• Federal worker deadline paused: A judge paused today’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer until he receives more briefings on whether it should be blocked. At least 65,000 federal workers have now opted to resign, a White House official told CNN.
Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.
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Japanese prime minister arrives in US ahead of Trump meeting
From CNN's Alex Stambaugh, Junko Ogura and Hanako Montgomery
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba salutes as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Thursday.
Kevin Wolf/AP
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has arrived in the United States ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, where the two are expected to discuss deepening cooperation on defense and the economy.
A proposed merger of US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel — blocked last month by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, citing national security concerns — could also be on the agenda.
Trump has said he opposes the deal. On Thursday, he met with US Steel CEO David Burritt ahead of meeting Ishiba, according to Reuters.
Nippon Steel reiterated Thursday that the bid is the “best proposal” for US Steel. “I hope that the Ishiba-Trump meeting will convey that to Trump and open the way for a deal,” said Takahiro Mori, Nippon Steel’s vice chairman, according to Reuters.
Friday’s summit makes Ishiba the first Asian leader to meet Trump since the president’s return to office. The highly sought-after visit comes as the president calls for partners to boost defense spending.
Ishiba will likely seek to discuss Japanese investments in the US, as well as the two countries’ security alliance in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan has been central to Washington’s security strategy.
The US maintains a large military presence in Japan under a 1960 mutual cooperation and security treaty. US Forces Japan, headquartered at Yokota Air Base, consists of about 60,000 military personnel stationed in the country.
Ishiba said he hopes “to build trust with (Trump)” in the meeting.
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Thune takes procedural steps to set up votes on Gabbard and RFK Jr. next week, as well as other nominees
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks on the Senate floor on Thursday.
Senate TV
Senate Majority Leader John Thune took steps on the floor to set up confirmation votes next week on Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as Howard Lutnick, Kelly Loeffler, and Brooke Rollins.
Democrats forced several procedural votes to delay Thune from filing cloture to end debate on all the nominees, a sign of their opposition to Gabbard and Kennedy’s nominations.
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At least 65,000 federal workers have opted into Trump’s resignation offer, White House official says
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
At least 65,000 federal workers have now opted into the deferred resignation program, a White House official told CNN, as a federal judge halted President Donald Trump’s midnight deadline to accept until at least Monday.
CNN reported earlier Thursday that at least 50,000 employees had already accepted the package, which would generallyallow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.
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Deported Indian migrants say US officials kept them shackled for 40-hour flight home
From CNN’s Esha Mishra, Aishwarya S Iyer and Ross Adkin
A US military plane deporting Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar, India, on Wednesday.
Adnan Abidi/Reuters
US officials kept around 100 deported Indian migrants in shackles for the entirety of their 40-hour flight home, two of the men on the plane told CNN.
“Our hands were cuffed and ankles tied with chains before we took the flight,” said 23-year-old Akashdeep Singh, who arrived in Punjab on Wednesday along with 103 other deportees.
The flight was the longest in distance since the Trump administration began deploying military aircraft for migrant deportations, according to a US official.
Sukhpal Singh, 35, also said the shackles were kept on for the duration of the flight, including during a refueling stopover on the Pacific island of Guam.
“If we would try to stand because our legs were swelling due to the handcuffs they would yell at us to sit down,” he said.
CNN has reached out to the Pentagon and US Customs and Border Protection for comment.
Last month, the spectacle of Colombian deportees being shackled as they boarded a US deportation flight sparked a bitter row between the two countries, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro initially denying the plane permission to land.
Opposition Indian lawmakers, some wearing shackles, protested the treatment outside India’s parliament on Thursday.
India was “engaging the US government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told parliament.
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Trump's shake-up of federal agencies continues, even as judge delays "buyouts." Here's the latest
From CNN staff
Rep. Paul Tonko speaks during a demonstration after being blocked from entering the Environmental Protection Agency to meet with Department of Government Efficiencyofficials, on Thursday, in Washington, DC.
Al Drago/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s shake-up of federal agencies – aimed at slashing spending and getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion – continued Thursday at full tilt.
However, a federal judge paused the deadline for federal employees to accept the administration’s deferred resignation offer while more proceedings on the program’s legality play out.
The administration sent an email to employees just after 5 p.m. ET informing them of the court-ordered pause and saying that the deadline for the “buyouts” would be extended to Monday. The email did not acknowledge the possibility that the judge might further halt the program at a hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are supporting Elon Musk’s growing influence in how Trump is wielding executive power and dramatically slashing federal agencies. They argue it is simply a function of how the administration is addressing the need to cut waste.
Here’s the latest on Trump’s changes:
USAID: The Trump administration is expected to keep fewer than 300 people at the US Agency for International Development, an enormous reduction in the workforce, according to multiple USAID sources. A pair of labor groups representing employees at USAID sued Trump over his efforts to dismantle the decades-old humanitarian agency.
EPA: More than 160 employees in the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights have been told they are being placed on paid administrative leave as the agency executes the administration’s executive order to wipe out all program offices it deems as tied to diversity, equity and inclusion, CNN has learned from multiple sources.
NIH: The process for awarding new research funds at the National Institutes of Health is still being held up even after guidance this week saying some closed review meetings could proceed, five sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
FEC:Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub said she received a letter from Trump removing her from her role.
Energy Department: A 23-year-old former SpaceX intern representative from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was granted access to the Energy Department’s IT system Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, two people with knowledge of the situation told CNN. Luke Farritor — a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern — was granted access even over objections from members of the department’s general counsel and chief information offices, the sources told CNN.
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"I upheld my oath:" FBI agent pens open letter in defense of colleagues facing possible retribution
From CNN's Josh Campbell
As thousands of FBI employees brace for possible political retribution from the Trump administration, one special agent penned an anonymous open letter circulating across the bureau in defense of colleagues who took part in the sprawling January 6, 2021, Capitol riot investigation.
CNN has obtained a copy of the letter and confirmed its authenticity.
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Federal Election Commission chair says Trump removed her from the role
From CNN's David Wright
Ellen Weintraub addresses the audience during the last day of the Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon.
Bruno de Carvalho/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images/File
Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub said Thursday that she received a letter from President Donald Trump removing her from her role, coming amid the Trump administration’s broader shake-up of the federal government.
The letter, bearing the president’s signature and signed on January 31, reads: “You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
The FEC regulates fundraising and spending by candidates for federal office and publishes disclosure reports; Weintraub holds one of its six commissioner positions, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, which have voting power on committee matters. By law, the commission can have no more than three members affiliated with one party.
Commissioners are meant to serve for a single 6-year term, but can effectively remain in their roles absent replacements.
Weintraub, a Democrat, was first appointed to the FEC in 2002 by then-President George Bush, and has served continuously since then. In December, she was elected chair of the commission for 2025.
The Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group focused on campaign finance, issued a statement Thursday evening condemning Trump’s removal of Weintraub, noting that while the president is “free to nominate multiple new commissioners,” his removal of Weintraub was “contrary to the law.”
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Judge slams Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship
From CNN’s Devan Cole
A federal judge slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday as he indefinitely blocked his executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship, saying Trump is trying to skirt the rule of law to play “policy games” with the Constitution.
Coughenour continued: “The Constitution is not something with which the government can play policy games. If the government wants to change the exceptional American grant of birthright citizenship, it needs to amend the Constitution itself.”
The new nationwide preliminary injunction issued by Coughenour expands a previous short-term block he issued against Trump’s order days after he signed it. A separate federal judge in Maryland also issued a preliminary injunction against Trump’s order on Wednesday.
The bench ruling from the Ronald Reagan appointee amounted to one of the strongest rebukes yet of Trump’s effort on his first day in office to end birthright citizenship. The order signed by Trump was swiftly met with numerous legal challenges from states and private plaintiffs.
The Justice Department said late Thursday it was appealing the order.
The appeal of the preliminary injunction issued in a case brought by Democratic-led states and others will go to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, a left-leaning appeals court, a move that could eventually land the issue before the US Supreme Court.
A judge issued a similar order Wednesday in a case brought in Maryland, but the department has not yet formally indicated an appeal on that court docket’s docket.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed to this post, which was updated with news of the DOJ’s plans to appeal the order.
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Federal agents in South Florida detain undocumented man who spoke about dreams of becoming a legal resident
From CNN’s Amanda Musa
Dante Lopez speaks with CNN affiliate WPLG.
WPLG
A day after speaking to CNN about his dream of becoming a legal US resident, an undocumented father was detained by federal agents in South Florida months before his next asylum interview.
