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Donald J. Trump White House 2nd Term Page 2
Story by Chance Townsend

A bombshell report from Reuters has revealed that Elon Musk has locked U.S. government officials out of key data systems containing personal information on millions of federal employees.

According to the report, which cites two anonymous federal agents, senior officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suddenly lost access to crucial department databases. The move reportedly stems from Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role assigned to him by former President Donald Trump to "curb government spending."

Despite DOGE’s limited authority over OPM and other federal agencies, a "team of current and former" Musk employees have embedded themselves deep within the agency since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Since the inauguration DOGE has morphed from a non-governement advisory panel into the rebranded tech unit inside the White House.

According to the report, the team set up sofa beds in the OPM Director’s office to work around the clock, securing access to a massive database known as Enterprise Human Resources Integration. This system holds sensitive information, including birth dates, Social Security numbers, performance appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and service records of government employees.

As a result, tracking Musk and his allies’ activities within OPM has become significantly more difficult.
Carl Gibson

President Donald Trump recently ordered the release of massive amounts of water from two California dams, and now local farmers are scrambling to preserve precious freshwater resources needed for dry summer months.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — acting on Trump's orders — released water from the Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and the Schafer Dam at Lake Success, which are both in Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley. Whereas water was originally flowing from the Terminus Dam at 57 cubic feet per second (cfs), it's now reportedly flowing at more than 1,500 cfs. The flow from Lake Success went from 105 cfas to 990 cfs as of Friday morning.

In a post to his official X account, Trump tweeted a "photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California," writing: "Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons." He suggested that the water release would help officials in the Golden State fight wildfires in Southern California.
Story by Katherine Donlevy

Canada and Mexico’s top leaders blasted President Trump Saturday hours after he imposed a 25% tariff on the neighboring countries — and announced they would retaliate by enforcing their own on the US.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed he and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo agreed to work together to push back against Trump’s long-awaited taxing program, which he claimed was aimed at halting the influx of drugs into the US.

Trump put a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports, while Chinese products will receive a more modest 10% tariff.

The US will also impose 10% tariffs on energy products from Canada.

For its part, Canada plans to put a 25% tariff on $155 billion worth of US goods, including beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes.”

“Many of us will be deeply affected. A lot of people will go through dark times. We’re asking you to support one another, to be there for your friends, your neighbors, and your fellow Canadians,” he said, adding that it might be in the country’s best interest to forgo American products altogether, like Florida orange juice.

Trudeau, who is leaving office in the next six weeks, slammed Trump’s tariffs as a “threat targeting the entire country” that would also have serious ramifications for the US.
One America News, Breitbart and the New York Post will take desks from NBC, NPR and the New York Times
Edward Helmore

The Trump administration’s program to shake up media representation at official briefings and press calls in Washington is set to affect the Pentagon, with credentialed media being rotated out of assigned workspaces for media newcomers.

The conservative-leaning One America News Network is set to replace NBC News, Breitbart will be given space held by National Public Radio, the New York Post has been offered the New York Times’ workspace and HuffPost will replace Politico.

The changes are set to take place on 14 February in what the Pentagon calls a new “annual media rotation program”, according to an internal memo seen by CNN.

The moves are largely symbolic as outlets are not losing access to Pentagon briefings, but are in keeping with the Trump administration’s plans to mix the access of traditional news outlets with a cohort of non-traditional news outlets, including podcasters, bloggers and TikTokers.
NY Times

Where Things Stand
Trump tariffs: President Trump on Saturday followed through with his threat to impose stiff tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, setting the stage for a destabilizing trade war with the United States’ largest commercial partners. The tariffs were set to begin on Tuesday.

Tariff retaliation: Mexico and Canada immediately vowed to impose tariffs of their own. The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced retaliatory tariffs starting with 25 percent tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, with $85 billion more to follow within three weeks.

China’s response: Its commerce ministry said China would file a case against the United States at the World Trade Organization and also vowed unspecified “corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests.” And its foreign ministry defended its record on fentanyl, saying that China had led the world in 2019 when it imposed stringent regulations on fentanyl-related substances.
Trump says he ordered air strikes on Islamic State group in Somalia
George Wright BBC News

Donald Trump says he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in Somalia.

"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump posted on social media.

"The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."

The BBC could not immediately independently verify the reports.
Trump spoke to Egyptian president about plan to evict Palestinians from Gaza
Barak Ravid

President Trump spoke on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah el-Sisi to discuss his idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan in order to rebuild the enclave.

Why it matters: Trump's comments about moving Palestinians from Gaza alarmed the Egyptians, who see the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza to their territory as a threat to national security. Trump's idea would also involve displacing two million people.

  At the beginning of the war, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised this idea, Sisi made it clear that such a move would jeopardize the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

What they're saying: Cairo confirmed the call and said Sisi invited Trump to visit Egypt as soon as possible in order to "strengthen strategic relations between the two countries and discuss the complex issues and crises facing the Middle East," as well as to participate in the opening of the new Egyptian Museum.

  Trump extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit Washington, the Egyptian presidency said.
  Sisi's spokesperson said the call was positive and the leaders discussed "the importance of continuing to implement the first and second phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal in order to stabilize the ceasefire."

