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Leavitt brushes off Lutnick–Epstein heat with list of administration wins media ignored before ending briefing
Same show, different day.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off a question on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during a press briefing Tuesday, before redirecting her response to listing the administration's recent wins and ending the press conference. 
"Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary," Leavitt said Tuesday when asked if President Donald Trump and the White House still support the Commerce chief following his testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday. 
Leavitt repeatedly was questioned about Epstein during the press conference, including regarding Lutnick saying Tuesday before lawmakers that he visited Epstein's notorious island while on a family vacation in 2012, but that he otherwise had no relationship with the convicted sex offender. 
"My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies," he said Tuesday. "I had another couple with, they were there as well, with their children, and we had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour." 
TRUMP THANKED FLORIDA POLICE FOR EPSTEIN PROBE IN 2000S, FLAGGED ‘EVIL’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: FBI DOC
He also added: "I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?"
Lutnick previously said that he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, with recent document releases from the Department of Justice's investigations into Epstein showing the pair communicated years later. Democrats and other critics have increasingly called for Lutnick's ouster amid the document release, sparking questions as to whether the administration continues to support the Commerce chief. 
EPSTEIN VICTIMS USE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL TO PRESSURE PAM BONDI OVER WITHHELD FILES
Leavitt brushed off the media that the administration continues to back Lutnick before launching into a series of wins notched under Trump's watch that the media did not ask about during the press conference — including that the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 50,000 points for the first time ever earlier in February. 
"I will just point out that there are a lot of wins in the news this week that people in this room have not asked about, because you continue to ask questions about the same subject," Leavitt said. "So let me point them out for you again. On Friday, the Dow shattered 50,000 for the first time ever. This week, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out in opposition to gender mutilation surgeries for children. They are the first major medical group to do so." …

Trump says Reagan ‘folded’ to Japan, brags about raising Swiss tariffs after ‘aggressive’ call
This affects the entire country.

President Donald Trump called former President Ronald Reagan “bad on trade” in a Tuesday interview, pointing to a moment when he said Reagan “folded” to Japan in auto industry negotiations.

“I liked Ronald Reagan, but Ronald Reagan was bad on trade,” Trump told Larry Kudlow in a Fox Business interview. “He had the big shootout with Japan, and he folded, and they came in and took our car market.”

Reagan famously negotiated voluntary export restraints with Japan to put a quota on their automobile exports to the United States, which many trade analysts argue led to a spike in car prices for consumers. Trump, who favors tariffs, told Kudlow that “everybody has problems” and Reagan “was not good on trade.”

“I’m a fan of his, and I thought he just sort of had a great presence. But on trade, if you look at every president we have over the last 50 years was bad on trade. Every single one. But I’m not bad on trade. I’m real good on trade,” Trump said.

In October 2025, Trump and Reagan’s opposing viewpoints on trade took center stage after a Canadian advertisement aired showing Reagan endorsing free trade, causing Trump to pause his trade talks with the U.S.’s northern neighbor. Last May, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also criticized Reagan’s trade policies.

In his Tuesday evening interview, Trump also spoke about a conversation he had with the “prime minister” of Switzerland, likely referring to then-President Karin Keller-Sutter, during which she was “very aggressive” and kept saying they were a “small country” as she discussed the impact of tariffs on her nation. Trump said it was after that phone call that he raised their tariff percentage from 30% to 39%.

“It was a 30% and I didn’t really like the way she talked to us. So instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%,” Trump said. “Then, I got inundated by people from Switzerland, and I figured, you know what, we’ll do something that’s a little bit more palatable, at least now.”

JOHNSON EFFORT TO BLOCK TRUMP TARIFF REPEAL VOTES HITS GOP RESISTANCE

After raising the reciprocal tariff rate on Switzerland to 39% in August, Trump lowered it to 15% in November as part of a joint deal between the two countries and Liechtenstein.

News of a bad phone call over trade negotiations that occurred between Trump and Keller-Sutter broke in August.

Judges may have found a way to bypass 5th Circuit ruling upholding Trump’s mass detention policy
Who's accountable for the results?

But two federal district court judges in Texas, who are bound by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit’s ruling, said the 2-1 decision left an opening for them to continue granting immigrants’ release on other grounds, primarily constitutional arguments against detaining people who have established roots in the U.S. without due process. Those roots amount, in legal parlance, to a “liberty interest” that the Constitution says cannot be taken away without at least a hearing before a neutral judge.

