What to know today
- The Trump administration is directing the Justice Department to boost efforts on immigration enforcement, according to a memo sent to staff by Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. The administration is planning to send 1,500 more personnel to the southern border, the acting defense secretary said
- The House passed an amended version of the Laken Riley Act this afternoon. The measure now heads to President Donald Trump's desk, meaning it could become the first bill that he signs into law during his second administration.
- Trump sat for a taped interview with Fox News host sean Hannity. It's expected to air this evening.
- Trump's nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, was grilled during a senate hearing over Trump's decision to withhold aid to Ukraine during his first term. Vought was the acting OMB director at the time.
Capitol rioter says 'Trump can shove his pardon up his a--'
Jason Riddle, who pleaded guilty to entering the U.s. Capitol and theft of government property during the attack on the building four years ago, blasted Trump's decision to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, telling ABC News in an interview that “Trump can shove his pardon up his a--.”
Riddle ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for a House seat last year.
Riddle admitted to chugging wine he found in an office inside the Capitol, according to court filings. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in prison.
“I am guilty of the crimes I have committed and accept the consequences,” Riddle told ABC News.
He also criticized Trump's pardoning of rioters who had assaulted police officers.
“If I was one of the people who crossed the line into assaulting police officers that day, I’d probably believe I can get away with anything I want now,” Riddle told the outlet.
Government webpages vanish under Trump, from DEI to reproductive rights
In the first few days of Trump’s second presidency, his administration has already overhauled the federal government’s online footprint.
The White House website no longer has a spanish-language version. It has removed a disclaimer promising to make it accessible to people with disabilities. And a number of federal agencies have removed web pages related to reproductive rights and diversity.
It’s standard for a new president to remake the White House website to reflect their administration’s goals and values, and some of the missing pages appear to be temporary changes.
ODNI says it's complying with Trump order revoking security clearances for former intel officials
Reporting from Washington
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a social media post that it is complying with Trump’s executive order revoking security clearances for dozens of former intelligence officials who signed a letter in 2020 saying Russia was possibly behind the release of Hunter Biden’s emails as part of Moscow’s effort to influence the presidential election.
The CIA said earlier today that it had complied with the order to strip former senior intelligence officials of their security clearances, NBC News previously reported.
The president’s order appears to be a primarily symbolic act of retribution, as it’s not clear how many of the former officials still had active security clearances.
The letter’s signatories included former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Defense secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta, former acting CIA Director Michael Morrell, former CIA Director and head of the National security Agency Gen. Michael Hayden and former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin.
Trump issues more immigration orders on third day in office, while enforcement details remain unclear
In his third day in office, Trump signed more executive orders aimed at shutting down the U.s. southern border to immigration and ramping up deportations — though large scale deportation raids had yet to materialize as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, Trump signed an executive order that “suspends the physical entry of aliens engaged in an invasion of the United states through the southern border.”
Trump revokes executive order banning discrimination in federal contracting
Trump this week revoked an executive order aimed at banning discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors as part of his sweeping effort to crack down on federal diversity programs.
The White House said in a memo today that the order signed a day earlier “protects the civil rights of all Americans and expands individual opportunity by terminating radical DEI preferencing in federal contracting and directing federal agencies to relentlessly combat private sector discrimination.”
The revoked order had required “affirmative action and prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” according to a summary by the Department of Labor. It was first signed by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson and initially covered government employees but was later narrowed to contractors.
The 1,500 additional troops set to the border would bring the total to roughly 4,000
There are currently approximately 2,500 U.s. troops assigned to the border mission on Title 10 orders (activated on federal active duty). The announcement that 1,500 troops — roughly 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines — will be sent brings that total to about 4,000. They will all be on Title 10 status.
There will be about 100 more supporting the aircraft supporting the two C-17s and two C-130 aircraft assigned to deportation flights. Those have not begun yet, and the state Department is still working on clearances in the countries, but officials will deport the roughly 5,400 migrants in detention now, according to a defense official.
The 500 Marines, part of an engineering unit, were waiting to see whether FEMA needed them to support fires in California, but they were never activated by FEMA and they were released from the mission over the weekend.
There will also be intelligence assets and Lakota helicopters (UH-72). The helicopters flew six sorties already today.
Menendez is denied a new trial
Former sen. Bob Menendez's request for a new trial has been denied.
He requested the new trial in November after the government discovered that several improperly redacted exhibits had been loaded onto the laptop that had been provided to the jury during its deliberations.
In a filing detailing his decision, Judge sidney stein said that both the defense and the prosecution shared the responsibility for ensuring that the "proper exhibits" were sent to the jury. He also wrote that if the jury saw the material, jurors likely would not have understood the exhibits nor considered them significant.
"Even in the infinitesimal chance that the jury happened upon this evidence, there is similarly a miniscule likelihood that the jury would have understood it, much less attribute the significance to these exhibits that the defendants now do," he wrote.
Menendez in a statement said that his team disagrees with the judge's ruling and suggested it would appeal the decision.
