is of Washington, asserting and daring anyone to stop him.
Here's the latest:
Trump鈥檚 freeze on health agency communications has also led to the cancellation of scientific meetings
The Trump administration鈥檚 freeze on is leading to another disruption: the abrupt cancellation of scientific meetings.
The move covers a swath of health conditions, from a Presidential Advisory Council meeting on antibiotic-resistant germs to National Institutes of Health evaluations of grant applications for research into cancer and other diseases.
People registering for that antibiotic resistance meeting next week were greeted with a message Thursday that the sudden cancellation comes 鈥渁s the new Administration considers its plan for managing federal policy and public communications.鈥�
The new policy was a surprise, as some of those NIH grant-evaluation meetings were interrupted Wednesday by officials saying they had to shut down midstream. Unclear is whether it will lift in time for federal researchers to present data at scientific conferences like a major HIV meeting in early March.
A statement from the NIH said: 鈥淗HS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health. This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.鈥�
A lengthy delay could have ripple effects as the NIH is the nation鈥檚 largest funder of medical research 鈥� important not just for drug discoveries but for jobs in universities and other labs.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says he鈥檚 spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Saar said he talked with Rubio to express appreciation for President Donald Trump鈥檚 recent pro-Israel executive orders.
In the phone call Thursday, Saar told Rubio that Israel was grateful for Trump鈥檚 move against the International Criminal Court, his re-designation of Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization and his removal of sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank accused of violence against Palestinians.
Saar said he invited Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, to the country and that they agreed to meet soon.
Saar said: 鈥淲e are committed to working hard and closely with President Trump and his administration to deal with our common challenges and to expand our alliances.鈥�
Some North Carolina officials follow Trump鈥檚 lead on DEI cuts
Two statewide offices in North Carolina, both run by Republicans, announced rollbacks of internal diversity, equity and inclusion policies Thursday in light of recent orders by President Donald Trump to eliminate DEI programs in the federal government.
North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley first said in a statement Thursday morning that his department would no longer use diversity, equity and inclusion metrics in employee evaluations. Instead, he said employees would be hired and assessed on their merit.
State Auditor Dave Boliek also announced that his office eliminated internal DEI practices, which he said are 鈥渄ivisive and brings little-to-no return on investment of time and resources.鈥� Before taking office this year, Boliek served on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, where he supported at the flagship university last year.
Trump鈥檚 official biography makes several boastful claims
Among the claims on his on the White House website are that he won 鈥渁 landslide victory鈥� last year and he 鈥渄efines the American success story.鈥�
But it leaves out what might be Trump鈥檚 most infamous assertion 鈥� his false insistence that he won the 2020 presidential election. Instead it describes his 2016 victory as his first and his 2024 comeback as his second.
鈥淗e remarkably won the Presidency in his first ever run for any political office,鈥� the biography says. 鈥淗e won a second time despite several assassination attempts and the unprecedented weaponization of law fare against him.鈥�
Trump has refused to acknowledge that he lost in 2020 to Joe Biden, and he faced criminal charges for trying to overturn his defeat. The charges were dropped when he won last year鈥檚 election because longstanding Justice Department policy says presidents can鈥檛 be prosecuted while in office.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against Hegseth, first Republican to oppose a Trump Cabinet pick
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she鈥檒l vote against Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominee for Secretary of Defense.
She鈥檚 the first Republican to publicly oppose any of Trump鈥檚 nominees.
In a statement ahead of a procedural vote on Hegseth鈥檚 nomination Thursday, Murkowski said she remains concerned 鈥渁bout the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join.鈥� Hegseth has said in the past that he doesn鈥檛 believe women should serve in combat roles in the military.
Murkowski said past behaviors Hegseth has acknowledged, 鈥渋ncluding infidelity on multiple occasions,鈥� show a lack of judgement. 鈥淭hese behaviors starkly contrast the values and discipline expected of servicemembers,鈥� Murkowski wrote.
鈥淎bove all, I believe that character is the defining trait required of the Secretary of Defense, and must be prioritized without compromise,鈥� she said.
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A federal judge temporarily blocks Trump鈥檚 executive order ending birthright citizenship
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order regardless of the parents鈥� immigration status.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.
The case is one of and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won鈥檛 become U.S. citizens.
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More former Trump officials lose security protections
President Donald Trump has for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide Brian Hook. They鈥檝e ever since they took hardline stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump鈥檚 first administration.