Susan Collins shrugs off attacks by Democrats and Trump, says Maine voters ‘Don’t vote party line’
Trust is earned, not demanded.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is well aware of the tough path ahead as she officially kicks off her 2026 re-election campaign in blue-leaning Maine.
Collins is the top target for Senate Democrats as they try to win back the chamber's majority in November's midterm elections.
"Chuck Schumer has made me once again — this is the third time he's done this — his number one target," Collins said in an interview with Fox News Digital soon after she announced her re-election bid, as she pointed to the longtime top Democrat in the Senate.
Collins took to social media a couple of hours earlier to declare, "GOOD NEWS! I am ALL-IN for 2026."
LONGTIME REPUBLICAN SENATOR MAKES A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
Democrats have long targeted the 73-year-old Collins, who was first elected to the Senate three decades ago, but keep coming up short.
"I will be outspent as I was in 2020, but fortunately, Maine people are famously independent. They look at the individual candidates, and they don't just necessarily vote a party line," the senator said.
Collins was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict after the House impeached President Donald Trump in 2021, following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president aiming to upend congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS?
And Collins has earned Trump's ire with Senate votes that go against the administration's wishes.
Trump has so far not made an endorsement in the pivotal contest, and has taken shots at Collins throughout the year for breaking ranks with him and Republicans, particularly when she voted in favor of bipartisan legislation that would have reined in his war authorities in Venezuela.
Trump declared that Collins and the handful of other Republicans that voted with Democrats to curb his war powers "should never be elected to office again."
"Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America," Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.
When asked if Trump should weigh in, or stay neutral in the contest, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, "I would defer to Susan Collins on that."
"I think she knows how to run in Maine. She's been incredibly successful there. She is a veteran campaigner who knows her state well and knows what works," Thune said.
"So I would, I guess, defer to her on any decisions that are made related to her campaign and what she would like to see happen or not see …

Democrat Asks ICE Leader If He Is ‘Going to Hell’
Every delay has consequences.

Democrats aired their grievances against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, even questioning the salvation of agency leaders.

Questioning grew so contentious that Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., slammed his gavel to remind his colleagues of House “decorum” standards.

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was questioning Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on his salvation.

“Mr. Lyons, do you consider yourself a religious man?” McIver asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lyons responded.

“Oh yes, well, how do you think judgment day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?”

“I’m not going to entertain that question,” Lyons answered.

“Of course not,” McIver shot back. “Do you think you’re going to hell, Mr. Lyons?”

Garbarino quickly interjected, reminding McIver and all members of “standards of decorum and debate.”

?Rep. McIver: “Mr. Lyons, do you consider yourself a religious man?”
 
Director Lyons: “Yes, ma'am.”
 
McIver: “Oh yes, well how do you think judgement day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?”
 
Lyons: “I'm not going to entertain that question.”
 
McIver: "Of…
— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) February 10, 2026

The exchange took place during the over three-hour-long hearing titled “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security: ICE, CBP, and USCIS.” It was one of multiple contentious moments between lawmakers and President Donald Trump’s immigration officials.

The hearing comes on the heels of the administration deploying about 3,000 immigration agents to Minnesota to carry out a large immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities. Anti-ICE protests have expanded in the state after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, on Jan. 24, and an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, on Jan. 7.

After Pretti’s death, Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to take over the enforcement operation. Since his arrival, Homan says cooperation between state, local, and federal law enforcement has improved, leading him to decrease the number of federal agents in the Twin Cities by 700.

In addition to Lyons, Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Rodney Scott, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told members of Congress on Tuesday that under Trump’s leadership, the public is safer, the border is secure, and order has been restored to the immigration system.

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is restoring integrity, accountability, and security to America’s legal immigration system,” Edlow said.

Multiple lawmakers adamantly disagreed with Edlow’s claim during the hearing, even accusing ICE agents of acting like “secret police.”

“I have a simple suggestion: If you don’t want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told Lyons.

Rep. Dan Goldman to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons:
 
"I have a simple suggestion: if you don't want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one." …

Who Will Blink First in DHS Shutdown Battle?
This affects the entire country.

With a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security looming at the end of the week, the Senate is not close to resolving fundamental disagreements on immigration law enforcement.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed openness to a new funding extension to provide time for talks between the White House, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats on how to get the votes to fund the department.

“It’s a work in progress, but I would hope that the Democrats here in the Senate—if it takes more time, which I believe it will—would be amenable to allowing us to get an extension … to allow more time for those negotiations to continue,” said Thune.

