Summary
Here’s a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
House Democrats are expressing concerns about Republican speaker Mike Johnson’s decision yesterday to remove the head of the chamber’s intelligence committee, whose stances had run afoul of Donald Trump. Johnson yesterday fired the committee’s chair, Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who was a vocal supporter of security assistance to Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, Johnson justified Turner’s firing by saying, the “intelligence community and everything related to [the committee] needs a fresh start”.
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who parroted Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election as his attorney, has settled a defamation suit brought against him by two Georgia election workers. The case centers around statement Giuliani made about Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss after Trump’s election defeat, for which a judge ordered him to pay $148.1m in 2023. Under the terms of the deal, Giuliani said he will be allowed to keep his personal belongings and two residences.
In some of the more unusual appointments Donald Trump has made since winning re-election, the president-elect says three movie stars – Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight – will serve as his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood. “They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK – BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Trump wrote.
TikTok’s head will reportedly attend Trump’s inauguration, and be seated on the dais at the Capitol. The popular social media app is set to be banned on Sunday, unless its China-based owner finds a buyer for its US operations – or the supreme court steps in.
The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has named the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, to the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio. Donald Trump has nominated Rubio to serve as secretary of state, and he likely has the support he needs to win Senate confirmation.
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As the Senate considers a Republican-led immigration bill, immigration advocates who oppose the legislation are urging Democrats not to take the bait.
After losing the Senate and the White House in the November elections, many swing-state Democrats have embraced stricter immigration controls. Last week, most Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the legislation, which would require federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes. It would also allow state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they believe their states have been harmed by its failure to enforce immigration laws.
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the immigration advocacy group, America’s Voice, called the bill, known as the Laken Riley Act, “bad policy” and “also bad politics”.
“Democrats are never going to get the credit for voting for this,” she said. “The GOP is always going to attack them,” she said, adding: “Democrats really need to get their act together, because more bills like this are coming for sure, and they need to have a strategy, and then they need to provide a contrast. And what they’re doing right now is just playing in the GOP turf.”
The bill is named in honor of the Georgia nursing student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man who had entered the country illegally in 2022, according to ICE. Republicans need the support of seven Senate Democrats to pass the bill, after the House approved it earlier this month. Dozens of Senate Democrats voted to open debate on the measure, but it remains unclear if Republicans can win enough votes for final passage.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, called the bill an “attack on our due process” protections and warned that it would help clear the way for Trump to follow through on his threat of mass deportations, particularly in parts of the country that are more hostile to immigration. Advocates were paying special attention to how Democrats vote on the bill.
“Believe me,” she added, “They’re hearing from their constituents when they’re not upholding their responsibility and often their promises during their campaigns.”
Immigration advocates say they are prepared to use “all the tools in the toolbox” to guard their communities against the “cruelty” of Donald Trump’s possibly unprecedented enforcement agenda.
“We have been preparing for a long time for this moment,” Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the immigration advocacy group, America’s Voice, told reporters on Thursday. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”
Since Trump’s election in November, immigration groups have been holding Know Your Rights training and urging families to be prepared in the event a loved one is detained or deported. They have also been ramping up the pressure on local and state leaders to take action now to shield undocumented immigrants from Trump’s promise of militarized raids and large-scale deportations.
“The immigrant rights movement has never stood on the sidelines when our communities are under attack and this will not be the case now,” said Greisa Martínez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream Action, which supports Dreamers.
“When policies harm our people, we organize,” said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA. “When Ice overreaches, we’ll litigate. When local leaders fail to act, we demand better.”
Unlike in Trump’s first-term, Democrats have already shown far more of an openness to the incoming administration’s hardline immigration agenda after steadily losing voters’ trust on the issue of border security – a major issue in the 2024 presidential election. But advocates say they believe Americans will once again turn against the “cruelty” and “fear-mongering” at the heart of Trump’s immigration agenda.
“When Americans saw the real harms and impacts of Trump’s agenda during his first time in office, they revolted against it,” Cárdenas said. “We expect that will happen again.”
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As she spoke on the Senate floor about Pete Hegseth‘s nomination, Senator Tammy Duckworth displayed a framed copy of the Soldier’s Creed, which hung over her bed at Walter Reed Medical Center as she recovered from an attack on her helicopter in Iraq that took her legs.
“These words helped me find a strength I needed when I needed it the most, because they reminded me of who I was and that I was a proud member of the greatest fighting force on the face of the earth, whose duty it was to live up to the sacrifices of my fellow soldiers,” the Illinois Democrat said.
