Things Trump Did... Day 21 | Blog#42
The backbone of the American people? Why, it's our judges!
Please keep a tab open to this post as it gets continuous updates, usually, several times an hour. Newest items appear at the bottom.
Note: I’ve begun including news items from the E.U., especially as it pertains to US-EU relations under Trump.
Note: Yesterday’s post was updated with breaking news well past 10pm EST
Things Trump Did... Day 20 | Blog#42
Please keep a tab open to this post as it gets continuous updates, usually, several times an hour. Newest items appear at the bottom.
Vance proves pivotal in pushing through controversial Trump nominees
The Senate GOP has long included voices skeptical of Trump, and even with a larger 53-seat majority that includes a number of new Trump allies, there have been doubts about some Cabinet picks.
Now national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear headed toward confirmation after several doubters announced their support this week, leading to committee approval of their nominations.
Continue reading at The Hill
Morning Report — Trump leans in on tariffs, Musk
In today’s issue:
Trump tees up steel, aluminum tariffs, defends Musk
House GOP’s budget plan? Nowhere in sight
Experts: Civil service buyouts teetering
Trudeau: Trump’s 51st-state threat “not a joke”
Continue reading at The Hill
Black educators warn of what is lost if Education Department is shuttered
Trump, who has long called for the Education Department to be shut down, said in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he hopes Linda McMahon, his nominee for Education secretary, can “put herself out of a job.”
“We’re ranked very badly. And what I want to do is let the states run schools,” he said.
Reports that Trump is drafting an executive order to cripple the department began circulating a day earlier. According to The Wall Street Journal, the president is looking to begin with taking away programs not explicitly written into law and moving functions to different departments before calling on Congress to pass a law abolishing the federal agency completely.
Continue reading at The Hill
Falling costs drive US toward green energy — even as political tides shift
The U.S. is barreling toward an energy transition as renewables — especially solar — become ever-cheaper sources of energy.
Renewables and natural gas have been gaining while coal has declined for years, but the trends have accelerated since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Democrats’ climate, tax and health care bill, passed in 2022 with massive subsidies for renewables.
In 2023, renewables accounted for more than 20 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S., roughly double their 2010 share, according to the Energy Information Administration. Natural gas, meanwhile, contributed about 43 percent, up from 24 percent in 2010.
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP senators terrified of crossing Trump, facing Musk-funded challengers
GOP senators are terrified over the prospect of facing primary challengers funded by Elon Musk if they stick their necks out by opposing President Trump’s agenda
The White House has signaled that Republicans who thwart Trump’s agenda by voting against his controversial nominees or opposing efforts by Musk to freeze government funding and slash federal agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, will pay a political price.
And that’s a threat that carries a lot more weight when Musk, the world’s richest man, could easily pour tens of millions of dollars into a Senate Republican primary.
Continue reading at The Hill
1 in 5 taxpayers are missing out on thousands with this tax credit
Earned income tax credit is for those with low-to-moderate income
People with or without children can claim this credit
There are eligibility requirements set by the IRS
Continue reading at The Hill
A timeline of US-China tit-for-tat tariffs since Trump’s first term
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s tit-for-tat duties on U.S. imports took effect Monday, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he wants to slap new duties on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S.
The rapid-fire shots of tariffs and import curbs hearken back to Trump’s first term in office, when the U.S. and China engaged in a trade war that spanned most of Trump’s first four years in office and was continued to a certain extent under his successor, Joe Biden.
Less than a month after returning to the White House on Jan. 20, Trump slapped 10% duties on all Chinese imports, a move that’s expected to raise prices on goods including laptops, toys and fast fashion.
Continue reading at The Associated Press
Supreme Court that Trump helped shape could have the last word on his aggressive executive orders
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will need the Supreme Court, with three justices he appointed, to enable the most aggressive of the many actions he has taken in just the first few weeks of his second White House term.
But even a conservative majority with a robust view of presidential power might balk at some of what the president wants to do.
The court gave Trump major victories last year that helped clear away potential obstacles to his reelection, postponing his criminal trial in Washington, D.C., then affording immunity from prosecution for official actions. But Trump’s first term was marked by significant defeats — as well as some wins — at the court.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Trump's shock and awe tests Americans' response to chaos
The Trump administration's shock and awe strategy was meant to overwhelm opponents, disrupt the establishment and bust norms. But it's also sweeping up ordinary Americans who disdain politics but find they can't detach from the barrage of news.
Why it matters: Some will find a way of adjusting their brains to the drama and unpredictability while others will try to tune out.
That could be difficult, with rollbacks of DEI practices, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, trade wars, orders targeting transgender rights and Department of Government Efficiency takeovers of public data potentially touching every segment of society.
State of play: Political anxiety has been building for years as a 24-hour news cycle, social media and algorithms create seemingly endless outlets for strife.
Continue reading at Axios
Scoop: Big Tech is "on notice" with FTC's hires
The Federal Trade Commission under President Trump is beefing up its staff with a string of new hires who are skeptical of Big Tech.
Why it matters: Trump has support from several Big Tech leaders — Elon Musk chief among them. But the president's new FTC chair, Andrew Ferguson, is an outspoken Big Tech critic on X and is signaling the panel won't be stacked with pro-industry quislings.
The FTC is still moving forward with cases against Amazon and Meta, and it's investigating Microsoft.
Reality check: Musk had a fraught relationship with the FTC under its previous Biden-appointed chair, Lina Khan. The commission recently expressed interest, albeit more in favor of Musk, in the OpenAI case he brought against Sam Altman.
Continue reading at Axios
The Senate gives Trump his Cabinet — and their compliance
Unlike his first term, the president is getting little pushback from the chamber’s Republicans.
Donald Trump is back, and it sure isn’t 2017 anymore in the Senate.
Two of the president’s most controversial nominees are on a glide path to confirmation later this week. That caps off a notable three-week stretch that has seen more than a dozen Trump Cabinet nominees confirmed with near-unanimous Republican support.
The sweep of successful confirmations is the latest sign from the Senate GOP that it wants to be viewed as a partner, not a problem, for Trump at the start of his second term. It’s a distinct shift from his first administration, when Trump had to withdraw one Cabinet pick weeks into his first term then later saw a small band of Senate Republicans scuttle the party’s marquee effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump administration seeks urgent end of ‘impermissible’ court order blocking access to Treasury systems
The order blocked DOGE access to a critical government payment mechanism.
The Trump administration is making an urgent push to end a court order barring top officials’ access to the federal government’s massive payment system operated by the Treasury Department, saying the “remarkable intrusion” is unconstitutional and should be “dissolved immediately.”
