The Latest: Democrats demand 'dramatic changes' for ICE

Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.

It’s unclear if the president or enough congressional Republicans will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the officers unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.

House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote and restrictions on sanctuary cities. There’s no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Here's the latest:

Trump says Gabbard was in Georgia for FBI search at insistence of attorney general

President Donald Trump offered a shifting explanation for the presence of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, at an FBI search last week of the main elections hub in Fulton County, Georgia.

Gabbard had said in a letter to lawmakers earlier this week that she attended the search at the request of Trump. But Trump on Thursday, speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, asserted that Gabbard “went in at Pam’s insistence.” That’s a reference to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Gabbard’s arrival in Georgia raised immediate questions among Democratic officials because the FBI search of the election center was a law enforcement, not intelligence, activity and because the position of national intelligence director is typically focused on foreign threats rather than domestic concerns.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that he does not know why Gabbard was there and that she is not part of the FBI investigation. He’s also said that she is an important part of the administration’s efforts to protect election integrity.

Trump’s wants diplomacy to work with Iran ahead of Oman talks, but ready for other options

Trump is looking to strike a deal with Tehran in which Iran has “zero nuclear capability,” Leavitt said on the eve of high-level U.S.-Iran talks in Muscat, Oman.

And while Leavitt said Trump “wants to see if a deal can be struck,” she warned Tehran that the president was prepared to take military action, if needed.

“I would remind the Iranian regime that the President has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” Leavitt said.

Boston mayor announces restrictions on federal immigration activities

Inspired by events in Maine and Minnesota, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order Thursday that bars federal immigration operations from using city buildings and calls for investigating all crimes including those committed by federal agents.

Surrounded by city officials from neighboring towns, Wu said the city would also use “every legal avenue to confront these coercive attacks on our cities.”

“They are trying to do with federal agents what they have failed to do with canceled grants, sham investigations, and the National Guard. If we experience the kind of unlawful and unconstitutional invasion, we’ve all seen in other parts of the country, then Boston will see the administration in court again,” Wu said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized the city for not working closely enough with federal immigration agents. It also sued the city in September to overturn policies seen as interfering with immigration enforcement.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced similar restrictions last month.

White House says ICE agents outside polling locations in November elections is ‘very silly hypothetical’

Asked about former Trump aide Steve Bannon saying that ICE agents could surround polling stations in November’s midterm elections, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the question as absurd.

Leavitt said she “can’t guarantee” that a federal agent wouldn’t be at a polling location during elections, but she rejected the premise without necessarily dismissing the concerns.

“I mean, that’s, frankly, a very silly hypothetical question,” Leavitt said. “But what I can tell you is, I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations. It’s a disingenuous question.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has previously raised the deployment of federal agents as a risk in the midterm elections.

Trump likely to watch Kid Rock instead of Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show

The conservative group Turning Point USA announced it will be offering an alternative halftime show to NBC’s, which will feature Bad Bunny, one of the most-streamed artists on the planet. The artist has also been a tough critic of Trump’s immigration policies.

Turning Point has tapped Kid Rock, a Trump backer, to headline what it’s dubbing “The All-American Halftime Show.” It will streamed on the group’s YouTube channel.

Asked which show Trump would be broadcasting at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he spends many weekends, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny.”

Trump says he wants a ‘modernized’ nuclear pact as US-Russia treaty expires

With the U.S.-Russia nuclear pact expiring Thursday, Trump renewed calls for a new stronger pact instead of extending the current agreement known as the New START treaty.

“Rather than extend “NEW START” (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future,” Trump said in a social media posting Thursday.

The end of the treaty would effectively lift the last remaining caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

Trump endorses Orbán’s election in Hungary

Trump endorsed Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orbán in a Truth Social Post, saying he “fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America.”

The right-wing prime minister is facing what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his career when voters head to the polls April 12.

He has campaigned on the unsubstantiated premise that Hungarians would be forcibly conscripted to fight and die on the front lines in Ukraine if his party loses the election.

Japanese prime minister to visit White House on March 19

Trump posted on social media that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would be visiting the White House on March 19.

The U.S. president noted that Japan is having a legislative election on Sunday, Feb. 8 as he endorsed Takaichi as “a strong, powerful, and wise Leader, and one that truly loves her Country.”

Trump says he retains the right to ‘militarily’ secure base on island property being leased by the UK

Trump voiced his displeasure in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over its plans to lease back the island of Diego Garcia for at least 99 years after agreeing last year to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

The U.S. president has been publicly critical of the lease as America’s military has a base on the island of Diego Garcia. Trump said on social media that his government would be prepared to use military force if the lease unravels in any way.