"To think that prosecutors can put unconstitutional and inadmissible evidence in front of the jury, assure the defense they only provided the jury with admitted exhibits, and escape any consequences, is outrageous," the statement said.
Prosecutors are requesting a sentence of at least 15 years for Menendez.
NBC News has previously reported that Menendez has expressed interested in trying to secure clemency from Trump.
senate Finance Committee to hold RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing on Jan. 29
The senate Finance Committee said it would hold a confirmation hearing for Trump's health secretary pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. ET.
The senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is expected tomorrow to notice scheduling for a confirmation hearing for Kennedy on Jan. 30.
The HELP committee will hold a courtesy hearing for Kennedy, but the Finance Committee will be tasked with voting on and reporting his nomination to the full senate.
Trump pardons D.C. officer convicted in man's death
Trump has pardoned a D.C. police officer who was convicted in connection to a man's 2020 death, the White House announced today.
Andrew Zabavsky, a lieutenant with the Metro Police Department, was sentenced to 48 months in prison in connection with "an unauthorized police pursuit that ended in a collision on Oct. 23, 2020, that caused the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, in Northwest Washington D.C.," according to a statement released by the Department of Justice in september 2024.
Trump had alluded to the pardon at a newss conference yesterday, saying he was a "friend of the police."
"I'm going to be letting two officers from Washington police, D.C. — I believe they're from D.C. — but I just approved it. They were arrested, put in jail for five years because they went after an illegal. And I guess something happened where something went wrong, and they arrested the two officers to put him in jail for going after a criminal," he said yesterday.
Cheryl Hines to stop sales of her cosmetics line if RFK Jr. is confirmed
Less than two months ago, actor Cheryl Hines posted a provocative video of her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showering behind her as she hawked products from her cosmetics line.
Today, Hines, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame, has agreed to cease sales of the company’s inventory if her husband becomes the next secretary of Health and Human services, according to a new financial disclosure.
“My spouse has agreed that Hines & Young, LLC, will stop sales of the company’s cosmetic inventory no later than 90 days from the date of my appointment,” the disclosure reads.
steve Bannon bashes Elon Musk after criminal trial delayed again
Former Trump White House political strategist steve Bannon’s criminal trial in connection with defrauding contributors who gave him money for the construction of a southern border wall has been delayed until March 4.
The new date follows a series of earlier delays. Judge April Newbauer, who is overseeing the case, said she would not postpone it again but would allow a one-week delay from the previous Feb. 25 start date so the defense can “have a better opportunity to prepare for trial.”
Bannon’s new attorney, Arthur Aidala, had asked to delay the trial because he is representing Harvey Weinstein in a trial that's scheduled for the spring.
Prosecutors had opposed the effort to further delay the trial.
Defending his decision to hire a new attorney with a busy trial schedule, Bannon said he "was looking for a more aggressive attorney, I wanted to use every tool in my toolbox,” when asked in court today to explain the move which could cause a delay.
On his way out of court today, Bannon also took a jab at tech billionaire Elon Musk and his push for selective immigration, saying, “He should not reverse what the president has already talked about, you’ll see how out of control he is.”
Trump, who had previously pardoned his former strategist who is credited with helping him win the 2016 presidential election, cannot pardon Bannon's state-level charges.
Defense Department to send 1,500 personnel to the southern border, acting secretary says
The Defense Department is sending about 1,500 additional personnel to the southern border "to support increased detection and monitoring efforts," according to a statement from acting Defense secretary Robert salesses.
The Defense Department will also start helping to build border walls and "provide military airlift" to assist the Department of Homeland security's deportation flights of more than 5,000 people, according to the statement.
"This is just the beginning," salesses added. "In short order, the Department will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHs, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the President at our nation’s borders."
House passes Laken Riley Act, sending the first bill to Trump to sign into law
The Republican-led House voted today to give final passage to the Laken Riley Act, a strict immigration detention measure named for a 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student who was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant.
The legislation, aimed at clamping down on people in the U.s. illegally who commit nonviolent crimes like theft, is expected to be the first bill Trump signs into law after returning to the White House this week.
The House vote was 263-156, with 46 Democrats joining all Republicans in support of the measure. The bill passed the senate on Monday by a vote of 64-35, winning 12 Democratic votes. Among them were sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., Jeanne shaheen, D-N.H., and Mark Warner, D-Va., all of whom face re-election in 2026.
Trump says it's 'sad' that Biden did not pardon himself
In the first sit-down interview of his second term, Trump told Fox News host sean Hannity it was “sad” that President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for his family but not for himself before leaving office Monday.
“This guy went around giving everybody pardons. And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is, he didn’t give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him,” Trump said, sitting across from Hannity in the Oval Office, in a clip of the full interview that's expected to air at 9 p.m. ET.
Laken Riley's father says he supports bill named for his daughter
Laken Riley’s father, Jason Riley, told NBC News exclusively that he was grateful for the elected officials who supported the legislation named for his daughter, which he said he believed has “helped change things politically.”
“I think it turned out to be a good thing,” he said today, adding that he hates that her killing “became such a national story” and put the family in the spotlight, but that he understood “why it became so politically charged.”
