Wednesday, Feb. 5 | By Jonathan Easley |
White House defends Trump's Gaza proposal as GOP, foreign leaders kick back
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THE WHITE HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY DEFENDED President Trump's proposal for the U.S. to "take over the Gaza Strip" and relocate Palestinians, even as Republicans balked, Democrats raged and global leaders dismissed the idea. At a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump kicked the hornet's nest with his proposal to resettle Gazans while turning their land into the "Riviera of the Middle East." It was a shocking moment that provoked questions about whether the president is considering sending troops to a war zone in the Middle East. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "has not committed to putting boots on the ground" in Gaza, but she also refused to rule it out, saying Trump wants to "preserve that leverage for negotiations." Leavitt argued that Trump is merely thinking "outside the box" in trying to resolve a generational conflict. "That's who the president is, that's why Americans elected him," she said. "His goal is lasting peace … we've had the same people pushing the same solutions to this problem for decades." The White House argued that Gaza is essentially uninhabitable after Israel's war on Hamas reduced the 141-square-mile territory to rubble. "There's no electricity, no water," Leavitt said. "He made this decision with a humanitarian heart." The remarks ignited an instant global firestorm, with Republicans criticizing the proposal as at odds with their values — and Trump's. "I thought we voted America First," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) posted on X. "We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood." Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he didn't "think it's the best use of United States resources to spend a bunch of money in Gaza." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said most of his constituents "would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza." |
Democrats were apoplectic, accusing Trump of "openly calling for ethnic cleansing" and worrying his efforts could derail the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. "Palestinians aren't going anywhere," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) posted on X. "This president can only spew this fanatical bulls‑‑‑ because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It's time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) flatly rejected the proposal, saying it would undermine efforts to free hostages. Mediators are in discussions about implementing the second phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after the first phase ends on March 1. "I support a two-state solution, which is a safe and secure Israel as a Jewish and democratic state existing side-by-side in peace and prosperity with a demilitarized Palestinian state that meets their aspirations for self-determination," Jeffries said. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said he plans to bring articles of impeachment against Trump. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a staunch ally to Israel who has repeatedly bucked his party since Trump was reelected, called the idea "provocative" but said "it's part of the conversation." "The Palestinians have refused, or they've been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves," Fetterman said. "They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt." |
GLOBAL LEADERS DISMISS THE PROPOSAL |
Saudi Arabia reasserted its support for an independent state for Palestinians and warned it would not forge diplomatic relations with Israel. Turkey's top diplomat called the proposal "unacceptable" and "something neither we nor the region can accept." "Even thinking it is absurd," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to soften the proposal, saying the U.S. would not be eradicating Gazans from their homes or seizing their land. "What President Trump announced yesterday is the offer, the willingness of the United States to become responsible for the reconstruction of that area...it's an enormous undertaking...It was not meant as a hostile move. It was meant as a very generous move," he said. |
💡Perspectives: • The Liberal Patriot: The presidency has become too powerful. • The Hill: Trump's call to 'clean out' Gaza is a direct threat to Palestinians. • New York Post: Dems wallow in denial, proving they haven't learned a thing. • Washington Post: The most damaging first two weeks in presidential history. • The Hill: The strange suicide of American conservatism. |
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A federal judge furthered a block on President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, saying it "runs counter to our nation's 250-year history of citizenship by birth" and likely violates an 1898 Supreme Court decision on the issue. Fox News hired Lara Trump, a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law to President Trump, to host a show on the channel. Elsewhere, "60 Minutes" published the full transcript of its interview with former Vice President Harris amid an FCC investigation. The Pentagon sent 10 "high-threat" migrants to the prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The wildfires that destroyed parts of Los Angeles resulted in property damage and losses totaling up to $164 billion.
