Democrats say ‘dramatic changes’ needed for immigration enforcement as DHS funding negotiations continue – liveNEWS | 05 February 2026From 7h ago 12.35 EST Democratic lawmakers say 'dramatic changes' needed from DHS as negotiations continue Speaking at the US Capitol today, Senate and House Democrats said that “dramatic changes” are needed at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as they continue their negotiations over a full-year appropriations bill A reminder that Trump signed a stopgap spending measure on Tuesday that funds the DHS until 13 February while lawmakers hammer out guardrails. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said that the party is also demanding the end of “roving patrols”, “independent oversight by state and local governments” and “no secret police”. Democrats have pushed for the need of judicial warrants to conduct raids, a reduction in aggressive tactics, and for agents to not wear masks. “You can’t just stop anybody on the street … and not even tell them why they’re picked up,” Schumer said today. He added that Democrats hope to get a legislative proposal together to submit “within the next 24 hours”. Schumer said that he hopes Republicans in both chambers will negotiate in good faith, but they also need to get the White House “on board”. The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership, 3 February 2026. Photograph: Nathan Posner/Shutterstock Share Updated at 12.42 EST
11m ago 19.49 EST Donald Trump said “I can’t talk about that” when asked whether his administration had previous contact with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez before the US military captured president Nicolás Maduro. The president did say “so far she’s done a great job.” When asked about US relations with Cuba shortly after, Trump said, “We are talking with Cuba.” Share
14m ago 19.46 EST Trump won't rule out attempt at unconstitutional third term and mulls Vance and Rubio's 2028 prospects Lauren Gambino Asked by NBC News’ Tom Llamas if there was any possibility he would still be in power after the conclusion of his second term, Trump said ruling out an unconstitutional third term would “make life so much less exciting.” Trump touted a strong bench of conservative candidates and promoted the idea of a Vance and Rubio presidential ticket in 2028 - though declined the parlor game question of who would top it. “Well, I don’t want to get into this. We have three years to go. I don’t want to, you know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don’t want to have an argument with, or I don’t want to use the word ‘fight’ — it wouldn’t be a fight,” Trump said. “But look, JD is fantastic, and Marco is fantastic.” Pressed on how Vance and Rubio differ, Trump mused that it was Llamas’s most “interesting” question of the lengthy and wide-ranging interview. “I would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other,” Trump said, though did not specify which. “I think they’re both of very high intelligence.” “They’re both very capable,” he added. “I do think this: The combination of JD and Marco would be very hard to be beaten, I think. But you never know in politics, right?” Share Updated at 19.59 EST
25m ago 19.35 EST Lauren Gambino Trump said on Wednesday that his pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh, wouldn’t have received the job had he indicated he would have raised interest rates. Pressed by host Tom Llamas whether the Fed was an “independent body,” Trump replied, “I mean, in theory, it’s an independent body. But I think, you know, I’m a smart guy. I know the economy better than almost everybody.” Historically the Federal Reserve has operated as independent, as a way to insulate monetary policy decisions from short-term political pressure. Trump nominates Federal Reserve critic Kevin Warsh as its next chair Read more Share
28m ago 19.31 EST Chad Davis, a Minneapolis photographer who is documenting his city’s response to the deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to his city, photographed an unusual street scene on Wednesday. On one snow-covered front lawn in South Minneapolis, the part of the city where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal officers in recent weeks, Davis came across a large display in the form of a giant paper bag like those used by the fast-casual chain Cava stuffed with huge, replica $50 bills. On the bag were the words: “Homan” and “$50k To Go”, a reference to reporting that man overseeing the federal immigration surge in the city, Tom Homan, accepted a $50,000 bag of cash from an undercover FBI agent in return for political favors. At the bottom of the bag is the slogan: “ICE GTFO of MN”. Allow content provided by a third party? This article includes content hosted on embed.bsky.app . We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Allow and continue Share
33m ago 19.27 EST Lauren Gambino Trump again defended his homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, as calls grow for her ouster after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis last month. “She was in charge of the border,” he said. “The border’s closed.” Several top Congressional Democrats have called for her to resign or to face impeachment. Share
