2,200 more Marines, 3 Navy ships likely headed to Middle East: Officials
In this handout image provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Boxer (LHD 4) departs from Naval Air Station North Island January 14, 2004 in San Diego, California. (Tiffini M. Jones/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Three Navy ships carrying 2,200 Marines left San Diego earlier this week for a previously scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific, but two U.S. officials tell ABC News their ultimate destination is likely the Middle East.
The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is aboard the USS Boxer, the USS Comstock and the USS Portland — along with 2,000 sailors.
If it receives final orders to the Middle East, joining the 31st MEU, it will be an increase of close to 9,000 additional forces to the region.
The 31st MEU is still on its way to the Middle East from Asia after receiving orders from the Pentagon last Friday. Those Marines and ships are likely to arrive in the region sometime next week.
It will take two weeks for the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group to get to southeast Asia, then additional time to make its way to the Middle East if it gets final orders to go there.
Included in the MEU: ground forces, a logistical element and aviation units that include fighter jets, MV-22 Ospreys and attack helicopters.
Last week’s deployment of the 31st MEU to the Middle East has sparked speculation as to whether they might be used to seize Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf — crucial to Iran’s oil trade — or carry out raids on the Iranian shoreline around the Strait of Hormuz.
For now, the U.S. Navy Third Fleet says the 11th MEU is conducting routine operations in its area of operations.
“An integral part of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific to conduct routine training that ensures the continued warfighting readiness of Navy and Marine forces operating in the area,” the U.S. Navy Third Fleet said in a statement.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 18, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The standoff between Democrats and the White House over Department of Homeland Security funding and immigration enforcement continued on Wednesday, with both sides digging in as the partial government shutdown hit its fifth day.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the counteroffer made by Democrats “very unserious,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries remained firm that Democrats would not back away from their demands for reform.
President Donald Trump, who had said he would be personally involved in negotiations, hasn’t yet spoken with Democrats, according to Leavitt.
“He hasn’t had any direct conversation or correspondence with Democrat lawmakers recently. It doesn’t mean he’s not willing to. I’m just not aware of any conversations that have taken place,” she told reporters at Wednesday’s press briefing.
Funding for DHS lapsed on Saturday, affecting agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service.
A majority of DHS employees are expected to work during the shutdown, though they could miss a paycheck.
FEMA has paused almost all travel related to the agency’s work, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision, though travel related to disaster relief will continue.
“These limitations are not a choice but are necessary to comply with federal law. FEMA continues to coordinate closely with DHS to ensure effective disaster response under these circumstances,” a FEMA spokesperson said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is at the center of the funding fight after two fatal shootings of American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection remain operational due to billion-dollar infusions from Trump’s massive spending and tax-cut bill passed by Republicans in Congress last summer.
Democrats have asked for a range of new restrictions on immigration enforcement, including a mandate for body cameras, judicial warrants before agents can enter private property — rather than administrative warrants — and a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks. They also want stricter use-of-force policy and new training standards for agents.
The White House and Democrats have traded offers over the past week, though the details haven’t been released publicly. Both sides have called the other’s proposals “unserious.”
“We’ve been engaged in good faith negotiations with the Democrats … They sent over a counterproposal that, frankly, was very unserious. And we hope they get serious very soon because Americans are going to be impacted by this,” Leavitt said on Wednesday.
Jeffries said Wednesday the ball was in the White House’s court.
“We’ve reiterated our perspective on the types of things that are absolutely necessary in order for a DHS funding bill to move forward, all anchored in this principle that ICE needs to conduct itself like every other law-enforcement agency in the country, and stop using taxpayer dollars to brutalize the American people,” he said.
Trump said on Sunday he didn’t like some of what Democrats are asking for, and emphasized his administration is “going to protect ICE.”
In the wake of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis during the administration’s immigration crackdown and resulting protests, an ABC News review found multiple examples of public statements appearing to be in inaccurate that the agency initially made after using force.
One example occurred last month in Minneapolis when Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan migrant, was shot in the leg by an ICE agent.
At the time, DHS said its agents were “violently assaulted … with a shovel and broom handle.” ABC News obtained a frantic 911 call made by apparent relatives saying agents fired the shot as Sosa-Celis ran away. Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, later said two of his agents appear to have made “untruthful statements” about the moments before the shooting. Both officers were placed on administrative leave and Lyons said they may face federal charges.
Another case unfolded in Chicago last October when Marimar Martinez, an American citizen and teacher’s assistant, was shot five times by federal agents.
DHS initially said that the agents were “forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen” after their SUV was “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.” But an ABC News analysis of video footage shows that agents were being followed by two, not 10 vehicles, and that at no time was their vehicle blocked from the front. A CBP spokesperson said in a statement that the officer who shot Martinez was placed on administrative leave following the incident and the Department of Justice dropped the charges against Martinez.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump issued vetoes for the first bills of his second term, including a bipartisan bill intended to provide funding for a water infrastructure project in Colorado, a measure that passed the House and Senate unanimously.
The Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act was set to provide clean water to rural parts of Colorado.
“Enough is enough. My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies,” Trump wrote in a veto letter sent to Congress. “Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the nation.”
Trump also vetoed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendment Act, a bipartisan bill that aimed in part to optimize water flow into part of Everglades National Park designated for the Miccosukee Native American tribe and to incorporate the Osceola Camp into the Miccosukee Reserved Area to improve the governing structure of the tribe.
“[D]espite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Trump wrote in his veto. “My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country.”