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GOP tensions boil over as shutdown fears grow
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The clock is ticking toward a March 14 deadline to fund the government, as Republicans squabble over spending and search for an agreement that can get through Congress. Those tensions boiled over behind closed doors on Wednesday, with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) confronting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over the slow pace of progress, The Hill's Mychael Schnell reports: "Republicans are looking to use a process known as budget reconciliation to pass Trump's agenda since it allows them to circumvent Democratic opposition in the Senate. In order to be successful, however, the House GOP conference must have near unanimity — a difficult task for the ideologically diverse group that holds a razor-thin majority." Republicans will get no help from Democrats, who are eager to protest Trump's executive actions by voting down his legislative agenda. The Hill's Aris Folley and Mike Lillis write: "Negotiators on Capitol Hill have yet to agree on the top-line numbers to guide the extension of federal funding through September, let alone the legislative details that can win enough bipartisan support to prevent a shutdown." Senate Republicans have talked about taking the wheel, as Johnson struggles to placate conservative fiscal hawks. House Republicans are trillions of dollars apart at the moment. |
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The Hill's Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks report: "GOP leaders had aimed to complete a blueprint at their Florida retreat last week and take an initial step to mark up the budget resolution in committee this week, but those seeking steep cuts derailed that plan by balking at an initial budget resolution proposal that featured a $500 billion tax cut floor. While leaders saw that as simply a starting point, fiscal hawks wanted commitments for much higher levels of cuts, with some seeking overall cuts of $2 trillion to $5 trillion." The central conundrum, according to The Hill's Tobias Burns: How to balance Trump's tax cuts and spending initiatives while also reducing the nation's $36 trillion debt. "Caught between the debt and their tax base, Republicans are considering some novel ways to account for the cost of their legislative agenda as disagreements over budget cuts look set to hamstring early moves on their tax bill." |
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© Kenny Holston, The New York Times |
Musk firestorm consumes Washington
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Elon Musk, who President Trump empowered to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is at the center of the storm in Washington, as he pushes boundaries in his effort to reduce the federal bureaucracy. Musk and his young team of outsiders have gone about their mission in a provocative manner, particularly in their dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID workers were locked out of their offices and systems. All workers have been placed on administrative leave, and those stationed abroad have been ordered to return to the U.S. within the next 30 days. The Hill's Alexander Bolton writes that Senate Republicans and Musk are on a "collision course," with GOP lawmakers "questioning the basis of Musk's authority to shutter an agency Congress funds annually through the appropriations bills for the State Department and foreign operations." The latest: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offered buyouts to all employees. "These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position the CIA to deliver on its mission," the agency said. Democrats are warning federal workers not accept the offers and have questioned the legality of the move. The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch reports: "The offer comes with plenty of legal and logistical challenges — details that have led unions and lawmakers representing districts with large numbers of federal employees to warn them against accepting the offer." The Trump administration's executive orders, buyout offers and firings have provoked a slew of lawsuits — and many more are expected. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal government employee union, is trying to block the buyout offers, calling them "an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum which workers may not be able to enforce." Gwynne Wilcox, a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who was fired by Trump, is suing, claiming her ouster was a "blatant violation" of NLRB members' removal protections afforded by the National Labor Relations Act. |
HOW ARE DEMOCRATS RESPONDING? |
Protests against Trump and Project 2025 broke out across multiple cities on Wednesday. Democratic lawmakers have been protesting outside of USAID headquarters, breaking out in chants and marching in ways that are reminiscent of the resistance movement that started during Trump's first term. Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee quashed a brief effort by Democrats to subpoena Musk to answer questions from lawmakers. Still, some Democrats believe it's not enough, rolling their eyes at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) leading chants outside of USAID. "This is the only alternative to Trump's America? It's just so depressing," former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) posted on X. The Hill's Amie Parnes and Mike Lillis lay out the stark reality: Democrats have no true national leader at the moment. "There is no one… It's as simple as that," said former Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who launched a lonely primary challenge against President Biden over concerns about the former president's age. |
💡Perspectives: • The Atlantic: Elon Musk is president. • Politico: Democrats fall for Trump and Musk's foreign aid trap. • The Hill: Congress must stand up to Trump's USAID power grab. • The Guardian: How the world's richest man laid waste the US government. |
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