Driving the news: Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One last Saturday that he wants Jordan and Egypt to take Palestinians from Gaza into their territory "temporarily or long term" while Gaza is being "cleaned up."
Story by Carl Gibson

President Donald Trump recently ordered the release of massive amounts of water from two California dams, and now local farmers are scrambling to preserve precious freshwater resources needed for dry summer months.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — acting on Trump's orders — released water from the Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and the Schafer Dam at Lake Success, which are both in Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley. Whereas water was originally flowing from the Terminus Dam at 57 cubic feet per second (cfs), it's now reportedly flowing at more than 1,500 cfs. The flow from Lake Success went from 105 cfas to 990 cfs as of Friday morning.

In a post to his official X account, Trump tweeted a "photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California," writing: "Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons." He suggested that the water release would help officials in the Golden State fight wildfires in Southern California.

In an effort to not only rewrite the history of his January 6 insurrection but to exact revenge on the agents and lawyers who worked to hold him and his rioting supporters accountable, Donald Trump appears to be in the midst of a massive purge of the FBI and the DOJ, turning them into agencies that cater to his interests and concerns instead of the law. Rachel Maddow explains.
Story by Justine Calma

Key resources for environmental data and public health have already been taken down from federal websites, and more could soon vanish as the Trump administration works to scrap anything that has to do with climate change, racial equity, or gender identity.

Warnings floated on social media today about an impending purge at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), spurring calls to save as much data as soon as possible. The CDC shares data on a wide range of topics, from chronic diseases to traffic injuries, tobacco use, vaccinations, and pregnancies in the US — and it’s just one of the agencies in the crosshairs.

Fortunately, researchers have been archiving government websites for months. This is typical with every change in administration, but there was even more imperative with the return of Donald Trump to office. Access to as much as 20 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s website was removed during the first round of Trump’s deregulatory spree. And now, it seems, similar moves are happening fast.

The CDC’s social vulnerability index and environmental justice index — tools that could show whether particular populations might face disproportionate health risks — have both been taken offline within the past week. In 2007, during the Bush administration, social scientists, geographers, and statisticians started developing the social vulnerability index (SVI), which incorporated demographic and socioeconomic factors including poverty, race, and ethnicity over the years.
Story by Josh Marcus

Federal employees are beginning to see the impacts of Donald Trump’s executive orders on gender and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as facing continued pressure to accept buyouts and resign from the government later this year.

On Thursday, as their agency worked to investigate a catastrophic plane crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter outside of Washington, employees of the Federal Aviation Administration were reportedly among government workers who got an email encouraging them to quit and find a “higher productivity” job.

“We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so,” read an email that went out to FAA workers, as well as those at the CDC and Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, which was obtained by The New York Times. “The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.”

Earlier this week, the Trump administration offered millions of federal workers the chance to resign from their positions and keep getting paid through the end of September if they agreed to a buyout by February 6, though critics have argued the White House has neither the legal authority nor the guaranteed congressional funding to pay government workers who aren’t working.

The buyout offer comes at awkward time, especially for agencies involved in transit.
Story by Sarah K. Burris

The aides Elon Musk brought to help him purge the federal workforce have locked staffers of a U.S. government human resources agency out of the computer systems with millions of employees' personal information.

Reuters cited two agency officials revealing that Musk, who has not been hired, appointed, or confirmed to any government position, is at work trying to cut $2 trillion from the annual U.S. budget. Musk would still need to find over $1.3 trillion in additional cuts if every federal employee was cut. The cost of the entire federal workforce in 2022 was approximately $271 billion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

The New York Times reported this week that billionaire Musk brought in his computer engineers to handle his ongoing demands.
Story by Billal Rahman

The Mayor of Douglas City Council in Arizona has told Newsweek why he declared a state of emergency in response to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Mayor Jose Grijalva, a Democrat, said his economy depends on the cross-border relationship with the Mexican town of Agua Prieta, two miles away.

He said he simply wants to let Trump know that his city may need funds to sustain its economy if it loses out as a result of the president's policies. "This isn't political in nature," he said.

Why It Matters
Immigration and mass deportations were a key component of President Trump's successful 2024 campaign. Americans largely support the president's mass deportation plans but disagree about how policies should be carried out. A poll by The New York Times and Ipsos from January 2 to 10 found that 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records."

While most Americans support immigration reform, border communities are more divided. Towns like Douglas face worker shortages and high compliance costs under Trump's policies, straining key industries like construction and agriculture.
Trump broke the law and now plans to fire the people who investigated him for breaking the law.

Story by ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration officials are moving to fire FBI agents engaged in investigations involving President Donald Trump in the coming days, two people familiar with the plans said Friday.

It was not clear how many agents might be affected, though scores of investigators were involved in various inquiries touching Trump. Officials acting at the direction of the administration have been working to identify individual employees who participated in politically sensitive investigations for possible termination, said the people who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The terminations would be a major blow to the historic independence from the White House of the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency and would reflect the Trump’s determination to bend the law enforcement and intelligence community to his will. It’s part of a startling pattern of retribution waged on federal government employees, following the forced ousters of a group of senior FBI executives earlier this week as well as a mass firing by the Justice Department of prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith’s team who investigated Trump.
Why does Elon Musk's and his allies want access to the Social Security payment system? What were they going to do with that access?