“We’re very happy with the way things have turned out,” he said.
Riley said he hopes that other families won’t have to go through what his has.
The House is expected to vote on an amended version of the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday.
GOP Rep. Mike Turner says House Intelligence Committee 'might be losing its focus'
Rep. Mike Turner, who led the House Intelligence Committee until he was removed from the post last week, warned today that the panel might be shifting its focus in the wrong direction.
"If you go in a different direction with the Intelligence Committee, where you’re looking into the intelligence community itself, and you know, the so-called deep state, you stop looking at the nation states, or the nonstate actors that seek to threaten Americans," Turner, R-Ohio, said on CNN. "That’s what I’m fearful of. My focus was on national security, it will continue to be on national security. And I think, you know, it’s unfortunate that the committee might be be losing its focus."
House speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., removed Turner as committee chairman last week, saying "we just need some fresh horses in some of these places."
Turner also weighed in on Trump pardoning Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent offenses.
"I think that was very unexpected," he said. Asked if he has a problem with those pardons, Turner said, "Certainly yes, I do."
Oath Keepers founder seen at Capitol
Oath Keepers Founder stewart Rhodes was seen today at the Longworth Building in the Capitol after being pardoned.
Rhodes was released from the D.C. Central Detention Facility yesterday after Trump commuted his sentence.
In 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison after his conviction on seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Guy Reffitt says 'I love you, Jackson' when asked what he would say to his son
Jan. 6 rioter Guy Reffitt, who was released from prison after being pardoned by Trump, had one message for his son: "I love you, Jackson."
Jackson Reffitt, who reported Reffitt to the FBI and testified at his trial, told MsNBC earlier today that he is "paranoid" and bought a gun for his own safety.
Jackson said today he has been threatened and is fearful of his safety, saying he has his newly purchased handgun on his waist at all times. Guy’s wife Nicole said today they haven’t talked to Jackson yet.
“We’re going to wait on Jackson,” she said. “When he starts feeling more comfortable, when he starts feeling more confident, then that will be the time. But there’s no pressure on him right now. I want him to be as safe, and feel as secure as he can. Just give it time. Time heals a lot.”
Guy Reffitt did not enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he was on Capitol grounds, armed with a pistol, zip ties, and body armor. He was the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted.
Press secretary says Trump deserves apology from bishop
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today that Trump deserves an apology from Bishop Marianne Budde, whose sermon yesterday faced backlash from the president.
"Everybody there was shocked and mortified by the disturbing comments from this bishop who chose to weaponize the pulpit," she said. "so the comments by that bishop yesterday were egregious, and she should apologize to President Trump for the lies that she told."
In her sermon, Budde asked Trump to "have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now." Afterward, Trump said he "didn't think it was a good service."
Biden's letter to Trump revealed: 'I wish you and your family all the best'
A White House official shared the text of the letter Joe Biden left for his successor.
Fox News first reported the contents of the letter.
“Dear President Trump,
As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people — and people around the world — look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.
Joe Biden
1-20-25”
Lauren Boebert says she offered Jan. 6 defendants a guided tour of Capitol, but 'no plan in place' yet
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told reporters today that there is currently no plan to make good on her offer at the D.C. jail yesterday for Jan. 6 defendants to go on a guided Capitol tour.
“I offer guided tours all the time and yes, I did offer that. There’s no plan in place right now,” Boebert said.
When asked if it was appropriate for Boebert to offer the tour, House speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he hadn't spoken to her about it, but added every citizen has the right to one.
“I mean, every American citizen has access to the people’s House,” Johnson said. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her about it. Let me figure that out.”
senate Commerce Committee reports out sean Duffy's nomination to be transportation secretary
The senate Commerce Committee has unanimously voted to report the nomination of former Rep. sean Duffy, R-Wis., to serve as transportation secretary to the full senate.
It's not yet clear when the senate will take up the nomination for a floor vote.
sen. Chris Murphy urges his colleagues to spend more time on John Ratcliffe's nomination for CIA director
sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., urged his fellow senators to take more time to debate the confirmation of Trump’s pick for CIA director, John Ratcliffe, expressing concerns about decisions the nominee made when he served as director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration.
"Many people here have raised serious concerns about his qualifications," Murphy said in remarks on the senate floor. "For instance, during his short tenure as director of national intelligence, Mr. Ratcliffe showed a very troubling propensity to play politics with sensitive intelligence."
Murphy noted that on the day of the first 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Biden, Ratcliffe declassified intelligence about a purported Russian assessment that others had labeled disinformation. The disclosed intelligence said the Russians had allegedly assessed that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton had personally approved an effort "to stir up a scandal" against Trump during the 2016 election "by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee."
At the time, Ratcliffe stated the U.s. intelligence community did "not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication," but his move drew fire from Democrats who said the move was aimed at aiding Trump’s political aspirations.
“Mr. Ratcliffe chose to declassify a cherry-picked CIA memo from four years earlier that outlined Russian claims that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie Trump to Russia’s hack of the DNC so that Trump could use that in the debate,” Murphy said. “These were unverified Russian intelligence claims, and Mr. Ratcliffe’s decision went against explicit warnings by CIA personnel that its release would put it in jeopardy.”
