The Latest: Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff to be put on leave

Donald Trump began his presidency with a dizzying display of force, signing a blizzard of executive orders that signaled his desire to remake American institutions while also pardoning nearly all of his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Here's the latest:

Trump moves to dismantle DEI efforts, pardons Silk Road founder on first full day

On the first full day of his second term, Trump defended his decision to grant clemency to Jan. 6 rioters, suggested there was a place in his movement for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and directed that federal staffers who work on DEI efforts be put on leave.

He also met with Republican congressional leaders and issued a pardon to the founder of an underground website for selling drugs whom supporters likened to a ''libertarian political prisoner.''

Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff to be put on leave

Trump's administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

▶ Read more about the administration's efforts to dismantle federal DEI programs

Trump and congressional GOP leaders have first date, with cookies at White House

On the one side of Trump sat Speaker Mike Johnson. On the other was Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

And other GOP leaders joined for the meeting in the Cabinet Room.

It was more of a date than a marriage, said one person familiar with the private meeting, and granted anonymity to discuss it.

The GOP leaders were given chocolate chip cookies and commemorative coins.

It was all carrot, no threat of sticks, for now, the person said. They're confident they'll have a second date.

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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Dustin Weaver contributed reporting.

TV audience for Trump's 2nd inauguration is smallest since 2013

Nielsen said it's also down from the 33.8 million who saw Joe Biden's inauguration four years ago, and the 30.6 million who saw Trump take office for the first time in 2017.

Fox News Channel, the most popular network among Trump's supporters, had more than twice as many viewers as any other single network.

Trump pardons Silk Road founder

Trump says he has pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence.

Ulbricht created the underground website that prosecutors had described as an unprecedented one-stop online shopping mall where the supply of drugs was virtually limitless.

Trump posted on Truth Social that he spoke to Ulbricht's mother on his first full day in office.

''It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,'' he wrote. ''The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me.''

Hegseth's former sister-in-law alleges abuse in affidavit

Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary received an affidavit from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife to the point where she feared for her safety.

A lawyer for Hegseth denied the allegations.

▶ Read more about the affidavit

Trump says tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about drugs and immigration, not trade talks

Trump said Tuesday that the 25% tariffs that he intends to place on Canada and Mexico as soon as Feb. 1 would have ''nothing to do'' with renegotiating the existing trade pact among the three countries. For him, the tariffs are all about stopping unauthorized migration and the flow of any illicit drugs.

Trump has also threatened tariffs against China over the exporting of chemicals used to make fentanyl, though the U.S. president said he didn't have prolonged discussions about the import taxes in his conversation last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

''We didn't talk too much about tariffs other than he knows where I stand,'' Trump said.

The Trump administration has named an adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Mike Banks has advised Texas on the multibillion-dollar ''Operation Lone Star,'' which put the state in an unprecedented role in border enforcement. Texas frequently faced off with the Biden administration over legal authorities to police the border.

Banks replaces Jason Owens, who is retiring after nearly three decades in the Border Patrol.

Banks, a former Border Patrol agent, said he will ''strengthen partnerships, enhance operations and embrace innovation.'' He will oversee about 20,000 agents.

Trump calls Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘smart'

''Russia never would have gone into Ukraine,'' Trump said. ''I had a very strong understanding with Putin. That would have never, ever happened. He disrespected Biden. Very simple. He disrespects people. He's smart. He understands. He disrespected Biden.''

Senate vote to confirm Trump's pick for CIA director delayed

The Senate has delayed an expected vote to confirm President Donald Trump's pick to be the next CIA director after Democrats raised objections.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas says Tuesday's vote was put off after Senate Democrats raised objections about John Ratcliffe's nomination.

Cotton accused Democrats of trying to drag out the nominations intentionally to obstruct Trump. He said Thursday is the earliest a vote could be held on Ratcliffe's nomination.

2 new Republican senators are sworn in

The Senate gained two Republican new members on Tuesday as Florida's Ashley Moody and Ohio's Jon Husted were sworn in.

Moody, who was serving as Florida's attorney general, was appointed to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, who was confirmed as President Donald Trump's secretary of state on Monday.

And Husted, who was Ohio's lieutenant governor, is replacing Vice President JD Vance. Both of them will serve until at least 2026, when elections will be held to permanently fill their seats.