“Tell me: how can we ask these warriors to train and perform at the absolute highest standards if we’re going to confirm a guy who doesn’t seem to care enough to prepare to lead them in any way?”
Hegseth is set to be confirmed as secretary of defense, as one of the final Republican holdouts, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, announced on Tuesday that she would support his nomination, but Duckworth implored her Republican colleagues to prioritize national security over party politics.
“Part of being a leader is knowing when you’re not competent enough to do the job. Well, Mr Hegseth, you are not technically proficient. You are not tactically proficient, and your nomination is an insult to those brave enough to be serving our nation. So you, sir, are a no go at this station,” Duckworth said.
“I am voting no on Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be secretary of defense, and if my colleagues cared more about keeping our nation strong than genuflecting to Donald Trump, then they should have the courage to vote no as well.”
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Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of Illinois, bashed Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s controversial pick for defense secretary, as “unfit” to lead the Pentagon.
“Our troops deserve better than a guy who was seemingly only nominated because he used to host Trump’s favorite TV show on Fox News,” Duckworth said in a Senate floor speech moments ago.
Duckworth cited reports that Hegseth led two non-profits into financial ruin through his mismanagement of funds, claims that Democrats highlighted repeatedly during Hegseth’s contentious confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
“The only thing Hegseth has ever run, he’s run into the ground. The only major organizations he’s ever led, he’s led into debt,” Duckworth said. “Pete Hegseth is unqualified. He is unprepared. He is unethical. And most of all, he is unfit.”
Underscoring Hegseth’s lack of qualifications, Duckworth pointed to a particularly embarrassing moment during his confirmation hearing, when he could not name the member countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) alliance.
“This was shocking, and yet not surprising from a man whose main form of policy education has come from reading the Fox News teleprompter,” Duckworth said.
“This was pitiful, yet predictable from a guy who said that we women do not belong in combat, who’s dared to claim that the military is lowering its standards so that we poor, fragile, fairer sex and, God forbid, us moms can serve. Well, the only standards being lowered today are the ones for secretary of defense.”
Giuliani reaches deal to resolve defamation suit from Georgia election workers
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who parroted Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election as his attorney, has settled a defamation suit brought against him by two Georgia election workers.
The case centers around statement Giuliani made aabout Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss after Trump’s election defeat, for which a judge ordered him to pay $148.1m in 2023. Under the terms of the deal, Giuliani said he will be allowed to keep his personal belongings and two residences. Here’s more:
Blinken heckled over Israel policy at final press conference as secretary of state
Antony Blinken held his last press conference as secretary of state today, but was interrupted repeatedly by journalists who have been critical of US policy towards Israel, one of whom was carried out by security:
Drop Site News captured the moment independent journalist Sam Husseini was removed from the briefing room by security officers at state department headquarters in Washington DC:
Reporter @samhusseini was just physically dragged from Blinken’s briefing. “Why aren’t you at The Hague?” he asked. pic.twitter.com/Nvs10aFjgh
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) January 16, 2025
Reuters reports that Husseini and Max Blumenthal, who was also escorted out of the briefing, both work for outlets that have been sharply critical of US foreign policy and opposed to Israel’s invasion of Gaza:
Blinken has faced criticism for providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic support since the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also drawing accusations of genocide in a World Court case brought by South Africa and of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the allegations. The assault has displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and drawn the concern of the world’s main hunger monitor.
‘Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?’ Max Blumenthal, editor of the Grayzone, an outlet that strongly criticizes many aspects of US foreign policy, called out to Blinken, before he was escorted out.
Blinken, who leaves office on Monday when the administration of President-elect Donald Trump takes over, calmly asked for quiet while he delivered his remarks, and later took questions from reporters.
He has been frequently heckled at appearances in Washington since the Gaza conflict began. Demonstrators camped outside his Virginia home for months and repeatedly threw red paint – resembling blood – on cars carrying Blinken and his family.
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A new poll released today indicates that the Biden administration’s steadfast support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza may have cost Kamala Harris crucial voters in the November presidential election that sent Donald Trump back to the White House.
The survey, by the pro-Palestinian Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project and YouGov, found that of the voters who supported Biden in 2020 but did not back Harris last year, 29% said “ending Israel’s violence in Gaza” was their reason.
That was the most-cited concern among those surveyed, coming above the economy and immigration, two of the focuses of Donald Trump’s campaign.
In the six swing states that Trump won last year after Biden carried them in 2020, the war in Gaza was the second-biggest concern, after the economy.
