Protesters gather in downtown Milwaukee to voice opposition to the actions of federal immigration agents. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Hundreds of people marched up State St. Friday from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.

The anti-ICE protest was part of a day of action across the country organized in reaction to the recent killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis, and the ongoing federal crackdown in Minnesota. Friday’s national shutdown — a day of no school, no work and no shopping — was called for by student groups and immigrant rights advocates in Minnesota.

“What do we want? ICE out. When do we want it? Now,” protesters bundled in coats, scarves, gloves and hats chanted as they marched in the 13-degree weather.

“This month, I watched our neighbors in Minneapolis fight ICE on days colder than this one with love and solidarity,” Halsey Hazzard, a co-chair of Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America and a UW-Madison library employee, told the crowd gathered on the steps of the Capitol. Hazzard said the Trump administration “fears” people “coming together, reaching out to one another and learning that love is stronger than fear.” 

Dozens of businesses in Wisconsin’s capital city showed solidarity by closing up shop or donating proceeds to advocacy groups in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

People carried signs expressing their opposition to the actions federal immigration agents have  taken in Minnesota and elsewhere, including detaining children. “Children aren’t criminals. Trump is,” one sign declared.

Recently, the Trump administration came under fire for its detainment in Minnesota of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and Vice President J.D. Vance defended the action. Ramos remains in a detention facility in Texas.

“No fear! No hate! No ICE in our state!” the Madison marchers chanted.

“Immigrants Make America Great,” another sign stated.

One sign called out the only Republican in the open race for governor of Wisconsin, stating “Tom Tiffany Likes ICE.” Tiffany, the congressman who represents the Northwoods, said in the wake of the shooting of Pretti, who was an ICU nurse from Green Bay, that he would work with local, state and federal law enforcement to “remove criminal illegal aliens.” He urged Minnesota leaders to do the same.

“Cooperation is how you avoid tragic consequences. Deporting illegal aliens is how you make America safer. And waiting for the facts is how you avoid escalating the situation,” Tiffany said.

Pretti’s death prompted protests across the country, including in Green Bay, last weekend. 

Once the group made it to the Capitol, a number of speakers criticized the Trump administration and called for the elimination of ICE.

“Today, we are standing together to demand defund ICE,” Hazzard said.

“Defund ICE,” protesters echoed. 

“Not another dollar for ICE to terrorize our communities. We must strip ICE of its funding for both enforcement and detention. Abolish ICE. End the occupation of Minneapolis and all other cities,” Hazzard said.

A big crowd descends on Milwaukee’s Cathedral Park

Hundreds of people raised their voices in Milwaukee on Friday in opposition to a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Trudging through  a  fresh coat of snow,  protesters streamed into Cathedral Square Park by the dozens. Activists from various local groups charged the crowd with a short round of speeches before taking to the streets for a march. 

Chanting “move ICE, get out the way;” “no ICE, no KKK, no Fascist USA,” and the names of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — two Minneapolis residents who were killed in separate incidents involving federal agents — the marchers filled the streets of downtown. The crowd of people of all ages from  young children to older seniors, passed the Federal Building of Milwaukee and City Hall before returning to the park. 

No violence, conflicts, or destruction occurred. A single drone was seen hovering over the march, and police presence was minimal.

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Kevin Warsh, second from left, listens during a panel discussion at the Semafor 2024 World Economy Summit on April 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Semafor)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s new Federal Reserve chair pick likely faces headwinds in the U.S. Senate, as a key lawmaker opposes the administration’s ongoing criminal probe of current Fed leader Jerome Powell.

Trump announced early Friday he’s tapped Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank after Powell’s term ends in May. Warsh sat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 after being nominated by President George W. Bush and is a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s business school and the university’s conservative think tank, the Hoover Institution.

“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on his own platform, Truth Social. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”

But the president is one vote short needed to push the nominee through the tightly divided Senate Banking Committee if all Democrats on the panel vote against.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Banking Committee, praised Warsh as a “qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy.” 

But Tillis, who is retiring after this term, said he won’t vote for the pick if Trump continues to investigate Powell on accusations that he lied to Congress over the cost of renovations to the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.

“Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable. My position has not changed: I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ’s inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved,” Tillis wrote on social media Friday morning.

The Federal Reserve holds significant influence over the nation’s economy, and numerous experts advise separating monetary policy from political influence. Adjusting interest rates, to cool inflation or stimulate the economy, is one tool the central bank uses to accomplish maximum employment and price stability.

Threats to Powell

Trump has publicly threatened to fire Powell multiple times if the chair did not lower interest rates more aggressively.

Powell revealed in mid-January that he received a federal grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice for a probe into whether he lied to Congress about construction costs.

Powell said in a rare video statement at the time that the investigation was not purely about oversight but rather about “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to comment on the status of the subpoenas Friday when asked if Trump’s nomination process would speed up the investigation into Powell.

“I don’t think the timing of President Trump’s decision to nominate somebody is a controlling factor in any investigation,” he told reporters at an unrelated press conference at the Justice Department.

No commitment to lower rates

Trump praised Warsh on social media Friday morning, upon announcing his decision.

Warsh, a former New York banker and economic adviser to Bush, served on the Fed board through the tumultuous global financial crisis.

Trump told reporters Friday afternoon that he hasn’t asked Warsh about a commitment to lower interest rates. 

“I don’t want to ask him that question. I think it’s inappropriate. Probably, probably would be allowed, but I want to keep it nice and pure. But he certainly wants to cut rates. I’ve been watching him for a long time,” Trump said.

When asked about Tillis’s opposition, Trump called the senator an “obstructionist.”

“I mean, you know, if he doesn’t approve, we just have to wait till somebody comes in that will approve it, right?” Trump said. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, urged her Republican colleagues on the panel to oppose Trump’s pick.

“Trump can’t appoint his next puppet to the Fed all by himself. The Senate has to approve it. Any senator who claims to care about the independence of the Fed, including my Republican colleagues, should refuse to move forward with this nomination period until Trump drops his witch hunts,” Warren said in a video message posted on social media Friday afternoon.

Powell has not been Trump’s only target on the Federal Reserve. The president is awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether he violated the law when he fired Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook, a President Joe Biden appointee, via social media over the summer.  

Jacob Fischler and Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A misleading claim that Wisconsin has more registered voters than people eligible to vote is gaining traction on social media, including in posts shared this week by President Donald Trump. 

It’s just the latest in a long-running series of claims that misinterpret basic data about voter rolls to create alarm about the risk of voter fraud.

The posts circulating this week cite a video asserting that Wisconsin’s voter rolls contain more than 7 million names — far more than the state’s voting age population — and are overlaid with text reading, “This Is Not a Glitch — This Is Election Fraud Waiting To Happen.”

The video features Peter Bernegger, an entrepreneur who has been convicted of mail fraud and bank fraud. Bernegger has repeatedly promoted false theories about the 2020 election in Wisconsin legislative hearings and repeatedly filed unsuccessful lawsuits against election officials in search of proof for his claims. 

But his claim conflates two datasets in Wisconsin’s voter registration system: the Wisconsin voter list and active registered voters. 

As of July 2025, the state had about 8.3 million names on its list — in line with the number Bernegger cites. But of them, only 3.7 million were active registered voters. The remaining roughly 4.6 million are inactive voters. Inactive records include people who previously registered to vote but later moved out of state, died, lost eligibility because of a felony conviction, or were ruled incompetent to vote by a court. Those individuals haven’t been removed from the voter list, but because of their inactive status, they cannot vote unless they re-register, which requires proof of residency and a photo ID.

Bernegger claims in his video that the list of voters generally grows every day, going down only once every four years, when voters who haven’t cast a ballot in four years are sent postcards asking whether they want to remain registered and then removed from the active list if they don’t respond.

Part of that claim is true: Wisconsin never deletes voter records, so the total database of active and inactive registrations only grows. But the active voter roll, which includes only voters currently eligible to cast a ballot, can shrink. 

By email, Bernegger disputed Votebeat’s characterization of his claims but provided no further proof for them.

The confusion stems from a common misunderstanding about Wisconsin’s voter system, Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, told Votebeat. The pollbooks used to check voters’ eligibility on Election Day contain only active voters, while the broader voter database also retains inactive records. 

The inactive records also detail why a voter was deactivated. Wisconsin state law allows for several reasons for a voter’s registration status to be changed from eligible to ineligible, but there’s no state law calling for the destruction of voter registration records, not even for a voter who has died.

