Trump Administration Presents Live Updates on RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard Pass Senate Committee Votes

BBC.com

Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Trump have similar foreign policy views on terrorism, Russia, long military engagements and other matters.
When the Trump Administration reversed course and rescinded the order, Democrats took credit and hailed the reversal as proof that they and their voters had the power to influence Mr. Trump.
Despite a flurry of announcements on tariffs in recent days, neither Mr. Trump, Mr. Bessent nor Mr. Lutnick mentioned the proceeds of these tariffs as a source of funding.
“President Trump is absolutely engaged on the issue,” Mr. Waltz told reporters on Tuesday afternoon before Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu met.
Mr. Trump had pushed the idea during his first term, and Mr. Biden continued to do so after he took office.

POSITIVE

Although some Republicans have reservations about Ms. Gabbard, she was able to win over hesitant party members on the committee, such as Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who had voted against Pete Hegseth for the position of defense secretary. In addition to asking pointed questions during the confirmation hearing, Senator Todd Young of Indiana declared his support for her on social media prior to the vote.

Mrs. On Monday evening, Collins declared her support for Ms. Gabbard, stating that she agreed with her plan to reduce the office’s size and restore it to its original function of coordinating among the spy agencies. That continues to be the office’s main function, but analysts and intelligence managers also carry out independent analysis.

Over the weekend, Elon Musk also backed Ms. Gabbard, calling Mr. Young a “deep state puppet” on his social media account, X. Shortly afterward, Mr. Musk wrote that he had spoken with Mr. Young and removed the post. Tesla wrote, “I stand corrected.”. Senator Young will play a crucial role in helping the people regain control over the massive, unelected bureaucracy. “”.

Given her unconventional views and her prior experience serving as a Democratic member of the House, where she represented Hawaii, some members of Congress had believed that Ms. Gabbard’s nomination would be the most difficult of Mr. Trump’s selections.

For other nominees, however, the stakes were higher. Although they set general priorities and supervise other spy agencies, the director of national intelligence’s position is not as strong as that of the director of central intelligence. That leader manages intelligence facilities worldwide and conducts clandestine operations.

Overseeing the President’s Daily Brief, an intelligence summary compiled every morning, is arguably the most significant responsibility of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Many Republicans think Mr. Trump should have someone he can trust in that role.

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and the chairman of the committee, backed Ms. Gabbard even before her tense hearing. She then won the backing of Senator John Cornyn, a prominent caucus member and Republican from Texas.

Miss… Of all the people Mr. Trump nominated, Gabbard had one of the most challenging confirmation hearings. Democrats had the opportunity to add insults to injury in heated exchanges that emphasized her unconventional opinions as she sidestepped a number of questions that Republican lawmakers intended to be softballs or took offense at.

Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, asked what he later claimed was an easy question: Was Edward Snowden a traitor? She refused to directly respond, which allowed Colorado Democrat Senator Michael Bennet to make a strong push.

In a booming voice, Mr. Dot Bennet questioned, “Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America?”. “The answer to that question is not difficult. “”.

Senator John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, stated that he had more questions after the hearing. He told reporters, “Some of her responses, and nonresponses, created more confusion than clarity and only deepened my concerns about her judgment.”.

However, Mr. Curtis is not a member of the Intelligence Committee, whose Republican members supported her nomination.

The most heated discussions centered on Ms. Gabbard’s backing of Mr. Snowden, a former national security contractor who made classified data public, revealing what he claimed were unlawful government eavesdropping efforts.

Ms. Gabbard entered the hearing with the intention of separating herself from Mr. Snowden. However, she consistently refused to call Mr. Snowden a traitor when Democrats and Republicans tried to do so tactfully and firmly.

According to her, although Mr. Snowden’s actions were unlawful, they had exposed surveillance programs that improperly gathered data about Americans.

In reference to Mr. Snowden, who escaped the United States and is currently residing in Russia, Ms. Gabbard stated, “The truth is that even as he broke the law, he also released information that exposed egregious, illegal, and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government.”.