Video from CNN affiliate WPLG shows camouflaged agents in tactical gear detaining Dante Lopez Wednesday afternoon at his home in Coral Springs, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
A similar scene played out on Monday when several agents visited the home, Lopez told CNN on Tuesday. The agents did not have a warrant at the time, Lopez said, so they left.
Lopez came to the US illegally about 14 years ago, fleeing violence in his native Peru. Since then, he’s become a homeowner, a husband and a father of three children, all born in the US.
“I bought a property, I got my house, I pay my income taxes, no criminal record, and always good citizen,” Lopez told CNN, describing himself as a person who deserved the chance to become a legal resident in the United States.
He added a reference to President Donald Trump’s pardon of those found guilty of the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol.
“The rioters on January 6th, you know, did a lot of damage, a police officer died, and then this administration set them free?” Lopez told CNNon Tuesday. “It’s like, who is the criminal here?”
It is unclear why agents detained Lopez whose last in-person appointment with authorities was in January. His next appointment is set for July, Lopez added.
CNN has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about Lopez’s detention.
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First on CNN: Labor groups sue to halt Trump administrations dismantling of USAID
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler and Devan Cole
A pair of labor groups representing employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his efforts to dismantle the decades-old humanitarian agency, as multiple sources told CNN that fewer than 300 agency employees are expected to be retained while countless others are put on indefinite leave or fired.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the administration’s freeze on almost all foreign assistance – a move that has brought critical humanitarian work around the world to a halt and has led to thousands of contractors being furloughed or laid off.
It is the first lawsuit filed against the rapid succession of moves taken against USAID.
It was filed as a majority of the USAID’s workforce braces to be put on administrative leave Friday night or, in the case of most contractors, terminated. An internal email, described by multiple sources, said that fewer than 300 people would be kept on as essential personnel – an enormous reduction in the workforce.
The suit against Trump, as well as his Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and their agencies, argues that the president is exceeding his authority in violation of the Constitution and federal law.
Attorneys for the labor groups are asking the court to order the administration to reverse actions it took to shutter the agency and “halt any further steps to dissolve the agency” while the litigation continues.
CNN’s Alex Marquardt, Lauren Kent and Sean Lyngaas contributed reporting.
Senate confirms Russ Vought for OMB director after Democrats protested his nomination
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett
Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, arrives for a meeting at the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in Hart building on Monday, December 16, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Tom Williams/AP/File
The Senate has voted to confirm Russ Vought as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, after Senate Democrats held the floor overnight in a marathon of speeches to protest Vought’s nomination.
Democrats have also argued that OMB’s memo freezing federal funding last month — which was eventually rescinded — was a warning sign of how the office will operate with Vought in charge. As OMB director, Vought will be a key player in implementing President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Vought is Trump’s 13th nominee confirmed since he took office on January 20.
Marathon protest: Beginning at 2:17 p.m. ET on Wednesday, after a key procedural vote limiting debate on Vought’s nomination to 30 hours, Democrats organized hours of speeches, holding the floor overnight and all day on Thursday to protest Vought’s nomination. The Senate eventually voted to confirm Vought after the 30 hours expired.
Democrats also gathered on the floor just ahead of the confirmation vote, and as their names were read in the roll call, they each stood up and cast their vote for a group. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, for example, said his vote against confirming Vought was “for New Jersey first responders.” Each time they spoke, they were reprimanded by the presiding officer, GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, for breaking Senate rules and debating during a vote.
There was some consternation in the chamber when Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said he was voting for Vought’s confirmation on behalf of taxpayers and was not reprimanded by Moody. In response, Democrats banged their fists on their desks and called for “regular order.”
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NIH research funding meetings still canceled despite guidance that some may proceed, sources say
From CNN Health’s Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman
The process for awarding new research funds at the National Institutes of Health is still being held up even after guidance this week saying some closed review meetings could proceed, five sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The advisory council meeting of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, set for February 4, was canceled, according to its website; with a budget of nearly $4 billion, the institute supports researchers at more than 520 research institutions in the US and internationally.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which boasts funding nearly 100 Nobel Prize-winners in chemistry and medicine, also had an advisory council meeting canceled Thursday, according to two sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity. It was postponed until April.
Advisory council meetings are a key step to awarding new research funding at the NIH, which is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, and the meetings are held only every few months.
A guidance document for NIH employees earlier this week said closed advisory council meetings could take place as the US Department of Health and Human Services slowly lifts parts of its blanket pause on communications, but meetings are still getting called off as the agency lacks clarification on how to handle the cancellation of public sessions.
Other meetings, called study sections, which are a crucial earlier step for outside experts to weigh in on grant proposals, were also getting postponed; one that was set to review grants for research on viruses and vaccines had been postponed until April, according to one source.
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Energy secretary let 23-year-old DOGE representative access IT systems over objections from general counsel
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Chris Wright testifies before a US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of Energy in Washington, DC, on January 15.
Ting Shen/AFP/Getty Images
A representative from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was granted access to the Energy Department’s IT system on Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, two people with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
DOGE representative Luke Farritor — a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern — was granted access even over objections from members of the department’s general counsel and chief information offices, the sources told CNN. The chief information office houses the department’s IT and cybersecurity operations.
Members of Energy’s general counsel and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer offices “said this is a bad idea” because Farritor hadn’t had a standard background investigation, one of the people told CNN. “He’s not cleared to be in (Department of Energy), on our systems. None of those things have been done.”
Farritor was granted access to basic IT including email and Microsoft 365, one of the sources said.
While the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is part of the Energy Department, the chief information office only does a small amount of basic IT and cybersecurity work for it. It does not run IT systems for the nuclear agency’s labs controlling the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
There are also plans to install a different SpaceX network security engineer as the Energy Department’s new chief information officer, the people told CNN.
Emails to employees: In addition to the DOGE presence in the building, Energy Department employees — including at the NNSA — have received the so-called buyout emails that federal employees across the country have been receiving.
NNSA being included in the “buyout” wave is significant because of its work regarding the nation’s nuclear stockpile and other critical national security work.
Separately, Energy employees working at the department under a year have received emails that they’ve been deemed to be on probationary status. The messages warn that they could be fired immediately.
These types of emails have gone out to over 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, as well.
An Energy Department spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
This post has been updated with additional details on Farritor’s access.
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EPA places more than 160 environmental justice employees on paid leave
From CNN's Rene Marsh and Ella Nilsen
Employees in the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights have been told they are being placed on paid administrative leave as the agency executes the Trump administration’s executive order to wipe out all program offices it deems as tied to diversity, equity and inclusion, CNN has learned from multiple sources.
More than 160 environmental justice employees at the EPA are impacted nationwide, according to an internal EPA email obtained by CNN and confirmed by employees who were on the agency call and have been affected as well as three union sources.
The acting assistant administrator of the EPA office, Theresa Segovia, said on a recording of the call provided to CNN that employees will receive an email indicating they will be placed on paid administrative leave with full benefits on Thursday.
A federal district judge paused the Trump administration’s so-called “buyout” offer earlier Thursday, and Segovia told the employees now placed on paid leave there was still time for them to take advantage of it.
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Trump picks Gadyaces Serralta as US Marshals Service director
From CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump announced he is choosing Gadyaces Serralta as the new director of the United States Marshals Service on Thursday.
Trump touted Serralta’s 34 years of law enforcement experience in a post on Truth Social announcing the move.
Serralta, also known as “Gady,”has served as the US Marshal for the Southern District of Florida since his nomination during Trump’s first term. Before that, he held positions including major in the Miami-Dade Police Department and police chief of Palmetto Bay, Florida, Trump said.
The president said Serralta would work alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi on safety and law enforcement issues.
About the agency: The Marshals Service pursues fugitives across the US, handles federal prisoners, and is tasked with protecting federal judges. It also operates the Witness Protection Program.
US Marshals Service director nominees are subject to Senate confirmation.
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Fewer than 300 essential staffers are expected to keep their jobs at USAID, sources say
From CNN's Alex Marquardt, Jennifer Hansler, Lauren Kent and Sean Lyngaas
This 2014 photo shows boxes containing sanitation kits and soap provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) being stored at a UN school before a distribution to Palestinian displaced people on August 15, 2014 in Gaza City.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
The Trump administration is expected to keep fewer than 300 people at the US Agency for International Development, drastically reducing the workforces at the agency, according to multiple USAID sources.
The rest of the direct hires will be put on leave as of Friday at midnight.
USAID has about 10,000 personnel around the world, which includes thousands of contractors, many of whom have been furloughed or fired.
Those sources told CNN 294 essential workers are expected to retain access. The rest are being cut off from USAID systems, including email.
Three officials told CNN that only one officer would be left in multiple missions.
Another USAID official said their overseas mission went from having more than 20 foreign service officers to only one.
