What we're covering
• Shutdown deadline: Bipartisan senators blocked a massive spending bill today, but a last-minute scramble continues for a deal to avert a costly government shutdown. Democrats are pushing for ICE policy changes in negotiations with the White House over a package to fund the government ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.
• Cabinet meeting: President Donald Trump met with his Cabinet today, declining to take questions from reporters after updates on issues including the economy, Venezuela and Ukraine. The meeting notably did not feature in-depth discussion of the president’s immigration agenda and the tense situation in Minneapolis.
• Possible Iran strikes: Meanwhile, Trump is weighing a new strike on Iran after preliminary discussions between Washington and Tehran over limiting the country’s nuclear program failed to make progress, according to people familiar with the matter.
Republicans signal some openness to ICE reforms
Some Republican lawmakers are signaling that they are open to considering reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in light of the recent killings of US citizens by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis.
“Democrats are wanting some reforms that make sense to me, body cameras making ICE more like other agencies, but that’s a band aid. I’m willing to entertain some reforms to make sure that we rein in ICE appropriately and make it more professional,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday.
Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young told reporters he’s “perfectly happy to have a conversation about body cameras, very good idea for anyone in law enforcement.”
He continued: “I hope that … the tragic incidents that have occurred in Minneapolis will help build a stronger immigration enforcement system.”
GOP Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, meanwhile, told reporters, “Every federal agency can be improved but I’m not going to try to make reforms with a gun to my head.”
Democrats have demanded changes to ICE as part of talks over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security and other key federal agencies as a government funding deadline looms.
Here's a look at the key moments from Trump's Cabinet meeting
President Donald Trump just wrapped a meeting with his Cabinet, where he discussed a host of issues, including government shutdown negotiations, the future of Venezuela, the economy and war in Ukraine.
The roughly 90 minute meeting ended without the president taking questions.
Also notable: neither Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem nor Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke during the meeting — despite the tense situation on the ground in Minneapolis this week following the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents.
If you’re just joining us, catch up on key moments from the meeting:
- Shutdown talks: Trump said he was optimistic that Congress would avert a government shutdown, saying negotiators were “working on that right now.” He added, “I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe, want to see it either.” Earlier today, Bipartisan senators blocked a massive spending bill, but a last-minute scramble continues for a deal to avert a costly government shutdown.
- Ukraine war: The president said that he personally contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin and requested he not fire on major cities within Ukraine, including Kyiv, citing frigid temperatures in the region. Trump did not specify when he spoke to Putin, but his claims come after a deadly Russian drone strike on a civilian train in the Kharkiv region on Tuesday.
- Venezuela: Trump said he spoke to Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and informed her the US would be “opening up” the commercial airspace above Venezuela even though it is not technically considered closed. “American citizens will be, very shortly, able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there” Trump said.
- “Boring” prior meetings: In a moment of levity, Trump said his Cabinet meeting today would run shorter than the last one, which he said, “got pretty boring.” Trump addressed reports about him closing his eyes during a previous meeting, insisting that he wasn’t sleeping. “I just closed them, because I wanted to get the hell out of here,” he said. Watch that moment in the clip below:
Trump joked about last Cabinet meeting, where he repeatedly appeared to doze off. He called the meeting “pretty boring” and insisted he wasn’t sleeping.
Trump declines questions during Cabinet meeting, a rarity for normally talkative president
President Donald Trump declined to take questions during his Cabinet meeting Thursday, a rarity for the ordinarily loquacious commander in chief.
After roughly 90 minutes of talking about his administration’s accomplishments, and inviting some Cabinet members to speak, Trump wrapped the meeting with a brisk “thank you very much, everybody.”
As reporters shouted questions, Trump shook his head to indicate he wasn’t interested in answering queries.
That means he didn’t touch on one of the main stories of this week: the tense situation in Minneapolis and the future of his immigration agenda.
Neither Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem nor Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke during the meeting. While Trump praised Bondi in passing at one point, he didn’t mention Noem at all.
Speaker Johnson won't say whether he'll bring House back early if Senate changes funding package
Speaker Mike Johnson would not say today whether he would bring the House back early to Washington to pass a package of bills to fund the government.
Senators and the White House are still negotiating over changes to the House-passed funding package – with talks centered on how to fund the Department of Homeland Security amid Democrats’ demands to make policy changes to ICE.
If the Senate passes the package with changes before Friday’s federal funding deadline, the House would need to vote on the changed legislation before it goes to the president’s desk. The chamber, which has been on a pre-scheduled recess – is set to return Monday.
That means the funding package might not be approved until after government agencies close their doors at the end of the day on Friday.
Jeffries says House Democrats open to short-term funding for DHS, but warns "it cannot be long"
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Thursday suggested House Democrats would be open to backing a short-term funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security but warned it “cannot be long.”
