Vance will attend Paris AI summit and the Munich Security Conference
Vice President JD Vance will attend an artificial intelligence summit next Monday and Tuesday in Paris, his office confirmed after Reuters first reported the trip.
Vance will also attend the Munich Security Conference, beginning Feb. 14. It's unclear what the vice president plans to do between the two events.
A day after his inauguration last month, Trump announced a new joint venture called Stargate, a $500 billion investment by several tech companies to create AI infrastructure.
USAID’s future uncertain as Musk targets its budget
Trump’s ally Elon Musk targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development and its $40 billion budget as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is now its executive director. It comes as the DOGE team is granted access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems and Musk is given top secret security clearance. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."
Rubio empowers State Department official to run USAID
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has empowered a top official at the State Department to run the U.S. Agency for International Development and begin reviewing all the work done by the government agency targeted for dismantling by Trump and tech billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
Rubio tapped Pete Marocco, director of foreign assistance at the State Department; he also warned that certain projects or programs might be suspended or eliminated.
Marocco held several national security positions during the first Trump administration, including at USAID, where his attempts to consolidate power and slash funding drove officials to write a dissent memo that ultimately pushed him out of office, according to multiple sources who spoke with NBC News.
Marocco has worked closely with the administration’s other political appointees at USAID during the first weeks of Trump’s second term, two current USAID officials with knowledge of the agency’s new leadership structure and a source familiar with USAID’s day-to-day operations said.
Other people familiar with the agency’s operations say Marocco has largely directed the downsizing of the agency from afar.
Trump set to meet with Netanyahu at the White House
Trump today will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the first foreign leader to meet with the president since he started his second term.
Speaking with reporters Sunday, Trump previewed the discussion at the White House as a “very big meeting.” In his letter inviting Netanyahu to Washington last week, Trump wrote, “I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries.”
Netanyahu said Sunday that they will discuss “the critical issues that lie ahead of us — defeating Hamas, returning all our hostages, and dealing with the Iranian axis in all its components, an axis that also threatens Israel’s security, the Middle East, and the entire world.”
China outlines U.S. products subject to tariffs
The Chinese government has released a long list of U.S. imports that will be affected by targeted tariffs in response to a 10% U.S. tariff on all goods imported from China.
China will impose a 10% tariff on U.S. crude oil; a long list of agricultural machines and tools, including tractors and fertilizer; and larger cars and pickup trucks.
Coal and liquefied natural gas will be subject to a 15% tariff.
The U.S. tariff on China went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET, while the Chinese tariffs on the U.S. will take effect starting Feb. 10.
Senate Intelligence Committee to vote on advancing Gabbard for director of national intelligence
The Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on Gabbard’s nomination for director of national intelligence today.
Gabbard, who cannot lose a single Republican on the panel given the GOP's one-vote majority, faced a tough confirmation hearing, notably refusing to directly answer a question about National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who pressed Gabbard on her answers on Snowden, said yesterday that she would support the nomination.
Senate Finance Committee to vote on advancing Kennedy's nomination
The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote today on whether to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health and human services secretary to the full Senate.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is a key vote to watch. Cassidy, a physician who has long advocated for vaccines, said last week he was “struggling” with the nomination, citing Kennedy’s history of undermining vaccine use.
If his nomination advances to the Senate floor, Kennedy can't afford to lose more than three Republican votes if all Democrats oppose him.