Mrs. Regarding Russia, terrorism, protracted military conflicts, and other issues, Gabbard and Mr. Trump share similar foreign policy opinions. However, Republicans took issue with her tolerant attitude toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and her support for the regime of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

However, during her confirmation hearing, the most heated conversations were about Mr. Snowden’s revelations.

Before the hearing, Mr. Dot Snowden urged Ms. Gabbard to condemn her previous support for him in a social media post. However, she didn’t. Additionally, he urged the lawmakers to “move on,” claiming that the National Security Agency’s actions that he exposed were unlawful and that courts had sided with Ms. Gabbard.

Former N.C. contractor Mr. Dot Snowden in 2013. A. A. . obtained access to a wealth of classified material in Hawaii. The bulk collection of American phone metadata was his most important revelation.

The first joint legislative move by the two Democratic leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, to oppose an unchecked Trump Administration was announced Tuesday. The bill would block illegal access to the Treasury Department’s secure payments system, which contains sensitive information like Social Security numbers and direct deposit details.

Republicans have shown little interest in opposing Mr. Trump or thwarting his attempts to use the legislative branch to impose his will, so the legislation, known as the “Stop the Steal Act,” is almost certain to be blocked.

Speaking of congressional Republicans, Mr. Jeffries said during a press conference on Tuesday, “They are raiding the government, trying to steal taxpayer money.”. That’s the main focus of the Treasury Department’s predicament. “.”.

Mr. Dot Jeffries announced a 10-point resistance plan on Monday, which included the bill. Days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the payment system—which manages trillions of dollars in grants, tax refunds, Social Security payments, and numerous other federal disbursements—Democrats made the announcement.

In a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, Mr. Schumer stated, “We must protect people’s Social Security payments, their Medicare payments, and their tax refunds from any possible tampering by DOGE or any other unauthorized entity.”. “Mr. I’m not a tech startup, Musk. They are government-run establishments. “”.

The backlash against DOGE’s access to the Treasury payment system comes after Mr. Schumer held a series of press conferences last week, sometimes two in one day, denouncing Mr. Trump’s efforts to disrupt the federal bureaucracy, particularly the directive to freeze all federal grants and loans. Democrats claimed credit and celebrated the reversal when the Trump Administration changed its mind and revoked the order, claiming that it demonstrated their ability to influence Mr. Trump and their supporters.

On Monday, a number of congressional Democrats planned a demonstration outside the U.S. S. headquarters of the Agency for International Development after the administration ordered workers to skip work. They were told that Mr. Musk had instructed them to keep the building locked when they attempted to enter and were refused entry. Plans for a demonstration outside the Treasury Department were announced by lawmakers later Tuesday afternoon.

On the Senate floor, members are also planning protests.

A bill introduced by Delaware Democrat and Foreign Relations Committee member Senator Chris Coons was blocked by Republicans on Monday. The bill would have reiterated that the U.S. S. . 1. Me. D. — an independent agency that Mr. Musk stated he planned to dismantle at Mr. Trump’s request — and stated that it must continue to be so in order to protect the nation’s national security interests.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich are attempting to compel a vote on a bill that would end President Trump’s national energy emergency, which they claim is merely a front to increase oil company profits.

Additionally, in an effort to protest the administration’s efforts to unilaterally defund and shut down a number of independent federal agencies, including the U.S. S. a. Me. A. and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

Mr. Schatz claimed that he had put Mr. Trump’s State Department nominees on “blanket hold” until and unless U. A. 1. I. D. was reopened as an autonomous organization. All nominees at the cabinet level would face opposition, according to Ms. Blunt Rochester.

She remarked of Mr. Trump’s nominees, “This confusion and chaos do not give me confidence that any of them will do their part to uphold the rule of law.”. “Communities in Delaware, our country, and the world have already suffered greatly as a result of the carelessness displayed early in this administration. “”.

He made the initial move on Monday. He declared in an executive order that the US government would be funding the creation of an investment vehicle or sovereign wealth fund.

The investment funds known as sovereign wealth funds are owned by a single state or government and are usually established from surpluses in the budget or from the sale of commodities like oil. In addition to a variety of other investments, these funds may indirectly support domestic industries.

