What to know today
- President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this afternoon. It's his first meeting with a foreign leader since his second inauguration.
- Two of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, secured Senate committee backing for confirmation votes by the full chamber despite facing headwinds on their respective nominations for health and human services secretary and director of national intelligence.
- Trump's promised tariffs on China went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET, prompting retaliatory tariffs from Beijing. Trump said yesterday he would delay tariffs on Canada and Mexico that were set to take effect today after he negotiated with their leaders.
Trump says the U.S. would send troops to Gaza ‘if necessary’
Asked if the U.S. would send troops to Gaza to help secure it, Trump said: "As far as Gaza is concerned, we'll do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that."
"We're going to take over that piece, and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of," Trump added.
Netanyahu says Trump's suggestion of U.S. controlling Gaza is worth pursuing
Netanyahu said Trump's suggestion that the United States could take control over Gaza is "worthwhile" to pursue.
"He sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so much, so many attacks against us, so many, so many trials and so many tribulations. He has a different idea, and I think it’s worth paying attention to this," Netanyahu said.
"We’re talking about it. He’s exploring it with his people, with his staff. I think it’s something that could change history, and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this," Netanyahu added.
Trump says ‘U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip’
Trump said at a news conference after his meeting with Netanyahu that the United States “will take over the Gaza Strip.”
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” Trump said, adding that “if you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”
Earlier today, Trump said people would not want to go back to Gaza because of the destruction in the area.
Trump added that the United States will do "what is necessary" and that it will do with Gaza "something that the entire Middle East can be proud of."
"As far as Gaza is concerned, we'll do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that. We're going to take over that piece, and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs," he said.
Trump and Netanyahu news conference is underway
A joint news conference with Trump and Netanyahu is underway after their bilateral meeting at the White House.
Trump repeated some of his remarks today about Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying they should leave their homes and live in nearby countries.
White House warns that federal workers who don’t take resignation offer could be laid off, relocated
The Office of Personnel Management sent out another memo today about the “deferred resignation” offer, telling government workers that many agencies will be downsized amid “restructuring, realignments” and that layoffs loom.
“These actions are likely to include the use of furloughs and reclassification to at-will status” for an unspecified number of employees, the memo said.
The memo — apparently an effort to drive more federal employees to accept the resignation offer — warned that there will not be any extension of the offer, which expires at 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday, and reminded recipients that they will be held to new standards and policies if they stay on.
Among other things, government employees who do not voluntarily resign will be expected to return to the office even as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency moves to consolidate and divest the U.S. government of previous investments in office real estate.
Such a reduction in buildings may lead to “physical office relocations for federal workers,” the OPM told employees today.
The memo also said employees who are not “reliable, loyal, trustworthy” or those who engage in “unlawful behavior or other misconduct” will be “prioritized” for investigations and disciplinary action, including terminations.
The memo was accompanied by a template that employees were told would serve as their resignation letter if they reply to the email from their government work addresses and type the word “resign” in the body of the email before they hit send.
Democratic lawmakers protest against Musk in front of Treasury building
Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida are protesting outside the U.S. Treasury, speaking out against Musk's being granted access to sensitive government databases and the Treasury Department’s payment system.
“In the building behind me, Elon Musk is seizing power from the American people,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at the protest.
“A few months ago, Elon Musk spent $280 million to buy an election for Donald Trump. Now, Elon Musk is here to collect on his investment. He is here to seize power for himself. We are here to fight back,” she added.
Frost said on X that the group was not allowed entry into the Treasury building.
"They are denying entry to 2 dozen members of Congress. Elon Musk has all our private information & we have no idea what he’s doing with it. This is happening completely behind closed doors. HELL NO. It’s illegal. We demand oversight!" he wrote.
Lawmakers at the protest also include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M.; Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M.; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
“We are here because we need to understand why it is that our Department of Treasury has been broken into,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said in a video on X joined by Frost and Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.