Vance swore them both in, serving in his new capacity as president of the Senate.

Trump is defending his decision to terminate the Secret Service detail assigned to his former national security adviser, John Bolton.

Bolton was the target of an alleged 2021 Iranian assassination plot.

Trump said of the past years of protection for Bolton: ''I think that was enough time.''

''We're not going to have security on people for the rest of their lives,'' Trump said. He added, ''You can't have that for life. You shouldn't expect it for life.''

Presidents have Secret Service protection for life.

Trump doesn't have TikTok... yet

Trump says he doesn't have TikTok on his phone, but that could be changing. Leaving his infrastructure event, he was asked whether he's installed the app, which the U.S. government has banned from federal devices due to concerns it could lead to spying by Chinese intelligence agencies.

''No but I think I might put it there,'' Trump said. He repeated his praise for the platform, which he says helped him perform well with young voters.''I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,'' Trump said.

During his first term, Trump tried to ban TikTok, calling it a national security threat

Trump's phone has already been hacked by China.

Trump is describing the letter Joe Biden left him in the Resolute Desk.

''It was a very nice letter,'' Trump tells reporters. ''It was a little bit of an inspirational-type letter,'' he said, with Biden emphasizing ''how important the job is'' and telling him to do a job.

Trump found the letter -- addressed to ''47″ -- while he was signing executive orders in the Oval office Monday in front of a gaggle or reporters and said he'd opened in Monday night.

He says he is considering releasing it publicly at some point.

‘We have to see,' Trump says of whether there's a place for extremist groups in his movement

Trump said, ''Well, we have to see. They've been given a pardon. I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive.''

Trump defends his decision to pardon people convicted of assaulting police officers on Jan. 6

President Trump is defending his decision to pardon people who were charged and convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, despite having run as an ally of law enforcement.

''I am the friend of police, more than any president who's ever been in this office,'' he said.

Trump tells reporters at the White House that those he pardoned have already served years in prison. And he claims murderers often aren't charged for their crimes.

Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes connected to the riot on his first day back in office.

Trump says LA wildfires help him on budget talks

President Donald Trump says after meeting Tuesday with Republican congressional leaders that the Los Angeles wildfires will make budget talks easier with Democrats.

Trump said the budget talks have in some ways been ''made simpler by Los Angeles because they're going to need a lot of money. And generally speaking, I think you'll find that a lot of Democrats are going to be asking for help.''

The president met Tuesday afternoon with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Trump plans to visit North Carolina, California and Nevada on the first trip of second term

Trump says he'll make the first trip of his second administration on Friday, visiting hurricane-hit parts of western North Carolina before going to Los Angeles and then Nevada.

The new president vowed federal assistance for the people of Los Angeles after the fires, and said that government funding will continue to flow to North Carolina -- a state he said Democrats ''have abandoned.''

He said he'd then visit Nevada to ''thank them for the big vote.'' Trump noted that the state usually votes Democratic in presidential races, and he wanted to mark his November victory there.

Republicans raise threat of recess appointments for Trump's Cabinet

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, ''I think we're going to find out here fairly quickly, you know, whether or not the Democrats want to help us get through some of these nominations in a way that gets us back on track with the way it was done prior to the last two presidencies.''

Thune has pushed for a speedy confirmation process for Trump's Cabinet, yet the new president has also demanded that Republicans be ready to put the Senate into recess, which could allow Trump to appoint Cabinet positions without Senate confirmation.

Trump announces partnership that will invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure

Trump is announcing a new partnership that has committed to investing at least $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure on his first full day in office.

Trump has been joined by Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle at the White House.

He's calling it ''a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential'' since he won.

While Trump has used similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout in data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.

Republicans will move ahead with one bill to hold their priorities

Congressional Republican leaders emerged from a lengthy hours-long meeting at the White House with plans to push ahead on what Trump has previously called a ''big, beautiful bill'' to hold their priorities.

''We're moving forward on reconciliation— with one bill,'' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

''He's got a resolve, you could just see it,'' Scalise said of Trump. ''He came here to really solve the problems that our country's facing, and do it quickly.''

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms disputes Trump's assertion he fired her

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms disputed Trump's assertion that he fired her from the President's Export Council, posting on Instagram a resignation letter she said she sent to Biden on Jan. 4 that said she was resigning from her position effective Monday.