Former special counsel Jack Smith was able to make public his report detailing his failed attempt to prosecute Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, but a court order continues to block release of a second report outlining the case against the president-elect for allegedly hiding classified documents. The Guardian’s Robert Tait reports that Democrats are pressuring outgoing attorney general Merrick Garland to have it released:
Democrats are pressing Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, to use his last days in office to release the second volume of the special counsel’s report about Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents.
The demand comes after the justice department this week published the first part of Jack Smith’s report, which looked at the president-elect’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including inciting a violent mob to attack the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
That report concluded that Trump would have faced probable conviction had he not won the 2024 election, after which Smith – who resigned last week – dropped the case against him.
“It is in the public interest for the Department of Justice to expeditiously release the second volume of special counsel Smith’s report so the American people have as full an accounting as possible of Donald Trump’s lawless and criminal conduct,” said Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ judiciary committee.
The second volume is being withheld on the order of a US federal judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, on the basis that it would prejudice the case of two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who face charges of conspiring with Trump to hide a trove of documents from his first term as president at his Mar-a-Lago home.
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Trump says Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight to serve as 'special ambassadors' to Hollywood
In some of the more unusual appointments Donald Trump has made since winning re-election, the president-elect says three movie stars – Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight – will serve as his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood.
He made it known on Truth Social, of course:
It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California. They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK – BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!
The three men, all of whom are known for their conservative beliefs, were some of the best-known stars of their eras, but these days have been eclipsed by younger generations of actors.
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A Brazilian court has rejected former president Jair Bolsonaro’s bid to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Bolsonaro, who is being investigated for conspiracy against Brazil’s democracy, won’t get his confiscated passport back to be able to travel to Washington DC, a judge ruled. Here’s the whole story from Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro:
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro – who is under investigation for allegedly plotting a coup – has seen his hopes of attending Donald Trump’s inauguration dashed after a judge ruled his confiscated passport would not be returned in case the disgraced politician used it to flee abroad.
Bolsonaro’s travel document was seized by federal police last February as investigators deepened their inquiries into what they call a sprawling conspiracy to dismantle Brazil’s 40-year-old democracy.
In November, the far-right populist, who governed Brazil from 2019 until 2023, was one of nearly 40 people who were formally accused of being part of a criminal plot to stop his leftwing successor from taking power by staging a rightwing coup.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers petitioned the supreme court earlier this month, arguing their client should be allowed a six-day trip to the US in order to attend the 20 January swearing-in of Trump, the Brazilian politician’s most important foreign ally. This week Bolsonaro told the New York Times he was so excited about the prospect of seeing Trump in the flesh that he wasn’t “even taking Viagra anymore”.
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Which US president should get credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal – the one in the White House, or the one who is about to be in the White House? The Guardian’s Andrew Roth untangles the question, and potential answers:
The question yelled at Joe Biden by a reporter was unapologetically blunt: “Who do you think deserves credit for this Mr President: you or [Donald] Trump?”
Biden had just finished announcing what he presented as his signature foreign policy achievement – a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas to halt the bloody war in Gaza that has left 46,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis dead. He wasn’t in the mood for that debate.
“Is that a joke?” the president asked and then walked away flanked by his vice-president, Kamala Harris, and secretary of state, Antony Blinken.
Success has many fathers. When the ceasefire in Gaza was finally announced on Thursday, they all stood up to take the credit.
Joe Biden’s farewell address to the nation last night was a “dark, ominous warning about something wider and deeper of which Trump is a symptom”, the Guardian’s David Smith writes:
There was a sting in the tail. Joe Biden’s farewell address had not seemed like a must-watch for most politics-weary Americans. Those who did dutifully tune in might have been expecting the president to deliver a yawn-inducing first draft of his White House memoir.
But after more than half a century in elected office, the 82-year-old great-grandfather had one last surprise. The prime-time speech did not mention Donald Trump by name. Instead it will be remembered for its dark, ominous warning about something wider and deeper of which Trump is a symptom.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said.
The word “oligarchy” comes from the Greek words meaning rule (arche) by the few (oligos). Some have argued that the dominant political divide in America is no longer between left and right, but between democracy and oligarchy, as power becomes concentrated in the hands of a few. The wealthiest 1% of Americans now has more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.
The day so far
Democrats have cried foul after the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, removed Mike Turner as chair of the intelligence committee, reportedly at Donald Trump’s urging. Though Johnson denies the president-elect’s involvement, Turner is a proponent of security assistance to Ukraine, and the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, decried his replacement as “unjustified”. Meanwhile, senators are holding confirmation hearings for several of Trump’s cabinet picks, including Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and Doug Burgum as interior secretary.
