Robert F Kennedy Jr has returned to Capitol Hill as a raft of Donald Trump’s controversial picks prepare to face Senate confirmation hearings.
The 71-year-old will face the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as he hopes to persuade lawmakers to confirm him as Health and Human Services secretary. It marks his second hearing in as many days after facing the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday – where he was grilled by Democrats on historical statements he made about AIDS and Covid-19.
FBI director pick Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations are among other hearings scheduled for Thursday.
The meetings are expected to go ahead despite an American Airlines plane and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter colliding in Washington, DC late on Wednesday, with officials believing that all 67 people aboard the planes had died.
The president, who was fully briefed on the situation on Wednesday evening, said on his Truth Social platform that the crash “should have been prevented,” as he lamented over the victims on what he called a “terrible night”.
Key Points
- Will RFK Jr's Senate hearing commence today?
- Trump reflects on 'terrible night' after horror Washington, DC mid-air collision
- Trump says he'll send migrants to Guantanamo Bay hours after idea floated on Fox & Friends
- Meta, Facebook's parent company, to pay Trump $25 million settlement
Trump ‘really irresponsible’ to speculate on Washington plane crash, MSNBC contributor says
13:36
,
James Liddell
MSNBC contributor Katty Kay slammed Donald Trump for appearing to fuel conspiracy theories around the Washington, DC plane crash which saw an American Airlines jet collide with a military helicopter on Wednesday night.
"Whether he's actually informed speculation or just reacting to what he saw on television, seems really irresponsible to get ahead of the investigation," she said on Thursday.
The president, who has been fully briefed on the situation, wrote on Truth Social that the crash “should have been prevented,” as he grieved over the victims on what he called a “terrible night”.
Trump questioned the conditions of the crash, noting it was “a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn”.
He added: “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”
Trump's military deportation flight to Guatemala may cost more than first class ticket
13:13
,
James Liddell
A military deportation flight to Guatemala ordered by Donald Trump likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant, according to data provided by US and Guatemalan officials.
That is more than five times the $853 cost of a first class ticket on American Airlines from El Paso, Texas, the departure point for the flight, according to a review of publicly available airfares.
It is also significantly higher than the cost of a commercial charter flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More of Trump’s most controversial picks to face Senators today
12:42
,
James Liddell
Robert F Kenedy Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel are among Donald Trump’s controversial, high-ranking picks will face Senators in their indivdiual confirmation hearings today.
Daniel Driscoll is set to be considered as secretary of the Army; Kash Patel as FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard as National Intelligence director; RFK Jr (again, today facing the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee after facing the Senate Finance Committee yesterday); Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations; and Russell Vought as director of Office of Management Budget.
There is no word on whether the hearings will be postponed after the American Airlines-U.S. helicopter crash in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening.
Watch: 'DEI is dead,' Hegseth exclaims
12:19
,
James Liddell
Pete Hegseth: "Diversity is not our strength" pic.twitter.com/CORHjHgPZm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
More Americans support Trump’s birthright citizenship rollback than oppose it, new poll reveals
11:53
,
James Liddell
More Americans are in favor of President Donald Trump’s attempt to curb birthright citizenship than are against it, a new poll reveals, as presidential approval is improving post-inauguration.
The controversial executive order issued by Trump at the inauguration aims to end birthright citizenship for children of migrants, who are in the US on temporary visas or illegally. The move has already faced lawsuits from dozens of states and affected parties.
Yet a new poll from Emerson College post-inauguration, carried out from 27 to 28 January, shows 45 per cent of Americans support Trump’s efforts to roll back birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants.
The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian has the details.
Watch: 'DEI is dead,' Hegseth exclaims
11:47
,
James Liddell
Pete Hegseth: "Diversity is not our strength" pic.twitter.com/CORHjHgPZm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
British billionaire says Trump’s mass deportation of immigrants has made America ‘nervous’
11:32
,
James Liddell
British billionaire Lord Sugar has addressed the mass deportations being carried out in the US at the order of his former Apprentice peer Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, President Trump’s new immigration policy was implemented, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids leading to the arrest of 1,179 people across major cities in the US.
