Trump Signs DOGE-Related Executive Order on Federal Spending; Zelenskyy to Visit White House for Critical Minerals Deal

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to scrutinize federal contracts and grant spending. Agencies must review contracts for waste and abuse, justify and publicize payments, and work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to terminate unnecessary contracts, while the General Services Administration will develop a plan to dispose of excess government property. Trump also convened the first official Cabinet meeting of his second term Wednesday, with Elon Musk, who’s leading DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts, in attendance.

Trump announced that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Feb. 28 to sign a critical minerals deal, though Washington and Kyiv differ on the details. Zelenskyy denied Ukraine owes money to the United States, while Trump declined to make security guarantees “beyond very much.”

A school-aged child who tested positive for measles has died in West Texas, marking the first U.S. measles death in nearly a decade. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his department is tracking the cases.

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