USAID leadership announced this week that “all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
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Defense department morale is at "all-time low" since resignation offer, one civilian employee says
From CNN's Chris Isidore
One civilian worker for the Department of Defense said his morale, and that of many of his co-workers, is at an “all-time low” since the Office of Personnel Management sent an email to federal employees offering them a deferred resignation offer.
The worker said he liked his job, and he had not been thinking of leaving before the email arrived, even though he already has more than 20 years. But he said he’s now 50-50 on whether to accept it due to concerns about the future. What gives him pause is doubts the government will actually live up to what is being promised to the workers.
“Honestly, it. I just don’t trust it,” he said. “For anybody who takes it, I highly doubt they’ll get the entirety of it.”
Gay Henson, the secretary treasurer of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the union that represents the defense employee who spoke to CNN, said she’s very concerned about the expertise that will be lost unnecessarily because of people leaving who would otherwise stay.
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HR sends new email to federal workers: "Fork in the Road: Deadline Extended to Monday"
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
Tonight, workers across the federal government received a message shortly after 5 p.m. ET from the ubiquitous “HR” address advising them of the federal judge’s pause on the midnight deadline to accept the Trump administration’s resignation offer.
CNN reviewed a copy of the email, which was sent under the subject line: “Fork in the Road: Deadline Extended to Monday.”
Remember: The deferred resignation offer was extended to roughly 2 million employees, which would generallyallow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September. The Office of Personnel Management warned that those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
US District Judge George O’Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who sits in Boston, said in a brief hearing Thursday that he was halting the government from taking steps to implement the plan as he receives more briefings on whether it should be blocked.
The next hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
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These are some of the executive actions Trump signed today
From CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump signed a series of executive actions Thursday evening.
Here’s a look at some of those actions:
Fighting against “anti-Christian bias”: Trump signed an executive action that creates a new task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias,” and halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government.
Trump previously announced his executive action on anti-Christian bias during remarks earlier Thursday.
“Today, I’m signing an executive order to make our attorney general — who’s a great person, she’s going to be a great attorney general — Pam Bondi, the head of a task force brand new to eradicate anti-Christian bias,” he said, as CNN’s Betsy Klein previously reported.
Reviewing NGO funding: Trump also signed an executive memorandum directing a comprehensive review of the funding allocated to all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that depend on federal financial support, the White House told CNN.
This action is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reassess federal spending.
International Criminal Court sanctions: Trump later signed another executive action Thursday that targets the International Criminal Court.
“The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members, as their entry into our Nation would be detrimental to the interests of the United States,” the action reads.
The action is expected to impose financial and visa sanctions on “individuals and their family members who aid in ICC investigations involving US citizens or our allies,” as CNN previously reported. This move aims to punish the court for issuing arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
This post has been updated with additional details about Trump’s executive actions.
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GOP leaders leave White House meeting with huge questions remaining on how to pass Trump's agenda
From CNN’s Sarah Ferris, Haley Talbot, Jeff Zeleny, Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer and Veronica Stracqualursi
Members of the House GOP leadership left a marathon meeting in the White House cabinet room touting some policy progress but still no agreement on the biggest questions about how to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda — the price tag for the bill, and how to address the debt limit.
Trump listened to House Republicans make their pitch for one overarching budget and policy bill, rather than the two bills favored by Senate Republicans, but once again he declined to formally adopt either plan, and is open to whatever option ultimately achieves his legislative agenda, a senior administration official told CNN.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Trump was “very engaged” in precise details of the plan, with the 15 to 20 Republicans in the room at times using a whiteboard to draw up specifics.
Scalise said Trump and lawmakers discussed contentious issues like debt limit and increasing relief for state and local taxes, though no agreement was made on those issues. He declined to divulge specific details about areas where they did make progress.
Next steps: House Republicans are expected to meet again Thursday night to “finish up some final details,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. He said their idea is to have the House Budget Committee start early next week on a markup of the budget resolution.
“Our message to our friends and colleagues in the Senate is allow the House to do its work. We are moving this as quickly and as expeditiously as possible. Very positive developments today,” he told reporters late Thursday afternoon after returning from the White House.
Johnson teased a possible announcement tomorrow on the budget resolution. He declined to discuss any sticking points members had in their meeting.
This post has been updated to add comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson.
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FBI employees who worked January 6 cases ask judge to block DOJ from releasing their names
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz
A Justice Department attorney couldn’t say in federal court Thursday whether a list of FBI employees who worked on January 6 cases has been released to anyone outside the department.
Attorneys for FBI employees have sued the department over the list and concerns that their names could be publicly leaked, putting them in danger. They have filed two lawsuits requesting that a federal judge block the Trump administration from releasing the names of the more than 5,000 employees who worked on the Capitol riot investigations.
Judge Jia M. Cobb did not issue a ruling and the hearing will continue Friday morning.
The list was compiled by the FBI as part of a review of January 6-related investigations, which could lead to disciplinary action against those employees, including termination.
Attorneys for the employees have repeatedly expressed concerns that the list, which identifies agents by an ID number and not a name, would be shared with officials in the White House, DOGE, or Elon Musk as well as with the public.
“Mr. Musk has released the names of certain public servants so that those servants could be targeted by individuals who have problems with them,” said Margaret Donovan, who represents some of the FBI employees.
As part of their lawsuits, FBI employees said they were concerned that if their names were released, now-pardoned January 6 defendants could access their personal information and try to retaliate.
Simon pushed back on those fears, saying in court that the plaintiffs have not “identified anything imminent” to imply that the names would be publicly released.
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CEO of Politico’s parent company pushes back hard against Trump administration claims about the publication
From CNN's Liam Reilly
Axel Springer SECEO & Chairman, Mathias Döpfner attends the Viva Technology show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on May 24, 2024 in Paris, France.
Chesnot/Getty Images
The chief executive of Politico’s parent company pushed back hard against a debunked right-wing conspiracy theory that has been buoyed by the Trump administration concerning the publication, telling CNN that Politico has never accepted any form of federal funding.
Döpfner said a bogus far-right conspiracy theory claiming Politico has received over $8 million in USAID funds was a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the outlet’s business model.
“So, people are paying for that [Politico Pro] because they need the service,” Döpfner said. “It’s not subsidies, it’s capitalism.”
Politico offers much of its content for free, but it also offers a premium subscription model — Politico Pro — which comes with a hefty price tag. Its free offering is aimed at a wider audience, and the outlet’s premium subscription, which offers real-time data and legislative analyses, primarily caters to the private sector and government officials.
Politico Pro currently includes some 5,000 subscribers, around 6% of which are government subscribers, per Döpfner. And of that 6%, “a tiny little fraction” is from USAID subscribers, he said.
Though reporters quickly pointed out that the funds were not a federal handout, the White House on Wednesday announced it would cancel its Politico subscriptions, with Karoline Leavitt, the Trump administration’s press secretary, buoying the false narrative. Leavitt on Wednesday said that taxpayers had been “essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to bypass the Fed to lower interest rates
From CNN's Bryan Mena and Elisabeth Buchwald
Scott Bessent appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, in January.
Ben Curtis/AP
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a new plan in the fight to bring down historically high interest rates, and it’s got nothing to do with the Federal Reserve.
Bessent, in two interviews this week, said the Trump administration wants to focus on lowering long-term interest rates, which are largely influenced by the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note. The Fed’s decisions, on the other hand, have a more direct effect on short-term interest rates, which control borrowing costs for Americans.
On his fourth day in office, President Donald Trump said he will “demand that interest rates drop immediately” and that he understands monetary policy “much more” than the central bank and its leader, Chair Jerome Powell. He has also advocated that Powell be fired, though he has walked that back in recent comments.
Still, despite Trump’s barrage of criticism against the Fed, Bessent is assuring Wall Street that the administration isn’t trying to twist the Fed’s arm, but rather carve out its own approach.
The Fed holds the main key to controlling the interest rates Americans pay to borrow money, predominantly by buying and selling government debt. Bessent’s plan of having the Treasury Department diverge from the Fed is unusual.
NCAA changes policy after Trump’s executive action on transgender women in sports. Here's the latest
From The Associated Press and CNN's Elise Hammond and Andy Rose
President Donald Trump signs the No Men in Women's Sports Executive Order into law in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s recent executive action on transgender athletes has prompted swift changes by the largest governing body for college athletics in the US.
On Wednesday, the president signed the order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The measure is two-pronged, leaning on compliance with Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive funding from the federal government, as well as federal engagement with the private sector.