And Jacobs said there’s a good reason for that: Keeping these inactive records indefinitely helps prevent fraud: If somebody tries to register using the identity of a dead voter, for example, clerks can flag that application because the prior record — including the reason it was deactivated — is still on file. 

“It’s actually pro-list-hygiene to have access to that information immediately,” she said.

Interstate databases also play a role in maintaining accurate voter rolls. One such organization, the Electronic Registration Information Center, has helped states including Wisconsin identify hundreds of thousands of voters each year who have moved across state lines and tens of thousands of voters who died. But the system has gaps. Some Republican-led states have left the program, leaving just 25 states and Washington, D.C., participating.

Experts say voter fraud is extremely rare, but Republicans have long argued that dirty voter rolls could enable fraud and reduce confidence. 

Similar misleading claims about voter rolls have circulated in other states, including Michigan, amplified by right-wing figures such as Elon Musk.

Democrats and many election officials typically support regular voter roll maintenance but warn that aggressive cleanup efforts may risk disenfranchising lawful, active voters. 

Wisconsin’s own data shows how infrequently fraud occurs. In its latest report, which covers five elections, the WEC identified just 18 potential instances of fraud. One relates to a voter seeking to vote in two states. Most involved voting after a felony conviction or double-voting by casting an absentee and in-person vote in the same election.

Correction: This story was updated to reflect the number of names on the state’s voter list was 8.3 million.

Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Shur at ashur@votebeat.org.

This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.

No, Mr. President. Wisconsin’s voter roll figures aren’t a sign of ‘fraud waiting to happen’ is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan talks with reporters on the driveway outside the White House West Wing on March 17, 2025. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, cited “sanctuary” policies and the Biden administration’s ineffective border enforcement as the reason for the ongoing massive presence of immigration agents in Minnesota in a press conference Thursday morning. 

Homan took over operations in Minnesota Monday from Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was demoted after his agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend. 

Three thousand immigration agents remain in Minnesota, Homan said, and a reduction in force depends on cooperation from elected officials.

Over the past month, immigration agents have shot three people, killing two; racially profiled people, asking them to produce proof of legal residency; detained legal immigrants and shipped them across state lines, including young children; caused numerous car crashes; deployed chemical irritants on public school property; smashed the car windows of observers and arrested them before releasing them without charges; and threatened journalists who were filming them from a distance in a public space, among other high-profile incidents. 

Homan tacitly acknowledged the chaos, saying, “I’m not here because the federal government has carried out its mission perfectly.” 

Despite agents’ frequent arrests of legal immigrants and those without criminal histories, Homan insisted that immigration operations in Minnesota are targeted on removing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.

Homan, who reportedly was investigated for receiving $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent in 2024 in an alleged bribery scheme, said state and local law enforcement agencies’ refusal to assist immigration agents is the reason for the prolonged federal presence in Minnesota. 

“Give us access to the illegal alien public safety threat and the safety and security of a jail,” Homan said in the press conference.

Many of the “worst of the worst” immigrants convicted of crimes, whose names have been provided to media outlets, were handed over to immigration officials after finishing sentences in state prisons, according to an MPR News analysis. Eight local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota have signed agreements with ICE to allow access to jails, or assist in immigration enforcement in other ways. 

Other Trump administration officials have given different explanations for the ongoing “surge” — and made other demands of elected officials. Initial reports suggested the operation would target Somali Americans. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said when the operation began in December that it was intended to “eradicate FRAUD.” Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz last week demanding the state hand over troves of Medicaid, nutrition assistance and voter data.

Homan said he has met with Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and local law enforcement leaders, and that those meetings have been “productive,” though he urged those elected officials to tone down their rhetoric. 

“I’ve begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March if the rhetoric doesn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed. And there has been,” he said.

(He did not address Trump’s rhetoric; the president has called Somali Americans “garbage” and his political enemies “vermin.”)

Through a spokesperson, Frey responded to Homan’s news conference, saying “Any drawdown of ICE agents is a step in the right direction—but my ask remains the same: Operation Metro Surge must end.” 

A spokesperson for Walz said “we need a drawdown in federal forces, impartial (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) investigations, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.”

Ellison did not immediately return requests for comment.   

Homan seemed to take a shot at his predecessor, Bovino, who made frequent appearances in Minneapolis and at the Whipple Federal Building, surrounded by camerapeople. 

“I didn’t come to seek photo ops or headlines,” Homan said. “I came here to seek solutions.” 

Max Nesterak contributed reporting.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 28, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate could vote as soon as Thursday night to approve a government funding package after Democrats brokered a deal with the White House to strip out the full-year spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. 

That bill will be replaced by a two-week stopgap for programs run out of DHS, which includes the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency — at a time when the agency is responding to a major winter storm — and the Secret Service. 

The change is intended to give Republicans and Democrats more time to reach agreement on restrictions to federal immigration enforcement after the deadly shooting of a second U.S. citizen by immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that he wanted lawmakers to send him the reworked package in time to avoid a partial government shutdown, which would likely begin this weekend after a stopgap spending law expires. 

“I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay,” Trump wrote. “Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before). Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.”

The package, once through the Senate, will need to go back to the House for final approval, though GOP leaders in that chamber haven’t announced if they will bring lawmakers back before Monday, when members are scheduled to return to Capitol Hill from a weeklong break. 

Once the House clears the package, it will head to Trump for his signature.

Senators did not change or remove the Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Labor-HHS-Education, National Security-State and Transportation-HUD appropriations bills from the package.

Congress previously approved half of the dozen annual spending bills, so once this package becomes law, the Department of Homeland Security will be the only division of the federal government without its full-year funding bill.

List of Democratic demands

Democrats and Republicans reached consensus on some changes to the Homeland Security appropriations bill after the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good, including funding for body cameras and additional oversight of detention facilities. 

The House approved that bill last week and sent it to the Senate as part of the larger package.  

But Border Patrol agents’ shooting and killing of Alex Pretti led Democrats to call for the DHS spending bill to be pulled to give lawmakers time to negotiate additional guardrails on federal immigration actions. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., outlined a list of proposed changes Tuesday that included: 

• The end of roving patrols;
• Tightening the rules governing the use of warrants;
• Requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement to coordinate with state and local law enforcement;
• Implementing a uniform code of conduct that holds federal law enforcement to the same set of standards that apply to state and local agencies;
• Barring the wearing of masks;
• Requiring the use of body cameras; and
• Mandating immigration agents carry proper identification. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday morning that “there’s a path to consider some of” the changes to federal immigration during bipartisan negotiations.

But he expressed doubt later in the day that a two-week stopgap bill for DHS would give lawmakers enough time to find agreement on changes to immigration enforcement, saying there’s “no way you could do it that fast.”

“At some point we want to fund the government,” Thune said. “Obviously the two-week (continuing resolution) probably means there’s going to be another two-week CR and maybe another two-week CR after that. I don’t know why they’re doing it that way.”

Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Katie Britt, R-Ala., also expressed doubt a two-week stopgap would provide enough time for negotiators to broker a bipartisan deal and hold votes in each chamber. 

“I think, obviously, four weeks would be much better when you’re looking at what’s in front of us,” she said. 

Britt said she’d decide on any counter-proposals to Democrats after the government was funded. 

“We’re going to land this plane and then we’re going to figure it out,” she said. 

Homan comments please Tillis

In response to immigration agents killing Pretti, the president directed his border czar, Tom Homan, to head to Minneapolis. 

Homan said during a morning press conference that immigration enforcement would only end if state officials cooperate and aid the federal government in the Trump administration’s immigration campaign. States and localities are not required to enforce immigration law, as it’s a federal responsibility. 

Homan did not specify how long he would remain in Minnesota, only “until the problem’s gone.”

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said in the afternoon that he had messaged Trump to express his appreciation for sending Homan to Minneapolis, saying it led to a “sea change.”

“I texted the president and said, ‘great job,’” Tillis said. “You know, I can’t imagine we would be in this place if he’d been there to begin with.”

Tillis said he thought Homan’s press conference had been “perfect.”

“He said at least twice he wasn’t there for a photo op and he was there to de-escalate,” Tillis said. “That’s what happens when you put a professional law enforcement officer in the role versus people who have no experience in it.”

President Donald Trump endorsed Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Department of Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy, in the Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District Tuesday evening. (Alfonso headshot courtesy of campaign)

President Donald Trump endorsed Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Department of Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy, in the Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District Tuesday evening.