OPM says more than 20K federal workers have taken buyout offer
A spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management told NBC News that the number of federal employees who have accepted the deferred resignation offer is greater than 20,000.
The spokesperson said that the number of resignations is “rapidly growing” and that OPM expects it to continue to spike as the resignation deadline of Friday nears.
The Trump administration last week made buyout offers to roughly 2 million federal workers.
Dozens of undocumented Indian immigrants deported on U.S. military aircraft
A U.S. military aircraft was used to deport dozens of Indian nationals this week, a U.S. defense official with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to NBC News.
The C-17 plane, an aircraft most commonly used to transport supplies and troops, left the United States for India, carrying an estimated 100 undocumented Indian immigrants, the official said.
The flight is among the latest deportations that involve the use of military planes after Trump signed an executive order last month giving the military a role in immigration enforcement and border security.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, a Cabinet minister in the state of Punjab, said it is a “relief” that the Indian nationals are being repatriated rather than detained.
“Our youths will be shattered if they are put in the jails there,” Dhaliwal told The Indian Express. “It is better that they come back home.”
Robert Salesses, then the acting defense secretary, said in a statement last month that the Pentagon would provide military airlifts to support deportation flights for more than 5,000 undocumented immigrants. Since then, several military flights have departed U.S. soil, but many have encountered issues before they landed.
Mexico blocked a U.S. military flight carrying undocumented immigrants in late January, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro initially refused to accept two military flights headed for his country. Days later, Colombia agreed to Trump’s terms, the White House said, after Trump threatened to impose sweeping retaliatory measures, including tariffs and visa sanctions.
Trump claims Palestinians have ‘no alternative’ but to leave Gaza before his meeting with Netanyahu
Just ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said Palestinians had “no alternative” but to leave their homes in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump called Gaza, which has been devastated by the Israel-Hamas war, a “demolition site” and suggested that its inhabitants would be “thrilled” to live elsewhere.
“I don’t how they could want to stay. It’s a demolition site,” he said, adding that going to a new piece of land “would be a lot better than going back to Gaza, which has had decades and decades of death.”
Asked whether that would mean forcibly displacing people, Trump said: “I don’t think so. I think if they had the opportunity, if they had an alternative — they have no alternative right now. They’re there because they have no alternative. What do they have? It’s a big pile of rubble right now. Who can live like that?”
“I think they’d be thrilled to do it,” he said, adding that right now, “they don’t have an option.”
Beijing responded with retaliatory measures after Trump announced a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods. CNBC correspondent Megan Casella reports on what it means for consumers.
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba and India's Modi to visit White House in coming days
Trump is set to continue hosting foreign leaders in Washington after today's bilateral meeting with Netanyahu.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will visit the White House on Friday, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit sometime next week, according to a senior administration official.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II is set to visit next Tuesday.
Sen. Todd Young credits JD Vance for convincing him on Gabbard
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., told reporters today that Vice President JD Vance played a key role in winning his support for Gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence.
“There was certain language I wanted her to embrace in her answers to reassure me that those national security gaps would be filled. And [I] worked with Vice President Vance, and he got me those the requested answers,” Young said. “This is how the process is supposed to work. It’s supposed to be a consultative process.”
Vance also helped another on-the-fence Republican back a Trump nominee. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said today on X that Vance helped sway his vote on Kennedy's nomination as health secretary.
Trump signed an executive order aimed at withdrawing the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council and UNRWA and for broader review of U.S. funding for the international organization.
Trans young adults and parents sue over Trump’s orders restricting transition care
Two transgender young adults and five families of trans minors filed a federal lawsuit today challenging two executive orders Trump issued over the last two weeks that aim to prohibit federal funding of transition-related health care for anyone under 19, and define sex as biological, only male and female and unchangeable.
“The Executive Orders were issued for the openly discriminatory purpose of preventing transgender people from expressing a gender identity different from their sex designated at birth—and expressing governmental disapproval of transgender people who, by definition, have a gender identity that does not align with their sex designated at birth,” the lawsuit states. “These Orders are part of a government-wide effort by the Trump Administration to restrict legal protections and essential services for the transgender community.”