Following the order: The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes on Thursday. It limited competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth only. The NCAA policy change is effective immediately and applies to all athletes regardless of previous eligibility reviews under the NCAA’s prior transgender participation policy. The organization has more than 1,200 schools with more than 500,000 athletes.
Trump’s executive order came at a time when there has been a flurry of efforts to keep transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
The day before Trump signed his measure: Three former athletes at the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming program sued the school, the Ivy League Council of Presidents and athletics organizations Tuesday, claiming they violated federal law to allow transgender athlete Lia Thomas to compete against them.
The complaint filed by Grace Estabrook, Ellen Holmquist and Margot Kaczorowski focuses on the 2022 Ivy League women’s championships, where Thomas won four first-place medals and set multiple records, demanding that her records be vacated.
Other measures: The House passed a similar bill banning transgender athletes in women’s sports last month. It has not yet been considered by the Senate. Last year, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which organizes sports at 250 smaller colleges and universities, announced it was effectively banning athletic participation by transgender women in most of its women’s sports programs.
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How some GOP senators are feeling about Elon Musk's growing influence
From CNN’s Ali Main, Manu Raju, Sarah Davis, Pete Muntean and Alexandra Skores
Senate Republicans are supporting Elon Musk’s growing influence in how President Donald Trump is wielding executive power and dramatically slashing federal agencies. They argue it is simply a function of how the administration is addressing the need to cut waste.
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told CNN: “This is what happens when people do not listen to years of request to get on the core mission of USAID and cut out the distractions and arguably inappropriate programs globally.” He said that that while the agency has “some very important programs,” the administration is looking at others who “are off script.”
Tillis admitted that though Musk is a “positive disruptor,” he’s put out “some communications on X that are just incorrect.” He said Musk had “created some of this firestorm” over his access to Treasury Department payment information.
The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that Musk aides detailed to the agency have “read-only” access to its sensitive $5 trillion US payments system and that no payments have been suspended or rejected as part of an ongoing review, in the administration’s first attempt to clarify the role Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have in the system.
However, GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told CNN that there “has to be guardrails, obviously, on what information he accessed, but more importantly what he does with it.”
The senator said that he believes that access to Treasury Department files probably does assist Musk and DOGE with their objectives of “finding inefficiencies.” But he added that lawmakers “have to watch out for” any conflicts of interest.
GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri applauded Musk’s growing sway: “The American people have waited far too long for accountability in the government. I think exposing the waste and the grift and the fraud in these agencies — the time is coming.”
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington called Musk’s involvement with the Federal Aviation Administration a “conflict of interest” in a letter sent Thursday to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Cantwell noted in her letter that Musk’s SpaceX rocket launches share the airspace with commercial planes.
“It is a conflict of interest for someone whose company is regulated by the federal government to be involved in anything that affects his personal financial interest, his company, or his competitors,” she wrote.
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Kremlin downplays reports of preparations for a meeting between Putin and Trump
From CNN’s Matthew Chance in Moscow
The Russian government said there have been no serious discussions about a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“They haven’t had any initial contact to discuss whether they need to meet or not and if they need, when and how,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN.
Peskov’s comments come after Trump said Tuesday that the United States is engaging in “constructive” talks with both Moscow and Kyiv regarding the war in Ukraine.
Amid growing anticipation of contact between the two leaders, a senior Russian lawmaker told state media that that “advanced” preparations were underway for a meeting, possibly as early as this month.
Russia’s government confirmed Wednesday for the first time that discussions on Ukraine between US and Russian officials are taking place. Peskov stated Wednesday that “there are indeed contacts between individual departments, and they have intensified recently.” He declined to provide further details.
During a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said, “We’re having very good talks, very constructive talks on Ukraine,” adding that discussions are ongoing with both Russian officials and Ukraine’s leadership.
A day after taking office on January 20, Trump said he would meet with Putin and that the details were being arranged. “Could be very soon,” he said.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.
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Judge pauses Trump’s “buyout” offer to federal workers ahead of today's deadline. Here’s what you should know
From CNN staff
A federal judge paused today’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer while more proceedings on the program’s legality play out.
The government will send a notice to the employees informing them that Thursday’s deadline is on hold.
Here’s what you should know about the offer:
Averted deadline: Before the judge’s ruling, eligible federal workers had until 11:59 p.m. ET to decidewhether to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, which would generallyallow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.
Why the pause? It stems from a lawsuit that the American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed Tuesday in US District Court in Massachusetts seeking a temporary restraining order. The unions also wants to “require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, rather than an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum which workers may not be able to enforce.”
US District Judge George O’Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who sits in Boston, said in the brief hearing that he was halting the government from taking steps to implement the plan as he receives more briefings on whether it should be blocked.
The next hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
White House response: The White House expressed gratitude for the federal judge’s decision.
“We are grateful to the Judge for extending the deadline so more federal workers who refuse to show up to the office can take the administration up on this very generous, once-in-a-lifetime offer,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt says in a statement to CNN.
More about the package: The deferred resignation offer is one of several efforts the Trump administration is undertaking to reshape the federal workforce — including reducing its size, replacing career workers with political appointees, wiping away some civil service protections, ending diversity efforts and more.
Earlier Thursday, a Trump administration official familiar with the matter said at least 50,000 people had opted in the program. The offer was extended to roughly 2 million employees.
The Office of Personnel Management warned that those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
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Secretary of state gives guidance to USAID employees abroad who are expected to be put on leave tomorrow
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at the National Palace in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Thursday.
Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AP
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday sought to clarify that US Agency for International Development personnel stationed abroad and expected to be put on leave Friday could stay longer if moving would be disruptive — but suggested the US government would only assist most officials with relocation for the next month.
Rubio said that “if there are exceptional circumstances regarding family or displacement … there’s room and space” for the affected employees to stay in their station.
Rubio used a hypothetical of a USAID worker who might have children in school in the country where they are stationed or a spouse who works at the US embassy as examples of USAID workers who could be exempted from having to return to the US.
“The expectation, as I said, that if they have a special condition or something’s going on … we’re willing to listen to those,” Rubio said, but he did not say what the mechanism for such an exemption would be.
Rubio also said that the US would assist bringing employees stationed abroad home for a period of 30 days starting Friday.
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Top Senate Democrats demand meeting with Treasury secretary over DOGE's actions
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
Several top Senate Democrats have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding that he meet with them about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to federal payment systems at the Treasury, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced.
In addition to Schumer, Sens Ron Wyden, Mark Warner, Patty Murray, Elizabeth Warren and Gary Peters signed the letter. All are the top Democrats on related committees, such as Finance and Appropriations.
Some context: The Treasury Department said Tuesday that Musk aides detailed to the agency have “read-only” access to its sensitive $5 trillion US payments system and that no payments have been suspended or rejected as part of an ongoing review.
The information, provided in a letter to lawmakers from a Treasury official, amounts to the first substantive effort to detail the role Department of Government Efficiency staff detailed to the agency have in the operations of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
Efforts to gain access to the systems, which are closely held and the lynchpin of federal government payments, have rattled career Treasury officials and raised significant concern among lawmakers and former government officials in recent days, as CNN has reported.
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Rubio walks back Panama Canal assertion after outcry from Panamanian government
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands by the Venezuelan government airplane at La Isabela International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Thursday.
Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AP
Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked back the assertion of the State Department that Panama “has agreed to no longer charge fees” to US government vessels transiting the Panama Canal after outcry from the Panamanian government.
Rubio instead said Thursday that the US expects this to be the case, but acknowledged that “Panama has a process of laws and procedures that they need to follow as it relates to the Panamanian port.”
He added: “We had conversations. I felt they were strong first steps. We have expectations we made clear in those conversations. I respect very much that Panama has a process. They’re a democratically elected government. They have rules, they have laws. They’re going to follow their process.”
Rubio said the US would be obligated to protect the Panama Canal if it comes under attack, adding that he found it “absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict.”
“Those are our expectations. They were clear. They were clearly understood in those conversations,” he said.
On Wednesday night, the State Department posted on X that the “government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for US government vessels to transit the Panama canal.”
Panama quickly denied the claim.
On Thursday, Panamanian President Raúl Mulino called it an “intolerable” falsehood. Mulino said on X that he will speak with US President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon.
CNN’s Abel Alvarado contributed reporting.
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White House says it's "grateful" for judge's order pausing resignation offer deadline for federal workers
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
The White House said it is “grateful” a federal judge paused Thursday’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer.
The judge’s action was the result of a lawsuit filed against the government. The American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed in US District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the February 6 deadline.
The package is one of several efforts the Trump administration is undertaking to reshape the federal workforce — including reducing its size, replacing career workers with political appointees, wiping away some civil service protections, ending diversity efforts and more.