“Any agreement that comes together in the Senate we’ll have to evaluate in its totality, including as it relates to, if there is to be a continuing resolution, it cannot be endless, and it cannot be long,” he told reporters during a press conference.
CNN reported that the White House and Senate leaders are nearing a deal that would split DHS funding from a larger spending package and temporarily extend funding for the agency, giving lawmakers more time to work through reforms to ICE.
Jeffries was supportive of the Senate Democrats’ demands for DHS reforms and said that House Democrats’ position is that “dramatic change” is needed with the federal agency “before any appropriations bill related to ICE or CBP proceeds.”
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to brutalize American citizens, to kill the American people, or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” he said.
Jeffries also said he spoke to Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday about the spending bill and reiterated that Democrats intend to proceed with impeachment proceedings for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem if she’s not fired.
“Kristi Noem is a complete and total embarrassment. She’s a disgrace. And on top of all that, she’s presided over the cold-blooded killings of American citizens like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Unacceptable. She should have never been confirmed.”
“She’s got to go. We are dead serious. She’s needs to put on ice permanently,” he added, also calling for White House aide Stephen Miller’s firing.
Senate GOP leader expects "good, strong vote" from Republicans and Democrats once funding deal reached
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he expects a strong bipartisan vote once a government funding deal is reached, after seven of his conservative senators voted against advancing the critical package.
Some GOP senators were unhappy that Democrats walked away from the spending deal they had already negotiated, he said.
All Democrats and the group of conservatives voted against advancing the House-passed, six-bill funding package this afternoon.
But talks are continuing with the White House to reach a deal that satisfies Democrats – who are demanding policy changes to ICE in the bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security – and funds five remaining key agencies.
Trump says Putin agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine for a week, citing cold
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’d personally reached out to President Vladimir Putin to request the Russian leader not fire on major cities within Ukraine, including Kyiv, citing plummeting temperatures in the region.
“Because of the cold, extreme cold — they have the same that we do — I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this, it’s extraordinary,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “It’s not just like cold, it’s extraordinary cold, record setting cold over there too… and I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that.”
The president did not specify when he spoke to his Russian counterpart during his remarks Thursday — but his claims come after a Russian drone strike on a civilian train in the Kharkiv region killed at least five people Tuesday, with carnage in the wake of the attack making it impossible to immediately determine the full number of casualties.
CNN has asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for comment.
Speaking Thursday, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the administration was “making a lot of progress” in negotiating a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, adding that following a meeting with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi last week he believes “the people of Ukraine are now hopeful and expectant that we’re going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon.”
Senators block massive funding bill, but critical talks to avoid a government shutdown are continuing
A bipartisan group of senators blocked a massive spending bill Thursday, as eleventh-hour talks continue to avoid a costly partial government shutdown that looms at the week’s end.
All Democrats, who are pushing to force changes to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies in the wake of Alex Pretti’s fatal encounter with federal agents in Minneapolis, voted not to advance the six-bill funding package. Seven conservatives joined them in keeping the package from moving forward in a 45-55 vote. (Senate Majority Leader John Thune changed his vote to “no,” to be able to bring the package up for a later vote.)
Democrats are demanding that Republicans and the White House agree to separate funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE, from the rest of the package so it can be renegotiated.
If the Senate cannot get all 100 senators to consent to splitting the DHS funding bill from the remainder of the package, as Democrats are demanding, then several significant agencies, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, will face a lapse in funding Friday at midnight.
If a deal is reached, however, the bill would have to be approved by both chambers, meaning the narrowly divided House would have to return to Washington and final approval could be delayed until Monday.
Read more on the latest, as Republicans, Democrats and the White House try to reach a deal.
Fulton County chairman: FBI search is about “intimidation” not “facts”
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts and Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections Chair Sherri Allen strongly condemned the FBI search and seizure of documents containing information related the 2020 election.
The officials did not rule out the possibility of legal action against the FBI.
“No voting machines were taken but I can’t tell you exactly what was taken. We do know, like I said, we have the 700 boxes, but I do know other documents were looked into to that we did not believe had anything to do with 2020,” Allen said.
Pitts said that although Fulton County made a strategic decision to comply with the FBI’s demands on Wednesday, they’ve spoken with county attorneys and outside counsel regarding next steps.
“I don’t want to disclose what our legal strategy is, but we will be fighting with every inch of our body, with every resource that we have,” said Pitts. “Everyone has told us that we will prevail in the final analysis.”
Pitts and Allen said they don’t know who the target of the investigation is, where the FBI is taking the documents or what they’re planning on doing with them.
An FBI spokesperson at the scene on Wednesday told CNN that the materials would be taken to the FBI Central Records Complex in Virginia.