“Basic democratic accountability requires that every executive agency’s work be supervised by politically accountable leadership, who ultimately answer to the president,” Justice Department attorneys wrote in the 11-page filing, calling the order “impermissible” and “anti-constitutional.”
The attorneys are asking Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas to quickly end or modify the order to ensure Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his top leadership can be briefed on the payment system and perform their legally required roles.
Continue reading at Politico
My comment on Paul Krugman
The winners in a fear-and-favor regime
A pattern is starting to emerge from the flood of actions coming from the Trump administration: The initial stance is often maximally aggressive, but it can be walked back if the targeted groups have direct access to the president.
Why it matters: Such a system favors the well-connected, including deep-pocketed individuals and corporations in the U.S., as well as large foreign companies who have the ear of their own head of state.
The big picture: The ascendancy of figures adjacent to Donald Trump, like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, can easily be seen in the stock market, where Tesla is up 44% and Palantir is up 115% since Election Day.
Continue reading at Axios
Corporate America's new first commandment: Honor thy Trump
Corporate America has a new top priority: Give Donald Trump what he wants.
Why it matters: The next four years will be dominated not by technocratic rule of law but rather by the whims of America's most mercurial president.
Getting into his good graces — and staying there — has taken on existential importance for many corporations.
The big picture: Trump is probably the most transactional president in U.S. history, and a seat at his table can be worth billions of dollars. (Even more in the case of first buddy Elon Musk, whose net worth has increased by some $170 billion since Election Day.)
Continue reading at Axios
Behind the Curtain: Trump's ever-expansive power
President-elect Trump — whose power was immense after his comeback win, enhanced by the coming full Republican control of Congress — has expanded that power substantially in the nine weeks since his victory.
Why it matters: It's rare, if not unprecedented, for a newly elected leader to have so many world leaders and CEOs shift their policies or posture so blatantly during the transition to curry favor with a new president.
Trump will start his presidency with a very loyal GOP Senate and House, a vastly empowered MAGA-friendly media and information ecosystem, businesses scrambling to make amends or further improve cozy relationships, and money flowing fast into his family's business endeavors.
His Democratic opposition is weak and largely powerless — although Republicans' tiny margin in the House will be a constant threat.
Continue reading at Axios
Capitol agenda: Johnson falls behind in budget race, Gabbard and RFK Jr. coming up
The speaker's goal to get a budget resolution through committee this week could be derailed by an intra-party battle.
Speaker Mike Johnson is falling behind in the congressional GOP budget reconciliation race.
Johnson’s hopes of moving a budget resolution through committee this week to jumpstart his one-big-bill plan — a necessary step to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda — could get derailed by an intra-party battle.
Continue reading at Politico
Super Bowl budget brawl
IN TODAY'S EDITION:
House falls behind in budget race
Gabbard, Kennedy getting floor votes
Dem floats shutdown possibility
Johnson’s hopes of moving a budget resolution through committee this week to jumpstart his one-big-bill plan — a necessary step to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda — could get derailed by an intra-party battle.
[…] way down the newsletter…
POLICY RUNDOWN
DEM FLOATS A SHUTDOWN — Sen. Andy Kim suggested in an interview with Meet the Press that Democrats would not help Republicans pass a short-term spending bill in March to avoid a government shutdown, given Trump’s recent moves to freeze federal funds.
Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to pass a funding bill, including a stopgap, if lawmakers can't agree to a longer-term funding patch by the deadline. The New Jersey Democrat added that his party has helped Republicans pass stopgap funding legislation the past two years and “they should not count on that this time.”
Continue reading at Politico
Musk doubles down on attacks on federal judges
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk is doubling down on his attacks of federal judges in the wake of court actions blocking multiple Trump administration efforts.
In a Monday morning post on X, Musk replied to a user who noted that federal judges can be impeached by Congress.
“It’s time,” the tech billionaire said.
Federal judges have temporarily halted several of President Trump’s sweeping executive orders that aim to reshape the federal government after dozens of lawsuits were filed challenging the president’s actions. The suits focus on various issues including immigration, gender and federal employee rights.
Continue reading at The Hill
Senate Democrats launch portal for whistleblowers in Trump administration
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said they are launching a new portal for whistleblowers to expose wrongdoing and abuses of power in the Trump administration.
“As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the executive branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth. We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records and pursue legal action where necessary,” Schumer and Peters wrote in a letter to federal civil service employees and public servants.
Continue reading at The Hill
Politico California Playbook
Trump scrambles sanctuary city budgeting
THE BUZZ: POCKETBOOK PAIN — California cities and counties were already struggling to dig out of immense budget deficits, but the Trump administration’s recent pause of law enforcement grants to immigration sanctuaries threatens to make their fiscal woes even worse.
Attorney General Pam Bondi last week ordered her Department of Justice to at least temporarily freeze funding to local governments with a sanctuary designation — including millions of dollars for California governments — and to review the way the money is being spent.
There’s no guarantee the funding will be released. President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to cut off all federal money to immigration sanctuaries to the extent it legally can. That would rip billions of dollars from some of California’s largest cities, from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
Continue reading at Politico (this newsletter exists for several states)
Union sues Trump admin over CFPB shutdown attempt and DOGE access
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was hit with two union lawsuits on Sunday after he issued directives freezing much of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) work.
Why it matters: The CFPB has become the latest target of President Trump's Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threatening a critical oversight agency that safeguards consumers from unfair business practices.
Vought, who is the acting head of the CFPB, directed employees in a weekend email to halt much of their work, including issuing rules and conducting investigations, multiple outlets reported.
Employees were also informed the agency's headquarters would be closed this week, a move that mirrors how DOGE shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters last week.
CFPB employed some 1,600 people in fiscal year 2023.
Continue reading at Axios
”Conservative Medicaid experts noted that some of the cuts would likely overlap, making it misleading to simply add them all up. Other experts said some of the proposals could reduce Medicaid spending even more than congressional leaders estimate, meaning they could still amount to more than $2 trillion in cuts — and could potentially push millions of people off the program.”
Booz Allen Removes Subcontractor Who Wrote Report on DOGE Access
(Bloomberg) -- The government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton on Friday night said it had dismissed a subcontractor who prepared a draft report saying that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to the Treasury’s payment system poses an “unprecedented insider threat risk” and should be suspended immediately.
“The draft report was prepared by a subcontractor to Booz Allen and contained unauthorized personal opinions that are not factual or consistent with our standards,” the company said in a statement hours after news organizations published accounts of the draft report. “The subcontractor has been removed from his position and we are seeking to have the report amended or retracted.”
