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© Alex Brandon, Associated Press
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White House rescinds memo amid legal battle
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THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION on Wednesday signaled it planned to still curb spending despite withdrawing a memo from the White House budget office that had ordered a sweeping freeze on federal financial assistance.
Amid broad backlash and confusion over the initial Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo released Monday, the budget office on Wednesday released another memo saying the earlier one was rescinded.
The move came after an uproar on Capitol Hill and a behind-the-scenes push from Republican lawmakers, who worried their constituents would be deprived of federal assistance programs.
• The White House on Wednesday denied that it rescinded the federal freeze, saying it only rescinded the memo declaring a freeze because of incoming court challenges. The original OMB memo was temporarily blocked by the courts amid a slew of lawsuits.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X.
That statement itself appeared to raise issues for the administration in court.
A federal judge hearing a case brought by Democratic attorneys general in Washington, D.C., and 22 states against Trump’s funding freeze initially signaled he thought their request was moot since the memo was withdrawn.
But Judge John McConnell noted that an attorney representing one of the AGs seeking to block the funding freeze “has convinced me that that while the piece of paper may not exist, that there’s sufficient evidence that the defendants collectively are acting consistent with that directive.”
Even as White House aides sought to clarify that the freeze itself was not rescinded, some GOP lawmakers were celebrating a reversal.
“I’m grateful to all the Pennsylvanians who reached out about the Administration’s spending pause over the last 24 hours. The pause has been rescinded. Your input made a difference- thank you,” Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), a top Trump ally, posted on X.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that the freeze was not popular among elected Republicans, who pressured the White House to reverse course. GOP lawmakers are concerned about freezing federal aid programs that assist the poor.
The order was not supposed to impact Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, however the Medicaid payments portal went down shortly after the memo originally was released.
“While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
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DEMS QUESTION LEGALITY OF BUYOUTS
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The White House is also juggling a controversy over its move to offer buyouts to any of the 2 million federal employee that don’t want to return to the office.
Federal employees have the option to retain benefits and be paid through September if they hand in their resignation by Feb. 6, the administration says.
The Department of Government Efficiency posted on X: “Take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said the move is illegal and warned federal employees against accepting it.
“The president has no authority to make that offer,” Kaine warned federal staff. “If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you.”
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The executive orders, actions, memos and firings continue apace …
• Trump signed an executive order turning Guantanamo Bay into a facility to hold migrants.
• The administration plans to cancel student visas for pro-Palestinian protesters, the Jerusalem Post reports.
• Trump issued an executive order to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
• The president fired two of the three Democratic commissioners who enforce civil rights in the workplace.
• Trump plans to issue an executive order boosting school choice programs.
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Trump’s approval rating after one week in office ticked down a bit but is largely steady in the new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The survey put Trump’s approval rating at 45 percent positive, down from 47. His negative rating is at 46 percent, up from 39.
Support for his policies and executive actions are all over the map:
• Downsizing the federal government is Trump’s most popular policy by far, followed by easing restrictions on fossil fuels, imposing a hiring freeze on government workers and requiring federal workers to go into the office. A new Quinnipiac University survey found 60 percent support for sending troops to the Southern border.
• A handful of policies are opposed by a majority, but still hold significant levels of support, including delaying the TikTok ban and imposing tariffs.
• Trump’s most unpopular policies based on the poll: Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords, ending federal efforts to hire women and minorities, ending birthright citizenship, pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters, renaming the Gulf of Mexico and ending requirements that government employees report gifts or investments.
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DEMS SEARCH FOR A PLAN OF ATTACK
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The blizzard of actions has left Democrats reeling and searching for an effective means to respond as the minority party in both chambers.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) convened an emergency meeting Wednesday to map out the party’s three-pronged approach to fighting back, which includes strategies for appropriations, litigation and communication.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that Democrats “need to be a lot more selective about what we’re concerned about that Trump’s doing” and “I think we need to focus more specifically on issues.”
Trump’s federal spending freeze was a catalyzing moment for the party, provoking outrage and a protest vote to tank a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Some Democrats still see areas they can find common ground with Trump.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Wednesday attended Trump’s signing of the Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill that served as the president’s first big legislative victory of his second term.
Fetterman is the only Democrat to break from his party’s revolt against the ICC bill.
And Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) voiced his support for Trump’s move to revoke student visas for pro-Palestinian protesters.
“A visa is not a right but a privilege, and that privilege, once abused, should be revoked,” Torres posted on X.
Coming up: Democrats will gather this weekend to pick the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
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💡Perspectives:
• Slow Boring: Throw Biden under the bus.
• The Hill: Trump earned his title, but his mandate claims are a myth.
• The Liberal Patriot: Trump’s rational executive order on sex and gender.
