What we covered here
• DHS shutdown: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described ICE as a “rogue force” on CNN’s “State of the Union” and called on Republicans to meet Democrats’ demands to rein in immigration enforcement agencies. His comments came after the Department of Homeland Security shut down this weekend over the bitter policy fight on immigration reforms. The funding lapse will not affect nationwide ICE enforcement, border czar Tom Homan said.
• Rubio in Europe: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House wants Europe to reduce its dependence on American power and that Washington is “not asking Europe to be a vassal.” Rubio was speaking in Slovakia, a day after he offered some reassurance to uneasy European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
• Iran talks: Rubio also said President Donald Trump prefers diplomacy in dealing with Iran and the administration is focused on negotiations. The US is planning to meet with Iranian officials again on Tuesday in Geneva, sources tell CNN.
As US and Iran prepare for talks in Geneva, here's what happened in the last round
A new round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations is scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, sources previously told CNN, with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to attend.
The talks come even as US President Donald Trump struck a pessimistic tone Friday over a potential nuclear deal, saying the Iranians don’t have a good track record.
This is what happened at the last round of talks in Oman on February 6, which marked the first diplomatic engagement since the US and Israel struck Iran last summer.
Trump described the discussions as “very good talks,” and Iranian officials called it “a good start,” but substantive differences quickly surfaced.
The indirect talks were mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, with the US delegation led by Witkoff and Kushner, and Iran represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
On the nuclear issue, Iran reiterated its demand to enrich uranium — a nuclear fuel that can be used to make a bomb if purified to high levels — which the US and its allies reject. Iran offered to place checks on its nuclear program to ensure it isn’t weaponized, demanding the lifting of sanctions in return.
Washington also pushed to include ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional proxy network in the region, such as Hezbollah, in any future agreement, arguing the issue extended beyond nuclear capability. Iran rejected that expansion outright.
Even as talks proceeded, the US moved military assets into the region and imposed new sanctions, while Iran warned it would attack US bases if struck again.
Son of Iran’s last shah urges "humanitarian intervention" as Trump weighs strikes
The son of Iran’s last shah called Sunday for “humanitarian intervention” by the United States following a brutal crackdown on protests against the regime, as President Donald Trump considers military strikes on the country.
Reza Pahlavi, who is based in the US and has sought to position himself as a de facto leader of the protesters, told Fox News that the Iranian people wanted “freedom” and urged the world to increase the pressure on the regime.
“As we speak, there are people that are being executed in Iran. There are people that are being arrested and tortured,” Pahlavi said Sunday, a day after addressing a mass demonstration in Germany, where he was attending the Munich Security Conference.
“That’s why an intervention is so necessary. … This intervention is a humanitarian intervention to save lives that will otherwise also continue to be lost,” said Pahlavi, who was only 16 when Iran’s 1979 revolution toppled his father’s 40-year rule.
At least 6,490 protesters have been killed in Iran since mass demonstrations erupted in late December, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Wednesday. CNN cannot independently verify HRANA’s figures.
The next round of diplomatic talks between the US and Iran is expected to take place Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland. Trump has said he is seeking a nuclear deal with Tehran, but he has not ruled out ordering fresh strikes amid a US military buildup in the region.
On Friday, Trump suggested that regime change — something Pahlavi said the Iranian people had long been asking for — might be “the best thing that could happen.”
Homan defends masked agents, pushes back on Democratic demands amid DHS shutdown
White House border czar Tom Homan pushed back today on Democratic demands tied to negotiations over reopening the Department of Homeland Security amid a partial government shutdown.
Although Homan stressed that he is not directly involved in the funding negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House, he rejected several of Democrats’ proposed conditions.
Homan told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that demands to stop racial profiling are moot, because “that’s just not occurring.” Minnesota, as part of a lawsuit to stop the immigration crackdown in the state, asserted that federal agents have engaged in widespread racial profiling, particularly against Somali and Latino communities.
Homan also addressed criticism over immigration agents wearing masks during enforcement operations, a point of contention in negotiations.
“I don’t like the masks either,” but threats and assaults against ICE officers are rising, he said. “These men and women have to protect themselves.”
“So I’ll let the White House and members of Congress, you know, fight that out. But I think some of the asks are … unreasonable,” Homan said.
Kentucky governor says he's worried about Trump's plans for midterm elections
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky today described President Donald Trump’s messaging on the 2026 midterm elections as “anti-democracy.”
President Donald Trump earlier this month called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting,” saying that “Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places.”
The White House has since sought to downplay the comments by claiming Trump was expressing support for the SAVE Act, pending legislation that would require people to prove their citizenship before registering to vote. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.
The FBI also searched an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a probe of alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. And Trump last week said there will be a national voter identification requirement for this November’s midterm elections “whether approved by Congress or not.” It is unclear how the president could legally mandate voter ID across the country without congressional approval.
“Well, it is my job to be worried,” Beshear told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked whether he’s concerned about the upcoming elections.
“The president talking about, not federalizing elections, he first said Republicans should take over elections in certain states. That is anti-democracy,” Beshear added.