Democrats are demanding that Republicans agree to insert restraints on immigration law enforcement agents into a DHS funding bill, which was the product of bipartisan negotiation before the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

DHS is the only discretionary spending area that has not been covered for the rest of the fiscal year. The department is currently running off of a short-term funding extension, which was meant to buy enough time for negotiations.

Across the board, senators are pessimistic about a long-term deal materializing soon. 

“The Democrats are not going to vote for the DHS bill because the Karen wing of their party wants to defund [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], like they wanted to defund the police,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Tuesday. “And they will punish my Democratic friends the rest of their natural lives if they vote for the DHS bill, which involves ICE.”

Kennedy added that Republicans are also entirely uninterested in any proposal “that looks like it handcuffs ICE in doing their jobs” and that Republicans would like to see a crackdown on sanctuary city policies included in any bipartisan deal.

Democrats have asked for major policy concessions in exchange for their votes to fund DHS, such as a judicial warrant requirement for deportations, as well as a prohibition on operations in certain locations.

Thus far, Democrats and Republicans do not have a deal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both D-N.Y., said in a Monday statement that Republicans’ response to Democrat demands “is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have” about ICE.

As the Coast Guard, national disaster response teams, and cybersecurity infrastructure face an imminent dry-up of funding, senators are divided on whether another funding extension, or “continuing resolution,” is a possibility.

“If cooler heads prevail and everybody takes their meds, we’ll end up with a CR, a clean CR, that just extends the status quo, and that we can get [Transportation Security Administration] and Coast Guard and [Federal Emergency Management Agency] funding,“ said Kennedy.

The budget reconciliation bill passed in July 2025 has already provided billions in funding for border security and deportation operations under DHS’ umbrella.

The post Who Will Blink First in DHS Shutdown Battle? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Dem senator fumes that GOP's foreign funding claim 'delegitimizes' anger of anti-ICE agitators in US
What's the endgame here?

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., lamented during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that allegations about foreign funding and coordination among anti-ICE agitators are "delegitimizing" people's justified "anger" and "fear" caused by federal immigration officers.
Kim also called the questioning "dangerous" during the Tuesday hearing, which was about fraud and touched on concerns that foreign adversaries were financing anti-ICE efforts in the U.S. to create a strategic smokescreen meant to deter accountability away from their massive criminal fraud enterprises.      
"People all over this country are frustrated and concerned and upset. They're scared and they're worried about things because they just saw two American citizens get killed in the street by federal agents," Kim said Tuesday. 
FOREIGN BILLIONAIRES FUNNEL $2.6B TO US ADVOCACY GROUPS TO INFLUENCE POLICY, WATCHDOG REPORT CLAIMS
"The idea that people would be saying that this type of anger and this type of of outrage – whether in New Jersey or in Minnesota – is being predominantly coordinated in this type of way," he continued. "I just have to say it is delegitimizing the anger and the fear that people are facing right now … The way in which it's been described … I just think is very dangerous right now. And I hope that we can still say and recognize that there are a lot of people, a lot of people that are furious right now and worried."
The Senator's arguments, such as that the violence from anti-ICE agitators stems from justified anger and that the questioning of how this violence is being organized "delegitimizes" protesting, have been frequently touted by Democrats in the past, and not just as it pertains to the ongoing anti-ICE sentiment.  
During a separate congressional hearing in December, Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, described attacks against ICE agents – which are up 12,000%, according to the Trump administration – as the result of people "channeling [their] frustration."
"You're seeing an overwhelming frustration of the American people in this country that the lack of respect and regard for the rule of law from this administration, and in particular by this Secretary, is at a level we have never seen and violates all of the constitutional norms and all of the principles of legal fairness in this country," Johnson said. "And you're seeing that manifest itself in threats to law enforcement, in bubbling over, because people are frustrated, and they are channeling that frustration because the administration is not listening."
HAWLEY TARGETS MINNESOTA FRAUD, CCP-LINKED MONEY AT SENATE HEARING: …

Grand jury rejects DOJ attempt to indict ‘Seditious Six’ lawmakers
Ask who never gets charged.

A grand jury has refused to indict several former military and intelligence lawmakers who made a video urging military members to disobey illegal orders, according to multiple reports.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia under Jeanine Pirro sought an indictment related to the video, which featured six U.S. lawmakers, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). It was not immediately clear which of the lawmakers were targeted in the failed indictment, according to the New York Times and NBC News.