According to the directive, Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, and Scott Bessent, the secretary of the Treasury, must submit a plan within ninety days. Mr. Dot Bessent stated during a press conference on Monday that the government would establish this fund within the upcoming year.

Only so far can the president and his associates carry out their plan. It is likely that a congressional act would be necessary to establish a sovereign-wealth fund that would be funded by taxpayers or other government resources.

It’s not clear exactly how the U. A. The funds would be provided by the government. Many nations, especially those in the Middle East, have substantial profits from natural resources like oil or gas to invest, even though many other nations run funds that make both domestic and foreign investments. Singapore and other nations make use of their budget surpluses.

The U.S. S. The government has had an annual budget deficit for more than 20 years and receives no substantial revenue from natural resources. Despite a flurry of tariff announcements in recent days, neither Mr. Trump, Mr. Bessent, nor Mr. Lutnick named the tariffs’ proceeds as a source of funding.

In September, Mr. Trump mentioned “money that will be taken in through tariffs” as a major source of funding, along with “other intelligent things,” in a speech at the Economic Club of New York. “.”.

The federal government owns $5.7 trillion in assets, according to a fact sheet submitted with the order by Mr. Trump’s team. The government also holds even more “indirectly, including through natural resource reserves.”. “”.

The Treasury Department’s website states that the government had $5.33 trillion as of 2023. The United States had about $922.02 billion in cash on hand, primarily for operational purposes. It contained $423 billion in so-called inventory, the majority of which came from the Department of Defense and included supplies like ammunition and tactical missiles. In addition to $1 trillion in assets such as land, buildings, structures, facilities, and software, it had $17 trillion in outstanding loans from government organizations like the Small Business Association and the Department of Education.

How those trillions of dollars could end up in a sovereign wealth fund is unknown. The U. S. . The government is expected to continue running budget deficits for a very long time because it has become more and more dependent on borrowed funds.

Mr. Lutnick hypothesized that the government might invest in TikTok or the private businesses it collaborates with. He gave the example of government support for COVID-19 vaccines. Mr. Lutnick stated, “Perhaps we should have some warrants and some equity in these companies if we are going to buy two billion Covid vaccines.”.

Globally, there are over 100 sovereign wealth funds with assets totaling more than $10 trillion. Since 2005, at least 40 sovereign funds have been established, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

In recent years, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has been one of the busier and more well-known funds. By contributing $40 billion to SoftBank’s Vision Fund, which subsequently invested in tech startups worldwide, including the struggling real estate firm WeWork, it created a noticeable impact.

According to the PIF, it managed assets worth about $925 billion.

“The Saudi Arabia fund is on the large side, but we’ll catch it eventually,” Mr. Trump said on Monday, pointing to the PIF. “.”.

According to the lawsuits, the agents and their families were in grave danger because they thought the administration planned to reveal their identities. They ask for court orders that forbid the executive branch from making the names public.

Although the Trump administration has not stated its intention to make the identities of the law enforcement officers public, its insistence on knowing the names of those involved in the cases has fueled speculation that it may take action to fire them all at once. Prosecutors at the Justice Department with experience in cases regarding President Trump or the Jan. There have been six rioters fired. The lawsuits filed on Tuesday seem to be setting the stage for a potential challenge to any mass firings that may occur.

“The threatened disclosure is obviously a prelude to an illegal F purge. B. Me. driven only by political and vindictive motives of the Trump administration,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association, in a statement. These agents and their families would be subjected to a torrent of harassment if their names were made public, and this needs to end right away. “.”.

In one of the cases, nine unnamed F. filed the case. B. . Me. Bureau staff who worked on either the Jan. six cases or the inquiry into Mr. Trump’s post-election handling of classified documents he stored at his Mar-a-Lago club and home in Florida.

The plaintiffs are F employees. A. I. who was Jan’s worker. six and/or Mar-a-Lago cases, and who have been notified that their termination is probably imminent (the week of February). 3-9, 2025) for that kind of behavior,” the complaint stated.

The final class would comprise “at least 6,000 current and former F,” it continued. A. I. employees and agents who helped look into and prosecute crimes and abuses of power committed by Donald Trump or by those working for him. “.”.

