The Latest: Trump hosts Cabinet meeting as Democrats threaten partial shutdown over ICE reform

President Donald Trump has gathered his Cabinet for a video broadcasted meeting that's expected to be another lengthy, praise-heavy affair. Since returning to office, the president has used these meetings to review his administration's accomplishments and provide Cabinet members with an opportunity to shower him with superlatives.

Trump said his administration is speaking with Senate Democrats who are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on Trump's surge of immigration enforcement. ''We don't want a shutdown,'' Trump said at his Cabinet meeting.

As the country reels from the killings of two protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats are demanding that officers take off their masks, identify themselves and obtain judicial warrants showing probable cause for arrests. If those are not met, Democrats say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill, denying Republicans the votes they need to pass it and triggering a shutdown at midnight on Friday.

Meanwhile, FBI raid in Georgia highlights Trump's 2020 election obsession and hints at possible future actions. A federal appeals court ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted illegally when she chose to end legal protections that gave Venezuelans permission to live and work in the U.S. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she's running for governor of Minnesota as a unifier who will take on Trump.

The Latest:

Trump says he's announcing Federal Reserve chair pick next week

Trump said at his cabinet meeting that ''next week'' he'll announce his choice to replace Jerome Powell as the chair of the Federal Reserve.

Even though Powell's term as chair ends in May, he could stay on the board of governors until 2028 and block Trump's ability to appoint someone new to the board as chair.

Trump said his pick will do a ''good job'' and that he wants the Fed to cut rates when there are signs of economic growth.

Trump asked Putin not to fire on Kyiv because of extreme cold

President Donald Trump said Thursday he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to target the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for one week as the region experiences frigid temperatures.

The call for a pause in attacks on Ukraine's capital comes as Russia has been pounding the country's critical infrastructure, leaving many around the country without heat in the dead of winter.

Cabinet meeting starts off with stories, not much news

After a nearly half-hour recap of administration accomplishments including on drug prices and the economy, Trump turned to envoy Steve Witkoff — not technically a Cabinet member — to give the meeting's first report.

Trump asked Witkoff for an update on the Middle East, where the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, Ran Gvili, were recovered and returned to his family earlier this week.

''Your policy of peace through strength that's what delivered them home,'' Witkoff told Trump.

During his opener, Trump told many of the same stories he often does about policy decisions, although he did make news in noting he had he informed Venezuela's leader Delcy Rodríguez that he's going to be opening up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, to which the U.S. suspended commercial travel in 2019.

The president said of his Cabinet meeting in December, ''It was a little bit on the boring side.''

Recalling being seen as struggling to keep his eyes open during that gathering, Trump insisted, ''I didn't sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell out of there.''

The comment drew laugher, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has made a trademark of laughing loudest during Cabinet meetings.

Potentially less funny for those gathered during Thursday's meeting, Trump said not everyone would be allowed to speak to save time.

''We're not going to go through the whole table,'' the president said, after he opened the meeting by speaking for nearly 25 minutes straight.

The participation of the director of national intelligence was unusual, given that Gabbard is not part of the FBI or federal law enforcement.

Asked to explain, a senior administration official said in a statement that ''Gabbard has a pivotal role in election security and protecting the integrity of our elections against interference, including operations targeting voting systems, databases, and election infrastructure.''

Trump has long insisted that the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from him even though courts, his own former attorney general and audits have concluded that there was no widespread fraud that could have altered the outcome of the 2020 contest.

Trump says he's opening U.S. air travel to Venezuela

Trump said he informed Venezuela's leader Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday that he's going to be opening up all commercial airspace over Venezuela and Americans will soon be able to visit.

''American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela and they'll be safe there,'' Trump said.

The U.S. suspended commercial travel to Venezuela in 2019.

Trump says he's working with Dems to avert shutdown

The president, as he kicked off his Cabinet meeting, said his administration is speaking with congressional Democrats on avoiding a partial government shutdown.

''We're working on that right now,'' Trump said while declining to go into specifics. He added: ''We don't want a shutdown.''

Trump's Cabinet meeting begins

Trump opened his Cabinet meeting by briefly highlighting improvements to the room, then moving on to his administration's successes.

He touched on his administration's efforts on crime before moving to Venezuela, where he thanked staff involved with the military operation to end the presidency of Nicolás Maduro.

House GOP wants stricter voting rules as Trump eyes midterms

House Republicans are proposing sweeping changes to the nation's voting laws before Americans get their say in this fall's midterm elections.

''These reforms will improve voter confidence, bolster election integrity, and make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat,'' said Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, in a statement.

Republicans are calling their new legislation the ‘Make Elections Great Again Act'

The GOP election rules legislation a long road ahead in the narrowly-split Congress, where Democrats have rejected similar ideas as disenfranchising Americans' ability to vote. According to a one-page bill summary:

1. states would have to verify citizenship when people register to vote

2. voters would have to present a photo ID at the polls

4. mail-in ballots would have to be received by the close of polling on Election Day to be counted, with an exception for overseas military personnel.

