Senate kicks off vote series to advance Trump agenda; Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director

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.

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 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 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.”

Read the full story here.

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.

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 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.”

Read the full story here.

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.

Read the full story here.

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.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., took a swipe at longtime rival Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who announced today he won’t seek re-election next year.

“[Trump] deserves our thanks and our respect. But what does he get instead?” Scott said in a speech at CPAC focused on shaking up the status quo in Washington. “He gets lies and obstruction from the Democrats, the mainstream media and even some establishment Washington Republicans desperately clinging to relevance.”

Scott called out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alongside McConnell, saying the two are no longer relevant political voices. He cited McConnell's votes against three of Trump’s high-profile Cabinet-level nominees as examples of disrespect toward Trump.

Tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk was given a chainsaw as a gift as he appeared onstage at the CPAC conference.

The chainsaw was a gift from Argentina's President Javier Milei, who briefly appeared onstage with Musk and who shares Musk's views about slashing government spending and regulations. Musk held the chainsaw above his head as the CPAC crowd gave him a standing ovation.

"This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!" Musk said.

Musk's political operation, America PAC, said in a post on X that the chainsaw was "golden."

Newsmax host Rob Schmitt placed the chainsaw on the stage between him and Musk as he prepared to interview the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. Schmitt called the chainsaw "a little stage prop."

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., delivered strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks on the Senate floor today, saying he is "a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime" in the wake of Trump's suggestion that Ukraine was to blame for Russia's invasion of its territory three years ago.

“So, look, I’m a Republican. I support President Trump, and I believe that most of his policies on national security are right," Tillis said.

"I believe his instincts are pretty good, but what I’m telling you, whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin in the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine. They better go to Europe. They better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime," Tillis said.

Earlier this week, Trump said Ukraine "should have never started it” while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had expressed concern that his country was not included in talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia. Trump escalated those attacks yesterday by calling Zelenskyy a "dictator," mirroring Putin's questioning of the legitimacy of his ongoing leadership.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., plans to force a vote tonight on an amendment that would 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 to the federal workforce, a spokesperson for the senator said.

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.

A federal judge today denied a bid by labor unions to block the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs at federal agencies.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper indicated in his ruling that he was sympathetic to the National Treasury Employees’ Union and the four other unions that were seeking a restraining order to temporarily halt the layoffs, but said that federal court was not the appropriate venue for their lawsuit.

“NTEU fails to establish that it is likely to succeed on the merits because this Court likely lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims it asserts. The Court will therefore deny the unions’ motion for a temporary restraining order and, for the same reasons, deny their request for a preliminary injunction,” Cooper wrote in his order.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration has flown all or almost all of the migrants it had held in Guantanamo Bay out of the facility there and to Honduras, NBC News has learned from three sources familiar with the operation and flight data.

In a declaration in response to a lawsuit today, the Trump administration said there were 178 immigrants, all from Venezuela, housed at Guantanamo Bay as of early Thursday. 

Read the full story here.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she won’t — for the time being — remove embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead impose limits on his power.

Hochul in recent weeks has been pressured to exercise her power to remove Adams from City Hall after the mayor’s indictment last year on a host of corruption allegations.

Read the full story here.

Shortly after the Senate voted to install him as the nation’s ninth FBI director, Kash Patel said his mission for the agency is to “let good cops be cops — and rebuild trust in the FBI.” 

“The American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice. The politicalization of our justice system has eroded public trust — but that ends today,” Patel said in a post to X this afternoon. 

Patel also thanked Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their “unwavering support” throughout the confirmation process. Bondi has been a staunch supporter of Patel as some Senate Republicans have doubted his ability to lead the agency. 

Trump said this afternoon that he had obtained "more votes from Black Americans than any Republican president ever. "

"Should I run again? You tell me," Trump said.

The crowd responded by chanting, "Four more years!"

Trump said at today's White House event that he planned to honor Prince Estabrook, an enslaved man who was wounded while battling the British Army in 1775, in a new national garden of American heroes.

"The garden will predominantly feature incredible women like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Coretta Scott King," Trump said.

"We’re going to produce some of the most beautiful works of art in the form of a statue for men like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, what a great athlete," Trump added.

Trump made a similar proposal through an executive order in his first term. He reinstated that executive order when he returned to office last month.

