Donald Trump celebrated the return home of Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel on Tuesday after he was released from a Russian jail cell and trailed a possible second American prisoner’s release.
The president also signed an executive order granting Elon Musk more power to downsize the federal government by requiring agencies to cooperate with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in slashing staff numbers and severely limiting any replacements.
Musk appeared with Trump in the Oval Office in an attempt to allay concerns about his role.
The president meanwhile continued pressing his plan for the United States to take ownership of Gaza and displace the 2.1 million Palestinians living there into neighboring countries as he met with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
“We’re going to have Gaza,” the president told reporters.
“We don’t have to buy. There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza. We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it.
“We’re going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East. It’s going to be for the people in the Middle East.”
Key Points
- Donald Trump trails second Russian prisoner release after teacher Marc Fogel brought home
- President signs order handing Elon Musk and DOGE more power to slash federal workforce
- Trump says U.S. won’t need to buy Gaza in takeover plan
- USAID inspector general fired day after release of report critical of Trump administration
- Top ICE officials removed from posts after frustration from Trump officials
Hegseth says return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders not realistic
14:29
,
Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine's military allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new U.S. administration's approach to the nearly three-year-old war.
He also told Washington's NATO allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security.
Inflation rises to 3% in latest report — which could mean bad news for Trump's agenda
14:15
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Oliver O'Connell
The consumer price index increased by three percent in January compared to a year ago, according to a Wednesday report from the Labor Department.
U.S. inflation rose last month with the price of groceries, gas, and used cars increasing, which could push the Federal Reserve to delay any interest cuts and severely hamper President Donald Trump’s ability to fulfill his campaign promise of bringing down prices.
The consumer price index is up 2.9 percent compared to last month, the Labor Department report found. That’s up from a three-and-a-half-year low in September when it was at 2.4 percent.
Gustaf Kilander has the latest.
Canadian lawmaker vows 100% tariffs on Musk’s Teslas in retaliation
14:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Chrystia Freeland, who resigned last month as Justin Trudeau’s deputy and finance minister, has vowed “surgical” reprisals to the 25 percent tariff that Trump has placed on all steel imports.
Freeland, who is running to be the next leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister of Canada, said that if forced, the nation will “inflict the biggest trade blow that the United States has ever endured” – and is targeting Elon Musk’s electric car business to do it.
Rhian Lubin has more.
‘Lets Rock and Roll, America!!!’ says Trump
13:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s the latest from the president on Truth Social this morning:
“Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!! Lets Rock and Roll, America!!!”
He followed that up with:
“DOGE has found massive amounts of FRAUD, WASTE, INCOMPETENCE, AND ABUSE, but even knowing this, a highly political, activist Judge wants us to immediately make payment, anyway. In other words pay, even though you know the payment was fraudulently requested to be made. DOGE caught them - The Judge just doesn’t care. It doesn’t make sense!!!”
And then, of course:
“MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
How Melania and Ivanka promoted USAID, which Trump now calls a ‘fraud’
13:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president was not always so against the humanitarian aid agency that Elon Musk has baselessly branded a “criminal organization”.
In fact, he once had the first lady and his daughter promote it.
Here’s Kelly Rissman with a timely look back.
Trump administration appeals Maryland judge's ruling blocking birthright citizenship order
13:30
The president’s administration has said it’s appealing a federal judge’s ruling blocking Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for people whose parents are not legally in the country.
In a brief filing, the administration’s attorneys said they were appealing to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. It’s the second such appeal the administration has sought since Trump's executive order was blocked in court.
The government’s appeal stems from U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman’s grant of a preliminary injunction last week in a case brought by immigrant rights groups and expectant mothers in Maryland.
Boardman said at the time her court would not become the first in the country to endorse the president’s order, calling citizenship a “precious right” granted by the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Tuesday’s appeal is the latest volley over the president’s birthright citizenship order, which has generated at least nine lawsuits nationwide, including suits brought by 22 states.
‘Red, White and Blueland?’ Republican unveils bill to rename Greenland
13:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Georgia Republican Representative Buddy Carter has announced new legislation to bolster Trump’s efforts to take over Greenland while also giving the autonomous Danish territory a new name: “Red, White and Blueland.”
The president has recently escalated calls to purchase Greenland for national security purposes, despite Denmark insisting the Arctic island is not for sale.