One of the plaintiffs, Kristen Chapman, said she and her family moved to Virginia in the summer of 2023 after their home state of Tennessee passed a law banning gender-affirming medical care for trans minors like her 17-year-old daughter, Willow. The family struggled to find a provider in Virginia who would accept Medicaid, which is a government health care program for people with limited income. Chapman said the family paid for Willow’s care out of pocket, but it became “prohibitively expensive.” After trying for a few months, she said they were finally able to schedule an appointment for Jan. 29 at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, which would take Medicaid.
Negotiations stall ahead of shutdown deadline as Democrats slam Trump for subverting spending laws
Reporting from Washington
Government funding negotiations have stalled ahead of a key March 14 deadline to prevent a shutdown, three sources with knowledge of the talks said, as Trump’s attempts to unilaterally halt funding and overhaul agencies have damaged an already fraught push for a bipartisan deal.
Congressional leaders in both parties haven’t yet agreed on a top-line dollar amount to spend in the new fiscal year, which is the first step to fleshing out any deal, the three sources said. Two of them added that Trump’s recent actions are contributing to the lack of progress, but that they aren’t the only factor.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told NBC News in a statement that it is “extremely difficult to reach an agreement” on how to keep the government functioning — “when the President is illegally blocking vast chunks of approved funding, when he is trying to unilaterally shutter critical agencies, and when an unelected billionaire is empowered to force his way into our government’s central, highly-sensitive payments system.”
Speaker Johnson texts Elon Musk: 'Continue the effort' on DOGE
Reporting from Washington
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he texted Elon Musk this afternoon and urged him to keep up his efforts through Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to overhaul the federal government.
"I spoke with Elon. We were texting within the last hour, and I told him to continue the effort, because it's really important for us to get to restore fiscal sanity," Johnson told reporters in the Capitol.
Musk has faced fierce backlash from congressional Democrats and federal employees after he and Trump moved yesterday to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID. Johnson defended Musk’s DOGE push as “positive.”
“So we welcome the oversight, the additional attention that’s being paid to it,” Johnson said of federal spending in executive agencies. “And I think these are very positive developments. And I think the vast majority of the American people believe this comports with common sense.”
Trump reinstates 'maximum pressure' policy on Iran, says he hopes not to use it 'very much'
Trump, while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he is reinstating “maximum pressure” on Iran, reprising a policy from his first term in office. The president signed an order that an aide said is aimed at sanctioning Iranian programs on terrorism.
“It’s very tough on Iran,” Trump said, adding that he’s “torn” on signing it. “Hopefully, we are not going to have to use it very much.”
He said he hoped for peace.
Trump added that he would “love to have a relationship” with Iran but that “they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Democratic senators call for probe into Elon Musk, DOGE access to federal databases
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s decision to grant access to sensitive federal data to Elon Musk and other Department of Government Efficiency employees.
In a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro, the senators said the accessed government payment systems process trillions of dollars in transactions each year and contain personal information for tens of millions of Americans.
“The process by which Mr. Musk’s team obtained access to these systems is troubling — as are the implications,” they wrote. “The access may threaten economic and national security.”
Warren and Wyden urged the GAO to look into which systems were accessed, whether the individuals who have access hold appropriate security clearances and if there are protections in place for Americans’ privacy.
The senators also questioned Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, pointing to an announcement that his social media platform X will be partnering with Visa on a payment system it plans to launch this year. The people who accessed the federal payment systems may have done so “for their own personal gain,” they wrote.
Senate committee backs Tulsi Gabbard as next intelligence chief
The Senate Intelligence Committee today voted 9-8 to back Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, clearing an important hurdle for her nomination.
The committee’s action opens the way for the full Senate to decide if Gabbard should be confirmed as the country’s top-ranking intelligence official.