Trump says Americans may soon be able to go to Venezuela
President Donald Trump said he spoke to Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and informed her that the United States would be “opening up” the commercial airspace above Venezuela even though it is not technically considered closed.
Trump said last year the airspace over Venezuela should be considered closed even though the local government regarded it as open. The Federal Aviation Administration also issued successive notices to airmen leading to the operation that ousted Nicolás Maduro to prohibit civilian flights in the airspace.
US commercial airlines have not been allowed to travel to Venezuela since 2019 and international airlines that travel to Caracas have to comply with strict legal provisions.
The US State Department has for years had a level 4 travel advisory for Venezuela. Even after Maduro was deposed, the State Department urged Americans to “not travel or remain” there.
Trump also said the leadership in Venezuela is doing a “good job” even though earlier this week, Rodríguez said she had had “enough” of Washington’s orders.
Trump also said that major oil companies will be going to Venezuela and picking locations, without providing any details. Analysts have said it would take years for oil companies to re-enter Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday the US would start issuing general licenses to oil companies that wished to travel to Venezuela so they wouldn’t face US sanctions.
This post has been corrected to reflect that the State Department has had a level 4 travel advisory for years.
Trump says this Cabinet meeting will be shorter since the last one "got pretty boring"
In a moment of levity and self awareness, President Donald Trump said his Cabinet meeting today will be shorter than the last one, which he acknowledged “got pretty boring.”
“We’re not going to go through the whole table, because the last time we had a press conference, it lasted for three hours, and some people said ‘he closed his eyes,’” Trump said.
Trump insisted, though, that he wasn’t sleeping during the last Cabinet meeting.
“There’s a lot of people. It was a little bit on the boring side, but I didn’t sleep,” Trump said. “I just closed them, because I wanted to get the hell out of here.”
“I don’t sleep much, but, you know, it’s funny, some of them got me in a blink,” Trump said referring to photos of the meeting.
Context: See CNN’s analysis of Trump’s demeanor during his Cabinet meeting in December.
Trump says he's hopeful Congress will avoid a shutdown
President Donald Trump said Thursday he was optimistic that Congress would avert a government shutdown, saying negotiators were “working on that right now.”
“Hopefully we won’t have a shutdown,” he said during a Cabinet meeting. “I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe, want to see it either.”
The government is at risk of a partial shutdown at the end of this week if lawmakers fail to strike a deal on a package of funding bills.
Democrats have refused to pass appropriations legislation for the Department of Homeland Security as part of that package, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. That has sparked a sprint to negotiate a new deal to carve it out and pass the remaining bills.
NOW: Senate taking key procedural vote on massive funding bill
Senators are voting on a critical, six-bill funding package as a partial government shutdown looms at the week’s end.
Democrats are seeking to force changes to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies, which could imperil the package’s advancement.
Still, talks are continuing between Capitol Hill leaders from both parties and the White House to reach a deal to address funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
Under the deal in the works, lawmakers would split off the DHS bill while providing funding for the rest of the agencies in the package — including the departments of Defense, Labor, State, Transportation and Health and Human Services.
Federal funding for the key agencies is set to lapse Friday at midnight.
Trump says he had "productive" call with Mexico's Sheinbaum
President Donald Trump said he held a “productive” call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum this morning focused on the border, trade and ending drug trafficking. He also previewed that meetings are ultimately being set up for the two of them in Mexico and the United States.
Sheinbaum posted her own readout of the meeting, writing that the pair “continue to make progress on trade issues and the bilateral relationship.”
“We agreed that both teams will continue working together. I also had the pleasure of greeting his wife Melania, whom I met during my recent visit to Washington,” Sheinbaum said.
This comes as Trump has traded barbs with Canadian President Mark Carney, threatening 100% tariffs if the country makes a deal with China.
State Department says it may need to open a temporary facility as it works to reopen US embassy in Venezuela
The US State Department this week informed Congress that it will continue to deploy temporary personnel to Venezuela and may need to open a temporary facility as it moves to potentially reopen the US embassy in Caracas.
In a notification dated Monday – the first formal notice to Capitol Hill of the intended reopen – the department said it plans to use a “phased approach” to potentially resume services at the diplomatic facility, which has been closed since 2019.
“The initial phase involves continued deployment of temporary duty personnel to Caracas. In addition, to support increased temporary duty personnel and the potential resumption of embassy operations, the Department of State may also need to open an interim or temporary facility in Caracas, Venezuela, to accommodate temporary duty personnel or operations while the existing facilities are brought to serviceable condition,” said the notification, which was sent to 10 relevant Senate and House committees.
“Over a period, personnel and functions of the Venezuela Affairs Unit in Bogotá, Colombia, would be transitioned to Caracas, operating out of the embassy compound or other interim or temporary facilities,” the notice said.