Continue reading at Yahoo! News
Third judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship executive order
A third federal judge indefinitely blocked President Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship, dealing another stark blow to the controversial directive.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante granted the request Monday morning but said a written order setting forth his reasoning would follow in coming days.
“I’m going to grant the injunction,” Laplante, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said at the conclusion of an hour-long hearing.
Continue reading at The Hill
DOJ asks court to lift Treasury order that limits DOGE access
President Trump’s Justice Department moved Sunday evening to lift a judge’s expansive ruling that prevents non-civil servants from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems, such as Elon Musk, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Treasury political appointees.
The temporary ruling in favor of 19 Democratic state attorneys general was met with scorn over the weekend from the White House and Musk, who called for the judge to be impeached. Vice President Vance responded that judges “aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
In the new filing, the Justice Department raised alarm that the ruling could be understood to extend as far as preventing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior department leadership from accessing the systems, since they are political appointees and not civil servants.
Continue reading at The Hill
How HHS gets DOGE’d
MUSK INFILTRATES HHS — Staffers of a government effort to cut federal spending have been targeting HHS programs over the past few days — and are poised to target more of the agency’s programs.
On Friday night, the Trump administration dramatically cut NIH grants that support research institutions, with the change taking effect today, POLITICO’s Irie Sentner reports.
The cuts stem from the plans of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, which wants to cut the fat in federal programs.
The NIH, which said it sent more than $35 billion in grants to over 2,500 institutions in fiscal year 2023, announced it would cap the rate the grants pay for “indirect funding,” which can cover universities’ overhead and administrative costs, at 15 percent — down from an average of nearly 30 percent, with some universities spending more than 60 percent.
The change will save about $4 billion annually, the NIH said.
Continue reading at Politico
NIH Cuts Billions in Research $$; 'Dangerous' Super Bowl Ad; Double-Whammy Flu
— Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff
Calling it a "disastrously bad idea," medical researchers have decried NIH plans to eliminate billions of dollars in infrastructure or overhead costsopens in a new tab or window from research grants. (CNN)
The American Academy of Pediatrics and five other physician organizations called for restoration of data and guidanceopens in a new tab or window removed from the CDC and NIH websites as a result of Jan. 20 executive orders to delete messages that "promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology."
More than 6 million people could die of AIDSopens in a new tab or window over the next 5 years as a result of the Trump administration's shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development. (UN News)
Meanwhile, some U.S. health clinics have started laying off staff or closing downopens in a new tab or window due to the federal funding squeeze. (Reuters via MSN)
Waiting rooms are nearly empty and doctors are concerned, as stepped-up immigration enforcementopens in a new tab or window has made many people wary of hospitals. (USA Today)
Continue reading at MedPageToday (newsletter)
Up next? Another tariff blitz
— President Donald Trump said he is announcing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum products today.
— The European Union, India and Brazil are among the trading partners that would face harsh tariff hikes if Trump makes good on his promise to impose “reciprocal” tariffs.
— Trump’s pivot on Nippon Steel’s attempted acquisition of U.S. Steel sparked mixed reactions from free-market advocates and pro-tariff protectionists.
Continue reading at Politico Weekly Trade
Higher education leaders decry NIH cuts in research funding
FUNDING SLASH — The National Institutes of Health late Friday announced it will cut billions of dollars supporting research institutions, the latest blow to higher education.
— The announcement said NIH would cut its funding for “indirect” costs related to medical research which can cover universities’ overhead and administrative costs. In its announcement, NIH said it will be capping the overhead rate in research funding grants at 15 percent as of today, which could slash millions in funding for institutions. Several higher education groups say this will have detrimental effects.
— Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, said cutting the reimbursement of research costs will slow and limit medical breakthroughs that address diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
“Let there be no mistake: this is a direct and massive cut to lifesaving medical research,” Becker said. “We urge the administration to reconsider this self-defeating action.”
Continue reading at Politico Weekly Education
Courts tap brakes on Trump’s plans for federal workers
THE FRONT LINES: Hundreds of federal workers who are members of the American Federation of Government Employees will be meeting up in downtown D.C. on Monday for the union’s annual confab as President Donald Trump has completely upended their lives.
The administration — with help from Elon Musk and his compatriots — has already tried to end the U.S. Agency for International Development and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau as we know it, and even the core functions of Cabinet-level agencies like the Department of Education could also be on the chopping block.
Government workers have vacillated between dejection and defiance as the Trump administration has called into question their work and value.
In some instances, the federal courts have already intervened — as our Kyle Cheney reports — granting several emergency pleas filed by unions and other groups seeking to halt the Trump administration’s plans.
Continue reading at Politico Weekly Shift
House GOP, still searching for common ground
ON SECOND THOUGHT: So about the House Budget Committee considering a budget this week…
House Republicans remain at loggerheads over core fundamental tax-and-spending issues as they try to build a single, large fiscal package in the coming months that would extend expiring tax cuts and enact other of President Donald Trump’s priorities, as our Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill reported late on Sunday.
Those issues keep pushing back the House GOP’s timeline. House Republicans were hopeful they’d be able to roll out the details of a budget resolution late last week, ahead of a committee mark-up this week.
But Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged on Sunday that his conference’s timeline might keep slipping. “The details really matter,” Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Continue reading at Politico Weekly Tax
Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block
Uncertainty at the federal level is fueling efforts by GOP state lawmakers long opposed to the program.
Republican lawmakers in several states have Medicaid expansion in their crosshairs, energized by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and a GOP-controlled Congress set on reducing spending on the public health insurance program for low-income people.
As the feds consider cuts to Medicaid, some states are already moving to end or shrink their expanded Medicaid programs.
Legislators in Idaho have introduced a bill that would repeal voter-approved expansion, while Republicans in Montana are considering allowing their expanded program to expire. Some South Dakota lawmakers want to ask voters to let the state end expansion if federal aid declines. Nine other states already have trigger laws that will end their expansion programs if Congress cuts federal funding.
Meanwhile, discussions have stalled in non-expansion states such as Alabama, as lawmakers wait to see what the Trump administration will do.
Continue reading at Stateline (A Pew Research publication)
Trump targets Board of Visitors for Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard
President Trump on Monday moved to dismiss the Board of Visitors for all four military service academies, claiming the groups have been “infiltrated” by so-called “woke leftists.”
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard.”
The academy boards are tasked with inquiring into the state of morale and discipline, the curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods, and other matters relating to the schools.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump: Palestinians wouldn’t have right to return to developed Gaza
President Trump in a new interview said Palestinians would not have the right to return to the Gaza Strip if it is taken over and developed by the United States, as he has proposed.