Here’s what else has happened today:
TikTok’s head will reportedly attend Trump’s inauguration, and be seated on the dais at the Capitol. The popular social media app is set to be banned on Sunday, unless its China-based owner finds a buyer for its US operations – or the supreme court steps in.
Ron DeSantis appointed the Florida attorney general, Ashley Moody, to the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio, who Trump has nominated as secretary of state.
Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, has pledged to allow more oil and gas drilling on federal lands in a bid to maximize energy output as interior secretary.
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Here’s what Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, wrote on X about his decision to name the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate:
Florida deserves a senator who stands unapologetically for conservative principles, supports law enforcement, has a strong record of combatting illegal immigration, and is ready to deliver on President Trump’s agenda. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s exemplary track record shows her commitment to these principles. A fifth-generation Floridian, she has served the people of Florida honorably as a prosecutor, judge, and Attorney General.
I look forward to seeing Senator Moody fight the good fight against the entrenched interests in Washington, and I know she will be a critical part of bringing President Trump’s America First agenda to fruition.
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Republican congressman Mike Turner shared some parting thoughts about his chairmanship of the House intelligence committee, which speaker Mike Johnson ordered him removed from yesterday.
Turner wrote on X:
I’m very proud to have served on the House Intelligence Committee and as its chairman. There are great members on the Committee, and I’m honored to have served with them.
Under my leadership, we restored the integrity of the Committee and returned its mission to its core focus of national security. The threat from our adversaries is real and requires serious deliberations.
As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have been and will continue to be a strong advocate for the military and our national defense. My work to expand missions and capabilities at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base continues. Furthermore, I look forward to welcoming the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to Dayton in the coming months.
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DeSantis names Florida's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Marco Rubio in Senate
The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has named the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, to the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio.
Donald Trump has nominated Rubio to serve as secretary of state, and he likely has the support he needs to win Senate confirmation. Moody has served as Florida’s attorney general since 2019, and will serve until at least 2026, when her Senate seat will be on the general election ballot.
The appointment of Moody, a Republican, does not alter the balance of power in the Senate, where the GOP has a 53-seat majority.
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Bloomberg News reports that Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, has denied that Donald Trump had anything to do with his decision to remove Mike Turner as chair of the House intelligence committee.
Johnson said he will “shortly” name his replacement for Turner as committee chair.
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Johnson removes top Republican from House intelligence committee, reportedly at Trump's request
House Democrats are expressing concerns about Republican speaker Mike Johnson’s decision yesterday to remove the head of the chamber’s intelligence committee, whose stances had run afoul of Donald Trump.
Johnson yesterday fired the committee’s chair, Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who was a vocal supporter of security assistance to Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, Johnson justified Turner’s firing by saying, the “intelligence community and everything related to [the committee] needs a fresh start”.
But CBS News reports that Johnson cited “concerns from Mar a Lago” in removing Turner as leader of the committee overseeing US intelligence agencies such as the CIA. In a statement, the Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called his replacement “unjustified”:
Mike Turner is a serious, thoughtful and highly principled leader, whose work as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee has been extremely impactful. Throughout his time in the House of Representatives, Chairman Turner has upheld his oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies and championed our national security interests. Mike Turner has robustly promoted the safety of the American people and the Free World and his unjustified ouster is likely being applauded by our adversaries in Russia and China. Shameful.
Jim Himes, the committee’s Democratic ranking member, echoed those concerns:
Mike Turner is dedicated to national security and thoughtful oversight of the IC. His removal makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands Congress function as a check on the Executive Branch, not cater to its demands.
Turner is a Russia hawk, who has accused some of his colleagues of bringing Moscow’s propaganda into Congress. Here’s more:
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In his final days in office, Joe Biden is expected to outline steps to better protect the United States from hackers linked to rivals such as Russia and China, the Guardian’s Joseph Gedeon reports:
The Biden administration is making a final push to fortify America’s cyber defenses against mounting threats from China and Russia, issuing a sweeping cybersecurity executive order just days before leaving office that aims to tackle vulnerabilities from outer space to consumer electronics.
The wide-ranging directive is likely to be the administration’s last big policy push before handing the keys over to Donald Trump, who heads to the White House next week and inherits a new world of cyber-attacks that have cost the nation billions of dollars and punctured government offices.
“The goal is to make it costlier and harder for China, Russia, Iran and ransomware criminals to hack and to signal that America means business when it comes to protecting our businesses and our citizens,” a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday.