Hegseth has unscheduled meeting with Ukrainian counterpart
13:09
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s a surprise from the new US Defence Secretary: an unadvertised meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in Brussels.
This meeting was not on Hegseth’s public schedule and the press was not made aware of the meeting until after the Ukrainian Defense Minister posted about it on Facebook. https://t.co/4pDAkPK6SR
— Liz Friden (@Liz_Friden) February 12, 2025
Pete Hegseth is booed and heckled by military families in Germany
12:50
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Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s Defense Secretary was booed and heckled on his first trip abroad yesterday by military families protesting his actions against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Hegseth faced the protesters as he arrived at the U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
Around two dozen people who live at the U.S. military’s top European headquarters turned up, seemingly in protest at the Trump administration’s policy of dismantling DEI initiatives.
The protesters chanted “DEI” in an apparent reference to a ban enacted by Hegseth on some books in defense department schools.
Last week, the secretary ordered the restriction of education materials, including materials covering psychology and immigration.
Similarly, Hegseth said in a memo last week that transgender people would not be allowed to join the military and that the armed forces would stop facilitating gender transition procedures for service members.
Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander.
‘It’s so ridiculous’: Experts say Trump’s plan to ‘take’ Gaza will never work
12:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
As we’ve seen, the president continued to push his plan for MAGA-fied peace in the Middle East on Tuesday: the illegal removal of more than two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, an act that would likely be considered ethnic cleansing under international law.
When even North Korea has referred to the plan as “slaughter and robbery”, as it did yesterday, it might be time to think again.
And outside of the meeting rooms and cocktail lounges where the Trumpworld elite now congregate in Washington D.C., some experts seemed to think it will never actually be seriously attempted.
John Bowden reports.
Trump won’t give straight answer on abiding by court orders
12:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
During his Oval Office press session yesterday, the president claimed he will “always abide by the courts” but suggested that a series of judicial decisions blocking his executive actions and policy maneuvers had derailed his “momentum.”
“Well, I always abide by the courts, and then I’ll have to appeal it. But then what he’s done is he’s slowed down the momentum, and it gives crooked people more time to cover up the books,” Trump said.
“So yeah, the answer is, I always abide by the courts, always abide by them, and we’ll appeal, but appeals take a long time.”
Hmmm.
Here’s Alex Woodward’s report.
Luna says she will summon deceased members of the Warren Commission to account for JFK assassination verdict
11:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Just a fabulous Community Note on X here for MAGA Representative Ana Paulina Luna, a thing of beauty.
While she won’t be able to speak to the attending physicians or congressional investigators into the first Kennedy assassination for the very good reason that they are long dead, the FBI has found 2,400 new pages of documents on the subject, which may shed fresh light on the killing.
Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.
Zelensky says Europe’s security guarantees mean nothing without U.S. ahead of meeting with Ukraine-sceptic Vance
11:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Donald Trump to provide security guarantees against future Russian attacks as part of any peace deal with Vladimir Putin, admitting that European assurances alone are not enough.
The Ukrainian leader is preparing to meet members of Trump’s administration for the first time following his inauguration last month.
Chief among those meetings will be a sit-down with Ukraine-sceptic Vice President JD Vance.
He will meet the former Ohio Senator, who has previously said he does not “really care what happens to Ukraine, one way or the other”, at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.
Tom Watling reports.
Grimes speaks out after Elon Musk parades son around Oval Office
11:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
The Canadian pop star has spoken out after Musk paraded their four-year-old son Lil X around the Oval Office yesterday.
The musician, 36, who shares three children with the Tesla CEO, a father of 12 offspring in total, took to X in response to her son’s surprise appearance saying: “He should not be in public like this. I did not see this, thank u for alerting me. But I'm glad he was polite. Sigh.”
Madeline Sherratt has more.
Elon Musk’s son steals the show by mimicking dad at chaotic Oval Office press conference
10:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Trump was joined by the world’s richest man at the White House yesterday for his latest executive order signing session.
