What's happening today
- Senate Republicans began a series of votes this evening in an effort to pass a $340 billion budget blueprint designed to boost funding for President Donald Trump's agenda. They plan to grind it out in a “vote-a-rama” that’s expected to continue into the early hours of tomorrow morning.
- Former Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced today that he will not seek re-election next year, ending his more than 40-year career in the Senate.
- Kash Patel, Trump's pick for FBI director, was confirmed by the Senate this afternoon. Democrats have railed against Patel, taking issue with his rhetoric about Jan. 6 defendants and the possibility that he could oversee politically motivated firings at the bureau.
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced Trump's pick for secretary of eduction, Linda McMahon, in a party-line vote, sending her nomination to the full Senate for consideration.
- Vice President JD Vance kicked off the first day of programming at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, where Elon Musk made an appearance this afternoon.
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Schiff effort to exempt federal firefighters from hiring freeze fails
An effort led by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to exempt federal firefighters from the ongoing hiring freeze launched by the Trump administration and reinstate firefighters who have been laid off as a result of cuts failed to garner enough votes to be included in a Senate budget resolution.
Schiff, joined by several senators from Western states, said the amendment was an effort to "ask the chamber to take a clear stand on behalf of the firefighters who helped fight and prevent wildfires."
"Wildfires don’t discriminate. They hit red states and blue states," Schiff said. "Even as deadly and devastating wildfires were burning in LA County, President Trump adopted a freeze on hiring so widespread that is blocking the Forest Service from onboarding the seasonal firefighters we require to prevent future fires."
The amendment failed on near-party lines, 52-48. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, broke with Republicans and voted in favor of the measure.
Trump’s federal hiring freeze halted the onboarding of thousands of federal firefighters, including some working for agencies that have helped battle the raging wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles-area earlier this year.
Schiff, following reporting from NBC News, previously called on several federal agencies to exempt federal firefighters from the hiring freeze, arguing it “detrimental to wildfire preparedness and readiness.”
“Our constituents and communities rely on the hard work and sacrifice of our more than 15,000 seasonal federal wildland firefighters each year. Seasonal firefighters are essential to the public safety of those who live in fire-prone areas, and I am alarmed that federal firefighters are not party to this exemption,” Schiff wrote in a letter to several federal agency heads.
CIA's attempt to fire 51 officers could be first step in a wider purge
The CIA’s attempt to fire 51 intelligence officers who held temporary jobs in diversity, equity and inclusion programs could be just the beginning of larger-scale dismissal of employees at the spy agency, according to a lawyer representing the officers and a former official with knowledge of the matter.
The CIA was poised to fire 51 officers at the agency earlier this week but a federal judge on Tuesday ordered the government to put their termination on hold for five days.
The government filed its response to the judge’s order tonight, arguing that Congress has granted the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence “exceptional discretion to terminate the employment of personnel employed within the CIA and ODNI.” The government maintained that the head of the CIA and the director of national intelligence could fire any employee if it was in the interests of the United States.
In its court filing, the government also cited an agency memo that signaled more firings could be on the way.
The memo stated that CIA Director John Ratcliffe “also may determine that it is necessary or advisable in the interests of the United States to terminate the employment of additional employees as necessary to effectuate the direction in” Trump’s executive order on ending DEI programs.
“This is probably just the beginning of the firings,” said Kevin Carroll, who is representing 21 of the 51 CIA and ODNI employees challenging their imminent dismissal.
“I suspect these 51 officers are intended to be the initial victims in a much broader purge of the Intelligence Community,” Carroll told NBC News.
The CIA did not respond to a request for comment tonight.
There were indications newer CIA employees who had not yet completed a probationary period could be dismissed, according to a former official. Probation for new hires at the agency can last two years or more.
Other federal agencies have dismissed probationary employees as part of the Trump administration’s drive to streamline the federal government and cut costs.
In their legal complaint to the court, the intelligence officers said they are “nonpartisan” career intelligence professionals who were temporarily assigned jobs on DEI programs and the federal government did not allege any misconduct or poor performance by any of the employees.
“These are not career DEI functionaries as might be found at an Ivy League university,” said Carroll, himself a former intelligence officer. “They’re red-blooded American intelligence officers, who happened to be assigned to temporary roles in which they patriotically advanced both the civil rights laws and national security of the United States.”
Trump’s executive order on removing all DEI positions in the federal government did not call for the termination of employees temporarily assigned to those programs, the plaintiffs’ complaint stated.
The Trump administration says the president’s executive orders ending DEI programs in the federal government and federal contracting are designed to end what it calls a discriminatory policy that allegedly violated Americans’ civil rights.
New lawsuit challenges Trump executive orders that plaintiffs say 'seek to erase transgender people from public life'
On the heels of a federal lawsuit charging that several of Trump’s executive orders hinder civil rights groups' ability to help marginalized communities, a collection of LGBTQ nonprofits sued the Trump administration today, claiming that recent executive orders seek to "punish and defund" them for "acknowledging the existence of transgender people."