5. mailing ballots to all voters through universal vote-by-mail systems would be prohibited.

Voting rights advocates have been alarmed by similar GOP proposals

They say such changes could lead to widespread problems for voters. For example, they say prior Republican efforts to require proof of citizenship have disenfranchised married women whose last names on their photo IDs don't exactly match their birth certificates or other proofs of citizenship.

The Brennan Center for Justice and other groups estimated in a 2023 report that 9% of U.S. citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of their citizenship readily available. Almost half of Americans do not have a U.S. passport.

Majority Leader John Thune opened the Senate as Republicans and Democrats eye an emerging deal to consider immigration enforcement changes and prevent a federal shutdown.

''We're getting closer,'' the GOP leader said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said immigration changes must be included in any deal to fund the government.

''This is a moment of truth,'' Schumer said.

Democrats want an end to roving patrols and a requirement that federal agents use body cameras and unmask themselves.

''Enough is enough,'' he said.

Kennedy Center's head of artistic programming steps down 2 weeks after taking the job

Kevin Couch confirmed in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that he resigned Wednesday, without providing an explanation. It's the latest sign of turmoil at the iconic performing arts venue.

The Kennedy Center's Trump-appointed president, Ric Grenell, had welcomed Couch to the role ''as we expand our commonsense programming.''

Couch's exit comes as Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to walk the red carpet at the Kennedy Center on Thursday for the premiere of ''Melania,'' a documentary she produced.

Homan vows accountability, but didn't suggest agents have done anything wrong

Homan vowed to hold ICE and CBP officers accountable for their actions but didn't go into specifics of the Saturday shooting or indicate anything he thought they'd done wrong during the course of the operation.

''For decades, ICE and CBP have carried out their duties with integrity, professionalism and compassion. That remains the expectation under President Trump. And we will, I will, hold our agents and officers to that standard,'' Homan said.

Homan also blamed ''hateful rhetoric'' for ratcheting up attacks on his officers who he called ''American patriots.''

Warner questions Gabbard's role in FBI search of election office

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said that if Gabbard believes a foreign intelligence service tried to swing the election she is obligated to inform his committee. Otherwise, ''she is simply attempting to inject the non-partisan intelligence community into a domestic political stunt designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine our democracy,'' Warner said at a committee hearing Thursday.

Gabbard's office did not immediately respond to questions about Wednesday's action, which involved the FBI executing a search warrant and taking away many boxes of ballots cast by voters. Trump's claims of a stolen election have been repeatedly rejected by courts and state and federal officials, who found no evidence of fraud that would have altered the outcome.

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Homan seeks to expand help for ICE detentions in Minnesota

ICE has historically relied on cooperation from local and state jails and prisons with immigrants in custody who've committed or are accused of crimes to alert ICE so that agents can pick them up before they're released.

ICE argues that arresting immigrants while they're still in custody is safer and better for immigrant communities by avoiding street operations that might result in detentions of other people who are in the country illegally but haven't committed any crimes.

Homan said he appreciates that Minnesota's state prisons honor ICE detainers, ''and we're going to expand upon that.''

Trump's holding a cabinet meeting today. Here's what to expect

Trump and his Cabinet have a meeting set for 11 a.m. Eastern. Anyone planning on tuning in should be prepared for a long haul.

The most recent Cabinet meeting ran past the two-hour mark — long enough that the president was caught closing his eyes. While officials defended this as a sign of the president's active listening, he recently suggested in an interview with New York Magazine that he did so because the meeting was boring. December's still fell short of an August meeting that went more than three hours and 15 minutes.

Minneapolis' Jacob Frey in Washington to meet with mayors, lobby senators on ICE limits

Mayor Frey's office says he'll attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Thursday to advocate for an end to the immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. He'll also meet with federal lawmakers as Senate Democrats threaten to hold up this year's Homeland Security budget unless the Trump administration agrees to limit ICE arrests to the targets of judicial warrants.

''Minneapolis may be where we've seen one of the largest ICE deployments in the country, but it will not be the last if we fail to act,'' Frey said in the statement. ''I'm going to Washington to make the case for ending this strategy and replacing it with approaches that build trust, improve safety, and put our residents first.''

Homan: No timeline for leaving Minnesota

''I'm staying until the problem's gone,'' Homan said.

More agreements are now in place between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local jails to hand over immigrants in their custody, and he said this means fewer officers will be needed in the streets, which in turn will allow the Trump administration to draw down staff.

Border czar suggests more targeted operations in Minneapolis

Homan also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what Immigration and Customs Enforcement calls ''targeted operations'' designed to focus their arrest efforts on apprehending immigrants who've committed crimes.

Homan said they would conduct ''targeted strategic enforcement operations'' where they would prioritize ''public safety threats.''

