Anthony Fauci’s security protections have been revoked and he has now hired his own security, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
“I think, you know, when you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off, and you know, you can’t have them forever. So I think it’s very standard,” Trump said at a briefing in North Carolina.
During the pandemic, Fauci received a security detail from the federal government after facing threats to his personal safety.
Trump this week also pulled the security details of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton, who had also both received threats.
“They all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security too,” he said of Fauci and Bolton.
A Trump administration official says Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested people across the U.S., including in Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland.
The cities where the arrests have taken place include Buffalo, New York, Chicago, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Denver.
Of the 538 arrests ICE made yesterday, 373 were for criminal allegations and 165 were for noncriminal reasons.
In a briefing in North Carolina, Trump commented on his plans to visit California later today and the water situation in the state. He said his goal with his visit today is two-fold, as he may withhold disaster aid to California if both are not accomplished.
“I have a condition. In California, we want them to have voter ID so the people have a voice, because right now, the people don’t have a voice because you don’t know who’s voting, and it’s very corrupt,” he said. “If they released the water when I told them to, because I told them to do it seven years ago, if they would’ve done it, you wouldn’t have had the problem.”
The Guatemalan vice president’s office posted a video on Instagram of a military plane that transported migrants who were deported from the U.S. landing in Guatemala this morning.
“Accompanying returned compatriots with humanitarian support and the assistance they need, from the national immigration authority,” the Instagram story’s caption read in Spanish.
The Guatemalan Migration Institute wrote in a press release that 79 Guatemalans returned, all of whom were adults, including 31 women and 48 men.
A source familiar with the operation had told NBC News that a military plane departed from Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, yesterday afternoon and was bound for Guatemala. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in an X post earlier today that migrant deportation flights have begun.
Trump said during a briefing in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he’d love to see Canada become the 51st state.
“We take care of their military. You know, we ordered about 40 Coast Guard, big icebreakers, big ones, and all of a sudden Canada wants a piece of the deal,” Trump said.
He continued, “They’ve been very nasty to us on trade. Historically, Canada has been very, very bad to us, very unfair to us on trade. So we’ll see how it all works out. I would love to see Canada be the 51st state. The Canadian citizens, if that happened, would get a very big tax cut, tremendous tax cut, because they’re very highly taxed.”
Trump has made similar comments in the last month or so, saying that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada. Meanwhile, Canada has rejected his remarks about joining the United States.
Trump said today in North Carolina that he is planning to sign an executive order to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, otherwise known as FEMA. He went further to say that he might recommend eliminating it entirely.
“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA, I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” Trump said.
As for North Carolina aid, he said “we’re going to do a lot for North Carolina,” he said.
“They’ve been very slow. I don’t know why it’s been so bad. This has been one of the worst I’ve seen,” he said.
He also called the agency a “very big disappointment.”
Trump told reporters today that he was “surprised” Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — both moderates and sometime critics of Trump — planned to vote against former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department.
“I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters.
The president also hinted that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has had at times a contentious relationship with Trump, could vote no in today’s highly anticipated vote.
“Of course Mitch is always a no vote I guess,” the president said before asking reporters, “Is Mitch a no vote? How about Mitch?”
McConnell has not publicly revealed how he’ll vote on Hegseth’s nomination, but he and several other Republican senators who have expressed reservations about Hegseth — including Sens. Todd Young of Indiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia — voted for a procedural motion to advance Hegseth’s nomination to a final vote.
Murkowski, of Alaska, and Collins, of Maine, voted against that procedural step.
After landing in Asheville, North Carolina, Trump told reporters that he wants OPEC to cut the price of oil, saying that he thinks it would immediately bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We want to see OPEC cut the price of oil, and that will automatically stop the tragedy that’s taking place in Ukraine. It’s a butchering tragedy for both sides,” Trump said.
He continued, “One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money and to drop the price of oil.” He said that if OPEC drops oil prices, then the “war will stop right away.”
Trump made similar comments yesterday during the World Economic Forum.
Trump is visiting Asheville, North Carolina, which was devastated by flooding resulting from Hurricane Helene last fall.
The storm wiped out towns and neighborhoods in the western part of the state in late September.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, as of Dec. 23, officials verified that 104 people died in the state as a result of Helene.
During the presidential campaign, Trump promoted false claims about FEMA disaster aid not being distributed to communities affected by the storm and said it was instead diverted for use on undocumented people.
Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both of California, are staying in Washington for the confirmation vote of Hegseth for defense secretary while Trump visits their state today to survey wildfire damage.
A Schiff spokesperson said the senator “greatly appreciates the President’s visit to see the devastation of these wildfires firsthand and the invitation to accompany him, and regrets that he’s unable to join the President in Los Angeles due to scheduled nomination votes.”
Trump, however, said before leaving the White House this morning that he didn’t invite Schiff to accompany him on Air Force One, saying someone else must have.
“Senator Padilla regrets not being able to join President Trump in Los Angeles due to the Senate vote schedule,” a spokesperson for the senator said. “He welcomes the President’s support for federal disaster aid to assist the thousands of families and businesses impacted by these devastating fires.”
A written response from Hegseth to senators reportedly shows he paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. Hegseth’s attorney previously said the former Fox News host had paid that settlement because he “strongly felt he was the victim of blackmail.” Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and said the encounter was consensual. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for “TODAY.”
