Things Trump Did... Day 15 | Blog#42
The onslaught of destruction goes on...
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China hits back as Trump’s tariffs go into effect
Hong KongCNN —
Beijing announced tariffs on Tuesday on certain American imports including fuels and slapped export controls on several raw materials in retaliation for the Trump administration’s imposition of 10% tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States.
The fresh duties, announced by China’s Ministry of Finance, levy a 15% tax on certain types of coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks. The measures take effect on February 10.
The Ministry of Commerce also announced a list of new export controls including tungsten-related materials, typically used in industrial and defense applications, as well as materials linked to tellurium, which can be used to make solar cells.
The ministry also said it was adding two American firms — biotech company Illumina and fashion retailer PVH Group, owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger — to its unreliable entities list, saying they “violated normal market trading principles.”
Continue reading at CNN.com
China imposes 15% tariffs on U.S. coal and LNG after Trump's trade action
China's government announced tariffs on U.S. imports including coal and liquefied natural gas in retaliation for Trump administration measures targeting its products.
The big picture: China's finance ministry announced the measures in response to 10% tariffs on Chinese products imposed by President Trump's administration, which took effect Tuesday.
The announcement comes after the Trump administration said it would suspend for 30 days plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico after striking border security deals with the nations on Monday.
Driving the news: China's government would impose 15% tariffs on U.S. coal and LNG from this coming Monday, per a finance ministry statement.
U.S. crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks would face 10% tariffs.
Continue reading at Axios
France 24 coverage
Vance to take first foreign trip to France, Germany
Vice President Vance will travel to Europe next week for his first foreign trip since the inauguration, a VP spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.
Vance will travel to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in France and the Munich Security Conference in Germany, The Washington Post first reported.
Continue reading at The Hill
Treasury Department sued over DOGE payment access
The Treasury Department was sued by a coalition of groups over the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) officials receiving access to the federal payment system for the federal government.
The suit was filed by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union.
The groups allege the department shared confidential data with DOGE, which is run by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Continue reading at The Hill
EU leaders deflect Trump on Greenland and on tariffs
EU leaders are looking for a way to keep Trump from invading the Danish territory.
BRUSSELS — A Monday meeting among European leaders on beefing up defense in response to the threat from Russia ended up being largely about America.
Donald Trump is dominating the news by unleashing a trade war against China and threatening to do so (but then retreating) against Mexico and NATO ally Canada. He's also refused to rule out the use of military force to seize Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen summed up the summit, she started with the U.S., warning of what will happen if the Trump follows through on his threats to hit the EU with tariffs.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump administration finalizing plans to shutter Education Department
An executive order — which President Donald Trump is expected to sign sometime this month — was expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency.
The Trump administration is finalizing plans to dismantle the Education Department through an executive order that would build on the president’s campaign promise to hammer the longtime conservative target.
The order — which President Donald Trump is expected to sign sometime this month, according to a White House official — was expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency, according to two people familiar with the plans and granted anonymity to discuss them.
Continue reading at Politico
Greenland foreign political donations ban pushed amid U.S. takeover concern
Greenland's government is pushing a bill to ban foreign political donations ahead of its election after the Trump administration doubled down on its push to acquire the autonomous territory that's part of the Danish kingdom.
The big picture: The government cites in comments advocating for the bill that Greenlandic lawmakers will vote on Tuesday Elon Musk's massive donations to President Trump's 2024 presidential election campaign.
The bill that says it's to "safeguard the political integrity of Greenland" is expected to pass ahead of the Greenlandic general election that must take place by April 6 because the government holds a majority in the territory's Parliament.
Continue reading at Axios
18 Republicans cite 1600s case law to defend Trump birthright citizenship order
A group of House Republicans filed a brief Monday using case law from the 1600s to defend President Trump's efforts to end birthright citizenship.
The big picture: The GOP lawmakers cited an English case from 150 years before the U.S. was founded to dictate the country's present laws.
"Calvin's Case" was a 1608 British legal decision that held that children born in Scotland could be regarded as English subjects after Scotland's James I ascended to the throne in both countries to become James VI.
