Live updates: Jordan’s King arrives at the White House to meet with Trump
Follow the latest news and updates from the Trump administration | Tuesday, February 11, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump says he would like to see Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
It’s Tuesday, February 11, 2025, the 22nd day of Donald Trump’s presidency. If you’re catching up, head to the START HERE tab for a recap of the past few days, and an overview of what to expect today.
Otherwise, follow our live updates below.
Read more of our latest reporting:
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Catching up on today’s live updates? Start here to get your bearings
What we’re following today:
- Trump is meeting with the king of Jordan
- Trump is expected to sign a round of executive orders around 1 p.m. ET
- Democrats are trying to run out the clock on Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation vote. If they keep it up, the vote won’t happen until after midnight, but they may choose to vote earlier due to the incoming snow.
What you should know:
- DOGE is being sued by a coalition of labor unions
- Trump is bringing back plastic straws
- The unsealing of the JFK and MLK Jr. assassination records has resulted over 2,000 documents. Here’s what this means (link)
- Trump says the Mideast ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t bring back all the hostages by Saturday
[question embed]
Abdullah was asked repeatedly about Trump’s plan to clear out Gaza and overhaul it as a resort on the Mediterranean Sea. He didn’t make substantive comments on it and didn’t commit to the idea that his country could accept large numbers of Gazans.
Trump has issued hundreds of executive orders in the last three weeks. His latest target is plastic straws
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Trump said he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws, although they’ve have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.
Why this matters: More than 390 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States, most for 30 minutes or less. Plastic straws take at least 200 years to decompose. But Trump’s executive order claims that paper straws use chemicals that may carry risks to human health and are more expensive to produce than plastic straws. |
▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on plastic straws
Why is Trump sending his treasury secretary to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Trump announced on Truth Social that he would be sending Sec. Scott Bessent to meet with Zelenskyy.
That’s because Ukraine has recently offered to strike a deal with Trump for continued U.S. military support in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry, which would be a valuable source of rare earth elements needed to develop technology products.
Trump has said Europe should repay the U.S. what Washington has spent helping Kyiv.
| Here’s why this matters TKTKTK |
BREAKING NEWS: Netanyahu threatens to withdraw from ceasefire
▶ This is a breaking news development. Check back shortly for more in-depth reporting.
Four FEMA employees fired over hotel payments for migrants
Four federal employees were fired Tuesday over payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management workers are accused of circumventing leadership to make the transactions, which have been standard for years through a program helping with costs to care for migrants. Officials didn’t give details on how the workers violated policies.
On Monday, Elon Musk had posted on X that his team discovered payments used to house migrants in “luxury hotels.”
The terminated employees were FEMA’s chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist, according to a statement.
They made “egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels,” the statement said.
Officials didn’t reply to emails seeking further comment.
Why this matters: TKTKTK Context why this matters analysis |