“No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing. Much better,” Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier in an interview conducted on Saturday and aired Monday.
“In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now, it’ll be years before you could ever — it’s not habitable,” Trump continued. “It would be years before it could happen.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge directs Trump administration to comply with order to unfreeze federal grants
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Monday ordered the Trump administration to comply with his order to unfreeze federal grants, after attorneys general for several Democratic states claimed the directive was not being fulfilled.
In a short order, U.S. District Judge John McConnell directed the Trump administration to “immediately” end any federal funding pause until he decides whether to indefinitely block the freeze while litigation is ongoing.
The judge said specifically that the withheld funds that must be restored include those appropriated under two laws championed by former President Biden — the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act — and those intended for institutes and other agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats unveil task force to respond to ‘harm’ inflicted by Trump administration
House Democrats revealed Monday that they have created a task force to respond to the “harm” inflicted by the Trump administration.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced the formation of a Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group to further the party’s “ongoing effort to push back against the far-right extremism that is being relentlessly unleashed on the American people.”
“We are engaged in a multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday Americans from the harm being inflicted by this administration,” Jeffries wrote. “As outlined last week, it’s an all hands on deck effort simultaneously underway in Congress, the Courts and the Community.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Hegseth moves to implement Trump’s ban on transgender troops
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military to pause integrating new transgender recruits and suspend planned medical procedures meant to treat current service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria in compliance with an executive order signed by President Trump that effectively bans trans military service.
“The Department must ensure it is building ‘One Force’ without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence. Efforts to split our troops along the lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated,” Hegseth wrote in a memorandum for senior Pentagon leadership, commanders of the combatant commands and Defense agency and DoD field activity directors dated Friday and unreported until now.
Continue reading at The Hill
Court blocks Trump administration from sending three migrants to Guantánamo
A federal court on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from sending three migrants to the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales temporarily halted the transfer of three migrants from Venezuela, saying in a filing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding them in New Mexico.
The three Venezuelan migrants began challenging their detention before the presidential election. They raised the Guantánamo transfer over the weekend, in light of the Trump administration beginning to transfer Venezuelans “depicting similar characteristics.”
Continue reading at The Hill
FBI must disclose more info about Trump classified docs case, judge rules
The judge noted that while the dropped charges against Trump reduced his criminal exposure, they “ironically” made him more susceptible to public scrutiny.
The dismissal of criminal charges against Donald Trump for concealing classified records at Mar-a-Lago eliminated a significant barrier to making records about the probe public, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said Trump’s election as president — which forced the end of the criminal case — combined with the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity mean Trump is effectively insulated from any criminal responsibility for his conduct.
That means the FBI’s previous reasons for refusing to gather and disclose records related to the probe no longer apply, Howell wrote in a ruling in a Freedom of Information Act case brought by journalist Jason Leopold. She noted that while the dismissal of charges against Trump may have reduced his criminal exposure, it “ironically” made him more susceptible to public scrutiny for his conduct.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump’s power to fire executive branch officials will be tested in another lawsuit
Hampton Dellinger, who led an ethics enforcement office, said his firing is illegal.
A federal ethics enforcer swept up in a spree of firings President Donald Trump carried out Friday night is suing to get his job back.
The lawsuit from Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger is the latest case that will test the president’s power to fire officials across the executive branch despite federal laws that seek to protect those officials from politically motivated firings.
Dellinger was appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which has no connection to the similarly titled special counsel offices that handle politically sensitive criminal cases at the Justice Department. The office enforces federal whistleblower laws and the Hatch Act — the main statute limiting political activity by federal employees. The office also fields complaints from veterans about discrimination upon their return from military service.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump says his "Gaza takeover" plan won't allow displaced Palestinians to return
President Trump said in an interview with Fox News that the two million Palestinians he wants to move from Gaza to neighboring countries will not have the right to return to the enclave.
Why it matters: Trump's suggestion last week that the U.S. could "take over" Gaza surprised many of his own advisers, thrilled right-wing Israelis, and deeply alarmed the governments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. .
The White House soon after walked back Trump's comments, which were announced at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Palestinians would be moved "permanently" from Gaza
But Trump now doubled down on his original remarks in his interview over the weekend with Fox's Bret Baier, a portion of which was released Monday.
Netanyahu met last week in Washington with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and discussed among other issues Trump's Gaza plan, two sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
Continue reading at Axios
Russia-U.S. relations "balancing on the brink of a breakup," Kremlin warns
The Kremlin issued a warning on Monday about the fragility of current U.S.-Russia relations, after refusing to confirm that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently spoke, multiple outlets reported.
Why it matters: Trump repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail to speedily end the Russia-Ukraine war, but Russian leaders said on Monday that Putin's stipulations had to be met before any resolution would be possible.
Driving the news: Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday during a media conference that U.S.-Russian relations "are balancing on the brink of a breakup," per NBC News.
Russian authorities will not end the war until Putin's terms outlined last year are met, which include Ukraine dropping its NATO ambitions and withdrawing troops from Russian-controlled regions.
Continue reading at Axios
22 states sue to halt NIH research funding cuts
Attorneys general from 22 states sued the Trump administration on Monday, seeking to freeze a plan that would cap National Institutes of Health payments covering overhead at universities and medical research centers.
The big picture: The billions of dollars in cuts to new and existing grants could lead to layoffs, disrupt clinical trials and shutter laboratories, the states charged in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
The plaintiffs included multiple states known for their research economies, including Massachusetts, North Carolina, Maryland and California.
Driving the news: The states charge the administration acted in an arbitrary and capricious way by not explaining the basis for the cap.
It said the move also violated a 2018 law governing NIH spending that forbade the federal health department or NIH from developing or implementing a modified approach reimbursing the so-called indirect costs for biomedical research.
Continue reading at Axios
Canada has a lot to lose
The North American trade drama is unfolding against a backdrop of diverging economic performance that gives President Trump leverage in the trade war.
Why it matters: The two nations are tightly linked by the trade patterns that the White House threatens to blow up.
Canada is already on weak footing. Heightened conflict that would disentangle its economy from the U.S. would be a crushing blow.
What they're saying: "It's odd to have such a large difference in the two economies as we've seen in the last two years," Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO, tells Axios.
The U.S. economy has grown at an annual rate of 2.8% over the last couple of years, versus 1.2% for Canada's economy.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. is a low 4%; in Canada, it is 6.6%.
Continue reading at Axios
Vance out of the country ahead of Gabbard confirmation vote
If three Republicans oppose Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence, GOP leaders will need the vice president -- who is currently overseas -- to break the tie.