The decision was eventually adopted by U.S. courts and was central in shaping the country's birthright citizenship law.
Continue reading at Axios
Reporting from outside the US
Sen. Todd Young will back Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
The Indiana Republican's support greatly improves her chances of confirmation.
Sen. Todd Young said Tuesday he will support Donald Trump’s embattled nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, improving her chances of confirmation.
Facing a wave of political pressure from Trump allies to back Gabbard, Young "engaged in extensive conversations" with Vice President JD Vance in which he sought written assurances about Gabbard's perspective on whistleblowers, according to a person familiar with his deliberations who was granted anonymity to describe them.
Continue reading at Politico
Key House Republican lukewarm on Trump’s trade strategy
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) said he is “not a huge fan of tariffs,” like the ones Trump threatened to levy on Canada and Mexico and slapped on China over the weekend.
The top Republican on the influential Ways and Means trade subcommittee expressed reservations about President Donald Trump’s trade agenda at an event with POLITICO on Tuesday.
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) said he is “not a huge fan of tariffs,” like the ones Trump threatened to levy on Canada and Mexico and slapped on China over the weekend, but said that “we need to come to terms” with the fact that Trump is bent on using them to achieve his economic and security aims.
Continue reading at Politico
Russia to Trump: Back off Ukraine’s rare earths
The Kremlin delivers a warning to the U.S. president over his military aid proposal for Kyiv.
A senior Russian official slammed United States President Donald Trump's proposal that he could militarily aid Ukraine in exchange for access to its valuable mineral rights.
"If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday.
"It would be better of course for the assistance to not be provided at all, as that would contribute to the end of this conflict," he added, about a war that was instigated by Russia.
Continue reading at Politico
Scholz slams Trump’s ‘self-centered’ bid to link Ukraine aid to rare earths access
Kyiv isn’t totally against the U.S. president’s idea — but the German chancellor isn’t impressed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to tie future military aid for Ukraine to access to its rare earth resources, calling the move "very egotistic, very self-centered."
Scholz said that Ukraine needs its natural resources to finance post-war rebuilding, not to bargain for security assistance. "That's why I think it would be better if Ukraine's resources were used for a good future," he said.
However, Ukraine appears more open to the idea — at least the opening up of its critical raw materials to allies, if not explicitly the quid pro quo suggested by Trump — than Scholz’s remarks suggest.
Continue reading at Politico
Scoop: 20,000 federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says
About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the "buyout" offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios.
Why it matters: It's a significant number of people — about 1% of the federal workforce — but still substantially less than the White House's target of 5% to 10%.
The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise, despite heavy opposition from unions and others.
What they're saying: "We expect more to come. If you see what's happening at USAID, it's just one piece of the puzzle," the official said, referring to the rapid restructuring of the federal agency that oversees foreign aid programs.
Continue reading at Axios
RFK Jr. survives Senate committee vote for HHS nomination
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to lead the Department of Health and Human Services narrowly cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday when the Senate Finance Committee voted along party lines to recommend his confirmation.
Why it matters: The success of Kennedy's nomination has been far from assured, especially after Kennedy flubbed basics on Medicare and Medicaid, backtracked on past vaccine and abortion stances and was vague about how closely he'd hew to President Trump's policies during his confirmation hearings.
In the end, all of the Finance panel's 14 Republicans voted to advance his nomination, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a medical doctor whose stance on Kennedy has been closely watched.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump's vanishing guardrails challenge Washington
President Trump and Elon Musk promised to break Washington. No one thought it would look this easy.
Why it matters: Trump 2.0 has already laid waste to democratic norms, precedents and even some laws. Paralyzed by the breadth of disruption, many of the president's demoralized critics have been left sputtering: "He can't do that."
And yet he is.
The big picture: With a popular mandate, unified control of Congress, a pliant Republican Party, a struggling opposition and the resources of the world's richest man, there are few guardrails to curb Trump's maximalist agenda.
Continue reading at Axios
What to know about USAID, the federal agency DOGE wants to dismantle
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday announced new leadership and a potential restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency that leads foreign aid programs around the world.