• The Washington Post: Why Trump’s first moves in office have been so scary.
• New York: Why a divided America needs a ‘Deep State’.
• USA Today: Media did Biden’s bidding. Now they freak out over Trump.
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The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday despite inflation ticking up over the past three months.
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President Trump appealed his New York hush money criminal conviction and brought on a new team of attorneys to represent him.
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American children are getting worse at reading, with new national test scores showing a continued slide.
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RFK Jr. defends shifting views on vaccines, abortion
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his shifting views on vaccines and abortions in a fiery Senate hearing Wednesday, as he seeks to be confirmed as President Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.
Democrats teed off on Kennedy for his past vaccine skepticism, while protesters were tossed from the proceedings.
“Frankly, you frighten people,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Kennedy.
Later, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) displayed a picture of a baby clothes emblazoned with “Unvaxxed Unafraid” sold through a group Kennedy founded.
Kennedy repeatedly downplayed his past skepticism, or said his remarks had been taken out of context.
“New reports have claimed I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am not,” Kennedy said, adding, “my children are vaccinated.”
“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people [from getting vaccinated],” he said.
Kennedy is also on defense against some conservative groups for his pro-abortion views.
On Wednesday, Kennedy said he’s found common ground with Trump on the issue and that his sole job will be to implement the president’s policies.
“I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion … I serve at the pleasure of the president, I’m going to implement his policies.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) accused Kennedy of being a “sellout” for claiming to have shifted his views on abortion.
Perhaps the most important line of questioning came from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a doctor and vaccine advocate who is undecided on Kennedy’s nomination.
Cassidy quizzed Kennedy on Medicaid, leading Kennedy to make several misstatements about the program, which provides taxpayer-funded health care to about 80 million people.
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Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, had his moment in the spotlight in the Senate:
• Lutnick promised “across the board” tariffs.
• He said he has “no interest” in breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• He slammed China for allegedly using U.S.-manufactured technology to launch its AI startup DeepSeek. He said he has a very “jaundiced view” on China and promised to be “very strong on that.”
• The Cantor Fitzgerald CEO became emotional discussing the more than 650 employees he lost during the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City.
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• Two more marquee hearings are set for Thursday:
Tulsi Gabbard will get a hearing in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee to be Trump’s director of national intelligence. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is on the committee and has signaled she may oppose Gabbard’s nomination. If Collins joins all Democrats in opposition, it could prevent Gabbard from making it out of committee.
Kash Patel will face the Senate in his bid to lead the FBI. Senate Republicans are facing pressure from former GOP officials to oppose Patel, arguing that he’s “motivated by revenge” in his efforts to overhaul the agency. Democrats are demanding to see special counsel Jack Smith‘s report on the classified documents case against Trump, saying it may hold relevant information about Patel.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has agreed to additional exemptions following Trump’s federal freeze on loans, grants and foreign aid. The Associated Press reports Rubio will allow for continued spending on “humanitarian programs that provide life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance.”
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suspended deportation protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., reversing an extension put in place by the Biden administration.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to rescind the personal security detail and security clearance for former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley. Hegseth may also try to strip Milley, a vocal Trump critic, of one of his stars.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Pam Bondi’s nomination to be attorney general in a party-line vote.
• Newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy is looking to reverse President Biden’s regulations requiring passenger cars to be more efficient.
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💡Perspectives:
• Sasha Stone: Caroline Kennedy is why I am no longer a Democrat.
• The Hill: Why Republicans should reject RFK Jr.’s nomination.
• The Hill: Trump’s bringing corporate sleaze into DC.
• The Hill: A different discussion on disaster relief.
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Washington roundup: Netanyahu heads to Washington
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• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since President Trump won a second term.
Trump and Netanyahu will meet Feb. 4 amid a temporary ceasefire in Gaza that was struck days before President Biden left office.
Trump said in a statement that he’s looking forward to discussing how the U.S. “can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors” and how they can work together to “counter our shared adversaries.”
Netanyahu is also expected to press the U.S. for additional military aid, as his country seeks to bring home the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’s terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
• The Hill’s Emily Brooks sat for an exclusive interview with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at Trump National Doral in Miami on Tuesday. The Speaker revealed he may be able to work with Democrats on the debt ceiling.
Brooks & Mychael Schnell write: “The debt ceiling will be one of the thorniest matters Johnson will have to confront, as he works to build consensus among hard-line Republicans who are pushing for steep spending cuts, moderates weary of slashing too much federal funding, and conservatives who have never supported a debt limit hike and are not inclined to now.”
Trump has stated he wants to do away with the debt limit altogether, while Democrats have mused about using it as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations. The president also has a long list of spending demands that could be difficult to square with the House’s conservative fiscal hawks, who view the national debt as an immediate threat to the nation’s stability.
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