At her confirmation hearing last week, Gabbard had faced pointed questions from some Republicans about her stances on Edward Snowden and the controversial surveillance program he helped expose. The questioning fueled speculation about whether Gabbard would win the backing of the committee, where Republicans have a 9-8 majority.
Can an executive order eliminate the Education Department?
Two sources told NBC News that the White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Education Department. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reports on how Congress is the only body with the power to create or remove federal agencies.
FBI agents sue Justice Department over efforts to identify agents on Jan. 6 cases
Nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit today over the Trump administration’s efforts to identify and force out FBI staff members who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, alleging the Justice Department violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs, who are not named in the lawsuit, intend to represent a class of at least 6,000 current and former FBI employees “who participated in some manner in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and abuses of power by Donald Trump, or by those acting at his behest,” the complaint says.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on the lawsuit.
The agents say they were instructed to fill out a survey regarding their roles, if any, in Jan. 6 cases and the Trump classified documents case. They have been informed they are “likely to be terminated in the very near future,” the lawsuit says.
With the lawsuit, the agents seek to block the compilation of lists naming FBI personnel who worked on Jan. 6 investigations and the potential publication of such information. Some of the agents’ personal information has already been posted to the dark web, according to the lawsuit.
“The very act of compiling lists of persons who worked on matters that upset Donald Trump is retaliatory in nature, intended to intimidate FBI agents and other personnel, and to discourage them from reporting any future malfeasance and by Donald Trump and his agents,” the complaint says.
Senate confirmes Doug Collins for veterans affairs secretary
The Senate voted 77-23 to confirm former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., as Trump’s veterans affairs secretary. Collins is an Air Force veteran and was a staunch Trump ally during his first impeachment and his 2020 election loss.
Can Trump close or reshape federal agencies? Experts weigh in
The president does not have authority to abolish a federal department or agency created by Congress, legal experts say.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Elon Musk has said he and Trump are in the process of shutting down, was established first by an executive order in 1961 and later by a law Congress passed in 1998.
A more recent law, the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024, which was incorporated into a larger congressional spending bill, requires that the executive branch notify and consult with Congress on any proposed reorganization or downsizing of the agency.
Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, said his “best reading of the law is that although the president could direct greater coordination of USAID with the State Department and maybe even transfer some functions, he cannot unilaterally abolish the agency by executive order."
“It has been established by an act of Congress and can be eliminated only by an act of Congress,” he said.
To that point, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s letter to senators yesterday asking to consult with them about the future of USAID specifically referred to the 2024 appropriations act, which looked "like at least a nod towards the rule of law,” said Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, who worked as deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council under the Obama administration.
Rubio, who was named by Trump as acting USAID administrator, said in his letter to lawmakers that certain USAID missions could be shifted to the State Department and remaining agency activities "abolished consistent with applicable law."
As Rubio has been confirmed by the Senate, the administration could argue it is seeking a legal path to restructuring the agency and is consulting as required with lawmakers, congressional aides said.
But the Trump administration’s recent actions, including locking employees out of headquarters, halting congressionally funded USAID programs, and cutting off email access for staff, as well as statements from Elon Musk, have sent a different message: that it possibly intends to dismantle the agency altogether.
“Is the administration purporting to be transferring all of USAID’s functions to the State Department, or are they simply being performed under a new acting administrator?” Bridgeman asked. “We don’t know the answer to that question. So it’s really hard to say whether the functions assigned to USAID by statute have been retained.”
Those who want to raise constitutional claims against the effort to abolish the agency would need to establish legal standing to sue. If the agency were dissolved outright, organizations that receive funding from USAID could have standing to challenge the move as an “injured party,” according to Bridgeman.
Employees at USAID also potentially have legal recourse if they are dismissed from their jobs in a way that violates federal laws governing civil servants.
Vance embraces 'honest broker' role in tough confirmation fights
There was a common denominator today when Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Todd Young, R-Ind., announced their support for Cabinet nominees Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard: Vice President JD Vance.