The race for the seat, which represents a large swath of the state’s northwest area, is open as current Rep. Tom Tiffany is running in the open race for governor. Trump has endorsed Tiffany in that race.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior Michael Alfonso, a young ‘STAR’ who is running to represent the incredible people of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump said in a post. “As your next Congressman, Michael will work tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Advance American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Alfonso, who is 25 and married to Duffy’s daughter Evita Duffy-Alfonso, announced his campaign for the seat in Oct. 2025, saying that “Northern Wisconsin needs to continue to have a representative who will truly put our families, communities, and America first.” He has worked as a producer for the The Dan Bongino podcast.

“I was born and raised with the traditional Wisconsin values of faith, community, and hard work – and now I’m ready to give back to the area that gave so much to me. I’ve watched as the American Dream has continued to slip away from the people who so deserve it,” Alfonso said. “I’ve seen the effects of higher taxes and the increased cost of living on our families and our farms, and the erosion of our constitutional rights.”

The seat was held by Duffy from 2010 until 2019 when he abruptly resigned to focus on his family especially as his ninth child was diagnosed with severe health complications. 

Politico reports that Duffy’s campaigning on behalf of his son-in-law, including pushing Trump hard for an endorsement, had become a point of frustration in the White House.

Duffy said in a statement to Politico that Alfonso “will be the hardest working MAGA warrior for Wisconsin’s 7th district.” 

“I show up for the American people and for my family, and I’ll never apologize for that. My son-in-law will make a great congressman, and I know he is honored to have President Trump’s complete and total endorsement,” Duffy said. 

Trump’s endorsement has held significant sway in past elections in Wisconsin. Freshman U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, a businessman, entered the race for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District in 2024 with Trump’s endorsement and went on to win a three-way primary that year. 

Alfonso said it is his “greatest honor” to accept the endorsement. 

“He is truly the greatest president of all time, and I pledge to be a steadfast MAGA warrior for the people of Wisconsin’s 7th District,” Alfonso said. 

There are two other Republicans running for the open seat, which leans Republican, including Paul Wassgren, a businessman, and Jessi Ebben, a Stanley resident with a background in public relations and health care. Businessman Chris Armstrong and former state lawmaker and environmental advocate Fred Clark are running in the Democratic primary for the seat. 

The Wisconsin College Republicans and Turning Point Action have endorsed Alfonso as well. 

According to his campaign website, Alfonso has said that was “deeply inspired by the courage of Charlie Kirk, who risked his life to speak the truth on American campuses,” as a college student at UW-Madison. The website adds, “in the wake of Charlie’s assassination, Michael is ready to take on the challenge and honor of representing the hardworking people of Wisconsin’s 7th District.”

“He is an America First Gen-Z conservative who truly gets our generation, and will champion real conservative values as a congressman,” the Wisconsin College Republicans said in a statement.

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Musician Nicki Minaj attends the Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Jan. 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump touted the coming generation of “Trump Account children” Wednesday as the administration aims to deflect attention from rising food prices and a deadly federal immigration crackdown that in recent weeks took the lives of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The day-long U.S. Treasury Department event in Washington, D.C., brought together big names from corporate America and entertainment to promote forthcoming tax-deferred investment accounts that will be available to all U.S. children — and that will be seeded with one-time $1,000 contributions from the government for babies born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.

Trump said the accounts, enacted under the massive tax and spending cuts package in July, will be “remembered as one of the most transformative policy innovations of all time.”

“Perhaps no provision of the great, big, beautiful bill will prove more consequential than Trump Accounts,” Trump said during his roughly 45-minute speech that included a brief appearance by Grammy-nominated rapper Nicki Minaj, who has become an advocate for the policy.

Higher birth rate

Ahead of the president’s remarks, panel speakers, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, framed the policy as celebratory of this year’s 250th birthday of the United States, and as a carrot to encourage a higher birth rate.

“Today and forevermore, every child born in America becomes a shareholder in America,” said Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, a California-based tech investment firm.

The Treasury event, titled the “Trump Accounts Summit,” came one day after Trump delivered remarks on the economy in Iowa, where he told voters, “I hope you remember us for the midterms.”

The event also followed days of protests and intense criticism of the administration, even from Trump’s own party, over the Jan. 24 fatal shooting in Minneapolis by federal agents of 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Pretti’s death occurred just over two weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a driver, Renee Good, 37, also amid the administration’s immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city.

An interest-bearing account for American children has drawn bipartisan support. 

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., touted his own such proposal in late 2018, bringing the idea to the 2020 presidential campaign trail. Booker’s “American Opportunity Account” bill proposed $1,000 seed money from the government, with up to $2,000 in annual contributions per child, depending on a family’s income level.

In May, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with the backing of Dell and Gerstner,  proposed similar accounts for every child born in the U.S. to be seeded with $1,000 from the government. Cruz attended Wednesday’s event and received public recognition from the president.

Launch coming in July

The Trump Accounts, as named in the law, are set to launch July 5, according to the White House website, TrumpAccounts.gov. 

While the accounts will legally belong to a minor, they can only be managed by a parent or guardian until a child’s 18th birthday. Parents and guardians will need to elect to open the account during tax filing season or via a government portal scheduled to launch this summer.

The accounts are structured like a traditional individual retirement account, but with different investment features and restrictions.

Annual contributions from parents and guardians, as well as their employers, are capped at $5,000 per year. Parents can elect to divert pre-tax contributions from their paychecks directly into their child’s account. Employers can match up to $2,500.

Trump told the crowd Wednesday that “dozens of major employers have signed up to add the Trump account contributions to their employee benefit packages, including Uber, Schwab, Charter Communications and many, many others.”

The government’s $1,000 seed money as well as contributions from state and local governments, and 501(c)3 organizations, will not count toward the $5,000 annual cap.

The most high-profile foundation contribution to date has come from Dell, and his wife Susan, who pledged last month to give $250 to children up to age 10 who were born before the time window to receive the government seed money. The money is targeted to children in ZIP codes where the median income is less than $150,000, Dell said Wednesday.

Trump said other companies announced “really big contributions” Wednesday, including Intel, Nvidia, Broadcom, IBM, Steak and Shake, Coinbase, Continental Resources and Comcast.

William McBride, chief economist at the Tax Foundation, told States Newsroom during an interview Tuesday that while specific federal guidance is still emerging, direct charitable contributions to individual investment accounts are “pretty much a completely new concept in the tax code.”

The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit that describes itself as nonpartisan, advocates for economic growth and simpler tax policies.

Some exceptions to penalty

The accounts are bound by certain restrictions, including a prohibition on withdrawals until age 18, when the account essentially becomes an individual retirement account subject to tax penalties for early withdrawal before age 59.5.

Penalty-free exceptions include accessing the cash for a first-home purchase, up to $10,000; birth or child adoption fees up to $5,000; and qualifying medical expenses.

“It’s aimed at trying to get families to save and grow that balance,” said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement offerings for Fidelity Investments.

“But for those that need flexibility of cash, this is where maybe that account, depending on your goal, may not be a right account for you. For day-to-day, or, some sort of big event needs before age 18, that’s where you might want to consider other accounts,” Assaf told States Newsroom in an interview Tuesday.

Other restrictions on the account include types of investments. Eligible investments include mutual funds or exchange traded funds, or ETFs, that track the returns of large American companies, for example the S&P 500 index.

A child’s account that receives the maximum family and employer contributions of $5,000 at the start of each year could grow to nearly $200,000 by age 18, assuming a 7% annual rate of return, according to a Fidelity Investment hypothetical example, not adjusted for inflation. 

If a child qualified for the $1,000 government seed money, and a parent left it untouched until age 18, the White House estimates the former minor would have $5,800 upon reaching adulthood, assuming historical returns for the S&P 500.

McBride said that while several specifics remain unclear, the accounts have “a lot of potential” and that advocates hope children from varying socioeconomic levels become more engaged in the process of creating wealth, learning how to invest money, and manage money.

“I’d say it has huge upside, and it just remains to be seen if it will actually catch on and become a way to sort of encourage a broader swath of society to participate in the benefits of capitalism, if you will.”

Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. He said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann announced Wednesday afternoon that he is ending his campaign for governor. The announcement comes after President Donald Trump endorsed Schoemann’s rival, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany Tuesday. 

Schoemann, who launched his campaign about nine months ago, congratulated Tiffany on the endorsement.