Continue reading at Politico
Schumer warns GOP against a 'Trump shutdown'
The Senate minority leader also detailed ways he plans to counter the new administration.
Senate Democrats are detailing how they plan to fight back against President Donald Trump’s administration — and warning Republicans against a go-it-alone approach on government funding.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to his caucus on Monday that detailed four strategies to counter Trump: investigations, litigation through the courts, legislation and party messaging. Unlike other Democrats, who have recently warned that that GOP can’t count on their votes to avert a shutdown, Schumer isn't going there yet.
Continue reading at Politico
Musk on Ron Paul as Fed chairman: ‘Great idea’
Elon Musk in a post on X appeared to back conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s suggestion that former Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
“Great idea!” Musk replied on X to a statement from Kirk, saying that Paul “would make a great next Chairman of the Federal Reserve.”
In a reply to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on X, Musk wrote “that would be amazing” when Lee said he would like to see Paul as chairman. Lee replied: “Ron Paul for Fed Chair!”
Continue reading at The Hill
Note from Rima: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Federal judge grants restraining order on NIH funding cuts
A federal judge in Massachusetts has granted a restraining order against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its recent research funding cut after 22 states filed a lawsuit to block the order.
U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley, nominated by former President Biden, granted a request for a temporary restraining order issued Friday on NIH’s Rate Change Notice, which cut indirect cost rates to a standard rate of 15 percent. This funding went towards administrative and facility costs of conducting research.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump signs off on new steel and aluminum tariffs
President Trump on Monday signed proclamations to bolster tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States and crack down on attempts by China and Russia to evade penalties.
Trump in 2018 announced 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum imports. Monday’s action increases the aluminum tariffs to 25 percent and includes provisions intended to “reinstate the full power” of the steel tariffs, White House officials said.
The proclamations include what White House officials called a “Melt and Pour” standard for steel in North American, and a “Smelt and Cast” standard for aluminum in North America, officials said. Those standards are intended to prevent countries like Russia and China from sending their steel to Mexico or Canada, have it relabeled and shipped off to the U.S. to avoid facing tariffs.
Continue reading at The Hill
House GOP divided on key issues as Senate moves forward on Trump agenda plan
House Republicans are divided over some of the thorniest issues at the center of their plan to pass President Trump’s legislative agenda, disagreements that are threatening to derail their timeline just days before the Senate is aiming to advance a competing plan.
Arriving at the Capitol on Monday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — who attended the Super Bowl on Sunday with Trump and Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is behind the Senate proposal — said the House could “maybe” advance a budget resolution by the end of this week, another delay in his timeline after he told reporters it was his hope that the blueprint would move through committee on Tuesday. A budget resolution would unlock the process Republicans are aiming to use to pass large swaths of Trump’s ambitious agenda.
“We’ll see,” the Speaker said. “We’re working through the final details of this, we’re very close, but there’s a couple of big issues left on the table.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump names Grenell as interim Kennedy Center executive director
President Trump on Monday named Richard Grenell, his envoy for special missions, the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center days after he named himself chair of a new board.
Continue reading at The Hill
Russian diplomat says Putin’s conditions on Ukraine must be met
A Russian diplomat said Monday that a Ukraine war peace agreement won’t be reached unless Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conditions have been met, according to multiple outlets.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said any peace deal must include end-of-war terms that were set forth by the Russian president in mid-June, including the relinquishment of NATO aspirations from Ukraine and troops being taken out of mainly Russian-controlled Ukrainian areas, The Guardian reported.
“Without solving the problems which were the root causes of what is happening, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,” Ryabkov said, as quoted by The Independent. “So variations and half-measures are not the path we are prepared to go along.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump fires Office of Government Ethics chief
President Trump has fired the director of the Office of Government Ethics, the agency announced Monday.
The office posted on its website that it had been notified Trump was removing David Huitema, who had been nominated by former President Biden. He was confirmed last November by the Senate to a five-year term and officially started the job in December.
Shelley Finlayson will serve as acting director of the office in the interim. She has been with the office since 2006.
Continue reading at The Hill
Wildfire mitigation projects caught up in Trump’s spending freeze
Some forest management projects that aim to mitigate wildfire risk are among the projects that have been halted under President Trump’s executive order to freeze spending.
In a letter to the Trump administration sent Monday, 14 Democrats wrote that they were hearing from constituents that “the Bureau of Land Management has issued stop work orders” for projects that aim to reduce wildfire risk.
A statement from the land management bureau confirmed that some projects — those that were funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — are “undergoing review to ensure consistency with the Executive Order.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Johnson: Courts should ‘allow the executive and the legislative branches to work’
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Monday he thinks the courts should let the Trump administration and Congress do their work as they continue their efforts to reshape the federal government.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Johnson expressed support for the work that President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk are doing through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission, but he said “we’ll see” how the litigation proceeds through the courts.
“It has taken this level of audit from effectively an outside auditor — that’s what DOGE and Elon and the group really is — to be able to get into the systems and open the literal files and expose this stuff. And so, we are applauding that. This is what we have been wanting and trying to do for a long time. So, this is a good development,” Johnson said about the work DOGE is doing.
Continue reading at The Hill
JD Vance is turning into the prince of ‘trolling’
Vance’s approach to social media isn’t new. But his perch in the presidential line of succession is.
There’s a politician in the West Wing using social media to drive news cycles, insult the IQs of his detractors, tell Democratic foes they “disgust” him and post occasionally misspelled, often off-message content.
And it’s not Donald Trump.
Continue reading at Politico
Musk says he’s not coming to Paris for Macron’s AI summit
Donald Trump’s top lieutenant says he has “critical work in Washington DC.”
PARIS — Elon Musk is not planning on attending French President Emmanuel Macron's artificial intelligence summit in Paris in person.
The tech billionaire said on X that he could not make it because he was in the middle of "critical work in Washington DC" but offered to participate via video.
The AI Action Summit, an important pet project of Macron's, began Monday morning in the French capital.
Continue reading at Politico
Scoop: FBI finds secret JFK assassination records after Trump order
The FBI just discovered about 2,400 records tied to President Kennedy's assassination that were never provided to a board tasked with reviewing and disclosing the documents, Axios has learned.
The still-secret records are contained in 14,000 pages of documents the FBI found in a review triggered by President Trump's Jan. 23 executive order demanding the release of all JFK assassination records.
Why it matters: The discovery — 61 years after Kennedy was killed in Dallas — follows decades of government reluctance to release all documents related to the assassination, which fueled a mountain of conspiracy theories.
