WASHINGTON — On his first full day in office Tuesday, President Donald Trump continued sweeping actions, including ordering the shuttering of all executive branch diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and ordering all employees working in such offices to be placed on leave.
In addition, Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who previously served as his national security adviser during his first term. He also announced private sector investments of up to $500 million to build artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Keep up with the USA TODAY news team for updates:
President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he was nominating former fast-food exec Andrew Puzder to be his ambassador to the European Union.
Puzder was Trump’s original nominee for Labor secretary in 2017, but Puzder withdrew his name from consideration. His nomination drew opposition from senators of both parties after he admitted to employing a housekeeper who was not legally authorized to work in the country. He was also accused of permitting practices that violated workers’ rights. A confirmation hearing was never held.
Flash forward eight years, and Trump said he’d nominate Puzder to serve again, this time in the plum position of European ambassador. Ambassador nominations also require Senate approval, and Puzder will be expected to testify before the upper chamber’s Foreign Relations panel.
– Francesca Chambers
The top official at the Department of Veterans Affairs wants staff to report if they learn of efforts to disguise diversity, equity and inclusion programs targeted for termination by the Trump administration, according to an email obtained by USA TODAY.
The email from Todd Hunter, Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs, says he is “aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.”
Employees should report any such efforts within 10 days or “may result in adverse consequences,” he wrote.
The message follows President Donald Trump‘s executive order ending DEI programs across the federal government.
– Tom Vanden Brook
In another policy reversal, President Donald Trump has changed the country’s official designation for the Houthis, the Shia Islamist group active in Yemen for decades, according to a news release.
Trump signed an executive order Wednesday designating Ansar Allah, the group also known as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization for the second time.
Trump designated the Houthis a terrorist group in the final days of his last term in January. Former President Joe Biden delisted the group from that designation shortly after taking office to help facilitate humanitarian assistance to Yemen. The State Department deemed it a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group last year over its sustained attacks on commercial shippers in the Red Sea.
Republicans had urged Trump before his inauguration to redesignate the militant group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Under the Biden administration, the Iranian proxy group was delisted as an FTO
The group’s designation becomes effective in 30 days.
“Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” the release says.
The Trump administration will also end its relationship with groups that “have made payments to the Houthis, or which have opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis while turning a blind eye towards the Houthis’ terrorism and abuses,” it says.
– Gabrielle Banks and Francesca Chambers
Democratic senators on the Armed Services Committee asked Pete Hegseth to privately meet with every member of the committee after his former sister-in-law claimed in signed testimony that he terrified his ex-wife and drank to the point of vomiting and passing out, among other accusations.
The Senate has yet to vote on Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of Defense, but the committee approved it Monday by a vote of 14-13, along party lines.
“We request that Mr. Hegseth meet privately with every interested lawmaker on the committee before the Senate votes on his nomination so that we can have frank discussions about the new information that has come to light,” the group, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, said in a joint statement. “It would be irresponsible and contrary to our constitutional duty for the Senate to vote to confirm this nomination before such meetings have occurred.”
In the affidavit, the former wife of Hegseth’s brother claimed Hegseth’s ex-wife hid in closet and set a code word for when he threatened her. Hegseth was dragged out of a strip club where he was getting lap dances in military uniform, and drank to the point of vomiting and passing out, she claimed. He also made racist and sexist comments disparaging Hispanic people and Muslims, according to the document.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, dismissed all the allegations as false.
– Cybele Mayes-Osterman
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced a new select subcommittee on Wednesday that would continue House Republicans’ investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done,” Johnson said in a statement.
The purpose of the new subcommittee, Johnson said, is to “uncover the full truth” of the riot.
Though the House did form a bipartisan select committee in 2021 to investigate the attack, Republicans have criticized the panel’s findings. The select committee released a final report in 2022 that alleged the “central cause” of the attack was Donald Trump, “who many others followed.”
In response to Johnson’s announcement, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the bipartisan committee, told reporters on Wednesday that you can’t “unwrite history.”
“I stand by the work that we did,” he said.
– Sudiksha Kochi
Lisa Murkowski, one of the most moderate lawmakers in Congress, knocked Trump’s pardons and commutations for over 1,500 people charged and convicted in the Jah. 6 Capitol riot.
“The Capitol Police officers are the backbone of Congress— every day they protect and serve the halls of democracy,” the Alaska Republican shared on X. “I strongly denounce the blanket pardons given to the violent offenders who assaulted these brave men and women in uniform.”