Why it matters: President Trump's administration appears poised to dramatically overhaul, or attempt to shutter, the critical foreign aid agency, in a move that Democrats are sounding the alarm over.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk said Monday that Trump had "agreed" to "shut" USAID down. Musk railed against the agency over the weekend, labeling it as corrupt and wasteful.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump’s plan to kill offshore wind is paying off
The end of a project in New Jersey “plays right into the hands of Donald Trump.
Blue states spent the last four years one-upping each other with bigger and bigger plans to build offshore wind farms that could power the nation into the future.
Now, just three weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, the question is: What offshore industry?
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy spent years trying to make his state a hub of an industry that would bring factories and jobs up and down the Eastern Seaboard. But on Monday, the term-limited Democrat announced that his state would stop approving new offshore wind projects, a near-terminal setback for projects Trump and other Republicans have long maligned.
The announcement effectively ends much of Murphy’s seven-year agenda to spur a clean energy and green economy revolution in the Garden State and echoes setbacks in New York and California.
Continue reading at Politico
Navarro on Trump’s tariff threats: ‘It’s a drug war, not a trade war’
The Trump administration’s senior trade counselor also dismissed concerns that the president forced only minor concessions from Canada and Mexic
Peter Navarro on Tuesday blamed media “spin” for criticism that the deals temporarily pausing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico did not yield major economic concessions.
He also insisted that the tariffs had a dual purpose: “The president is fighting a drug war, not a trade war.”
Continue reading at Politico
Navarro: Trump will ‘structurally shift’ American economy with tariff revenue
White House adviser Peter Navarro said President Donald Trump’s trade plans will “structurally shift the American economy” if they succeed.
Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro defended the president’s plans to create a new agency to collect tariff income, doubling down on a controversial plan that has spurred unease even among some of President Donald Trump’s Republican allies.
“If President Trump succeeds like he wants to succeed, we are going to structurally shift the American economy from one over-reliant on income taxes and the Internal Revenue Service, to one which is also reliant on tariff revenue and the External Revenue Service,” Navarro said in an interview at POLITICO Playbook’s First 100 Days breakfast series on Tuesday.
Continue reading at Politico
News from MedPageToday
The FDA upgraded its classification of a recall of Braga Fresh broccoli florets first reported in late December to Class I, the agency's most serious designation. Braga initially issued an advisory after Listeria monocytogenes was discovered in multiple broccoli samples. (The Hill)
The CDC's website restored some, but not all, online resources following outcry over President Donald Trump's executive order banning material that promoted "gender ideology." (New York Times)
Meanwhile, the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content from American Society for Microbiology's website illustrated the reach of Trump's orders. (STAT)
Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago responded to Trump's executive order on gender-affirming care, claiming it is reviewing transgender care for minors. (ABC 7 Chicago)
Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump
Senate Democrats are privately eyeing delays on all Trump nominees as retaliation for his restructuring of USAID, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: This would go beyond the "blanket hold" that Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has placed on State Department nominees. Democrats are furious at Trump's actions, and want to signal a strong response.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave
Some 1,400 people will be notified Tuesday, on top of about 600 who were placed on leave starting Sunday night.
The move affects thousands of people and is the latest blow the administration is striking against the agency, which is America’s primary vehicle for providing humanitarian aid. Tech mogul Elon Musk, a Trump ally running an initiative aimed at downsizing the government, has made USAID a particular target.
Continue reading at Politico
Stop attending panels meant to improve air travel, FAA tells employees
The advisory panels tackle ways to reduce risk across the aviation system, taking guidance from airlines, union groups and even companies that make parts for aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration has barred its employees from participating in a host of advisory committees intended to help come up with solutions to issues facing the aviation industry, including those related to safety and air traffic control.
A directive to employees, obtained by POLITICO, states that employees appointed to these committees “should not attend (in-person or virtually) … until further notice.” The directive comes as the agency and the airline industry are reeling from last week’s collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the first fatal crash of a U.S. airline in nearly two decades.
Continue reading at Politico
‘We ought to move’: Senate Republicans impatient with House budget delays
Several key Senate Republicans are suggesting the chamber should move forward with its own plans in light of gridlock over spending cuts in the House.