“These functions may include but are not limited to consular, political, economic, management, security, and public diplomacy,” the notice said. It also said personnel there would “also provide monitoring and oversight of any potential foreign assistance programs in Venezuela.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that there were already 70 locally employed staff that helped maintain the embassy while it was shuttered.
“We have a team on the ground there assessing it, and we think very quickly we’ll be able to open a US diplomatic presence on the ground,” he told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Senate Republican leader says sides "getting closer" on funding deal
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said talks were progressing on a funding deal as Republican and Democratic leaders and the White House try to come to an agreement to avert a costly government shutdown.
He would not say if he would back some of the proposal offered by Democrats on ICE and said that would be subject to talks by all of the parties involved: the White House, House and Senate.
He doesn’t yet know, he said, a date for a continuing resolution for funding the Department of Homeland Security.
As he left the floor a short time later, Thune said he and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on Wednesday and that he has also spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson about how to get the needed votes to pass the House, though he did not elaborate on details of the conversation.
Thune said he expects the House will “do what’s necessary” to pass the bill and prevent a shutdown.
Asked if White House supports splitting up the bill between the DHS funding and the remaining bills to fund other key agencies, Thune said he’d leave that to the White House to answer.
Read more on the intensifying talks to avert a government shutdown.
Meanwhile, contractor pleads not guilty in leaks case tied to Washington Post reporter
A government contractor pleaded not guilty today to unlawfully sharing classified information with a Washington Post reporter.
Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, pleaded not guilty to five counts of unlawfully transmitting the national defense information to the reporter through an encrypted messaging application and a single count of unlawfully retaining the defense information.
No trial date has been set in the case, though prosecutors said they expected the eventual proceeding to last a week.
The case is being closely watched by press freedom advocates who have raised alarm bells over the Trump administration’s decision to seize the reporter’s computers and phone days after Perez-Lugones was arrested.
The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has not been charged with any crimes, nor has the Post. Her devices were seized in a pre-dawn FBI raid on January 14 pursuant to a warrant related to the investigation into Perez-Lugones. Government seizures of reporter records are exceedingly rare in the US.
Perez-Lugones previously acknowledged he mishandled classified information, prosecutors said, according to a court hearing transcript obtained by CNN. Perez-Lugones told federal investigators he was angry about “recent government activity,” Assistant US Attorney Patricia McLane said during a detention hearing earlier this month.
Senate's top appropriator says it's good White House is engaged in funding talks
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins told reporters that it’s good the White House is engaging with Democrats on a possible government funding deal ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
Melania Trump describes her husband as a "unifier," underscoring their political alignment
From the time President Donald Trump entered the political arena, Melania Trump has been somewhat of a Rorschach test upon which American political observers projected their hopes and anxieties. For some, she was a MAGA queen. For others, she was leading a secret resistance.
But with the release of her documentary this week, the first lady is making it clear: she is her husband’s wife.
Trump defended the president’s efforts to unify the country in an interview that underscored their complete political alignment.
“We could see that the country, it’s divided, and it’s very hard — no matter what he says, they don’t like to listen. And you know, what’s going on in our country now, I feel that it’s a lot of pushback. And I hope it stops,” she told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview from Trump Tower that aired Thursday.
She said her husband is doing a “fantastic job” and described him as a “unifier.”
The friendly conversation marked Trump’s third televised interview this week — and the third interview of the second term. She’s stayed largely out of the public eye during her husband’s return to office but has scaled up appearances to promote her documentary, which premieres Thursday evening and releases in theaters Friday.
“People can see what a person who becomes a first lady needs to do, what she’s involved in, and how serious a job is this,” she said of the film, also noting it will feature “fashion” and “incredible music that I picked for every scene.”
Trump also reflected on differences between the first and second terms, telling Bartiromo, “The first time, everything what you wanted to do, the answer was no, or they turned their backs. But this time, it’s much more support.”
Trump lashes out at Powell after Fed chair keeps interest rates unchanged
President Donald Trump yet again lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for keeping interest rates steady.
Trump argued in a Truth Social post that Powell has “absolutely no reason to keep them so high. He is hurting our Country, and its National Security. We should have a substantially lower rate now that even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or threat.”
The Fed lowered interest rates three times in 2025. As CNN has reported, part of the reason rates were kept steady was because rate cuts can cause prices to rise. Inflation remained at 2.7% in December.
Trump also argued that money coming in from tariffs should give the US “the LOWEST INTEREST RATE OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.”
Powell told reporters on Wednesday, “The expectation is that we will see the effects of tariffs flowing through goods prices peaking, then starting to come down, assuming there are no new major tariff increases that are begun, and that is what we expect to see over the course of this year.”
Powell has refused to cave to political pressure from Trump, even as federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into him early this month over renovations at the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC.