Here’s a selection of choice excerpts that speak for themselves:
Elon Musk: If the people cannot vote and have their will be decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president and the senate and the house, then we don't live in a democracy. We live in a bureaucracy. pic.twitter.com/SqpPE5l4Pb
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Reporter: Your detractors—
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Musk: What? I have detractors? pic.twitter.com/6Bxmfyc1Xk
REPORTER: Are you policing yourself for conflicts of interest? What are the checks and balances?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2025
MUSK: We post our actions to the DOGE handle on X pic.twitter.com/j0TPjIi0Is
Elon Musk on spreading misinformation about condoms for Hamas: "Some of the things that I say will be incorrect." pic.twitter.com/McicZFxYzA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2025
Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.
Top ICE officials removed from posts after frustration from Trump officials
10:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Top officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been removed from their posts because of “frustration” from Trump’s team, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper reports that two top ICE officials – named as Russell Hott and Peter Berg by the paper – have been removed because ICE officers are not going fast enough with arrests and deportations to meet Trump’s goals.
The pair have been reassigned roles, ICE staff were told in an email on Tuesday, the Post reports.
Pressure has been ramping up from the White House as Trump continues his immigration crackdown.
Over the past week, ICE has stopped posting daily arrest figures on social media and has “struggled to keep pace” with the administration’s demands, officials told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, here’s Trump’s border czar Tom Homan telling Pope Francis to mind his own business.
Border Czar Tom Homan fires back at the Pope after he criticized Trump’s mass deportation policies:
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 12, 2025
"He's got a wall around the Vatican, does he not?" pic.twitter.com/CCo1FZT1d3
White House fires USAID inspector general after warning about funding oversight, officials say
10:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Paul Martin, the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was fired on Tuesday, White House officials said, his dismissal coming a day after his office warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2bn in unspent humanitarian funds.
Here’s more.
Trump says U.S. won’t need to buy Gaza in takeover plan
09:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president continued pressing his plan for the United States to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and displace the 2.1 million Palestinians living there into neighboring countries yesterday as he met with the leader of one of America’s closest Middle East allies, King Abdullah II of Jordan.
As the two leaders met in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that the U.S. would not endeavor to purchase Gaza, despite statements made in the last few days in which he’d suggested that some sort of monetary transaction would allow for America to lay claim to the war-torn territory.
“We’re going to have Gaza. We don’t have to buy. There’s nothing to buy. We will have Gaza,” he said when asked about his prior statement about purchasing the long-occupied piece of land.
“We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it. We’re going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East. It's going to be for the people in the Middle East.”
Trump, who has repeatedly suggested that neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt could absorb Gaza’s population – something both governments have rejected – said the Palestinians living there would be happy to leave because they are currently “living a terrible life” after more than a year of war following the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Trump trails second Russian prisoner release after teacher Marc Fogel brought home
09:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president has hailed the return of Pennsylvania school teacher Marc Fogel to the United States after he was freed by Russia with the help of the president’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff having been sentenced to 14 years behind bars for alleged drug trafficking.
Trump met with Fogel at the White House and claimed his release could be an “important part” of ending the Ukraine war and that a second, unidentified person might be released today.
“We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually,” Trump said.
“I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
Here’s Fogel praising the president as a “hero” in his first interview after being sprung from jail by Witkoff.
Trump hands Musk and DOGE more power to slash federal workforce
09:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump has given the world’s wealthiest man even more power to reshape the federal government by signing an executive order requiring agencies to cooperate with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the effort to slash costs.
Trump signed the order as Musk stood over his shoulder in the Oval Office on Tuesday as reporters – and Musk’s young son – looked on. The president quickly turned over control of the question-and-answer session to his wealthy patron.
Asked about critics who’ve called his anti-government efforts a “hostile takeover” of the executive branch, Musk told reporters: “The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get.”
He claimed that the purpose of Trump’s administration was to “restore democracy” by eliminating the independence of the professionalized civil service, which he described as “this unelected fourth, unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy.”
Musk also suggested that executive branch agencies have “in a lot of ways, currently, more power than any elected representative” and claimed – without offering any evidence – that federal employees were illegally enriching themselves to the tune of tens of millions of dollars and said his effort is also targeting alleged fraud in federal spending.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Jeffrey Epstein ‘client list’ to be declassified by Trump administration
08:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
The “client list” belonging to the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is set to be released by a new Trump administration task force charged with the declassification of federal secrets, according to The Times.
Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who is leading the task force, announced on Tuesday that the latest batch of declassified files would include dossiers relating to the 9/11 terror attacks, the origins of Covid-19, the assassination of John F Kennedy, UFOs and the contact list belonging to the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019.
Luna said the federal government “has been hiding information for decades” and declared: “It is time to give Americans the answers they deserve.”
It is not currently known if the client list is distinct from Epstein’s black book, copies of which have been made public in court hearings and which mentions the likes of Prince Andrew, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Trump himself (there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by those people, however).
Trump and Epstein, both residents of Palm Beach, Florida, were friends in the 1990s but later fell out, according to the president, in advance for Epstein’s first arrest for soliciting sex from young girls in 2008.
Here’s James Liddell’s report.
Trump says the US will not be buying Gaza but ‘we’re going to take it’
08:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued pressing his plan for the United States to take ownership of of the Gaza Strip and displace the 2.1 million Palestinians living there into neighboring countries as he met with the leader of one of America’s closest Middle East allies, King Abdullah II of Jordan.
As the two leaders met in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that the U.S. would not endeavor to purchase Gaza, despite statements made in the last few days in which he’d suggested that some sort of monetary transaction would allow for America to lay claim to the war-torn territory.
“We're going to have Gaza. We don't have to buy. There's nothing to buy. We will have Gaza,” he said when asked about his prior statement about purchasing the long-occupied piece of land.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
ANALYSIS: Speaker tries to wrangle his Republican ‘free-range chickens’ in effort to land tax cuts for Trump 2.0 budget
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives edged closer to presenting their vision for a MAGA-fied federal budget on Tuesday.
But Speaker Mike Johnson and his committee chairs are still lagging behind their colleagues in the Senate — as well as a coalition of conservatives in the lower chamber
On Tuesday, the Speaker noticed a markup for the budget bill (which has still not been finished) for Thursday. In comments to reporters, he added that he won’t keep the House in session next week, meaning that lawmakers will have some time to study it after amendments are debated. Some topline details of the leadership budget plan were due out Tuesday evening, according to Johnson.
Continue reading...
Republican lawmaker unveils bill to rename Greenland
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
A GOP congressman has announced new legislation to bolster Donald Trump’s efforts to take over Greenland, while also giving the autonomous Danish territory a new name: “Red, White, and Blueland.”
James Liddell reports on a strong contender for the “most nuts thing to happen today” award.
Trump signs order handing Musk and DOGE more power
07:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump has given the world’s wealthiest man even more power to reshape the federal government by signing an executive order requiring agencies to cooperate with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency and the effort to slash costs.
Trump signed the order as Musk stood over his shoulder in the Oval Office on Tuesday as reporters — and Musk’s young son — looked on. The president quickly turned over control of the question-and-answer session to his wealthy patron.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
Hegseth booed and heckled by military families in Germany
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was booed and heckled by military families protesting his actions against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Hegseth faced the protesters as he arrived at the U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday, according to NBC News.
Around two dozen people who live at the U.S. military’s top European headquarters turned up, seemingly in protest at the Trump administration’s policy of dismantling DEI initiatives.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Who is the new ‘Bragg’ that the North Carolina base will now be named after?
05:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Bringing Bragg back.
Amid the Republican’s anti-DEI push, new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that one of the country’s largest military bases will get its old name back - but honor a different person, also called Bragg.
[Spoiler alert — it’s not Trump-prosecuting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg]
Ariana Baio has the story.
ICYMI: Trump abolishes the ‘wasteful’ penny
04:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Trump has ordered the U.S. Treasury to axe the “wasteful” penny during a social media rant while watching the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies”, he wrote in an 8:30 p.m. Truth Social post Sunday.
Madeline Sherratt reports.
Watch: American teacher Marc Fogel returns home and greeted by Trump at the White House
04:19
,
Rhian Lubin
Trump: Somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of
04:03
,
Rhian Lubin
At the press conference with Fogel, Trump also confirmed that another detained American is being released tomorrow.
“Somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of,” Trump told reporters, but did not go into further details.
Fogel pays tribute to Trump for securing release and to his family
03:57
,
Rhian Lubin
In an emotional appearance at the White House beside Trump, Fogel expressed his gratitude to the president for securing his release and provided some insight into his ordeal while in Russian captivity.
“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all, and President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the diplo