Federal employee unions have blasted the Trump administration, saying it is looking to hollow out the civil service and replace career workers with political loyalists. They have also argued that the drive to reduce the federal workforce will hurt Americans.
Remember: While an Office of Personnel Management spokesperson described the offer as “a rare, generous opportunity,” it also contains a warning: Those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
CNN’s Tami Luhby, Alayna Treene and Tierney Sneed contributed reporting to this post.
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Trump expected to sign executive orders targeting the International Criminal Court and "anti-Christian bias"
The ICC move is expected to place financial and visa sanctions on “individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of US citizens or our allies,” according to a fact sheet obtained by CNN, an effort to punish the body for issuing arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The House passed a bill sanctioning the ICC last month, but Senate Democrats blocked its passage.
Trump previously announced his executive order on “anti-Christian bias” during remarks earlier Thursday.
“Today, I’m signing an executive order to make our attorney general — who’s a great person, she’s going to be a great attorney general, Pam Bondi — the head of a task force brand new to eradicate anti-Christian bias,” he said.
Trump is scheduled to sign the executive orders in the Oval Office at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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Judge pauses Trump's "buyout" offer to federal workers
From CNN’s Tierney Sneed, Tami Luhby and Alayna Treene
A federal judge paused Thursday’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s so-called “deferred resignation” offer while more court proceedings on the program’s legality play out.
The government will send a notice to the employees informing them that Thursday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline is on hold.
Before the judge’s ruling, eligible federal workers had until 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday to decidewhether to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, which will generallyallow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.
The pause stems from a lawsuit that the American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed in US District Court in Massachusetts on Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the February 6 deadline. The unions also want to “require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, rather than an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum which workers may not be able to enforce.”
US District Judge George O’Toole, an appointee of President Bill Clinton who sits in Boston, said in the brief hearing that he was halting the government from taking steps to implement the plan as he receives more briefings on whether it should be blocked. The next hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Federal unions have strongly urged members not to accept the package, questioning its legality and the ability of the Trump administration to follow through on its promises.
More background: Earlier Thursday, a Trump administration official familiar with the matter said at least 50,000 people had opted in the program. The offer was extended to roughly 2 million employees.
The Office of Personnel Management warned that those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
This post has been updated with details about the lawsuit. CNN’s Tami Luhby and Alayna Treene contributed reporting.
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Jeffries unveils first big Democratic response to Trump
From CNN’s Sarah Ferris
House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference on overreach by President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DODGE) at the US Capitol on February 6, in Washington, DC.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday unveiled the party’s first big legislative response to Donald Trump’s second term: a bill designed to halt access by Elon Musk to sensitive Treasury Department payment systems.
Democrats said they will introduce their bill — dubbed the Taxpayer Data Collection Act, the same name as the GOP bill from last Congress — later today. A similar bill will be introduced on the Senate side.
More on the legislation: The bill itself hasn’t been filed yet, but Jeffries said it was designed to protect names, Social Security numbers, addresses and bank account information as part of that Treasury system.
Democrats are largely powerless to force votes on legislation like this one in the House minority. But party leaders signaled that they intend to pressure GOP lawmakers to support the bill which would allow them to force it to the floor through procedures like a discharge petition.
House Republicans have the smallest majority in over a century, and only a handful of GOP lawmakers would need to side with Democrats to pass the bill if it came to the floor.
“Three GOP members can end this today,” House Minority Whip Kathryn Clark told reporters.
Democratic Rep. Sean Casten added that his office has received “more phone calls on this than anything in my six years in office.”
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DHS secretary headed to Guantanamo Bay Friday
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday to assess the migrant operations center amid plans to dramatically expand the number of people temporarily housed there, according to a DHS official.
The trip comes as the administration has started military flights transporting migrants to the site.
On Thursday, another military flight carrying 13 migrants with criminal convictions left from the El Paso area to Guantanamo Bay, according to two officials. At least one of the 13 migrants has affiliations with Tren de Aragua, according to the DHS official. Others are also suspected gang members and have criminal convictions ranging from robbery to drug and weapons trafficking, the source said. All 13 have final orders of removal.
Earlier this week, a military flight arrived in Guantanamo Bay carrying around 10 migrants.
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US lawmakers to introduce bill banning DeepSeek's AI model from government devices
From CNN’s Clare Duffy
A pair of US lawmakers are looking to pass new legislation that would ban government workers from using Chinese startup DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence chatbot on official devices.
Reps. Darin LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, are set to propose legislation on Friday that would ban the use of DeepSeek on government devices over national security concerns.
The attempted crackdown comes weeks after DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley and Wall Street by releasing an advanced AI model, called R1, with the same capabilities as top American models, despite being cheaper to train and less power-hungry. The model — from a year-old Chinese startup subject to US export restrictions on the most powerful AI chips — has fueled concerns that the United States could fall behindChina in AI.
If passed, the proposed bill would give 60 days for government agencies to develop standards and guidelines for removing DeepSeek — as well as any other app developed by its parent company, High Flyer — from official devices.
The proposal follows similar moves by Australia, Italy and Taiwan. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.
The language in the proposed bill also echoes the legislation that has sought to restrict access to TikTok in the United States over worries that its China-based owner, ByteDance, could be forced to share sensitive US user data with the Chinese government.
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At least 50,000 federal workers have accepted separation agreement so far, official says
From CNN's Alayna Treene and Tami Luhby
At least 50,000 people have opted into the deferred resignation program offered to federal workers, which will generallyallow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September, according to a Trump administration official familiar with the matter.
The deadline for federal workers to decide is 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday night. Roughly 2 million federal employees received the incentive.
The offer is a sweeping effort by the administration to shrink the size of the federal workforce and presents many employees with a tough decision about their careers and futures.
While an Office of Personnel Management spokesperson described the offer as “a rare, generous opportunity,” it also contains a warning: Those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
Federal unions, however, have strongly urged members not to accept the package, questioning its legality and the ability of the Trump administration to follow through on its promises.
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Trump is expected to meet with leaders of US Steel and FedEx today
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg and Alejandra Jaramillo
In this 2018 photo, Donald Trump motions to the crowd as David B. Burritt, President & Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel, speaks at U.S. Steel's Granite City Works plant in Granite City, Illinois.
Whitney Curtis/Getty Images/File
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with top executives from U.S. Steel and FedEx on Thursday, the White House told CNN.
Nippon Steel’s attempt to purchase U.S. Steel was blocked by then-President Joe Biden, who cited national security concerns, showing a significant exercise of executive power in the final days of his presidency, as reported by CNN.
U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt has previously urged President Donald Trump to overturn Biden’s decision to block the sale of the company to Nippon Steel.
ABC was first to report the news.
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Senators express concern about impacts of retaliatory tariffs at trade representative's confirmation hearing
During Greer’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, asked how Greer, if confirmed, would protect farmers and ranchers who are concerned about “becoming the target of retaliation if we use tariffs to pressure other countries to change their ways.”
Greer said he would seek to “gain market access” to other nations, like Turkey and India, where tariffs on US agricultural products are high.
When the US levies tariffs on other nations’ goods, those countries tend to respond by in turn imposing tariffs on the US-produced goods they receive. For instance, after Trump announced a new 10% tariff on all goods from China earlier this week, Beijing said it would slap its own tariffs on a slew of US goods.
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, meanwhile, expressed concern that higher tariffs will lead to a stronger US dollar, making it more expensive for foreigners to visit places like Las Vegas, which rely heavily on tourism. While Cortez Masto said she saw worthy uses of tariffs, she said she worried that businesses in her state are “going to be a victim of the trade war.”
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Trump administration files lawsuit against Illinois and Chicago over immigrant sanctuary policies
From CNN's Devan Cole and Priscilla Alvarez
Demonstrators hold a rally and march to protest a recent increase of activity in the area by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on February 1, in Waukegan, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Trump administration sued officials in Illinois, Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, on Thursday over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities, accusing them of obstructing its immigration crackdown.
It’s the first major challenge from the administration against Democratic-led cities and states that have opposed the use of local law enforcement to help the federal government enforce civil immigration laws. Trump officials have repeatedly criticized those policies, often singling out Chicago, where the administration recently conducted an immigration enforcement operation.
The Justice Department has said it plans to be aggressive against so-called sanctuary cities — a term broadly applied to places that have policies designed to limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions.
The department is arguing that the state and local laws violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which states that federal laws take precedence over state laws.
Trump's early funding freeze is putting the pressure on services for at-risk Americans
From CNN's Eric Bradner, Tami Luhby, Katelyn Polantz and Elizabeth Wolfe
President Donald Trump’s bid to remake the federal government is already affecting some vulnerable populations in the United States, according to nonprofits and health care providers who are grappling with delays in federal funding, new rules and changed guidance.