40m ago 19.20 EST Lauren Gambino Donald Trump said Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should be “very worried” about a US military buildup in the Middle East after a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations in Tehran last month. He also warned Iran not to try to restart their nuclear program. “You do that, we’re going to do bad things to you,” he said in an interview with NBC News that aired on Wednesday. His remarks come as the US and Iran salvaged talks scheduled for Friday after the US initially rejected Iran’s request to move them from Turkey to Oman. “That country’s a mess right now because of us,” Trump said of Iran. “We went in, we wiped out their nuclear if I didn’t take out the nuclear, think of it. If we didn’t take out that nuclear, we wouldn’t have peace in the Middle East.” Trump has previously said the country needs “new leadership”. Share
52m ago 19.07 EST More than 60% of voters think the Trump administration has not given an honest account of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse who was killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis last month, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. A majority of voters also believe Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem should be removed from her position, and 80 percent think there should be an independent investigation into Pretti’s shooting. The poll’s findings fall largely along partisan lines, with 93 percent of Democrats saying they did not believe the Trump administration’s account and 60 percent of Republicans saying that they did. Share
1h ago 18.46 EST Adults across the world were far more likely to name the economy as the greatest problem facing their countries than other issues like safety, food and shelter, the environment, healthcare or immigration, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll found that 23% of adults across 107 countries named the economy as their country’s most important problem – while 10% listed work. Among high-income nations like the United States, younger people were more likely to cite economic concerns than their older peers. About one-third of adults under the age of 35 raised concerns about affordability in the poll, compared with only 13% of those 55 and older. Share Updated at 18.48 EST
2h ago 18.10 EST The CIA has shuttered its longtime favorite reference manual, the World Factbook. In an announcement on its website, titled “Spotlighting the World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell”, the CIA said: “The World Factbook served the Intelligence Community and the general public as a longstanding, one-stop basic reference about countries and communities around the globe” but gave no reason for its closure. The Factbook was first published in 1962 as a classified manual for staff, with an unclassified version first released in 1971. In 1997, the World Factbook went online at CIA.gov, where it received millions of views each year from researchers, pop science aficionados and others seeking information on other countries. Share Updated at 18.14 EST
2h ago 17.41 EST Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk says he will not seek re-election when his term ends Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who has represented Georgia’s 11th congressional district since 2015, will not seek re-election when his term ends next year. Loudermilk serves as the chair of a House judiciary subcommittee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. “I believe it is time to contribute to my community, state and nation in other ways,” Loudermilk said in a statement. “I have learned throughout my life that doing what is right is not always easy, convenient or popular. My wife and I have prayed diligently and discussed this extensively; and, while this is not an easy decision, we believe it is the right one. While serving my constituents in Congress ranks among my greatest honors, being a husband, a father and a grandfather holds even greater importance to me; and at this time, I wish to spend more dedicated time with my family.” Share Updated at 17.48 EST
3h ago 17.24 EST Senator Ron Wyden has sent a classified letter to the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, according to a press release and unclassified letter shared by Wyden’s office. “I write to alert you to a classified letter I sent you earlier today, in which I express deep concerns about CIA activities,” Wyden wrote in the unclassified letter to Ratcliffe. Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, is the longest-serving member of the Senate select committee on intelligence. Share Updated at 17.40 EST
3h ago 17.08 EST Virginia will no longer deputize state police to enforce immigration laws, after an executive order that the state’s governor, Abigail Spanberger, signed today. Former governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, had signed an executive order last year directing state police and corrections officers to assist with federal immigration enforcement. “This doesn’t preclude any sort of coordination or taskforce-related work; it doesn’t preclude any federal agency coming with a judicial warrant and requesting assistance,” Spanberger said. “But taking Virginia law enforcement, state agency personnel, and basically giving them over to ICE is something that ends today.” Here’s more of our past reporting on federal efforts to recruit local police for immigration enforcement purposes: Trump officials increasingly recruit local police for immigration enforcement despite ‘red flags’ Read more Share Updated at 17.33 ESTAuthor: Tom Ambrose. Cecilia Nowell. Shrai Popat. Lucy Campbell. Source
