What Trump and Congress are up to today
- President Donald Trump attended a high-profile policy conference with House Republicans in his home state, Florida. In public remarks, Trump joked about a third presidential term and floated the idea of sending U.S. "repeat offenders" to foreign prisons as a cost-saving measure.
- Another Trump Cabinet member was confirmed. The Senate voted 68-29 to confirm Scott Bessent as treasury secretary.
- Even without his full Cabinet in place, Trump has managed to implement several fiscal policies since he was sworn in to a second term exactly a week ago. Yesterday, Trump engaged in a lengthy standoff over tariffs with the president of Colombia, in which the White House claimed victory. Colombia has said it will repatriate its nationals while "guaranteeing them dignified conditions as citizens subject to rights.”
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Trump emphasizes 'fair' trade in call with Indian leader
Trump stressed the importance of India's increasing its purchases of U.S.-made security equipment and moving toward a "fair bilateral trading relationship" in a "productive" call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House said.
Trump later told reporters that Modi would visit the White House in the next month, "probably in February," and that they had also discussed immigration. India is one of the top sources of undocumented immigrants to the United States.
Modi said on X that he was "delighted to speak with my dear friend" Trump and that the two leaders were "committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership."
After ‘confusion’ over Trump team’s directives, critical NIH research continues
Despite concerns about the future of research at the National Institutes of Health, current clinical trials can continue as scheduled, the agency’s acting director told staff scientists in an email today.
The clarification followed what staffers called “chaos” Wednesday when the Trump administration “paused” all communications from federal health agencies and suspended all government travel. The directive left NIH staff members with unanswered questions about their work and even whether they’d be able to continue caring for their patients.
The acting director, Matthew Memoli, a longtime infectious disease expert and flu vaccine researcher at the NIH, wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, that he sought to clear up “confusion on the scope of the pause.”
Three Seattle-area pregnant women sue Trump administration over birthright citizenship
Three pregnant women from Seattle have sued the Trump administration over Trump's executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship.
The three women do not have permanent residency or citizenship status, and two of whom have applied for asylum. Their due dates would fall after the executive order goes into effect, 30 days after Trump signed it. As a result, their children would be considered without status.
The class-action suit, filed Friday, names Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, among other government officials, as defendants.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment this evening.
Immigrants' rights groups have filed several other lawsuits, as have several states' attorneys general. A federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary injunction last week in response to one of the suits.
A Justice Department spokesperson said last week that it "will vigorously defend President Trump’s EO, which correctly interprets the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the Court and to the American people."
Trump says he'll meet Netanyahu 'in the not too distant future'
Trump told reporters tonight that he plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "in the not too distant future," saying Netanyahu is coming to Washington to meet with him.
Asked for details about the timing, Trump responded: "Very soon."
Netanyahu made his last trip to the White House in July to meet President Joe Biden. He also addressed lawmakers at a joint session on Capitol Hill.
Trump signs 4 executive orders pertaining to the military
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump announced that he signed four executive orders tonight.
The first reinstated members of the military who were terminated or forced to separate because of vaccination mandates; the second established a process to develop an "American Iron Dome," or a comprehensive missile defense shield around the United States; the third eliminated "gender radicalism" within the military; and the fourth eliminated DEI services and offices within the military.
Trump also announced he had signed a proclamation commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Trump says China’s DeepSeek AI ‘should be a wake-up call’ for American tech companies
Trump said today that the sudden rise of the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek “should be a wake-up call” for America’s tech companies as the runaway popularity of yet another Chinese app presented new questions for the administration and congressional leaders.
Trump said he still expected U.S. tech companies to dominate artificial intelligence, but he acknowledged the challenge posed by DeepSeek, a low-cost AI assistant that rose to No. 1 on the Apple app store over the weekend.
“The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing,” he said as he traveled in Florida.
Google says it plans to use Trump’s new names for Denali, Gulf of Mexico
Google today said its maps will use names for Denali and the Gulf of Mexico favored by Trump — Mount McKinley and Gulf of America — when federal maps make the switch.
In an executive order signed on his first day back in office on Jan. 20, Trump ordered the interior secretary to make the changes within 30 days.
Trump’s order said the new names would need to be reflected in the federal Geographic Names Information System run by the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Interior Department. Spokespeople for the survey did not immediately respond to requests for comment today.
Flights out of Kabul halted for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders after Trump order
Flights to the United States out of Kabul for Afghans who received special visas for their work with the U.S. government have been suspended, three sources with Afghan advocacy organizations said.
Last week, the State Department’s office overseeing refugee admissions informed nonprofit organizations in a memo that all refugee resettlement activities were suspended. But the memo said flights for Afghans who have special immigrant visas would continue.
However, the flights for Special Immigrant Visa holders are now halted, said Shawn Van Diver of the advocacy group #AfghanEvac and two other sources with knowledge of the matter.
The flights have been halted as a result of executive orders Trump issued. One order halted refugee resettlement, which shut down processing for Special Immigrant Visa holders after they leave Afghanistan. Another executive order froze U.S. foreign aid, which suspended reception services for Afghans flying to the United States with Special Immigrant Visas, Van Diver and other advocates said.
About 40,000 to 50,000 Afghans who have been granted Special Immigrant Visas or who are due to get them could be affected, Van Diver said. The visas were created for Iraqis and Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other jobs for the U.S. Embassy or military — but the program was plagued by incessant delays for years.
“They’ve had their visa interviews, they’ve done all the steps, they’ve followed all the rules,” he said. “They’ve done what we’ve asked them. ... They’re freaking out.”
In the meantime, the Afghans with links to the United States are at risk of detention and persecution by the Taliban regime, advocates say.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VA says it has ended DEI initiatives
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that it has ended diversity, equity and inclusion activities and initiatives following Trump’s executive order last week aimed at halting DEI programs in the federal government.
The VA said in a news release that it placed nearly 60 employees solely focused on DEI on paid administrative leave and that it is working to cancel contracts for DEI-related training, materials and consulting services.
According to the VA, the workers’ combined salaries total more than $8 million, and the combined value of the contracts is more than $6 million.
It said it is also removing “DEI-related media” from its digital properties.
“We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA’s core mission. We look forward to reallocating the millions of dollars the department was spending on DEI programs and personnel to better serve the men and women who have bravely served our nation,” VA spokesperson Morgan Ackley said in a statement.
Senate Republicans cast a wary eye on Trump’s nominee for labor secretary
A number of Senate Republicans have problems with Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, citing pro-union stances she has taken in the past that clash with the business community.
“I’m not going to support her,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a senior member of the committee that will oversee her nomination, told NBC News today. “I’m the national spokesman and lead author of the right-to-work bill. Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right to work but would pre-empt state law on right to work — I think it’s not a good thing.
“And it’d be sort of hard for me, since it’s a big issue for me, to support her. So I won’t support her. I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans,” Paul added, predicting she would win some Democrats because “she’s very pro-labor.”