“I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make,” Trump posted. “However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia.”

Democratic governors criticize Trump’s call to ‘nationalize’ elections

Democratic governors released a joint statement on Thursday saying that Americans should have the right to vote “without interference from the federal government.”

The statement comes after Trump said on a podcast earlier this week that Republicans should “take over” elections in some jurisdictions.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he was referring to a push that voters prove they are U.S. citizens, though Trump still described states as an “agent for the federal government” when it comes to elections.

VP attends US women’s Olympic hockey game

Vice President JD Vance has watched the United States women’s hockey team play against the Czech Republic at the Winter Olympics.

Vance and his family, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, entered the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena during the first period of the preliminary-round game.

Vance and others left their seats shortly before the end of the game, with the U.S. winning the game 5-1.

Senate GOP leadership blocks Democrats’ attempt to sue over botched release of Epstein files

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was trying to pass a resolution that would have had the Senate sue the Trump administration for how it has released the case files on Jeffrey Epstein.

He took to the Senate floor to request the resolution be passed by unanimous consent, saying Attorney General Pam Bondi had failed to meet the requirements of a law passed by Congress last year that forced the release of the files. The Department of Justice last month released more than 3 million files on Epstein, but some sections were heavily redacted, others revealed the identities of victims and Democrats argue that the release doesn’t amount to the complete collection of information gathered on the convicted sex offender.

“Senate Democrats are exhausting every possible avenue to force the administration to do what it’s already legally required to do,” Schumer said. “Release the complete files, deliver transparency and justice finally to Epstein’s victims.”

However, Sen. John Barrasso, the no. 2 ranked Republican leader, objected to the resolution. He dismissed Schumer’s effort as “another reckless political stunt.”

Sen. Tillis says he ‘didn’t see criminal intent’ from Powell

Sen. Thom Tillis submitted a list of members of the Senate Banking Committee who indicated they didn’t see criminal intent on the part of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who’s been subpoenaed by the Justice Department for his testimony last June related to cost overruns of a central bank building renovation.

“I was actually a witness at the alleged scene of the crime” Tillis said, and “we didn’t see a crime.”

On Wednesday Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who leads the Senate Banking Committee, broke ranks with the Trump administration and said “ineptness or being incompetent is not a criminal act” to Fox Business.

Tillis has said he won’t vote for Trump’s nominee to head the Fed, Kevin Warsh, until the investigation of Powell is resolved.

Hillary Clinton calls for public hearing in House Epstein investigation

The former secretary of state and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, but she’s now publicly calling for the testimony to be in a public hearing rather than a closed-door deposition.

Hillary Clinton told the committee chair, Republican Rep. James Comer, on social media that, “You love to talk about transparency. There’s nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on.”

Comer has said he’ll insist on having the depositions, scheduled at the end of the month, in private, but video taped and transcribed.

The exchange was the latest bit of acrimony between the two sides since the Oversight panel subpoenaed both Clintons in August.

Vice President JD Vance has arrived to see US women’s hockey team play against the Czech Republic

Vance entered with his family part-way through the first period of the U.S. team’s preliminary round game at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

He was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Sen. Cotton dismisses Gabbard complaint and calls it politically motivated

The Republican leaders of the Senate and House intelligence committees have rejected a complaint that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard withheld classified information for political reasons.

Sen. Tom Cotton gave his assessment in a social media post Thursday morning, saying he agrees with the inspector general’s office, which also found the report to be non-credible.

Democrats say Gabbard’s office delayed handing over the complaint to Congress as required by federal law for eight months. Federal law allows intelligence officers to refer whistleblower complaints directly to Congress even when deemed non-credible, as long as the complaint raises urgent concerns.

Cotton says he believes the complaint was prompted by political opposition to Gabbard and the Trump administration. Rep. Rick Crawford, the House Intelligence chairman, has also rejected the complaint, saying he believes it was an attempt to smear Gabbard’s reputation.

The White House says Trump spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday

President Trump also posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can as law enforcement searches for the “Today” show host’s mother, who’s believed to have been taken from her Arizona home against her will.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night, when she was dropped off at her home by family after having dinner with them, the local sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing about 14 hours later on Sunday after she didn’t show up at a church.