Young's support for Gabbard as director of national intelligence followed extensive talks with Vance. Cassidy directly thanked "VP JD ... for his honest counsel" before revealing he will vote to confirm Kennedy as health and human services secretary.
Vance spoke with Cassidy and Young — as did other administration officials — numerous times in recent days to discuss their remaining concerns, a source familiar with the vice president's role told NBC News. Vance, a former senator from Ohio, has long maintained good relationships with the two, having served with both.
The vice president, the source familiar with his role asserted, is quickly becoming a trusted voice among GOP senators and is seen as an honest broker in discussions about the administration’s agenda.
RFK Jr. critic Tim Kaine says ‘Vegas odds’ are in his favor in Senate vote
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in an interview on MSNBC that the “Vegas odds” are in RFK Jr.’s favor now that Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has said he will vote for his nomination for health secretary.
Cassidy, a physician who serves as chair of the Senate health committee, initially said he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s nomination over his views on vaccines. In a speech on the Senate floor today, Cassidy said the Trump administration reached out to reassure him of its stance on protecting vaccines and had committed to collaborating with him.
Speaking about some of Kennedy's controversial views, Kaine said, “The fact that Republicans would vote for somebody who says he won’t take sides about 9/11 — this is not the Republican Party that I’ve been familiar with during my entire life.”
ACLU and immigrant advocacy groups sue over asylum freeze
Reporting from San Antonio
Immigrant and civil liberties groups are suing the Trump administration over its shutdown of the asylum process, arguing that the administration is making false claims of an “invasion” at the border.
The asylum shutdown means families and individuals could end up back in countries where they could be at risk of persecution or torture, with no recourse, the groups said in the lawsuit filed yesterday. They added that even unaccompanied children are at risk.
The lawsuit challenges Trump's authority to declare an invasion at the southern border — as he did in an executive order — and to suspend migrants’ entry to the U.S. to request asylum. “Immigration — even at elevated levels — is not an 'invasion,'” the suit reads.
The suit also argues that the law Trump relied on to stop asylum does not allow the president to “summarily expel” noncitizens already in the U.S.
The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and immigrant and civil rights groups on behalf of the Texas-based Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the Arizona-based Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.
Key Republican senator says RFK Jr.’s promise to protect vaccines secured his confirmation vote
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., explained his decision to support RFK Jr.’s nomination for health secretary in a speech on the Senate floor today, saying the Trump administration reached out to reassure him of their “commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination.”
“To this end, Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close, collaborative working relationship,” Cassidy said. “He has also committed that he would worked within current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems and not established parallel systems.”
Cassidy, a doctor and chairman of the Senate health committee, was considered a key swing vote after he took issue with Kennedy’s comments undermining confidence in vaccines. During his hearing, Kennedy also struggled to answer questions about Medicaid and potential reforms.
Cassidy said today that Kennedy committed to not making changes to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee on immunization practices. He also said Kennedy would not make the CDC remove statements on its website stating vaccines do not cause autism.
“My expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again is the basis of my support,” Cassidy said. “If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed, I will use my authority as chairman of the Senate committee with oversight of HHS to rebuff any attempt to remove the public’s access to lifesaving vaccines without iron clad, causational scientific evidence.”
Sen. Todd Young spoke to Vance before supporting Gabbard’s nomination
Before announcing his support for Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., engaged in extensive conversations with Vice President JD Vance, a source familiar with Young’s decision told NBC News.
Vance was instrumental in securing the commitments necessary for Young’s support for Gabbard, the source said. Young does not believe Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information on U.S. surveillance programs, should receive a pardon, and the senator was concerned about her perspective on whistleblowers and wanted assurances in writing, the source said.
Trump expected to speak to China's Xi 'soon' amid tariffs face-off
Trump is expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping "soon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today, as both countries begin to impose tariffs on each other's products.
"It is being scheduled and will happen very soon," Leavitt said outside the White House.