It has been reported by The Washington Post that senior ICE officials have been told by Trump’s team to aggressively ramp up the number of arrests they carry out, with the figure reportedly raised from a hundred every day to at least 1,200 to 1,500.
Jacob Stolworthy has te story.
Vance offers prayers for victims and is 'monitoring the situation'
11:11
,
James Liddell
Please say a prayer for everyone involved in the mid-air collision near Reagan airport this evening. We're monitoring the situation, but for now let's hope for the best.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 30, 2025
Trump questions how American Airlines plane crash happened
10:50
,
James Liddell
President Donald Trump has questioned the actions of both the helicopter crew and air traffic controllers prior to a deadly mid-air collision on Wednesday night outside Reagan Washington National Airport.
The crash involved an American Airlines aircraft carrying 64 passengers and crew and a US Army Black Hawk chopper carrying three people. All those on board are feared dead, though officials said they would not be able to provide confirmation on the status of rescue efforts until Thursday morning.
Mr Trump said he has been briefed on the “terrible accident” in a brief official statement offering prayers for those on board.
Arpan Rai has the story.
Will RFK Jr's Senate hearing commence today
10:29
,
James Liddell
The American Airlines-U.S. helicopter crash in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening, has cast doubts over whether Robert F Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services secretary will go ahead on Thursday.
RFK Jr was supposed to face the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee after being grilled by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday.
According to the Senate schedule, the hearing is still due to go ahead.
Trump says plane crash 'should have been prevented'
10:10
,
James Liddell
Trump, who said he was fully briefed on the situation, took to Truth Social to ponder how the crash unfolded, noting it was a “CLEAR NIGHT” and the lights on the plane “were blazing”.
“This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!,” he added. In another post, he added: “What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!”
Cuban president says Trump’s Guantanamo plan 'act of brutality'
09:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel deemed the decision as “an act of brutality” in a message on his X account, and he described the based as one “located in illegally occupied #Cuba territory.”
The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also lambasted the announcement.
“The US government’s decision to imprison migrants at the Guantanamo Naval Base, in an enclave where it created torture and indefinite detention centers, shows contempt for the human condition and international law,” Rodriguez said on X.
En acto de brutalidad, nuevo gobierno de EEUU anuncia encarcelamiento en Base Naval en Guantánamo, ubicada en territorio de #Cuba ilegalmente ocupado, de miles de migrantes que expulsa forzosamente, a los que ubicará junto a las conocidas cárceles de tortura y detención ilegal.
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) January 29, 2025
ANALYSIS: In a chaotic Senate hearing, RFK Jr. insists that some of his best friends are vaccines
09:20
,
Oliver O'Connell
Richard Hall writes:
A former gravesite in Central Park that once contained the corpse of a bear is a testament to the chaos that has followed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. throughout his life. His Senate confirmation hearing for health secretary was no different.
RFK Jr. arrived in the hearing room on Wednesday to cheers of “We love you Bobby!” from his applauding fans in the bleachers, with his long-suffering wife Cheryl Hines alongside him, and his children in tow.
Before long, the proceedings descended into a series of verbal brawls. There were interruptions by protesters, a fight about baby onesies, and a forensic search for the authentic views of a man who has operated on the fringes of health science for most of his life.
Continue reading...
ICYMI: White House abruptly backs off Trump's federal funding freeze after lawsuits and outrage
09:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The White House has abruptly rescinded a directive that threatened to freeze billions of dollars in federal assistance.
The notice from the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday followed a federal judge’s decision that temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s administration from freezing funds across government agencies, with lawsuits accusing the president of brazenly unconstitutional threats to critical funding.
A two-sentence memo from acting White House Office of Management and Budget director Matthew Vaeth simply states that a previous directive is “rescinded,” and directs questions to government lawyers.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Trump reflects on 'terrible night' after horror Washington, DC mid-air collision
08:45
,
James Liddell
Coming soon... Trump Media's own financial investment brand
08:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump’s media company, the Trump Media & Technology Group, revealed on Wednesday its plans to begin to sell financial products.
