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.
- Trump sat for a taped interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that aired this evening. The wide-ranging conversation touched on several subjects, including a potential TikTok ban, funding for sanctuary cities and pardons for Jan. 6 defendants.
- 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'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.
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Trump re-designates Yemen's Houthis as a foreign terrorist group
Trump has re-designated Yemen's Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, the White House said, drawing praise from conservatives and criticism from aid groups that say it could worsen the humanitarian crisis in the Gulf Arab nation.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea since late 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war, as well as U.S. warships protecting the key shipping lane. At least four seafarers have been killed.
"The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade," Trump's executive order says.
Former President Joe Biden oversaw multiple U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen but had given the group a lesser designation as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” organization in an effort to address humanitarian concerns in Yemen, where there is widespread malnutrition amid a years-long war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government.
Experts say the harsher designation could impede the work of aid groups.
"The Trump administration is aware of these consequences but chose to move forward anyway, and will bear responsibility for the hunger and disease that will follow," Scott Paul, director of peace and security at Oxfam America, said in a statement.
But conservatives like Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., deemed the move a “revolution of common sense.”
The re-designation comes as the Houthis released the 25-member crew of a Bahamas-flagged ship that they seized more than a year ago off the Yemeni Red Sea coast.
Trump selects Andrew Puzder as nominee for ambassador to EU, despite previous criticisms
Trump announced in a post to Truth Social that he wanted Andrew Puzder to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
"Andy will do an excellent job representing our Nation’s interests in this important region," Trump said in the post.
"It will be an honor to help implement the Trump administration’s policies internationally," Puzder said in a post to X. "Together, we will protect America’s interests in the EU.
In 2017, Trump nominated Puzder to serve as labor secretary, but Puzder withdrew his nomination after concerns over his business practices and personal life. A video surfaced in which his ex-wife made domestic abuse allegations, and Puzder also faced criticism for business practices such opposition to raising the minimum wage.
A spokesperson for Puzder said at the time that Puzder and his ex-wife "are close friends today and often spend time together, but none of that context seems to matter to Andy’s critics."
Unredacted affidavit contains previously unreported allegation about Pete Hegseth’s behavior toward second wife
Senators on both sides of the aisle raised new questions today about the vetting process for defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, pointing to allegations that were not disclosed by the Trump transition team as part of Hegseth’s FBI background check that was transmitted to two key lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Those questions come a day after Danielle Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, said in a sworn affidavit that Pete made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” while they were married. The affidavit was submitted in response to a request for information sent by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the committee.
Danielle Hegseth said in the affidavit, the existence of which was first reported by NBC News, that she had provided the information in the affidavit to the FBI over the course of two conversations since December, including one on Saturday. The information she provided in the first conversation was not relayed by the Trump team to the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which held the confirmation hearing. The second conversation occurred after the hearing.
Trump says 'we'll let Congress decide' whether to investigate Biden's pardons
Trump tonight struck a different tone than just a month ago on the possibility of an investigation into his predecessor.
Asked whether Congress should investigate Biden’s recent pardons, Trump told Fox News, “I think we’ll let Congress decide.”
“I went through four years of hell by this scum that we had to deal with. I went through four years of hell. I spent millions of dollars in legal fees, and I won. But I did it the hard way. It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it also,” he added.
In a December interview, when asked whether he would “go after” Biden, Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that he’s “not looking to go back into the past.”
After Welker followed up to clarify his changed position against appointing a special prosecutor to target Biden, Trump said, “No, I’m not doing that unless I find something that I think is reasonable, but that’s not going to be my decision.” He added that it would be up to Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, his nominees for attorney general and FBI director, respectively.
In a 2023 Truth Social post, Trump said in all capitalized letters that he “will appoint a real special ‘prosecutor’ to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the USA, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family,” and others.
Trump was also asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity tonight whether he would want the attorney general to investigate Biden.
“I was always against that with presidents and Hillary Clinton,” Trump responded.
Earlier in the interview, Trump said "I don't know" when asked whether Congress should investigate Biden's pardons.
India says it is open to ‘legitimate return’ of citizens living abroad ‘illegally,’ including in U.S.
India is open to the "legitimate return" of Indian nationals living abroad "illegally," including in the United States, its foreign minister said.
"We have always taken the view that if there are any of our citizens, who are not here legally, if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India," Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters in Washington.
"We have been very principled about it," he said, "and that remains our position, and I conveyed that very clearly" to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met with Jaishankar yesterday along with other representatives of the Quad, a security grouping that also includes Australia, Japan and the U.S.
At the same time, Jaishankar said, he told Rubio that "it is in our mutual interest to facilitate legal and mutually beneficial mobility" between the U.S. and India, an important source of high-skilled tech and other workers.
"If it takes 400-odd-days waiting period to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this," he said.
Trump digs in on Jan. 6 pardons
Trump defended his decision to broadly pardon and commute the sentences of Jan. 6 defendants, including those who committed violent offenses like assaulting police officers.
"There was a lot of patriotism with those people," Trump said about Jan. 6 defendants.
"Most of the people were absolutely innocent, OK, but forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly a long time," Trump said, echoing some of his previous comments.
"They were very minor incidents," he said, despite many well documented instances of violence against police officers.
Trump referred to Jan. 6 defendants as people "protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged, and they were protesting the vote, and that — you should be allowed to protest the vote."
"This was a political hoax," Trump said separately, appearing to refer to the prosecution of crimes related to Jan. 6.
Trump and Saudi Crown Prince talk by phone
Trump spoke by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia tonight, according to a source familiar with the matter, marking the new U.S. president’s first known phone call with a foreign leader since assuming office.
Trump made his first foreign visit as president to Saudi Arabia during his first term and said on Monday that it was because the kingdom had agreed to buy $450 billion in U.S. goods. Speaking to reporters at the White House during an extended back and forth on his first day in office, Trump suggested that Saudi again could purchase hundreds of billions of dollars worth of American products.
A readout of the call provided by the Saudi government said the kingdom intends "to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion, and potentially beyond that."
Trump floats restricting California access to federal resources until state alters water policy
Trump criticized California's handling of water resources in a Fox News interview tonight, saying, "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down."
Trump has claimed that California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, prioritized the delta smelt fish species when determining a state water policy, a decision that Trump suggested impacted firefighting capabilities.
Newsom had previously responded to similar claims by the president, saying that Trump was “somehow connecting the delta smelt to this fire, which is inexcusable because it’s inaccurate."
Trump addresses potential TikTok ban in first sit-down interview of second term
Trump addressed national security concerns about TikTok during tonight's Fox News interview after host Sean Hannity referenced people calling the app "a spying app with the Communist Chinese."
"But you can say that about everything made in China," Trump said. "Look, we have our telephones made in China, for the most part. We have so many things made in China. So why don't they mention that?"
He noted the popularity of the app among young people, saying, "Is it that important for China to be spying on young people, on young kids, watching crazy videos?"
Trump went on, describing other technology manufactured in China like computers. "Isn't that a bigger threat?" he asked.
Trump this week told the Justice Department not to enforce the U.S. ban on TikTok for 75 days.
Trump says administration is 'trying' to get rid of sanctuary cities
Trump was asked during a Fox News interview about sanctuary cities receiving federal funds.
"We're trying to end them, and a lot of the people in those communities don't want them," Trump said of sanctuary cities.
When asked whether Trump would cut off sanctuary cities' money, Trump said, "I might have to do that."