In his confirmation hearing last week, Ratcliffe vowed not to play politics with critical matters of intelligence, promising under oath not to impose political litmus tests on agency employees or force them to swear loyalty to Trump over the country.
Noting that senate Republicans have argued an extended debate over Ratcliffe’s nomination would compromise national security, Murphy said “spare me,” pointing to Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
House Republicans announce creation of a subcommittee to investigate events before and after Jan. 6
House speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced in a news release this afternoon the creation of a select subcommittee to investigate events before and after Jan. 6, 2021.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done," Johnson said in a statement.
The subcommittee's mission is to "uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people," Johnson said.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., will chair the subcommittee, which will fall under the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Notably, Loudermilk had given a tour of the Capitol to people the day before the insurrection, which included a man who was caught on footage during the Jan. 6 riot, later released by the select committee that investigated the attack, making violent verbal threats against top Democratic lawmakers. The rioter who made the threats, Trevor Hallgren, "took pictures of hallways and staircases" during Loudermilk's tour, according to the final report released by the former Jan. 6 select committee.
In a statement today, Loudermilk said, "What happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities."
Congress had already investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as part of a nearly two-year investigation through a bipartisan select committee when Democrats controlled the House.
Before leaving office Monday, Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to all lawmakers and staff who served on the committee, including its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Just hours later, after Trump was sworn in to office, he pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants.
Republicans, for their part, have dismissed or downplayed the events of Jan. 6 in recent years, with some even falsely suggesting that it was actually members of the group antifa who attacked the Capitol. Trump, who was impeached by the House and indicted by the federal government, over his role in trying to overturn the election, has said that it was a "day of love."
son of Jan. 6 defendant says he can't 'imagine being safe'
Jackson Reffitt, son of pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Guy Reffitt, said he has become "paranoid" about his own safety and bought a handgun at the end of November to protect himself.
"I can’t imagine being safe right now," Reffitt said on MsNBC. "It goes far beyond my dad. There are people out there that I get death threats by the minute. People feel so validated right now with President Trump stepping into office, and saying and doing all this and defending all these horrible actions."
Reffitt, who tipped off the FBI about his father ahead of the Capitol attack and testified at the trial, has said he has tried to contact his father, adding that he advocated for mental health support for him in prison.
Trump administration directs Justice Department to step up immigration enforcement
The Trump administration is directing the Justice Department to drastically boost its efforts on immigration enforcement, making it a top priority, according to a memo sent to staff by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove last night.
The memo issues a series of directives instructing Justice Department officials to prioritize identifying illegal immigrants and prosecuting immigration violations.
It also instructs officials to investigate for potential prosecution any state or local officials who resist the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and it directs the Civil Division to examine possible legal action against states or cities with laws barring officials from cooperating with immigration enforcement officers.
There is no precedent for prosecuting state or local officials who are deemed to have resisted federal immigration enforcement.
Trump’s suspension of refugee program puts Afghans and others in potential danger, advocates say
The state Department suspended its refugee program Tuesday night, halting all refugee flights into the United states, under direction of one of President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive orders.
The order initially was set to go into effect on Monday, and its swift implementation surprised and alarmed advocates and nonprofits, leaving some refugees who were already in transit to the U.s. stranded in intermediate countries.
“Travel has been canceled for people who had plans,” said Kathie O’Callaghan, the president of Hearts and Homes for Refugees, a nonprofit based in Westchester County, New York, that resettles families from around the world. “Many of these families were very close to arriving and will be in limbo.”
GOP sen. Lisa Murkowski denounces Trump's blanket pardon of Jan. 6 rioters
In a social media post, sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, blasted Trump's pardons of his supporters who assaulted police officers during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
"The Capitol Police officers are the backbone of Congress — every day they protect and serve the halls of democracy. I strongly denounce the blanket pardons given to the violent offenders who assaulted these brave men and women in uniform," she wrote.
Murkowski said yesterday that she was “disappointed” by Trump's move, mirroring a sentiment shared publicly by some other Republicans and many Democrats.
sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., offered a similar sentiment on MsNBC today, calling the pardons "outrageous."
“It is an outrage, the violence that they perpetrated against the men and women in uniform and Capitol Police, D.C. police and others,” he said.
Also speaking on MsNBC, sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called the pardons "one of the most alarming things that President Trump did on his first day."
"I think what matters most here about this issue is that hundreds of violent criminals who assaulted police officers were pardoned just because their assault on police officers took place as part of the Jan. 6 riot, something that President Trump thinks was fine," Coons added.
Migrant arrests so far are 'routine' and don't indicate large-scale operations have begun
Border czar Tom Homan said on Fox News this morning that more than 300 migrants have now been arrested, but a source familiar with the operations told NBC News that the arrests were part of “routine operations” and not part of a surge or large-scale raid in any one place.
The source said the arrests targeted criminals, but could not say whether migrants without criminal convictions were arrested as “collateral arrests.”
The migrants were arrested across the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 25 field offices.