Key Senate Republicans are getting increasingly frustrated with the logjam in the House over President Donald Trump’s policy agenda — and several are arguing that the Senate should move forward with its own plan that would first implement border, energy and defense policies.
“We need to get moving,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said, asserting he is prepared to move before the House.
Continue reading at Politico
Economist Jared Bernstein is here on Substack
Children’s Hospital L.A. stops initiating hormonal therapy for transgender patients under 19
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said Tuesday that it is pausing the initiation of hormonal therapy for “gender affirming care patients” under the age of 19 while it evaluates President Trump’s executive order last week targeting gender-affirming care for young people.
Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times
Freshman Texas lawmaker calling for deportation of Ilhan Omar
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) has called for deporting Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a U.S. citizen, back to her country of birth, Somalia.
“America would be a better place if @IlhanMN were deported back to Somalia,” Gill wrote Tuesday on X.
Continue reading at The Hill
Tulsi Gabbard survives Senate committee vote for intel chief nomination
The Senate Intelligence Committee narrowly approved Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday to be President Trump's Director of National Intelligence, voting along party lines.
Why it matters: Gabbard has proved to be one of Trump's most controversial nominees. With both Sens. Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) sitting on the panel, her ability to get through the committee was at times in question.
The vote was 9-8, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Continue reading at Axios
Dr. Oz makes the rounds in the Capitol
President Trump’s CMS nominee has started meeting with senators, including key moderate Susan Collins.
Mehmet Oz, the doctor and TV personality known as Dr. Oz, has started meeting with senators to garner support for his nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Oz was on Capitol Hill Tuesday and told POLITICO he met with key moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Continue reading at Politico
Senate Judiciary Dems eager for a second hearing with Kash Patel
Democrats are still looking for opportunities to undermine Trump's nominee to run the FBI.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are looking for a second go at probing President Donald Trump's pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel.
In a letter first shared with POLITICO, the lawmakers are asking Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for another formal hearing with the nominee, specifically to question Patel over the recent personnel shakeup at the FBI.
Continue reading at Politico
Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs
National Science Foundation staff heard the plans at a meeting Tuesday.
One of the United States’ leading funders of science and engineering research is planning to lay off between a quarter and a half of its staff in the next two months, a top National Science Foundation official said Tuesday.
The comments by Assistant Director Susan Margulies came at an all-hands meeting of the NSF’s Engineering Directorate, according to two program managers who attended.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate GOP seeks Trump's blessing on budget strategy
Senate Republicans are hoping a dinner at Mar-a-Lago will provide clarity on how the GOP should proceed with enacting the president's domestic policy agenda.
Senate Republicans are going to use a closed-dinner with President Donald Trump to ask if he wants them to take the lead in advancing the heart of his legislative agenda — or wait for House Republicans who are still without a solid plan.
The strategy of getting presidential buy-in, described by Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso, comes as Senate Republicans are itching to get going on a budget blueprint that would unlock their ability to write and then pass a border, energy and defense bill along party lines.
Continue reading at Politico
USAID missions overseas ordered to shut down by Friday
Washington — All overseas missions for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, have been ordered to shut down and all staff will be recalled by Friday, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.
The newly appointed deputy administrator for the agency, Pete Marocco, met with State Department leadership on Tuesday and instructed them to get every USAID employee out of their respective countries worldwide by Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Marocco said that if the State Department did not, the staff would be evacuated by the U.S. military, the sources said.
Continue reading at CBS News
Trump appoints speechwriter fired for attending conference with White nationalists to top State Department role
CNN —
Darren Beattie, a former Donald Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after CNN revealed he spoke at a conference attended by White nationalists, has been elevated to a top job at the State Department, multiple sources familiar with the move told CNN.
Beattie was appointed to serve as the acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, a key role that is responsible for helping shape US messaging abroad related to counterterrorism and violent extremism, according to the State Department website.
CNN’s KFile first reported in 2018 that Beattie, a former Duke University visiting instructor, spoke in 2016 to the H.L. Mencken Club – a gathering that has included White nationalist figures such as Richard Spencer and Peter Brimelow. Beattie, who was then working as a speechwriter in the Trump White House, defended his speech, claiming it was academic in nature. The Washington Post later reported he was fired after CNN’s article.