“I wish Tom great success in November,” Schoemann said in a statement. “If we focus on the people of Wisconsin rather than fighting with one another, we can make Wisconsin the place to be, not just be from.”

Tiffany, who has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District since 2020, has been considered the frontrunner in the GOP primary race since he entered in September 2025. In recent campaign finance reports, Tiffany outraised Schoemann by nearly $1.5 million.

Schoemann’s exit from the race clears the way for Tiffany to go on to be the Republican nominee in the general election in November. His is the second dropout from the GOP primary. Businessman Bill Berrien dropped out last year shortly after Tiffany joined the race.

Trump announced his endorsement of Tiffany in a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening, saying he has “always been at my side.” Tiffany told WISN-12 that he learned about the endorsement at a dinner and spoke to Schoemann on Wednesday.

“I think the primary is probably behind us,” Tiffany said.

Tiffany said in a statement that he appreciates Schoemann’s words.

“We are both committed to making Wisconsin the place to be,” Tiffany said. “As governor, I will ensure seniors, young families, and the next generation can afford to stay here by lowering property taxes and utility rates, cutting red tape to reduce housing costs and delivering honest government and strong schools for every Wisconsinite.” 

The primary is scheduled for Aug 11. The Democratic primary field remains crowded and includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Co. Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, former Department of Administration Sec. Joel Brennan. 

The winner of the Democratic primary will likely face Tiffany on Nov. 3.

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U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., stand outside the regional ICE headquarters at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 10, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  A man squirted an unknown substance on Omar during a town hall on Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police investigated a drastic increase in threats against members of Congress and their staffs last year, looking into nearly 15,000 statements, behaviors and communications.

The volume of investigations rose sharply from the 9,474 USCP checked during 2024, the 8,008 in 2023 and the 7,501 in 2022. 

USCP Chief Michael Sullivan wrote in a statement released around the time a man squirted an unknown substance on Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall Tuesday night that the agency has been strengthening its “partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country to keep the Members of Congress safe when they are away from Capitol Hill.”

“We want to make sure agencies have the resources they need to be able to enhance protection, which is critical to the democratic process,” Sullivan added.

Political violence

Last year saw several instances of political violence, including the arson at the official home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the killing of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the shooting at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta and the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a rally at Utah Valley University.

Earlier Tuesday, at an appearance in Iowa, President Donald Trump singled out Omar, a Somali-American who came to the United States with family members as asylum seekers in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. 

Trump, who frequently criticizes Omar, said she should not speak about the U.S. Constitution when she comes from a country that is a “disaster,” adding Somalia is known for “pirates.”

USCP said in its announcement the number of partnerships with local or state law enforcement to bolster security for lawmakers when they are away from Capitol Hill tripled during the last year, rising from approximately 115 to 350 departments.

“For any agency that does not have a formal agreement with us, I would encourage them to proactively reach out,” USCP Intelligence Services Bureau Director Ravi Satkalmi wrote in a statement. “The agreement provides a framework for us to reimburse partner agencies for support they provide to help secure Members of Congress.”

Spending increase for lawmakers’ security

Congress approved USCP’s annual funding bill in November, increasing spending on the agency by $46 million to a total of $852 million.

The legislation included $203.5 million “for the Senate and the House to enhance security measures and member protection,” according to a summary from Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash. 

That same package, which ended the government shutdown, provided an additional $30 million for USCP, $30 million for the U.S. Marshals Service to bolster security for members of the judicial and executive branches, and $28 million for enhanced safety for Supreme Court justices.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday morning the attack on Omar was “unfortunate” and that everyone has a responsibility to “dial down the temperature.”

“When you’re a public figure, obviously, those are some of the things that come with the job. But it’s up to our citizens in this country too, the people out there, to do their part, obviously, to make their views known and weigh in and exercise their First Amendment right. But do it in a way that’s lawful and hopefully respectful.”

The endorsement gives another boost to Tiffany’s primary campaign, though he was already considered the frontrunner. Tiffany at a press conference in October 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor Tuesday evening, saying that the 7th Congressional District representative has “always been at my side.”

The endorsement gives another boost to Tiffany’s primary campaign, though he was already considered the frontrunner over Washington Co. Executive Josh Schoemann, who was the first candidate to join the open race. 

“A very successful Businessman, Family Farmer, and State Legislator, prior to becoming a distinguished United States Congressman, Tom is a Proven Leader who has dedicated his life to serving his Community,” Trump said in his Truth Social post. 

Trump said in his Truth Social post endorsing Tiffany that Wisconsin is a “very special place to me in that we had a BIG Presidential Election Win just over one year ago” and noted he had previously endorsed Tiffany in his campaign for Congress. Trump won Wisconsin over former Vice President Kamala Harris by a little over 29,000 votes in 2024. It was the second time a Republican had carried the state since 1984; the first time was Trump’s 2016 win in Wisconsin.

“As your next Governor, Tom will continue to work tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Brave Military/Veterans, Advance Election Integrity, Advocate for the Working Men and Women of Wisconsin, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment. He will fight to advance Common Sense Values, and put WISCONSIN, AND AMERICA, FIRST,” Trump said.

Tiffany, who has represented Wisconsin’s 7th CD since 2020, said he was honored to earn Trump’s endorsement. 

“Just one year into his second term, wages are rising, gas prices are down, our economy is growing, and our border is secure,” Tiffany said in a statement.

“For seven years, Democrat leadership has pushed our state in the wrong direction. As governor, I will make Wisconsin great again by lowering utility rates and property taxes, cutting burdensome red tape, rooting out waste and fraud, and restoring common-sense leadership to Madison.”

Earlier this week at a press conference, Tiffany highlighted his plan to eliminate the 400-year veto issued by Evers which extended a two-year increase in school districts’ authority to raise  school revenues for the next four centuries. He also said he would freeze property taxes should he become governor. Tiffany’s announcement was overshadowed by remarks he made about the recent shooting of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse from Green Bay,  by federal Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. 

Tiffany said at the press conference that he hadn’t seen the video of the Pretti shooting. He followed up the next day with a social media post saying he would work with local, state and federal law enforcement to “remove criminal illegal aliens” and that Minnesota leaders should do the same.

“Cooperation is how you avoid tragic consequences. Deporting illegal aliens is how you make America safer. And waiting for the facts is how you avoid escalating the situation,” Tiffany said.

Bystander footage of the Pretti shooting shows him being pinned down by federal agents before being shot in the back and does not support Trump administration claims that he tried to assault or impede the agents.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker issued a statement that tied Tiffany to a number of the actions taken under the Trump administration. 

“We agree with Donald Trump — Tom Tiffany has been by his side for all of it: ICE murdering Americans in the streets, the Big Ugly Bill, ending funding for the Affordable Care Act, invading Greenland, and raising everyday costs. Donald Trump just made Tom Tiffany the general election nominee, and we will stop him from bringing his chaotic and dangerous agenda in November,” Remiker said.

Tiffany has often aligned himself with the Trump administration throughout his time in office including as one of two Wisconsin members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results in two states. Prior to his time in Congress, Tiffany served in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate. 

Trump has previously been involved in primaries in Wisconsin and carried significant influence.

During the 2022 Republican governor’s primary, Trump endorsed businessman Tim Michels over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who at the time was considered the frontrunner in the race. Michels went on to win that primary with 47% of the vote. Michels lost in the general election to Gov. Tony Evers by 3.5 percentage points. 

In 2024, Trump endorsed businessman U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, who won in a three-way primary that year and now represents Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District.

The Schoemann campaign has not responded to a request for comment from the Wisconsin Examiner. 

The winner of the Aug. 11 Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary on Nov. 3 this year. Several Democratic primary candidates issued reactions to Trump’s endorsement of Tiffany. 

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said that “Wisconsinites know what ‘Trump–Tiffany leadership’ actually looks like. Higher health care costs. Cuts to Medicaid. Families squeezed by rent, groceries, and utility bills. Chaos and fear instead of safety. Those are their priorities. And we’re all paying the price.” 

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said Trump endorsed Tiffany because “he’s been a rubber stamp for his agenda in Washington, giving tax cuts to the wealthiest while making life harder for families and farmers here at home.” 

“It’s time to reject Trump’s chaos and Tiffany’s Washington Way and get things done the Wisconsin Way. That’s what I’ll do as Governor,” Barnes said. 

Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes said that “Wisconsin needs a leader, not a sidekick.” 