People who say they have been harmed at work are represented by the Center for Employment Justice, which is handling that case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association and seven anonymous F. were the parties to the other case. A. I. agents and workers; it is not framed as a class action lawsuit. It was submitted together with a temporary restraining order request.

The association’s attorneys are handling it, as are Mark Zaid and the State Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonpartisan organization that opposes “election sabotage and autocracy.”. “”.

The Justice Department “will soon take action against numerous F,” the agents expressed their expectation. A. Me. agents, including the specific plaintiffs listed here,” and that those “actions will lead to the disclosure of individual F’s identities.”. A. Me. agents, violating the plaintiffs’ First Amendment and due process rights by harassing them and threatening to harm them in ways that are immediate and irreversible. “”.

Dear Mr. In a letter to the Justice Department on Sunday, Zaid and two fund leaders, Norm Eisen and retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, had threatened legal action and cautioned the administration against disclosing agent identities.

The proposal stated that the country is especially susceptible to attempts to influence its elections and political decision-making processes because of the geopolitical interest in Greenland and the current circumstances, where representatives of an allied great power have expressed interest in acquiring and controlling Greenland.

According to the proposal, the law was an attempt “to safeguard Greenland’s political integrity.”. B. Mute. On March 11, Premier Egede of Greenland suggested holding parliamentary elections.

At first, Mr. Trump’s repeated calls for the United States to annex the region startled and perplexed Greenlanders. Trump Jr. The speculation was heightened last month when Mr. Trump’s son made a brief visit to the island.

An American military base is located on the island, and as the Arctic ice melts due to climate change, commercial and naval competition is intensifying in the far north, making Greenland a strategically important location for the US. Large amounts of rare elements and other minerals that are needed to create cutting-edge technology can also be found in Greenland.

According to the president, “it is necessary for national security.”.

As a colony and later as a semiautonomous territory, Greenland has had a long history of being associated with Denmark. Although it has been able to declare independence through a referendum since 2009, it still depends on Denmark for defense, security, and other international matters.

The largely Inuit people of Greenland have grown more and more irate at Copenhagen’s negligence. Mr. Trump’s advances have been flatly and repeatedly rejected by Greenland’s leadership.

“Greenland is ours,” Mr. Egede said in a statement late last year, as Mr. Trump eyed the island. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale. “”.

Denmark, too, has been rattled: Last week, it said it would increase its military spending in the North Atlantic by $2 billion.

The Nordic country does not want to set off a trade war with the United States. Following a cold phone conversation with Mr. Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen traveled throughout Europe last week to meet with NATO and European leaders in order to boost support, repair damage, and talk about how to handle Mr. Trump’s demanding demands.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Denmark’s prime minister and foreign minister during President Trump’s first term, declared, “Trump will not have Greenland.”.

The Inatsisartut, the parliament of Greenland, can enact laws without Denmark’s consent. The bill was only introduced on Saturday, demonstrating how swiftly its lawmakers moved.

The proposal stated that “such regulation is considered urgent given the current geopolitical situation and the upcoming Inatsisartut election.”.

The US is one of the nations that restricts or outright prohibits foreign political financing. The plan claims that Greenland has never restricted or outright forbidden such contributions.

The proposal points out that in recent years, foreign powers have attempted to sway other democratic elections across the globe. The vast amount of private political donations in the US was specifically mentioned by the writers.

The Danish Institute for International Studies researcher Ulrik Pram Gad stated that the initiative is clearly urgent.

The law is “primarily a preventive measure,” he said, adding that donations had not previously affected Greenland’s politics. “”.

Additionally, by restricting real estate purchases, Greenland is attempting to protect itself from foreign interests.

New rules that would limit land purchases to Danish nationals or those who have lived in Greenland permanently for at least two years were approved by lawmakers on Monday. The regulations should go into effect later this year.

Approximately 56,000 people live in Greenland, which is primarily covered in ice. It has recently opened a new international airport and has declared itself ready for business, so it is opening up to the world, but its tourism infrastructure is lacking.