In september 2024, the latest month for which data is available, ICE arrested 282 migrants a day, indicating the current arrests mark only a slight increase from that pace.
Trump to send about 1,000 more troops to border
The Trump administration is planning to send about 1,000 more active-duty troops to the southern border, a defense official and a senior White official told NBC News.
It is unclear which units the troops will be pulled from or what they'll be tasked with doing, but soldiers and Marines from all over the country are expected to be sent.
The troops are expected to start being deployed in a matter of days, the sources said.
Reuters was first to report the deployment number.
Trump OMB nominee Russell Vought's confirmation hearing has ended
The senate Budget Committee adjourned the final confirmation hearing on Russell Vought's nomination to be OMB director after nearly 2 1/2 hours of questioning.
Ryan Wilson, who threw pipe at police on Jan. 6, walks free
Ryan Wilson, who threw a pipe at police on Jan. 6, 2021, is now a free man. As he walked out of jail, he thanked the president for the pardon and suggested the charges against him were "phony."
"They were phony charges. I never touched anybody that day, but they don’t care. They don’t care what it is. They’ll put grandmas in jail just because they walked into the Capitol that day," Wilson said.
Wilson was found guilty of six felonies but had yet to be sentenced. Prosecutors say he grabbed a pipe from another rioter and rammed it toward the police repeatedly and forcefully inside a Capitol tunnel.
Wilson then took steps to reposition himself and used the pipe to thrust near the heads and faces of the officers, prosecutors said. The police then deployed pepper spray, which hit Wilson. He then threw the pipe toward the police line, turned around, and exited the tunnel, according to prosecutors.
sen. Whitehouse presses Vought on the origins of Trump's executive orders
Pressed by sen. sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on whether he knows where the framework for Trump’s executive orders came from, Vought broadly denied having any knowledge.
“President Trump fired off 26 executive orders, I believe on his first day. Are you familiar with them? Did you have any role in preparing any of them?” Whitehouse asked.
“senator, that’s part of the deliberative process the transition goes through, and I’m not going to invade that deliberative process,” Vought said.
Pushing back on Vought's refusal to answer the question, Whitehouse called for an injunction from committee chair sen. Lindsey Graham, R-s.C., who told Vought to answer on the basis that he was not invoking attorney-client privilege in his denial.
“The question is, did you advise on executive orders? And which ones if so?” Graham said.
Vought claimed that since he was not a member of the presidential transition team, he had no knowledge of where the executive orders came from. Many of the orders bore a resemblance to policy proposals outlined in Project 2025, which Vought was deeply involved with.
“Do you know, for instance, if some of them came out of language from the Center for Renewing America, or some of them came out of Project 2025 or some of them came out of the Heritage Institute, or some of them came out of the American Petroleum Institute?” Whitehouse asked.
Vought refused to answer again, saying: “I can’t give you a comprehensive answer. With regard to where the executive orders were compiled, my assumption is that they were compiled within the transition.”
Bishop at inaugural prayer service defends comments to Trump
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde defended her comments at Trump's inaugural prayer service urging him to have "mercy" on marginalized groups, including LGBT youth and undocumented immigrants.
"I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being, basic honesty, and humility," she said in an interview on ABC's "The View." "I was trying to counter the narrative that is so, so divisive and polarizing and in which people, real people, are being harmed."
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said during her sermon yesterday. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. some who fear for their lives.”
Looking at Trump, she added: “They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues.”
Vought spars with senators over past proposals to cut sNAP program funding
In a heated exchange over Vought’s past budget proposals prioritizing deep cuts in federal entitlement spending, sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., demanded that Vought define what makes nutrition assistance for low-income children and similar programs “woke and weaponized.”
“I want to get to woke and weaponized,” Kaine said. “You were the president of the Center for Renewing America, the think tank that produced a 2023 budget proposal calling for a commitment to end ‘woke and weaponized government.’ Do you remember that?”
“It’s 104 pages of details to end ‘woke and weaponized’ government, and it proposes deep cuts to the sNAP program that provides nutrition assistance to low-income kids,” Kaine said, but was cut off by Vought, who said he was not there to talk about the budget his think tank produced.
“I want to know what’s woke and weaponized, about providing food assistance to low-income kids,” Kaine said. “I don’t think sNAP programs or benefits for kids are woke and weaponized.”
Pushing back, Vought said, “When we refer to the federal government being weaponized, we’re referring to bureaucracies.”
The Center for Renewing America, in its 2023 budget, proposed deep cuts to sNAP, WIC, Medicaid, federal college tuition assistance programs like Pell Grants, and the low-income Energy Assistance Program, which it said should be entirely defunded.
“Because social security and Medicare, in particular, are large, mathematical drivers of this spending growth, fiscal seriousness demanded that they be the lead ox to be gored,” the center's 2023 budget proposal states.
Vought says he won't 'politicize' disbursement of L.A. disaster aid
Vought said that he doesn't plan to "politicize" the disbursement of federal funds when asked about supporting L.A.'s recovery from the recent wildfires.
"senator, I would not politicize the dispersing of federal funds in any capacity," Vought said when asked by sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., specifically about aid for the wildfires.