Milwaukee Co. Exec. David Crowley sarcastically congratulated Tiffany, saying he “would be a great addition to Trump’s Board of Peace.” He posted an edited photo of Trump with notorious fictional villains Voldemort, Darth Vader and the Joker as well as President of Russia Vladimir Putin. 

Other candidates in the Democratic primary include state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and former Department of Administration Sec. Joel Brennan.

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President Donald Trump’s endorsement of U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s open race for governor led the congressman’s top Republican rival to drop out of the race less than a day later.

Tiffany now faces only nominal opposition for the Republican nomination in the battleground state after Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann announced his decision to drop out Wednesday. Schoemann congratulated Tiffany on the Trump endorsement and wished him “great success” in November.

Trump announced the endorsement in a social media post on Tuesday night, saying Tiffany “has always been at my side.”

Tiffany has been a fierce Trump loyalist since he was elected to Congress in 2020. Prior to that, he served just over seven years in the Legislature, where he was a firm backer of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Tiffany still faces Andy Manske, a 26-year-old medical services technician, in the Republican primary. Manske vowed to remain in the race, despite raising almost no money so far compared to Tiffany’s more than $2 million.

Trump said that as governor, Tiffany would work to grow the economy, cut taxes, secure the border, ensure law and order, support the military and protect gun rights.

Tiffany said he was honored to receive the endorsement and promised that if elected, “I will make Wisconsin great again by lowering utility rates and property taxes, cutting burdensome red tape, rooting out waste and fraud, and restoring common-sense leadership to Madison.”

Democrats blasted the endorsement.

“Tiffany has proudly voted in lockstep for Washington Republicans’ expensive and unpopular agenda that has hurt families, farmers, and small businesses across Wisconsin,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said.

Wisconsin’s governor’s race is open for the first time in 16 years after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers decided not to seek a third term. Prominent Democrats who are running include former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes; current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley; state Sen. Kelda Roys; state Rep. Francesca Hong; former state economic development director Missy Hughes; and former Evers aide Joel Brennan.

Tiffany faces some historical hurdles. No sitting member of Congress has ever been elected governor of Wisconsin. And in the past 36 years, gubernatorial candidates who were from the same party as the president in a midterm election have lost every time, except for Evers in 2022.

But Democrats have also never held the office more than eight years in a row.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup. This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.

Trump endorses Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin governor’s race, leading GOP rival Josh Schoemann to drop out is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Pictures of Alex Pretti sit in front of his home on Jan. 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA medical center, died Jan. 25, after being shot multiple times during a brief altercation with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday urged Senate Democrats to advance the government funding package that must become law before the weekend to avoid a partial shutdown, rejecting their proposal to remove the Homeland Security funding bill.

Democrats in the upper chamber say they are ready to help pass five of the six bills, but insist the Homeland Security spending measure must be stripped and renegotiated to include more constraints on federal immigration enforcement after officers killed a second American citizen in Minnesota this weekend. 

“We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse and we want the Senate to move forward with passing the bipartisan appropriations package that was negotiated on a bipartisan basis,” Leavitt said. 

Negotiators in Congress have reached bipartisan consensus on each of the dozen full-year government spending bills during the last few months, though the final bills still need to clear the Senate and become law.

Funding for hundreds of programs in those measures lapses Friday at midnight, when the stopgap spending law Congress approved at the end of the last shutdown expires.  

A partial shutdown would affect the Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Transportation and Treasury. The Executive Office of the President, Supreme Court and judicial branch would also go without funding if a solution cannot be reached in time. 

Leavitt said during the briefing that “policy discussions on immigration in Minnesota are happening” and pointed to the phone call that President Donald Trump and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz had earlier in the day. 

“But that should not be at the expense of government funding for the American people, which would include FEMA funding,” Leavitt said. “And we are in the midst of the storm that took place over the weekend and many Americans are still being impacted by that.”

The Homeland Security appropriations bill funds numerous programs in addition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Flood Insurance Fund, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration are among the other agencies that rely on the bill for budget authority. 

Schumer demands removal of DHS bill 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement that Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., should remove the Homeland Security funding bill from the larger package before the deadline to avoid a lapse in funding. 

“The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans,” he wrote. “If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a brief floor speech urged lawmakers from both political parties to vote to advance the full funding package, calling the possibility of another shutdown “harmful, unnecessary and disastrous.”

“I hope we can come together in a constructive way to get this done and to ensure that we do not lurch into a dangerous and detrimental government shutdown,” she said. 

Collins did acknowledge the killing of Alex Pretti over the weekend, saying his “tragic death” had “refocused attention on the Homeland Security bill and I recognize that and share the concerns.” 

“I do want to point out to my colleagues that there are many safeguards that have been put in this bill that I would encourage them to review,” Collins added without going into detail. “And that the vast majority of the funding in this bill, more than 80%, is for non-immigration and non-border security functions.” 

A Senate Republican aide, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said GOP leaders are “determined to not have another government shutdown.” 

“We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us,” the aide added. 

A Senate Democratic leadership aide said that “Republicans and the White House have reached out but have not yet raised any realistic solutions.”

‘Government shutdowns do not help anyone’

Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Katie Britt, R-Ala., wrote in a social media post that the array of programs in that bill “are critical to keeping Americans safe and must be funded.”

“We know from recent history that government shutdowns do not help anyone and are not in the best interest of the American people,” Britt wrote, referring to the shutdown of historic length that ended Nov. 12. “As we approach a government funding deadline, I remain committed to finding a pathway forward.”

Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper & Dana Bash” that he couldn’t “vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security.” 

“And remember, it’s not just in Minnesota. They’re violating the law all over the country,” Murphy said. “I spent last week in Texas where they are locking up 2-year-old and 3-year-old kids who are here in the United States legally, just for the purpose of traumatizing them.”

Fetterman, Shaheen part ways

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared to be the only member of his party in that chamber to support the entire package, writing in a statement he “will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department.”

“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change,” Fetterman wrote. “I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus. It is unlikely that will happen and our country will suffer another shutdown.”

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen backed the strategy of pulling out the Homeland Security spending bill and allowing the other five government funding bills to become law before the shutdown deadline.

“The Senate then needs to have a real bipartisan discussion about what additional reforms we need to put in place to prevent tragedies like Minneapolis from happening across the country,” Shaheen wrote in a social media post. “I will vote against DHS’s funding until additional reforms are in place.”

The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., home of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops came under scrutiny again in federal court Thursday — this time before a three-judge appeals panel considering the merits of the president’s executive order.

The policy has been challenged in two major federal cases, one of which the administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s emergency docket. In May, the justices allowed the ban to go into effect while the lawsuits continue in the lower courts.

For just over three hours at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, judges pressed the Trump administration and the lawyer for the plaintiffs in Talbott v. Trump for clarity on the ban instituted just under one year ago.

The panel was made up of Judges Judith W. Rogers, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994; Robert L. Wilkins, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014; and Justin R. Walker, a 2019 Trump appointee.

U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli, arguing for the administration, told the judges the ban in question rests on the findings and policy of former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. 

“The Mattis report does provide the rationale,” Kambli said, when pressed by Wilkins on why “people who’ve been in (service) for years, with Bronze Stars and commendations” are swept up in the policy.

“What we have here is an area of medicine, which we can all agree there’s uncertainty over,” Kambli argued.

Mattis, who served during Trump’s first term, disqualified transgender service members from the military, except in very narrow circumstances. 

A February 2022 Defense Department report concluded that transgender service members, even members who are not suffering a gender dysphoria diagnosis, “could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military.”

Kambli, moments later, added the courts are “ill equipped” to decide the issue and should show deference to the military.

But Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, said Kambli and the Trump administration ignored new information revealed after President Joe Biden reversed the Mattis ban and allowed transgender troops to serve openly.

Minter, who argued in court for the plaintiffs, said there was “zero evidence of any problems. … That is part of the record now.”

“So for someone to come in and just go back to keeping people out … this is based on animus,” Minter said.

The government “has to show there is a legitimate purpose,” Minter said.

Process for discharging trans troops debated

Kambli told the judges that “so far no one has been discharged” and the policy is still “in progress.”

The transgender service members would be informed via letter of an honorable discharge, and would have the opportunity to go before a three-officer administrative discharge panel, he said. 

The special panel process is usually reserved for members who’ve served six or more years, but the military will make an exception for trans members with less than six years of service, Kambli added.  

In an animated exchange, Rogers pressed back: “The end result is predetermined. It’s a meaningless process. It’s just moving paper around.”