Before departing for North Carolina, Trump talked briefly about the Senate confirmation vote on Hegseth tonight.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Trump said. “You never know in those things. Pete’s a very, very good good man, I hope he makes it.”
Trump added, “I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” referring to the two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted last night against ending debate and proceeding to a vote on Hegseth’s nomination.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the Trump administration’s deportation tactics could “very well make us less safe” in a statement today in response to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Newark.
“As I have said many times, we regularly work with our federal partners to remove violent criminals from our communities and we will continue to do so,” Platkin, a Democrat, said. But Trump’s “stated desire to deport millions of people clearly goes beyond removing dangerous criminals,” he added.
“And some of the tactics could very well make us less safe, for instance, by making people in our communities fearful of coming forward and reporting crimes,” Platkin said.
A spokesperson for Platkin’s office told NBC News that while they are still in the process of gathering information on the ICE raid that happened in Newark yesterday, what they “do know is that no local or state law enforcement was involved.”
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, also a Democrat, said yesterday that ICE agents raided a local establishment in the city, detaining undocumented people, as well as citizens, without producing a warrant.
Baraka added that one of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran, “who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned.” The mayor said that the raid was an “egregious” act that violated the Fourth Amendment.
“Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” Baraka said.
The mayor will hold a news conference today at 11:30 a.m. ET in Newark “in alliance with partners ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 538 people yesterday, an ICE spokesperson confirmed to NBC News. That almost doubles the agency’s average of 282 arrests a day during the month of September 2024, the most recent month for which data was available.
ICE did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for more details on yesterday’s arrests, including how many of those arrested had criminal backgrounds.
The Trump administration has said its priority is to arrest migrants with criminal backgrounds. The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would allow ICE to arrest undocumented people at places such as schools and churches, which was barred under previous administrations.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the department said. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he plans to be on the tarmac to greet Trump when he visits Los Angeles today to view the devastation from the wildfires.
“I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him and we’re making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him,” Newsom told NBC News’ Los Angeles station.
Trump had said this week that he was unsure if he would meet with Newsom during his trip to California and he has also said that he would support conditioning disaster aid.
The president has suggested that aid would be withheld unless water supply policies in the state are changed, which he blamed on efforts to preserve endangered fish. Newsom has disputed that characterization.
Two Republican senators said yesterday that they would vote against Hegseth’s nomination to be defense secretary.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement posted on X that she is “concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job.”
“I am also concerned about multiple statements, including some in the months just before he was nominated, that Mr. Hegseth has made about women serving in the military,” Collins added later.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a statement posted on X that she “cannot in good conscience support his nomination.”
“The leader of the Department of Defense must demonstrate and model the standards of behavior and character we expect of all servicemembers, and Mr. Hegseth’s nomination to the role poses significant concerns that I cannot overlook,” she said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X this morning that migrant deportation flights have begun.
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” Leavitt said.
A military plane departed from Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, yesterday afternoon, a source familiar with the operation told NBC News. The plane had 81 seats and about 75 to 80 migrants on it, the source said, adding that the plane was bound for Guatemala to repatriate those aboard.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., announced in a statement this morning that he plans to stay in the Senate and forgo a run for governor of New Mexico following Trump’s actions in his first week as president.
“After careful consideration and many conversations with my family, constituents, and colleagues, I’ve decided to remain in the United States Senate,” he said. “It’s clear to me that New Mexico needs a strong voice in Washington now more than ever — the stakes are simply too high.”
Heinrich, who was re-elected to his third term in the Senate in November, said he believes he can have the “most impact” in the Senate fighting back against Trump’s actions and policies.
“I will stand up to the President when needed, but I’m also ready to work with him and my Senate colleagues to move New Mexico and our nation forward,” he said.
Heinrich’s six-year term is not up until 2031.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s family said in a statement last night that it hopes to be able to review the records regarding his assassination before they are released to the public.
Trump signed an executive order yesterday afternoon to declassify the records, along with the files related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., and King.
“For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years,” the statement said, which was posted by King’s daughter Bernice King. “We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”
The family members added in the statement that they are not taking any interviews at this time “as they await further information.”
Trump is expected to travel to Asheville, North Carolina, today, according to a source familiar with the planning. The city was hit hard during floods brought by Hurricane Helene in September of last year.
Trump also said during a rally Monday that he would visit California today to survey wildfire damage.
Today’s travels mark Trump’s first trip as a second-term president.
Vice President JD Vance is set to speak at today’s March for Life in D.C., according to the group’s press release.
“We are thrilled that Vice President Vance has chosen the National March for Life for his first public appearance in his new role — a sign of his commitment to standing up for life,” said Jeanne Mancini and Jennie Bradley Lichter, the president and president-elect of the group, respectively.
Vance spoke at the Ohio march in 2023, the group said.
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump signed an executive order pardoning 23 anti-abortion activists yesterday, one day before he is expected to address thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators at their annual march in Washington.
“Twenty-three people were prosecuted; they should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said at the Oval Office signing ceremony, noting that “many of them” are elderly. “This is a great honor to sign. They will be very happy.”
They lost limbs in battle, led security convoys and survived several combat tours.
Now, some female veterans and service members are railing against remarks Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has made about women’s ability to fight on the front lines.
“I don’t even know how to express the disgust,” said a current Army colonel, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