Slotkin said last week that she would not sit down for a Department of Justice inquiry with Pirro and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the video. In mid-January, Slotkin revealed she was under investigation over the video.

“Today, I sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro informing them that I will not be sitting down with them for their inquiry over a 90-second video I filmed in November,” Slotkin wrote on X last week.

FULTON COUNTY FBI RAID PROMPTED BY TRUMP 2020 ELECTION LAWYER’S CRIMINAL REFERRAL

Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) were also featured in the video. In mid-January, Crow said the six lawmakers had each been contacted by the DOJ.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Pirro’s office for comment.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Key House vote goes down in flames after Republicans rebel over Johnson's Trump tariff gambit
Same show, different day.

A key vote in the House of Representatives failed on Tuesday night after a small group of House Republicans rebelled against their leaders over a measure that would have blocked Congress from intervening in President Donald Trump's tariff agenda.
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., each voted "no" minutes after the process began, but House GOP leaders held the vote open for more than half an hour as they worked on other Republicans who were undecided — and ultimately voted for the bill.
It comes after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was forced earlier to delay the vote by seven hours as GOP leaders worked to quell a burgeoning mutiny within their ranks.
Democrats had planned to force a vote specifically targeting Trump's tariffs on Canada sometime this week.
THESE ARE THE 21 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO HELD OUT AGAINST TRUMP, JOHNSON ON $1.2T SPENDING BILL
But Johnson is dealing with a razor-thin majority and can only afford to lose one vote to still pass anything along partisan lines.
The vote that took place on Tuesday is called a "rule vote," which is a procedural mechanism that sets up terms for debate and final consideration of unrelated pieces of legislation.
Rule votes normally fall along party lines even if the underlying bills have bipartisan support.
HOUSE GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO JUST ONE VOTE AS JOHNSON SWEARS IN NEW HOUSE DEMOCRAT
This time, however, House GOP leaders included language in the rule that, if adopted during the rule vote, would block the chamber from considering legislation overturning Trump's tariffs through at least July.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told reporters earlier on Tuesday that his issue was not with Trump's tariffs but rather the mechanism used by leadership in his conference.
"The rule is to bring bills to the floor and set the parameters for debate. The purpose is not to sneak in unrelated language that expands the power of leadership at the expense of our members," Kiley said. "I will not be voting for any rule that has language of that nature."
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., confirmed to Fox News Digital he would vote against the rule over concerns with the tariff authority language.
Both ended up following through on those threats come Tuesday night.
It's a common frustration among Republicans who believe Congress has ceded too much of its authority, including on tariffs, to the administrative state. But most will not go so far as to block Trump's foreign trade agenda.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., meanwhile, told The Hill that she would also be a "no" vote.
She wound up voting "yes" …

Key House committee advances nationwide voter ID bill, setting up 2026 election fight
Are they actually going to vote on something real?

The House of Representatives is readying to vote on a bill that would mandate photo identification for voters across the United States in the coming 2026 midterm elections.
The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before most bills see a chamber-wide vote, advanced the SAVE America Act on Tuesday as conservatives continue to pressure the Senate to take up the bill after its likely House passage.
It's a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at keeping non-citizens from participating in U.S. elections.
Democrats have attacked the bill as tantamount to voter suppression, while Republicans argue that it's necessary after the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration.
TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters it would get a vote on Wednesday.
The legislation is led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, in the House, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in the Senate.
It is an updated version of Roy's Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the House in April 2025 but was never taken up in the Senate.
Whereas the SAVE Act would create a new federal proof of citizenship mandate in the voter registration process and impose requirements for states to keep their rolls clear of ineligible voters, the updated bill would also require photo ID to vote in any federal elections.
It would also require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls and enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if non-citizens were found to be listed as eligible to vote.
The legislation is highly likely to pass the House, where the vast majority — if not virtually all — Republicans have supported similar pushes in the past.
THIS SENATE DEMOCRAT WANTS VOTER ID FOR HIS CAMPAIGN EVENTS — BUT NOT FEDERAL ELECTIONS
But in the Senate, where current rules say 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster and hold a final vote on a bill, at least seven Democrats would be needed even if all Republicans stuck together.
It's why House conservatives are pushing Senate GOP leaders to change rules in a way that would effectively do away with the 60-vote threshold, even if alternative paths mean paralyzing the upper chamber with hours of nonstop debate.
"[Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.] will take it up. The only question is, will he take it up in an environment where it can pass?" Roy posed to Fox News Digital …