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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees appear to have gained access to at least some Department of Health and Human Services payment and contracting systems, sources say. Musk’s representatives have been working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in recent days, the sources added. Anna Wilde Mathews and Liz Essley Whyte report for the Wall Street Journal.
Justice Department lawyers yesterday agreed to a proposed order that would largely prohibit the Treasury Department from sharing sensitive federal payments data with DOGE but allow two Musk-affiliated Treasury Department employees to have “read-only” access to the federal payments systems until a Feb. 24 hearing. Peter Charalambous reports for ABC News.
More than 40,000 federal workers have accepted the Trump administration’s resignation offer so far, an Office of Personnel Management official said yesterday. Lindsay Ellis and Janet Adamy report for the Wall Street Journal.
The Trump administration’s resignation offers could be canceled at any time, top Education Department officials told staff members yesterday. Tyler Kingkade and David Ingram report for NBC News.
Federal government layoffs are “likely” if too few employees accept the deferred resignation offer, a General Services Administration supervisor told staff earlier this week in an email obtained by the Washington Post. Faiz Siddiqui, Emily Davies, and Lisa Rein report.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove yesterday accused the FBI’s acting leaders of “insubordination” over resisting the request to identify Jan. 6 attack investigators. In a Justice Department memo, Bove also said agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” face no risk of termination. Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer report for AP News.
The White House ordered the CIA to share a list of employees on probation to the Office of Personnel Management by an unclassified email. David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.
The Trump administration on Tuesday evicted former Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan from her house with three hours’ notice, two people said. Jonathan Allen and Courtney Kube report for NBC News.
President Trump revoked the security detail for former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, one of the former Trump administration officials facing threats from Iran. Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Guatemala has pledged a 40% increase in deportation flights carrying migrants from Guatemala and other countries, President Bernardo Arévalo said yesterday. Michael Rios reports for CNN.
Panama yesterday denied the State Department’s claim that it had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the Panama Canal. Lucas Lilieholm, Patrick Oppmann, and Valeria Ordonez report for CNN.
Indian opposition lawmakers yesterday protested the alleged mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the United States, saying the deportees’ arms and legs were shackled during the flight. AP News reports.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday asked a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worker for “trust” and “patience” during a private embassy event, according to the meeting’s transcript. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration this week plans to seize a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s that is currently in the Dominican Republic, a U.S. official said. Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday issued a temporary nationwide injunction blocking Trump’s bid to curb birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and foreigners with temporary visas, saying the executive order “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment.” Campbell Robertson and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times.
A former member of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging her dismissal by Trump last month. Emily Peck reports for Axios.
[Editor’s note: Readers may be interested in Just Security’s Litigation Tracker monitoring the legal challenges to the Trump administration’s actions.]
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday created a “Weaponization Working Group” to review Biden administration law enforcement policies, ordering it to review former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal cases against Trump, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot prosecutions, and “federal cooperation” in the New York criminal and civil Trump investigations. Bondi also paused federal funding for sanctuary cities and demanded “zealous advocacy” of Trump’s agenda from DOJ’s lawyers. Jacob Rosen reports for CBS News.
The Senate Commerce Committee yesterday voted 16-12 to advance Howard Lutnick’s Commerce Secretary nomination to a floor vote. Maria Curi reports for Axios.
The U.S. Military Academy shut down a dozen West Point cadet clubs centered on ethnicity, gender, race, and sexuality, according to a memo issued yesterday. AP News reports.
The Justice Department yesterday said it would not bring charges in its investigation into Project Veritas, a group that played a role in attempts to publish the contents of the stolen diary of former President Biden’s daughter. Michael S. Schmidt and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
Democratic Reps. Gwen Moore (WI) and Judy Chu (CA) entered House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) office yesterday in a bid to join his meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Andrew Solender and Hans Nichols report for Axios.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) yesterday said he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump, an effort almost certain to fail. Separately, House Oversight Committee Democrats failed to subpoena Musk to testify after their motion was shut down in a 20-19 vote yesterday. Andrew Solender reports for Axios; Daniella Diaz reports for POLITICO.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in U.S. cities yesterday to protest the Trump administration’s early actions. Morgan Lee reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday endorsed Trump’s proposal for the United States to “take over” Gaza, describing it as “the first good idea that [he’s] heard.” Lucas Lilieholm, Michael Schwartz, and Helen Regan report for CNN.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz today ordered the Israeli army to prepare “voluntary departure” plans for Gaza residents. Separately, Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said that implementing Trump’s plans “should require the consent” of Gazans. James Mackenzie and Jana Choukeir report for Reuters; Amanda Friedman reports for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The White House yesterday floated a more limited version of U.S. engagement in Gaza, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that Palestinians’ displacement would be temporary, that Trump made no commitments to place U.S. troops in the region, and that no U.S. tax dollars would be spent in the reconstruction effort. Michael Birnbaum and Matt Viser report for the Washington Post.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday said that “it is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” in Gaza, a remark his spokesperson said can be “fairly assumed” to be a response to Trump’s comments. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
SYRIA
The Defense Department is developing a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, according to U.S. defense officials. Courtney Kube reports for NBC News.
French President Emmanuel Macron invited Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to visit France in the coming weeks, the Syrian president’s office said. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The European Union, the Council of Europe, and other international organizations yesterday announced they agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which would prosecute senior Russian officials involved in the 2022 invasion. Molly Quell and Raf Casert report for AP News.
North Korean ballistic missiles used by Russian forces have become more precise in the last month, suggesting that North Korea is successfully using the battlefield to test its technology, senior Ukrainian sources said. Tom Balmforth reports for Reuters.
The Kremlin yesterday confirmed it had established contact with the Trump administration regarding potential peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Paul Sonne reports for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
More than 100 female prisoners were raped and then burned alive during a jailbreak in eastern Congo’s capital city of Goma last Monday, according to an internal U.N. document. Wedaeli Chibelushi reports for BBC News.
Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in Goma “in recent days,” Deputy Head of the U.N. mission in DRC said yesterday, citing reports on the number of bodies collected. Caroline Jamie, Mounira Elsamra, and Alex Stambaugh report for CNN.
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday ordered Malawian troops to begin preparing to withdraw from their peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo to “honor the declaration of a ceasefire by the parties.” U.N. reports suggest fighting in the region continues. Paul Njie and Basillioh Rukanga report for BBC News.
Italy freed a Libyan war crimes suspect due to “errors and inaccuracies” in the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant, Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said yesterday. Davide Ghiglione reports for BBC News.
Argentina will withdraw from the World Health Organization, President Javier Milei’s spokesperson announced yesterday. Samantha Schmidt and Kelly Kasulis Cho report for the Washington Post.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania this weekend will sever their electricity ties with Russia with a view of merging their power systems with the Continental European and Nordic grids. Liudas Dapkus reports for AP News.