“These executive orders attempt to erase an entire community and enshrines blatant discrimination as national policy,” Jose Abrigo, the lead lawyer in the lawsuit, said during a virtual press conference today.
The lawsuit claims that three executive orders, which were also cited in the prior lawsuit filed by the group and several others, target the organizations and the people they serve, excluding them from services that receive federal financial assistance.
Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California and said that Trump's executive orders "severely harm" nonprofit organizations’ ability to provide services such as HIV treatment, sexual and reproductive health screenings, and homelessness prevention.
Trump on landmark name changes: 'We're allowed to do it'
Trump defended his targeting of The Associated Press in remarks at the Republican Governors Association dinner tonight for refusing to accede his request to exclusively refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Because of its global audience, The Associated Press recognizes both names of the international body of water. Its reporters have since been denied access to some White House events and restricted from boarding Air Force One.
"They refuse to acknowledge that the Gulf — former of Mexico, is now called the Gulf of America, so we're holding them out of any news conferences," Trump said at the dinner. "It's just something that we feel strongly about doing."
Trump at the event also touted his decision to restore the name of Mount Denali to Mount McKinley, disregarding opposition from both of Alaska's Republican senators.
"I just renamed Mount McKinley 'Mount McKinley.' I hope you’re happy about that," Trump said. "McKinley was the president. He was a tariff guy, and he believed that countries should not be allowed to come in and plunder."
The Associated Press adopted the name change to "Mount McKinley," citing the fact that the mountain lies solely in the U.S.
Trump backs Rep. Byron Donalds in his likely run for Florida governor in 2026
Trump today publicly supported Republican Rep. Byron Donalds’ likely bid for Florida governor in 2026.
Donalds has not yet announced, but NBC News reported last month that he is telling donors that he will run for the seat, which is being vacated by Republican Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited.
Donalds is among Trump’s biggest congressional supporters, and he was expected to get Trump’s backing, even if the public show of support came sooner than many anticipated.
“I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER!” Trump posted on Truth Social today. “As Governor, Byron would have a BIG Voice and would work closely with me to advance our America First Agenda.”
Trump praises Brian Kemp at Republican Governors Association event
Trump kicked off his remarks at tonight's Republican Governors Association dinner by praising Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who introduced him.
"I especially want to thank the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Brian Kemp, who is fantastic. He was fantastic," Trump said. "We won Georgia by a lot."
The president's praise comes after the governor's refusal to aid Trump in overturning Georgia's 2020 election results made him the subject of his ire for years. The two reconciled last year after Kemp endorsed Trump's 2024 bid.
Fired IRS employee who supported Trump blasts president for using ‘wrecking ball and destroying people’s lives’
An IRS employee who said he was laid off today by the Trump administration, and who said he had supported the president before today, criticized Trump for "coming in with a wrecking ball and destroying people’s lives for no reason.”
Robert McCabe told NBC affiliate WCAU in Philadelphia that he tried to log on at work today but was unable to do so. "We got our email saying we were fired after sitting around all day knowing we were fired," he said.
McCabe said he began working for the government because “I believe there is a lot of stuff in the government that needs fixing. And that’s part of the reason why I actually wanted to work for the government, actually. To help change. Help change the things that are wrong in the world, you know?"
"I thought that someone with his business acumen would have come in with a fine-tooth comb and actually found it instead of coming in with a wrecking ball and destroying people’s lives for no reason," he added.
Senate begins ‘vote-a-rama’ to advance $340 billion budget for Trump’s agenda
Senate Republicans began a series of votes tonight on a party-line vehicle to pass a $340 billion budget blueprint designed to boost funding for Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, energy production and the military.
They plan to grind it out in a “vote-a-rama” that’s expected to continue into the early hours of Friday morning. Eventually, they expect to approve the measure along party lines. Republicans have 53 senators and just one of them, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against proceeding to the budget, along with all Democrats.
“Without this bill passing,” said Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., “there is no hope of getting money for the border.”
Trump administration ends extension of Haiti’s temporary protected status
The Trump administration today canceled an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, the latest move by the president targeting the form of immigration relief for people coming from countries facing political upheaval and natural disasters.
In June, amid the island’s violent domestic turmoil, the Biden administration announced the temporary immigration protection was extended for Haitians until February 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security announced today that it was vacating the extension and the protections would end on Aug. 3.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the decision by the former administration as an attempt to “tie the hands” of Trump.
At the White House, a Kodak moment
The White House in a social media post touted the attendance of Billboard chart-topping rapper Kodak Black at its Black History Month reception today.
Trump pardoned the rapper in the waning days of his first term. Since then, Black has emerged as a steadfast supporter of the president, attending Trump's inauguration and campaign events, and even meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
The rapper was among several entertainers and athletes spotted at the White House's reception today, a list that includes fellow rappers Boosie and Rod Wave, as well as golf legend Tiger Woods.