Latest on Trump’s presidency: Putin call on Ukraine war, federal cuts and Cabinet pick votes

House Republicans’ long-awaited budget blueprint calls for massive spending cuts, which has alarmed defenders of Medicaid and food stamps, two bedrock safety net programs for low-income Americans.

The budget resolution, which was unveiled Tuesday, is an initial step in crafting a legislative package containing President Donald Trump’s border and tax priorities.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, is tasked with finding at least $880 billion in savings over a decade, while the Agriculture Committee, which oversees food stamps, needs to come up with at least $230 billion in savings.

Democratic lawmakers and advocates quickly slammed GOP lawmakers for trying to pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy by slashing programs for vulnerable people. Two hospital industry groups, many of whose members also rely on Medicaid funding, also urged lawmakers to reject dramatic reductions to the program.

The “punishing cuts” would slash Medicaid spending by roughly 11%, said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

Republicans on the House Budget Committee last month circulated a menu of potential spending cuts, including major changes to Medicaid and food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. They include adding work requirements in Medicaid and expanding them for food stamp recipients, as well as changing the federal funding formulas for Medicaid and repealing a Biden administration boost to food stamp benefits.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order today calling for “one voice” on US foreign relations, emphasizing that foreign policy rests with the executive and calling for the secretary of state to “maintain an exceptional workforce of patriots.”

It’s the latest move from Trump that attempts to strengthen the commander-in-chief’s power, especially when it comes to federal workers implementing his policies.

The order also calls for reforming the foreign service – including recruitment, performance evaluation and retention standards – and Foreign Service Institute programs “to ensure a workforce that is committed to faithful implementation of the President’s foreign policy.”

The American Foreign Service Association said in a statement it is reviewing the order and its impact.

“Our members carry out the foreign policy initiatives of the president, regardless of party. We hope that any administration would value the expertise and knowledge of the Foreign Service, including its ability to provide advice on foreign policy matters,” the statement reads. “AFSA will always defend the integrity and non-political nature of the Foreign Service.”

The Trump administration is suing several New York state officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, over so-called “sanctuary” policies that limit the state’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday.

“This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens and Angel Moms,” Bondi said at a news conference in Washington, DC, referring to the mothers of people who are killed by undocumented immigrants.

The lawsuit was not formally entered into the court docket as of Wednesday evening, but Bondi compared it to a challenge the department filed in Illinois over that state’s sanctuary city policies.

Reactions: James said in a statement: “Our state laws, including the Green Light law, protect the rights of all New Yorkers and keep our communities safe. I am prepared to defend our laws, just as I always have.”

Avi Small, Hochul’s spokesperson, said in a statement: “Governor Hochul has been clear from day one: She supports deporting violent criminals who break our laws, believes that law-abiding families should not be targets, and will coordinate with federal authorities who have a judicial warrant. We can’t comment further on a press conference announcing a potential lawsuit that has not yet been filed in any court.”

Tomorrow: New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Trump’s border czar Tom Homan will meet for a second time to discuss immigration enforcement that will target violent migrants in the city, a City Hall spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Kayla Mamelak, spokesperson for Adams said the city is hoping to “increase collaboration across law enforcement agencies” specifically to target violent gang activity in the city. As a sanctuary city jurisdiction, New York City has laws on its books preventing the New York Police Department from cooperating in the enforcement of immigration law except in specific circumstances and some violent crimes.

Hochul has postponed until next week a meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow with President Donald Trump.

This post has been updated to reflect the status of the lawsuit and with news of Hochul’s rescheduled meeting and comments from James.

President Donald Trump is seen during Tulsi Gabbard's swearing in ceremony in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump made wide-ranging remarks on Wednesday to reporters gathered in the Oval Office.

He took questions about Russia’s war in Ukraine and his calls with both country’s leaders this morning, legal challenges facing his administration and his ongoing efforts to overhaul the federal government.

Tulsi Gabbard was also sworn in as director of national intelligence in the Oval Office by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump congratulated her on her confirmation.

Here’s what the president said:

An artillery crew of the National Police fire toward Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on January 11, 2025.

Following their phone call today, President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants the war in Ukraine to end and that he thinks there will be a ceasefire “in the not-too-distant future.”

Trump indicated he could soon meet the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia, but cautioned that no formal decision has been made. He added that Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would play a role in the discussions.

Trump also said he expects Putin will visit the US at some point during negotiations on the Ukraine war and that he will go to Russia.

Asked if he views Ukraine as an equal member of the peace process, Trump said, “Um, that’s an interesting question.”

“I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed, and I think they have to make peace. I said that was not a good war to go into. And I think they have to make peace. That’s what I think,” Trump said.

However, the president said he does not believe there is a danger of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being frozen out in the negotiation process.

Some background: The president said earlier on Wednesday that negotiations to end the Ukraine war will start “immediately” after he held a “lengthy and highly productive” telephone call with Putin. The call, which is the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last month, came as Trump makes clear to his advisers he wants to bring the Ukraine conflict to a swift end.

This post was updated with Trump’s remarks about meeting Putin in person.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice Building on Wednesday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi distanced herself from Elon Musk’s call for a “wave a judicial impeachments,” telling reporters that it was not the time for that.

Bondi added that she is confident that, as the legal process played out, higher courts — including the US Supreme Court — would reinstate the Trump administration policies that have been blocked by trial court judges.

The attorney general stressed that she supports Musk’s work in the administration and the Justice Department will support it in court.

Musk, who is running the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on X on Wednesday, “There needs to be an immediate wave of judicial impeachments, not just one.”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he agrees with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that it isn’t practical for Ukraine to join NATO.

Trump’s comments come on the heels of Hegseth saying that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end” and that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic. The new defense secretary also said the US will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the US’ own borders and deterring war with China.

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said, speaking at Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He added that any security guarantees offered to Ukraine “must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.”

President Donald Trump on Wednesday continued criticizing the judicial system for hindering his planned transformation of the federal government, but acknowledged, “I have to follow the law.”

During the Biden administration, Republicans also sought out conservative and Trump-appointed judges in search of more favorable rulings.

Trump added: “And I follow the courts. I have to follow the law, all it means is that we appeal, but that gives people time to cover their tracks, and that’s what they do. So it’s a very bad thing that’s taking place.”

