Trump and Musk’s Cuts Raise US Security, Espionage Risks: Live Updates
March 24, 2025
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As President Donald Trump and senior advisor Elon Musk push forward with their plans to overhaul the federal government, national security experts are raising concerns about the mass layoffs of federal employees. With thousands of workers leaving their positions, many of whom have insider knowledge and access to sensitive information, foreign adversaries like Russia and China may seize the opportunity to recruit informants.
What to Know:
Trump and Musk’s reforms are forcing out thousands of federal workers.
Experts warn that laid-off employees with access to sensitive data could be targeted.
Foreign intelligence agencies are likely to seek information through disgruntled former workers.
Mass departures could expose U.S. intelligence and defense systems to threats.
Online platforms make it easier for foreign agents to identify and recruit potential informants.
Stay with Newsweek as we cover the latest on the Trump administration.
Donald Trump trashes George Clooney: ‘Second rate movie star’
Composite image shows U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, and George Clooney at an event to announce the Broadway cast of “Good Night, And Good Luck”… Composite image shows U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, and George Clooney at an event to announce the Broadway cast of “Good Night, And Good Luck” at The Wintergarden Theatre in New York City on February 6.
Anna Moneymaker/Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
President Donald Trump has lashed out at Hollywood actor George Clooney, branding him “a second rate movie ‘star,’ and failed political pundit.”
“He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the Debate, dumped him like a dog,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday after Clooney appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes. “Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for “Kamala,” only to soon realize that that was not going to work out to well.”
Clooney, who is one of the Democratic Party’s leading fundraisers, in an opinion piece published July 10 last year in the New York Times urged then-President Joe Biden not to seek re-election, writing “we are not going to win in November with this president.”
Two weeks later, Biden announced he was quitting the race. Clooney called the move “the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington.”
Newsweek contacted Clooney’s representatives for comment via email outside of normal office hours on Monday.
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