Schumer: 'Trump is not free to bulldoze his way through the rule of law’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned in remarks on the chamber floor today that Trump cannot ignore the decisions of the federal judiciary in halting numerous elements of his policy agenda in the last few weeks.
“Donald Trump is not free to bulldoze his way through the rule of law. He is an executive, not a monarch,” Schumer said. “He swore an oath faithfully to execute the duties of his office, and when the courts speak, Donald Trump must accept their judgments and honor the Constitution.”
Schumer criticized Vice President JD Vance, who wrote in a post on X over the weekend, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
"With respect to the vice president, the issue here isn’t the courts trying to control the president, it’s the president trying to control the law" and decide for himself which laws should or shouldn’t be applied, Schumer said.
“Congress makes the law; the courts interpret the law. We all learned that in grade school. That’s how checks and balances work in a constitutional republic,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump does not reign supreme when the courts speak.”
During a House GOP leadership news conference today, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he “wholeheartedly” agreed with Vance's stance on judges and executive power.
“I think the courts should take a step back and allow these processes to play out,” Johnson said. “What we’re doing is good and right for the American people.”
Democratic leader threatens spending fight over Trump's planned Education Department cuts
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told reporters today that Democrats might not support an upcoming spending bill that Congress has to pass by mid-March because of Trump's proposed cuts to the Department of Education.
If Republicans “won’t stand up for our kids and end their war on students, then they should not ask for our votes to pass a government funding bill," he said.
Aguilar added that Democrats are “happy to negotiate” with their Republican colleagues, but added that there is “very little appetite [to] help Republicans when we don’t trust that Donald Trump is going to spend the resources that we’ve allocated for education.”
“None of us are making plans for March 15. That’s for sure,” he added.
Trump threatens Hamas over hostage pause in fragile ceasefire
Trump said Palestinians would not be allowed back into Gaza under his proposal for the area, while Hamas has paused the release of Israeli hostages. NBC News’ Aaron Gilchrist reports on Trump’s warning to Hamas and explains why the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire is on hold.
USAID contractors sue over Trump's attempt to dismantle agency
Contractors that work with the U.S. Agency for International Development sued the Trump administration today and asked a federal judge to act immediately.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the funding cuts violate both federal law and the Constitution.
"Neither the president nor his subordinates have authority to thwart duly enacted statutes and substitute their own funding preferences for those Congress has expressed through legislation," the lawsuit says.
Plaintiffs include HIAS, a Maryland-based nonprofit that receives 58% of its funding from the U.S. government, including USAID, and Management Sciences for Health, a Virginia-based group that receives 88% of its funding from USAID.
For-profit plaintiffs include Chemonics International, based in Washington, D.C., and Maryland-based DAI Global. Both receive the bulk of their revenue from USAID.
The lawsuit follows a separate claim filed by unions representing USAID employees that led to a judge partially blocking Trump's plan as it related to putting staff on leave and evacuating people based overseas.
Bannon pleads guilty in New York ‘We Build the Wall’ case
Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, pleaded guilty today to felony fraud for helping to defraud donors who were giving money to build a wall at the southern U.S. border.
In exchange for the guilty plea, he agreed to a conditional discharge and waived his right to appeal.
Bannon will not be allowed to serve as an officer or director of a charity or any charitable organization in New York state, or any fundraising or not-for-profit organization in the state. He will not be allowed to receive or hold assets for any charitable organizations.
Government watchdogs call on Senate to demand answers over Trump's purge of inspectors general
Several government watchdog organizations are calling on the Senate to demand answers about Trump's firing last month of 18 inspectors general.
"Inspectors general are uniquely positioned to give Congress the information it needs to conduct effective oversight and pass meaningful legislation," the groups wrote in a letter to senators today that was obtained by NBC News. "The removal of multiple IGs at once raises significant concerns about maintaining the integrity and continuity of oversight. These abrupt dismissals undermine the ability of IGs to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, potentially deterring accountability at a critical time."
The organizations said that the Senate must act and demand "full explanations from President Trump as to why each inspector general was removed, as mandated by law."
The letter was signed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Project on Government Oversight, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Public Citizen, American Oversight, Hispanic Leadership Fund, National Taxpayers Union, R Street Institute, and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Inspectors general are considered independent officials within their departments and conduct oversight and investigations into allegations of government waste, fraud and abuse.
When asked last month about the reason for the firings, a senior White House official said, “We’re cleaning house of what doesn’t work for us and going forward."
Democratic lawmaker says a two-solution solution between Israel and Palestinians is 'dead'
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said in an interview this morning that he thinks a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians is "dead" at the moment.
In an interview on CNN, Moskowitz was asked what he thinks about Trump appearing to abandon the idea of a two-state solution, in which Palestinians would create their own state, in favor of a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip.
"Look, that's not going to happen," Moskowitz said of Trump's proposal. "But I do think a two-state solution at this moment is dead. There is no path."
Moskowitz said the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was offered a two-state solution several times and Palestinians turned it down.
"So what deal is there that they're willing to accept? We know the deal that Hamas wants," Moskowitz said, adding that the terrorist group is against a two-state solution because it "doesn’t want to live side by side in Israel.”
"So I do think, unfortunately, and I've always been a supporter of a two-state solution, I think we have to be honest that at this moment, a two-state solution is dead in the region."
Trump orders EPA chief to reinstate water standards for appliances that were terminated by Biden
Trump said this morning that he is instructing EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate water standards that he had implemented during his first term for various home appliances that he said were terminated by Biden.
"I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe. I look forward to signing these Orders. THANK YOU!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social account.
Toward the end of his first term, Trump's administration finalized rules that reversed water efficiency standards on washing machines and showerheads after the president complained about low water pressure from these appliances.
Gallup: Obama most liked among living presidents; Trump 4th, ahead of Biden
Barack Obama is the most liked among the five living current or former presidents, according to a new Gallup survey.
The poll found 59% had a favorable view of Obama, compared with 36% who held an unfavorable view. He was followed by George W. Bush (52% favorable versus 34% unfavorable), and then Bill Clinton (48%-41%).
Bush's ratings were the least divided by party, while Clinton's image has steadily improved over time, Gallup said.
President Donald Trump was the fourth most-liked, with 48% viewing him favorable compared to 50% unfavorably.
Joe Biden was last, with just 39% viewing him favorably, to 57% unfavorably.
The poll surveyed a representative sample of the U.S. population from Jan. 21 to 27.
Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting against DEI push
Military families protesting the Defense Department’s anti-DEI push heckled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his arrival at U.S. European Command headquarters in Germany today.
On a visit to the U.S. military’s key European military hub in Stuttgart, Hegseth was booed by around two dozen people who live at the base in an apparent demonstration against the policies currently being implemented by the Trump administration.
The demonstrators at the short protest repeatedly chanted “DEI,” apparently in a reference to the recent ban Hegseth has placed on some books in Defense Department schools. Hegseth last week ordered the restriction of learning materials covering subjects that included psychology and immigration in DOD schools.