Trump says Board of Peace to announce $5 billion Gaza pledge during upcoming inaugural meeting
President Donald Trump said today that his newly formed “Board of Peace” will unveil a multibillion-dollar humanitarian and reconstruction package for Gaza, along with a major international security commitment at its inaugural meeting in Washington set for Thursday of this week.
The gathering marks the first formal meeting of the “Board of Peace,” as the multinational organization tasked with resolving global conflicts faces lingering questions about its broader mission.
Trump framed the initiative as a turning point for Gaza’s future, while also underscoring a firm condition directed at Hamas.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization. The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,” Trump wrote.
The US sent invitations for the February 19 event earlier this month. It is slated to be held at the US Institute of Peace, which Trump has renamed after himself.
Delaware Democrat says lawmakers should make progress on DHS reforms "soon"
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said today there are bipartisan efforts underway to negotiate reforms in the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement operations, insisting that lawmakers should be able to make progress on putting new standards into law “soon.”
Coons’ comments come as Democrats continue their push for reforms amid a partial government shutdown that began on Friday. Lawmakers left town Thursday without any agreement on how to fund DHS, but Coons appeared optimistic today about finding a path forward towards resolving the dispute.
“This isn’t a big government shutdown. It is a hopefully, temporary disagreement over the standards of conduct of the officers who operate under the Department of Homeland Security,” he said.
Beshear won't attend governors meeting at White House
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said he does not plan to attend the annual bipartisan governor meeting at the White House, after confusion about whether all Democratic governors are invited.
CNN previously reported that National Governors Association Chair GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma told members the organization would no longer facilitate the White House meeting, citing a decision to only invite Republicans and to exclude from a White House dinner two governors who have publicly quarreled with Trump: Maryland’s Wes Moore, who co-chairs the NGA with Stitt, and Colorado’s Jared Polis.
The NGA then said the meeting was back on after invitations were extended to all of its members. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has maintained that invitations were sent to all governors all while criticizing some Democratic governors and Stitt.
Beshear did not directly respond to comments asking to clarify if all governors are now invited.
“This meeting is an annual bipartisan tradition where we try to push our differences aside and talk about how we move forward in those areas, yet the president has just turned it into drama, inviting and disinviting others,” Beshear told CNN’s Tapper. “It no longer looks like it’s going to be productive at all.”
Rubio arrives in Budapest after leaving Bratislava
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just touched down in Budapest, Hungary, as part of his two-day trip to Central Europe, following a visit to Slovakia.
Earlier today, Rubio met with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini in Bratislava. You can take a look back here at what Rubio and Fico said during a joint press conference.
He departed the city a short while ago, traveling to Budapest by plane.
Republican behind file release law: "This is the Epstein administration"
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie excoriated President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their reticence to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigations.
Massie has been a thorn in Trump’s side in large part because of his push to compel the Department of Justice to release the files, with the president regularly insulting the lawmaker on social media.
“Donald Trump told us that even though he had dinner with these kinds of people in New York City and West Palm Beach that he would be transparent. But he’s not. He’s still in with the Epstein class. This is the Epstein administration,” Massie said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Massie, who wrote the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, questioned Bondi during a hearing on Capitol Hill over the Department of Justice’s failure to release all the files by the deadline Congress outlined and their initial redaction of some of the names associated with Epstein. Massie said he has no confidence in the attorney general after her appearance.
“I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi. She wasn’t confident enough to engage in anything but name calling in a hearing and so no, I don’t have confidence in her. She hasn’t got any sort of accountability there at the DOJ,” he said.
Homan says DHS funding freeze won't disrupt immigration operations
Border Czar Tom Homan said the lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security after Congress failed to pass a funding measure by Friday’s deadline will not impact immigration operations nationwide.
“The ICE officers won’t be getting paid, but they’re getting used to that, seems like. So no,” Homan said to CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
The partial government shutdown comes amid a bitter standoff over federal immigration enforcement, with Senate Democrats demanding reforms to rein in agencies in exchange for their support of a funding package.
Context: More than 90% of DHS’ 272,000 employees will continue working during the lapse, according to the agency’s September shutdown plan covering the first five days of an impasse. More than 93% of ICE and CBP workers will remain on the job.
Homan says he's ramped up efforts to review federal officer misconduct allegations
White House border czar Tom Homan said he increased the presence of internal affairs officers in Minnesota since arriving in the Twin Cities to address misconduct allegations among immigration enforcement officers, noting the claims are under investigation as the surge of immigration officers winds down.
“In any instance where there have been allegations of misconduct or working outside the policy, it has been referred to internal affairs,” Homan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Asked whether there are officials within the administration who may undermine the credibility of the Department of Homeland Security amid increased scrutiny, Homan pointed to the ongoing internal investigations but dismissed division.
Homan said he doesn’t agree with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “on everything,” but added that the pair regularly have discussions, and he described the administration’s efforts as “one team one fight.”
“We have discussions and different opinions. That’s what makes it a strong team. We bring different ideas to the table and then agree on a mission,” Homan said.
“I’m not going to divide this administration…. I’m going to just keep doing what the president wants me to do as the border czar,” Homan added.