Jennifer Levi, senior director for GLAD Law, one of the organizations representing the roughly 30 plaintiffs, told States Newsroom after the arguments that trans members have already been “forced out” through a voluntary process.

“This was an important hearing, and the plaintiffs in this case are all meeting military standards and reflect some of the highest ideals of this country. They’ve committed their lives to service, and the military has conceded that they have been able to contribute and meet all of the rigorous standards for service,” Levi said.

“This hearing brought out just how devastating and harmful it is to purge a group of people who have been contributing and putting their lives on the line in service of the country.”

The Pentagon declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

Trump order

Trump signed the order on Jan. 27, 2025, asserting the “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” 

Further, the order said that being transgender is “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

Eight active-duty service members and transgender individuals who are actively pursuing enlistment in the armed forces initially brought the case against Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, among other officials and three branches of the U.S. military. The number of plaintiffs has since grown.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Ana Reyes granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction in mid-March, criticizing the administration in her 79-page opinion for a lack of data proving the claims in Trump’s order.

“Transgender persons have served openly since 2021, but Defendants have not analyzed their service. That is unfortunate. Plaintiffs’ service records alone are Exhibit A for the proposition that transgender persons can have the warrior ethos, physical and mental health, selflessness, honor, integrity, and discipline to ensure military excellence,” Reyes wrote.

Administration officials swiftly appealed the case to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Oral arguments were heard April 22 before Judges  Cornelia Pillard, appointed during Obama’s second term, and Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, both appointed during Trump’s first term.

On Dec. 9, the three judges issued a 2-1 decision staying the lower court’s preliminary injunction, with Katsas and Rao writing the Hegseth policy “likely does not violate equal protection.” 

Pillard issued a blistering dissent, asserting the ban “brands all transgender people, without regard to individual merit, as unworthy to serve in our armed forces solely because they are transgender.”

In a separate case, Shilling, et al v. Trump, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 18 upheld a lower court’s ruling that allowed transgender troops to continue serving, denying the government’s appeal. 

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Trump to ban transgender people from the military.

Smoke is seen over buildings after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard on Jan. 3, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House failed Thursday to back a resolution curbing President Donald Trump’s military operations abroad, following U.S. intervention to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Thursday’s resolution tied at 215-215. If passed, it would have directed “the President to remove United States Armed Forces from Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”

Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Don Bacon of Nebraska voted in favor, along with all Democrats present. The vote was held open for about an hour to allow Texas Republican Wesley Hunt to arrive and cast a vote against the resolution.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, earlier this month were taken by the U.S. military to face an indictment in New York City on narco-terrorism and conspiracy charges originally levied in 2020. The couple has pleaded not guilty. 

The Jan. 3 military operation in Venezuela was conducted without approval of or notification to Congress.

Prior to the military operation in Venezuela, the Trump administration had conducted a monthslong bombing campaign of small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The U.S. strikes have killed more than 115 people whom Trump officials have alleged, without proof, were smuggling drugs to the U.S.

Both chambers have now tried to curb Trump’s military actions in Latin America through a war powers resolution, but have not been able to gain enough votes. 

The Senate earlier this month was initially successful in a procedural vote on a war powers resolution, but the measure eventually failed after two Republicans who had backed the measure voted against it.

Congress passed a war powers resolution in 1973 to limit the president’s authority to wage war overseas after the Nixon administration secretly bombed Vietnam and Cambodia, killing hundreds of thousands of people. Then-President Richard Nixon vetoed the resolution, but Congress overrode the veto. 

President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department March 14, 2025, in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised Thursday his newly established “Board of Peace” will not “be a waste of time,” just after the leaders of several countries signed its charter at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. 

Trump, who has been vocal about his hopes to one day win the Nobel Peace Prize, said he expects the board to work in concert with the decades-old United Nations, though he didn’t detail how, since many of the countries belong to both international organizations. 

“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” he said. “You know, I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it. But there’s tremendous potential in the United Nations.”

The board includes Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, according to a list shared by the White House. 

The Trump administration earlier this month stopped processing visas for residents from several of those countries, writing in a social media post that those “migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.” Countries on the list include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. 

Belgium declines

The White House originally included Belgium on the list of Board of Peace members, but Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot wrote in a social media post the country’s leaders have “NOT signed the Charter of the Board of Peace. This announcement is incorrect.”

“We wish for a common and coordinated European response,” Prévot wrote. “As many European countries, we have reservations to the proposal.”

Trump has been highly critical of European allies and repeatedly criticized NATO during his second term, especially as he’s ramped up pressure to acquire Greenland. 

Trump said during his speech, while members of the Board of Peace sat nearby in chairs, that he believes it “has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created.”

“Together, we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance. I think it’s going to happen — to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace for that region and for the whole region of the world because I’m calling the world a region,” Trump said. “The world is a region. We’re going to have peace in the world. And boy, would that be a great legacy for all of us. Everybody in this room is a star, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook leaves the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C, after the court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Cook. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices across the political spectrum appeared skeptical of President Donald Trump’s swift, informal dismissal of Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, and his effort to influence the independent central bank that governs monetary policy in the United States.

The oral arguments Wednesday drew a high-profile appearance in the courtroom of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — now a target of a Department of Justice investigation. For months prior to the federal probe, Trump has threatened to fire Powell if the chair did not quickly lower interest rates.

For two hours, the justices heard arguments over whether Cook could remain on the board, as a lower court ruled, while litigation continues examining if Trump violated a “for cause” removal statute when he fired her over social media in late August. 

Trump alleged in an Aug. 25 letter posted to his Truth Social platform that Cook committed financial fraud by lying on mortgage loan documents. Trump declared he had “sufficient cause” to remove Cook based on alleged “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter.”

Under the Federal Reserve Act, the president can only remove board governors “for cause” — as designed by Congress in an effort to preserve the central bank’s independence. 

Trump claims his removals of members of independent government agencies are not reviewable by the courts.

Cook has denied any wrongdoing and challenged the president, the board and Powell, essentially arguing in court that an “unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications,” submitted prior to her Senate confirmation, does not amount to cause for removal. Cook also argued that Trump denied her due process in not giving her notice or a chance to respond to his allegations.

Cook, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has continued to perform her board duties, without interference from Powell.

Alito questions ‘hurried manner’ of firing

During lengthy questioning of U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson asked what the risk would be in allowing Cook to remain in her job while the administration made its case to the lower courts.

“The question is: What is the harm of allowing that injunction to remain, because she’s in office now and would just continue?” Brown asked.

Sauer, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, said the administration asserts “grievous, irreparable injury to the public perception, to the Federal Reserve, of allowing her to stay in office.”

“Do you have evidence related to the public perception, or is this just the president’s view?” Jackson, a Biden appointee, pressed back.

Sauer said the evidence regarding Cook’s two separate mortgage applications was contained in Trump’s “dismissal order,” referring to the letter posted on social media. 

Moments later, Brown asked if Cook was “given the opportunity in some sort of formal proceeding to contest that evidence or explain it?”

“Not a formal proceeding. She was given an opportunity in public,” Sauer said.

“In the world? Like she was supposed to post about it, and that was the opportunity to be heard that you’re saying was afforded to her?” Brown asked.

“Yes,” Sauer replied.

Justice Samuel Alito, one of the high court’s most conservative members, asked Sauer why the removal had to be handled “in such a hurried manner.”

“You began by laying out what you claim to be the factual basis for the for-cause removal, but no court has ever explored those facts. Are the mortgage applications even in the record in this case?” asked Alito, who was appointed to the court under President George W. Bush.

“I know that the text of the social media post that screenshots the mortgage applications is in the record. I don’t recall if the paperwork itself was in the record,” Sauer said.

Federal Reserve independence

Over several minutes of back-and-forth, Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed Sauer on the importance of the Federal Reserve’s independence.

“Let’s talk about the real world downstream effects of this. Because if this were set as a precedent, it seems to me — just thinking big picture, what goes around, comes around — all the current president’s appointees would likely be removed for cause on Jan. 20, 2029, if there’s a Democratic president, or Jan. 20, 2033,” argued Kavanaugh, who was appointed during Trump’s first term.

“We’re really at, at will removal. So what are we doing here?” he asked.

“I can’t predict what future presidents may or may not do,” Sauer replied.

“Well, history is a pretty good guide. Once these tools are unleashed, they are used by both sides, and usually more the second time around,” Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh later challenged Cook’s lawyer, Paul Clement, over whether his argument was “tilting the balance too far the other direction from where the solicitor general is.”