Trump said during remarks honoring Black History Month at the White House today that Alice Johnson, whom he pardoned during his first term in office, will be his "pardon czar."

"You've been an inspiration to people, and we're going to be listening to your recommendation on pardons. ... She's going to be my pardon czar," he said, noting that the Johnson pardon was "one of the best pardons."

"So you're going to look and you're going to make recommendations and I'll follow those recommendations, OK? For pardons, all right?" Trump added.

Johnson had served more than 21 years behind bars on a drug conspiracy charge when Trump commuted her sentence in June 2018. He then granted her a full pardon in 2020.

During a White House even honoring Black History Month, Trump said that the chief executive of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, was in attendance — and the mention was met by boos from the crowd.

"We also have the head of Pfizer here. So I want to thank him, one of the great, great people, one of the great businessmen," Trump said, as the crowd booed.

This tax season is rife with uncertainty, as the world’s richest person looks to shake up the Internal Revenue Service and the commerce secretary calls to eliminate it — but filers still need to carry on as usual, tax experts say.

“Whatever they’re going to have to do to make their tax return accurate and true, they have to do,” said Christina Wease, director of the Alvin. L. Storrs Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic at Michigan State University.

“In the face of uncertainty,” tax filers should consider getting their returns in as soon as they can, ideally electronically, said Janet Holtzblatt, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “This was the case a few years ago with the pandemic,” and the advice still holds true, she said — echoing a common refrain among tax advisers even in uneventful tax seasons.

Read the full story here.

Internal Revenue Service employees in Kansas City began receiving yesterday vague email instructions to report to their building with their equipment.

"As of yesterday, employees in several areas on campus have been receiving emails just telling them to report to the building today and telling them to bring your equipment with you," Shannon Ellis, president of the National Treasury Employees Union for the Kansas City chapter, said in a video statement.

Ellis, issuing a warning to her union members, added that she doesn't know "if this is a one-day thing or if it will happen multiple times," but said in a phone call to NBC News she expects at least 60 Kansas City IRS employees to receive termination notices today, with less than 12 hours notice.

"Indiscriminate firings of IRS employees around the country are a recipe for economic disaster,” NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement. "Much of the IRS workforce is outside of the Washington D.C. area, which means these layoffs are disrupting their local economies and hurting middle-income families in every state.”

Some IRS employees from the Philadelphia office have begun receiving letters laying them off, per Alex Jay Berman, the executive vice president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 71. These are probationary employees.

Berman said the union has gotten notification 400 probationary employees are getting letters and being let go in this particular Philadelphia office (which has more than 4,500 employee total.) Most of those affected are in collections, people you call when you owe money and have to pay.

Berman said all the letters are being issued with the same wording — that the person’s ability and skills and performance do not make them fit for federal employment — and are "willfully incorrect" and "to our belief unlawful."

"Everyone is scared, heartbroken, frantic and frustrated," he said. "We just want to do our jobs."

The Senate has narrowly voted, 51-49, to confirm Kash Patel to be FBI director. Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined all 47 Democrats in voting no. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced in a post to X that she will oppose Patel's nomination for FBI director.

“My reservations with Mr. Patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership,” Murkowski said in a post to X. “The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores.”

Another moderate Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, also announced today that she would vote against Patel. Four Republicans would need to vote against his nomination for it to fail.

"I truly hope that he proves me wrong about the reservations I have of him today," Murkowski said.

Democratic governors in town for the National Governors Association conference railed against Republican proposals to cut billions of dollars in Medicaid funding, warning that it could imperil millions of children and patients in rural areas.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who is a physician, warned that if Congress passes a bill with significant cuts to Medicaid, "the hospitals, the rural hospitals all across the red part of America especially, will close."

"People will die if we break this healthcare system, especially in rural America," Green told reporters during a press conference organized by Protect Our Care and the Democratic Governors Association.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham highlighted the fact that hundreds of rural hospitals across the U.S. have already closed in recent years, but this phenomenon would be accelerated with cuts to Medicaid.

Trump will host the first Cabinet meeting of his new term on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at today's news briefing.

Leavitt, who laid out some of the highlights of Trump's first month back in office, also announced that two European leaders would be visiting next week.

Trump will host French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, she said. Those meetings come amid concern in Europe about the direction of talks on ending Russia's war with Ukraine.