A 19-year-old West Virginia resident with intellectual disabilities, for example, was not able to start a job at Goodwill on Monday because a nonprofit group that facilitates employment had not received the federal grant money it requested last week.
It was a result of one of the broadest and most head-spinning moves of the second Trump administration’s early days: a sweeping Office of Management and Budget memo ordering a pause on trillions in federal grants, loans and financial assistance.
It was quickly rescinded by the administration, and federal judges have since blocked that funding freeze from taking effect. But some organizations say despite the court rulings, they are still unable to access funding. And administration lawyers have also effectively given federal agencies the green light to slash payments on their own.
The delay in receiving its federal funds forced the Appalachian Center for Independent Living, which has operated in the Charleston, West Virginia, area for four decades, to lay off its employment training specialist – one of its five staffers – and halt its job placement services.
The center, which helps West Virginians with disabilities live in their own homes, also had to initially lay off its transportation coordinator and independent living skills trainer but was able to bring them back after receiving funding from state grants. The infusion will allow the center to continue serving more of its customers, including taking an 86-year-old woman to her dialysis treatments this week.
Panama president says US claim of free passage through canal is an "intolerable falsehood"
From CNN’s Patrick Oppmann, Valeria Ordoñez Ghio and Lucas Lilieholm
Ships navigate the Panama Canal in the area of Pedro Miguel locks in Panama City in December 2022.
Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images
Panama’s President Raúl Mulino criticized as an “intolerable” falsehood the US State Department’s claim that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships passing through the Panama Canal.
“[The State Department] are making an important and institutional statement from the entity that governs the foreign policy of the United States under the President of the United States based on a falsehood, and that is intolerable. Simply and plainly intolerable,” Mulino said at a news conference on Thursday.
The president said he was “very surprised” by the US State Department’s statement on Wednesday that claimed US government vessels could now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees. The statement, posted on X, said the move would save the US government “millions of dollars a year.”
Mulino expressed Panama’s “absolute rejection” of maintaining bilateral relations with the US “on the basis of lies and falsehoods.”
The president’s comments come after the Panama Canal Authority said it had not made any adjustments to tolls and fees for vessels transiting the waterway in a statement late Wednesday.
Some context: Over the past 26 years, the US has paid a total of $25.4 million dollars for the transit of warships and submarines, equivalent to less than one million dollars per year, according to Panama’s embassy in Cuba.
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Newsom says he’s confident partnership with Trump will remain “strong”
From CNN's Michael Williams
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said he’s confident his partnership with President Donald Trump will remain “strong” after the two met to discuss relief for his wildfire-stricken state.
Newsom said on CNN that he didn’t receive any specific aid commitments from Trump during their Wednesday meeting in the Oval Office, just “broad strokes,” but added he has “just all the confidence in the world that it’s going to be a strong partnership.”
Trump has floated conditioning aid to California, saying he wanted the state to require voter ID before it receives federal assistance. Newsom said conditions were not discussed during his meetings with Trump and leaders in Congress.
“And I hope we can move beyond that,” Newsom said, adding that “some of the conditions that were being bandied about just seems to be, for me, a little bit noise, a little bit political.”
Acknowledging that his relationship with Trump “was one of the more interesting relationships in politics,” the governor said he wants “to continue to respect the office of the presidency, to respect his authority and to also engage in a constructive dialogue when it comes to issues of emergencies.”
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House Republicans are still pursuing a 1-bill strategy ahead of meeting with Trump, Johnson says
From CNN’s Haley Talbot and Veronica Stracqualursi
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday said House Republicans are still pursuing a one-bill strategy ahead of his meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget resolution.
Johnson and other senior House Republicans met with Trump this morning amid party infighting about how to pass their sweeping agenda.
“We’re working on a one-bill strategy,” Johnson added.
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Clarence Thomas has been the go-to justice to swear in Trump’s Cabinet
From CNN's Joan Biskupic and Jeff Zeleny
This still from video posted to X.com on Wednesday, February 5, shows US Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas swearing in Scott Turner as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
From Dan Savino/X
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has spent recent days alongside several Trump administration Cabinet officials – making them official.
In the process, he and his wife, Ginni, have drawn exceptional attention from President Donald Trump himself.
On Wednesday morning, Thomas swore in Doug Collins to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, at a private ceremony in an ornate, chandeliered, Supreme Court conference room.
Then Thomas rode over to the White House and administered the oath to Pam Bondi as she became the new attorney general. Joining Thomas was his wife, a longtime conservative activist, whom the president extolled at the Oval Office event.
Thomas later swore in Scott Turner as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, also as Trump looked on, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
A week earlier, Thomas had read the oath to Sean Duffy, the new secretary of the Department of Transportation, in a closed ceremony at the Supreme Court with Duffy’s family.
A few days before that, on Saturday, January 25, Thomas swore in Kristi Noem, who is overseeing the Department of Homeland Security, at the foot of a grand staircase at Thomas’ suburban Virginia home.
Such events have made Thomas notably ubiquitous in this second Trump administration, at a time when a raft of litigation arising from Trump’s executive orders is already bound for the justices.
Trump may also be already eyeing a possible high court vacancy in his new term. During his first four-year term, he transformed the bench with the appointment of three new justices for a new right-wing supermajority among the nine.
US should be added to list of places to relocate Palestinians, Republican congressman says
From CNN's Andrea Cambron
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett says he has no problems if Palestinians want to come to the US and “assimilate and become Americans,” after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US should “take over” the Gaza Strip.
Trump’s proposal has been condemned by world leaders both within the region and abroad, with the United Nations warning that any forcible transfer or deportation of people from occupied territory is a violation of international law.
Burchett told CNN’s John Berman, “We have a pretty good record with Palestinians, at least in Tennessee. So I welcome them.”
The congressman also said there should be “a litmus test” for people who want to enter the US.
His comments come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US lawmakers in the White House on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that countries including Spain, Ireland and Norway that had criticized Israel’s actions during 15 months of war in Gaza were legally obliged to accept Palestinians who wished to enter their territory — “otherwise, their hypocrisy will be exposed.”
CNN’s Anna Glickman, Michael Schwartz and Lucas Lilieholm contributed to this report.
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Musk's top lieutenants at Treasury Department sought to use payment system to shut down USAID spending, emails show
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Phil Mattingly
Demonstrators protest Elon Musk's access to the Treasury Department's payment systems outside the US Treasury Department on February 4.
Hossein Fatemi/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Four days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk’s top lieutenants at the Treasury Department asked its acting secretary, a career civil servant, to immediately shut off all USAID payments using the department’s own ultra-sensitive payment processing system.
The ask was so out of line with how the department normally operates, it prompted a skeptical reply from David Lebryk, then serving as acting treasury secretary, who said he did not believe “we have the legal authority to stop an authorized payment certified by an agency,” according to a source familiar with the exchange.
Lebryk suggested a “legally less risky approach” would be for the State Department, which oversees USAID, to rescind the payments itself and examine whether they complied with President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order freezing foreign development aid.
Tom Krause, a former tech executive and now the top Department of Government Efficiency staffer at the Treasury Department, responded that Lebryk could have legal risk himself should he choose not to comply.
This back and forth over email, described to CNN by a source familiar with it, reveals the first known indication that DOGE emissaries sought to use Treasury’s tools to block some payments, fulfilling the president’s political agenda.
The ensuing controversy set off a chain reaction around Washington this week, sparking a tense political debate and emergency court proceedings over DOGE’s access to the system and the administration’s potential interest in using it to turn off payments as it chooses.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Senate majority leader's office
From CNN’s Ted Barrett
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the U.S. Capitol on February 6, in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has arrived at Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office.
He did not stop for questions, including one about the golden pager he gifted President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday. The gift was an allusion to a deadly September operation carried out by Israel in Lebanon, which targeted pagers used by Hezbollah members.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu became first foreign leader to hold a formal meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in his second term.
In a brief photo opportunity with Thune, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and other bipartisan senators, Netanyahu was asked if US troops would be needed to make Trump’s plans for Gaza feasible.
Netanyahu responded with a definitive “no!”
This post has been updated with Netanyahu’s remarks.
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Senate Judiciary pushes Patel markup to February 13 as Democrats rail on his nomination
From CNN’s Manu Raju and Ali Main
Sen. Dick Durbin gives an opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Kash Patel at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 30.
Ben Curtis/AP
The Senate Judiciary Committee has pushed its committee vote on Kash Patel’s nomination to be FBI director to February 13 after Democrats on the committee requested a one-week delay.
