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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
The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, Ellen Weintraub (D), yesterday said President Trump had attempted to fire her and that she does not see the move as legally valid. “I’ve been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon,” she said in a social media post. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.
A Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer resigned yesterday after being linked to a deleted social media account that advocated racism and eugenics. The 25-year-old was one of the two DOGE employees with court-approved access to the Treasury’s payments systems. Katherine Long reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the FBI to disband its Foreign Influence Task Force, a team that combats foreign threats to U.S. elections. In a separate directive, Bondi also disbanded efforts to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets. Ken Dilanian reports for NBC News.
The FBI yesterday provided the Justice Department with names of employees who worked on Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations, after previously relaying information on employee ID numbers only, FBI acting Director Brian Driscoll said. Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz report for CNN.
DOGE staffers have gained access to sensitive Office of Personnel Management records of millions of federal employees, U.S. officials said. Isaac Stanley-Becker, Greg Miller, Hannah Natanson, and Joseph Menn report for the Washington Post.
The Treasury Department’s chief of staff, Dan Katz, pushed for DOGE to have operational control over the federal payment systems so it could freeze transfers to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), emails reviewed by the New York Times show. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said DOGE had not attempted to block payments. Andrew Duehren, Alan Rappeport, and Theodore Schleifer report.
USAID is expected to be reduced to about 290 workers from the more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants, and contractors it currently employs. Abigail Williams, Vaughn Hillyard, and Zoë Richards report for NBC News.
The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of Department of Health and Human Services workers, sources say. Liz Essley Whyte and Betsy McKay report for the Wall Street Journal.
Trump yesterday signed an executive order aimed at eradicating “anti-Christian bias” in federal agencies. Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times.
Trump has nominated Anthony Tata, a retired brigadier general with a history of inflammatory comments, to be the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Helene Cooper reports for the New York Times.
The White House has directed the General Services Administration to terminate “every single media contract” expensed by the agency and to pull “all contracts” for Politico, BBC, E&E, and Bloomberg. Zachary Basu and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
Two labor groups representing USAID employees yesterday sued the Trump administration over its efforts to dismantle the agency and freeze foreign aid, citing the lack of congressional authorization for Trump’s actions. Jennifer Hansler and Devan Cole report for CNN.
A second federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States, stating that to be lawful, the move would require a constitutional amendment. Jacey Fortin reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday temporarily barred the Trump administration from moving forward with its “buyout” offer to federal workers, pausing the initiative until a hearing next Monday. Zach Montague and Madeleine Ngo report for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze has left about 500,000 metric tons of food worth $340 million in limbo, a former senior USAID official said. Jaimi Dowdell, Lena Masri, Giulia Paravicini, Ryan Mcneill, and Nafisa Eltahir report for Reuters.
Trump yesterday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court. The ICC today condemned the order, stating it seeks to “harm its independent and impartial judicial work.” Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday walked back the State Department’s claim that Panama agreed not to charge U.S. government vessels transiting through the Panama Canal, saying he “expects” Panama to remove the fees. Lucas Lilieholm, Patrick Oppmann, Valeria Ordonez, Gerardo Lemos, Caitlin Danaher, and Jennifer Hansler report for CNN.
A U.S.-contracted surveillance plane yesterday crashed in the Philippines, killing four people on board, including one U.S. Marine, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said. Oren Liebermann reports for CNN.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Senate yesterday voted 53-47 to confirm Russell Vought, an architect of Project 2025, as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Stephen Groves reports for AP News.
The Justice Department yesterday sued the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago over allegedly interfering with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown through their state and local protections for undocumented immigrants. Derek Hawkins and David Nakamura report for the Washington Post.
Three people have been arrested recently over threatening others while impersonating immigration agents or police officers, the Philadelphia Police Department said. Hank Sanders reports for the New York Times.
House Democrats yesterday introduced a bill that would require anyone accessing the Treasury Department’s systems to have an appropriate security clearance, cybersecurity training, and ethics pledge. Arthur Jones II, Jay O’Brien, and Lalee Ibssa report for ABC News.
Fifteen Senate Democrats demanded answers from the Education Department on the scope of Elon Musk’s data collection efforts at the agency, according to a letter released yesterday. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
A group of House and Senate Democrats were denied entry to the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters yesterday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday told U.S. lawmakers he wants to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal and does not see a path to a post-war plan for Gaza as long as Hamas is in control, according to U.S. and Israeli sources. Barak Ravid and Stephen Neukam report for Axios.
Israel is disengaging from the U.N. Human Rights Council over “institutional bias against Israel,” the country’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a letter to UNHRC President Jorg Lauber yesterday. Reuters reports.
An Israeli military court yesterday sentenced a soldier to seven months in prison over his aggravated abuse of Palestinian detainees, the first such conviction since the start of the war in Gaza. Bar Peleg reports for Haaretz.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND REGIONAL RESPONSE
Trump yesterday defended his proposal to “take over” Gaza, saying the territory would be “turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” He also claimed that “no soldiers by the U.S. would be needed.” Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
Cairo told the Trump administration that the Egypt-Israel peace deal is at risk if efforts to displace Palestinians from Gaza continue, Egyptian officials said. The Egyptian government described the proposal as entailing a “blatant violation” of international law. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
Marco Rubio is planning his first trip to the Middle East as the U.S. Secretary of State in mid-February, Israeli officials said. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
SYRIA
Syria could allow Russia to retain its air and naval bases as long as any agreement with the Kremlin serves Damascus’ interests, Syrian interim Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said this week. Loveday Morris and Zakaria Zakaria report for the Washington Post.
The future of Syria’s Al Hol camp holding thousands of Islamic State members is in doubt amid the Trump administration’s U-turns on funding and uncertain aid freeze waiver expiration dates, the camp’s director said. Erika Solomon, Ben Hubbard, and Lara Jakes report for the Washington Post.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels yesterday held a stadium rally in eastern Congo’s capital city of Goma, promising safety to the residents of a city the group captured earlier this month. Chinedu Asadu, Ruth Alonga, and Jean-Yves Kamale report for AP News.
The Democratic Republic of Congo will ask the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate “mass” human rights violations in Goma, DRC’s envoy said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Security officials in the United Kingdom last month demanded Apple allow them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, sources say. Joseph Menn reports for the Washington Post.
An Israeli spyware company has reportedly cut access to its clients in Italy after allegations its products were used to target journalists and critics of the Italian government. Omer Benjakob reports for Haaretz.