Story by Elizabeth Urban

A top Treasury official has left the agency after Elon Musk's allies allegedly demanded access to the Social Security payment system, according to a new report.

On Friday, David A. Lebryk announced his retirement from the Treasury after briefly being named acting secretary by President Donald Trump last week, according to an email obtained by the Washington Post.

Three sources told the outlet that prior to his departure, Lebryk and Musk had gotten into an argument after officials from the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk was named to help lead, asked for access to the payment system.

The payment systems, which control the distribution of more than $6 trillion dollars in funds to families and businesses through Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries, grants and others, are usually only managed by a select number of people.
Erin Alberty, Russell Contreras

Some Native American tribes say tribal members are being harassed by federal immigration agents, while others fear they could be wrongly caught up in immigration raids.

Why it matters: The angst among some Indigenous tribes reflects the confusion and fear even among legal citizens during the Trump administration's immigration raids.

The big picture: Several tribes have issued warnings and advice to their members based on what they say have been encounters in which U.S. immigration agents have demanded proof of citizenship — episodes that the tribes have linked to racial profiling.

The alarm comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says its agents are arresting more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants a day, part of President Trump's push to deport "millions" of people not authorized to stay in the U.S.

Immigration raids in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles — and Trump's new directives to allow searches in schools and churches in addition to workplaces and homes — have heightened concerns in communities across the country.
Story by Joe Patrice

The federal funding freeze never rested on anything approaching firm legal footing, so when the administration swiftly issued a retraction before Judge McConnell of the District of Rhode Island was set to hear the matter, that seemed to be the end of this farcical episode. But it was actually the beginning of an even dumber legal strategy that has now imploded like one of Elon’s rockets.

All because the new White House Press Secretary decided to head to social media to brag that the administration would never back down and appears to have accidentally admitted that the administration was trying to defraud the court all along.

Oops.
Is Trump showing us he is a bigot?

Story by AFP

US President Donald Trump -- speaking as the bodies of 67 people were being pulled from Washington's Potomac River -- launched an extraordinary political attack Thursday, blaming diversity hires for the midair collision between an airliner and a military helicopter.

The Republican confirmed the deaths of all those aboard both aircraft, and also cited pilot error on the helicopter in the nighttime crash.

But he chiefly used a press conference to open fire at what he said were left-wing diversity practices under his predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama that he said kept out good employees at the Federal Aviation Administration.

"I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," Trump said. "They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent."
Story by Sarah K. Burris,Matt Laslo

WASHINGTON — Republicans confessed their own constituents are concerned after President Donald Trump issued atotal freeze across all government spending.

Raw Story spoke to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) before the White House tried to retract its letter from the Office of Management and Budget announcing the freeze.

She let out a deep sigh and said she heard about the funding freeze not only from Republican mayors but "mayors all over."

"We had a meeting with our staff on the Indian Affairs Committee so — very concerned about some of the tribal programs," she said, adding they're "hearing from our communities, hearing from our non-profits — non-profits are really quite anxious. So, yeah, yesterday was a really challenging day because a lot of people are anxious and concerned with no answers and they called us. And we had to share that we don't have any answers for them right now."

Murkowski said her office is working to be responsive, but there is simply no information to help.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said that she turned to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) on Tuesday, telling him, "A lot of this stuff is your stuff."
Story by Sophie Clark

At least 12 people pardoned by President Donald Trump in his first and second terms—including two last week—have since been apprehended by the police.

The White House has been contacted via email for comment.

Why It Matters
The number of pardons that went to Trump's political allies, former aides, celebrities and military contractors in his first term, and the blanket pardon of Capitol rioters which is unpopular with several Republicans, has led some to question whether the president chooses to overlook law and justice when it comes to his friends.

Combating crime is seen as important to 92 percent of Americans, per a recent YouGov poll, and Trump ran in both 2016 and 2024 on a platform of law and justice.

What To Know
Trump pardoned 238 people in his first term and has already pardoned more than 1,500 Capitol rioters following his reelection, as well as seven people involved in blockading a Michigan abortion clinic in 2020.

At least 10 people pardoned between 2016 to 2021, and two people pardoned last week, were charged again on new crimes after their presidential release from prison. A third Capitol rioter remains on the run from police due to a prior warrant.

Two Capitol rioters have had run-ins with the police, one fatal, within a week of being pardoned. January 6 participant Matthew Huttle was fatally shot by an officer after allegedly resisting arrest at a traffic stop in Indiana.
To carry out its mass deportation plans, the government is also considering redirecting money from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Michelly Teixeira

The Trump administration is considering reallocating funds from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cover the rising costs of deportations, according to sources familiar with the discussions, as reported by NBC News.

ICE, responsible for enforcing President Donald Trump's push for mass deportations, faces a significant budget shortfall. A former and a current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told the outlet that the cost of deporting a single person during the previous administration averaged about $10,500, from arrest to removal. With Trump's directive to deport 'millions and millions' of people and increase daily arrests to between 1,200 and 1,500 people, the costs are expected to soar.
Story by Tara Copp

The Defense Department's intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.