Continue reading at Axios
News Alert: Elon Musk leads offer to buy ChatGPT’s parent company for nearly $100 billion
In a high-stakes bid that could reshape the future of artificial intelligence, Elon Musk is leading a group of investors that have offered to buy OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, for $97.4 billion.
Musk has long feuded with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and he has filed a number of legal complaints against the company and Altman, claiming that the AI company and its leadership have misrepresented OpenAI as a philanthropy.
Continue reading at CNN
Trump expands steel and aluminum tariffs to all countries
President Donald Trump on Monday expanded his steel and aluminum tariffs to cover all imports, effectively canceling deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and others.
The new executive order builds off the 25 percent tariff on steel and the 10 percent tariff on the first Trump administration imposed in 2018 by raising duties, closing loopholes and eliminating exemptions, according to a White House official.
“This is a big deal — making America rich again,” Trump said, according to the White House pool report.
Tulsi Gabbard's intel chief nomination clears key Senate hurdle
The Senate voted along party lines to move forward with Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be President Trump's Director of National Intelligence.
Why it matters: Gabbard has proved to be one of Trump's most controversial nominees and her confirmation has at times been in question, especially ahead of a committee vote earlier this month.
Senators voted 52-46 to limit debate on Gabbard's nomination, paving the way for a final vote later this week.
Continue reading at Axios
Progressive group sounds alarm on Medicaid cuts
A new report from Democratic-aligned group Protect Our Care highlights potential GOP changes to Medicaid.
Congressional Republicans have floated the changes as part of a plan to slash hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars from the federal budget.
The report, provided first to The Hill, outlines the consequences of policies like eliminating ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, lowering the federal matching rate, capping the amount of federal spending per Medicaid enrollee and block grants.
House Republicans are debating how deep they need to cut to pay for an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and his border enforcement funding. They are also eyeing hundreds of billions of dollars in savings from Medicaid changes.
Continue reading at The Hill
Musk’s money looms over GOP primaries
GOP senators are terrified over the prospect of facing primary challengers funded by Elon Musk if they stick their necks out by opposing President Trump’s agenda.
The White House has signaled that Republicans who thwart Trump’s agenda by voting against his controversial nominees or opposing efforts by Musk to freeze government funding and slash federal agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, will pay a political price.
And that’s a threat that carries a lot more weight when Musk, the world’s richest person, could easily pour tens of millions of dollars into a Senate Republican primary.
Musk warned Republican lawmakers in December that he was compiling a “naughty list” of members who buck Trump’s agenda. He also pledged shortly after Election Day that his political action committee would “play a significant role in primaries” next year.
Continue reading at The Hill
Tariff hawks eager to see de minimis rule shuttered after Trump pause
President Trump pumped the brakes last week on a pledge to shut down an import tax exemption for cheap consumer goods from China, his latest last-second swerve in a global game of chicken playing out in the realm of international trade.
While the pause opens up another front in the president’s promised trade war, the delay on closing the so-called de minimis loophole has businesses scrambling to make preparations and policy groups scratching their heads over the chaotic start to Trump’s trade overhaul.
“We’re obviously not happy with this delay,” Nick Iacovella, vice president of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group that advocates for U.S. manufacturers, told The Hill.
Continue reading at The Hill
Eric Adams releases updated ICE guidance after backlash
The New York City mayor had been taking heat for instructions given to city workers last week.
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams sought Monday to clarify a directive governing how city employees should deal with federal immigration authorities.
The move follows outrage from labor leaders and local Democrats who found the city’s previous guidance too permissive to President Donald Trump’s immigration agents. POLITICO first reported the city’s desire to amend its instructions Friday, after the uproar that included a threat of legal action from the City Council.
And in a Monday morning meeting with commissioners that largely centered on the memo, a confab first reported by THE CITY, Adams urged his staffers not to criticize Trump for fear of jeopardizing federal funding.
Continue reading at Politico
Justice Department tells prosecutors to drop case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams
Washington — The Department of Justice told federal prosecutors in New York to drop their corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove on Monday sent a memo instructing prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to abandon the charges.
The stunning decision comes after department lawyers met with Adams' attorneys and Manhattan federal prosecutors in late January, where senior officials discussed dropping the charges against the embattled mayor.
Continue reading at CBS News
Trump expresses confidence Democrats will help extend tax cuts
President Trump expressed confidence that Democrats will help Republicans extend his 2017-era tax cuts, despite the minority party showing no interest in helping with the president’s agenda.
The president also suggested Democrats could help raise the debt limit after he previously called on Republicans to not allow them to use the debt limit, which will need to be increased by about midyear, as a leverage point.
“I can’t imagine the Democrats don’t want to take care of the debt ceiling because that could be an explosion, the likes of which we’ve never seen. And I just don’t think that’s going to happen,” Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump warns of ending Israel-Hamas ceasefire if all hostages aren’t returned
President Trump on Monday suggested he might end a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas if all hostages being held in Gaza are not released by the end of the week, warning that if the deal does not go through, “all hell is going to break out.”
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after signing another array of executive orders.
“And if they’re not returned — all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two, and one, and three, and four and two. Saturday at 12 o’clock. And after that, I would say all hell is going to break out,” he added.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump says he may withhold aid to Jordan, Egypt if they don’t take in Palestinians
President Trump said Monday he would consider withholding aid to Jordan and Egypt if they do not agree to take in Palestinians as part of a plan for the U.S. to take over and develop the Gaza Strip.
“Would you withhold aid to these countries if they don’t agree to take in the Palestinians?” Trump was asked during a gaggle with reporters in the Oval Office.
“Yeah, maybe. Sure, why not?” Trump responded. “If they don’t agree, I would conceivably withhold aid. Yeah.”
Jordan and Egypt are among the top recipients of U.S. military assistance.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rubio: US walking away from ‘foreign aid that is dumb’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday the United States is walking away from “dumb” foreign aid, not from foreign aid entirely.
“We’re not walking away from foreign aid,” Rubio said in an interview on SiriusXM’s “The David Webb Show” with guest host Scott Jennings. “We are walking away from foreign aid that’s dumb, that’s stupid, that wastes American taxpayer money.”
“We’re just not going to continue to do those,” Rubio continued.
Continue reading at The Hill
Google officially updates name of ‘Gulf of America’
Google Maps users in the U.S. will now see “Gulf of America” displayed over the body of water that was once labeled the “Gulf of Mexico.”
Continue reading at The Hill
‘No thank you’: OpenAI founder rejects Elon Musk’s reported bid to buy nonprofit
The offer is the latest skirmish between the two tech titans.