A congressional staffer and a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personal security details, confirmed the change. Neither could offer an explanation.
They said Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 p.m. that night.
It comes a day after Trump revoked Secret Service protection for , who was fired as Trump鈥檚 national security adviser during his first term, as well as his security clearance and those of dozens of former intelligence officials.
鈥� Matthew Lee
Democrats determined not to let congressional Republicans move on from Trump鈥檚 Jan. 6 pardons
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters during a Thursday news conference: 鈥淪hame on my House Republican colleagues. What happened to backing the blue?鈥�
Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes for participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters previously that the president made his decision, and 鈥淚 don鈥檛 second guess those.鈥�
鈥淭he release of violent felons who brutally beat police officers and women doesn鈥檛 make America safer,鈥� Jeffries told reporters.
USDA nominee promises equal treatment toward California
U.S. Department of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins said Thursday she would support giving California the help it needs fighting fires regardless of the state鈥檚 political differences with the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid from Los Angeles unless California officials change how the state manages its water resources.
Given that, California Sen. Adam Schiff asked Rollins if she would commit to equal treatment from the U.S. Forest Service, overseen by the Agriculture Department.
鈥淎re you committed to employing the same emergency resources to fight wildfires in blue states as would be deployed to fight wildfires in red states?鈥� Schiff asked.
Rollins responded that she would not discriminate against any state.
鈥淥bviously, but it bears saying since you asked, 100% yes,鈥� Rollins said. 鈥淭o watch the devastation in your beautiful state has been heartbreaking for all of us, no matter if we鈥檙e from red states or blue states.鈥�
The Senate Intelligence Committee has set a date for Tulsi Gabbard鈥檚 confirmation hearing
Gabbard is President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominee to be the next director of national intelligence.
She鈥檒l go before the committee on Jan. 30, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, the committee鈥檚 chairman, announced Thursday.
Gabbard鈥檚 nomination has alarmed some current and former national security officials who鈥檝e questioned her past comments supportive of Russia as well as meetings she had in 2017 with former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard is a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who鈥檚 since joined the Republican Party.
The Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on the confirmation of John Ratcliffe, Trump鈥檚 pick to be the next director of the CIA.
鈥榃e only have the merit discussion when we鈥檙e talking about a Black person or other person of color鈥�
Dorothy Brown, a law professor at Georgetown who specializes in the convergence of race and tax law, served on the Inaugural Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity created during the Biden administration.
The webpage for the committee has been taken down.
Brown says Trump鈥檚 DEI executive order aims to ultimately overturn the Civil Rights act of 1964 and all the rights that made it illegal to discriminate against people based on race.
鈥淲hat the Trump administration has said, and what his minions have said 鈥� is the minute someone is a person of color, someone is Black or Hispanic, they are labeled a DEI hire which means they are unqualified regardless of qualification,鈥� whereas he has filled his cabinet with white Americans 鈥渇or positions they are in no way qualified for.鈥�
Now, she says 鈥渨e only have the merit discussion when we鈥檙e talking about a Black person or other person of color.鈥�
Brown, whose membership in the Treasury committee ended in October 2024, said the portion of the executive order that targets private firms鈥� hiring practices is an example of big government intervention 鈥� and will ultimately be challenged in court.
鈥淐onservatives would say it is wrong to target someone based on their race 鈥� but that is exactly what Trump is doing.鈥�
Trump repeats desire to meet with Putin to discuss Ukraine war and criticizes OPEC+
鈥淥ne thing very important: I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon and get that war ended,鈥� Trump told the Davos audience. 鈥淲e really have to stop that war. That war is horrible鈥�
Earlier in his address to the forum, Trump laid blame on the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries for keeping the price of oil too high for much of the nearly three-year-old war. Oil sales are the economic engine driving Moscow鈥檚 economy.
鈥淚f the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,鈥� Trump said. He added about OPEC+, 鈥淭hey are very responsible to a certain extent for what鈥檚 taking place.鈥�
Oil prices have more recently slumped due to weaker than expected demand from China as well as increased production from countries such as Brazil and Argentina that aren鈥檛 in OPEC+.
USDA secretary nominee says she supports Trump鈥檚 mass deportation effort
Asked about the possible deportation of farm workers, U.S. Department of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins said Thursday that she supported President Donald Trump鈥檚 agenda and acknowledged if could be a hardship for U.S. farmers.