The order arrives in the wake of devastating Chinese-linked cyber-attacks, including recent breaches of the US treasury department and telecommunications systems that reportedly compromised communications of incoming president Donald Trump and vice-president-elect JD Vance.
Among its most striking provisions is a mandate for federal agencies to implement end-to-end encryption for email and video communications, alongside new requirements for artificial intelligence-powered cyber defence systems and quantum computing safeguards.
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TikTok head invited to join Trump at inauguration – report
The head of TikTok is expected to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, after being offered a prominent seat on the dais, the New York Times reports.
The president-elect will take office one day after a legally imposed deadline passes for TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, to sell the company’s US operations or face a ban. The supreme court heard arguments last week over the law passed last year to force the sale, and appeared inclined to uphold it.
However, Trump has said he wants to keep TikTok available in the US, and is considering issuing an executive order to delay enforcement of the ban:
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Donald Trump’s pledge to expand oil and gas drilling was one of several campaign promises he made that could undermine the fight against the climate crisis. In October, the Guardian’s Oliver Milman took a closer look at how Trump’s proposals could have consequences that reverberate for millions of years:
The climate crisis may appear peripheral in the US presidential election but a victory for Donald Trump will, more than any other issue, have profound consequences for people around a rapidly heating world, experts have warned.
During his push for the White House, Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and “one of the great scams of all time” while vowing to delete spending on clean energy, abolish “insane” incentives for Americans to drive electric cars, scrap various environmental rules and unleash a “drill, baby, drill” wave of new oil and gas.
Such an agenda would be carried out over a four-year period that nearly rounds out a crucial decade in which scientists say the US, and the world, must slash planet-heating pollution in half to avoid disastrous climate breakdown.
Already, major emitters such as the US are lagging badly in commitments to cut emissions enough to avoid a 1.5C (2.7F) rise in global temperature above the preindustrial era. With just over 1C in average warming so far, the world already has record heatwaves, a rash of wildfires, turbocharged hurricanes, plunging wildlife losses, a crumbling and increasingly green Antarctica, the looming collapse of the oceans, and a faltering ability of forests, plants and soil to absorb carbon.
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Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum to back expanded oil and gas drilling on public lands
Doug Burgum, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the interior department, will tell senators at his confirmation hearing today that he supports expanding oil and gas drilling on public lands, Reuters reports.
That will mark a reversal from Joe Biden’s attempts to stop petroleum exploration on public lands as part of his administration’s strategy to reduce the US’s carbon emissions. Here’s more on what Burgum will promise, from Reuters:
The comments signal a coming sharp turn in policy after President Joe Biden attempted for years to restrict oil and gas drilling by reducing federal lease auctions and banning future development in vast areas of federal offshore waters as part of a strategy to fight climate change.
“Today, America produces energy cleaner, smarter and safer than anywhere in the world. When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand, it just shifts production to countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran – whose autocratic leaders don’t care about the environment,” Burgum will tell lawmakers, according to his prepared remarks.
He will say maximizing energy output can lower consumer prices, and can be done while ensuring clean air and water.
The Interior Department oversees millions of acres of lands and offshore waters stretching from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, and leases out parcels for drilling operations that now produce around a quarter of the nation’s oil and gas output.
The United States is already the world’s top oil and gas producer thanks to a years-long drilling boom mainly on private lands in Texas and New Mexico fueled by improved technology and strong world demand since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Trump nominees for treasury, interior secretary, EPA chief to face senators
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Four more of Donald Trump’s nominees will have their confirmation hearings today, after senators over the past two days questioned Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee, among others. Today, hearings are scheduled for Scott Turner, who has been nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick as Environmental Protection Agency administrator; interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum; and treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent. Expect lots of questions from Democrats to Bessent regarding his views on Trump’s vows to impose tariffs on a host of countries, friend and foe alike. We can also expect Burgum to face scrutiny about his views on expanding oil and gas drilling on public lands, a Trump campaign pledge.
Here’s what else is going on today:
Joe Biden is continuing his presidential farewell, with a ceremony for defense department staff at 2pm. He delivered a goodbye address to the nation yesterday evening.
The House of Representatives will vote on the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, another Republican-authored bill aimed at undocumented immigrants. This one is targeted at migrants convicted of domestic violence, sexual abuse and related crimes.
The Gaza ceasefire deal requires approval by Israel’s cabinet, but a last-minute dispute is holding that up. Follow our live blog for more.
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