Murkowski voted to impeach Trump during his second impeachment trial, when he was charged with inciting the Capitol attack.
– Marina Pitofsky
Sean Duffy, Trump’s pick to lead the Transportation Department, cleared a pivotal hurdle on Wednesday. The Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously to send his nomination to the larger Senate, where he’ll have his final confirmation vote soon.
Duffy, a one-time Wisconsin lawmaker and reality star, told senators he believes Boeing requires “tough love” from federal officials, and he would allow an ongoing safety probe into Elon Musk’s Tesla to continue if he’s confirmed.
– Marina Pitofsky
One of Donald Trump’s first acts in office was offering pardons or commutations to nearly 1,600 people charged or convicted in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
But at least one recipient isn’t accepting the offer. Pamela Hemphill of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in jail in connection with the riot. She said her attorney told her Tuesday that she had received a pardon, but she refused it.
“Accepting the pardon would be an insult to the Capitol Police officers, to the rule of law, to our nation,” Hemphill told the Idaho Statesman. “The J6 criminals are trying to rewrite history by saying that it was not a riot; it wasn’t an insurrection. I don’t want to be a part of their trying to rewrite what happened that day.”
− Marina Pitofsky
Trump said on Tuesday that he was open to billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, or Larry Ellison, co-founder of the software company Oracle, to acquire TikTok – an idea that Democratic lawmakers have balked at.
“That’s so predictable. I mean, anytime he can use his influence to lavish favors on rich friends, he does it. And this has all been just so predictable,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who voted in favor of the bipartisan law.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said that Musk acquiring TikTok was “always a concern” of hers.
But Republicans have been open to the idea.
“Somebody needs to take ownership of this from the Chinese Communist Party. I don’t know who it is. I mean, if it’s a U.S. citizen all the better,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, is based in Beijing.
− Sudiksha Kochi
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., commended Trump’s order placing federal DEI workers on leave.
“The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race of gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender,” Kennedy told reporters Wednesday.
“The truth is the American people don’t think about race or gender merely as much as some folks in Washington want to pretend,” he continued.
Kennedy said he would prefer a more race- or gender-blind approach to hiring, and expects to see this under the Trump administration.
“To a bear, we all taste like chicken,” Kennedy said.– Savannah Kuchar
Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk undercut an announcement the president made Tuesday about a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to build artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Trump said the project, named Stargate, would be a joint venture between ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle, with each committing $100 billion for immediate deployment.
An announcement of the venture by Open AI CEO Sam Altman on X, was immediately derided by Musk.
“They don’t actually have the money,” wrote Musk. Moments later, he added another tweet saying, “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”
Musk has been a vocal critic of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman since the company became a for-profit entity.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
President Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to “stop this ridiculous” war with Ukraine or face consequences.
Trump said he would be forced to “put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia” to the United States in a post on Truth Social.
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” he said, saying the warning was a “favor” to Russia, whose economy he said was “failing.”
“Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with,” he said.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday he wouldn’t second-guess President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon nearly 1,600 people charged with the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Johnson said peaceful protests should never be punished and that the Justice Department was weaponized against Trump’s supporters. But the pardons also covered hundreds of people convicted of assaulting police and other violence.
“It was a terrible time and a terrible chapter in America’s history. The president has made his decision. I don’t second-guess those,” Johnson said. “We believe in redemption. We believe in second chances.”
– Bart Jansen
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., slammed former President Joe Biden for pardoning his son Hunter, brother James and other relatives before leaving office Monday and said legislative action was possible.
“It was shocking,” Johnson said. “It was breathtaking to us.”
He noted that Democrats criticized President Donald Trump four years earlier at the possibility he would pardon allies before leaving office. But Johnson said the pardons confirm GOP suspicions about what he called “the Biden crime family.”
House Republicans conducted an impeachment inquiry against Biden, which included close scrutiny of Hunter Biden and James Biden for their overseas business deals. The former president denied wrongdoing and said he never benefited from the deals. Hunter Biden was convicted of gun and tax charges. Lawmakers urged the Justice Department to investigate James Biden.
The former president pardoned Hunter Biden WHEN and James Biden and other relatives on his last day in office Monday.
“To us it is disgusting,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of attention that will be paid to this and we will be looking at it as well.”
– Bart Jansen
Two law enforcement groups – the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police – said President Donald Trump’s pardon of people charged in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, “sends a dangerous message” and they should have served their entire prison terms.