OpenAI founder Sam Altman rejected Monday a reported $100 billion bid by Elon Musk and a group of investors to buy the artificial intelligence giant, ratcheting up the stakes in the war for the future of the technology.
Musk and a consortium of investors offered $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, their lawyer Marc Toberoff said Monday. The unsolicited bid was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Continue reading at Politico
Unions sue to stop DOGE from accessing federal data
The legal complaint marks yet another challenge to the sweeping access and authority granted to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
A leading teachers’ union and allied labor groups sued three Trump administration agencies on Monday to halt billionaire Elon Musk’s government-efficiency operation from accessing sensitive federal data.
The American Federation of Teachers, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Federation of Federal Employees filed suit in a Maryland federal court, alleging that the Treasury Department has disclosed the contents of a government system that includes records on Americans’ tax refunds and Social Security benefits.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump could remake USAID to promote fossil fuels
The president’s allies want foreign aid repurposed to encourage more oil and gas development around the world.
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development may be the first step in a broader plan to use foreign aid as a support system for fossil fuels.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has put a 90-day freeze on most foreign assistance, ordered an end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and deployed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to slash federal agencies and personnel. It’s all in line with Project 2025, the policy handbook produced by the Heritage Foundation with input from more than 100 conservative organizations.
Continue reading at Politico
World’s top defense conference bans Germany’s populist left and right parties
Munich Security Conference gets tough on anti-establishment parties ahead of German election.
BERLIN — The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the newly formed left-populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) were barred from the Munich Security Conference (MSC), as divisions widen between the political mainstream and populist parties ahead of the Feb. 23 national election.
MSC chair Christoph Heusgen confirmed the exclusion Monday, citing both parties' rejection of the event's core principle, "Peace through dialogue." Both parties walked out during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the German parliament last June and, according to Heusgen, this was the tipping point.
"Leaving the room when a head of state [speaks to] parliament is the opposite of dialogue," Heusgen told the German Press Agency. "That's not the kind of behavior I want to see at this conference."
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Trump team to visit Ukraine this week, Zelenskyy says
A “serious” American delegation will visit Ukraine, the Ukrainian president said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that “serious” members of U.S. President Donald Trump's team will travel to Ukraine this week, the first such visit since Trump took office.
Zelenskyy did not specify who would be part of the American delegation but said the trip would take place before the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14.
"This week, some serious figures from President Trump's team will be in Ukraine, even before the Munich Conference," Zelenskyy said according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Thune and Johnson vow to take DOGE spending cuts to the next level
The GOP's Hill leaders are signaling their eagerness to back up Elon Musk by turning DOGE spending cuts into real legislation.
Why it matters: Musk's slash-and-burn cuts may be undone by the courts. But he's given congressional Republicans a blueprint for what's possible to cut.
"I think that anything that DOGE does will be factored into what we do up here," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Axios.
"We are going to be codifying a lot of these changes," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Monday, "and what they've uncovered is, frankly, shocking."
Zoom in: DOGE has gone from a meme to a machine in the last three weeks, sparking lawsuits and injunctions.
Continue reading at Axios
The big bet behind Chuck Schumer's shutdown warning
The March 14 government funding deadline is becoming a crucial test of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) toughness in the opposition.
Why it matters: If House GOP leaders settle on a partisan funding package, Schumer is indicating he's willing to stand in the way and plunge into a government shutdown.
Schumer will need to keep seven Democratic senators from joining Senate Republicans on a filibuster vote, if all Republicans support the package.
"Senate Democrats will use our votes to help steady the ship for the American people," Schumer said Monday, in a clear warning to Republicans.
Negotiations are foundering and Republicans haven't made a unified top-line spending offer to Democrats, according to multiple sources.
Continue reading at Axios
Education Department pauses research contracts and cuts DEI training grants
About 170 contracts for the Institute of Education Sciences were targeted.
The Trump administration is halting about 170 contracts for the Institute of Education Sciences, according to two people familiar with the decision.
The American Institutes for Research, a nonprofit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research, confirmed it received multiple notices of terminations on Monday for several IES contracts. IES is a nonpartisan research arm of the department that studies special education and student learning outcomes, among other topics.
Continue reading at Politico
Nonprofits sue Trump administration for freezing foreign aid
The groups said the freeze violates Congress’ wishes and is endangering lives in developing countries.
A liberal-leaning advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday seeking to halt the freeze on foreign aid the administration has imposed.
The group, Public Citizen, argues the freeze on funds appropriated by Congress is unlawful and is endangering lives abroad.
“When programs like the ones run by our clients are abruptly shuttered, the impacts are felt throughout the world — with the most vulnerable people bearing the deadliest impact,” Public Citizen attorney Lauren Bateman, the lead lawyer on the case, said in a statement.
The Trump administration’s sudden halt on U.S. foreign aid last month caused chaos and confusion inside groups providing a range of assistance to other countries, from providing health care to removing land mines.
Continue reading at Politico
Judge finds Trump administration hasn’t fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge found Monday that the Trump administration hasn’t fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and told the White House to release billions of dollars in funding. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling.
U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell became the first judge to find that the administration had disobeyed a court order. Federal money for things like early childhood education, pollution reduction and HIV prevention research has remained tied up even after his Jan. 31 order blocking a planned halt on federal spending, he found.
McConnell ordered the Trump administration to “immediately take every step necessary” to follow his temporary restraining order halting plans for a sweeping freeze of federal funding.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Secrecy preceded the shutdown of the consumer protection agency’s Washington headquarters
WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the weekend, some staff members at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw a sign of trouble to come.
Windows in two basement conference rooms were covered with brown paper and blue painter’s tape, concealing their occupants. Voices could be heard inside discussing cuts to government agencies. When the door was cracked open, there were young people with temporary badges.
It was fresh evidence that the agency, which was created to protect Americans from financial fraud, abuse and deceptive practices, was the newest target of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. Now the Washington headquarters is shut down for the week, and there are fears that it will be gutted like the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Continue reading at The Associated Press
Fifteen cases of measles reported in small West Texas county with high rate of vaccine exemptions
Fifteen measles cases — mostly in school-aged children — have been confirmed in a small county in West Texas with one of the highest rates of vaccine exemptions in the state.
South Plains Public Health District Director Zach Holbrooks said Monday that his department was first notified in late January about the first two cases in Gaines County, which he said were “two children who had seen a physician in Lubbock.”