Greenland’s political structure could be significantly altered by foreign campaign contributions, even if they are small by American standards. According to the proposal, private donations have “constituted an insignificant part” of the country’s political financing, while public subsidies have largely funded parties.

It said, “This potential threat’s perspectives are alarming.”. “In a Greenlandic election campaign, donations that would be insignificant on a global level would be enormous.”. “.”.

Anonymous or foreign donations will no longer be accepted by political parties. Neither will candidates, aides, legislators, or local or youth branches of political parties.

Additionally, the new law will set a cap on private political contributions. A political party can receive only about $28,000 in private donations a year. Individual donors can only give about $2,800. The law also strengthens and broadens disclosure requirements, among other considerations.

“Disproportionately large private donations could weaken public confidence in the integrity of political processes,” the proposal read.

The decision is a change in how the United States handles people it deports. The U. S. government has long held migrants it picked up at sea in a facility at Guantánamo Bay, but it has not flown migrants from within the United States to the base.

It also serves as a significant symbol of President Trump’s attempts to cut off legal and illegal immigration, a key pillar of his campaign for the presidency and part of his promise for his administration. Last week, Mr. Trump ordered the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare to expand Guantánamo Bay for the detention of migrants.

“We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” he said. “Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantánamo. ”.

Mr. Trump said it was also a “tough place to get out of. ”.

About 300 service members have already arrived at Guantánamo Bay to provide security and begin setting up at a new tent city for the migrants. U. S. forces have put up 50 Army green tents inside a chain-link-fence enclosure, adjacent to a barracks-style building called the Migrant Operations Center.

On Sunday, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said the facility would be an asset for the agency.

“We’re just building out some capacity,” she said on “Meet the Press. ” “So we appreciate the partnership of the D.O. D. in getting that up to the level that it needs to get to in order to facilitate this repatriation of people back to their countries. So remember that Guantánamo Bay clearly, by this president, has said that it will hold the worst of the worst, that we are going after those bad actors. ”.

In recent weeks, about 40,000 immigrants have been held in private detention centers and local jails around the country as funding constraints have limited the number of detention sites.

The U. S. government has long held migrants at Guantánamo Bay. Those migrants, however, have been caught at sea and were forced to pass screenings on their asylum claims. Most of them have been from Cuba and Haiti and were then resettled in third countries.

In recent years, the United States has overseen a small group of migrants held at the Migrant Operations Center there. From 2020 to 2023, about three dozen migrants who were waiting for resettlement were held there.

“But now we have rank insubordination,” he said, adding that U. S. . a. I. A. Due to the employees’ “complete lack of cooperation, we were forced to take drastic measures in order to bring this situation under control.”. “.”.

Most senior officials at U.S. S. a. I. D. received an email from Erica Y. Carr, the acting executive secretary, asking for the “leanest essential personnel numbers” they would need “in order to provide essential services only,” according to a copy viewed by The New York Times. They were given less than an hour to furnish the lists.

The email was the latest sign that Mr. Rubio and Pete Marocco, the State Department’s foreign assistance director whom Mr. Rubio named as his deputy to run day-to-day operations at the agency, plan to drastically scale back the operations of the government’s lead agency for humanitarian aid and international development.

Many of the agency’s senior staff were put on leave last week, after representatives of Elon Musk, the tech magnate whom President Trump has empowered to run a cost-cutting task force, entered headquarters and began to take over its operations. On Saturday, the agency’s two top security officials were put on administrative leave after they tried to prevent Mr. Musk’s representatives from entering secure spaces and getting access to classified materials for which they lacked the proper security clearances.

On Monday, most of the agency’s contractors and direct civil service hires lost access to their email and other systems, and were told by senior officials that they should take that as an indication that they had been placed on administrative leave. By Tuesday, rumors were circulating that employees in missions overseas might be called home, as contractors reliant on U. S. A. I. D. funding for projects slashed staff to continue their work.

As U. S. A. I. D. operations were being ground to a near halt, Mr. Musk took to social media to decry the agency as “evil” and a “criminal organization,” while Mr. Trump said it was run by a bunch of “radical lunatics. ”.

