As Republican leadership in the House hopes to begin the process of reopening the government by advancing a funding package on Monday that passed the Senate last week, President Donald Trump urged lawmakers not to oppose the deal.
“We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY. There can be NO CHANGES at this time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social
in sharp contrast to last year’s record-breaking shutdown.
Under the plan approved by the Senate, the Department of Homeland Security would be funded temporarily to Feb. 13, setting up a deadline for Congress to try to find consensus on new restrictions on ICE operations.
The bill faces pushback from lawmakers in both parties, with Democrats broadly opposing it and some Republicans raising new demands that could put passage in jeopardy.
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Asked by reporters in the Oval Office on Monday if he wanted to see the probe into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dropped, Trump said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, will “figure out what happened.”
Trump said “I feel badly” for Kevin Warsh, his nominee to replace Powell, “because he may not have an office for the next four years.”
Last month, Powell said that subpoenas had been served on the central bank related to his Senate testimony regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticized as excessive.
Trump has long railed against Powell and the independent agency he directs for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers.
The president said the work he envisions would cost about $200 million but that the performing arts center needs to be shut down because the work can’t be done with patrons coming and going from shows and other performances.
“I’m not ripping it down ... but when it opens it will be brand new and beautiful,” Trump said while answering questions from reporters during an Oval Office appearance.
Trump comments, though, suggested that he intends to gut the interior.
“The steel will all be checked out because it will be fully exposed,” the president said.
He announced Sunday on social media that he intends to close the Kennedy Center for about two years starting on July 4.
As Trump announced the creation of a stockpile of rare earth elements essential for manufacturing, he compared the initiative, “Project Vault,” to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, created to safeguard against an oil shortage.
There are parallels between the two programs.
The SPR was created in 1970s when an Arab oil embargo led to a disruptive shortage of gas. “Project Vault” will create a reserve of minerals and elements used to make electronics, automobiles and phones after China, which mines 70% of the globe’s rare earths, restricted the export of them to the U.S. in the heat of trade negotiations.
The Trump family could have missed out on hundreds of millions of dollars if a deal by one of its companies with a United Arab Emirates fund had been delayed even a few days.
The Trump family last year agreed not to strike deals directly with foreign governments to avoid the president’s finances shaping policy but the ban took effect only after he took office.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a Trump crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, had received $500 million from a U.A.E. state fund four days before inauguration. Months later Trump gave the U.A.E. access to U.S. chips long denied it because of fears the technology would leak to China.
A World Liberty spokesman said there was no connection between the U.A.E. investment and the chips. The Trump family didn’t respond to requests for comment on the deal or if there were other undisclosed arrangements before the inauguration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that while the U.S. military is prepared to take action against Iran, that isn’t what the Trump administration favors.
Asked by reporters Monday about a possible deal over Iran’s nuclear program, Hegseth said, “Iran will not have nuclear weapons capability and so they can either negotiate on that front, or we have other options.”
He says he and President Donald Trump “don’t want to go that route.” Asked if “regime change” was possible, Hegseth said, “Not right now.”
“Our job is to be prepared. And Iran has a choice, about whether or not they want to negotiate on their nuclear capabilities or not,” Hegseth told reporters during a trip to Florida.
Turkey is trying to organize a meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials. The U.S. military has moved forces, including an aircraft carrier strike group, into the Middle East.
The Justice Department said Monday that it had taken down several thousand documents and “media” that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information since it began releasing the latest batch of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday.
It blamed the release of sensitive information that drew an outcry from victims and their lawyers on mistakes that were “technical or human error.”
In a letter to the New York judges overseeing the sex trafficking cases brought against Epstein and confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton wrote that the department had taken down nearly all materials identified by victims or their lawyers, along with a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the government.
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Republican leadership in the House is hoping to begin the process of reopening the government by advancing a funding package on Monday that passed the Senate last week.
But the bill faces pushback from lawmakers in both parties, with Democrats broadly opposing it and some Republicans raising new demands that could put passage in jeopardy.
As members returned to Washington, Trump urged lawmakers not to oppose the package in a post on Truth Social.
“We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY. There can be NO CHANGES at this time,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s push to swiftly reopen the government marks a shift from last year’s record-breaking shutdown. He warned against “another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown that will hurt our Country so badly.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’ll direct city police to document and investigate alleged wrongdoing by federal immigration agents.
The mayor of the nation’s third-largest city signed an executive order over the weekend that he says will lay the groundwork for prosecuting agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.