The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The memo's authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official who said the pause was initiated by the DIA and appears not to be policy across the Defense Department. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Story by David Voreacos and Patricia Hurtado

(Bloomberg) -- A judge who will decide the punishment for Bob Menendez must weigh the former senator’s half century of public service against calls by prosecutors to imprison him for 15 years after he was convicted of systematically exploiting his power for personal profit.

US District Judge Sidney Stein will sentence the New Jersey Democrat on Wednesday for bribery, extortion and acting as an agent of Egypt while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The two businessmen found guilty of giving Menendez gold bars, cash and a convertible received sentences of seven and eight years in prison at the hearing Wednesday.

Prosecutors said in a court filing that Menendez’s corruption was “perhaps more serious” than that of any US senator ever. Lawyers for Menendez, 71, suggested a term of about two years, or even home detention and community service. They said prosecutors seek a “vindictive and cruel” punishment that would amount to a death sentence for a man his age.

“Senator Menendez has suffered extreme public shame and upheaval, and his finances and reputation are destroyed,” his lawyers wrote. “He is the butt of late-night talk show jokes, and his name will live in infamy as the first politician in history to be convicted of being a foreign agent.”
Story by Brad Reed

An inspector general who was fired by President Donald Trump last week was reportedly escorted from her office by security after she refused to accept that she had been lawfully terminated from her job.

Reuters reports that United States Department of Agriculture inspector general Phyllis Fong, who had worked at the department for more than two decades, showed up to work on Monday and insisted that she was staying despite Trump's declaration last week that she and a dozen other inspectors general would be fired.

The law requires the executive branch to give Congress a 30-day notice if it intends to terminate inspectors general, which has led many legal observers to conclude that Trump violated the law when he moved to purge independent watchdogs from the federal government.
Petty Betty is at it again. Trump pulling security clearances and protective details from people who criticized him is as petty as it gets.

Story by TARA COPP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pulling security protections and clearance for Gen. Mark Milley, retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and has ordered the Pentagon's inspector general to review Milley's actions while serving as the nation's top uniformed officer to determine if a demotion is warranted.

The inspector general review will include “an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding Gen. Milley’s conduct so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,” Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said late Tuesday.

“The Secretary informed General Milley today that he is revoking the authorization for his security detail and suspending his security clearance as well," he said.

Milley served as chairman during President Donald Trump's first term. While the relationship initially went well, it soured deeply and fast, as Milley tried to advise and contain the president on a host of issues.

He pushed back on the president's interest in using the military domestically to quell protesters after the death of George Floyd, and he was at the center of a controversy in 2021 when he made independent calls to his Chinese counterpart.
Story by Marni Rose McFall

The nation's immigration enforcement agency has reportedly detained a legal migrant in Ohio, who had been working in the U.S. for 30 years, as it conducts raids under the mass deportation operation of President Donald Trump.

Newsweek has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Simakovsky Law, the legal migrant's legal team, via email for comment.

Why It Matters
Immigration and mass deportations were a key component of President Trump's successful 2024 campaign. Since the commencement of his second term, hundreds of undocumented immigrants have been arrested.

Under the current administration, ICE has gained expanded powers in immigration enforcement, which includes the power to conduct raids in places of worship, schools and hospitals.

Critics say immigration raids are sowing fear in vulnerable communities and that they violate protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Issues including warrantless arrests, data collection without consent and detentions without probable cause could be deemed unconstitutional and may prompt potential legal battles over balancing immigration enforcement with individual rights.
Story by Steve Benen

Some political observers argue that Donald Trump and his team are simply impervious to pressure. No matter how great the outrage, the argument goes, the president and his Republican operation will ignore criticisms, rewrite history, deliver marching orders, and refuse to back down.

This observation is mistaken. Indeed, several examples have emerged since the president’s second inaugural.

Take, for example, the White House’s budget office ordered a freeze to federal grants, loans and related assistance — money that Congress has already appropriated — effectively trying to shift the power of the purpose to the Trump administration. The OMB memo sparked widespread confusion, chaos and controversy.

And it’s against this backdrop that the White House rescinded the memo on Wednesday.
Story by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to drop the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s two former co-defendants, who were accused of conspiring to hide classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne in Florida asked the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court to dismiss the case against the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in a way that it could never be filed again.

Former special counsel Jack Smith had previously dropped two federal cases against Trump, on charges he tried to steal the 2020 election and that he unlawfully retained national defense records after leaving the White House, after he won the Nov. 5 election. Longstanding department policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Story by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

The Justice Department on Wednesday moved to drop its effort to prosecute Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case.

Prosecutors asked a federal appeals court to dismiss an appeal filed during the Biden administration that sought to reinstate criminal charges against two men Smith had charged alongside Trump.
Story by Erik De La Garza

The Pentagon is reportedly reeling from the uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump’s head-spinning series of new executive orders – so much so that officials unsure of how to fulfill the directives paused new contracts, only to later reinstate them, according to a report in Politico.

Pentagon officials were forced to clarify on Tuesday that it would not halt Army deals for new weapons after top brass misunderstood Trump’s order on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives, the report stated. But the move already created mass confusion within the defense industry and sparked broad concerns over Trump’s extensive set of actions.