"That’s great to hear," Padilla said. "Because you say you’re gonna implement the president’s agenda. I’ve been paying very close to his remarks since the outset of the devastating fires in southern California these last few weeks. I’d like to ask you, Mr. Vought, will you commit to getting congressionally appropriated funding out to Californians devastated by these fires as quickly as possible?"
Vought said, "The president has always been a firm distributor of federal resources to areas that need disaster money, and I don’t expect that to change, and ... that’s characterized my time at OMB, the first time around."
Padilla said he continues to hear comments from Trump and GOP congressional leaders who have suggested they plan to attach conditions to disaster funding.
When Vought served as deputy director at the Office of Management and Budget under the first Trump administration, officials withheld about $20 billion in funding to Puerto Rico in the wake of hurricanes Maria and Irma. The Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General later determined in a 2021 report that the holdup was due to tensions between HUD and OMB.
Democratic senators grill Vought over impounded Ukraine aid that led to Trump's first impeachment
Democratic senators are grilling Vought on his handling of Trump’s decision to freeze congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine in 2019, which ultimately led to his first impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in 2019.
In 2019, the Trump administration withheld nearly $400 million in U.s. security aid to Ukraine that had already been designated by Congress, directing the OMB to block the Department of Defense from spending the aid, a move that violated a U.s. law known as the Impound Control Act. Under the act, the OMB cannot legally withhold money that has been appropriated by Congress and signed into law.
“When you were at the center of the impoundment of the funds for Ukraine that resulted in the impeachment of President Trump, you blamed the staff sort subordinate. That troubles me, too,” sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the committee's ranking member, said in his opening statement. “That’s something you were so involved in. When it goes awry, you say, ‘Oh, it wasn’t me.’”
Federal whistleblowers filed a complaint in 2019 over the alleged violation of the act, alleging that Trump was ordering a block on the Ukraine aid to force interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.s. presidential election and citing a 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which Trump asked Zelenskyy to help rewrite the narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election, among other demands.
“I do continue to have very serious concerns regarding your nomination, starting with your position and record on impoundments. I do not believe what happened in the case of withholding security assistance to Ukraine in 2019, while you were acting OMB director, was an accident or misunderstanding, and I fear it is actually a harbinger of what is to come these next four years,” sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in her line of questioning.
Vought also faced fierce questioning last week from senators on the Homeland security and Governmental Affairs Committee over the first Trump administration’s freezing of Ukraine security assistance.
Murray said she was “deeply disturbed” by Vought's refusal to denounce the impounding of Ukraine aid, noting, “The Constitution laid out the vision that Congress makes the law, not the president.”
Trump warns Putin to end Ukraine war or face 'high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and sanctions'
Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning to end the war against Ukraine or face financial consequences.
"If we don’t make a 'deal,' 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," Trump said in a post on Truth social.
Trump said that he “loves the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin.”
He continued: "Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way — and the easy way is always better. It’s time to 'MAKE A DEAL.' NO MORE LIVEs sHOULD BE LOsT!!!"
speaker Mike Johnson defends Trump's sweeping Jan. 6 pardons
speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended Trump’s decision to pardon nearly everyone charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying that he believes in “second chances” and that those individuals had done their time in prison.
“The president has the pardon, the commutation authority; it’s his decision,” Johnson told reporters at his weekly news conference, adding that he believed those who didn't commit violent acts that day shouldn't have been charged with crimes.
"It was a terrible time and a terrible chapter in America’s history," he continued. "The president’s made his decision. I don’t second-guess those and, and … it’s kind of my ethos, my worldview: We believe in redemption. We believe in second chances."
"If you would argue that those people didn’t pay a heavy penalty, having been incarcerated and all of that, that’s up to you," Johnson added. "But the president’s made a decision. We move forward. There are better days ahead of us. That’s what we’re excited about. We’re not looking backwards."
A day earlier, several GOP senators broke with the president’s decision, especially on his pardoning those who had committed violence against police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, as they sought to overturn the 2020 election.
“I just can’t agree” with Trump’s actions, said sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she did “fear” the message the pardons send to the brave officers who defended the Capitol that day. “I’m disappointed to see that.”
D.C. Jail officials say there are several reasons Jan. 6 prisoners haven't been released yet
Of those pardoned by Trump for committing crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.s. Capitol, 14 remain detained at the D.C. Jail, jail officials told NBC News.
Another eight people who were charged with crimes related to Jan. 6 have been released since Trump announced the pardons Monday. None have been released since late Tuesday night.
Family members and supporters who have been waiting outside of the jail have complained that more detainees haven't been released yet, but jail officials say there are several reasons why those prisoners remain behind bars.
Two of those reasons seem to be making the biggest impact.
The first is that those prisoners are charged with state crimes elsewhere that cannot be pardoned by Trump. The second is that court filings have not yet been completed to dismiss their case officially.
Officials did say that more releases may come today, but there is no certainty for when that could happen.