It comes after an immigration crackdown unfolded last year in the Chicago area where one suburban man was fatally shot by agents. Multiple lawsuits have been filed alleging other wrongdoing by federal officers.
“Nobody is above the law,” Johnson said in a statement. “There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity’ in America.”
Johnson says his office will forward its findings to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to bring charges. The state’s attorney’s office says it’s reviewing the executive order.
Because of the partial federal government shutdown, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release the January jobs report as scheduled on Friday.
“Once funding is restored, BLS will resume normal operations and notify the public of any changes to the news release schedule,’’ BLS said in a statement.
It is also delaying the Tuesday release of the December report on U.S. job openings.
Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, argued the legislation would lead to “voter suppression” and vowed to oppose its passage.
“I have said it before and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Schumer said in a statement.
Some House Republicans have called on House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to include the SAVE Act in the latest government funding package, which is returning to the House for a vote this week after a bipartisan deal was brokered in the Senate.
Schumer predicted that if House Republicans added the conservative election legislation to the package it would “lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.”
“It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to,” the New York Democrat warned.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has expressed support for the SAVE Act, which stands little chance of passage because of the Senate’s filibuster rules.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to lower tariffs on goods from India to 18%, from 25%, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil.
The move comes after months after Trump pressing India to cut its reliance on cheap Russian crude. India has taken advantage of slacked Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump said that India would also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products.
“This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump said in a Truth social post announcing the tariff reduction on India.
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Pam Bondi announced it on social media without providing details. Nine people have now been arrested following a protest inside a Minnesota church. They were named in a grand jury indictment unsealed Friday.
Independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were among four people arrested Friday, following the arrest of local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong.
A grand jury in Minnesota indicted all nine on federal civil rights charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a pastor at the church doubles as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.
The protest generated strong objections from the Trump administration.
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The Trump administration plans to deploy nearly $12 billion to create the stockpile, which could counter China’s ability to use its dominance of these hard-to-process metals as leverage in trade talks.
The White House confirmed on Monday that “Project Vault” would initially be funded by a $10 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank and nearly $1.67 billion in private capital. The minerals kept in the reserve would help to shield the manufacturers of autos, electronics and other goods from any supply chain disruptions.
During trade talks spurred by Trump’s tariffs last year, the Chinese government restricted its exports of rare earths needed for jet engines, radar systems, electric vehicles, laptops and phones. China represents about 70% of the world’s rare earths mining and 90% of global rare earths processing.
In the past few weeks alone, Trump has mulled taking control of Greenland, pushed for U.S. control of Venezuelan oil, and penalized Iran for killing thousands of peaceful protesters. He’s predicted that the Cuban government is ready to fall, and told reporters Saturday that talks with Cuban leaders have begun as his administration cuts off the island’s oil supplies.
Polling shows that many Americans want Trump more focused on issues at home. About 4 in 10 voters want Trump less locked in on foreign policy, according to the Fox poll. Roughly one-third of Americans said Trump’s time spent on foreign policy was “about right,” and about 3 in 10 said he was not spending enough time on it.
Control of Greenland is an unpopular issue for Trump. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults strongly or somewhat opposed the U.S. taking over Greenland, as Trump has proposed. Republicans were split on the issue: about 4 in 10 favored a takeover, but about one-third were opposed. About one-quarter were uncertain.
The Pew survey also found sharp declines in Republicans’ confidence that Trump has the mental fitness to serve as president, respects the country’s democratic values or acts ethically in office. Only about 4 in 10 Republicans are now “extremely” or “very” confident in Trump acting ethically, down from 55% early last year.
Also concerning for Trump, given his focus on his predecessor’s mental fitness, about two-thirds of Republicans are now highly confident that Trump has the mental fitness needed to do the job of president. That’s down from 75% at the start of his second term.
Trump has been a prominent political figure for about a decade, and his supporters have often not been deterred by his non-traditional or brash behavior in the White House. Polling has often shown that issue priorities often drive voters much more than candidate character.
Despite that, there’s a possible warning for Trump in new Pew Research Center polling that shows that just over half of Republicans, 56%, support “all” or “most” of Trump’s plans and policies, down from 67% just after he took office last year.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Trump is “covering up his failures by shuttering a national landmark that belongs to the American people.”
The Rhode Island Democrat is the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees public buildings, and is an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees. He launched a probe into the Kennedy Center’s financial management in November.
Whitehouse said the planned closure is part of Trump’s “demolition tour of Washington.”