The Pentagon is in the cost-cutting crosshairs of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth orders officials to find $50 billion in cuts to the defense budget. Meanwhile, an appeals court rules that Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship will remain blocked. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision not to run for re-election in Kentucky next year opens up his Senate seat for the first time since 1984 — and it is already drawing interest from heavy hitters looking to fill the seat.

Former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who served as a McConnell aide before launching his own career in elected office, including a run for governor in 2023, announced his Senate candidacy less than an hour after the news about McConnell’s retirement broke.

And Republican Rep. Andy Barr reiterated his interest in the seat too, saying that the state “deserves a Senator who will fight for president Trump and the America First Agenda” and teasing a decision “soon.”

Read the full story.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for next week — the first since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in — has been postponed, a senior HHS official said. 

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, was scheduled to meet Feb. 26 through 28. The group of independent experts convenes three times a year on behalf of the CDC to weigh the pros and cons of newly approved or updated vaccines.

Read the full story here.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., condemned Trump’s comments yesterday that the District of Columbia should be moved under direct federal control, which would strip D.C. of quasi-independent governance and leave its laws solely up to Congress. 

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday that he thinks “we should take over Washington, D.C., make it safe,” echoing his campaign trail rhetoric about crime in America’s capital city. “I think that we should govern the District of Columbia.”

Trump said D.C. officials are “not doing the job,” saying “there’s too much crime” and “too many tents on the lawns.” 

The comments prompted swift reaction from Norton and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who have long advocated for the federal territory to be granted statehood. Currently, D.C. has some autonomy to implement its own laws but is overseen by Congress. 

Alina Habba, a counselor to Trump, said during a CPAC panel that the administration would be firing IRS employees today.

"It happens to be tax season, so everybody’s filing their taxes, going, ‘If I don’t pay the correct amount or miss a couple cents, they’ll threaten to throw me in prison, and now’s a great time — ," the panel host was saying before Habba jumped in.

"Don’t worry, we’re firing a bunch of the IRS today, so don’t worry," Habba said, laughing.

The Associated Press has reported that the IRS plans to lay of thousands of workers starting today.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told NBC News today that he was concerned about the IRS layoffs and its potential effect on tax refunds.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts received a bomb threat this morning, according to D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, which said it received reports of the threat at 10:44 a.m.

The U.S. Park Police, the primary law enforcement agency on scene, has shut down several streets around the center as it investigates the incident.

The performing arts center was thrust into the national spotlight after Trump gutted its board of trustees, fired its longtime president and became the center's new chairman. Multiple artists have canceled performances at the center and artistic advisers have resigned in the wake of the leadership changes.

The U.S. Park Police referred NBC News to the Kennedy Center for comment on the bomb threat.

A center spokesperson said in a statement that it "evacuated due to a bomb threat targeting Shen Yun performances. Security acted swiftly, following existing protocols.”

The Senate voted 51-47 to advance Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director to a final confirmation vote.

Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, was the only Republican senator to oppose Patel's confirmation. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., missed the vote.

The Senate will take the final confirmation vote on Patel's nomination at around 1:45 p.m.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the longest-serving Senate leader in history, announced today on his 83rd birthday that he won’t seek re-election next year, bringing an end to his four-decade career in the chamber.

McConnell, first elected in 1984, climbed his way up to the Senate Republican leader position in 2007 and remained there until early 2025, serving during four administrations in the majority and the minority.

He will leave behind a complex legacy and a party that has transformed away from traditional conservatism into one led by Trump, with whom the Kentucky Republican has long had a frosty relationship.

“Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of my lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time,” McConnell said on the floor. “My current term in the Senate will be my last.”

Read the full story.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced that she will vote no on Kash Patel's nomination to serve as the director of the FBI.

Collins, a moderate Republican, said that "there is a compelling need for an FBI Director who is decidedly apolitical."

"Mr. Patel has made numerous politically charged statements in his book and elsewhere discrediting the work of the FBI, the very institution he has been nominated to lead," she said in a statement. "These statements, in conjunction with the questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI employees, cast doubt on Mr. Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation."

The Senate is voting today on Patel's nomination.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been put on the schedule for a fireside chat at CPAC this afternoon. He will appear at around 2:50 p.m., after Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., speaks and before Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., appears. 

