Speaker Johnson texts Elon Musk: 'Continue the effort' on DOGE
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he texted Elon Musk this afternoon and urged him to keep up his efforts through Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to overhaul the federal government.
"I spoke with Elon. We were texting within the last hour, and I told him to continue the effort, because it's really important for us to get to restore fiscal sanity," Johnson told reporters in the Capitol.
Musk has faced fierce backlash from congressional Democrats and federal employees after he and Trump moved yesterday to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID. Johnson defended Musk’s DOGE push as “positive.”
“So we welcome the oversight, the additional attention that’s being paid to it,” Johnson said of federal spending in executive agencies. “And I think these are very positive developments. And I think the vast majority of the American people believe this comports with common sense.”
Trump reinstates 'maximum pressure' policy on Iran, says he hopes not to use it 'very much'
Trump, while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he is reinstating “maximum pressure” on Iran, reprising a policy from his first term in office. The president signed an order that an aide said is aimed at sanctioning Iranian programs on terrorism.
“It’s very tough on Iran,” Trump said, adding that he’s “torn” on signing it. “Hopefully, we are not going to have to use it very much.”
He said he hoped for peace.
Trump added that he would “love to have a relationship” with Iran but that “they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Democratic senators call for probe into Elon Musk, DOGE access to federal databases
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s decision to grant access to sensitive federal data to Elon Musk and other Department of Government Efficiency employees.
In a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro, the senators said the accessed government payment systems process trillions of dollars in transactions each year and contain personal information for tens of millions of Americans.
“The process by which Mr. Musk’s team obtained access to these systems is troubling — as are the implications,” they wrote. “The access may threaten economic and national security.”
Warren and Wyden urged the GAO to look into which systems were accessed, whether the individuals who have access hold appropriate security clearances and if there are protections in place for Americans’ privacy.
The senators also questioned Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, pointing to an announcement that his social media platform X will be partnering with Visa on a payment system it plans to launch this year. The people who accessed the federal payment systems may have done so “for their own personal gain,” they wrote.
Senate committee backs Tulsi Gabbard as next intelligence chief
The Senate Intelligence Committee today voted 9-8 to back Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, clearing an important hurdle for her nomination.
The committee’s action opens the way for the full Senate to decide if Gabbard should be confirmed as the country’s top-ranking intelligence official.
At her confirmation hearing last week, Gabbard had faced pointed questions from some Republicans about her stances on Edward Snowden and the controversial surveillance program he helped expose. The questioning fueled speculation about whether Gabbard would win the backing of the committee, where Republicans have a 9-8 majority.
Can an executive order eliminate the Education Department?
Two sources told NBC News that the White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Education Department. NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reports on how Congress is the only body with the power to create or remove federal agencies.
FBI agents sue Justice Department over efforts to identify agents on Jan. 6 cases
Nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit today over the Trump administration’s efforts to identify and force out FBI staff members who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, alleging the Justice Department violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs, who are not named in the lawsuit, intend to represent a class of at least 6,000 current and former FBI employees “who participated in some manner in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and abuses of power by Donald Trump, or by those acting at his behest,” the complaint says.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on the lawsuit.
The agents say they were instructed to fill out a survey regarding their roles, if any, in Jan. 6 cases and the Trump classified documents case. They have been informed they are “likely to be terminated in the very near future,” the lawsuit says.
With the lawsuit, the agents seek to block the compilation of lists naming FBI personnel who worked on Jan. 6 investigations and the potential publication of such information. Some of the agents’ personal information has already been posted to the dark web, according to the lawsuit.
“The very act of compiling lists of persons who worked on matters that upset Donald Trump is retaliatory in nature, intended to intimidate FBI agents and other personnel, and to discourage them from reporting any future malfeasance and by Donald Trump and his agents,” the complaint says.
Senate confirmes Doug Collins for veterans affairs secretary
The Senate voted 77-23 to confirm former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., as Trump’s veterans affairs secretary. Collins is an Air Force veteran and was a staunch Trump ally during his first impeachment and his 2020 election loss.
Can Trump close or reshape federal agencies? Experts weigh in
The president does not have authority to abolish a federal department or agency created by Congress, legal experts say.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Elon Musk has said he and Trump are in the process of shutting down, was established first by an executive order in 1961 and later by a law Congress passed in 1998.
A more recent law, the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024, which was incorporated into a larger congressional spending bill, requires that the executive branch notify and consult with Congress on any proposed reorganization or downsizing of the agency.
Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School, said his “best reading of the law is that although the president could direct greater coordination of USAID with the State Department and maybe even transfer some functions, he cannot unilaterally abolish the agency by executive order."
“It has been established by an act of Congress and can be eliminated only by an act of Congress,” he said.
To that point, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s letter to senators yesterday asking to consult with them about the future of USAID specifically referred to the 2024 appropriations act, which looked "like at least a nod towards the rule of law,” said Tess Bridgeman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, who worked as deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council under the Obama administration.
Rubio, who was named by Trump as acting USAID administrator, said in his letter to lawmakers that certain USAID missions could be shifted to the State Department and remaining agency activities "abolished consistent with applicable law."
As Rubio has been confirmed by the Senate, the administration could argue it is seeking a legal path to restructuring the agency and is consulting as required with lawmakers, congressional aides said.
But the Trump administration’s recent actions, including locking employees out of headquarters, halting congressionally funded USAID programs, and cutting off email access for staff, as well as statements from Elon Musk, have sent a different message: that it possibly intends to dismantle the agency altogether.
“Is the administration purporting to be transferring all of USAID’s functions to the State Department, or are they simply being performed under a new acting administrator?” Bridgeman asked. “We don’t know the answer to that question. So it’s really hard to say whether the functions assigned to USAID by statute have been retained.”
Those who want to raise constitutional claims against the effort to abolish the agency would need to establish legal standing to sue. If the agency were dissolved outright, organizations that receive funding from USAID could have standing to challenge the move as an “injured party,” according to Bridgeman.
Employees at USAID also potentially have legal recourse if they are dismissed from their jobs in a way that violates federal laws governing civil servants.
Vance embraces 'honest broker' role in tough confirmation fights
There was a common denominator today when Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Todd Young, R-Ind., announced their support for Cabinet nominees Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard: Vice President JD Vance.
Young's support for Gabbard as director of national intelligence followed extensive talks with Vance. Cassidy directly thanked "VP JD ... for his honest counsel" before revealing he will vote to confirm Kennedy as health and human services secretary.
Vance spoke with Cassidy and Young — as did other administration officials — numerous times in recent days to discuss their remaining concerns, a source familiar with the vice president's role told NBC News. Vance, a former senator from Ohio, has long maintained good relationships with the two, having served with both.
The vice president, the source familiar with his role asserted, is quickly becoming a trusted voice among GOP senators and is seen as an honest broker in discussions about the administration’s agenda.
RFK Jr. critic Tim Kaine says ‘Vegas odds’ are in his favor in Senate vote
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in an interview on MSNBC that the “Vegas odds” are in RFK Jr.’s favor now that Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has said he will vote for his nomination for health secretary.
Cassidy, a physician who serves as chair of the Senate health committee, initially said he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s nomination over his views on vaccines. In a speech on the Senate floor today, Cassidy said the Trump administration reached out to reassure him of its stance on protecting vaccines and had committed to collaborating with him.
Speaking about some of Kennedy's controversial views, Kaine said, “The fact that Republicans would vote for somebody who says he won’t take sides about 9/11 — this is not the Republican Party that I’ve been familiar with during my entire life.”