鈥淭he president鈥檚 vision of a secure border and a mass deportation at a scale that matters is something I support,鈥� Rollins said.
Rollins added, 鈥淭hat is my commitment, is to help President Trump deploy his agenda in an effective way while at the same time defending if confirmed as secretary of agriculture our farmers and ranchers across this country.
Rollins said she would support efforts to make temporary immigrant farm worker programs more effective.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said estimates are that up to 40% of farm workers are not in the country legally and that mass deportations could be devastating to farmers.
鈥淚 just wonder if we should give fair warning to farmers and ranchers across America that if you have immigrant labor, you should expect federal agents to come search your property,鈥� Durbin said.
Trump says he would 鈥榙emand鈥� lower interest rates once inflation drops
Talking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said he would 鈥渄emand that interest rates drop immediately鈥� because his policies would bring down oil prices.
Trump says increased oil production would put downward pressure on energy costs, reducing inflation. It wasn鈥檛 clear how he could demand lower interest rates, which are largely determined by the financial markets and the policies of the Federal Reserve, which has used higher rates to reduce inflationary pressures.
Trump has a contentious relationship with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, having criticized the head of the U.S. central bank during his first term because Powell kept rates higher than Trump would have liked in order to reduce inflationary risks.
Trump says AI means the US needs to double its energy capacity
Speaking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump said the United States will 鈥渘eed double the energy we currently have鈥� in order to develop artificial intelligence technologies.
AI requires massive amounts of electricity for its data centers, meaning a boom in the construction of power plants that Trump promised he can make happen with an emergency declaration 鈥渟o that they can start building them almost immediately.鈥�
Trump says he wants the power plants next to the data centers and talked up coal as an energy source that can survive a bomb.
Israel鈥檚 prime minister says Elon Musk is being unfairly criticized over his straight-arm gesture
Many social media users said the gesture Musk made earlier this week looked like a Nazi salute. Musk lashed out at the criticism, though his salute.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Musk has been 鈥渇alsely smeared.鈥� He described the world鈥檚 richest man as a 鈥済reat friend of Israel.鈥�
Agriculture nominee promises to explain the effect of tariffs
Senators in U.S. Department of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins鈥� confirmation hearing Thursday repeatedly implored her to ensure the Trump administration understands the effect of planned tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, said farmers and ranchers see little prospect for improving their economic condition other than expanding exports. Bennet implored Rollins to make the case to Trump that higher tariffs will devastate efforts to increase exports.
Rollins said she always would speak up for the needs of farmers and ranchers.
鈥淢y role is to defend, to honor, to elevate our entire agriculture community in the Oval Office around the table, through the interagency process and to ensure that every decision that is made in the coming four years has that front of mind as those decisions are being made,鈥� Rollins said.
Trump tells Davos his tariffs would bring 鈥榯rillions鈥� into US treasury
President Donald Trump on Thursday told business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that his tariffs 鈥渨ill direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our treasury.鈥�
Trump has been persistent on his plans to impose new import taxes on allies such as Canada and Mexico as well as potentially on geopolitical rivals such as China. But his remarks in Davos stressed that the tariffs would raise revenues 鈥渟trengthen our economy and pay down debt.鈥�
The risk of higher tariffs is that consumers could face higher inflation as manufacturers, importers and retailers adapted to the likely disruptions in global supply chains. But Trump is betting the tariffs would lead to more factory jobs.
Rollins lays out priorities if confirmed as Agriculture Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary nominee Brooke Rollins laid out four priorities Thursday as she opened her Senate confirmation hearing.
She said she would focus on distributing disaster assistance to farmers and working to deal with outbreaks of animal disease. She also called for modernizing the Agriculture Department and spending time to ensure rural development programs were effective.
Asked about her vision for increasing U.S. exports, Rollins noted the country has seen an increasing agriculture trade deficit. She acknowledged Trump has proposed to impose tariffs on some trading partners, a move that has worried many farming organizations.
Rollins also expressed support for federal nutrition programs, such as the SNAP program, but called for ensuring they are run effectively.
Trump is scheduled to speak Thursday afternoon with the El Salvador鈥檚 President Nayib Bukele
The call is Trump鈥檚 second call with a foreign leader since taking office, according to the White House, after Trump late Wednesday spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
Bukele has declared a war on gangs in his county and attended a conservative political gathering in Washington last year. The Biden administration had been critical of his strong-arm governing style.
