2 U.S. deportation flights rejected by Colombian officials
Colombia has turned away two deportation flights from the U.S., according to a defense official and a Department of Homeland Security official.
Two C-17 military aircrafts initially had clearance to land in the South American country but Colombian President Gustavo Petro suddenly revoked all flights’ diplomatic clearances, the defense official said. That means no military or ICE flights from the U.S. are allowed.
There were about 80 people per flight and they had taken off from California, the defense official said. The Homeland Security official said they were all Colombian migrants.
Petro posted to X saying that Colombia and its civilians must be treated with respect.
“A migrant is not a criminal and should be treated with the dignity a human being deserves,” Petro wrote. “We will receive our nationals in civilian airplanes, without treating them as criminals."
Sen. Lindsey Graham says he's still considering how he'll vote on Tulsi Gabbard's nomination
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has often touted his willingness to vote in favor of Cabinet secretaries nominated by presidents of both parties, said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that he's still considering how he'll vote on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be the next director of national intelligence.
"I tend to vote for almost everybody of both parties, but I want to see how the hearing goes," Graham said.
His comments come ahead of Gabbard's highly anticipated confirmation hearing. Since she was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next DNI, lawmakers have raised concerns about her, including questioning the motive for her 2017 trip to Syria to meet with then-dictator Bashar al-Assad.
"Why did you go to Syria? What did you do regarding Assad? Why do you think Edward Snowden should be held as a hero? ... We'll see how the hearing goes," Graham said, listing some of his questions for the nominee.
Sen. Lindsey Graham says he thinks Trump pardoning violent Jan. 6 defendants was ‘a mistake’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday said he believes it was “a mistake” for President Donald Trump to pardon those who were convicted of violent crimes or pleaded guilty to committing violent crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
“Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an OK thing to do,” Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Graham tied Trump’s decision to pardon violent offenders with former President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon several of his family members during his last few hours in office last week.
“You know, Biden pardoned half his family going out the door. I think most Americans, if this continues ... will revisit the pardon power of the president, if this continues,” Graham told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.
Trump to meet with Republicans at retreat this week
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced earlier this month that Trump would join House Republicans at their annual retreat, which is taking place in Florida this year from Monday to Wednesday.
The retreat will be held at Trump National Doral in Florida.
Trump's Florida trip comes after stops in North Carolina, California and Nevada.
Here's who backed Kristi Noem as DHS secretary yesterday
The Senate voted 59-34 to confirm former Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., as the Department of Homeland Security secretary yesterday.
Several Democrats joined Republicans in voting to confirm Noem. Here's who they are:
- Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania
- Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
- Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia
- Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey
- Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan
- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
- Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan
Here's what Trump said about firing inspectors general
Trump yesterday defended his decision to fire 18 inspectors general, a highly unusual and controversial move.
“I did it because it’s a very common thing to do,” Trump told reporters yesterday on Air Force One.
The president added that his move was "a very standard thing to do."
However, the mass firing was a breach of norms.
Congress passed a law in 2022 requiring a 30-day notification window between the White House informing Congress that it plans to terminate an inspector general and the inspector general actually being removed.