Trump "made it very clear with the 10% tariff on China that he is not going to allow China to continue to source and distribute deadly fentanyl into our country," Leavitt said.
"That was the reason for this tariff," she continued. "It was a retaliatory tariff on China for the last four years of their unprecedented distribution of fentanyl into our nation’s borders."
White House preparing executive order to abolish the Education Department
The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Education Department, two sources familiar with the plans told NBC News.
Trump cannot unilaterally abolish a federal agency without the approval of Congress.
The planned order follows years of campaign promises from Trump to abolish the department.
What is USAID, the foreign assistance agency Trump wants to shut down?
NBC News’ Valerie Castro explains the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the impact if Trump closes it.
First U.S. migrant flight to Guantanamo Bay ‘underway,’ Karoline Leavitt says
The first flight to Guantanamo Bay with deported migrants from the United States is underway, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox Business this morning.
“President Trump, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem are already delivering on this promise to utilize that capacity at Gitmo for illegal criminals who have broken our nation’s immigration laws and then have further committed heinous crimes against lawful American citizens here at home,” Leavitt said.
Trump to attend Super Bowl
A White House official tells NBC News that President Trump will attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans this Sunday.
Trump is also sitting down for a pre-game interview with Fox News' Bret Baier.
Key Republican senator supports Tulsi Gabbard's nomination for director of national intelligence
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said in a series of posts on X this morning that he will support Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
Young, who was considered a possible "no" on Gabbard's nomination, posted a letter she sent him saying that, if confirmed, she would be "checking my own views at the door."
In the letter, Gabbard committed to holding intelligence community employees accountable for making or facilitating unauthorized disclosures of any intelligence programs. That issue came into question at her confirmation hearing, when she deflected questions from members of the Finance Committee on whether she considered Edward Snowden a "traitor" for leaking classified information on a National Security Agency surveillance program.
"I commit to not making any recommendation in a personal or professional capacity regarding the legal standing of Edward Snowden to the President of the United States or the Attorney General of the United States," she said.
Gabbard also promised to provide information about her foreign travel and visits with foreign officials.
"Having now secured these commitments, I will support Tulsi’s nomination and look forward to working with her to protect our national security," Young said.
Several lawmakers at her confirmation hearing had expressed concern about her previous meeting with Bashar al-Assad when he was Syria's president.
Top committee Democrat warns putting Kennedy in charge of HHS would be 'deadly'
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in remarks before the vote on Kennedy's nomination that the nominee had made 114 appearances in the last four years in which he "espoused anti-vaccine views or spread information about the efficacy of vaccines misinformation."
"Specifically, 36 of those instances, Mr. Kennedy directly linked vaccines to autism," Wyden said.
"Mr. Kennedy was given ample authority on a bipartisan basis to recant his decades-long career peddling anti-vaccine conspiracies," Wyden said. "Instead, he spent his time with us, dodging and weaving, and gave no indication that if confirmed as HHS secretary, he would stand by the long-settled science surrounding routine vaccinations."
He added, "Peddling these conspiracy theories as the nation's chief health officer is going to be deadly for kids across the country."
Navarro says tariffs would end if Americans ‘stop dying from fentanyl’
Peter Navarro, Trump's senior trade adviser, told Fox Business this morning that the metric for the president to end the now-paused tariffs against Canada and Mexico will be for Americans “to stop dying from fentanyl.”
“It’s important to remind people always when they talk about tariffs, is why; 75,000 Americans are dying every year alone from fentanyl poisoning,” Navarro said. “The people who are dying are prime age workers, so that we’re actually having a severe economic impact.”
Comparing Canada and Mexico with China, Navarro said the difference between them is that China “has a long history ... of simply not doing what it said it was going to do.”
“This is not our first rodeo," Navarro told anchor Maria Bartiromo. "We have to have institutional memory. And you, above all people, should remember the hysteria over the initial China tariffs, and all we had was prosperity and zero inflation. So let’s trust in Trump. Trust in Trump.”