The company said that it will launch a finance firm known as Truth.Fi. While it didn’t state if it plans to begin offering investment or savings products to the public, it indicated that it’s possible that the company will offer investments backed by Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To help the venture, Trump Media is taking about $250 million of the company’s cash into cryptocurrency and other investments, according to the Journal. Charles Schwab will hold the funds.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Recap: Trump says he'll send migrants to Guantanamo Bay
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an order directing his administration to revive a migrant detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba to hold detained migrants while they await deportation.
Speaking at a signing ceremony for the Laken Riley Act — the first bill he has signed into law since becoming president — Trump said the facility would be used to warehouse detainees and massively increase the number of detention beds available for holding migrants after they are arrested by American immigration officials.
Justin Baragona and Andrew Feinberg report.
Trump's disapproval rating jumps after blitz of executive orders
07:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s disapproval rating shot up following his first week as president as his administration ushered through a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration and beginning to fulfill MAGA pledges.
Rhian Lubin looked at the latest polling.
Meta to pay President Trump $25 million as settlement for suspending his Facebook accounts
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Meta will pay Donald Trump roughly $25 million as part of a settlement agreement resolving a 2021 lawsuit brought after the company suspended the president’s Facebook accounts.
Trump filed the suit after his accounts were taken offline in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Sources familiar with the agreement told The Wall Street Journal.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Disgraced former US Senator Bob Menendez weeps as he's sentenced to 11 years in prison
05:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Former New Jersey senator Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his involvement in a years-long corruption scheme in which he wielded his political influence to conduct favors for the Egyptian government in exchange for lavish gifts.
Once a three-term senator who chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez sat before a federal judge in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, flanked by lawyers and at times crying, to receive his punishment after becoming the first senator to ever be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
Trump on Mount Rushmore? That's what one MAGA lawmaker wants
04:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has introduced legislation to put President Donald Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore.
“His remarkable accomplishments for our country and the success he will continue to deliver deserve the highest recognition and honor on this iconic national monument,” the staunch Trump backer wrote on X. “Let's get carving!”
This comes after a Fox News segment where a number of panelists discussed the option.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Tulsi Gabbard 'paid to mask connections’ to alleged pyramid scheme
03:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign paid a firm to “mask connections” to an alleged pyramid scheme linked to a secretive sect she grew up in, according to a report.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is set to grill President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence on Thursday over her questionable connections and background. Since she was named as nominee to the post, she has faced questions and pushback given her previous statements and her history with foreign nations.
Lawmakers have been scrutinizing Gabbard’s ties to the Science of Identity Foundation and the Hong Kong-based marketing firm QI Group, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Trump administration 'looking very seriously' at which reporters attend White House briefings, says Vance
02:45
,
Mike Bedigan
JD Vance says the Trump administration is “looking very seriously” at which reporters attend White House briefings in an attempt to get rid of Democrat “propagandists.”
The vice president told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that press secretary Karoline Leavitt, had “knocked it out of the park” during her first conference dealing with “hostile media.”
“I think Karoline really knocked it out of the park,” he said. “But it does raise an interesting question. I actually think that we are looking very seriously about which reporters show up.
“Because if you're a reporter, even if you're biased towards the left, absolutely, we want to answer your questions. If you're a propagandist for the Democratic Party, then we're going to treat you like a propaganda for the Democratic Party.”
JD Vance admits Trump immigration policy is 'ambitious'
02:30
,
Mike Bedigan
Speaking to Hannity, Vance said that there had been around 1,300 illegal entries to the U.S. on January 19 – the final day of the Biden administration – and that the number had already been cut by 60 percent, though admitted Trump’s immigration targets were “ambitious.”
“It is ambitious, but you need a leader who sets ambitious goals and actually holds people to meeting those goals,” the vice president said.
“We've got 20 plus million illegal aliens in this country, we have got to get these people out of our country and regain control of our own border.
“Elections have consequences, and President Trump ran explicitly on regaining control of the border and redelivering American prosperity. That's exactly what we're doing.”
Vance talks to Hannity
02:13
,
Mike Bedigan
Trump administration revokes deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
01:50
,
AP
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that the Trump administration has revoked a decision that would have protected roughly 600,000 people from Venezuela from deportation, putting some at risk of being removed from the country in about two months.