Some of the cases appear to be connected to private religious schools in the district, said Holbrooks, who cautioned that the investigation is ongoing.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
New strain of bird flu is detected in a Nevada dairy worker, CDC says
NEW YORK (AP) — A dairy worker in Nevada was infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has been spreading in U.S. herds since last year, federal health officials said Monday.
The illness was considered mild. The person’s main symptom was eye redness and irritation, similar to most bird flu cases associated with dairy cows. The person wasn’t hospitalized and has recovered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The newer strain had been seen before in more than a dozen people exposed to poultry, but this is the first time an infection was traced to a cow. The Nevada dairy worker was exposed at a farm in Churchill County, in the west central part of the state, state health officials said.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Judge temporarily reinstalls fired head of whistleblower protection office
The order from Judge Amy Berman Jackson temporarily rebuffs Dellinger’s firing, allowing him to return to work through the end of the day Thursday.
Dellinger sued Monday after he said he was fired from his post “in a one-sentence email,” removing him from an office that helps protect whistleblowers.
Dellinger, a Biden appointee, said the move violates his appointment to a five-year term in the office.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rand Paul threatens Senate reconciliation bill over "fake pay-for"
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he "won't vote for" a reconciliation package that is not fully paid for with real spending cuts, he told Axios.
Why it matters: A "no" from Paul would be an early reminder that even the Senate's safer bet for a quick win isn't a sure thing.
The House is mired in debate over how deep they should cut spending as part of a budget reconciliation package touching on border, defense and taxes.
The Senate is moving on its taxes-free plan this week.
Zoom in: Paul said the Senate package is expected to include $150 billion in new spending on the military and $175 billion for border security.
Continue reading at Axios
DHS requests to deputize IRS agents to help with deportations
The Trump administration has asked the Department of Treasury to deputize Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents to help with deporting undocumented immigrants, multiple outlets reported.
The big picture: President Trump unleashed sweeping limits on immigration and asylum upon taking office last month, and the administration has since stepped up efforts to target undocumented immigrants across the U.S.
Driving the news: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, dated Feb. 7, that the IRS' criminal investigation division is needed to assist with apprehension and removals of undocumented immigrants.
Continue reading at Axios
How Trump's aluminum and steel tariffs might hit consumers
Why it matters: The metals are critical inputs for cars, electric appliances, homebuilding materials and more. Manufacturers will face higher costs that might ultimately be passed to shoppers.
If the tariffs move ahead, it would be a the biggest escalation yet of Trump's trade policy, which some economic officials warn will result in higher consumer prices and inflation.
Shares of U.S. steelmakers — an industry that has long pushed for restrictions on steel imports — soared on Monday after Trump previewed the tariffs.
Driving the news: Trump signed the tariff orders Monday, Bloomberg and CNBC reported.
Bloomberg quoted him as saying the tariffs may go higher still.
Continue reading at Axios
From Michael Tomasky
Great observation. Recognize which newspaper this is from?
Mace alleges sexual abuse, rape in stunning House floor speech
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made a series of allegations of sexual abuse, rape and voyeurism perpetrated against herself and other women by a group of four men in a personal — and highly unusual — speech on the House floor Monday evening.
Mace, who has served in the House since 2021, spoke for nearly an hour in the lower chamber, accusing four South Carolina men of being “predators” and displaying their names and photos on a poster board on the House floor.
“You have bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell. It is nonstop, there are no connections, so I and all your victims can watch you rot in eternity,” Mace said on the House floor, in a speech that she said she titled “Iron Sharpens Iron.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Musk’s shadow hangs over Macron’s AI summit
The special relationship that the French president tried to nurture with the tech billionaire never really bore fruit.
PARIS — There was no surprise waiting aboard Air Force Two when it touched down in France on Monday. Only the U.S. vice president, his wife and their three children stepped off the plane into the cold and rain.
The world's wealthiest man was nowhere to be seen.
France's political and tech establishments waited for weeks with bated breath to see if Elon Musk would accept President Emmanuel Macron's invitation to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit that began in Paris on Monday morning. Whispers of Musk's attendance raced through the halls at Paris' iconic, glass-roofed Grand Palais as the event got underway, but by Monday afternoon, Musk had still not arrived.
By late evening, the tech billionaire confirmed what most had expected. He was not coming to Paris.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Johnson quietly shops new budget blueprint
The rough plan would cut less spending than hard-liners want while also scaling back potential tax cuts.
After a series of setbacks and delays, Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday night shopped around a new budget blueprint, snatching the pen from Rep. Jodey Arrington amid mounting frustration with the House Budget Committee chair.
Johnson’s latest plan includes a new floor for spending cuts — between $1.25 trillion and $1.5 trillion — to offset part of the massive domestic policy package Republicans are now pursuing, according to four people granted anonymity to provide details on the private talks. That range of reductions is greater than what the speaker initially laid out to his conference last month but still lower than the $2.5 trillion some conservatives have been pushing for.
The level of cuts is just one of several moving pieces Johnson and other House GOP leaders are still struggling with as they try to build unity for the sweeping border, energy and tax package. They want to use special budget reconciliation procedures to pass the bill along party lines, but first they need to get Republicans almost completely united behind a budget framework, and they have already blown past an informal deadline to get that blueprint through committee.
Continue reading at Politico
European carmakers in crossfire of US-EU trade war
German automakers would face increased costs while already under pressure from heightened competition.
BRUSSELS — U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to implement new tariffs this week matching those of other countries would hit the EU’s automotive sector hardest in an escalating transatlantic trade war.
Trump frequently cites Brussels’ higher tariffs on vehicles as a source of his ire — the bloc charges a 10 percent import tax on vehicles compared to the 2.5 percent levied by the U.S. On top of that, senior Trump administration officials complain, is Europe's value-added tax of around 20 percent — bringing the total cost to 30 percent.
Any Trump tariffs would hit Germany’s automakers the hardest. The big three German firms accounted for 73 percent of the 820,000 units exported from the EU to the U.S. last year, according to research platform JATO Dynamics.
Continue reading at Politico Europe
Riding out the Trump tiger until he’s exhausted
How should one handle the 47th U.S. president? Kiss the ring, resist, offer deals and wait for exhaustion to set in.
Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.
With the exception of far-right allies like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, European leaders are still scratching their heads, trying to answer the question of the day: How do they handle the 47th U.S. President Donald Trump?
It will be a topic much discussed by the great and good at this week’s Munich Security Conference. Should he be approached with kid gloves and talked to more in sorrow than anger? Should he be ignored and told to stand in the corner until he behaves himself while the other children play? (Though, ignoring the leader of the most powerful nation on earth is impossible.) Or is kowtowing the best strategy?
Continue reading at Politico Europe
More updates soon and all throughout the day…
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