The Miccosukee tribe was part of the opposition to the construction of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention facility in the Everglades.
Trump’s veto of the bipartisan bill supporting the Colorado project comes at a time when he has fractious relations with some of the state’s political leaders.
The bill was co-sponsored by House Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who defied the Trump administration by signing onto the Epstein discharge petition that forced a vote on a measure to compel the DOJ to release the files. The pipeline would provide water to residents of Boebert’s district.
“This isn’t over,” Boebert said on social media on Tuesday, responding to the White House’s veto announcement.
Democrats also are responding to the bill’s veto, with Colorado’s Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper lambasting Trump on social media, with both accusing him of playing partisan politics.
“Trump just vetoed my Arkansas Valley Conduit bill — passed unanimously to deliver clean, affordable water to Southeast Colorado,” Bennet said. “This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour.”
“Donald Trump is playing partisan games and punishing Colorado by making rural communities suffer without clean drinking water,” Hickenlooper said, adding that Congress should overturn Trump’s veto.
Since the bill cleared both chambers unanimously, Congress could overturn Trump’s veto. Doing so would require passing the measure by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. Trump vetoed ten bills total during his first administration, only one of which — the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 — was overridden by Congress.
Trump’s veto also comes two weeks after he attacked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for refusing to release former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk Tina Peters from prison following her receiving a presidential pardon.
Peters was convicted on state charges for a scheme to tamper with voting systems driven by false claims about the 2020 election. Trump’s pardon power does not extend to state crimes.
“The poorly run state of Colorado with a governor whose incompetent and frankly, with a governor that won’t allow our wonderful Tina to come out of a jail, in a high intensity jail because she caught people cheating on an election and they said she was cheating,” Trump said on Dec. 15.
He added, “She wasn’t cheating. She went over, she looked at one of the election scams going on. And because she did that, they put her in jail for nine years.”
(LONDON) — December saw a new record number of Ukrainian long-range drones shot down by Russian forces, according to statistics published by the Russian Defense Ministry and analyzed by ABC News, with Moscow claiming to have destroyed more than 4,300 over the course of the month.
Through December, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 4,379 Ukrainian long-range drones, at a rate of around 141 each day.
ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal.
The total number of Ukrainian drones being reported as shot down by Moscow is still significantly less than the number of munitions launched into Ukraine by Russian forces, as detailed in the daily after-action reports from the Ukrainian air force.
But the gap between the two figures appeared to have narrowed in December compared to recent months, according to data released by both sides and analyzed by ABC News.
In December, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 5,307 long-range munitions — 5,131 drones and 176 missiles. Of the drones, nearly 81% were shot down or suppressed, while around 64% of missiles were also defeated, the air force said.
The scale of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine through December were similar to previous months, all of which were slightly down on the record-breaking month of July.
Over the course of July, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 6,443 munitions — 6,245 drones and 198 missiles — into the country.
This year has seen an exponential increase in the scale of long-range cross-border strikes by both Russia and Ukraine, according to data released by each side, as the combatants try to destabilize their opponent’s economy and sap their ability to marshal military and financial resources to fight the ongoing war.
Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.
Both Kyiv and Moscow do offer limited information on their day-to-day air defensive actions.
Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many hit targets. Russia’s Defense Ministry only publishes figures of Ukrainian drones it claims were shot down.
The last month of the year saw the reported number of Ukrainian drones surpass even the most intense months of 2025, which has seen the largest barrages of the war, according to data published by both Ukraine and Russia.
The days on which Russia reported the highest number of drones shot down this year were on Dec. 24, when 387 drones were reported destroyed, and on Dec. 11, when 336 drones were recorded as having been intercepted.
Until December, the largest number of Ukrainian drones reported having been downed by Russian forces was in October, when Moscow said it destroyed 3,641 drones at a rate of over 117 per day.
In November, Russia reported downing 3,392 Ukrainian drones at a rate of 113 per day. December saw a 29% increase in reported Ukrainian drones shot down versus November, according to Russian data.
It is unlikely that Russian data offers a full picture of Ukraine’s offensive drone activities. But the numbers appear indicative of Kyiv’s efforts to grow its drone and missile arsenals, the reach of those munitions and the intensity with which it can attack targets inside Russia.
Ukraine’s military confirms the targets of some long-range strikes. When Kyiv does describe the targets, officials say they’re military sites or industrial energy facilities. Over the past year, Ukraine has adopted a special focus on attacking Russian oil refining and transport facilities.
Among the targets claimed struck by Ukraine’s military in December were oil refineries, oil tankers, oil rigs and pipeline infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials have been clear on the value they place on Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities — and on their intention to further expand their drone and missile arsenals to reach deeper into Russia. To date, the majority of Ukrainian strikes are believed to have been conducted using relatively cheap, Ukrainian-made drones.
“Our production potential for drones and missiles alone will reach $35 billion next year,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in October. “Despite all the difficulties, Ukrainians are creating their national defense product that, in certain parameters, already surpasses many others in the world.”
“Never before in history has Ukrainian defense been so long-range and so felt by Russia,’ Zelenskyy said. “We must make the cost of war absolutely unacceptable for the aggressor — and we will.”
Russian officials have broadly sought to downplay the Ukrainian attacks, with most reports of damage or casualties attributed to falling debris from intercepted drones, rather than craft that found their mark.
But plentiful publicly available information — including video footage and photographs of the attacks — indicate that a significant number of Ukrainian drones do get through Russian air defenses and impact at sensitive military and industrial sites.
