘to interfere with elections and political processes’ in the U.S. Trump has long blasted Mueller’s probe as a ‘witch hunt’ against him.

The Russia comment comes after Trump called Ukrainian President Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and follows his team opening negotiations with top Russian officials. Trump during his remarks thanked Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ‘for hosting these historic talks.’ Trump wants to use the talks to end the war in Ukraine.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Republican senators who huddled shortly after President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’ are getting behind Trump’s call for Zelensky to face the voters.

‘We need elections in Ukraine,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said after emerging from a luncheon of Senate Republicans attended by VP JD Vance. ‘Soon,’ the Trump ally told DailyMail.com.

‘He should hold an election,’ said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

‘We held elections during World War II,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘Britain held elections during World War II. They’re a democracy. They should hold elections. I don’t think that’s different.’

He added: ‘I’m concerned they haven’t held an election in a long time and we are funding their government.’

Zelensky declared martial law after Russia’s 2022 invasion of his country. Elections were to be held in 2024. In a stunning move, Trump attacked Zelensky as a dictator, calling him a ‘modestly successful comedian’ a day after accusing Ukraine of starting the war. Participants said Trump’s attacks on the U.S. ally didn’t come up at lunch.

Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday warned the Ukrainian president against attacking President Donald Trump, saying that ‘badmouthing’ him in public would only backfire.

Vance spoke to DailyMail.com hours after Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky accused Trump of living in a Russian-made ‘disinformation space.’

The extraordinary language on both sides comes at a critical time in the war between Ukraine and Russia, as Trump pushes for a speedy resolution.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Doral, Florida

President Donald Trump was spotted on the golf course Wednesday during a visit to Trump National Doral Miami.

It was unclear how he would be spending the day ahead of a 5 p.m. speech to the Saudi-backed FII Priority Summit, taking place in nearby Miami Beach.

Social media posts captured the president practicing his swing and riding around in a golf cart with an unidentified woman.

Trump has taken an extended Presidents’ Day holiday, with a planned return to Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.

On Thursday he’ll mark one month in office.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Mike Pence admonished President Donald Trump for his false claim that Ukraine started the war with Russia.

‘Mr. President, Ukraine did not “start” this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth,’ Pence wrote on X.

Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president in the first term, adding a link to a Fox News article from Feb. 24, 2022 with the headline: ‘Russia Invades Ukraine in Largest European Attack Since WWII.’

Trump, on Wednesday, howefver, admonished Ukraine’s leaders for fighting with Russia.

‘You should have never started it,’ Trump said. ‘You could have made a deal.’

Russia invaded Ukraine, its neighbor to the East, nearly three years ago.

Trump is attempting to jump start a peace deal. He called Russian President Vladimir Putin to start talks in Saudi Arabie but left out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said his country would ‘never’ accept a peace deal if Ukraine did not have a seat at the negotiating table.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Donald Trump has terminated thousands of national park and forest management employees, sparking claims the move could harm the country’s most sacred natural lands.

Roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service (NPS) employees and about 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers were fired this past week, CBS News reported.

The cuts are the latest maneuver by Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE to slim the government and root out fraud, waste and abuse.

The firings were not announced publicly by the agencies and were instead confirmed by Democratic lawmakers.

NPS and the Forestry Service did not immediately respond to Dailymail.com’s request for comment.

‘Shameful. This means chaos in our National Parks, less health care for Native Americans, and a loss of technical staff who operate our water infrastructure in the West. Americans deserve better,’ California Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla wrote on X.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a noted conservative libertarian, pressed Lori Chavez-Deremer on whether she still supports pro-union legislation, as she did in Congress.

Paul has expressed he may not be able to support the nominee because of her past support for the labor law called the PRO Act, which she backed in recent years but has not turned against.

‘You no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would have overturned state right to work laws?’ Paul asked.

Chavez-Deremer: ‘Yes, sir.’

Paul: ‘No more questions.’

Kamala Harris signed with a top Hollywood talent agency as she plots her next move.

The former vice president has been seen taking in Broadway shows, attending a Lakers game and checking out damage from the Los Angeles wildfires.

Now she’s signed on with Creative Artists Agency, which represents top Hollywood stars like Beyoncé, Morgan Freeman, Glen Powell and Nicole Kidman. She also joins former President Joe Biden, who signed with the agency last month.

Her agents will focus on getting her speaking gigs and publishing opportunities.

Harris is weighing her next career move, which include a possible run for governor of California next year.

President Donald Trump is doubling down on his criticism of 'dictator' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid peace talks with Russia.

‘Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He ripped into how the U.S. spent over $200 billion more than Europe helping Ukraine against Russia and ‘got nothing back.’

‘On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.”

He went on to warn that ‘dictator without elections’ Zelensky ‘better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.’

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta revealed his thoughts about President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt and also bashed the president for his decision to exclude the Associated Press from Air Force One.

The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!

We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to “kickstart” the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.” It will, without question, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Doral, Florida

President Donald Trump landed in Miami, Florida Wednesday morning ahead of his early evening appearance at the Saudi-backed FII Priority Summit.

The president joins other prominent speakers including Lance Armstrong and Serena Williams and will likely talk TikTok, as the social media app’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, is also expected to be on hand.

Trump appeared to be dressed for golf as he disembarked Air Force One at the Miami International Airport.

He’s spending the daytime hours at his local golf club, the Trump National Doral Miami.

The president has been in Florida since Friday, spending an elongated Presidents’ Day weekend in the warmer weather.

During a back-and-forth with reporters Tuesday, he doubled down on the White House's Associated Press ban – sparring with the prominent wire service over its refusal to use the term ‘Gulf of America.’

Before departing for Miami Wednesday morning, the AP’s reporter and photographer were told by White House staff again that they weren’t invited to join the press pool.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has arrived at her confirmation hearing.

She is testifying this morning in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

She is a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon known for her close ties to labor unions.

The 56-year-old served just one term in the House of Representatives from 2023 – 2025.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

In the first two weeks of February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 1,800 migrants with criminal convictions or with pending criminal charges against them.

This represents 59 percent of the total number of illegal immigrants taken into ICE custody from early February to the middle of the month, according to data obtained by NBC News.

Meanwhile, the other 41 percent of the 4,422 illegal immigrants brought into ICE custody this month are not criminals.

President Donald Trump’s stance, however, is that all migrants in the U.S. without documentation are criminals because they illegally entered or illegally remained in the country.

President Donald Trump tore into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after U.S. negotiators opened talks with Russia without him that are meant to find a way to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump blamed Zelensky for failing to head off the war inside his country, and the president said he himself was behind a push to require Ukraine to hold new elections before any peace plan can go through.

‘You have leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened, even without the United States,’ Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Tuesday – even as he said ‘I like him personally’ when speaking about Zelensky.

‘You should have ended it – three years, you should have never started it,’ he said, appearing to blame Zelensky for Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Volodymyr Zelensky has blasted the United States for ‘helping’ Vladimir Putin ‘to come out of isolation’, warning that Donald Trump ‘is living in a disinformation space’ created by Moscow.

The Ukrainian President declared that his country is not for sale, disputing Trump’s claims that the US has given Ukraine $500billion and calling the suggestion that Kyiv pay this back with a mineral exploration deal ‘not a serious conversation.’

‘Look, we all want a victory, and we want Trump to win, and we want Ukraine to win, all of us to succeed,’ he said. ‘But there is nothing clear here… I am protecting Ukraine. I can’t sell it away. I can’t sell our state.’