Three more Trump nominees advance to a full vote in the Senate
Trump鈥檚 three nominees to lead energy and environmental agencies 鈥� and carry out Trump鈥檚 strategy for 鈥渆nergy dominance鈥� 鈥� cleared Senate committees Thursday.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency, while the Senate Energy and Natural Resources panel backed formed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and business executive Chris Wright to be Energy secretary.
Zeldin鈥檚 nomination was endorsed, 11-8, while the votes for Burgum and Wright were 18-2 and 15-5, respectively.
The nominations now head to the full Senate, where all three men are expected to be confirmed.
Trump has a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman
It was Trump鈥檚 first call with a foreign leader since taking office. But it鈥檚 not clear if he plans to make his first foreign trip to the oil rich kingdom, as Trump had hinted at earlier this week.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday she wasn鈥檛 aware of any plans for the president to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Leavitt also said Trump was expected to have another call with a foreign leader Thursday but didn鈥檛 have additional details about which leader he would call.
Trump鈥檚 nominee to lead the Agriculture Department will have a confirmation hearing Thursday
is scheduled to appear before the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee at 10 a.m. The agriculture chief oversees a sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition.
Rollins served as President Donald Trump鈥檚 domestic policy chief during his first administration, a portfolio that included agricultural policy. She later was president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group that helped lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration.
The Kremlin is closely monitoring Trump鈥檚 鈥榮tatements and rhetoric鈥�
The response from the Kremlin came Thursday after the US president threatened Moscow with further sanctions if an agreement isn鈥檛 reached to end the fighting in Ukraine.
In a post to his Truth Social site on Wednesday, Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to 鈥渟ettle now and stop this ridiculous war.鈥�
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 make a 鈥榙eal,鈥� and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,鈥� Trump added in the post.
During his regular call with journalists on Thursday morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said these threats were nothing new. 鈥淭rump, in his first iteration of his presidency, was the American president who most often resorted to sanctions methods. He likes these methods,鈥� Peskov said.
Peskov added that Moscow 鈥渞emains ready for an equal dialogue, for a mutually respectful dialogue.鈥�
Trump uses a false premise to justify conditioning California wildfire relief
In an interview aired Wednesday night, Trump said he may withhold aid to California until the state adjusts how it manages its scarce water resources. He falsely claimed that California鈥檚 fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for in urban areas.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,鈥� Trump told Fox News鈥� Sean Hannity.
Local officials have said the conservation efforts for the delta smelt had nothing to do with the hydrants running dry as firefighters tried to contain flames around Los Angeles. They cited limited municipal systems, which are not designed to battle such massive blazes.
鈥淟os Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it. All they have to do is turn the valve,鈥� the president said.
Cracks emerge in House GOP after speaker鈥檚 threat to saddle California wildfire aid with conditions
California Republicans are pushing back against suggestions by President , House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans that federal disaster aid for that ravaged Southern California should come with strings attached, possibly jeopardizing the president鈥檚 policy agenda in a deeply divided Congress at the outset of his second term.
Several Republicans who narrowly won California House seats in November have expressed dismay that the state relief could be hitched to demands in exchange for helping the thousands of Californians in their districts still reeling from this month鈥檚 disaster.
鈥淧laying politics with people鈥檚 livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the Southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders,鈥� Republican Rep. Young Kim, whose closely divided district is anchored in fire-prone Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles, said in a statement.
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House passes immigrant detention bill that would be Trump鈥檚 first law to sign
The House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes, marking the first legislation that President Donald Trump can sign as Congress, with some bipartisan support, swiftly moved in line with his plans to .
Passage of the Laken Riley Act, which was named after who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man, shows just how sharply the political debate over immigration has shifted to the right following Trump鈥檚 election victory. Immigration policy has often been one of the most entrenched issues in Congress, but a crucial faction of 46 politically vulnerable Democrats joined with Republicans to lift the strict proposal to passage on a 263-156 vote tally.
鈥淔or decades, it has been almost impossible for our government to agree on solutions for the problems at our border and within our country,鈥� said Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican. She called the legislation 鈥減erhaps the most significant immigration enforcement bill鈥� to be passed by Congress in nearly three decades.
Still, the bill would require a massive ramp-up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement鈥檚 capabilities, but does not include any new funding.
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The Associated Press has removed an item from US-Trump-The-Latest about an NSA diversity official being laid off. It was based off a social media post that the person said was a joke.
The Associated Press
