Federal government reopens, DHS remains on stopgap funding
WASHINGTON — The federal government returned to full operation on Tuesday following a four-day partial shutdown over the weekend that affected the departments of homeland security, transportation, housing and urban development, and multiple others. The $1.2 trillion funding bill signed by President Donald Trump will fund the entire federal government until the end of the 2026 fiscal year with the exception of the DHS, as calls for Immigration and Customs Enforcement reform continue in Congress.
The funding bill, House Resolution 7148, was signed into law on Tuesday after the House of Representatives passed it in a 217-214 vote. The DHS, the only department not funded by H.R. 7148, will remain on stopgap funding until Friday, Feb. 13. If Congress does not negotiate and pass a separate funding bill for the DHS by the end of this week, the DHS alone will enter another shutdown on Saturday.
Calls for a reformed DHS spending bill began in January, after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of ICE agents in Minneapolis. Democrats in Congress have expressed their hope for a bill that stops racial profiling, requires body camera usage during interactions between agents and the public, and prohibits agents from wearing masks, among other demands.
In a press release on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries explained his perspective on the necessity of reforming the DHS spending bill.
“Americans from every corner of the country are demanding accountability and an end to the lawless, paramilitary tactics that ICE is using in our communities,” Jeffries wrote. “Absent bold and meaningful change, there is no credible path forward with respect to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill on February 13.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mike Johnson expressed hope that Democrats and Republicans would approve a spending bill by the Feb. 13 deadline.
“This is no time to play games with that funding,” Johnson said. “We hope that they will operate in good faith over the next 10 days as we negotiate this. The president, again, has reached out.”
Anti-ICE protests break out in Milan as Winter Olympics start
MILAN — Hundreds of local protesters spoke out against the presence of U.S. federal immigration enforcement officers as part of the U.S. envoy to the Winter Olympics, which began on Friday in Milan.
On Jan. 27, the Trump administration announced that units belonging to Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would be deployed to Milan. In a post published on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of Homeland Security stated that ICE will support the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service “to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations.” The post denied claims that the officers would conduct immigration enforcement on foreign land.
Community organizers led the protest on Friday, hours before the start of the Winter Olympics. Protesters carried signs that read, “ICE out,” and “No ICE in Milano.” Several protesters carried signs and images of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens fatally shot by ICE officers in Minneapolis as immigration enforcement violence spiked in the city over the last month.
The HSI focuses on “investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States.”
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Milan for the opening ceremony in San Siro stadium. During the event, crowd members booed when the jumbotron showed Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance.
Gus Kenworthy, a skier representing Great Britain at the Olympics, also protested against ICE presence. On his personal social media page, Kenworthy posted a photo of the message “[F—] ICE” spelled out in urine on a block of snow. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that “all participants have the opportunity to express their views as per the Athlete Expression Guidelines” and that they do not regulate personal digital platforms.
Vance is set to remain in Italy for the week. The duration of ICE’s presence in Milan is assumed to span the Winter Games.
Iran and US continue to host talks amid tensions between the states
MUSCAT, Oman — U.S. and Iranian officials met in the Omani capital to negotiate the latter’s nuclear program. Additional agenda items remain unknown.
Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the meeting addressed items “focused on creating appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations.”
U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper was present in Muscat, representing the U.S.; this is the first time a high-ranking military official has been present for negotiations with Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended the talks as well. Officials representing both states discussed matters indirectly via intermediaries, led by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.
Araghchi called the talks “positive” on Iranian television shortly after they concluded. President Donald Trump called the discussions “very good.”
The U.S. continues to pressure Iran into limiting the state’s range and quantity of ballistic missiles. However, Araghchi said the missiles were “never negotiable,” and the state would only discuss the future of its nuclear program, as Tehran additionally pushes for the U.S. to deescalate its threats of war.
The U.S. military’s primary aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln, sailed through the Arabian Sea during the representatives’ meeting. The Trump administration deployed the carrier to the region after Trump issued threats over the state’s violent repression of protesters and as a pressuring strategy for discussions over Iran’s nuclear program.
On the same day, the U.S. announced a 25% tariff on countries that continued to conduct business operations with Iran.
Representatives for the U.S. and Iran confirmed a second set of talks. However, a date has not been specified. Araghchi confirmed the following rounds of negotiations would be decided after “consulting with the capitals.”
Trump faces backlash after posting racist video on Truth Social
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump deleted a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as primates posted to his Truth Social account on Friday. The post was up for about 12 hours before being taken down. After facing bipartisan backlash from members of Congress, a White House official attributed the post on Trump’s account to an unidentified staffer, according to CBS.
Republicans and Democrats alike condemned Trump’s Truth Social post in statements to reporters and on social media. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott criticized the post.
“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” he wrote. “The President should remove it.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman and Democratic New York Rep. Yvette Clarke commented on the climate in the White House that enables posts like these.
“If there wasn’t a climate, a toxic and racist climate within the White House, we wouldn’t see this type of behavior regardless of who it’s coming from,” Clarke said. Additionally, she said that Trump “is a racist, he’s a bigot, and he will continue to do things in his presidency to make that known.”
PBS also noted that Trump has a history of publicly using racist rhetoric when speaking about Obama, such as promoting false claims in 2016 that he was born in Kenya.
Prior to the post’s removal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described backlash toward the video as “fake outrage.” Trump denied any wrongdoing in regard to the post, telling reporters on Friday evening that he will not apologize for it. As he was boarding Air Force One on Friday, he told reporters that he “didn’t make a mistake.”