Senate panel advances RFK Jr.’s nomination to be health secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cleared a key hurdle today after a Senate panel voted to advance his nomination to be health and human services secretary to the full chamber.
The vote was 14-13 on party lines.
Cassidy says he will support RFK
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said just before the vote that he would support RFK's nomination. Cassidy, a doctor and chair of the Senate health committee, was considered a pivotal vote.
Cassidy, who grilled Kennedy on vaccines during last week's hearing, previously said he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s nomination.
Crapo says he plans to vote for RFK Jr.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in his opening statement that he plans to vote for Kennedy.
"He has spent his career fighting to end America's chronic illness epidemic, and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency, both for patients and for taxpayers," Crapo said.
Crapo added, "Mr. Kennedy has proven his commitment to the role of secretary of the HHS, and I will vote in favor of his nomination. I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same."
With military housing costs skyrocketing, Democratic senators request Pentagon action
During his 11 years as a Marine, Brenden Taylor and his family have moved several times. But when they left Okinawa, Japan, in 2022 for Camp Pendleton in Southern California, finding an affordable home to rent using his military housing allowance became an almost impossible challenge. Finally, they found something they could afford in Murietta, a 45-minute drive from the base.
Rising rents are a problem for many families. From 2021 to 2023, the median U.S. rent increased 25%, adjusted for inflation, according to research from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. During the same period, renters’ median household incomes rose only 5%, the study found.
Concerned about the price hikes, 15 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, led by ranking member Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, want the Defense Department to investigate what’s driving them.
Trump pushes RFK Jr. nomination moments before committee vote
Trump pushed RFK Jr.'s nomination this morning in a post that echoed some of the conspiracy theories that Kennedy has pushed about autism.
"20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong. We need BOBBY!!! Thank You! DJT," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Kennedy has repeatedly linked vaccines to autism despite that theory having been debunked. At his confirmation hearing, he didn't back away from that position or other anti-vaccine comments he has made, prompting concern from Democratic and some Republican senators, including Bill Cassidy, R-La, a doctor and longtime vaccine advocate.
Rubio says El Salvador offers to accept deportees and house U.S. criminals
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has offered to accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States.
Gates talks Trump and Musk 'disruption': 'I want to engage positively to get things back on track'
Billionaire Bill Gates reflected in an interview on NBC's "TODAY" show this morning on his recent meeting with Trump, Elon Musk and Musk's efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Gates, whose foundation works to improve the lives of people in developing countries, said he told Trump at their meeting at Mar-a-Lago before the inauguration, "We both believe in saving lives." Trump seemed "receptive" in the meeting, he said.
"TODAY" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie noted that just a few weeks later, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, and that Musk is trying to shut down USAID.
Asked if he thinks Trump was placating him, Gates said, "I’m still hopeful. You know, I think all Americans can agree that keeping people alive for very little money. We should be proud of that. It started back with President Bush. There’s some disruption going on now, and I want to engage positively to get things back on track."
Asked about whether he's comfortable with the amount of power Musk has, Gates said he admires the tech billionaire's work in the private sector, but he said in the case of USAID, "He doesn’t appreciate the phenomenal work that goes on. It’s not partisan work."
"It’s nutrition," Gates said as an example. "I give billions of dollars to the same thing that USAID does. I go out in the field and study these things."
Gates said if Musk really understood USAID's activities, he wouldn't be telling its employees not to do that work.
Trump says he will continue funding Ukraine’s war effort — but he wants something rare in return
Trump says he wants access to Ukraine’s bonanza of rare earth and critical minerals in exchange for the billions of dollars in military aid Washington has been supplying to Kyiv.
It’s an idea previously suggested by Republican senators and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who sought to appeal to Trump’s dealmaker persona as a way of keeping alive Washington’s support of Kyiv.
“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.”
Musk and DOGE are hacking the government
In the shorthand of the tech industry, Elon Musk has hacked into the government.