''You can't fire someone who has already resigned,'' she wrote.

Republican congressional leaders meet with Trump at White House

House and Senate leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not speak to reporters before leaving the White House late Tuesday afternoon.

What's next with TikTok?

Trump directed his Justice Department to pause enforcement of the TikTok ban until early April, but a host of questions remain - including whether Trump has the authority to issue such an order and whether TikTok's China-based parent would be amenable to selling the popular social media platform.

▶ Read more about the next steps with TikTok

Right-wing extremists embrace Musk's straight-arm gesture

Musk himself was dismissive of the critics who saw it as a Nazi salute, though he didn't offer further explanation.

But the confusion and plea for calm hasn't stopped critics and fans alike of the world's richest man from reading into the gesture what they wanted.

▶ Read more about Musk's controversial gesture

Getting confirmed was the easy part for Rubio

Marco Rubio was confirmed by the Senate for secretary of state with unanimous support.

▶ Read more about the challenges Rubio may face

Schumer mocks Trump's pledge for new US ‘golden age'

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is mocking Trump's promise of a ''golden age,'' saying the flurry of executive orders the president signed created a ''golden age'' for big monied interests and law-breaking Jan. 6 rioters.

''With a flick of a pen, President Trump took steps to make it harder to enroll in health care,'' and ''did nothing, nothing'' for lowering the cost of groceries, housing or other aspects of everyday living, Schumer said.

''It ain't a golden age for you, average American, that's for sure,'' Schumer said.

President Donald Trump will sit down with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, the network announced.

Hannity, a long-time backer of Trump and his agenda, will tape the appearance from the Oval Office Wednesday and it will air during his show at 9 p.m. Eastern. The network says Trump and Hannity will discuss ''the executive orders he's signed thus far, his first 100 days in office and news of the day.''

National Treasury Employees Union files a lawsuit against Trump administration

The National Treasury Employees Union late Monday filed a lawsuit against the new Trump administration over the President's executive order that reclassifies large numbers of federal employees with the intent of making them at-will workers.

The lawsuit states that the executive order ''is contrary to Congress's intent in establishing broad protections for most federal employees.''

Trump abruptly ended the Secret Service detail assigned to former national security adviser John Bolton

Bolton has been the subject of assassination plots by Iran. He served in Trump's administration for nearly a year and a half as national security adviser before releasing a book in 2020 that was sharply critical of Trump and embarrassing for the president amid his failed reelection effort.

''I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection previously provided by the United States Secret Service,'' Bolton said in a statement.

It's the latest in a string of actions by Trump in his first hours in office to punish political opponents.

President Joe Biden extended Secret Service protection to Bolton in 2021 in light of ongoing threats from Iran, and his Justice Department charged an Iranian official a year later with trying to orchestrate a plot of Bolton's life.

Trump to announce a newly formed partnership investing $500B in AI

President Donald Trump on Tuesday will announce investments worth up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.

The new entity, Stargate, will start building out projects needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House.

Joining Trump for the announcement fresh off his inauguration will be Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle.

Kentucky governor wants to see details of Trump policies before publicly disagreeing or supporting them

He expressed concerns about the prospect that tariffs — which Trump has promised — could drive up prices, recalling how retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods in the president's first term affected products like Kentucky bourbon.

''That was hundreds of millions of dollars of negative economic impact that we are still feeling that cost jobs — that cost us in exports,'' Beshear said.

What has the reaction to Trump's birthright citizenship order been?

Eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco sued in federal court to block Trump's order.

New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday the president cannot undo a right written into the Constitution with a stroke of his pen.

Not long after Trump signed the order, immigrant rights groups filed suit to stop it.

Chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts along with other immigrant rights advocates filed a suit in New Hampshire federal court. The suit asks the court to find the order to be unconstitutional.

What is the history of the birthright citizenship issue?

The 14th Amendment did not always guarantee birthright citizenship to all U.S.-born people. Congress didn't authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in the United States, for instance, until 1924.

In 1898, an important birthright citizenship case unfolded in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court held that Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the country. After a trip abroad, he had faced denied reentry by the federal government on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.

What is birthright citizenship?

Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. People, for instance, in the United States on a tourist or other visa or in the country illegally can become the parents of a citizen if their child is born here.

It's been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, supporters say. But Trump and allies dispute the reading of the amendment and say there need to be tougher standards on becoming a citizen.

Trump moved to end birthright citizenship when he ordered the cancellation of the constitutional guarantee that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents' status.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says ‘I'm not going to be warring with the president'

''I'm not going to be warring with the president,'' Adams told reporters. ''I'm going to be working with the president.''

Adams was elected as a Democrat and previously criticized the ''abusive rhetoric and tactics'' of the first Trump era. But he has increasingly embraced Trump in recent months, raising speculation that he is angling for a pardon in his federal case on bribery and campaign finance charges.

On Tuesday, Adams declined to say whether he opposed Trump's executive orders that pardoned Jan. 6 defendants, revoked birthright citizenship and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. And he repeatedly ducked questions about how the city would respond to large-scale immigration raids promised by Trump.

''You shouldn't start out the gate criticizing,'' Adams said. ''You should start trying to collaborate, trying to cooperate.''

New Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls on diplomats to defend and execute Trump's ‘America First' policies

Trump's first confirmed cabinet appointment, Rubio entered the department through its main entrance to loud applause and cheers before addressing his new employees in the same lobby in which former Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered farewell remarks to the building Friday.

''The voters decide the course of our nation, both domestically and abroad, and they have elected Donald J. Trump as our president when it comes to foreign policy on a very clear mission,'' Rubio said. ''And that mission is to ensure that our foreign policy is centered on one thing, and that is the advancement of our national interest, which (was) clearly defined through his campaign as anything that makes us stronger or safer or more prosperous.''

Trump has been publicly skeptical of the value of the State Department since his first term in office and, as he has done with with other agencies, accused some in the diplomatic corps of working to blunt or derail his policy priorities.

Democrats push Collins on whether Trump's hiring freeze will harm veteran care

Some senators are urging Collins to fight the federal hiring freeze Trump declared Monday, saying it will sap the Department of Veterans Affairs' ability to provide medical care or even run veteran cemeteries.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, noted the text of the order says it won't adversely affect Social Security, Medicare and veterans benefits. He asked Collins whether that meant the VA was exempt from the freeze. Collins said he's still examining what it means ''but we support the president's initiative in this phase.''

Collins also said he believes there are numerous opportunities to streamline the VA, but said Trump will protect care.

''I was told by the president to take care of veterans,'' Collins said. ''We're going to take care of veterans.''

Law professor says some Trump executive orders may not survive legal challenges

Speaking at a Federalist Society forum Tuesday, John Yoo, a University of California law professor and former government official who's promoted the idea of expansive presidential authority, said Trump's decision to allow TikTok to continue to operate, for now, appears to run afoul of the law that called for it to shut down by Sunday. The law gave the president the authority to extend the deadline, but Yoo noted that the window when that was allowed had closed by the time Trump took office and signed the order.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said during the forum that the state could consider suing the Trump administration to try to undo Trump's executive order allowing TikTok to continue operating.

Collins seeks to reassure on VA privatization

Collins says he supports giving veterans access to private medical care but is disavowing any intention to privatize or dismantle the existing VA health system.

''There will always be a VA health system for the veteran'' Collins said. But he says the VA ''exists for the veterans'' and that particularly newer veterans may prefer private providers.

Democrats are urging Collins to protect the current system, saying it provides valuable expertise. But some Republicans in particular say it should be easier for veterans to access private medical care because of long distances.

Scott Bessent is one step closer to confirmation after a favorable committee vote.

He was approved with a bipartisan tally of 16-11. The vote clears the way for the full Senate to weigh his confirmation in the coming days.

The approval came over the protest of Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden who said, ''this nominee is not square on his taxes.''

Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon cheered the vote, saying on his podcast that Bessent ''was magnificent.''

Trump's pick to lead Veterans Affairs says he'll review whether the VA should provide abortions

''The law specifically stated that the VA is not to be doing abortions… ,'' said Collins, a former Republican congressman from Georgia. ''The situation came up in 2022, in which they were told to look at a rule that would get around that. To me, it's time for us to take a look at the rule and make sure, just as in every other area of VA life, that we're actually doing what the law and the intent of this body is.''