“The directives sent shock waves through the Army bureaucracy,” Politico reported. “It prompted officials to ‘put a hold on all of their contracts,’ according to a congressional aide, granted anonymity to speak about internal discussions.”

Washington DC - The Trump administration's attempt to suspend trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans, and other aid was temporarily blocked at the last minute by a federal judge as the president's shock move unleashed chaos.

Judge Loren AliKhan halted the order until at least Monday, after several non-profit groups filed suit claiming it was illegal.

Attorneys general of over 20 Democratic-led states later filed a separate suit seeking to block the Donald Trump's radical decision.

Even before the suspension was set to begin, online portals used to access the Medicaid health insurance program for poor families and disabled individuals became inaccessible.
Story by Kyle Cheney

Welcome to the “try and stop me” presidency.

Donald Trump, cheered on by compliant Republicans in Congress and confident in the ideological leanings of the Supreme Court, is using his first days in office to impose sweeping changes to the way government works and overwhelm traditional institutional checks on presidential power.

Detractors are trying to keep pace by filing a wave of lawsuits aimed at blocking some of Trump’s most far-reaching orders. Those efforts are raising the prospect of a clash that could define Trump’s second term: How would a president who is deploying maximal executive power respond if a court — perhaps the Supreme Court — tells him no?

Nowhere is Trump’s assertion of power more brazen than in his administration’s blanket Monday night order to halt federal aid spending, save for Medicare and Social Security. The move is both an affront to Congress’ constitutional power of the purse and a direct challenge to a 50-year-old federal law meant to ensure congressionally authorized funds go out the door.

Trump has also pushed legal boundaries, or blown through them completely, with his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, his purge of in-house government watchdogs and his decision not to enforce a law mandating the sale of TikTok.
Story by Igor Bobic, Jonathan Cohn

President Donald Trump on Monday issued a sweeping memo ordering a halt to all grant, loan and other financial assistance programs disbursed by the federal government, a massive policy change that could affect a huge range of services across the country.

Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, writes in the memo that federal agencies should temporarily pause grant and loan programs until Trump’s administration can ensure they are consistent with the president’s agenda, including bans on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and limits on clean energy spending.

“The American people elected Donald J. Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal tax dollar,” Vaeth wrote. “The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”

The memo states the order, which goes into effect Tuesday, does not affect Social Security or Medicare recipients and that financial assistance put on hold “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals,” according to The Washington Post.

Democrats warned that Trump’s latest directive could significantly harm programs used by millions of Americans, including food and rent assistance, early childhood programs, and children’s health insurance.
Story by Dan De Luce

President Donald Trump’s decision this week to revoke the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials is an unprecedented move, underscoring his willingness to break decades-old norms to please his supporters and punish his perceived opponents, legal experts say.

“This is the most politically saturated security action since the Oppenheimer case in the 1950s,” said Dan Meyer, a Washington-based lawyer who specializes in security clearance cases.

Meyer was referring to Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who oversaw the secret program to build the atomic bomb during World War II, who had his security clearance removed at the height of the McCarthy era over his prewar associations with the Communist Party.

Previous administrations have been accused of rescinding security clearances based on prejudice or political bias. Until 1995, for example, gay people often had their security clearances removed as officials claimed they could be subject to blackmail. During the Vietnam War, officials or contractors perceived to be opponents of the war had their clearances canceled, said Meyer, a partner at the law firm Tully Rinckey.

But no president has ever waded directly into the clearance process so publicly and on such a large scale as Trump did when he rescinded security clearances for 50 people in one step, Meyer and other legal experts said. Nor has a commander in chief chosen to publicly rescind security clearances for former CIA directors, deputy directors and other former top-ranking intelligence officials, many of whom worked for administrations from both parties.
What will the price of Trump and GOP stupidity be? Freezing aide will allow Russia and China gains into countries we once supported and reduce American influence around the world. Is Trump trying to help Russia and China by reducing American influence around the world?

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

CNN — The US State Department has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, effective immediately, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order Monday to put a hold on such aid for 90 days.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable, seen by CNN, to all US diplomatic posts on Friday outlining the move, which threatens billions of dollars of funding from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs worldwide.

Foreign assistance has been the target of ire from Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, but the funding accounts for very little of the overall US budget. The scope of the executive order and subsequent cable has left humanitarian and State Department officials reeling.

The cable calls for immediate “stop work” orders on existing foreign assistance and pauses new aid. It is sweeping in its scope. Essentially all foreign assistance appears to have been targeted unless specifically exempted. That means lifesaving global health aid, development assistance, military aid, and even clean water distribution could all be affected.

The cable provides a waiver only for emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt. The cable does not specifically mention any other countries that receive foreign military financing, like Ukraine or Taiwan, as being exempt from the freeze.

In the coming month, the cable said, the administration will develop standards for a review of whether the assistance is “aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda.”
By Phil Stewart and Diego Oré

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mexico has refused a request from President Donald Trump's administration to allow a U.S. military aircraft deporting migrants to land in the country, a U.S. official and a Mexican official told Reuters.

U.S. military aircraft carried out two similar flights, each with about 80 migrants, to Guatemala on Friday. The government was not able to move ahead with a plan to have a C-17 transport aircraft land in Mexico, however, after the country denied permission.