“But hopefully the courts will be fair,” Trump said. “They don’t have to be very fair. They just have to be a little bit fair because this is so egregious what’s taking place.

The US Department of Education building is seen on August 21, 2024 in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he wants the Education Department to be closed “immediately.”

“Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately,” he told reporters in the Oval Office when asked when he wanted it closed.

Trump said last week he would like to close the department using an executive order but was quick to recognize he would need buy-ins from Congress and teachers’ unions to fulfill his campaign pledge to do so.

Trump did, however, sign two executive orders on school funding in January, including on school choice and ending funding for schools that support what the White House calls “radical indoctrination.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump suggested, without evidence, that Attorney General Pam Bondi should investigate federal agencies for offering kickbacks to contractors, telling reporters he planned to reveal what he described as widespread “tremendous fraud” during a news conference Thursday.

The president also defended investigations being conducted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aimed at slashing federal agency spending.

“I want to commend Elon,” he said. “He’s found more things than anybody could find. I think he’s got the credibility to do it. I know he does.”

Though Musk’s efforts have targeted spending at a wide array of agencies — including the Department of Education, United States Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — neither the White House nor Musk have revealed any evidence of fraud or “kickbacks,” as Trump has claimed.

President Donald Trump said he plans to impose reciprocal tariffs soon, telling reporters he might sign them into effect “later on, or I may do it tomorrow morning.”

“The world has taken advantage of the United States for many years,” Trump said. “They’ve charged us massive tariffs that we haven’t charged them.”

Earlier today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she expected the president to announce the reciprocal tariffs before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Thursday.

Trump previewed the action this weekend and said it could hit just about “every country.”

President Donald Trump is expected to attend a meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in Miami next week, a person familiar with the planning says.

Trump’s participation in a session of the Future Investment Initiative Institute comes amid tensions with Arab nations over his plan to take US ownership of Gaza and remove the Palestinians who are living there.

He has nonetheless maintained friendly ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who he spoke to shortly after taking office.

And he said Wednesday he expected his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to occur in Saudi Arabia sometime soon as they work to end the war in Ukraine.

Tulsi Gabbard is sworn in as Director of National Intelligence by Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday in Washington, DC.

Tulsi Gabbard was sworn this afternoon as the director of national intelligence.

She was confirmed by the Senate earlier today, making her President Donald Trump’s 14th nominee to be confirmed since January 20. Trump congratulated her after the swearing-in by Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Oval Office.

Several key swing Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Todd Young, ultimately decided to back her confirmation. GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to vote against confirming Gabbard.

One of the president’s more controversial picks, Gabbard faced concerns from several Republican senators over her lack of support for Ukraine, her shifting position on FISA Section 702 — a key surveillance and security tool — her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and her past support for Edward Snowden.

Hardline conservative Republican lawmakers met with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday to discuss the budget resolution’s spending cuts, seeking to get assurances ahead of the House Budget Committee’s markup of the resolution on Thursday.

House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, left the roughly hour-long meeting, telling CNN that he will support the budget plan “as long as we mark it up like we talked about just in there.”

“I’m encouraged by this,” Norman, who sits on the Budget Committee, said.

The House plan calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts — with a goal of $2 trillion, which if not reached would force lawmakers to cut $500 billion from their tax plans.

Norman told CNN that they discussed what happens if the resolution doesn’t meet the $2 trillion goal in cuts. He called for the resolution to include adjustments to Medicaid, floating work requirements for the health insurance program for people with low income.

Another Freedom caucus member, GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who’s also argued for more spending cuts, left the speaker’s office in a hurry, declining to answer questions about the meeting.

The Trump administration revoked more than $80 million in funds from New York City’s bank accounts Tuesday evening, most of which was allocated for hotel payments for migrants.

The federal claw back comes days after Elon Musk first threatened to revoke funds issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which had been awarded to help the city pay for migrant hotels and other services.

New York City was awarded a payment of $80.5 million from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program on February 4, but Lander said the transaction was reversed Tuesday evening in possible violation of a federal court order in Rhode Island.

That order found that the Trump administration violated the “plain text” of his earlier executive order unfreezing billions of dollars in federal aid and directed funding to be reinstated to environmental, health and other programs that had been cut off.

A spokesperson for the New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of the attorneys general challenging the federal spending freeze, said her office was reviewing the clawback.

Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for City Hall confirmed the money was seized from the city’s bank accounts and said the city’s lawyer was exploring potential litigation. City Hall’s statement stopped short of suggesting the administration was targeting the city in any way.

Instead, it said City Hall was in direct communication with the White House to resolve the issue.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over lack of access to legal services for migrants transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from the United States, requesting immediate access to those detainees.

Last week, the Trump administration began transporting migrants to the naval base on US military aircraft, a move that sparked backlash from immigrant advocates and prompted fears of prolonged detention without legal representation. Dozens of migrants who were in government custody in the US have since been sent to the facility.

Wednesday’s lawsuit seeks immediate in-person access to migrant detainees, as well as video, and telephone access. Plaintiffs include some family members of the detainees and legal organizations who want access to offer representation.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the detainees have a First Amendment right to counsel and similarly legal organizations have their own First Amendment right to meet with detainees who may want their representation.

A federal court over the weekend temporarily blocked the administration from sending three Venezuela immigrants to Guantanamo. The attorneys in that case argued that the Venezuelans fit the profile of those the administration was sending to the facility.

The administration is also facing other lawsuits over its agenda:

Executive order banning transgender girls and women in sports: Two transgender girls who attend high school in New Hampshire are challenging the administration’s executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports, according to a court filing. The teens, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, previously sued New Hampshire education officials over a state law prohibiting them from competing on girls’ sports teams at their public high schools. On Wednesday, their attorneys GLAD Law and the ACLU of New Hampshire filed an amended complaint asking the court to expand the case nationally to challenge Trump’s executive order.

Merit Systems Protection Board chair sues after firing: Cathy Harris, who was chairperson of the independent Merit Systems Protection Board, is asking the court to reinstate her to her job quickly, as the types of federal workers whose complaints she would have handled are fired across the federal government. The Merit Systems Protection Board is the primary agency for federal civil servants to lodge complaints, especially about their supervisors in the federal government. Harris says she received a one-sentence email telling her she was terminated this week. But Harris alleges she can only be removed from her office by the president if she was negligent or malfeasant, and that her 7-year term should end in 2028.

