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What to know today
- President Donald Trump signed a new batch of executive orders this afternoon, including one that sets in motion plans to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
- The administration continues to roll out Trump's sweeping immigration plans, but at least one major component hit a legal roadblock today. A federal district judge temporarily blocked Trump's executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which its opponents say is constitutional.
- Trump discussed tariffs, inflation and other hot-button issues in virtual remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said he would push NATO to increase defense spending and Saudi Arabia to invest more money in the United States.
- The Senate voted to confirm John Ratcliffe's nomination to be CIA director. Ratcliffe is a former congressman from Texas who was the director of national intelligence during Trump's first term. Vice President JD Vance swore Ratcliffe in this afternoon.
Trump says he can reach trade deal with China, calls talk with Xi 'friendly'
Trump said that his call last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping was "friendly" and that the threat of tariffs could help him reach a trade deal with the world’s second-largest economy.
"It was a good, friendly conversation," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity of his call with the Chinese leader last Friday.
"He’s a man that was, you know, I don’t want to be naive and say my friend, but he was like my friend," Trump said of their relationship.
That relationship was tested toward the end of Trump’s first term by the Covid-19 pandemic, which originated in China, as well as tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese goods over what he argued were unfair trade practices, which inflamed a trade war.
During his presidential campaign last year, Trump vowed to impose blanket tariffs of 60% or more on all Chinese goods imports, and on Tuesday he said he was considering a tariff of 10% starting as soon as Feb. 1.
"We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs," Trump told Hannity. "And they don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it, but it’s a tremendous power over China."
Trump birthright citizenship order could leave U.S.-born babies of asylum-seekers ‘stateless,’ attorneys say
A lawsuit filed against Trump by five pregnant women and several immigrant groups warns that Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship could render babies born to some asylum-seekers “stateless.”
The executive order Trump signed Monday, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, attempts to limit birthright citizenship to people who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. It also says those born to parents who are in the country legally but temporarily will no longer be automatically guaranteed citizenship.
Trump says he'll reach out to North Korea's Kim Jong Un
Trump said he would reach out to Kim Jong Un after having developed a relationship with the North Korean leader during his first term.
"He liked me, and I got along with him," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Trump and Kim met three times in 2018 and 2019 to discuss North Korea's U.N.-sanctioned nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Trump told Hannity that he "solved that problem," though the summits did not produce any deals.
Kim has since advanced his weapons programs and last year signed a mutual defense pact with Russia.
"He’s not a religious zealot," Trump said. "He happens to be a smart guy."
Government employee resource groups disbanded
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified employees today that its employee resource groups are being shut down to comply with Trump's executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In an email shared with NBC News by an employee at the agency, it said the ERGs are "being disbanded and special observances are being canceled."
"These changes are effective immediately," the email read. "If you have been involved in planning upcoming special observations or other meetings or activities related to the ERGs, you will need to stop that work and cancel upcoming meetings and planning."
ERGs, which exist in both the public and private sectors, are voluntary, employee-led groups for people with similar backgrounds or life experiences to associate. Common ERGs include ones for Native Americans, LGBTQ people, Black employees, women and veterans, among others.
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment and clarification on whether all the ERGs would be barred.
Government staffers who do DEI-related work have been put on paid leave. Some of them spoke with NBC News about what they're going through here.
Trump: Zelenskyy is 'no angel'
Trump again criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying in a Fox News interview that Zelenskyy, a U.S. ally, is "no angel."
"He shouldn't have allowed this war to happen," Trump said.
Trump has promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day. The war began when Russia, a U.S. adversary, invaded Ukraine.
"Zelenskyy was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful," Trump said. "He shouldn't have done that, because we could have made a deal."
The Fox News interview was recorded yesterday, and the second part was released today.
Trump criticizes renewable energy: 'We don't want windmills in this country'
Trump reiterated his criticism of windmills, floating the idea of using executive action to target the clean energy source in an interview that aired tonight.
"We don't want windmills in this country. I'm going to put it — we're putting an order out. I've already sort of done it. We don't want windmills," Trump said in a Fox News interview that was recorded yesterday.
Trump's ally Elon Musk, who is head of the "Department of Government Efficiency," has been a proponent of renewable energy.
'Interesting for history': JFK assassination expert applauds declassifying files
Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK,” says releasing files “will be interesting for history” but won't reveal a “smoking gun document that will turn the case on its head.”
Posner has contended that Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He told NBC News’ Tom Llamas that he is looking forward to learning new information from the declassified files.
“There are some files that are still sealed about the Mafia and CIA plots against Fidel Castro. I’d like to know more about that. There’s a document in there on Mexican intelligence information was gathered on Oswald when Lee Harvey Oswald visited Mexico City only six weeks before the assassination, and it might disclose the extent to which the CIA knew how unbalanced Oswald was and they didn’t tell the FBI. So there could be some embarrassing things in here,” Posner said.
Posner, a veteran investigative journalist, claims there is “no question at all that Oswald was the assassin that day at Dealey Plaza in Dallas."
"So the only question is did he do it for himself, or did he do it as part of a plot?” he continued.
Posner said he's glad the files will be revealed.
“One of the worst things the government has done is sealed these files and held on to them for so many decades,” he said, adding that “it’s good today that Trump is ordering them to be released.”
Posner, who said he thinks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a "tremendous impact" on Trump, said he believes the attempts to assassinate Trump played a role in the decision to release the files.
“The last president assassinated was Jack Kennedy in 1963, and but for an inch of difference, we could have been talking about Donald Trump as the last president assassinated," he said.
Trespasser arrested at Mar-a-Lago, Secret Service official says
Palm Beach police yesterday arrested a person who breached a fence at Trump's Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, a Secret Service official said.
The person, who was not publicly identified, was "immediately detained" for trespassing after having breached an outer fence at Mar-a-Lago around 6:50 p.m. ET, the official said in a statement.
"While the incident had no impact on our protective operations, we take these matters extremely seriously," the official added.
Federal workers placed on leave by Trump’s DEI orders are angry and fearful of what lies ahead
Many who work in the federal government knew an incoming Trump administration would take aim at diversity, equity and inclusion jobs within their ranks. It was just a matter of when and how far he’d go.
For most employees, it happened at 5 p.m. yesterday, when they got notices that they would be forced to take paid leave, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management. The memo followed Trump’s executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal agencies.
House Republican introduces constitutional amendment to allow Trump to seek third term in office
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced a resolution that would amend the Constitution and allow Trump to seek a third term in office.
“This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs,” Ogles said in a statement today.
His resolution states: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
There is a high bar to amend the Constitution. A proposed amendment needs the backing of two-thirds of the House and the Senate or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. A proposed amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Republicans do not hold a two-thirds majority in the House or the Senate.