Lawmakers propose new legislation to ban DeepSeek from federal devices
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(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is demanding swift action after ABC News’ exclusive reporting about hidden links in DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence tool that could potentially send data to a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company.
“I think we should ban DeepSeek from all government devices immediately. No one should be allowed to download it onto their device,” Gottheimer, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC News.
A new bill Gottheimer proposed on Thursday is called the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” and it would require the Office of Management and Budget to develop guidelines within 60 days for the removal of DeepSeek from federal technologies, with exceptions for law enforcement and national security-related activity.
The bill would ban DeepSeek from federal devices as well as any future product developed by High-Flyer, the artificial intelligent tool’s hedge fund backers.
This comes after the U.S. House of Representatives chief administrative officer issued a memo urging staffers against using DeepSeek last week.
Gottheimer is one of the lawmakers behind the TikTok bill, which passed in April 2024 and led to a 24-hour blackout for the app’s American users the day before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
There are fears DeepSeek could pose a risk to national security after Ivan Tsarynny, CEO and founder of cybersecurity research firm Feroot, told ABC News he found hidden code with the capability to send data to servers under the control of the Chinese government.
“Even though we all know DeepSeek is a Chinese organization, what is really, really standing out is now we see direct links to servers and to companies in China that are under control of the Chinese government. And this is something that we have never seen in the past.”
“There are technologies that are embedded into the DeepSeek website that are tracking us. They have the capability to track across any other website… your interests outside of DeepSeek,” Tsarynny told ABC News. “The type of queries, type of questions, types of topics that you ask and analyze in DeepSeek makes a very, very sensitive, very personal profile.”
DeepSake and High-Flyer have not responded to repeated requests for comment.
(WASHINGTON) — In a late-night Friday move, President Donald Trump fired at least 17 independent watchdogs — known as inspectors general — at multiple federal agencies, sources familiar with the move told ABC News.
The conversations about ousting these government watchdogs began during Trump’s transition back to the White House.
While inspectors general can be fired by the president — it can only happen after communicating with Congress 30 days in advance and in 2022 Congress strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG.
There isn’t yet have a complete list of all the IG’s impacted, but at least one high-profile watchdog — Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz — did not receive notice that he was fired as of yesterday evening.
Horowitz is an Obama appointee and has issued reports that have been critical of both the Trump and Biden administrations.
The current law also mandates that any acting IG’s must come from within the IG community, though it’s unclear whether the Trump White House believes they need to follow that aspect of the law.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told ABC News earlier this week that the president must tell Congress before removal.
“First of all to remind that our Inspector General can’t be removed from office until the president, and that’s any president, not just Trump. So this is a message to all these presidents you’ve got to tell Congress a month ahead of time the reasons for removing them,” Grassley said.
He added, “And the other thing is that inspector generals are expected to be independent of political pressure, independent of the head of the agency, and to make sure that the law is enforced and money spent appropriately, and there shouldn’t be any political pressure against any of his work.”
Grassley said Saturday that Congress was not given the required 30-day notice.
“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so. I’d like further explanation from President Trump,” Grassley said in a statement given to ABC News. “Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.”
In floor remarks Saturday morning, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ripped into the Trump administration for the move, saying that the dismissals are a possible violation of federal law.
“These firings are Donald Trump’s way of telling us he is terrified of accountability and is hostile to facts and to transparency,” Schumer said.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst launched a bipartisan IG caucus just ten days ago.
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he visits the Nantucket Fire Department in Nantucket, Massachusetts on November 28, 2024. Biden and family are in Nantucket, Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden spent Thanksgiving morning giving back to first responders on Nantucket, while also taking time to give his thoughts on his successor’s threats to issue tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
Biden told reporters he hopes President-elect Donald Trump “rethinks” his Day 1 proposal, calling it a “counterproductive thing to do.”
“We have an unusual situation in America. We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the two allies: Mexico and Canada. And the last thing we need to do is screw up those relationships. I think we’ve got them in a good place,” Biden said Thursday.
Trump said this week that he plans to sign an executive order when he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, that would charge Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on all products those nations send to the United States, in an effort to stop the flow of drugs entering the country and illegal border crossings.
He also vowed to charge China with an additional 10% tariff on top of any additional tariffs on products coming into the U.S., arguing the country wasn’t doing enough to stop the flow of illicit drugs.
Economists widely forecast that tariffs of this magnitude would increase prices paid by American shoppers, since importers typically pass along a share of the cost of those higher taxes to consumers.
Trump’s tariffs would cost the average U.S. household about $2,600 per year, according to an estimate from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
With migrants being the central issue for Trump in threatening tariffs, Biden noted that illegal crossings are down considerably from what they were back when Trump was in office.
“There’s a lot more to do, but, I hope they reconsider,” he said on Thursday.
The president noted that with a thin GOP majority in Congress, there may have to be some “real compromise” in Trump’s agenda.
“I want to make sure this transition goes smoothly and all the talk of what he’s going to do and not do, I think there may be a little bit of internal reckoning on his part,” Biden said.