A U.S. official and a Mexican official confirmed the decision, which was first reported by NBC News.

Mexico's foreign ministry, in a statement late on Friday, said the country had a "very great relationship" with the U.S. and cooperated on issues such as immigration.
"When it comes to repatriations, we will always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms," the ministry said.

The Mexican official did not give a reason for the denial of permission to land, while the foreign ministry did not mention the incident.
Story by Michael Luciano

President Donald Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general in a massive late-night purge on Friday evening. The terminations seemed to violate federal law.

The Washington Post first reported on the firings of 12 inspectors general at various agencies. Later, The New York Times reported that at least 17 had been removed. IGs possess investigative powers over their respective agencies where they probe potential waste, abuse, and corruption.

“The inspectors general were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, according to people familiar with the situation, who like others in this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private messages,” the Post reported. “The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire the inspectors general.”

The Post said inspectors general from the Departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Energy were terminated. Most of the IGs who were removed were appointed by Trump during his first term.

“It’s a widespread massacre,” said one IG who was dismissed Friday night. “Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.”
Vice-president casts tie-breaking vote for Fox News host despite allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse
Alice Herman and Joan E Greve in Washington

Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News personality and rightwing commentator who has said women should not serve in combat roles, recommended the military purge generals and faced allegations of sexual assault and alcoholism, has been confirmed as secretary of defense in the Senate by a tie-breaking vote from Vice-president JD Vance.

Almost the entire Republican conference supported Hegseth’s nomination while every Senate Democrat voted against his confirmation, resulting in a 50-50 vote. Three Republican senators – Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – opposed Hegseth’s nomination. Collins and Murkowski had earlier cited concerns about his personal history and inexperience as disqualifying.

Hegseth was among the most heavily scrutinized nominees for Donald Trump’s cabinet, owing to allegations of sexual assault and workplace misconduct that have surfaced in the last two months.

Shortly after Trump announced Hegseth as his defense secretary pick, extremism experts raised alarms about Hegseth’s apparent affinity for far-right symbols – noting that his tattoo sleeve featured at least two images associated with far-right and neo-Nazi groups. Hegseth himself has complained publicly that the US Army declined his service during Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration after a fellow servicemember flagged him as a potential insider threat.
Opinion by Matthew Chapman

President Donald Trump is trying to push a very particular type of populism from a period of America's past, conservative analyst David Brooks wrote for The New York Times — and it will ultimately destroy his presidency.

Brooks, a longtime discontent within GOP politics who escalated his criticism following the rise of MAGA, believes Trump specifically thinks America was at its greatest in the latter half of the 19th century.

"Over the past few months, and especially in his second Inaugural Address, Trump has gone all 19th century on us," wrote Brooks. "He seems to find in this period everything he likes: tariffs, Manifest Destiny, seizing land from weaker nations, mercantilism, railroads, manufacturing and populism. Many presidents mention George Washington or Abraham Lincoln in their inaugurals. Who was the immortal Trump cited? William McKinley. You can tell what kind of conservative a person is by discovering what year he wants to go back to. For Trump, it seems to be sometime between 1830 and 1899. 'The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts,' he declared in his address."
Story by Daniel Hampton

The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board appeared incensed over his recent "vindictive whim" — revoking Secret Service protections to former officials who've publicly broken with him.

Trump this week stripped one-time national security adviser John Bolton of his security clearance and a Secret Service detail that guarded him, even though federal prosecutors have said Bolton was the target of an Iranian assassination plot.

Trump downplayed the potential threat against Bolton, telling reporters: "We’re not going to have security on people for the rest of their lives—why should we?”

He added that Bolton is “a very dumb person.”

“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision,” Bolton previously told CNN. “Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021.”

On Thursday, reports emerged that Trump did the same to Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state, and Brian Hook, a former top aide to Pompeo. Both have also faced Iranian threats.
Story by Billal Rahman

The nation's top immigration enforcement agency reportedly detained a military veteran in New Jersey as it conducted sweeping raids under President Donald Trump's mass deportation operation.

An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual's identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey. This is an active investigation and, per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations."

Why It Matters
Mass deportations were a key component of Trump's 2024 campaign. Since the president returned to office on Monday, hundreds of undocumented immigrants have been arrested under his administration's crackdown, and critics say the immigration raids are sowing fear in vulnerable communities.

What To Know
Ras J. Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, said on Thursday that ICE raided a local business and detained "undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant."

He added that a U.S. military veteran was among the people detained and that he "suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned."
Opinion by Paul Waldman

“The people who did this, they need to feel the heat,” Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio said after he was granted clemency by Donald Trump. “They need to be put behind bars and they need to be prosecuted,” Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers said after his release from prison. By “they,” Tarrio and Rhodes were referring to the people whose efforts led both men to be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for seditious conspiracy for their roles in planning and organizing the Jan. 6 insurrection. They want the prosecutors who prosecuted them to be prosecuted themselves. And they might just get their wish.

On the day of his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order on “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” It serves as a declaration that this administration is looking to punish those Trump perceives as his enemies. And while much of the order focuses on federal law enforcement, including the Justice Department, there’s good reason to believe that Trump’s campaign of revenge will be felt throughout the federal government.