He also called on local jails to alert immigration enforcement when they have someone in their custody who is an immigrant about to be released, saying that transferring people over to ICE while they're still in jail is safer for the officers and means they aren't out on the streets.

Trump eyes basing his Board of Peace at DC building that formerly housed US Institute of Peace

The Trump administration is looking at basing Trump's new international Board of Peace in the Washington building that formerly housed the U.S. Institute of Peace, according to four administration officials.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the subject has been a matter of serious discussion but stressed that a final decision has not yet been made about where the board's administrative staff will be located.

The building is the subject of litigation brought by former USIP employees and executives after the administration seized the facility last year and fired almost its entire staff. The building has since been renamed the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, but its name and status remains in legal limbo.

Trump unveiled the board last week in Davos, Switzerland, and it currently has 27 ''founding members,'' whose first task is to oversee the Gaza peace plan.

Miller slams court order to stop arresting resettled refugees

The judge's temporary restraining order, which aims to prevent federal officers from arresting and detaining resettled refugees in Minnesota, responded to a lawsuit challenging a new Homeland Security operation to to reevaluate the refugee status of nearly 5,600 people.

The order calls for the immediate release of refugees detained in Minnesota and release within five days of those transferred to Texas.

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's quick social media response: ''The judicial sabotage of democracy is unending.''

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Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz warned the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that it had violated 96 court orders in 74 cases this month.

''This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law,'' he wrote. ''ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.''

It was Schiltz who ordered ICE's acting director Todd Lyons to personally appear in his courtroom Friday after the agency failed to obey an order to release an Ecuadorian man from detention in Texas. The judge canceled the order after the agency freed the man, but warned ICE that future noncompliance may result in orders requiring the personal appearances of top government officials.

ICE didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Drawdown in Minnesota but only after ‘cooperation'

Trump sent Tom Homan to Minneapolis after the shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers.

At a Thursday news conference, Homan doubled down on the need for local jails to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement to people in their custody who ICE can remove from the country. Homan said that means that fewer agents have to actually be out on the streets looking for people.

He acknowledged that immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota haven't been perfect but was adamant that the administration isn't surrendering.

A shadow network in Minneapolis defies ICE and protects immigrants

If there's been a soundtrack to life in Minneapolis, it's the shrieking whistles and honking horns of thousands of people following immigration agents across the city. They are the ever-moving shadow of the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge.

And it's clear they'll continue despite the White House striking a more conciliatory tone after the killing of Alex Pretti, including the transfer of Gregory Bovino, the senior Border Patrol official who was the public face of the immigration crackdown.

''I don't think the threat that we're under will change because they change out the local puppets,'' said Andrew Fahlstrom, who helps run Defend the 612, a hub for volunteer networks.

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Republican senator confirms ICE stand down in Maine

Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday that immigration officials have ceased their ''enhanced operations'' in the state after more than 100 arrests in an enforcement surge.

''There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,'' Collins said in a statement. ''I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the Administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.''

Collins said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol officials ''will continue their normal operations that have been ongoing here for many years.''

Trump's Greenland envoy says administration wants ‘unfettered' access to island

Jeff Landry, Trump's envoy to Greenland, says in a New York Times op-ed that the framework of an agreement on Arctic security that Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte agreed upon last week builds on existing defense agreements between the U.S. and Denmark.

''It would expand America's operational freedom, support new bases and infrastructure, facilitate deployment of advanced missile-defense systems like the Golden Dome and crowd out hostile Chinese and Russian influence,'' Landry writes.

The talks follow Trump's repeated calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland for security reasons.

Democratic Sen. Klobuchar says she's running for Minnesota governor

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday she is running for governor of Minnesota, promising to take on President Donald Trump while unifying a state that has endured a series of challenges even before the federal government's immigration crackdown.

Klobuchar's decision gives Democrats a high-profile candidate and proven statewide winner as their party tries to hold onto the office occupied by Gov. Tim Walz. The 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Walz abandoned his campaign for a third term earlier this month amid criticism over the mismanagement of taxpayer funding for child care programs.

Klobuchar cited Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota, federal officers killing two Minnesotans who protested, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the last year. She avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into the child care programs that Trump has made a political cudgel.

US appeals court says Noem illegally ended protections for Venezuelans and Haitians

A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it ended legal protections that gave hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela permission to live and work in the United States.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found Noem exceeded her authority when she ended temporary protected status for Venezuelans. The decision, however, will not have any immediate practical effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in October allowed Noem's decision to take effect pending a final decision by the justices.

The 9th Circuit panel also upheld the lower court's finding that Noem exceeded her authority when she decided to end TPS early for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti. A federal judge in Washington is expected to rule any day now on a request to pause the termination of TPS for Haiti while a separate lawsuit challenging it proceeds. The country's TPS designation is scheduled to end on February 3.

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Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on Trump's surge of immigration enforcement.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats won't provide needed votes until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ''reined in and overhauled.''

''The American people support law enforcement, they support border security, they do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,'' Schumer said.