Mr. Rubio did not endorse Mr. Musk’s view of the agency during his Fox interview, insisting that there were some programs that ought to be preserved, even as he defended efforts to pause most of the agency’s operations. Mr. Rubio did not specify which programs he thought had merit.

Senate Democrats have rejected Mr. Rubio’s stated reasons for taking over U. S. A. I. D. , which he also laid out in a letter on Monday to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House committees on foreign affairs and related appropriations. In the letter, Mr. Rubio warned that a review of U. S. A. I. D. programs could lead to “the suspension or elimination” of programs, projects, missions, bureaus, centers and offices, or the abolition of the entire agency.

“I find it wholly insufficient on the law and devoid of any rationale for the drastic, abrupt action the administration has taken, with no prior notice to Congress,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

Democrats were buoyed Monday by a new report from the Congressional Research Service, which determined that Mr. Trump did not have the authority to order structural changes to the agency without congressional approval.

“Because Congress established U. S. A. I. D. as an independent establishment (defined in 5 U. S. C. 104) The president is not able to abolish it within the executive branch, according to the report. Permission from Congress would be necessary to eliminate, relocate, or combine U.S. A. A. . Me. D. “.”.

Leading Republicans, however, applauded Mr. Trump’s actions.

Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho and the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated in a statement that the idea of combining the U.S. government with the national debt is the biggest national security threat that Americans face. S. . 1. I. A. and there had been a State Department before.

“The Trump administration’s attempts to reorganize and reform the agency to better serve the U.S. are something I support. S. national security interests,” he continued.

The future direction of the State Department’s labor, democracy, and human rights bureau was another topic of discussion on Tuesday. Companies that hire the bureau’s roughly 60 contractors were informed by the department on Monday that stop-work orders were being issued on the contracts. The future of the dozens of contractors is uncertain, and some of the businesses may attempt to rescind those orders. With regard to the U.S. A. A. Me. A. Contracting companies have fired hundreds of contractors as a result of federal stop-work orders.

With an annual budget of $150 million to $200 million in recent years, the bureau is responsible for managing approximately $3 billion in active grants. Its contractors are tech and area experts who assist in implementing programs in some of the most repressive countries in the world, such as China, Russia, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, in an effort to spread civil rights and democratic practices.

Reporting was assisted by Edward Wong.

He claimed that after a weekend of “intense conversations” with President Kennedy and the White House, including Vice President JD Vance, he had gotten promises from Mr. Kennedy to collaborate closely with him and not change vaccine policy without the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ approval, which Mr. Cassidy leads.

Mr. Cassidy used the phrase Mr. Kennedy has adopted for his movement when he stated, “My expectation that we can have a great working relationship to’make America healthy again’ is the basis of our support.”. In addition to being a secretary, I think he will be a partner. ”.

Regards, Mr. Cassidy got his medical degree from Louisiana State University’s School of Medicine, where he worked teaching medical students and residents at a hospital for the uninsured. During that time, in the early 1990s, he co-founded a community clinic that provided free dental and medical care to the working uninsured in his hometown of Baton Rouge, according to his official biography.

Additionally, he established a public-private partnership to vaccinate 36,000 Baton Rouge residents against hepatitis B at no cost to patients or schools. Mr. Cassidy opened last Thursday’s health committee hearing with a dramatic tale from his own medical practice: the story of a young woman, suffering from acute liver failure because of a hepatitis B infection, who had to be airlifted to a hospital for an emergency liver transplant.

“Now, the transplant, an invasive — in 2000 — quarter-of-a-million-dollar surgery that had a 5 to 10 percent mortality rate, but even if she survived, will leave her with a liver transplant and hospital bills every year of $50,000,” he said.

“And as she took off,” he continued, “it was the worst day of my medical career, because I thought: ‘$50 of vaccines could have prevented this all. ’ And that was an inflection point in my career, and since then, I have tried to do everything I can to make sure I never have to speak to another parent about their child dying due to a vaccine-preventable disease. “.”.

During Thursday’s hearing, Mr. Cassidy expressed his concern that Mr. Kennedy would continue to sow doubts about vaccines, which public health experts view as a singular triumph of their field, by using his celebrity and large following of “MAHA Moms” (a reference to “Make America Healthy Again”). Smallpox and polio, two diseases that were once major killers, have been virtually eradicated by vaccines.