Directly after the committee’s meeting this morning, Democrats railed on Patel’s nomination and continued calling for a second confirmation hearing to focus on the emerging investigations into agents who worked on January 6-related cases.
Durbin called the investigations an “outrage,” adding “that these men and women who work for the Department of Justice, being asked to be part of one of the largest criminal prosecutions in our history, now would lose their jobs over it or somehow be stigmatized is just plain wrong.”
However, Durbin acknowledged that beyond delaying the committee vote by a week, there is not much else that Democrats can do to block or push back Patel’s confirmation.
On Tuesday, Democrats on the committee asked Chairman Chuck Grassley to schedule a second hearing on Patel’s nomination. Grassley said no to that request and, in his response, said that he expects to hold the vote on Patel’s nomination “as soon as next week.”
The minority has the right to ask for a one-week delay.
This post has been updated with additional information.
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Trump says he will meet with leaders in Congress to get standalone bill passed to improve air traffic control
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is planning to meet with leaders from both parties in Congress to get them to pass a standalone bill to improve air traffic control systems in the United States.
“When I land in my plane, privately, I use a system from another country because my captain tells me I’m landing in New York and I’m using a system, I won’t tell you what country, but I use a system from another country,” the president added.
The cause of the crash between an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, on final approach for landing at the busy airport, and a US Army helicopter has yet to be determined. Crash investigators are not blaming the air traffic controller directing the traffic, who advised the helicopter to be aware of the regional jet’s position in the area ahead of the crash.
But CNN has confirmed that one controller in the Reagan Washington National tower was staffing two different jobs, handling both local air traffic and helicopter traffic in the area. Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers’ union, is not allowed to comment on the causes of crash itself since the union is a party to the ongoing investigation.
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Are you a federal worker? Share your story with us
From CNN's Tami Luhby and Alayna Treene
Eligible federal workers must decide by 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday whether to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, which will allow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.
At least 40,000 employees have already accepted the package, an administration official told CNN Wednesday.
The offer is a sweeping effort by the administration to shrink the size of the federal workforce and presents many employees with a tough decision about their careers and futures.
While an Office of Personnel Management spokesperson described the offer as “a rare, generous opportunity,” it also contains a warning: Those who don’t opt in are at risk of losing their jobs. The administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, two officials have told CNN.
Are you a federal worker? We’d like to speak to you. Share you story with us below.
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Trump recalls how Butler assassination attempt "changed something" in him
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump recalled in remarks Thursday on Capitol Hill how last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, “changed something” in him and that he feels “much more strongly” about his faith.
The president also talked about the midair collision last week between a commercial plane and a Black Hawk helicopter that left 67 people dead — seeming to compare the odds of that collision to the odds of two golf balls hitting each other.
He continued, “And we’ll find out exactly what happened. But the odds, even if you had nothing, if you had nobody, the odds of that happening are extremely small. It’s like, did you ever see, you go to a driving range in golf and you’re hitting balls, hundreds of balls, thousands of hours. I never see a ball hit another ball. Ball has gone up all over the place, you never see them hit. It was amazing that that could happen.”
The president also talked about his proposal for a National Garden of American Heroes, the concept for the outdoor sculpture park that he originally put forward during a July 3, 2020, event at Mount Rushmore.
Congress had not appropriated funds for the garden before Trump left office and former President Joe Biden revoked the executive order in 2021.
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As Netanyahu comes to Capitol Hill, questions remain about Trump's Gaza plans
From CNN's Lauren Fox
President Donald Trump listens as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the White House on Tuesday.
Evan Vucci/AP
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his way to Capitol Hill today, one of the looming questions is whether GOP senators will discuss any of President Donald Trump’s comments on Gaza earlier in the week.
The issue has raised some confusion from Republicans on Capitol Hill. During a closed-door GOP meeting Wednesday Steven Witkoff, the president’s envoy to the Middle East, faced several questions from GOP senators about what Trump’s plans to own Gaza would mean for US troops and spending in the Middle East.
The series of questions behind closed doors came as GOP leaders have been publicly downplaying Trump’s comments.
One lawmaker in the room told CNN that there was “a lot of consternation,” although other lawmakers who attended told CNN it was a polite back and forth as lawmakers sought more information to understand what Trump meant by his comments earlier this week.
Senators also asked directly if troops would be put into Gaza, what funding would be needed and whether Palestinians would be displaced in the process.
At one point, Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, a Republican senator from Mississippi, asked if Witkoff was surprised by Trump’s comments and Witkoff said he was not.
Wicker followed up if that meant that this plan has been in the works for awhile.
Witkoff, the sources said, suggested it had. Although as CNN has reported, others in the administration were not aware of such a plan being in the works.
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Netanyahu gifts Trump golden pager in nod to deadly Hezbollah operation
From CNN's Mick Krever in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted President Donald Trump a golden pager during their meeting in Washington on Tuesday, an Israeli political source told CNN.
The gift was an allusion to a deadly September operation carried out by Israel in Lebanon, which targeted pagers used by Hezbollah members.
On September 17, thousands of explosions struck Hezbollah members, targeting their pagers and then walkie-talkies a day later. The blasts killed at least 37 people, including some children, and injured nearly 3,000, many of them civilian bystanders, according to Lebanese health authorities.
In return, Trump gave Netanyahu a signed photograph of the two of them. He signed the photograph, “To Bibi, A great leader!,” according to a photo on Instagram posted by his son, Yair Netanyahu.
CNN’s Eugenia Yosef contributed to this report.
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Rubio says foreign aid is "the least popular thing government spends money on"
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference in Guatemala City on Wednesday.
Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US diplomats posted in Guatemala Wednesday that the US “is not walking away from foreign aid,” but argued that it “is the least popular thing government spends money on” and must be done in a way the government “can defend.”
“There are important missions and there are consequences to stopping them because they undermine our foreign policy objectives,” he acknowledged.
The comments were part of the Rubio’s lengthy answer to a question from the United States Agency for International Development mission director at the embassy about the future of the agency. The Trump administration has taken rapid steps to dismantle the agency, of which Rubio is now acting administrator.
At times, Rubio seemed sympathetic to their concerns of the workforce, which has come under heavy rhetorical attack from the US President and Elon Musk.
“As you know, Mr. Secretary, we’ve taken a lot of criticism at USAID for the work that we’ve tried to do, for the sacrifice that we continue to make, to serve the interests of the American people and the people in the host countries where we work, and, you know, now we are facing the prospect of being sent home,” USAID mission director Haven Cruz-Hubbard said.
In his answer, first reported by the New York Times, Rubio told him that the Trump administration wants to keep “good programs,” but said that there are other USAID programs that run “counter with what we’re trying to achieve.”
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Palestine "belongs to Palestinian people," Iran’s supreme leader says following Trump Gaza comments
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tweeted that “all of Palestine […] belongs to the Palestinians people”, a day after US President Donald Trump announced his controversial plan to take over the Gaza Strip.
This is first response Iran has made to Trump’s plans, though Khamenei’s post does not reference the announcement directly.
“All of Palestine, from the river to the sea, belongs to the Palestinian people,” he said on X.
On Thursday morning, Trump posted on social media saying that “no soldiers by the U.S. would be needed” to “take over” Gaza Strip.”
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Johnson and House Republicans will meet Trump today amid infighting over agenda
From CNN's Manu Raju
Speaker Mike Johnson and a group of senior House Republicans are planning to meet at the White House with President Donald Trump at 11 a.m. ET today, amid intraparty infighting over how to advance their sweeping agenda.
House Republicans are pushing back against Senate Republicans, who plan to take the first step next week to advance a budget resolution that will set the stage for a bill dealing with border security, national defense and energy production — but punt on a tax overhaul.
House Republicans want to include their tax plan in the larger bill, but have been squabbling among themselves over the contours of the budget plan.
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"We have to bring religion back," Trump says at National Prayer Breakfast
From CNN's Antoinette Radford
President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, on February 6.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump said “we have to bring religion back,” speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
“We have to bring it back much stronger. It’s one of the biggest problems that we’ve had over the last fairly long period of time,” he said addressing the crowd at the event.
Toward the end of his address, the president also said he didn’t believe one could be happy without faith.
“I really believe you can’t be happy without religion, without that belief,” he said. “I really believe it, I just don’t see how you can be. So let’s bring religion back, let’s bring God back into our lives.”
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Trump's Justice Department shutters specialized FBI team combating foreign election interference threats
From CNN's Josh Campbell
The FBI seal is displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, DC.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images/File
The FBI is preparing to disband a team of specialists charged with combating foreign threats to US elections, a source familiar tells CNN.