Vance defended his vision of masculinity in remarks at CPAC today, decrying a “cultural message” that he said “wants to turn everybody … into androgynous idiots who think the same, talk the same and act the same.”

Vance’s comments came during a question-and-answer session at the conference for conservative activists.

“I think that our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge, you should try to cast aside your family, you should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place,” said Vance, responding to a question from CPAC’s Mercedes Schlapp, who asked what message he had for the surge of young men who voted for him and Trump last fall.

“And I think that my message to young men is: Don’t allow this broken culture to send you a message that you’re a bad person because you’re a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends or because you’re competitive,” Vance said.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have pushed the committee vote on Todd Blanche's nomination for deputy attorney general to next week, as panel members are allowed to do. The nomination was on the agenda for today but will now be next Thursday.

The Democrats made the same move on Pam Bondi’s nomination for attorney general and Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director.

The vice president said Republicans are “on track” to pass a budget reconciliation bill, full of Trump’s policy priorities, “in May or in June.” But he acknowledged that is a very aggressive timeline.

Vance’s remarks at CPAC came a day after Trump endorsed the House’s one-bill strategy over the Senate’s rival two-bill proposal. The Senate plans to vote today on its budget resolution to kickstart its reconciliation process, which will allow the GOP to pass its agenda without Democratic votes.

At CPAC, Vance detailed the conversation he had with Trump yesterday about why he thinks “one big beautiful bill” is better than two.

During his appearance at CPAC, Vance said he believes the “biggest threat” to countries in Europe was “unvetted foreign migrants” and criticized the Biden administration for its handling of immigration and his foreign leadership.

Just before voting no on Linda McMahon’s nomination for secretary of education, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., cautioned fellow Senate HELP committee members against Trump’s plans to dismantle the Department of Education. 

“The other day, the president, whether facetiously or not — and I suspect not quite facetiously — talked about being a king,” Sanders said, referring to Trump’s recent Truth Social posts where he proclaimed, "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” and likened himself to a "king" after rescinding New York City’s plan for congestion pricing. 

“When you’re trying to, quote, unquote, save the country, you don’t have to worry about the law,” Sanders said. “Well, that is not what this country is about. That’s not what the Founding Fathers did in their brilliance. … They understood you don’t give one branch all the power.” 

One of Donald Trump’s allies isn’t buying his suggestion that Ukraine is to blame for the country’s war with Russia.

Nigel Farage, the populist British politician, is attending the Conservative Political Action Conference today outside Washington, D.C.

When NBC News asked Farage if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bears responsibility for starting the war with Russia, Farage gave a succinct reply.

“No,” he said. “The invasion was sparked by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and nobody else.”

Elon Musk will make an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC senior fellow Mercedes Schlapp announced this morning.

"We have a very special guest who's going to be here during the conference. You know, kind of like a tech titan, maybe, responsible for DOGE," Schlapp teased onstage as the audience cheered. "Yes, ladies and gentlemen — 'cause thank God we're back to two genders — Elon Musk will be here on the CPAC stage."

Schlapp did not provide details on what day or time Musk will be speaking.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has voted to advance Linda McMahon's nomination as the secretary of education in a 12-11 party-line vote.

McMahon's nomination now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

A decorated K-9 named Hurricane, who was credited with protecting the White House from an intruder in 2014, has died, the administration announced yesterday.

"Hurricane was a true American hero," the White House said in an Instagram post. "The most decorated K-9 in U.S. history, he bravely defended the White House and spent retirement helping other working dogs through @K9Hurricane. His legacy of courage and loyalty will live on."

In 2014, Hurricane stopped an intruder who scaled a fence to enter the White House lawn, The Associated Press reported. The dog was injured but stopped the intruder, allowing Secret Service agents to arrest him. Then-President Barack Obama was home at the time, according to the AP.

Tyler Hansford, superintendent of schools in rural Union, Mississippi, voted for Donald Trump three times.  

But Hansford, 36, who leads a district of just under 1,000 students, disagrees with the president on one big issue: using public money to send children to private schools.

“School choice,” as its proponents call it, is a Trump priority that has divided Republicans, drawing support from many conservative governors who see it as an issue of parents’ rights but opposition from small communities concerned about losing much-needed public school funding. Hansford also worries that the private school tuition support proposed in Mississippi wouldn’t help local families who are unable to drive to reach those schools and may not find the special education services they rely on once they get there. 

