INTERNAL DIVISIONS: Members of each party are wrestling with their colleagues over their strategy and demands for reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with limited time remaining to reach a deal.
Even if the current funding package is signed into law soon, the continuing resolution to fund DHS would only last until Feb. 13. Lawmakers could pass another temporary funding measure to give themselves more time if necessary, but that would also require buy-in from both sides.
Democrats in the House and Senate say they're fully in sync with their demands for changes to rein in ICE. But The Hill's Mike Lillis reports that the politics and pressures within each chamber aren't the same, creating unique challenges for Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The divide has already been on display in Democrats' demands. Schumer has proposed a list of short-term demands for changes to ICE for Democrats to support the DHS appropriations bill, including an end to roving ICE patrols, a ban on officers wearing face masks and a requirement for them to wear body cameras.
But Lillis reports that many Democrats in the more liberal House want to go further, pushing for an end to ICE activities throughout the country. And they want party leaders to not support any DHS bill that doesn't do so.
Republicans are also facing internal strife over what reforms to make to ICE and other federal agencies.
The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports that some Republicans are open to reforms such as deescalation training for ICE officers to calm the public backlash that has raged for weeks. But Senate conservatives are accusing these Republicans of folding to Democrats and instead want to go on offense, accusing the opposition of undermining law enforcement.
Johnson expressed openness to at least some Democratic demands, saying they're reasonable. But some lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Kennedy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have rejected the Democrats' proposals as non-starters.
"Their proposals are insane, so I'm not optimistic," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told Semafor. "Are we going to pass a law around here that kneecaps ICE? No."
▪ The Hill: Senate GOP tries to regain footing on immigration.
▪ The Hill: Minnesota standoff stokes fears of wider conflict.
FED NOMINEE'S PATH FORWARD: Trump's nominee to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve faces an uncertain path to confirmation amid an ongoing criminal probe into the current chair, Jerome Powell.
Trump announced Friday that he would nominate Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Fed board of governors and economic adviser to former President George W. Bush, as his pick to lead the country's central bank. The Hill's Sylvan Lane reports that Warsh's experience on the Fed and Wall Street, political ties to the GOP and reputation as an independent thinker make his eventual confirmation likely.
But various obstacles could delay it.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have both said they won't support any Fed nominee until the probe into Powell is resolved. Powell has denounced the probe as designed to pressure him and the Fed to more rapidly lower interest rates.
Tillis's opposition is of particular importance, as he serves on the Senate Banking Committee, allowing him to delay Warsh's approval.
Questions also remain as to how Warsh will handle concerns about the Fed's independence as Trump has frequently been vocal about how he believes the independent agency should act in setting monetary policy.
▪ CNN: Trump jokes about suing Warsh over interest rates.
▪ The Hill: IBM executive praises Trump's Fed choice.
FIVE-YEAR-OLD RELEASED: A 5-year-old boy and his father have been released and returned to Minnesota following outrage over their detention by ICE officers last month.
A federal judge in Texas ordered the release of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, on Saturday after they were transported to a detention center in the state, finding the federal government didn't have probable cause to detain them. The judge said in his ruling that the father and son "seek nothing but the modicum of due process and the rule of law."
The case gained attention after a photo of the boy wearing a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he and his father were being detained went viral, adding to backlash against the administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) confirmed their release and said he escorted them back to Minnesota on Sunday morning.
"Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won't stop until all children and families are home," Castro said in a post on the social platform X.
▪ The New York Times: Two students from Ramos's school taken into custody.
▪ San Antonio Express-News: The judge's scathing ruling.
TEXAS ENDORSEMENT COMING? Trump told The Hill's Julia Manchester during a gaggle with reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he's taking a "serious look" at endorsing in Texas's GOP Senate primary with just a little more than a month left before voters head to the polls.
"You know, my problem is I'm friendly with all of them. I like all of them, all three," the president said, referring to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas).
Trump has so far avoided weighing in on the primary as all three candidates battle to pitch themselves as the best candidate to advance the president's agenda. The Decision Desk HQ polling average currently shows Paxton leading by a few points, a possible danger sign for Cornyn as he tries to fend off the challenge.
But polls still show no candidate close to the majority required to avoid a runoff, and an endorsement from Trump could be a major boost to get one candidate over the hurdle.
"But you'll be seeing soon," Trump said. "They say whoever I endorse wins. That's probably right."
The president's comments came a day after Democrats pulled off a major upset in a special election for a state Senate district in Texas that Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
Trump downplayed how much the local race means, but it adds to Democrats' momentum in outperforming the party's margins, a trend that has dominated much of the past year of elections.
▪ The Hill: Trump questions whether GOP can overcome midterm hurdle.
▪ CNN: Why Dems' upset victory is a big deal.
EPSTEIN CLAIM: The president claimed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) latest release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein absolves him of any wrongdoing, while a top administration official said the FBI was unable to investigate some of the claims made about Trump.
The DOJ released 3 million additional documents from the Epstein files to the public Friday, coming more than a month after the deadline required by the law that Trump signed to order their full disclosure. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters that the latest round of documents will be one of the last steps required under the law.
"I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it's the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left," Trump told reporters on Saturday in response to the release.
Trump hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and the inclusion of his name in the files isn't itself considered an indication of wrongdoing. He is mentioned more than 3,000 times in the files, and the recently released documents include allegations about Trump and Epstein that the FBI received as tips.
The documents show the FBI contacted many of those who left tips, but Blanche said Sunday that various tips were anonymous and relied on secondhand information, telling CNN's "State of the Union" those are "not something that can be really investigated."
The DOJ asserted that the tips regarding Trump had no validity.
▪ ABC News: High-profile names and pictures from the files.
▪ The Associated Press: The files' impact in the U.K., Slovakia.
CRYPTO STAKE: Investors with ties to the United Arab Emirates bought a 49 percent stake in the Trump family's cryptocurrency business just days before the president's inauguration last year, multiple outlets reported.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the investment was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the royal family in Abu Dhabi who has been advocating for the U.S. to grant access to AI chips. Tahnoon is the brother of the UAE's president, the government's national security adviser and the head of the country's largest wealth fund.
Under the terms of the deal with World Liberty Financial, the buyers paid half, $187 million, up front. At least $31 million was also set to go to entities associated with the family of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Tahnoon had been trying to gain access to the chips during the Biden administration but hadn't made much progress over concerns that the chips could end up in China's hands, the Journal reported. But Trump's election provided a path forward, as he met multiple times with Trump and other U.S. officials.
The administration committed to giving the UAE about 500,000 chips about two months after Tahnoon met with Trump at the White House last March.
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