Continue reading at CNN
Small nit from Rima: He’s actually a Boer nepo baby.
Proud Boys lose their trademark ownership to a Black church they vandalized, court rules
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., was granted ownership of the group's trademark in a Feb. 3 ruling from Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The decision also gives the Metropolitan AME Church a lien on the trademark and the power to block the Proud Boys from using the trademark or selling licensed goods, like T-shirts or hats, without the church's approval.
Continue reading at CBS News
Treasury defends DOGE's ‘read-only access’ to payments system
The department told lawmakers its efficiency review “is not resulting” in any suspensions or delays to disbursements.
The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s team currently has “read-only” access to the system that controls trillions of dollars in federal payments, and that their review “is not resulting” in any suspensions or delays to disbursements approved by federal agencies.
In a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the agency confirmed for the first time that Musk ally Tom Krause, the CEO of Cloud Software Group, was coordinating the “operational efficiency assessment” of Treasury’s payment systems as a consultant to the agency.
Continue reading at Politico
Grassley eyes next week to move FBI director pick
The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is unsympathetic to Democratic pleas for another hearing with Kash Patel.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said in a statement Tuesday his committee plans to take a final vote on FBI director nominee Kash Patel as early as next week.
The committee has a business meeting scheduled for Thursday to consider Patel's nomination. Under committee rules, Democrats can delay the full committee vote for one more week, at which point senators are expected to advance the nominee along party lines to the full Senate for confirmation.
Continue reading at Politico
Schumer: Dems will insist on Trump undoing ‘bad things’ in spending deal
The Senate minority leader doubled down on Hakeem Jeffries’ comments Monday that Democrats would insist on a funding deal that addressed the attempted funding freeze.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reaffirmed that Democrats have a red line in the upcoming spending talks: No more federal funding freezes.
And he took it a step further, saying in a press conference Tuesday that “we will insist that there be certain changes that undo these bad things” — a reference to recent Trump administration moves like the now-paused funding freeze
Continue reading at Politico
IRS Direct File still accepting tax returns after Musk post
The Internal Revenue Service is accepting tax returns for tax season 2025, including through the expanded Direct File program.
Why it matters: There's been some confusion on the status of the free online tax-filing program after Elon Musk posted on X Monday that he had "deleted" 18F, a government technology group behind the IRS Direct File program.
The IRS didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment but posted about filing with Direct File on social media Tuesday.
The 18F website and LinkedIn page were still online Tuesday evening but its X account was deleted.
Continue reading on Axios
Los Angeles Times inaccurate coverage. The word they should have used is demolish.
Trump claims U.S. will "take over the Gaza Strip"
President Trump declared during a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that "the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip" and "own it."
Why it matters: Two million Palestinians live in Gaza, which was largely destroyed by Israel in its war with Hamas militants. Trump has contended those Palestinians should be moved out and the U.S. should take control in order to rebuild — an explosive proposal with no legal backing, but which Trump presented as a done deal.
What he's saying: "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump said.
"We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings," Trump said, adding that his plan would "supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area."
Continue reading at Axios
Senate confirms Pam Bondi to lead Justice Department
The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Pam Bondi as the next attorney general, giving her control of a Justice Department embroiled in controversy.
The vote was 54-46. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joined all Republicans in voting in support of Bondi.
Continue reading at The Hill
I wrote this on January 19, never suspecting that Gaza might one day soon be included
New Euphemisms for Imperialist Behavior? | Greenland, Canada and Panama on Blog#42
These are mighty strange times to be alive for someone like me, who, as a young child, got to witness the period immediately after the end of the French protectorate and the beginning of partial self-rule in North Africa. As an adult, I witnessed Moroccan culture shedding its colonial influences. I received my early education alongside pupils whose parents were among the first civil servants in their countries’ postcolonial journey.
House Democrats are sticking with DOGE Caucus
One member said he wants a "voice at the table" amid Elon Musk's scorched-earth campaign.
