Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche as attorney general
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, during a dinner Wednesday evening, announced his intent to nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the post permanently.
In a video shared on social media by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Trump is seen in the Rose Garden saying that he will instruct his team to start the process to formally nominate Blanche to the post on Thursday.
Earlier, Trump’s announcement was confirmed to ABC News by two sources at the dinner.
Blanche, who was once Trump’s personal attorney, served as the Department of Justice’s deputy attorney general until the president tapped him to serve as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi’s ouster.
Trump hinted at the move in a pre-taped interview with the program “Pod Force One” on Wednesday, saying that he thinks Blanche will be nominated to the attorney general position.
“I wanted to see how he’s received, you know, we put him as acting, and he’s done a very good job, but I’ve known him a long time,” Trump said.
In recent weeks, Blanche has been at the center of the controversy over the Justice Department’s so-called $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” ostensibly established to benefit the president’s allies.
On Tuesday, Blanche told Congress that the department was “not moving forward with the fund.”
The move came after heavy pressure from Republican congressional leadership and marked a significant defeat for Blanche, who had spent the past two weeks seeking to defend the $1.776 billion fund while refusing to rule out the prospect that settlements could be paid out to defendants who joined in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — including those who had been convicted for assaulting law enforcement.
But on Wednesday, the president himself admitted he did not know what the fund’s future would be after a federal judge temporarily blocked it.
“I’d have to ask the lawyers. I don’t know,” Trump said when pressed on whether the plan was truly dead.
“The weaponization fund, as far as I’m concerned, was a beautiful thing,” he added.
Before Blanche told lawmakers the administration was nixing the fund, several Senate Republicans had balked at the plan, telling him they would not be able to pass Trump’s legislative agenda until the issue was resolved and even raised concerns about losing in the upcoming, high-stakes midterm elections as a result of the controversial settlement fund.
As acting attorney general, Blanche also secured the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over his post of seashells that the Justice Department claims amounted to a threat against the president.
Blanche has shrugged off the suggestion that he would use the Justice Department to more aggressively target perceived foes of the president.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) (R) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hold a press conference on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding at the U.S. Capitol on February 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — With just a few days until a Friday deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Republican and Democratic lawmakers still appear to be at an impasse on how to move forward with Democrats’ demands for new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats delivered proposed legislative text that reflects their 10-item list of demands to Republican leadership over the weekend. The GOP presented a counterproposal, which Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said they rejected Monday night.
Details of the GOP counteroffer have not been made public, but according to Democrats, it didn’t include “details” or “legislative text.”
“The initial GOP response is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct. Democrats await additional detail and text,” Schumer and Jeffries said in the statement.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune would not provide details on the GOP offer when asked by reporters on Tuesday.
“I think both sides are right now trying — other than it sounds like the Democrats up here are talking about it — are trying to keep the conversations moving forward and not litigating that in public,” Thune said.
The negotiations are coming as another partial government shutdown looms. If a DHS funding solution is not reached and passed in both chambers by the end of the day Friday, DHS would then shut down.
The TSA, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, CISA and FEMA would be impacted even though lawmakers’ focus is on Immigration and Customs Enforcement reform. ICE operations would not be impacted after it received $75 billion in separate funding from the already-passed “Big Beautiful Bill.”
In a letter last week to Republican leaders, Jeffries and Schumer laid out 10 key demands from Democrats on DHS funding, including calling for judicial warrants before agents can enter private property, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks, requiring the use of body cameras and new laws for use-of-force standards.
Schumer has called Democrats’ demands “exceedingly reasonable.”
“We are asking ICE to do nothing more than follow the standards that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies already follow. Why should ICE be different, especially when they have such a record of brutality?” Schumer said.
The funding fight over DHS erupted in the aftermath of the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis on Jan. 24. Renee Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Earlier Monday, Thune said on the Senate floor that Democrats engaged in “meaningful talks” with the White House on a path forward for funding DHS over the weekend.
“Democrats have made their demands known in detail. Some of them are positive starting points for further discussions; others are non-staters and unnecessarily tie the hands of law enforcement,” Thune said on the Senate floor.
But Thune said Republicans, in conjunction with the White House, will seek demands of their own.
“I expect that the Trump administration, with the full backing of congressional Republicans, will continue to resist any effort to make it harder for law enforcement to detain and deport dangerous illegal aliens, which is what many of the Democrats demands would do, and I expect that the administration — again with the backing of Republicans here in Congress — will insist on reforms of its own,” Thune said.
As negotiations continue behind the scenes, Thune said on Monday that lawmakers will likely need more time to complete their work. He urged Democrats to support a stopgap funding proposal to keep the lights on at DHS while they continue discussions on ICE reform.
“We are just a few days away from the deadline that Democrats chose,” Thune said. “And it’s very possible we won’t have our work finished by then. If Democrats are serious about finding a solution there, they may need to find more time to bring these efforts to a productive conclusion.”
Exterior of the Kennedy Center on the Potomac River, Washington, D.C., undated. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s attempt to remake the Kennedy Center faces a critical legal test on Tuesday morning.
A federal Judge in Washington, D.C., is set to hear arguments about an attempt by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, to block the renaming, planned closure and renovation of the performing arts center.
Beatty, an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center, initially brought her lawsuit last year to challenge its renaming to the Trump-Kennedy Center, an action she described as “more reminiscent of authoritarian regimes than the American republic.”
“This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order. Congress intended the Center to be a living memorial to President Kennedy—and a crown jewel of the arts for all Americans, irrespective of party,” her lawsuit said.
In the months since her lawsuit was filed, the board of the Kennedy Center – handpicked by Trump, who serves as the chairman of the board – voted to shutter the famed institution for a two-year renovation project.