“When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe, potentially emboldening others to commit similar acts of violence,” the two groups said in a joint statement Tuesday.
The Fraternal Order of Police had endorsed Trump in September and both groups said they have longstanding and positive relationships with him. But they voiced disappointment with Trump pardoning nearly 1,600 people, including hundreds convicted of assaulting police officers, and ended the sentences for 14 people.
“The IACP and FOP firmly believe that those convicted of such crimes should serve their full sentences,” the groups said.
– Bart Jansen
President Donald Trump will be addressing leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday via video, according to organizers.
The address will start 11 a.m. and last 45 minutes.
The first day of the meeting coincided with the inauguration of President Trump, and the organizers expect the White House to be a “key topic” as Trump’s policy will impact the global economy in many ways.
“These include imposing steep tariffs on other major economies, reassessing long-held military and diplomatic alliances, reforming multilateral institutions and rolling back an array of US regulations,” according to organizers.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night defended Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, in an interview on CNN.
Some lawmakers have called Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii, a likely “Russian asset,” and expressed concerns over Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with former Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Gabbard, who was a Democrat when she served as a congresswoman from 2013 to 2021, supported Sanders during his presidential run in 2016.
Sanders said Gabbard “took a lot of heat” for supporting him over Hillary Clinton.
He said he was not worried about her visit with Assad.
“The idea that you should not sit down with your adversaries whether it is Iran, whether it’s China, whether it’s North Korea, whether it’s Syria, whatever it may be,” he said. “I don’t think that that’s a valid criticism.”
He went on praise Trump for his own meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018.
“Donald Trump did the right thing. Every once in a while, he does,” he said.
He said he had not made up his mind on how he would vote for Gabbard during the upcoming Senate confirmation hearing.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
President Donald Trump signed a document Tuesday evening that directed the Federal Aviation Administration to cease its use of diversity, equity and inclusion hiring authorities. He singled out disability hiring authorities in particular.
“During the prior administration … the FAA betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous discrimination over excellence,” the president argued. He further decried the recruitment of “individuals with serious infirmities,” in a rebuke of disability hiring efforts.
The country’s aviation watchdog used expedited disability hiring authorities for at least a decade, including during Trump’s first administration. Such programs permitted hiring managers to bypass the competitive hiring process to appoint professionally qualified candidates with disabilities.
In the document, Trump argued pro-diversity hiring practices “[penalize] hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color.”
The agency, however, struggles with large shortages of air traffic controllers, who must meet stringent medical requirements that disability hiring authorities could not circumvent.
The move is one of many executive actions focused on the federal workforce enacted since Trump took office Monday afternoon. His other actions addressed DEI hiring more broadly, froze hiring in most executive agencies and directed a return to in-person work for many federal employees, among other directives.
– Davis Winkie
President Donald Trump revoked a 1965 civil rights executive order Tuesday, rolling back authorities long used to prevent employment discrimination by federal contractors, subcontractors and grant recipients. He also ordered agencies to plan potential civil rights investigations against private sector entities who embrace diversity hiring.
In his own executive order, Trump attacked such policies as “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion.’”
Trump’s order flips the script, arguing that affirmative action provisions are illegally discriminatory. Federal agencies instead must now “enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”
– Davis Winkie
Trump will sit down today for an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity for the first interview from the Oval Office, according to Politico. The interview will air at 9 p.m.
The president is also expected to meet a group of “centrist Republicans” at the White House, the outlet also reported.
The White House has not yet released a public schedule for the president. The in-town press pool (the rotation of the small group of reporters who shadow the president) has been asked to report at 9 a.m.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Justice Department officials were swiftly reassigned in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s Monday inauguration in order to help align the department with the new administration’s priorities – particularly on immigration, a department official familiar with the matter told USA TODAY.
In a speech to supporters Monday, Trump described immigration as his “number one issue.”
The swift moves at the Justice Department, which were in place by Tuesday, show the administration moving to enact his immigration agenda at the department level.
– Aysha Bagchi
President Trump said Tuesday night that he had given a “full and unconditional” pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an online black market which enabled users to buy and sell illegal drugs.
The president announced his decision on Truth Social.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
President Trump announced on Tuesday a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to build artificial intelligence infrastructure, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology.
Trump said the joint venture, called Stargate, will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected over the next four years.
And CEOs Masayoshi Son of SoftBank and Sam Altman of OpenAI CEO along with Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the launch.
– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