As the hearing started, Mr. Cassidy said to Mr. Kennedy, “My phone is exploding with people who really follow you, and there are many who trust you more than they trust their own physician.”. What are you going to do with that trust, then? That is the question I need answered.

A former congressman and current state treasurer named John Fleming is Mr. Cassidy’s main opponent in Louisiana. He has pointed to the senator’s vote to convict Mr. Trump on a single article of impeachment because of his involvement in the Jan. 6. 2021, assault on the U.S. S. capital.

Regards, Mr. In a statement at the time, Cassidy declared: “Our nation and our Constitution are more significant than any one individual. Because President Trump is guilty, I voted for his conviction. “.”.

During his talks with President Kennedy and the White House over the weekend, Mr. Cassidy claimed to have extracted a number of commitments, one of which was that he and Mr. Kennedy would have “an unprecedentedly close, collaborative working relationship.”. “”.

Regards, Mr. Kennedy has been stoking suspicion about the organizations he would be responsible for if elected health secretary for years. He has called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration corrupt on numerous occasions. He also has a sizable fan base of other skeptics.

Mr. Cassidy claimed that he came to believe that Mr. Kennedy was the ideal candidate to rebuild confidence in the country’s public health systems. When the nomination came to the Senate floor, he made it clear that he would vote in favor of it.

Mr. Cassidy, the chairman of the Senate health committee, the other panel that Mr. Kennedy appeared before for a confirmation hearing last week, made a number of remarks that made it clear that, even though he wanted to back Mr. Trump’s choice, Mr. Kennedy’s refusal to back down from some of his previous vaccine-related claims, such as that they cause autism, which was long since disproven, was a major problem.

One of Mr. Dot Cassidy’s statements was, “I’m a doctor trying to understand.”. “Make me believe that you will take up the cause of public health rather than merely repeating outdated data so that no conclusion is ever reached. “.”.

He shared a Bible quotation about courage on X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, over the weekend, which many people interpreted as a clue.

Joshua told them, “Don’t be scared or discouraged.”. Have courage and strength. He wrote, “The LORD will deal with all of your enemies in this way.”.

The purpose of the meeting, which is a part of Mr. Netanyahu’s multi-day visit to Washington, is to show how close the two leaders are to one another after the Israeli leader and President Joseph R. Dot Biden Jr.’s relationship was severely strained by the more than a year-long war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr. During Trump’s first term, he developed a close relationship with Mr. Netanyahu. Over the weekend, Mr. Trump expressed his excitement for the meeting in comments to reporters.

Mr. Netanyahu will be “coming on Tuesday, and I think we have some very big meetings scheduled,” the president stated, adding that “the discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various and sundry other countries are progressing.”. “.”.

On a number of important issues, however, analysts predict that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump will disagree before their meeting. These will probably include the issues of how to deal with Iran’s nuclear aspirations and how soon to put an end to the conflict in Gaza.

In order to proceed with a grand agreement involving Saudi Arabia that would formalize relations with Israel, the Trump administration has stated that it wants to see all of the hostages that Hamas has held returned. All of that depends on the conflict in the Palestinian enclave ending.

Mr. Trump’s advisers told reporters Tuesday morning that he and Mr. Netanyahu shared the belief that Hamas should not be permitted to continue to rule after a permanent cease-fire ended, stating that this would not be “an outcome that any of us will tolerate.”. “.”.

“No one would be permitted to return to their homes if there was damage that was a hundredth of what I witnessed in Gaza,” stated Steve Witkoff, the president’s Middle East negotiator. That’s how risky it is. Thirty thousand unexploded munitions are present. It is buildings that could tip over at any moment. There’s no utilities. ”.

Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, said Mr. Trump continued to believe that Gaza would not be habitable for as many as 15 years because of the destruction from the war. The president has suggested that Palestinians from Gaza be relocated to Jordan and Egypt, something that the leaders of the two countries have publicly rejected.