“If he succeeds, it will be because of a series of suspect and illegal actions to commandeer the Kennedy Center as a clubhouse for his friends and political allies and install leadership who satisfy his every whim.”
Many Americans still support Trump’s goal of deporting people in the country illegally, but polling shows they’re increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.
About 6 in 10 registered voters said ICE tactics have “gone too far” in a recent New York Times poll. A Fox News poll found a similar share of voters felt ICE was being “too aggressive,” a measure up 10 percentage points from July.
Immigration was among Trump’s strongest issues when he started his second term in AP-NORC polling, but it’s since fallen. Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49% in March, and that support could be slipping among Republicans as well, falling to 76% from 88% in March.
That poll was conducted Jan. 8-11, shortly after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
Voters care about the economy.
A large share of registered voters see the economy as one of the top issues the country faces, and about half in a recent New York Times poll said Trump’s policies have made life “less affordable.”
Similarly, about 7 in 10 registered voters in a Fox News poll — including about half of Republicans — said Trump is not spending enough time focusing on the economy.
Meanwhile, about 4 in 10 voters in the Fox poll said Trump’s economic policies have “hurt” them personally. Only about 2 in 10 say it has benefitted them — and looking ahead, 45% of voters say they expect the economy will “get worse” in the next year.
Trump has been bragging about his administration’s work on affordability, but recent polling suggests that Americans aren’t buying it.
Many say Trump is focusing on the wrong priorities, and they largely think he is neglecting the issue of costs. There are also signs that frustration is rising over his immigration approach, and some of his recent fixations – such as taking over Greenland -- are downright unpopular.
This has created problems for Trump headed into a midterm year. Many Americans want him to focus more on the economy and less on immigration and foreign policy. But those are the issues that dominated the headlines over the past month, thanks to Trump’s aggressive approach.
Democrats in the Senate and House are seeking new constraints on federal immigration agents after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. The Democratic demands include:
1. Ending “roving patrols” in cities and requiring coordination with local law enforcement on immigration arrests
2. Stopping the detention and deportation of U.S. citizens
3. Requiring judicial approval for warrants
4. Implementing an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents and giving them enhanced training
5. Requiring agents to wear body cameras and unmask
Republicans are open to some of the changes, but have drawn a line on judicial warrants and unmasking. They say the warrants would be onerous and warn that unmasked federal agents would face doxxing — the publishing of their private info online.
Residents of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, gathered outside the house where Liam was detained to celebrate his release and call attention to others from the community who remain in ICE detention.
Luis Zuna held up photographs of his 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who he said had been detained, along with her mother, Rosa, while driving to school on Jan. 6. He said they both remain in custody at the same facility where Liam and his father were held.
“It’s the same situation as Liam, but there were no pictures,” said Carolina Gutierrez, who works as a secretary at the school that Elizabeth attended. “Seeing Liam released, it gives us faith.”
Inquiries to DHS about that case were not immediately returned.
The government said the boy’s father entered the U.S. illegally from Ecuador in December 2024, but the family’s lawyer said he entered properly and his pending asylum claim allows him to stay. The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review’s online court docket shows no future hearings for Liam’s father.
The vast majority of asylum-seekers are released in the United States, with adults having eligibility for work permits, while their cases wind through a backlogged court system. Ecuadorians, who left in droves in recent years as their country spiraled into violence, have fared poorly in immigration court, with judges granting asylum in 12.5% of decisions in the 12-month period through September, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father are back in Minnesota after a federal judge ordered their release from a detention center in Texas. Images of immigration officers surrounding the young boy in a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack drew outrage about the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Judge Fred Biery blasted the administration, writing, “The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”
A statement from Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE did not target or arrest the boy, and repeated assertions that his mother refused to take him after his father’s apprehension.
Neighbors and school officials accused the officers of using the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house to lure his mother outside. DHS has called that description of events an “abject lie.”
Pushback from music’s biggest stars was visible at the Grammy Awards Sunday night.
Activists had pressed celebrities to don pins protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics. Billie Eilish, Finneas and Carole King wore them. So did Justin and Hailey Bieber, who don’t normally address American politics.
Eilish began her song of the year speech saying “no one is illegal on stolen land.” British soul pop singer Olivia Dean, recognized as best new artist, said she’s the granddaughter of an immigrant — people who “deserve to be celebrated.” And expletives flew as ICE got cursed multiple times.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out,” Bad Bunny said to great applause while accepting the award for best música urbana album. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