Clement responded, “This is a situation where Congress, political animals, one and all, knew better than anyone that the short-term temptations to lower interest rates and have easy money was a disaster in the long term, but was going to be irresistible. 

“And so they tied their own hands by taking the Fed out of the appropriations process, and they tied the president’s hands,” the Alexandria, Virginia-based attorney said. 

In a statement following arguments, Cook said the case is “about whether the Federal Reserve will set key interest rates guided by evidence and independent judgment or will succumb to political pressure.”

“Research and experience show that Federal Reserve independence is essential to fulfilling the congressional mandate of price stability and maximum employment. That is why Congress chose to insulate the Federal Reserve from political threats, while holding it accountable for delivering on that mandate. For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence in service to the American people,” Cook continued in the statement.

Regulating interest rates — to cool inflation or stimulate the economy — is one tool the central bank uses to accomplish its dual mandate on employment and price stability.

Subpoena issued

The arguments occurred just a dozen days after Powell received a federal grand jury subpoena as part of a Department of Justice probe into allegations that he lied to Congress about multi-year renovation costs to the central bank’s District of Columbia headquarters.

The revelation of a federal investigation of Powell ignited sharp criticism, even from some Republicans. 

Powell alleged in a rare video statement that the administration’s “unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”

He continued, “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”

Trump first nominated Powell in 2017 to head the Federal Reserve, for a four-year term that began in February 2018. Biden reappointed him in 2021, and Powell received overwhelming support in an 80-19 Senate confirmation vote.

Wednesday’s arguments also came less than two months after the Supreme Court heard arguments in Trump’s firing of another member of an independent federal agency, Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced in a social media post Wednesday that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte brokered a possible agreement on Greenland, though Trump provided few details or a timeline. 

Trump’s comments came just hours after he took his case for acquiring the Arctic island to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, urging European leaders to begin negotiations while appearing to rule out a military takeover. 

A few hours later, Trump wrote after meeting one-on-one with Rutte that the two “have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.” 

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Trump wrote. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

Trump threatened over the weekend to place a 10% tariff on goods coming into the United States from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom if they continued to oppose his attempts to acquire Greenland. Trump wrote he would increase the tariffs to 25% in June if a deal hadn’t been brokered before then.

Trump wrote in his most recent social media post that further negotiations about Greenland will be handled by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and several other officials. 

“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump wrote, referring to a possible missile defense system. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”

Asked by reporters if the framework includes U.S. ownership of Greenland, Trump declined to say directly.

“It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal. And I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else,” Trump said, later adding it would last “forever.” 

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly wrote in a statement that if the “deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever.”

“President Trump is proving once again he’s the Dealmaker in Chief,” Kelly added. “As details are finalized by all parties involved, they will be released accordingly.”

‘I don’t have to use force’

Trump insisted during the 75-minute, wide-ranging speech he gave a few hours before his announcement that Greenland represents “a core national security interest” that “would greatly enhance the security of the entire” NATO alliance if it were fully controlled by the United States. 

“I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States,” Trump said. “Just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have … there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Trump signaled he will likely not use the U.S. military to take over Greenland, saying, “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

But he indicated any European country that objects to the U.S. making Greenland part of the country will face repercussions.

“You can say ‘yes,’ and we will be very appreciative, or you can say ‘no’ and we will remember,” Trump said. 

Greenland would become the site of a missile defense system that Trump refers to as the Golden Dome, which he said could “keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay” if the island becomes part of the United States. 

Trump bashes NATO

Trump repeatedly criticized the other NATO countries during his speech, falsely claiming more than once the United States has never benefited from the military alliance formed following World War II. 

“What we have gotten out of NATO is nothing, except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia,” Trump said. “I mean, we’ve helped them for so many years.”

The United States is the only country in the history of the alliance to invoke Article 5, which says that an attack against one is an attack against all.

That led NATO countries to send their military members to fight alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks. More than 1,000 of those NATO troops died, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sought to reassure Trump of NATO’s security commitment to all of its member countries later in the day, when the two met one-on-one during the forum. 

“Let me tell you, they will. And they did in Afghanistan, as you know,” Rutte said, according to audio of the exchange shared by the White House pool.

Rutte noted that for “every two Americans who paid the ultimate price, there was one soldier from another NATO country” or Australia. 

“So you can be assured, absolutely, if ever the U.S. will be under attack, your allies will be with you. Absolutely. There’s an absolute guarantee,” Rutte said. “I really want to tell you this, because this is important. It pains me if you think it is not.”

Trump told reporters ahead of his meeting with Rutte that he “could see” paying a price for Greenland, though he did not elaborate. He said he had “no idea” when he might speak directly with leaders of Denmark about trying to acquire Greenland. He said he believes Rutte is “frankly more important.”

Investors and single-family homes

Trump focused some of his speech in Davos on domestic issues, talking briefly about an executive order he signed this week focused on the availability of housing within the United States. 

“I have signed an executive order banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. It’s just not fair to the public. They’re not able to buy a house,” Trump said. “And I’m calling on Congress to pass that ban into permanent law, and I think they will.”

Trump said he wanted to take steps to help Americans afford homes, but that he didn’t want those actions to reduce the value of homes people already own. He didn’t elaborate on how that would work. 

“I am very protective of people that already own a house, of which we have millions and millions and millions. And because we have had such a good run, the house values have gone up tremendously, and these people have become wealthy. They weren’t wealthy. They become wealthy because of their house,” he said. “And every time you make it more and more and more affordable for somebody to buy a house cheaply, you’re actually hurting the value of those houses, obviously, because the one thing works in tandem with the other.”

Trump said if he wanted to, he could “really crush the housing market” and decrease housing prices, though he didn’t say how exactly he would go about doing that if he wanted to. 

Trump said he’s ordered “government-backed institutions to purchase up to $200 billion in mortgage bonds,” and that he expects to announce a new Federal Reserve chairman “in the not-too-distant future,” who he believes will decrease interest rates. Trump has been feuding over interest rates with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in May although Powell can remain as a governor. 

Trump also called on Congress to approve legislation that would prevent credit card companies from hiking their interest rates above 10% for one year, saying that would help people save some money that they could use for buying a house. 

President Donald Trump waved and pointed to the crowd as he exited the stage following his remarks at the Iowa State Fairgrounds July 3, 2025 at an event kicking off a yearlong celebration leading up to America’s 250th anniversary. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to Iowa on Jan. 27 to deliver a speech focused on the economy and energy, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told reporters Wednesday. 

The president is expected to begin weekly travel ahead of the midterm elections — in which the GOP is aiming to improve its razor-thin majority in the U.S. House and maintain its lead in the U.S. Senate. 

The anticipated travel will also come as Trump seeks to boost his affordability policy blitz and as the cost of living marks a focal point of the midterm elections. On Tuesday, stocks plunged after Trump doubled down on threats to acquire Greenland and pledged tariffs on eight European countries that opposed his plans. 

While traveling to Davos, Switzerland, with Trump for the World Economic Forum, Wiles told the traveling press that officials in Trump’s Cabinet would also be increasing their domestic travel. 

The timing and location of the Iowa event have yet to be announced. Trump last visited the Hawkeye State in July 2025, which marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration heading into the 250th anniversary of the country. 

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is slated to be in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday for a roundtable with local leaders and community members, according to his office Wednesday. 

The vice president will also give remarks centered on “restoring law and order in Minnesota.”

 Thousands of Minnesotans have been protesting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence there following the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by a federal agent.

Vance is also set to make a visit to an industrial shipping facility, in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, according to his office. 

Vance is set to deliver remarks there focused on the administration’s “commitment to lower prices, bigger paychecks, and creating more good-paying jobs in Ohio and across the Midwest,” per his office. 

People hold Greenlandic flags as they gather to march in protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and his announced intent to acquire Greenland on Jan. 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump showed no signs Tuesday of backing off his goal to acquire Greenland, after saying over the weekend he would place a 10% tariff on eight European countries that object to his plans and posting several times on social media.

Trump’s insistence that the United States gain control of the Arctic island from Denmark came just hours before he was set to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to meet with other world leaders at the World Economic Forum.

Trump said during an afternoon press conference that threatening tariffs on allied countries that oppose his plans is “the best, the strongest, the fastest, the easiest, the least complicated” way to obtain Greenland. 