CNN’s Eric Levenson and Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.

Dr. Lawrence Tabak, Director of the National Institutes of Health, is seen during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2024.

Dr. Lawrence Tabak, longtime deputy director of the National Institutes of Health and a former acting director, retired abruptly from the agency on Tuesday.

In a brief email addressed to “Friends and Colleagues” and obtained by CNN, Tabak, who was a dentist and biomedical scientist, said his retirement was effective immediately. He didn’t give a reason for his departure, which stunned his colleagues.

In a separate email, sent Wednesday and obtained by CNN, acting NIH Director Dr. Matthew Memoli thanked Tabak and praised him for his years of service in his many roles throughout the agency.

“He has helped shape important policy decisions at NIH over four administrations,” Memoli wrote. “He has guided NIH through complex issues and will be sorely missed.”

One colleague who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak with the media described Tabak as a dedicated career public servant and said it felt unsettling not to have him there to help with continuity between administrations.

Another NIH source who asked not to be named said “people are surprised and sad” about the news.

Insiders at the agency said Wednesday that they believed the resignation was forced and that it wouldn’t have been Tabak’s preference to retire. “He’d want to be there to support leadership,” said one source, who asked not to be identified.

CNN has reached out to Tabak and the NIH.

Some context: Tabak’s resignation comes as the Trump administration planned to significantly reduce the amount it underwrites nationally at both public and private universities for funding the overhead costs of research programs.

Under the administration’s plan, funding from the NIH, known as indirect cost rates, would be capped at 15% from an average of more than 27%. Some research institutions, including Harvard, have rates higher than 60%, according to the NIH, which said in a post on X that the policy would save more than $4 billion a year.

A federal judge has blocked the effort nationwide.

CNN’s Katherine Dillinger, Katelyn Polantz and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed reporting.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has terminated contracts with multiple expert witnesses it had hired in cases against companies accused of hurting consumers, CNN has learned.

The decision to suddenly cancel the contracts suggests that the consumer watchdog no longer plans to pursue these enforcement actions under the Trump administration.

The expert witnesses requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. Another expert witness hired to pursue a case against a debt buyer told CNN they had been working on the case for several years before the termination notice on Tuesday.

“It’s pretty ludicrous,” this witness said.

The CFPB did not respond to a request for comment.

What is an expert witness? When the CFPB prepares to file a lawsuit against a company, it typically hires professors, researchers and others as experts to evaluate the evidence and testify against financial institutions. The moves come just days after CFPB leadership told employees to “stand down” on all work, including fighting financial abuse.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is reflected in the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2022.

The newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has elected President Donald Trump as its chairman.

The vote, according to the president, was unanimous.

“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social platform.

But a source familiar with the vote tells CNN that the vote was not unanimous.

There were votes of abstention and votes against the president as chair, the source said.

CNN obtained audio of a phone call Trump made to the board today. The recording does not reflect the vote.

CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.

This post was updated with details on the voting.

Read more details here about the Kennedy Center revamp

The White House alleged Wednesday a “real constitutional crisis” is brewing as judges rule against the Trump administration’s expansive actions — an attempt to flip the script on accusations that the executive branch is overstepping its legal bounds.

During the Biden administration, Republicans sought out conservative and Trump-appointed judges in search of more favorable rulings.

But the comments from Leavitt amounted to fresh evidence of the White House’s dim view of judges who have blocked or paused Trump actions.

Some officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have suggested the actions are outside constitutional bounds.

The prospect of the White House ignoring judicial orders prompted alarm bells among some constitutional scholars, which aren’t likely to quiet after Leavitt’s comments Wednesday.

“We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law,” she said, characterizing the steps as “nothing more than the continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump.”

A day earlier, Trump told reporters he would “always abide by the courts” and appeal decisions he disagreed with.

Leavitt said the White House would “also continue to seek every legal remedy to ultimately overturn these radical injunctions and ensure President Trump’s policies can be enacted.”

Rep. Chip Roy attends the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the Capitol on January 20, in Washington, DC.

House Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, on Wednesday appeared to be not on board with the GOP budget resolution, telling reporters that he had wanted more in spending cuts but that he’s open to hearing from the GOP leadership about its plans.

The House plan released Wednesday morning calls for at least $ 1.5 trillion in spending cuts — with a goal of $2 trillion, which if not reached would force lawmakers to cut $500 billion from their tax plans.

He was skeptical that the $2 trillion goal would be achieved and said that “there’s a lot of variables in this that we still got to go work out.”

“So, yeah, one and a half is lower than I want it to be. But it’s a floor, so I’m listening. But what else are they going to do?” Roy added.

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick for deputy attorney general, told lawmakers Wednesday that he does not support the release of part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the classified documents case he brought against Trump.

“Mr. Blanche, I understand everybody can say generically that they’ll follow the law. But, I’ve asked you a simple question about whether you’ll preserve evidence, and you can’t say ‘yes.’” Schiff said.

“No. I hope every single DOJ attorney, political, career, or anybody would say they would follow the rules,” Blanche responded.

Blanche, who represented Trump in both of the cases brought by Smith, as well as the New York hush money criminal case in which Trump was convicted, told Schiff he has “an attorney-client relationship with President Trump” but that “there’s no active matters” he’s currently representing Trump on.

He went on say that he didn’t think there would be a “blatant” conflict of interest at play if he was involved in the Justice Department’s review of those three cases.

From left, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Britian's Chief of Defense Admiral Sir Tony Radakinleft, Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday for ruling out the possibility that Ukraine could join NATO.

“I think giving that away proactively as a piece of negotiations going forward is a bad idea, strategically,” he told CNN.

Hegseth said in remarks before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group earlier in the day that the US “does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”

Coons, a top Democrat on the Foreign Relations committee, defended Ukraine for fighting “bravely, persistently, effectively” against Russia and pushing back “the second largest, most capable military on the planet when that war began.” He also said the Ukrainians “deserve a say about their future.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was not aware of any preconditions set for a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, after the US president announced on Wednesday that both leaders agreed to visit each other’s countries.

She added: “That doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

“I was just talking with the president and our national security team, I wasn’t made aware of any conditions, but if they exist, I’m happy to provide those,” Leavitt told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

Leavitt also said that retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, the president’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, is still part of the administration — despite Trump not listing him among those leading the negotiations between the two nations.

In November, Trump nominated Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, writing on Truth Social that, “Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

President Donald Trump spoke with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today, one day after the release of Marc Fogel from Russia.

Here are some of the most recent developments on relations between the US and Eastern European countries:

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Jennifer Hansler, Sean Lyngaas, Kit Maher, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Alayna Treene, Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards, Kaitlan Collins, Betsy Klein, Haley Britzky and Matthew Chance contributed reporting to this post.

Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen on J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington DC, on July 12, 2024.

Ten percent of FBI employees are in their probationary period and at risk of being fired, the FBI Agents Association said in a letter today to congressional leaders, urging Capitol Hill to work with President Donald Trump to protect their jobs.

Among the employees on probation are nearly 1,000 special agents, that are already involved in field operations, who have gone through extensive training and background checks at the FBI academy, a total cost of around $300,000 per agent, the letter says.

Another 2,600 analysts and professional staff are also at risk.

The letter comes amid dramatic cuts to the federal work force. CNN has reported that the Trump administration is planning widespread layoffs soon, an effort that could disproportionately affect probationary employees who are easier to terminate.

“We urge you to work with President Trump to ensure that federal personnel policies do not hinder the FBI’s mission, and that Special Agents completing their probationary periods do not face termination or placement on administrative leave solely due to their probationary status,” the letter adds.

An unnamed American citizen was released from prison in Belarus on Wednesday, top State Department officials told CNN.

The American — who was not named out of a request for his privacy — was among a group of three political prisoners who were freed. The other two included Andrei Kuznechyk, who worked for US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Alena Maushuk.

President Donald Trump had teased the release of another US citizen on Tuesday after the release of Marc Fogel from Russia.

The American, who was detained in September 2024, is the second US citizen released from Belarus under the Trump administration. Anastassia Nuhfer had been detained in December 2024 and was released in January.

Smith claimed that this “was a unilateral gesture by the Lukashenka authorities,” saying they are looking to improve ties with the US.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko “didn’t get anything for this exchange,” Smith said. “They are looking to improve their ties with us, and they’re making smart choices by releasing these Americans and other political prisoners in in order to open a political dialogue with our side.”

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US State Department “for their joint efforts in making this happen.”

Some background: Under the first Trump administration, the US had sought diplomatic rapprochement with Belarus. Those efforts were put aside after Lukashenko self-proclaimed electoral victory and massive crackdown on protesters and civil society in August 2020, which Trump administration officials condemned at the time.

Lukashenko’s government continues to detain more than a thousand political prisoners, and the US has hit Belarus with a slew of sanctions for its support of Russia’s war against Ukraine and its crackdown on civil society.

CNN’s Christian Edwards contributed reporting to this post, which was updated with the statement from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

President Donald Trump’s promised reciprocal tariffs will be announced before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Thursday, the White House said Wednesday, after the president previewed the planned action this weekend.

Asked whether the tariffs would be announced prior to Modi’s visit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “I do believe it will come before the prime minister’s visit tomorrow, and I will let the president discuss the details on the reciprocal tariff front, but this is something he believes strongly in.”

Trump said on Sunday that reciprocal tariffs could hit just about “every country” and would be on top of a 10% across-the-board tariff that went into effect last week on top of other tariffs on Chinese goods and stricter 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum he announced Monday.

Leavitt said Wednesday the move would be aimed at matching existing tariffs on American goods.

What other officials have said: White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNN that “there’s a lot of development going on” and there was “no hard news to announce right at this moment” on reciprocal tariffs. He declined to say when to expect the president to impose them.

Hassett’s words mirrored those of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who told CNN’s on Tuesday that government officials are taking the time to study and uncover what they deem instances of unfair trade policies.

CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald contributed reporting to this post.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key Senate swing vote, announced in a post on X that she will support Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Alaska lawmaker said that Kennedy “has made numerous commitments to me and my colleagues, promising to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research.”

In a lengthy post, Murkowski wrote, “I intend to support Robert Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during an interview with Reuters in Kyiv on February 7.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with US President Donald Trump on the phone Wednesday — a conversation that occurred after Trump talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said in an earlier Truth Social post that he was going to inform Zelensky of his conversation with the Russian leader.

Trump said the call with Zelensky “went very well,” according to a readout posted to social media.

The call between Zelensky and Trump lasted for about an hour, according to Sergii Nykyforov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian president.

Zelensky said in a social media post he had a “meaningful conversation” with Trump, and he is working with the US president to achieve a “lasting, reliable peace” after nearly three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion. He said they also discussed Trump’s earlier call with Putin.

Trump’s call with the Russian leader: Trump and Putin talked about a variety of topics, including Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump administration officials said they hoped the exchange could portend renewed efforts to end the conflict, which is about to enter its fourth year.

Trump for weeks had been signaling his desire to speak with Putin as he works to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

Also today on Ukraine: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out membership for Ukraine in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday and said it is “unrealistic” to expect the country’s borders to revert to before the 2014 annexation of Crimea. He made the remarks before the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

This post has been updated with details about the call between Trump and Zelensky.

A key Senate Democrat is pushing for an independent watchdog investigation into the “legality and scope” of the agreement allowing Elon Musk and his aides to access sensitive or classified government information as part of their ongoing work for to reduce the size of the federal workforce, according to a new letter obtained by CNN.

The letter from Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, specifically asks the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Trump administration’s move to designate Musk and his associates as “special government employees,” noting the title does not afford them “carte blanche access to government data and servers.”

The letter from Murphy underscores how Musk’s actions have stirred a five-alarm fire among Democrats in Congress, with Republicans far more muted in their response.

The GAO has already agreed to a separate request from Senate Democrats to investigate the Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency’s access to the US Treasury payment system, a GAO spokesperson told CNN.

Baxter said she did not have a timeline for when the GAO probe would be complete.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon — the ranking members on the banking and finance committees, respectively — last week asked GAO to investigate what information DOGE members had accessed at the Treasury’s payment system and whether Trump political appointees had pressured career officials to grant that access.

Mindful of that scrutiny and attention on Musk — from Congress, to the courts, to the citizenry — President Donald Trump summoned him to answer questions from the Oval Office on Tuesday where he assured there would be transparency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a documents signing ceremony with in Moscow, Russia, on January 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Donald Trump to visit Moscow during his call with the US president on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

During the call, Putin “expressed readiness” to receive American officials and supported Trump’s assertion that the time has come for both countries to “work together,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said that Trump had expressed his desire to put an end “to hostilities in Ukraine as soon as possible.”

Barack Obama was the last US president to visit Russia, when he attended the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg in 2013.

An in-person meeting yesterday: United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met privately with Putin while in Moscow on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.

When asked by CNN on Wednesday if he had met with Putin, Witkoff replied, “That’s for the president to comment on.” He added that Putin pardoned Marc Fogel and “had to approve it,” noting his direct involvement in the American prisoner’s release from Russia.

Earlier, when CNN asked who Witkoff met with on the ground in Russia, Witkoff pointed to a man named Kirill. Sources with knowledge of the exchange said he was referring to Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close Putin ally. Both Dmitriev and the Russian Direct Investment Fund are under US sanction.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 30.

The Senate voted 53-47, on party lines, to break a filibuster on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, paving the way for a confirmation vote on Thursday morning at the latest.

Absent a time agreement with Democrats, the Senate will vote on Kennedy confirmation 7 a.m. ET on Thursday. At that time, they will also vote to break a filibuster on Howard Lutnick’s nomination to be Secretary of Commerce.

With several key swing Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Bill Cassidy, saying that they will back Kennedy’s nomination, he is expected to be confirmed.

The Senate voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence earlier today.

Correction: An earlier version of this post included the wrong description for the department that Kennedy has been nominated to run, which is Health and Human Services.

Sen. Mitch McConnell arrives for a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the Capitol on January 24.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, after voting against Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be director of national intelligence, said he did not vote for her because she has “a history of alarming lapses in judgment.”

The former Senate majority leader outlined key responsibilities of the director of national intelligence, including managing the nation’s secrets. McConnell said he felt that Gabbard “failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust.”

“Beginning today, the brave men and women of America’s intelligence community will turn to Director Gabbard for principled leadership and sounder judgment in the service of America’s interests and national security. I join all of them in hoping that she rises to the immense responsibilities of her office,” McConnell said in the statement.

Senate Democrats praised McConnell for breaking with his party on Wednesday and voting against Gabbard’s nomination to be director of national intelligence.

Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont said he’s “impressed” with McConnell, saying the Kentucky Republican chose correctly between loyalty to Trump or to national security. “A lot of my Republican colleagues are very loyal to Trump and fearful of straying,” he added.

McConnell also joined his Republican colleagues Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in voting against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month.

This post has been updated with reactions from Democratic senators to McConnell’s vote.

Tulsi Gabbard testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, in Washington, DC.

The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Donald Trump’s director of national security. Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted with Democrats against her confirmation.

Gabbard will be sworn in at the White House later Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She is Trump’s 14th nominee to be confirmed since January 20th.

Gabbard, one of the president’s more controversial picks, faced concerns from several Republican senators over her lack of support for Ukraine, her shifting position on FISA Section 702 — a key surveillance and security tool — her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and her past support for Edward Snowden.

Several key swing Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Todd Young, ultimately decided to back her confirmation. McConnell was the only Republican to vote against confirming Gabbard.

On Monday night, Murkowski acknowledged in a statement that she still had “concerns about certain positions [Gabbard] has previously taken,” but added that Gabbard “brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended Gabbard’s nomination in a speech on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, in which he highlighted her military service and focused on her promise to “rightsize” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “I am glad that Ms. Gabbard plans to focus on identifying and eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies to restore the office to what it was originally designed to be,” he said.

He also said that he was “glad to hear” Gabbard refer to FISA Section 702 as essential, after Gabbard seemed to go back and forth on her position on the issue.

This post has been updated with more reporting on the vote on Gabbard’s nomination. CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Donald Trump had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday morning, marking the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last month. It came a day after Russia released an American imprisoned in the country.

Trump administration officials said they hoped the exchange could portend renewed efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, which is about to enter its fourth year.

In a readout of the conversation posted on Truth Social, Trump said, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects.”

Trump for weeks had been signaling his desire to speak with Putin as he works to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

“A single can change the course of history,” Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close Putin ally, told CNN’s Matthew Chance.

“Today, the leaders of the U.S. and Russia have possibly opened a door to a future shaped by cooperation, not confrontation,” Dmitriev said.

Dmitriev had met with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on the ground during his efforts to return the detained American teacher Marc Fogel from Russia, sources with knowledge of that exchange said

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, hadn’t spoken to his Russian counterpart in nearly three years.

The Wednesday call lasted for nearly 90 minutes, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the two leaders discussed the exchange of Russian and American citizens “among other topics.” He called the conversation “quite positive and constructive.”

CNN’s Fred Pleitgen, Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards, Matthew Chance and Michael Rios contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with additional reporting about the call and with comments from the Kremlin.

Sen. Mitch McConnell arrives for the Senate Republicans' lunch in the Capitol on on January 21.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voted against confirming Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.

The Republican from Kentucky also voted against Pete Hegseth’s confirmation for secretary of the Department of Defense last month.

The vote is ongoing. Senators’ votes are not official until the gavel falls.

President Donald Trump said he would announce new reciprocal tariffs as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, but thus far he’s made no such announcement. And there may not be one for some time either.

“We had a discussion today” regarding reciprocal tariffs, he added, but declined to definitively say when we could expect to see the president enact tariffs. “The President has a clear view on what he wants, but we’ll see how it all works out,” Hassett said.

Hassett’s words mirrored those of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who told CNN’s Pamela Brown on Tuesday that government officials are taking the time to first study and uncover what they deem instances of unfair trade policies.

Sen. John Curtis arrives for Secretary of Transportation nominee Sean Duffy's confirmation hearing in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on January 15.

Freshman GOP Sen. John Curtis of Utah, who had expressed concerns with Tulsi Gabbard, just voted for her confirmation as director of national intelligence.

The vote on Gabbard’s nomination is underway now on the Senate floor.

Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 30.

The Senate is now voting to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence.

In remarks on the chamber’s floor before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked his Republican colleagues to reconsider confirming Gabbard for the Cabinet position.

“I plead with my colleagues, I know it is the last minute, to think twice, to vote no, as we all will vote, because this is such an awful nomination who will endanger our national security and our intelligence operations throughout the country and the world,” Schumer said.

During her confirmation hearing, the former Democrat faced questions from several Republicans about her views on Russian aggression, US government surveillance and National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

Repeatedly, Gabbard defaulted to an answer that Snowden had “broken the law,” but she declined to say whether his actions amounted to treason.

But, some Republicans who left the hearing with concerns have since supported her nomination. GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote, said Monday she would vote to confirm Gabbard. Murkowski noted that she still has “concerns about certain positions she has previously taken,” but added that Gabbard “brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role.”

Another key vote, Republican Sen. Susan Collins said last week she was “satisfied” with Gabbard’s answers on Snowden and said she believes the nominee is “committed to strengthening our national security.”

After Gabbard is confirmed, the Senate is expected to vote to break a filibuster on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer and Haley Talbot contributed reporting to this post. This post has been updated with Schumer’s remarks.

About 14,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested since Donald Trump’s inauguration, the president’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in an interview on 77 WABC radio Tuesday.

Border crossings are also down 92% during the same period, Homan added.

“We got the border locked down pretty good. So we got some more work to do,” Homan said. “We’re not done, but the borders are looking really good.”

Border crossings were already down dramatically in the past year under the Biden administration.

Homan did not break down who were charged with crimes among the 14,000 arrested but said there is a “vast majority of criminal histories” and added “we do have some collaterals.” CNN has reached out to ICE and HIS for more details on the arrest numbers.

According to Homan, the US has more than 600,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal histories.

Homan said he is traveling to New York City on Thursday to meet with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss cooperation from New York police.

“We’ll see what he says, and I’m hoping we come into agreement where his officers can help my officers and removing these public safety threats,” Homan said. This meeting comes just days after the DOJ ordered prosecutors to drop the federal corruption charges against Adams.

New York is a sanctuary city with policies in place that limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions.

CNN has reached out to New York City Hall for details of the meeting.

President Donald Trump “reiterated” that Hamas must release all the hostages in his Tuesday meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, according to a White House readout of the meeting.

As CNN had previously reported, the president made no attempt to soften his proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza and redevelop the land into premium housing as he met King Abdullah II of Jordan. In a social media post after the meeting, Abdullah said Jordan has a “steadfast position” against displacing Palestinians.

Per the White House readout, the two leaders also “discussed the President’s goal of ensuring that Gaza is rebuilt beautifully after the conflict ends” and “providing options for the people of Gaza that allow them to live in security and dignity, and free of Hamas’s tyranny.”

Eight inspectors general whom Donald Trump fired from their federal agency watchdog posts are suing for their jobs back, adding to the legal scrutiny over the president’s first weeks of decisions in the White House and raising questions about his political intentions.

They say Trump shouldn’t have been able to fire them in late January without first notifying Congress. They also say the White House ignored regulations around their removals that existed to protect them from political interference and retribution.

The lawsuit is the latest among more than four dozen filed in federal courts to challenge swift, early executive actions by the Trump administration. Many of the lawsuits, like Wednesday’s, allege that Trump’s White House is depriving Congress of some of its power. The inspector generals case adds to a pile of challenges from government workers the Trump administration has removed from various posts — especially those in independent or non-political roles.

The dismissals also raise questions over Trump and temporary government adviser Elon Musk’s adversarial approach to existing, long-established federal corruption watchdogs, at a time Trump and Musk are dismantling parts of the government, citing in part a desire to root out corruption.

Read more about the lawsuit.

House GOP leaders on Wednesday put forward a budget blueprint that — if approved by both chambers — would unlock the first step of Donald Trump’s massive border and tax bill, while also teeing up trillions of dollars in cuts to government programs and raising the debt limit for roughly two years.

The plan would allow for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts as well as $300 billion in new spending on border and military programs, while calling for trillions of dollars in cuts to government programs like Medicaid.

“This will unlock the process and get us moving, so we’re excited about it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

How we got here: The measure is the result of weeks of haggling between Johnson and GOP hardliners, and includes an ambitious target of cutting $2 trillion in mandatory spending within a decade designed to win over conservative support. Because Trump has said he would not touch Social Security or Medicare, much of those savings are expected to come from Medicaid — the government’s third largest mandatory program.

It also includes $4 trillion to raise the debt limit, which amounts to roughly two years.

Separately, House GOP committees are tasked with cutting $1.6 trillion over 10 years, which will help offset the $4.5 trillion worth of spending on Trump’s tax cuts and $300 billion for Trump’s border and deportation plans between the Homeland Security, the Armed Services committees and the Judiciary Committee committees, combined.

Next steps: The measure now heads for a markup by the House Budget Committee on Thursday. GOP leaders are aiming for a floor vote the final week of February, since the House is not in session next week. Multiple GOP sources said it’s not yet certain if the resolution will pass that committee, as members continue to pore over the details of the 45-page resolution.

Johnson told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday that he believes the budget resolution will pass the House by the end of the month.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff offered some behind-the-scenes insight into efforts to return wrongfully-detained American teacher Marc Fogel from Russia.

Asked whom he met with on the ground to work on Fogel’s release, Witkoff pointed to a man named Kirill. Sources with knowledge of the exchange said he was referring to Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close Vladimir Putin ally. Both Dmitriev and the RDIF are under US sanction.

President Donald Trump was being briefed, Witkoff said, “All the time — and when we determined that we were close, he said, let’s get over there and see if we can finish it.”

Upon his arrival on the ground in Russia, Witkoff said, “there was still work to do.”

He said he received a call that Fogel was going to be at the airport, and called Trump, whom he described as “delighted.”

Witkoff was on the ground in Russia for six to seven hours total, he said. He also pointed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “instrumental” toward Fogel’s release.

More broadly, Witkoff pointed to the release as “an indication of what the possibilities are” for the future of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Pressed repeatedly on whether he spoke with Putin, he declined to say. Witkoff also declined to say who is being released in exchange for Fogel.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Riane Lumer contributed reporting to this post.

President Donald Trump responded to judges who ruled to block or pause several of his recent actions as he works to enact his agenda.

Trump claimed fraudulent actions, waste, and incompetence have been identified by his Department of Government Efficiency or “DOGE” in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, and argued however, that a judge wants the administration to “immediately make payment.”

Trump criticized a “highly political, activist judge” and expressed frustration, stating that it doesn’t make sense to proceed with payment under these conditions.

The comments come as Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and other top administration officials have attacked judges who have blocked some of the president’s second term orders.

Elon Musk lashed out the judge, calling him “corrupt” and posting to X: “He needs to be impeached NOW!” Vance also posted over the weekend, questioning the judicial branch’s authority to block Trump’s orders.

Latest legal moves: The courts have so far moved to halt Trump’s attempts to end birthright citizenship, freeze federal grants and loans, and gut government agencies like USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. One judge has also moved to prevent DOGE officials from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system.

Just on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order instructing DOGE to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers.

The exterior of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Headquarters is seen on Monday in Washington, DC.

Dozens of probationary employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) received termination notices Tuesday night, people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The mass terminations come as the Trump administration has virtually paralyzed the consumer watchdog, with CFPB employees ordered to “stand down” from all work, including fighting financial abuse.

In a sign of how chaotic the transition has been at the CFPB, multiple probationary employees received termination notices that appeared unfinished, one source said.

Instead of containing specific information about the given employees, the notices viewed by CNN said: “[EmployeeFirstName] [EmployeeLastName], [JobTitle], [Division].”

A pair of career CFPB officials resigned on Tuesday, citing the order from senior officials to cease all work.

Todd Blanche looks on during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City on September 6, 2024.

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick for deputy attorney general, will face lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday as Trump’s former criminal lawyer seeks to become the second-in-command at the Justice Department.

The confirmation hearing is set to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, has represented Trump in the New York state case that resulted in conviction last year and in both federal cases brought by the Justice Department.

Senate grilling: He is expected to face tough questions about the Justice Department, which is currently facing a crisis as the rank-and-file believe the Trump administration is trying to purge agents and prosecutors who are not loyal to Trump. If confirmed, Blanche would oversee Justice Department’s more than 100,000 employees and run daily operations.

He will also face questions about the Trump administration’s losing record in court and why the department has not been able to successfully defend the president’s policies across dozens of court challenges.

Blanche will be pressed to articulate how he will handle pressure from the president, his longtime client, as Trump is known to press his Justice Department officials and has fired top officials who have not complied with his orders.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out membership for Ukraine in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday and said it is “unrealistic” to expect the country’s borders to revert to before the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Hegseth also vowed that no US troops would deploy to Ukraine as part of any security agreement, and that security guarantees “should not be provided through NATO membership.”

“To be clear,” he added, “as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine.”

He also echoed calls by President Donald Trump for allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP, instead of 2%.

“Members of this contact group must meet the moment … 2% is not enough,” he said. “President Trump has called for 5%, and I agree. Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future, a down payment, as you said, Mr. Secretary, of peace through strength.”

Watch Hegseth’s remarks below:

Recent court orders slowing down or indefinitely blocking President Donald Trump’s policy blitz have raised the specter that the executive branch might openly flout the federal judiciary and prompted questions about how judges would respond.

Any decision by the administration to defy federal courts would immediately implicate profound constitutional questions about separation of powers that have kept each branch of the government in check for centuries. That’s in large part because it would test the power of courts to enforce rulings that are supposed to be the final word.

Legal experts say there are few options to force compliance with its pronouncements. Judges could hold an agency or official in civil or criminal contempt – but that’s about it.

Fears that the Trump administration might deliberately break into a pattern of not following judicial rulings with which it disagrees were amplified earlier this week when a federal judge in Rhode Island, for the second time, told the Trump administration it can’t cut off grant and loan payments after Democratic-led states complained that the administration wasn’t obeying the judge’s previous court order.

A day earlier, Vice President JD Vance also created a storm of criticism when he questioned in a post on X whether courts can block any of Trump’s agenda. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” he wrote in part.

To be sure, such talk at the moment is just that, talk. And at the moment, the Justice Department has taken the usual approach of appealing to a higher court on preliminary injunctions that have blocked various executive actions.

Keep reading here about how federal judges could respond.

President Donald Trump will sign executive orders in the Oval Office at 2:30 p.m. ET, according to a news release from the White House.

Additionally, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a briefing at 1 p.m. ET, the release said.

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump and Musk's son listen on Tuesday.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is now leading a sweeping effort to reshape the federal government, offered the most sustained defense of his far-reaching moves during a question-and-answer session in the Oval Office late Tuesday.

As President Donald Trump watched from his seat at the Resolute Desk, Musk — who stood a few feet away, wearing a long black coat and accompanied by his 4-year-old son, X — denied that his extensive business dealings with the government amounted to conflicts of interest in his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency.

Here’s what else was said during the Oval Office Q&A:

Federal workers:

Both men touted their aggressive efforts to downsize and remake the federal government, saying American voters sent Trump to the White House to reform the workings of Washington. Trump has dismissed government watchdogs, or inspectors general, at agencies across the city, raising myriad oversight questions.

Musk said he is interested in investigating federal employees with high salaries. He accused staffers of “getting wealthy at taxpayer expense” and said he wants to look into it.

Also, Trump vowed that federal workers who opt to accept the government’s deferred resignation offer will “get their money” when asked whether he could “personally guarantee” that workers who opt to resign will be paid through September.

Gaza: Musk conceded that “some of the things that I say will be incorrect” when he was asked about claims made on his social platform, X, and by the White House about condoms being sent to Gaza. It’s a remarkable concession from the world’s richest man — who bought the social media platform Twitter, now known as X, in 2022 and posts many updates to his more than 217 million followers on the site.

Comments on the courts: Trump on Tuesday complained about the judges who ruled to block several of his recent actions as he works to enact his agenda.

“Any court that would say that the president or his representatives — like secretary of the treasury, secretary of state, whatever — doesn’t have the right to go over their books and make sure everything’s honest… I mean, how can you have a country? You can’t have anything that way. You can’t have a business that way. You can’t have a country that way,” Trump said.

Also, Trump said he will “always abide by the courts,” after reporters asked if he’d follow a judge’s ruling if it blocked one of his administration’s policy priorities.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Tami Luhby contributed reporting to this post.

Two hearings scheduled Wednesday morning in cases challenging moves by the Trump administration were rescheduled for Thursday.

A hearing in a case concerning Trump’s reversal of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “sensitive places” memo – which had barred immigration in sensitive places like churches – has been rescheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday in Maryland’s federal court in Greenbelt.

The hearing in the case challenging the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been moved to 11 a.m. ET Thursday in the Washington, DC, federal court.

US District Judge Carl Nichols, an appointee of Trump, is set to consider a request for a preliminary injunction from unions representing USAID workers that would prevent the administration from shuttering the aid agency while their lawsuit seeking to save it plays out.

Remember: Last Friday, Nichols ordered the administration to halt its plans to put at least 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave and required the agency to temporarily reinstate hundreds of other workers who had already been suspended — handing a temporary, but meaningful, win to the unions in their case.

This post has been updated with new details on the hearings being postponed. CNN’s Devan Cole contributed reporting to this post.

A Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday morning finds President Donald Trump beginning his second term with ratings slightly underwater, and views of his early actions ranging from wide support to broad opposition. The poll was conducted in the last week of January and the first week of February.

Marquette’s survey finds Trump beginning his second term with 48% of US adults approving of his job performance and 52% disapproving, nearly identical to his 47% approval rating in a Pew Research Center survey released last week and conducted over a similar timeframe. A CBS/YouGov poll, conducted last week and released Sunday, found more support for Trump, with 53% approving of his job performance.

The Marquette Law School poll finds that about 47% of Americans have both positive and negative things to say about Trump, with 14% having only positive comments, and 36% only negative things to say.

In the survey, most support “deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries” (60% say they favor this, with 40% opposed), but that flips to majority opposition among Americans asked about deportations of immigrants “even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs, and no criminal record” (57% are opposed, with 43% in favor).

More on the poll: The Marquette Law School poll surveyed 1,018 US adults on January 27-Febuary 5, using a nationally representative online panel. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.5 percentage points.

Two senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were reassigned this week amid mounting pressure from the White House to ramp up arrests of undocumented immigrants, according to two sources familiar with the move.

ICE staff were informed Tuesday that the top officials in the agency’s enforcement division, Russell Hott and Peter Berg, had been reassigned, the sources said. Todd Lyons, the top ICE official in Boston, is expected to assume the post as acting head of ICE enforcement and removal operations.

More context: Tensions between the White House and ICE have heightened in recent weeks. CNN previously reported that senior Trump officials have expressed frustration with ICE in calls for not meeting its marks.

President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan confirmed those frustrations Tuesday, telling reporters he was not satisfied with the number of arrests made by immigration authorities in the US.

More than 8,000 people have been arrested by federal immigration authorities since Trump’s inauguration. ICE has stopped posting daily arrest numbers.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national Intelligence, arrives to testify during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Senate GOP leaders announced the confirmation vote for Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence will now take place at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday after heavy snow impacted the Washington, DC, area.

During her confirmation hearing, the former Democrat faced questions from several Republicans about her views on Russian aggression, US government surveillance and NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

Repeatedly, Gabbard defaulted to an answer that Snowden had “broken the law,” but she declined to say whether his actions amounted to treason.

But, some Republicans who left the hearing with concerns have since supported her nomination. GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote, said Monday she would vote to confirm Gabbard. Murkowski noted that she still has “concerns about certain positions she has previously taken,” but added that Gabbard “brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role.”

Another key vote, Republican Sen. Susan Collins said last week she was “satisfied” with Gabbard’s answers on Snowden and said she believes the nominee is “committed to strengthening our national security.”

After Gabbard is confirmed, the Senate will vote to break a filibuster on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Here’s a look at the Cabinet picks that have been confirmed so far:

Jordan and Egypt have stood firm in the face of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Arab countries to take in displaced Palestinians ahead of the US taking ownership of Gaza and redeveloping it, repeating their long-held positions on the enclave.

A week after laying out his brazen aim to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump on Tuesday reiterated the proposal, even as his guest in the Oval Office, King Abdullah II of Jordan, suggested the Arab world was opposed.

The deal would involve Jordan and Egypt accepting millions of new Palestinian refugees despite both countries consistently rejecting the idea.

“We cannot afford any more refugees. We’re the largest per capita host of refugees in the region,” the kingdom’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi told CNN’s Erin Burnett after the meeting, adding: “35% of our population are refugees.”

Some context: Jordan hosts more than 700,000 refugees from neighboring countries and about 2.4 million registered Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations. More than half of its inhabitants are of Palestinian descent, and the country’s demography would be transformed by another influx.

Abdullah said that another plan will be put forward by Egypt and other Arab nations and that discussions are being planned by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

Under a yet-to-be-announced Egyptian plan for the war-torn enclave’s reconstruction, Cairo said Tuesday that Palestinians would remain in Gaza.

Egypt’s foreign ministry said any solution to the crisis in the Middle East must address the root causes of the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians “by ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and implementing the two-state solution as the only path to stability and coexistence among the region’s peoples.”

Elon Musk’s Oval Office address showed why he’s a menacing foe for the federal government and why President Donald Trump is playing with fire by ceding him so much power.

A portrait of George Washington gazed from the wall as his distant presidential successor put on a show with his billionaire friend Tuesday afternoon. Musk, in a black MAGA hat, long dark coat and with his son X sometimes perched on his shoulders, was framed by an ornate window as snow floated down outside.

The pair made their strongest defense yet of Musk’s operation to purge the federal government, which is imperiling basic services and medical research and desecrating the world’s largest foreign aid mission that has saved millions.

Musk’s claims of spending abuses and frivolous programs were likely well received by the millions of Americans who view the Washington swamp with deep suspicion and welcome Trump’s onslaught on the government that he leads.

But the show was about more than a bid to tamp down growing political consternation over Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

It was an unmistakable statement that true power in Washington lies not with the Congress or the courts, but somewhere in the rich mix of egos between the world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest person.

And no one should miss this: Trump was immovably installed behind the Resolute Desk, as Musk stood to his right – in a rebuke of a Time Magazine cover that showed the Tesla chief in the seat where the buck stops.

Even so, there was just a sense, a couple of times, that Trump was distracted by X’s fidgeting. And the glibness and sense of impunity radiating off Musk – who is neither elected nor confirmed by Congress – was striking as he dominated a room that is sacred to American democracy.

There’s rarely been a more vivid demonstration of great wealth bringing great power.

Read the full analysis.