Despite the disagreements with Trump, Biden said he was thankful for his family and “for a peaceful transition,” adding that he’s “really thankful” to have secured a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.
The president also said he spoke to all three Americans who were released from Chinese custody Wednesday.
“I’m happy they’re home,” he said.
Biden, who was joined by the first lady and his grandson Beau at a Nantucket firehouse, was asked what his message is to Americans worried about the future of the U.S. He told them to “remember who we are.”
The White House said the Bidens also called units from each branch of the military “to thank them and their families for their service to the country.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris spent Thanksgiving morning with her family at DC Central Kitchen as part of a community service project.
Harris said she will be making a turkey, her “famous corn meal stuffing,” sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, scalloped potatoes, string beans, Brussels sprouts, salad and rolls for dinner.
“Lots of carbs,” she said.
When asked by a reporter, “What’s next for you?” Harris joked, “Thanksgiving dinner,” and continued preparing collard greens.
(WASHINGTON) — In a speech touting his foreign policy legacy, President Joe Biden on Monday said the U.S. was “pressing hard” to close a deal that would see some of the hostages held by Hamas freed in exchange for a period of peace in Gaza.
“On the war between Israel and Hamas, we’re on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition,” Biden said during an address at the State Department, adding that he had learned during his long career in public service “to never, never, never, ever give up.”
“The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures. Israel deserves peace and real security. And the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited,” the president continued. “And so, we’re working urgently to close this deal.”
In advance of the president’s speech, confidence that the ongoing high-level talks could finally yield a long-awaited ceasefire agreement bloomed across Washington as the White House signaled a deal could be cemented before the Biden leaves office within a week.
“We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press briefing at the White House. “I’m not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking and we are going to work to make it happen.”
Other members of the administration were even more cautiously optimistic, predicting that the next 24 hours would likely be “make or break” for the negotiations.
The current proposal on the table calls for an initial ceasefire period lasting at least six weeks in exchange for the release of around 30 living or dead hostages held in Gaza, according to officials familiar with the talks, who add that Israel is also expected to release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The officials say many of the specifics, including the exact number of hostages that would be turned over, are still being worked out, but that Hamas has indicated it is willing to hand over at least two of the seven American citizens the group is holding — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Keith Siegel, 65.
Sullivan said that coordination served to present “a united message” that it is “in the American national security interest, regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming administration to get this deal done as fast as possible.”
The Trump team’s involvement is also necessary from a practical standpoint since the U.S. would act as a guarantor of any deal that comes to fruition and the Biden administration won’t be in power long enough for it to play out.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas repeatedly that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages aren’t released by his taking office on Jan. 20.
Ahead of his speech at the State Department, Biden said he had worked the phones — speaking with the leader of Qatar, a critical intermediary with direct lines to Hamas, on Monday and talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, according to the White House.
Biden said he would also soon speak to Egypt’s President Sisi, another key broker overseeing the negotiations.
Ukraine, Iran
The president also focused part of his remarks on Russia’s war in Ukraine, touting the administration’s efforts to bolster Ukraine and global alliances in the process — noting that 23 NATO countries are now spending 2% of the GDP on defense, up from nine when he took office.
“Today, I can report to the American people our adversaries are weaker than where we came into this job four years ago. Just consider Russia. When Putin invaded Ukraine, he tried to conquer Kyiv in a matter of days. But the truth is, since that war began, I’m the only one who stood in the center of Kyiv, not him. Putin never has. Think about it,” he said.
“We help Ukrainians stop Putin. And now, nearly three years later, Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives,” Biden said.
“Today, Ukraine is still free, independent country with the potential — potential for a bright future. And we laid the foundation for the next administration so they can protect the bright future of the Ukrainian people,” he later added
Biden touted the U.S. work help diminish Iran during his time in office as well, though noted he could not claim all the credit.
“Now, I cannot claim credit for every factor that led to Iran and Russia growing weaker in the past four years. They did plenty of damage all by themselves, but Israel did plenty of damage to Iran and its proxies. But there’s no question our actions contributed significantly,” Biden said.
Afghanistan
The president also addressed a low point of his administration, defending his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, an operation that killed 13 service members.
“In my view, it was time to end the war and bring our troops home and we did. I commend the courage of all those who served in Afghanistan. We grieve all 2,461 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice in the longest war in American history, and I grieve for those brave service members whose lives were lost during the withdrawal,” Biden said. “We also thank those inside and outside of government, have done so much to help thousands of Afghan families resettle in the United States.”
The president looked ahead in his speech as well, urging the incoming Trump administration to continue working on two major challenges for the future: artificial intelligence and the clean energy transition.
“I know, and some incoming administration — some in the incoming administration are skeptical about the need for clean energy. They don’t even believe climate change is real. I think they come from a different century. They’re wrong. They are dead wrong. It’s the single greatest existential central threat to humanity,” Biden said in his strongest criticism of the incoming Trump team of the remarks.