The result is Orwellian in both substance and rhetoric. Just as he plans to “drain the swamp” with the swampiest administration in history, and make government “efficient” by crippling its ability to perform its duties, Trump claims he will end “the weaponization of government” by weaponizing it against his foes.

From the start, the document makes its target clear: Joe Biden and those who worked for him. “The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents,” it says in Section 1. “The prior administration and allies throughout the country engaged in an unprecedented, third-world weaponization of prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process,” it goes on, protesting that the insurrectionists who attempted a violent overthrow of the 2020 election on Trump’s behalf were “ruthlessly prosecuted.”
Story by Daniel Barnes

SEATTLE — A federal district court judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship — the first skirmish in what promises to be a protracted legal battle over the new administration’s agenda.

Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour heard 25 minutes of arguments and then issued an order from the bench blocking the policy from taking effect for 14 days. There will be a further briefing on a preliminary injunction to permanently block the executive order while the case proceeds.

"I’ve been on the bench for over four decades," Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, said. "I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order."

The case comes as four states (Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon) sought to block the order before it is supposed to take effect in late February. It's one of five lawsuits filed by Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights organizations challenging the order — which seeks to limit automatic birthright citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and green card holders — as unconstitutional.
U.S. president calls the clergywoman a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” “ungracious,” “nasty” and “not compelling or smart.”

U.S. President Donald Trump hit out Wednesday at a bishop who directly called on him to show mercy to immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.

During the inaugural prayer service Tuesday at the Washington National Cathedral attended by Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their families, the Right Rev Mariann Budde delivered a sermon in which she appealed to Trump to be merciful to minorities, “some who fear for their lives.”

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said, referring to “gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families.”

Most “immigrants are not criminals,” she added. “They pay taxes and are good neighbors.”

Trump hit back in the early hours of Wednesday on his social media platform Truth Social, calling Budde a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” who is “not very good at her job” and demanding an apology.
Story by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

As President Donald Trump’s health care agenda for a second term takes shape, it’s becoming clear that many Joe Biden-era policies won’t make the cut.

On Monday, Trump signed a sweeping order aimed in part at reversing several Biden administration executive orders on health care, including efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs for people on Medicare and Medicaid, enhancing the Affordable Care Act and increasing protections for Medicaid enrollees. The so-called initial rescissions order, according to the Trump White House, is aimed at Biden policies that it says are “deeply unpopular” and “radical.”

The moves by Trump, experts say, are likely to be inconsequential to many Americans in terms of what they pay in out-of-pocket health care costs.

One Biden effort overturned by Trump, for example, had directed Medicare to look at ways to lower drug costs, including whether to impose a $2 monthly out-of-pocket cap on certain generic drugs.

That initiative, however, was only in the development stage, said Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and it was unclear whether it would be implemented at all.

Biden’s bigger health care initiatives, such as a $35 monthly cap on insulin, a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs and Medicare’s negotiating drug pricing provision weren’t affected by Trump’s executive actions Monday.
Story by jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein)

The commandant of the US Coast Guard has been removed from her position over DEI initiatives, border security concerns, and other issues, a senior Department of Homeland Security official confirmed to Business Insider on Tuesday, just one day after the new Trump administration took over.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman said in a memo to the Coast Guard workforce on Tuesday morning that he had relieved Adm. Linda Fagan from her role. He did not provide any reason for the dismissal, which came just hours after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

"She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her

service to our nation," Huffman, who was appointed to the acting role earlier in the day, wrote in the memo.

Fagan was the first uniformed woman to lead a branch of the US armed forces and had been serving in the top Coast Guard role since 2022. With her dismissal, she's now become the first top military officer to be removed under the new Trump administration. The president and members of his team had previously suggested that it would purge leaders across the armed forces.
Story by John E. Jones III, Dickinson College

In the first hours of his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned nearly everyone convicted of crimes associated with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio – and commuted the sentences of 14 more, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

CNN reported that nearly 1,600 people have been charged and about 1,300 have been convicted of crimes committed on that day. There are about 300 cases “still active and unresolved,” CNN reported.

According to a Washington Post analysis, 14 leaders of far-right militant groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been convicted of seditious conspiracy. And 379 people have been charged with felony assault; most of them have been convicted already. though some are still awaiting trial. Trump also ordered the Justice Department to dismiss all pending indictments against Jan. 6 defendants.

To understand the situation, Jeff Inglis, a politics editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with John E. Jones III, a retired federal judge who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the Senate in 2002. Jones is now president of Dickinson College.
by Ashleigh Fields

Former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized President Trump for pardoning roughly 1,500 people who were arrested during the Jan, 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including some who harmed police. At least 600 insurrectionists were formally accused of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement.

“No one should excuse violence. And particularly violence against police officers,” McConnell told Semafor in an article published Tuesday.

He echoed Vice President Vance’s remarks in a “Fox News Sunday” interview earlier this month, during which he said only those who “protested peacefully” should be pardoned, adding “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”

McConnell’s comments come months after he stepped down from Senate leadership, however fellow GOP members still say his voice will be influential for the party in the new legislative cycle.
by Sarah Fortinsky

President Trump took office Monday, marking the beginning of a new era in Washington.