Some Democrats are sticking with a congressional caucus partnered with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency even as their party rails against its scorched-earth overhaul of federal agencies.
Multiple Democratic members of the caucus said they thought it was better to be inside the tent rather than outside, even as they disagree with how Musk is going about his job.
Continue reading at Politico
Congressional Democrats denied entry to Treasury Department
A group of House and Senate Democrats protesting the Trump administration were denied entry Tuesday to the Treasury Department's headquarters.
Why it matters: It is the second time in two days Democrats have failed to gain access to a government agency that has been targeted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
A throng of congressional Democrats were blocked Monday from entering the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Musk and President Trump have moved to shut down.
Tuesday's rally outside Treasury — entitled "Nobody Elected Elon — was in response to DOGE staffers' efforts to gain access to Treasury's payment systems, which disperses funds to federal agencies.
What they're saying: "We went because we wanted to speak with the representatives of DOGE that were in the building and representatives of the Treasury Department to ask about Elon's unfettered access to the federal payment system," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) told Axios.
Continue reading at Axios
How Tulsi Gabbard's nomination came roaring back to life
Senate Intel Chair Tom Cotton found a surprise ally in former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) to help resuscitate Tulsi Gabbard's nomination.
The former Democratic senator approached Cotton and was deployed to help sway Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) into "yes" votes today, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Cotton, the hawkish Arkansan who is No. 3 in GOP leadership, worked all the angles on Gabbard.
He worked with Vice President Vance — who's been a crucial influence on undecided senators — Trump adviser Jason Miller and others on Gabbard's team. Cotton told Trump last year he could get Gabbard confirmed, Semafor's Burgess Everett first reported Tuesday.
Continue reading at Axios
CIA offers buyouts to entire workforce to align with Trump priorities, WSJ reports
Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's priorities, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. spy agency is also freezing the hiring of job applicants already given a conditional offer, the WSJ reported, quoting an aide to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Continue reading at Reuters
Mike Johnson’s budget plan is at risk of collapse
The Senate is itching to move as the speaker struggles to unify House Republicans.
After weeks of promising “one big, beautiful bill,” House Republican leaders are at serious risk of being outmaneuvered by an unlikely GOP alliance as Speaker Mike Johnson struggles to sell his approach to enacting President Donald Trump’s sprawling domestic agenda.
Already a rebellion among conservative hard-liners has already forced the speaker to scrap his ambitious timeline for advancing the border, energy and tax bill. Senators, meanwhile, are getting antsy about inaction in the House and are working with Freedom Caucus members on an end-run around Johnson’s strategy.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump’s plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
"There's probably a couple of kinks in that slinky,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.
President Donald Trump’s vague vow that the United States will “take over the Gaza Strip” is sparking quick pushback, and confusion, among some of his key allies in the Senate GOP.
Trump provided no details during a press conference on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about how the United States would acquire the land, but said that the United States will “own it and be responsible.” Many lawmakers were learning about the remarks in real time as they headed to a vote on confirming Pam Bondi for attorney general Tuesday night.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump admin placing most USAID staff on administrative leave worldwide
Most U.S. Agency for International Development direct hire will be "placed on administrative leave globally" from 11:59pm this Friday ET, per a statement posted to USAID's site.
Why it matters: The announcement comes days after Elon Musk said President Trump has agreed to shut down the agency.
Details: The order affects all USAID direct hire staff "with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs," per the statement.
Continue reading on Axios
Raskin warns ICE raids could sweep up ‘innocent citizens,’ demands answers
“If you’re not out looking for criminals based on crimes committed, but undocumented immigrants based on their looks, you’re going to sweep up a lot of innocent people, including innocent citizens,” said the Maryland Democrat, according to a statement obtained by NBC News.
“We’ve already seen cases of racial and ethnic profiling leading to the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens. That’s why I’m demanding answers about some of these profoundly troubling stories we’ve heard about citizens being targeted, detained and questioned,” he added.
Continue reading on The Hill
Yesterday’s post
Things Trump (Musk, really) Did... Day 14
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Musical interlude: Jazz pianist Chucho Valdes