“President Trump is absolutely engaged on the issue,” Mr. Waltz told reporters on Tuesday afternoon before Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu met. “And I think with his leadership, we’ll be able to pull some solutions together. And of course, we have Prime Minister Netanyahu here today. So the president, President Trump, is driving, I think, practical, common-sense solutions to what is admittedly a very, very difficult situation. ”.

With Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government in jeopardy if the war ends with Hamas still in control in Gaza, and with no other plan for the area in place, analysts expect the Israeli prime minister to try to delay moving to the next stage of the deal, which calls for a permanent cease-fire.

“Netanyahu made this salami deal,” said Shira Efron, the senior director of policy research at the Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based research group, referring to the three-phased agreement with Hamas. “He’s always playing for time and kicking the can down the road — something he is an expert in. Trump wants to cut to the chase and end the war. ”.

Dear Mr. Netanyahu is also in a precarious position internationally because the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes committed during the conflict with Hamas.

According to Thomas R. Nides, a former U.S. S. ambassador to Israel. “President Trump is in complete control and has made it apparent that he wants all of the hostages to return home. “”.

Beyond the initial stage of the cease-fire in Gaza, where Hamas has promised to free 33 prisoners in return for Israeli troops withdrawing from populated areas of Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails being released, negotiations have started to advance.

Regards, Mr. The agreement was actually negotiated over months during the Biden administration, but Trump has consistently claimed credit for it. But the fate of the second phase of the deal — in which the cease-fire is supposed to become permanent — will be on Mr. Trump’s watch. Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Waltz, and Mr. Netanyahu met in Washington on Monday.

Regards, Mr. According to Witkoff, the purpose of the meeting was to go over “guidelines and parameters” regarding the cease-fire’s next stage.

“Our main goal is to ensure that Phase 1 goes as planned and that all of the hostages involved in that agreement return home, including their bodies,” he stated.

After the Monday meeting, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israel was preparing to send a working-level delegation to Qatar, one of the main countries mediating between Israel and Hamas, at the end of this week to discuss “technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement. ”.

Once back in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet “to discuss Israel’s overall positions regarding the second stage of the deal, which will guide the continuation of the negotiations,” the statement added.

The region’s anxiety was heightened on Monday by reports that U. S. Iranian leaders could quickly develop a cruder atomic weapon, according to intelligence officials, if they so choose.

Although Iran’s nuclear scientists continue their work, it is unclear if that decision has been made. Iran’s new president has stated that he would like to start a negotiation with Mr. Trump’s administration.

Mr. For years, Netanyahu has maintained that allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons would pose an existential threat to Israel and cause significant instability for the US and other countries. In 2018, Mr. Trump withdrew from an agreement reached under the Obama administration to restrict Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

Dear Mr. Other measures to prevent Iran from developing a bomb, such as the potential for military action against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, are probably going to be discussed between Trump and Mr. Netanyahu. In the past, the prime minister has called for military action, but Israel has consistently backed down in response to pressure from the US.

It is anticipated that the two leaders will also talk about the potential for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia at the same time. The idea had been promoted by Mr. Trump during his first term, and Mr. Biden carried on this trend after assuming office. Following Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in its war against Hamas, which has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, that effort essentially came to a standstill.

An apparent change in Riyadh’s stance that might make normalization negotiations more difficult is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia’s declaration that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until the “establishment of a Palestinian state.”.

The war began after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saw about 250 hostages taken and about 1,200 people killed.

The agenda also includes Mr. Netanyahu’s request that the United States proceed with a series of outstanding arms transfers to Israel totaling more than $8 billion in artillery, bombs, missiles, and other weapons. Congress is currently reviewing those orders informally. U. S. . official said the State Department was moving forward with two additional large sets of orders of weapons for use — one for thousands more bombs and one for armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the arms shipments, said the Trump administration had begun to make to Congress the informal notifications necessary to initiate the weapons transfers. One shipment of the biggest U.S. shipment had been halted by Mr. Biden. S. -made bombs to Israel in response to the Israeli military’s bombing of Gaza. According to Mr. Trump, the Pentagon should move forward with the shipment.

Reporting was done by Edward Wong.

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