The shuttering of the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force and planned reassigning of team membersfollows a directive from incoming and newly sworn in US Attorney General Pam Bondi dissolving the team.
The special task force was established by former FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2017 following a wave of foreign influence operations targeting the US electoral process, including Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election that Trump won.
Wray previously said the purpose of the team was “to identify and counteract the full range of malign foreign influence operations targeting our democratic institutions and our values. The task force now brings together the FBI’s expertise across the waterfront — counterintelligence, cyber, criminal, and even counterterrorism — to root out and respond to foreign influence operations.”
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Trump says "no soldiers by the US would be needed" to take over Gaza Strip
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
Destroyed buildings are seen in Gaza on January 13.
Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump posted on social media Thursday morning that “no soldiers by the U.S. would be needed” to “take over” Gaza Strip, a stunning proposal the president floated earlier this week that would dramatically reorient the Middle East.
That post coming after Trump said during a joint news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the “US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it to.” Later describing his vision for the area as a new “Riviera.”
Regional leaders, Palestinian officials and many western allies of Washington widely rejected the idea of displacing Gaza’s residents following Trump’s comments. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Wednesday that Arab nations were planning to reconstruct Gaza while Palestinians remain in the enclave.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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"Buyout" deadline looms as Trump seeks to reshape federal government. Here's what to expect today
From CNN staff
President Donald Trump is expected to sign more executive orders today as a deadline approaches for federal workers and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to appear on Capitol Hill.
Here’s a detailed look into what’s happening on Thursday:
Deadline looms for federal workers: Federal employees face a 11:59 pm ET deadline on Thursday to decide whether to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, which will allow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September. A White House official said at least 40,000 federal employees have accepted a separation agreement. That figure represents about 2% of the roughly 2 million workers who received the offer. The White House has said its target is for between 5% and 10% of employees to resign.
Capitol Hill visits: Netanyahu is expected to appear on Capitol Hill, where House Speaker Mike Johnson said he’ll meet him in his office. Trump is also expected to meet with Republicans at 11 a.m. ET to talk budget resolution and will deliver remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in the morning.
An expected vote on Patel’s nomination: The Senate Judiciary Committee has an executive meeting scheduled for 10:15 a.m. ET, and Kash Patel’s nomination to be FBI director is still on their posted agenda. Democrats are expected to ask for a one-week delay and push the vote to next week.
More executive orders: Trumpwillsign additional executive orders at 2:30 p.m. ET. He has issued 80 executive actions so far, including new initiatives or reversals of previous policies. Catch up on the latest here.
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Netanyahu backs Trump’s Gaza "take over" as Israeli defense minister instructs military to draw up voluntary migration plan
From CNN's Lucas Lilieholm, Michael Schwartz and Helen Regan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to “take over” Gaza, as his defense minister instructed the Israeli military to draw up a plan that would enable the “voluntary departure” of Palestinian residents in Gaza.
“The actual idea of allowing first Gazans who want to leave to leave, I mean, what is wrong with that?” he asked, adding that Palestinians who left could come back after reconstruction was complete.
On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prepare a plan “to enable the voluntary departure of Gaza residents,” according to the Defense Ministry statement.
“I have instructed the IDF to prepare a plan to enable the voluntary departure of Gaza residents,” Katz said.
Katz said Trump’s plan “will take many years,” during which Palestinians would be integrated “into host countries while facilitating long-term reconstruction efforts in a demilitarized and threat-free Gaza in a post-Hamas era.”
Trump’s plan flies in the face of the aspirations of Palestinians, who have long advocated for statehood and roundly dismissed Trump’s relocation proposal when he first floated it two weeks ago.
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CIA sends White House unclassified email with names of agency new hires, sources say
From CNN's Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen
The CIA has sent the White House an unclassified email listing all new hires that have been with the agency for two years or less in an effort to comply with an executive order to downsize the federal workforce, according to three sources, a deeply unorthodox move that could potentially expose the identities of those officers to foreign government hackers.
The list — which includes everything from new analysts to trainees preparing to operate under cover — only provides first names and last initials, officials said. The sources described that decision as the “least bad option” that career officials determined to comply with President Donald Trump’s order while still attempting to safeguard the identities of officers.
But some of the employees have “uncommon” first names, one of the sources noted, meaning that if a foreign intelligence service were to gain access to it, some of the officials could be easily matched with publicly available data and possibly identified.
Although new hires are unlikely to have yet been deployed undercover overseas, as a practical matter, the CIA may now consider it too risky to send them to dangerous postings for fear they will be identified before they even start. In other words, it’s possible that the move may have ended some young officers’ careers before they even started, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Top Democrats assailed the move on Wednesday, calling it a risk to national security.
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Senate committee scheduled meeting Thursday to vote on Kash Patel nomination — but it might get pushed
From CNN's Katherine Grise and Paula Reid
Kash Patel appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol on January 30.
Ben Curtis/AP
The Senate Judiciary Committee has an executive meeting scheduled Thursday morning where Kash Patel’s nomination to be FBI director is still on their posted agenda.
Yesterday, Democrats on the committee asked Chairman Chuck Grassley to schedule a second hearing on Patel’s nomination. Grassley said no to that request and, in his response, said that he expects to hold the vote on Patel’s nomination “as soon as next week.”
However: Democrats are likely to ask for a one-week delay, which would slide the vote to next week.
In his written answers to lawmakers’ questions following is confirmation hearing at the end of January, Patel declined to comment on recent firings, saying he could not weigh in on decisions without a chance to review them on a “case-by-case basis.”
He added: “Personnel decisions should be based on performance and adherence to the law. If I’m confirmed, every FBI employee will be held to the absolute same standard.
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Many federal workers face deadline to accept resignation package by Thursday or potentially lose their jobs
From CNN's Alayna Treene and Tami Luhby
The Trump administration is planning widespread layoffs among the federal workforce soon, leaving employees who don’t accept its deferred resignation offer at risk of losing their jobs, two Trump administration officials told CNN.
The layoffs, which are being referred to internally as sweeping “Reductions in Force,” are expected to begin soon after the Thursday 11:59 p.m. ET deadline that the Office of Personnel Management set for workers to accept the resignation package, the officials said.
The package allows them to leave voluntarily and be paid through September 30 but not have to continue working.
Federal workers unions, however, have strongly opposed the controversial offer, which was unveiled in a mass email from the OPM to federal employees on January 28.
On Tuesday, the American Federation of Government Employees and several other unions filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Massachusetts seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the February 6 deadline. The unions also want to “require the government to articulate a policy that is lawful, rather than an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum which workers may not be able to enforce.”
However, OPM is continuing to warn employees that those who do not opt in to the program could lose their jobs and, at the very least, will be required to return full time to the office.
OPM is also sweetening the pot for older federal workers. It is now offering an early retirement incentive — known as Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA — to those who meet the eligibility criteria and who opt in to the deferred resignation program, a source familiar with the offer told CNN on Tuesday. Employees must be at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of service or be any age with at least 25 years of service.
Some 2.4 million people work for the federal government, not including postal workers, who are not eligible for the deferred retirementpackage. Also excluded are military personnel and those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, among others.
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Trump's idea to "take over" the Gaza Strip was formulated over time, sources say
From CNN's Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene and Jeff Zeleny
President Donald Trump takes questions during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump administration officials are hurrying to catch up to the president’s audacious and improbable plan for the United States to take ownership of Gaza and redevelop it into a “Middle Eastern Riviera,” trying to wrap their heads around an idea that some hope might be so outlandish it forces other nations to step in with their own proposals for the Palestinian enclave.
President Donald Trump’s idea — announced Tuesday evening at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — was formulated over time, people familiar with the matter said, and appeared to originate with the president himself. It was only the latest reminder that policy ideas often start with Trump, rather than slowly build through national experts before ultimately reaching the Oval Office for discussion.
But, his unveiling of the idea — which he delivered by reading off notes in the East Room — came as a shock. One adviser on Middle East issues had not heard the proposal until Trump raised it during his news conference. The official described themselves as stunned.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday the idea hadn’t been formalized into written form until Trump voiced it Tuesday.
But others said Trump had run the idea by people in the days ahead of the Netanyahu talks. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Gaza last week, returned to Washington with a dire impression of the devastation he witnessed, conveying to Trump and later to reporters a view that it was no longer habitable.
A White House official told CNN that Witkoff’s descriptions of his trip were an “inflection point” for the president.
Trump’s close Middle East advisers, like national security adviser Mike Waltz and Witkoff, knew Trump was planning to lay out the proposal on Tuesday, the official said. Waltz and Witkoff discussed the idea with Netanyahu Monday night while meeting with the Israeli leader at Blair House, the official said.
