President Donald Trump named Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director on Sunday to serve under newly confirmed director Kash Patel.

Bongino, who left Fox News in 2023, hosts the popular right-wing and pro-Trump podcast called "The Dan Bongino Show," which ranks among Apple’s top 10 news podcasts.

Bongino is a former Secret Service agent who Trump eyed during the transition as a potential candidate for the director of the Secret Service before announcing his lead agent, Sean Curran, for the job.

The FBI's deputy director has always been someone from the bureau's own ranks, not a political appointment. It's the highest-ranking FBI job that does not need to be appointed by the president and does not require Senate confirmation.

Bongino has stoked conspiracy theories surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has been one of the FBI's harshest critics over what he has characterized as its targeting of Trump and Republicans.

He was banned from YouTube in 2022 after posting misinformation about COVID-19.

ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin

President Donald Trump's administration said that approximately 2,000 USAID personnel in the U.S. will be terminated and others around the world will be placed on administrative leave just before midnight on Sunday.

"As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," a notice on the government's website reads.

USAID indicates that there will be an exception for employees who handle mission-critical functions.

According to the USAID government website, employees will receive individual notices on Sunday as well as instructions within the next week to retrieve their belongings from the USAID workplace in Washington, D.C.

The notice also suggests that overseas personnel will retain access to agency systems and to diplomatic resources until they return from overseas safely.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, offered a stark response to Elon Musk for demanding federal workers justify their jobs before midnight on Monday, writing on social media that Musk should learn about each department and agency before making cuts.

"If Elon Musk truly wants to understand what federal workers accomplished over the past week, he should get to know each department and agency, and learn about the jobs he's trying to cut," Murkowski wrote.

"Our public servants work hard to ensure that our national security is protected; that planes land safely; that forest fires do not spread to our homes; that Social Security checks arrive on time; that research for the breakthroughs needed to cure diseases like cancer and ALS continues; and much more," she continued. "Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform.

Murkowski's comments echo other Republicans who have asked Musk to have humanity in cutting federal workers’ jobs.

-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh

In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), called an email demanding that employees list accomplishments over the previous week is “unlawful.”

The largest federal union wrote that the email is “nothing more than an irresponsible and sophomoric attempt to create confusion and bully the hard-working federal employees that serve our country.”

The letter continues to say that the email fails to give enough guidance on what information employees should avoid disclosing.

“Federal employees have a duty to ensure that sensitive information, data, and records are only used and disclosed for authorized purposes,” the letter says. “We believe that employees have no obligation to respond to this plainly unlawful email.”

“By allowing the unelected and unhinged Elon Musk to dictate OPM’s actions, you have demonstrated a lack of regard for the integrity of federal employees and their critical work,” the letter added.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

The Pentagon announced it will "release" some 5,400 civilian probationary workers beginning next week and freeze hiring in the first wave of what could amount to more than 70,000 fired.

"We expect approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be released beginning next week as part of this initial effort, after which we will implement a hiring freeze while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs, complying as always with all applicable laws," Darin Selnick, acting secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement.

The statement said 5% to 8% of the department's civilian workforce will be cut in total, which would amount to about 43,900 to 70,240 of the approximately 878,000 civilian employees at the DOD.

"This re-evaluation of probationary employees is being done across government, not just at the Defense Department, but we believe in the goals of the program, and our leaders are carrying out that review carefully and smartly," the statement said.

The announcement follows two U.S. officials telling ABC News that the DOD had temporarily delayed mass layoffs as it continued to review the impacts on readiness.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler