Trump hosts Black History Month event at White House with Tiger Woods: Live updates

Approximately 45 percent of people said they think Trump has the correct priorities focusing on immigration, tariffs and directing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a poll from CNN and SSRS.

Still, 55 percent of survey respondents said Trump is ignoring the country’s largest issues.

Ariana Baio looks at the numbers.

Donald Trump thanks Republican senators for their work on the border agenda in a post on Truth Social:

Thank you to Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, for working so hard on funding the Trump Border Agenda. We are setting records, the likes of which have never been seen before, on stopping criminal illegals aliens from entering our Country. Put simply, we are delivering for the American People, far faster and, more successfully, than anyone thought possible. Your work on funding this effort is greatly appreciated!

Today, the Senate began debating a Republican bill to advance Trump’s priorities on immigration, energy, and defense, even after he urged them to scrap that effort in favor of a House bill that would also include trillions of dollars in tax cuts.

This week, the president firmly supported the House of Representatives Republicans’ plan for one sweeping bill. Backers of that plan fear that passing an immigration bill first could diminish their chances of extending $4.5 trillion in tax cuts in the House, where his party holds a narrow and fractious 218-215 majority.

Senate Republicans stated that they would still move forward, aiming to circumvent Democratic opposition in that chamber and achieve an early legislative victory for Trump.

Democrats do not have the votes to block the bill, but they have pledged to oppose it for as long as possible — potentially in a marathon session that extends into Friday — while accusing Republicans of betraying American families to favor the wealthy with tax breaks.

Steve Bannon says, “The future of MAGA is Donald Trump,” and chants: “We want Trump in ‘28.”

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon says he has spoken to RIc Grenell, and the January 6 choir of defendants will play the Kennedy Center with their families in the “elite” seats.

He continued: “They stole the 2020 election! Is there any doubt in your mind that they stole the 2020 election? They stole it! And they know they stole it! They thought you were finished!… and the reason the J6ers are here & they’re patriots is because that was a Fed-surrection totally set up by the FBI.”

Bannon added: “They stole it. The system is so big, so corrupt, so powerful … fix bayonets, we’re charging again. That is why Kash Patel is director of the FBI! That is why Bobby Kennedy is the head of HHS! That is why Tulsi Gabbard is at DNI! That is why Pete Hegseth is in the Pentagon! Fix bayonets!”

There is no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.

A federal judge has refused to block the Trump administration’s sudden cessation of funding for the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program, marking a setback for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Judge Trevor McFadden denied the bishops’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have reinstated the funding but described his ruling as “very tentative.”

Appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, McFadden also directed both parties to attend a mediation session with a federal magistrate judge next week.

“A temporary restraining order is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly,” he stated.

The bishops are asking him to prevent the U.S. State Department from enforcing a January 24 suspension of millions of dollars in aid, arguing it has impacted nearly 7,000 newly arrived refugees.

With reporting from the AP

The Trump administration can continue its mass firings of federal employees for now, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, rejecting a bid by a group of labor unions to halt President Donald Trump’s dramatic downsizing of the roughly 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., said Trump’s onslaught of executive actions in his first month in office have caused “disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.” But he said he likely lacks the power to decide whether the firing of tens of thousands of government workers is lawful.

The unions are instead likely required to file complaints with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which hears disputes between federal agencies and unions that represent their workers, Cooper said. Trump last week fired the Democratic chair of the three-member panel, who has filed a lawsuit seeking to be reinstated.

The doge of DOGE Elon Musk is being interviewed at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor.

Here are some highlights:

Yes, that’s Argentine President Javier Milei who gave him the chainsaw.

Musk spoke about one of his new obsessions, whether the nation’s gold is still at Fort Knox.

A full report will follow…

John Bowden writes:

It was a triumphant return for the right wing of Republican Party politics, long represented over the party’s DC establishment at the three-day event. But with many of the Republican electeds on Capitol Hill and their allies in the White House aligned firmly with the MAGA, “America First” agenda, CPAC was once again a homecoming for what Senator Jim Banks called onstage the “new right” of American politics.

Of their enemies, the Indiana senator declared: “That Republican Party is dead. We have no time for wimpy Republicans.”

Continue reading…

Reuters reports that U.S. and Russian participants have met quietly in Switzerland for unofficial discussions regarding the Ukraine war in recent months, including as recently as last week.

The agency cites three sources with knowledge of the matter, who described the talks as a side channel, with some contacts taking place during the transition period following President Donald Trump’s election victory on November 5.

While the attendees have diplomatic and security experience, they are not government officials, and it was not clear if any were sent by their governments, two of the sources said. The sources declined to identify the attendees.

One source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that at least a few of Trump’s advisers are aware of the encounters.

Many other details remain unclear, including the agendas of the meetings, the presence of Ukrainians, and the start times of the encounters.

Donald Trump’s administration is jailing 178 Venezuelan immigrants at a high-security U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but nearly one-third of detainees are considered “lower-threat” and likely do not have any serious criminal records, according to court filings.

Alex Woodward reports.