Bessent says ‘its up to the president’ on whether he chooses to sue Fed nominee

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, sparred on Capitol Hill during Bessent’s second day of hearings with lawmakers to talk about the annual report by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked Bessent about Trump’s recent joke that he would sue Kevin Warsh, the president’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, if he failed to lower interest rates. She asked Bessent to commit that Trump’s Fed nominee won’t be sued or investigated by the Department of Justice if he doesn’t cut interest rates.

“That is up to the president” Bessent responded. The two began to argue over each other as Bessent said the president was joking.

“That was supposed to be the softball!” Warren replied.

Taiwan-US ties are ‘rock solid,’ the island’s president says after Trump-Xi call

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s comments came hours after President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone about topics that included the self-ruled island’s future.

“The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, and all cooperation projects will continue uninterrupted,” Lai told reporters during a visit to textile merchants in western Taiwan.

Xi, in his first call with Trump since November, warned the U.S. president to be “prudent” about supplying arms to the self-ruled island, according to a readout of their call provided by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. Beijing prohibits all countries it has diplomatic relations with — including the U.S. — from having formal ties with Taipei.

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Trump says he doesn’t sleep during long plane flights — but not for the reasons you’d think

Recalling a past trip to Iraq during his first term, Trump mused that he doesn’t like to sleep during long flights.

“I don’t sleep on planes. I don’t like sleeping on planes,” he told the audience at the National Prayer Breakfast.

“You know,” the president added “I like looking out the window watching for missiles and enemies, actually.”

Trump also frequently spends long flights overseas talking to advisers, posting things on his social media site and frequently heading to the press cabin to answer reporters’ questions.

Trump calls GOP lawmaker a ‘moron’ at the National Prayer Breakfast

He was talking about Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who sometimes votes against the party.

Early in his remarks Thursday, Trump turned to the topic of legislation and said Republicans will typically rally together after some finagling — all of them, he said, except for Massie.

“No matter what we do, this moron, no matter what it is,” Trump griped.

“We’ll get a 100% vote except for this guy named Thomas Massie. There’s something wrong with him.”

Massie, a libertarian-leaning representative, has drawn the president’s ire for saying he lacked the authority to attack Iran’s nuclear sites without congressional approval, voting against Trump’s massive tax and spending cuts bill and fighting for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Trump now says he ‘probably should make it’ to heaven

Addressing the National Prayer Breakfast, the president said his past suggestions that he might night make it to heaven were actually in jest.

He blamed the media for writing his exact past words about the afterlife, suggesting his sense of irony didn’t come through in the reporting.

It’s a tactic Trump often uses when comments cause a stir he wasn’t expecting, trying to soften them without hinting that he might have misspoken.

“I was just having fun,” Trump said of his past comments.

He added of heaven: “I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people.”

A half-century of US-Russian arms control ends with the expiration of the New START nuclear pact

The Kremlin said Thursday it regretted the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States that left no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

Arms control experts say the termination of the New START Treaty could set the stage for an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last year declared his readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington followed suit, but President Trump has been noncommittal about extending it. He’s indicated he wants China to be a part of a new pact — something Beijing has rebuffed.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Trump has made clear “in order to have true arms control in the 21st century, it’s impossible to do something that doesn’t include China because of their vast and rapidly growing stockpile.”

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Vance, in Milan, says the Olympics are ‘one of the few things’ that unite Americans

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Milan with his family Thursday, telling U.S. athletes competing in the Milan Cortina Winter Games that the competition “is one of the few things that unites the entire country.”

It’s the first stop for Vance on a trip combining diplomacy and sports. He’s leading President Donald Trump’s delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics and later stopping in Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a peace agreement brokered by the White House last year.

Vance, who plans to watch the U.S. women’s hockey team take on the Czech Republic in a preliminary game Thursday, told athletes the trip is a highlight of his time in office. “The whole country — Democrat, Republican, independent — we’re all rooting for you and we’re cheering for you,” Vance said.

The weeklong trip may be one of only a few international trips Vance makes this year. Trump and his Cabinet members are taking a tighter focus on domestic issues — and domestic travel — heading into the November midterm elections, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said last month.

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US and Russia agree to reestablish military-to-military dialogue after Ukraine talks

The U.S. and Russia have agreed to reestablish high-level military-to-military dialogue following a meeting between senior Russian and American military officials in Abu Dhabi, the United States European Command said in a statement.

The agreement was reached following meetings in Abu Dhabi between Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Commander of U.S. European Command -- also NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe -- and senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials, the statement said.

Grynkewich was in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for talks between American, Russian and Ukrainian officials on ending the war in Ukraine. The channel “will provide a consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work towards a lasting peace,” the statement said

High-level military communication was suspended in 2021, just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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