The billionaire tech magnate has never been elected to office or been confirmed by the Senate for a high-level government job, but in the span of a few days, Musk has still gained access to sensitive federal data through his position as head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency project, or DOGE, to push a far-reaching agenda and potentially spark a constitutional crisis.
Musk has embraced Silicon Valley’s most notorious instincts to “move fast and break things” in a lightning battle to muscle into the computer systems and power structures of federal agencies. As he did with his corporate takeover of Twitter in 2022, he has brought in a team to assess details such as office building leases, budget line items, vendor contracts and the performance of individual employees — with the stated intention of radically downsizing the organization.
Vance will attend Paris AI summit and the Munich Security Conference
Vice President JD Vance will attend an artificial intelligence summit next Monday and Tuesday in Paris, his office confirmed after Reuters first reported the trip.
Vance will also attend the Munich Security Conference, beginning Feb. 14. It's unclear what the vice president plans to do between the two events.
A day after his inauguration last month, Trump announced a new joint venture called Stargate, a $500 billion investment by several tech companies to create AI infrastructure.
USAID’s future uncertain as Musk targets its budget
Trump’s ally Elon Musk targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development and its $40 billion budget as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is now its executive director. It comes as the DOGE team is granted access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems and Musk is given top secret security clearance. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."
Rubio empowers State Department official to run USAID
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has empowered a top official at the State Department to run the U.S. Agency for International Development and begin reviewing all the work done by the government agency targeted for dismantling by Trump and tech billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
Rubio tapped Pete Marocco, director of foreign assistance at the State Department; he also warned that certain projects or programs might be suspended or eliminated.
Marocco held several national security positions during the first Trump administration, including at USAID, where his attempts to consolidate power and slash funding drove officials to write a dissent memo that ultimately pushed him out of office, according to multiple sources who spoke with NBC News.
Marocco has worked closely with the administration’s other political appointees at USAID during the first weeks of Trump’s second term, two current USAID officials with knowledge of the agency’s new leadership structure and a source familiar with USAID’s day-to-day operations said.
Other people familiar with the agency’s operations say Marocco has largely directed the downsizing of the agency from afar.
Trump set to meet with Netanyahu at the White House
Trump today will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the first foreign leader to meet with the president since he started his second term.
Speaking with reporters Sunday, Trump previewed the discussion at the White House as a “very big meeting.” In his letter inviting Netanyahu to Washington last week, Trump wrote, “I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries.”
Netanyahu said Sunday that they will discuss “the critical issues that lie ahead of us — defeating Hamas, returning all our hostages, and dealing with the Iranian axis in all its components, an axis that also threatens Israel’s security, the Middle East, and the entire world.”
China outlines U.S. products subject to tariffs
The Chinese government has released a long list of U.S. imports that will be affected by targeted tariffs in response to a 10% U.S. tariff on all goods imported from China.
China will impose a 10% tariff on U.S. crude oil; a long list of agricultural machines and tools, including tractors and fertilizer; and larger cars and pickup trucks.
Coal and liquefied natural gas will be subject to a 15% tariff.
The U.S. tariff on China went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET, while the Chinese tariffs on the U.S. will take effect starting Feb. 10.
Senate Intelligence Committee to vote on advancing Gabbard for director of national intelligence
The Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on Gabbard’s nomination for director of national intelligence today.
Gabbard, who cannot lose a single Republican on the panel given the GOP's one-vote majority, faced a tough confirmation hearing, notably refusing to directly answer a question about National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who pressed Gabbard on her answers on Snowden, said yesterday that she would support the nomination.
Senate Finance Committee to vote on advancing Kennedy's nomination
The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote today on whether to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health and human services secretary to the full Senate.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is a key vote to watch. Cassidy, a physician who has long advocated for vaccines, said last week he was “struggling” with the nomination, citing Kennedy’s history of undermining vaccine use.
If his nomination advances to the Senate floor, Kennedy can't afford to lose more than three Republican votes if all Democrats oppose him.