Live updates on the Trump administration: Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
The latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration from Feb. 12, 2025
A former Democratic congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard was one of President Donald Trump’s most contentious nominees, and will now oversee 18 intelligence agencies.
Happening now: The Senate has confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination. See more on this below.
Today’s top Trump headlines:
- Trump says he and Russian leader Putin have agreed to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war (Related: US defense chief Hegseth calls NATO membership for Ukraine unrealistic)
- Fed chair Jerome Powell says Trump’s comments won’t affect interest rate decisions (Related: U.S. inflation got worse last month with rising groceries and gasoline prices
- Government watchdogs fired by Trump sue his administration and ask a judge to reinstate them
- White House bars AP reporter from Oval Office because of AP style policy on ‘Gulf of America’
▶ Get caught up on yesterday’s news
What we’re watching today:
- Happening now: The Senate is holding a closed-door hearing on the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE).
- Happening now: Trump is hosting India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi amid tariff news.
- 1 p.m. ET: The White House will hold a press briefing.
- 2:30 p.m. ET: Trump will sign another round of executive orders.
- TBD: The White House and Kremlin are expected to announce more details on a prisoner swap first announced yesterday.
- TBD: Trump said he’ll sign an order this week assigning new tariffs on imports.
HEARKEN EMBED GOES HERE with language that we can’t get to every question, but we do read them all, etc.
White House pushes back against media’s framing of Trump’s actions as a ‘constitutional crisis’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against critics of Trump’s expansive actions during the daily press briefing, saying that court rulings going against the Trump administration are coming from “judicial activists” on the bench.
“We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law,” Leavitt said.
▶ Dozens of Trump’s executive orders have been blocked or sent to federal court. The AP’s Supreme Court reporter, Mark Sherman, wrote today that Trump may be headed to a test of one of the most foundational cases in American constitutional law, Marbury v. Madison, which established the courts as the final arbiters of law.
JD Vance visits recently reopened Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
Vance held his daughter, Mirabel, in his arms as the family took in the 12th century cathedral. His son, Vivek, strolled by his side and his wife, Usha Vance, walked into Notre Dame holding their eldest son Ewan’s hand.
▶ Vance is making his VP debut on the international stage this week with a trip to Europe. He’s attending a summit on artificial intelligence and meeting with world leaders.
McConnell voted against Gabbard over her ‘alarming lapses in judgment’
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former GOP leader, was the sole Republican voting against Gabbard’s nomination as the nation’s director of the Office of National Intelligence, saying the nominee brings “unnecessary risk” because of her past statements and actions.
He cited her views about Putin, China and Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked sensitive U.S. data, in a statement explaining his decision to vote against her.
Republican senators advance RFK, Jr. toward confirmation to lead Health department
Senators voted today on a party-line to advance Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.
The anti-vaccine guru who has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats appears to be on track to lead the world’s largest public health system, which provides care for millions of Americans.
The final confirmation vote by the Senate is expected no later than Thursday morning.
Arts and Humanities endowments’ grant guidelines now conform with Trump anti-diversity language
Anyone seeking funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities must now comply with President Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion, according to a new statement on the NEA’s grants page.
The two groups hand out millions of dollars each year to individuals and to artistic and cultural organizations.
▶ This is the latest development on Trump’s Executive Order on DEI initiatives. Read about the order.
Evacuating USAID staffers in Congo faced angry crowds and looting
Employees of the U.S. Agency for International Developments say the Trump administration exposed them to violence by forcing agency leaders off the job and freezing their funding.
In court affidavits, multiple USAID staffers say they were abandoned in Congo without money and facing an explosion of political violence, with angry crowds looting their homes. Some spoke of arriving in the U.S. with only their children and backpacks.
Their accounts were filed in federal court late Tuesday in support of an employee lawsuit seeking to roll back restore USAID.
▶ This is the latest development in an ongoing legal challenge to Trump’s USAID freeze. Get caught up on the origins of the freeze and the legal challenges.