“How is it ‘choice’ when there’s no transportation or special education services provided?” Hansford wrote recently on Facebook about the Mississippi bill. “School choice with no transportation for families without a car is no choice at all.” 

Read the full story.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A long line of Conservative Political Action Conference attendees were in the queue hours before this morning's opening speaker, Vice President JD Vance, was set to appear at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Secret Service agents oversaw Transportation Security Administration agents who conducted uncharacteristically minute inspections, flipping through people’s wallets, passing laptops by bomb-sniffing dogs. The security inspections were notably more in-depth than when Trump has spoken in years past.

Typically, Thursday mornings at CPAC are reserved for C-list speakers and the earliest and most bushy-tailed arrivals, but this year, after Trump stormed into his second term, CPAC is opening with one of its top headliners, Vance, which will only be topped by Trump’s appearance Saturday evening.

At 8 a.m., two hours before Vance was set to appear, attendees were lined up outside and sprinted in when the doors opened. In the hallways, conservative broadcasters set up their booths and crowds accumulated as figures like Britain's Nigel Farage appeared.

Today marks Trump's first full month back in office, which has seen him sign more than 100 executive actions and hold a handful of meetings with world leaders, including three joint press conferences.

Trump has signed more executive orders in his first month than any recent president has in his first 100 days.

Here's the breakdown:

Executive Actions: 108 total

• 73 executive orders. Top 5 categories: government (20), foreign affairs (10), culture (8), immigration (8), trade (6).
• 23 proclamations.
• 12 memorandums.

Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump's special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, is in Ukraine, where State Department officials say he is working to advance Trump's goal of securing peace even as the president escalates his criticisms of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A State Department spokesperson said Kellogg plans to meet with Ukrainian government officials and private citizens "who have bravely endured almost three years of war."

Kellogg has already met with at least one official, Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskyy. In a post on X, Kellogg said the two had a “useful conversation."

The visit comes as Trump has sharpened his attacks on Zelenskyy, whom he labeled a "modestly successful comedian" and "a dictator without elections" during a speech in Miami Beach, Florida, yesterday.

Trump floated the idea yesterday of returning some of the savings recouped by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to U.S. citizens, with an equal amount going to pay down the federal debt.

“There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt, because the numbers are incredible,” Trump said.

Trump made the remarks at an event in Miami Beach, Florida, a day after Musk indicated on X that he would ask Trump about a “DOGE dividend,” described as a tax refund check sourced from the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle parts of the federal government.

Read the full story.

The start of Trump’s second term has been a blur of activity. Each week brings fresh White House directives, orders and statements. Americans say they like the energy so far, according to a CBS News poll.

Yet, a peril of Trump’s perpetual motion machine is that policies and pronouncements may collide head-on. Fulfilling one could snuff out another.

As a candidate, Trump promised to impose tariffs on nations he says have shortchanged the United States. He also promised that people would pay lower prices. Either may be possible, but together the goals are incompatible, economists say.

On another front, Trump wants to extend his multitrillion-dollar tax cut from the first term and simultaneously curb “the unsustainable path of federal debt.” A president can do one or the other but not both, according to budget analysts.

Whatever savings Elon Musk’s effort to shrink the government workforce achieve won’t be nearly enough to offset the cost of the tax cuts, said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

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The Senate is set to vote this afternoon on the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as the director of the FBI.

Patel has been among Trump's most controversial nominees, with several Democrats expressing consternation over conspiracy theories previously espoused by Patel and an "enemies list" of roughly 60 people he named in a memoir.

As they did with Trump's other Cabinet picks, Senate Republicans appear ready to coalesce around Patel and have supported him throughout his confirmation process with minimal pushback.

Eight years ago this summer, Elon Musk took the stage at a National Governors Association meeting before a bipartisan audience bewitched by his billions and his vision for the future.

Musk, who appeared at the invitation of then-Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican known for his moderate politics, warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Musk, the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, also called for stricter government regulation of the emerging technology.

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Vice President JD Vance will be speaking today at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the nation's largest gathering of conservatives.

Vance is expected to deliver the day's opening speech. He last spoke at the conference in 2022 during his run for Senate.

Vance is one of several Trump officials expected to speak at the conference this week. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Border Czar Tom Homan and Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, are all slated to address the gathering.