Top Armed services Democrat: Trump transition didn't include latest Hegseth allegations in final background check
sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a release this morning that Danielle Hegseth, the former sister-in-law of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, was interviewed by the FBI in December as part of the background investigation into Hegseth, but "details of this testimony were not included in the final background check briefing provided by the Trump Transition Team in January."
"Accordingly, senator Reed directly requested this individual recount the testimony that she had provided to the FBI," the release said.
senators, including Reed, received an affidavit from Danielle Hegseth yesterday that alleged Pete Hegseth’s second wife told her that his behavior caused her to fear for her safety.
“As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation," Reed said. "I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms that fact."
Reed, the ranking member on the senate Armed services Committee, added that the sworn affidavit "documents a disturbing pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth. This behavior would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the secretary of Defense.”
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on why the Trump transition team didn't include the testimony in the final background investigation for Hegseth that was transmitted to Capitol Hill.
Through his lawyer, Hegseth denied the allegations that he was abusive toward his ex-wife.
“sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview," Hegseth's lawyer, Tim Parlatore, said in a statement.
In an email to NBC News earlier this week, Hegseth's ex-wife, samantha Hegseth, denied the allegations in the affidavit, saying, “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
In 2021, as part of their divorce proceedings, both agreed that neither parent claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.
Russell Vought at senate hearing: ‘We have to use taxpayer dollars wisely’
Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, discussed how he wants to tackle “government waste” and use taxpayer dollars “wisely” during his opening statement at his senate confirmation hearing.
speaker Johnson shares video of Vance entering Oval Office for the first time
speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posted a video on X of Vance visiting the Oval Office for the first time during their meeting yesterday.
When he walked in behind Trump, he said, "Wow."
"This is pretty crazy," Vance said. "I've never been inside of this room. This is incredible."
Map: Which countries offer birthright citizenship
More than three dozen countries, including the U.s., offer citizenship to those born there.
Rep. Don Bacon says three House Republicans who won Harris districts will meet with Trump today
The three House Republicans who won in districts that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 election will meet with Trump this afternoon at the White House, one of the lawmakers, Don Bacon, of Nebraska, said.
“You know there’s three districts that Harris won on the Republican side,” Bacon said. “We were the ones who provided the majority. ... Without the three of us, we’d have a Democrat speaker.”
The other two Republicans are Rep. Mike Lawler, of New York, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania.
NBC News has reached out to Lawler and Fitzpatrick for comment. Bacon did not provide details on what will be discussed.
Russell Vought has another senate hearing today
Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, will testify at 10 a.m. before the senate Budget Committee. Vought also testified last week and his nomination was advanced out of committee.
Vought was acting OMB director during Trump's first term and spearheaded the controversial Project 2025 effort.
Conn. school superintendent says district will protect students against ICE raids
The schools superintendent in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Royce Avery, said the district will continue to protect all students, regardless of immigration status, ahead of anticipated Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
“Every student in Bridgeport, regardless of their immigration status, has the right to feel secure and supported in our schools,” Avery said in a statement. “I became an educator to advocate for all students, and I will ensure their rights and privacy are upheld. Our schools will remain a safe space where all students can learn, grow, and succeed without fear or discrimination.”
Avery's statement came a day after acting director of the Department of Homeland security, Benjamine Huffman, issued a directive to end a policy that barred ICE agents from conducting actions in or near churches or schools.
It also comes after NBC News obtained a memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent to the Justice Department workforce with orders to investigate “for potential prosecution” state and local officials who fail to comply “with lawful immigration related commands and requests” related to Trump’s enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The superintendent said that no ICE agents or government officials will be permitted to enter Bridgeport school buildings or buses or attend school events without having prior written authorization from him.
He added that the school district does not collect or store information on its students' immigration status to protect their privacy.
Avery ended with a series of steps for school staff to follow if ICE officers or other federal agents arrive on school property: secure the premises, meet the officer at the entrance, request officer information, contact the superintendent's office, and do not physically interfere.
'No winners' from trade wars and tariffs, China says
There are "no winners" in trade wars and tariffs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said after Trump said he was considering a 10% tariff on Chinese goods imports starting Feb. 1.
"We always believe that there are no winners in trade wars and tariff" tit-for-tats, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing in Beijing. "China has always firmly safeguarded its national interests."
During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to impose tariffs of 60% or more on goods from China, one of the United states' largest trading partners. On Monday he said he would impose a 10% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico over fentanyl and border security concerns, and yesterday he also threatened tariffs against China and the European Union.
stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong fell today after Trump's comments, CNBC reported.
Trump’s last-minute decision to go big on Jan. 6 pardons took many allies by surprise
Trump’s decision to pardon virtually every person charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.s. Capitol was made at the last minute as inauguration approached — and one that surprised some of his supporters and aides.
“He is who he is,” a person who worked on Trump’s transition team told NBC News. “Expectations are sometimes set as best as can be expected, and sometimes they change quickly.”
Two officials who worked on Trump’s transition said the decision to do a sweeping pardon was made just days before the inauguration. They, like others interviewed for this article, were granted anonymity to share details of private discussions.