The changing of the guard was, perhaps, marked most significantly by sweeping new executive actions that will have far-reaching consequences on swaths of the electorate.

Here’s a look at Trump’s moves on his first day in office, broken down by the numbers.
26 executive orders

Trump issued a flurry of executive orders on issues ranging from immigration to gender to TikTok.
By Marshall Cohen, CNN

CNN — With the stroke of a pen on Monday, President Donald Trump completely upended the Justice Department’s four-year effort to arrest, prosecute and punish the people who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

It was the largest criminal probe in American history, those who heeded Trump’s call in 2021 to come to Washington and try to stop Congress from certifying his 2020 election defeat. More than 140 police officers were injured during the seven-hour siege, which also led directly or indirectly to the deaths of four Trump supporters in the mob and five police officers.

Trump on Monday pardoned nearly every single convicted January 6 rioter, and at his direction, the Justice Department is also beginning to ask the federal court in Washington, DC, to dismiss pending cases with prejudice, meaning charges cannot be brought again at a later date.

The presidential proclamation Trump signed in the Oval Office said this action of mass clemency “ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people.”

Trump’s pardons make no effort to distinguish between people who engaged in violence that day compared with those who were charged or convicted of nonviolent offenses. For instance, the pardons include the men who viciously beat DC police officer Michael Fanone and pepper-sprayed US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the next day.
Story by Sean Craig

Former President Joe Biden greeted President Donald Trump at the White House in advance of Monday’s inauguration with a conciliatory gesture, telling him and first lady Melania Trump: “Welcome home.”

Trump ended his first day back in that home by posting a sneering message boasting of how his team was hunting down hundreds of Biden appointees to throw out of office.

“Our first day in the White House is not over yet!” Trump wrote, in a Truth Social post shortly after midnight. “My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.”
They attacked America's Capitol and now Trump gives them a pardon. That is not America first that is a big FU to America.

Story by tspirlet@insider.com (Thibault Spirlet,Brent D. Griffiths)

President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned roughly 1,500 people related to January 6-related offenses, fulfilling a campaign promise to wipe clean the records of most people connected with the Capitol riot.

"We hope they come out tonight, frankly," Trump said after signing the pardons. "They're expecting it."

Trump said he included six commutations in the pardon package so that their cases could be studied further. Among those whose sentences were commuted were the leaders of the far-right Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, who had been charged with seditious conspiracy. Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers' founder, was in the middle of serving an 18-year prison sentence.

Outside the commutations, Trump's pardon is sweeping in scope. It applies to "all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021."
Story by ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a sweeping execution order Monday on the death penalty that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Trump's order, coming just hours after he returned to the White House, compels the Justice Department to not only seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases but also to help preserve capital punishment in states that have struggled to maintain adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs.

Trump had been expected to restart federal executions, which have been on hold since a moratorium was imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021. Only three defendants remain on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden recently converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.
Story by Gregory Korte

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 former US intelligence officials who had cast doubt on conservative attacks on former President Joe Biden’s son, delivering on a campaign promise to exact retribution against what he sees as a “deep state” conspiracy against him.

The former intelligence officials signed on to a letter in the final days of the 2020 presidential election saying the distribution of emails obtained from an abandoned laptop belonging to Hunter Biden “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

The emails, which purported to show a corruption scheme by members of Biden’s family involving ties to Ukrainian and Chinese businesses, were published by a conservative tabloid and helped to spur a criminal investigation into the former president’s son. Biden granted him a blanket pardon in December.
ABC News

The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state on Monday, making him the first confirmed member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet in his second administration.

All 99 senators voted in favor of Rubio, including Rubio himself. There's currently one vacancy in the chamber due to Vice President J.D. Vance resigning in mid-January. Rubio, the first Hispanic American to hold the position, is expected to resign his position in the Senate shortly.

Rubio's experience as the top Republican on Senate Intelligence Committee gave his resume the necessary credentials to earn the public backing of a number of Democrats.

"Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility, and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me," Rubio said after he was tapped by Trump in November. "As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else. I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20."
Story by Juliegrace Brufke, Mary Ann Akers

His presidency was just an hour old when Donald Trump excoriated Joe Biden for pardoning GOP officials who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots—and promised retribution, in the form of salvation.

“I was going to talk about the J6 hostages, but you’ll be happy because, you know, it’s action, not words that count, and you’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” Trump said during a rambling post-inaugural speech that showed his lingering resentment over the 2020 election results.

“I was going to talk about the things that Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political folks,” he added, referring to the bipartisan Jan. 6 panel.

Biden’s pardons also applied to former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, who famously called Trump a “total fascist.”

“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley?” Trump said Monday at the Capitol.

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, returning to office after four years.
CNN

President Donald Trump mostly stuck to lofty generalities and promises of action during his second inaugural address, making far fewer checkable claims than he typically does in his speeches.

But Trump did make a smattering of inaccurate statements. Here is a fact check.

Inflation rates: Trump falsely claimed the US experienced “record inflation” during the Biden administration. Trump could fairly say the US inflation rate hit a 40-year high in June 2022, when it was 9.1%, but that was not close to the all-time record of 23.7%, set in 1920. (And the rate has since plummeted. The most recent available inflation rate at the time Trump spoke here was 2.9% in December.)
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