Trump said he has “other alternatives” and that people will “find out” how far he’s willing to go to make Greenland part of the United States, though he seemed somewhat optimistic he can reach a deal. 

“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we’re going to be very happy,” Trump said, referring to the military alliance founded after World War II. “But we need it for security purposes, we need it for national security and even world security. It’s very important.”

Trump said he plans to talk with people living in Greenland when asked about residents not wanting to become part of the United States.

“I haven’t spoken to them,” Trump said. “When I speak to them, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”

Trump posts about Greenland repeatedly

Trump posted on social media numerous times earlier Tuesday and throughout the weekend, pressing other leaders to help him secure Greenland, despite ongoing opposition. 

“I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland,” Trump posted at 12:26 a.m. “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!” 

Trump posted an altered image of him showing a map to European leaders that had a version of the U.S. flag covering Canada, Greenland and Venezuela. He also posted a fabricated image of him planting the U.S. flag in Greenland and declaring it a territory with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him. Both were published around 1 a.m.

Trump posted screenshots of text message conversations with Rutte, who pledged to find “a way forward on Greenland” as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, who told Trump that he does “not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” and asked to set up a dinner in Paris with other world leaders to discuss the issue this week. 

Trump said during his press conference that he didn’t intend to accept Macron’s invitation. 

“No, I wouldn’t do that,” Trump said. “Because, you know, Emmanuel is not going to be there very long and, you know, there’s no longevity there. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a nice guy. I like Macron. But he’s not going to be there very much longer as you know. And I think I have meetings with the people that are directly involved.”

Island of Diego Garcia

Trump posted to social media again around 1:38 a.m., this time criticizing the United Kingdom over its plans “to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.”

“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before,” Trump added. “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”

A BBC news article from September 2024, where one of its reporters was granted access to the island, notes that “Diego Garcia is one of about 60 islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago or British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) – the last colony established by the UK by separating it from Mauritius in 1965. It is located about halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.”

The U.K. and U.S. originally signed a 50-year lease in 1966 that was later extended for 20 years and is set to end in 2036, according to the BBC article. 

A U.S. military website states that access to “Diego Garcia is restricted, requiring area clearance by U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia.”

Tariffs, text messages, Nobel Peace Prize

Trump posted on social media Saturday that he would place a 10% tariff on goods coming into the United States from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom before increasing that to 25% in June if the countries continue to oppose his attempts to acquire Greenland. 

Trump wrote the tariffs would stay in place “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre released a statement Monday that he and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb sent a text message to Trump to express their opposition to his tariff announcement. 

“We pointed to the need to de-escalate and proposed a telephone conversation between Trump, Stubb and myself on the same day,” Støre wrote. “The response from Trump came shortly after the message was sent. It was his decision to share his message with other NATO leaders.”

Several news organizations, including PBS News reported that Trump sent a message to Støre stating that because he didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”

Støre wrote in his statement that he could confirm the text message conversation and reinforced that European leaders don’t believe the United States needs to acquire Greenland. 

“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” Støre wrote. “We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic. As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”

Pete Buttigieg speaks at a town hall in La Crosse, Wis. on Jan. 16, 2026. | Photo by Ruth Conniff/Wisconsin Examiner

Dairy farmers and U.S. military veterans were heavily represented among the hundreds of voters from western Wisconsin and Minnesota who packed the La Crosse convention center Friday night, braving snow and freezing temperatures to hear what former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had to say about our current political predicament.

Buttigieg was following in the footsteps of other Democrats who have visited Wisconsin’s closely divided 3rd Congressional District to needle Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden for failing to meet publicly with his constituents who are bearing the brunt of tariffs, high prices and unaffordable health care spurred by Trump administration policies Van Orden has supported. 

In making his La Crosse appearance to bolster a Democratic candidate in a swing district ahead of the midterms — and perhaps to stick his toe in the water ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run — Buttigieg connected with rural and blue-collar Midwestern voters.That’s something Democrats arguably need to do better if they are going to overcome total domination by the party of President Donald Trump. 

The most interesting thing about the La Crosse town hall was the energized audience of rural and small-town Wisconsin and Minnesota residents worried about the the scary, violent authoritarian regime that is rapidly consolidating its power over a stunned and fractured citizenry. 

Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff, who took the stage ahead of Buttigieg, praised him as “a son of the Midwest,” denounced President Donald Trump’s gilded White House ballroom, and declared, “The rich get tax breaks and what do the rest of us get? Rising costs!” Pfaff also took a jab at “tech bros” who got front-row seats at Trump’s inauguration and are profiting from algorithms that sow “hate and distrust and division.” 

Buttigieg picked up on that theme, urging people to reach out in person to connect with their neighbors who might disagree with them. Responding to a veteran in the audience who said he was in despair about talking to people who live in a pro-Trump social media bubble and who “don’t know how close to the abyss we really are,” Buttigeig said, ”This is where I believe in the power of the offline.” 

“We are increasingly sorted into these silos where not just our opinions, but our facts, or would-be facts, are presented to us. But our relationships, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, our churches, our little league, our sports loyalty, right? That’s where we have a chance to get through to people.”

Rebecca Cooke, who lost her challenge to Van Orden in 2024 by three percentage points and is seeking a rematch, used her few minutes on stage ahead of Buttigieg to emphasize her dairy farm upbringing and work experience as a waitress, declaring, “I’m a working-class Wisconsinite who hopes to be your next member of Congress.” Cooke touted “right to repair,” legislation, “so every time your John Deere breaks down you don’t have to go to the dealership.” Her parents, she said, were on their annual trip to Mexico to get their dental work done for an affordable price “which is ridiculous.” She described how her dad was hit with a bill for over $1,000 at Walgreen’s when he went to fill a prescription for cancer medication. She’s running, she said, to represent people who “just want to be able to put gas in the car and have a little money left over.”

Going beyond Democrats’ ubiquitous talking points about “affordability,” audience members brought up their spiritual beliefs, the meaning of democracy, how technological change is driving a growing sense of alienation, the need to reconnect with neighbors and overcome political divisions, and the horror of seeing federal agents gun down a woman in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis.

A young woman who lives near Minneapolis broke down crying as she asked Buttigieg, “How do we deal with this attack on our community, on people that we love?”

“The only antidote to a politics of fear is a politics of courage,” Buttigieg told her, praising her compassion and her desire to work for change. “It seems like you’re alone in caring,” he added, but “the majority of Americans think what’s going on there is wrong.” He had just come from talking to farmers in a conservative area of the state, he said, who were very worried about the impact of immigration enforcement on their workers. “We can bring together strange bedfellows,” he said, “as they’re doing everything they can to pull us apart.” 

A Vietnam veteran, part of a large contingent of vets who stood to accept applause as Buttigieg acknowledged them and thanked them for their service, held up a copy of the U.S. Constitution and said he was upset by Trump’s “abuse” of the military and the National Guard. “I’m really worried that a lot of our people are going to look at our veterans, look at the National Guard — and I’ve got that same creepy feeling that we used to have when we came back before — we’re not going to get the respect for what we really are.”

“Thank you for reminding us of your experience, and I know that was an experience for, really, a generation of service members,” Buttigieg said. When he finished his tour of duty in Afghanistan, he added, “I was fortunate to belong to a generation of veterans who came home to a pretty good welcome, because our country learned the hard way how to separate its attitudes about a policy from its attitudes about the people who were sent somewhere by that policy.”

He connected that change in attitude to a general capacity Americans have for learning from their mistakes, “We learned, we grew. That’s the best thing about this country,” he said. Current efforts to whitewash U.S. history assume that “any time you talk about the things that were wrong about America, that must mean you hate America,” he said, but “some of the finest moments that brought out the greatest character of this country is how we put it right.”

There’s a long way to go before we put things right in our country now, just one year into what already appears to be the most destructive administration in U.S. history. But the feeling in the room at the town hall in La Crosse was hopeful that a new, majoritarian politics could shake off the divisiveness and fear of the Trump era and reclaim democracy and a government by and for the people.

As third-generation dairy farmer Sabrina Servais put it, describing the loss of half of dairy farms in Wisconsin since the early 2000s and her fierce love for her own family’s small, organic farm, “the most beautiful place on Earth,”  “It’s easy to feel small when you’re so far away in rural America. Will anyone listen? … But we matter. We’re a swing state. We have the power to change the outcome of elections. We are the working class of America. How dare they doubt us? … We believe that, despite everything, the world is still beautiful.”

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