Noem signed a notice reversing a move by her predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas, in the waning days of the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status. The change is effective immediately and comes amid a slew of actions as the Trump administration works to make good on promises to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
“Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people that are on Temporary Protected Status, which meant that they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months,” Noem told “Fox and Friends.”
“We stopped that,” Noem said.
ANALYSIS: What it’s like watching RFK Jr.’s hearing with his biggest fans as an autistic person
01:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia joined the throng of people watching Robert F Kennedy Jr’s first confirmation hearing in the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office building.
After blitz of executive orders, Trump's disapproval rating jumps
01:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s disapproval rating shot up following his first week as president as his administration ushered through a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration and beginning to fulfill MAGA pledges.
As Trump’s administration carried out immigration raids in cities across the U.S., and the president signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship (which has since been held up by a federal judge), the president’s disapproval rating increased by five percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Vance to sit down with Hannity
00:45
,
Mike Bedigan
Vice President JD Vance will have his turn sitting down with Sean Hannity, just less than a week after his boss did the same.
In the interview, broadcast on Wednesday evening, the former pair are expected to discuss the administration's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration so far.
The interview is due to air at 9pm ET on Fox.
Coming soon... Trump Media's own financial investment brand
00:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump’s media company, the Trump Media & Technology Group, revealed on Wednesday its plans to begin to sell financial products.
The company said that it will launch a finance firm known as Truth.Fi. While it didn’t state if it plans to begin offering investment or savings products to the public, it indicated that it’s possible that the company will offer investments backed by Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To help the venture, Trump Media is taking about $250 million of the company’s cash into cryptocurrency and other investments, according to the Journal. Charles Schwab will hold the funds.
Gustaf Kilander has the details.
Watch: Bernie Sanders grills RFK Jr. over 'unvaxxed' baby clothes
00:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
‘Hold the line, don’t resign’
Wednesday 29 January 2025 23:45
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Trump administration has offered a buyout to around 2 million federal employees and claims they can stop working and still receive pay through the end of September, but workers are rallying each other on Reddit to stay onboard, arguing their presence is “the last line of defense against fascism.”
Josh Marcus reports for The Independent:
ANALYSIS: Trump has just given Starmer a salutary lesson in the art of the deal
Wednesday 29 January 2025 23:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
David Maddox writes:
There were sighs of relief this week when the White House finally confirmed that Donald Trump would accept the credentials of Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
The threat that, for the first time ever, an ambassador between the two countries would be rejected had seemed very real with all the potential for personal humiliation on the international stage for Sir Keir Starmer.
But in reality, it now appears that the man who in 1987 wrote The Art of the Deal may have just given the British prime minister a lesson in his craft.
Continue reading...
Cuban president says Trump’s Guantanamo plan 'act of brutality'
Wednesday 29 January 2025 23:15
,
AP
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel deemed the decision as “an act of brutality” in a message on his X account, and he described the based as one “located in illegally occupied #Cuba territory.”
The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also lambasted the announcement.
“The US government’s decision to imprison migrants at the Guantanamo Naval Base, in an enclave where it created torture and indefinite detention centers, shows contempt for the human condition and international law,” Rodriguez said on X.
En acto de brutalidad, nuevo gobierno de EEUU anuncia encarcelamiento en Base Naval en Guantánamo, ubicada en territorio de #Cuba ilegalmente ocupado, de miles de migrantes que expulsa forzosamente, a los que ubicará junto a las conocidas cárceles de tortura y detención ilegal.
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) January 29, 2025
Watch: Hegseth says 'accountability is back' over actions against Milley
Wednesday 29 January 2025 23:07
,
Oliver O'Connell
Days after he was sworn into office, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revoked a security detail for retired Gen. Mark Milley, becoming the fourth former Donald Trump appointee-turned-critic to be stripped of protections after the president’s return to the White House.
Here’s what Hegseth had to say on Fox News today:
Hegseth on actions against General Milley: Accountability is back…. Mark Milley got a pardon. That’s something President Biden— was in his purview to do. Just like in our purview at the defense department, we have the opportunity to review things he may have done.. pic.twitter.com/850SialK49
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 29, 2025
Read more here:
Trump looks to repurpose federal money to expand school choice programs
Wednesday 29 January 2025 23:00
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AP