Beatty’s lawsuit has grown to cover both the renaming and the closure of the center, arguing the moves were unlawful and violated the duties of the organization’s board.
“Turning the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk for two years would also constitute a fundamental breach of Defendants’ most basic fiduciary obligations as trustees,” lawyers for Beatty argued in a court filing.
Lawyers for the Trump administration pushed back on the lawsuit and argued that the renovation is in the best interest of the Kennedy Center.
“Renewal will affirmatively fulfill the Board’s responsibilities to repair and improve the Center in a manner consistent with ‘high quality operations’ while minimizing costs to taxpayers and reducing safety risks that result from conducting renovations during public operations,” lawyers with the Department of Justice argued.
Judge Christopher Cooper handed Beatty a win last month when he ruled that she is entitled to a “meaningful opportunity to provide input” and should not be “categorically barred” from speaking during board meetings. However, Judge Cooper stopped short of ruling on the weightier questions of Beatty’s ability to vote during board meetings or the legality of the changes to the Kennedy Center.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event to announce a rollback of the 2009 Endangerment Finding in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on February 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration will repeal the 2009 central scientific finding that allows the EPA to regulate climate-warming emissions. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — As the U.S. considers waging a military offensive against Iran, President Donald Trump gathered with dozens of world leaders and heads of state for the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, a peacekeeping body focused on rebuilding efforts in Gaza that will oversee an international stabilization force.
But Iran was still top of mind for the president, as he gave a 10-day timeline on Thursday to decide whether to continue diplomatic talks with Iranian officials or to order a military strike.
“We may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal,” Trump told the Board of Peace members. “You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days, but this meeting today is proof with determined leadership, nothing is impossible.”
Asked by ABC News’ Karen Travis what the goal of a military strike would be, Trump refused to answer, “but we’re either going to get a deal or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” he said.
Asked whether he had a deadline for Iran, Trump repeated his earlier timeline of 10 days.
“I would think that will be enough time— 10, 15 days, pretty much, maximum,” Trump said.
The president has been weighing his options on launching an additional round of military action against Iran for weeks since the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters in January in which thousands of Iranians were estimated to have been killed.
A second American aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford — is heading toward the Middle East, accompanied by destroyers and aircraft being redeployed from missions in the Caribbean region, a U.S. official told ABC News. The Ford is expected to join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the region, the latter having arrived there late last month.
Key Iranian nuclear personnel and facilities were targeted by Israeli and American forces during an intense 12-day conflict in June. But the strikes failed to resolve long-standing U.S. and Israeli grievances related to Tehran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile arsenal and its support for regional proxy groups.
Iran is expected to submit a written proposal aimed at resolving ongoing tensions with the U.S. following high-stakes indirect talks between Iranian and U.S. officials in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.
It’s unclear when the written proposal will be submitted to the U.S.
Iran agreed to make a written proposal on how to address U.S. concerns during the Geneva talks, the senior U.S. official said. U.S. officials are currently waiting on that proposal from the Iranians, according to the official.
On Tuesday, a White House official said Iran would provide detailed proposals to address “some of the open gaps in our positions” in the next two weeks.
U.S. national security advisers met in the Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran, the official confirmed.
Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the weekend of Feb. 28 to discuss Iran, the U.S. official confirmed.
During his remarks Thursday, Trump said that “now is the time for Iran to join us on a path” to peace in the region. Trump later said explicitly that Iran “must make a deal” and said if it doesn’t, “bad things will happen.”
“And now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing. And if they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too. But it will be a very different path. They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal. Or if that doesn’t happen, I maybe can understand. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But, bad things will happen if it doesn’t,” Trump said.
Trump hosted the meeting with world leaders who pledged upwards of $7 billion that would go towards the rebuilding and reconstruction in Gaza.
The countries pledging are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait, Trump said.
While that amount is significant, an operational damage and needs assessment conducted last year by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank, estimated rebuilding Gaza could cost upwards of $70 billion and take years.
Despite that current shortfall, the president was optimistic about the future that the Board of Peace can help build in Gaza.
“But we work together to ensure the brighter future for the people of Gaza, the Middle East and the entire world. I think that the Board of Peace, because it’s mostly leaders and unbelievably respected people, but mostly leaders of Middle Eastern countries, countries from all over the world, and they’ve been very generous with money also. And the United States, which I’ll say in a moment, is also very generous with money, because there’s nothing more important than peace, and there’s nothing less expensive than peace. You know, when you go to wars, it costs you 100 times what it costs to make peace,” Trump said.
Several European allies declined to join the board over concerns the peacekeeping body would rival the United Nations. The Vatican has also declined to join the board.
The United Nations Security Council gave the Board of Peace a mandate as part of its approval of the Trump administration’s 20-point plan for peace in Gaza.
Trump, who again criticized the U.N. during his remarks, said that the U.S. is going “to be working with the United Nations very close.”
“Someday I won’t be here. The United Nations will be, I think, is going to be much stronger,” he said. “The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations, and making sure it runs properly.”
Five countries have already committed troops to an international force that is supposed to deploy to Gaza, the commander of the force said Thursday.
Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania pledged to send thousands of troops for a Gaza stabilization force, according to Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the commander of the international security force.
Egypt and Jordan have committed to train police.
“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers did not provide details on how many troops each country would commit or how soon the force would deploy into Gaza, but he said the ISF would ultimately total 20,000 troops working alongside 12,000 Palestinian police.
Trump also said the U.S. would contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace, though he didn’t detail what the money would go towards.
“And I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. Thank you. And we’ve had great support for that number. And that number is a very small number. When you look at, that compared to the cost of war, that’s — that’s two weeks of fighting. It’s a very small number. It sounds like a lot, but it’s a very small number. So, we’re committed to $10 billion,” Trump said.