CIA revokes security clearances for about 50 former intel and government officials after Trump executive order
The CIA has carried out an executive order signed by Trump to revoke security clearances for about 50 former intelligence officials and senior government officials who had signed a letter about Russia’s possible role in spreading allegations against Hunter Biden, an agency spokesman told NBC News.
some of the allegations purportedly were contained in information from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden.
In 2020, more than 50 former intelligence officials warned in a public letter that laptop allegations had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
“We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails … are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement — just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case," the letter said.
A former FBI informant, Alexander smirnov, was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to fabricating a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and his son Hunter that became central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.
Great-grandson of the man who established birthright citizenship slams Trump’s new executive order
The great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark — whose landmark 1898 supreme Court case helped establish a birthright citizenship for all children of immigrants — blasted Trump’s executive order seeking to revoke the long-standing right.
Norman Wong, 74, who’s based in Brentwood, California, called Trump’s directive “troubling” and said it intended to fracture Americans. The executive order, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, limits birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a U.s. citizen or a permanent resident.
“He’s feeding off the American mindset, and it’s not a healthy one,” Wong told NBC News. “We can’t build the country together and be against everybody. I think the best thing to do is for Americans to actually be embracing Americans.”
Trump lashes out at bishop who spoke at prayer service
Trump lashed out early today against the bishop who spoke at the prayer service at Washington National Cathedral yesterday.
"The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. she brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. she was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart," he wrote in a post on his Truth social account.
"she failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people," he continued. "Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the UsA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. she is not very good at her job! she and her church owe the public an apology!"
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, called on Trump in her sermon to “have mercy” on his constituents, specifically naming LGBTQ people and immigrants.
DOJ memo calls for prosecution of local officials who fail to comply with deportation efforts
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has sent a memo to the Justice Department workforce with orders to investigate “for potential prosecution” state and local officials who fail to comply “with lawful immigration related commands and requests” related to Trump's enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The memo, obtained by NBC News, orders the Justice Department to devote more resources to enforcement of immigration laws and calls for the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country to coordinate with the Department of Homeland security “to assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives.”
Border czar Tom Homan has threatened that local officials would be thrown in jail if they resist mass deportations.
The memo orders the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.s. Marshals service and Bureau of Prisons to “review their files for identifying information and/or biometric data relating to non-citizens located illegally in the United states.”
“The Department of Justice will take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes committed within U.s. jurisdiction,” the memo says. It orders the Justice Department to pursue every possible immigration violation and coordinate with federal courts to handle “the increased number of prosecutions that will result.”
The memo ends by ordering the department's Civil Division to identify local and state laws and policies that prevent officials from cooperating with immigration authorities, such as sanctuary city laws, and “take legal action to challenge such laws.”
Rubio meets with Quad countries focused on countering China
secretary of state Marco Rubio met yesterday with his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia, which together with the United states make up a security grouping known as the Quad.
They discussed issues in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has been increasingly asserting its influence, and pledged to continue working together.
The four countries reaffirmed their "shared commitment to strengthening a Free and Open Indo-Pacific where the rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended."
They also said they strongly opposed "any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," an apparent reference to the threat that China could assert its territorial claims to the self-ruling island of Taiwan.
Indian Foreign Minister subrahmanyam Jaishankar said it was "significant" that the meeting took place within hours of Trump's inauguration.
"This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states," he said on X.
Rubio also met individually with each of the foreign ministers.
Johnson doubles down on conditioning disaster aid for L.A. wildfire recovery
House speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., doubled down last night on his requirement that any aid Congress passes to help Los Angeles recover from the recent wildfires must contain certain conditions.
"We’re talking about conditions to this disaster aid," Johnson said in an interview with Fox News' sean Hannity alongside other GOP leaders. "There are natural disasters, but there are man-made disasters as well, and they made terrible decisions."
Johnson and other Republican congressional leaders met with Trump at the White House yesterday afternoon to discuss their legislative agenda. Trump is expected to visit L.A. on Friday to survey the damage caused by the devastating wildfires.
Last week, the House speaker told reporters that it's not clear yet what conditions he would attach to fire aid.
“You’ve heard the word 'conditions' on aid," he said. "We’re not projecting in advance what this will be. First of all, you have to understand the fires are still raging, and no one knows what the ultimate cost will be. It takes some time to make estimates and all of that, and that deliberative process will go forward."
How Trump’s plans for mass deportations and ICE raids are playing out
Immigration raids that were expected to target major sanctuary cities immediately after Trump’s inauguration had largely failed to materialize last night.
But after Trump signed a raft of executive orders relating to border security on his first day in office, the administration began laying the groundwork for further immigration actions.
Trump checks off major Day 1 campaign promises — leaving some on the to-do list
Trump followed through yesterday on several actions he pledged to take on his first day in office, but he still has some major items left on the to-do list he made for himself during the presidential campaign.
Trump signed 46 executive orders and presidential actions on his first day back in the White House aimed at a variety of policy priorities he promised to address on Day 1, such as border security, energy, production, transgender rights and pardoning the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.
A few big issues Trump promised to address were not among those actions, including tariffs and ending the war in Ukraine.