Sen. Tommy Tuberville says Hegseth will be confirmed
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Hegseth will be confirmed tomorrow night.
"Less than 30 hours from now, we’ll have a new secretary of defense once he gets sworn in at the White House," he said in an interview with Fox News. "Pete will get confirmed sometime this weekend, and we're off to the races."
Despite Tuberville's confidence, two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, have said they will not vote for Hegseth. They both also voted no during the procedural vote to move his nomination forward.
Trump establishes advisory council on science and tech
Trump today signed an executive order to establish the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Until its termination, set for two years from today, the council will meet regularly and advise Trump on policy surrounding matters of science, technology, education and innovation.
“Today, a new frontier of scientific discovery lies before us, defined by transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced biotechnology,” the order says.
“As our global competitors race to exploit these technologies, it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance,” it adds.
The council will be made up of up to 24 members across academia and the private sector — to be appointed by Trump — alongside several positions reserved for those in government. The assistant to the president for science and technology and the White House’s special adviser for AI and crypto will be co-chairs.
Trump pardons two D.C. officers convicted in fatal chase of 20-year-old man and cover-up
Trump issued full and unconditional pardons yesterday to two Washington, D.C., police officers who were convicted for their roles in a deadly chase of a young man on a moped in 2020 and a subsequent cover-up, a case that led to protests in the nation’s capital.
Trump granted clemency to Metropolitan Police Officer Terence Sutton, who was sentenced in September to more than five years in prison. He faced a Washington charge of second-degree murder and federal charges of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice in the unauthorized pursuit that killed Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, in October 2020. Sutton was the first Washington police officer to be convicted of murder for conduct while on duty.
The same jury also convicted Andrew Zabavsky, a lieutenant who supervised Sutton, of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice. Zabavsky was sentenced to four years in prison. He He was not accused of the more serious charge of second-degree murder. Trump granted Zabavsky clemency.
Trump signs executive order to declassify records related to assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr. and RFK
Trump signed an executive order this afternoon to declassify records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y.
Many people have been waiting "for years, for decades, and everything will be revealed," Trump said of the order.
Trump says he expects Fed to listen to him on rate policy
Trump answered affirmatively today when a reporter asked whether he expects the independent Federal Reserve to listen to him on interest rate policy.
He added that he would talk to Fed Chair Jerome Powell about interest rates “at the right time.”
"I think I know interest rates much better than they do," he continued.
Earlier today, in remarks to the World Economic Forum, Trump demanded that interest rates be cut immediately. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged when it meets next week.
Trump says he's open to inviting Jan. 6 defendants to White House
After signing executive orders today in the Oval Office, Trump said he is open to having pardoned Jan. 6 defendants at the White House.
"I’m sure that they probably would like to. I did them something important," he said. "They were protesting a crooked election. I mean, people understand that also, and they were treated very badly. Nobody’s been treated like that. So I’d be open to it."
Trump said he has not spoken to any of the people released from jail because of his pardons.
Trump administration withdraws security details from Pompeo and others
The Trump administration has withdrawn security details provided by the federal government for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and State Department adviser Brian Hook, who both served during Trump's first term.
The New York Times first reported on the Trump’s decision to revoke the protection.
The federal government’s Diplomatic Security Service details had continued to protect both men since they left the State Department following the 2020 election, according to two sources familiar with Pompeo’s security situation and two sources familiar with Hook’s security situation.
Pompeo has been the subject of direct threats by Iran following the 2020 killing of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump says new crypto working group will evaluate 'digital asset stockpile'
Trump announced his administration will move to evaluate the creation of a “national digital asset stockpile” — making good on a promise to support the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
However, the executive order fell short of creating a strategic bitcoin reserve outright, as some crypto advocates had hoped.
The price of bitcoin briefly surged on the news, but fell back to daily lows as traders took stock of the move.
The idea of a bitcoin reserver gained traction this summer, when both Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., currently Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, discussed it at the annual Bitcoin conference.
DOJ says it will 'vigorously' defend Trump's birthright citizenship executive order
The DOJ said it is planning to "vigorously" defend President Trump's executive order that attempts to limit birthright citizenship.
"We look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the Court and to the American people, who are desperate to see our nation’s laws enforced," a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement.
The remarks come after a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked Trump's executive order for 14 days.
Former Capitol police officer: Jan. 6 pardons are 'the highest of hypocrisy'
In a statement to NBC News, former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell blasted Trump's decision to pardon roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants on his first day in office.
"For nearly 25 years, I have served this country honorably in the Army and as a police officer. I have cried, sweat, and bled for this nation at home and abroad against foreign and domestic threats without hesitation. I, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, a naturalized citizen nearly lost my life defending the Constitution and the rule of law in the building that President Trump was just inaugurated," Gonell wrote, adding that, "Trump only pardoned them because they committed crimes under his banner and fighting for him."
Gonell also blasted Republicans as a party "who claims to have the moral high ground when defending 'the rule of law, law and order, and the backing the blue' these pardons are the highest of hypocrisy."
Gonell also specifically called out Republican lawmakers who "turned their backs on us."
"They refused to acknowledge the siege. They excused and condoned what transpired instead of denouncing and condemning the assault," he added.