Shutdown talks show little movement with GOP senator calling it "political theater"
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin indicated little movement on the shutdown talks as he held to his position and blamed Democrats for the lapse in funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
Mullin said while he supports making ICE agents wear body cameras, he is against visible identification or them not wearing masks – two conditions Democrats have required to fund the department along with the use of judicial warrants.
He also questioned the efficacy of the shutdown as it only applies to non-ICE parts of the Department of Homeland Security including FEMA, TSA and the Coast Guard.
“They’re shutting down thousands of workers for nothing,” he said.
The press conference held by Rubio and Fico has ended. Catch up on what was said
We’ve been bringing you updates from the joint press conference held by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, which ended a short while ago.
The pair discussed a wide range of topics, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US’ relationship with Iran and Syria and NATO.
Catch up on what was said in the press conference below:
- President Donald Trump “prefers diplomacy” when dealing with Iran, Rubio said. The US is “postured in the region for one simple reason, and that is that we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region,” he told reporters.
- Rubio also said that he does not “have any reason” to question the assessment of several European governments that Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny was poisoned by a rare frog toxin. “Sometimes countries go out and do their thing … based on the intelligence they’ve gathered. We obviously are aware of the report,” he said, calling it “troubling.”
- The White House wants Europe to reduce its dependence on American power, Rubio said, adding that Washington is not asking the continent “to be a vassal.” The US is not threatened by NATO growing “in its own capabilities,” he said, adding that this is “not independent of the United States,” but “in conjunction” with it.
CNN’s Dalia Abdelwahab contributed to this reporting.
US is not asking Europe to be a "vassal," Rubio insists
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House wants Europe to reduce its dependence on American power, and that Washington is “not asking Europe to be a vassal.”
His comments at a news conference in Slovakia came the day after he gave a speech at the 2026 Munich Security Conference in which he struck a conciliatory tone to uneasy European allies, but without backing away from the underlying US demand that they change course on a number of fronts.
The top US diplomat also seemed dismissive of widely reported concerns and shell-shock by Washington’s counterparts in Brussels on the direction US foreign policy has been taking under the second Trump administration.
“I saw it reported yesterday in some places, ‘Oh, the Europeans are very upset. They’re going to be less dependent on America,’” Rubio said, seeking to downplay Trump’s overall dismay with NATO by suggesting Trump had simply wanted the military alliance to take on a stronger form since he first assumed office in 2016.
Rubio notably characterized the United States as a “child of Europe” to widespread applause during his Munich Security Conference remarks — an analogy he circled back to in reference to “cultural ties, historical ties, religious ties,” among others.
Schumer calls ICE a "rogue force" that needs to be "reined in"
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said today that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a “rogue force.”
“They need to be reined in. They need to stop the violence,” Schumer told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked about Democrats’ demands for changes to the law enforcement agency in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
His comments comes after DHS shut down this weekend as Congress failed to resolve a bitter policy fight over immigration enforcement reforms. Schumer told Tapper that he believes Republican lawmakers will “have no choice but to go along” with the the Democrats’ list of demands, which includes a new system for accountability for immigration enforcement and body camera requirements, among other things.
Schumer added that ICE officers should not do roving patrols, should not go to churches, schools or polling places and that they should not wear masks.
“These are common-sense proposals,” he said, adding that Democrats’ proposed changes for ICE are in line with other police departments.
“That’s what the American people are asking Republicans (for), and that’s why they’re going to have to go along with us,” he said.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Rubio says Trump focused on diplomacy with Iran
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that President Donald Trump prefers diplomacy in dealing with Iran and the administration is currently focused on negotiations.
Speaking during the news conference in Bratislava alongside Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Rubio said, “the president’s made clear he prefers diplomacy.”
He also noted that the US is “postured in the region for one simple reason, and that is that we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region.”
Rubio said that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will be traveling “to have important meetings, and we’ll see how that turns out.”
Witkoff and Kushner are due to hold talks in Geneva on Tuesday with an Iranian delegation through Omani mediators on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and its stocks of highly enriched uranium.
Asked whether the administration would inform Congress of any intent to carry out strikes against Iran, Rubio said: “We’ll always comply with the applicable laws of the United States in terms of involving Congress in any decisions.”
Meanwhile, US apprehends another Venezuelan-linked oil tanker
US military forces stopped and boarded a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker overnight in the Indian Ocean, according the Pentagon.
Veronica III, which flies under the Panama flag, per the Department of Treasury, is the latest oil tanker the US says it has targeted for being in defiance of President Donald Trump’s quarantine meant to pressure Venezuela, US Southern Command wrote in a news release.
Since the January ousting of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has said that the US will control Venezuelan oil. In January, he signed an executive order which authorized force against narcoterrorists and ordered the blockage of oil tankers traveling in and out of the country.
Venezuela, which faces US sanctions on its oil, has relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains.
The US tracked the vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, “closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this,” the Department of Defense wrote in its release.
It’s the second time in as many weeks the US says it has pursued a Panama-flagged tanker from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, after US forces boarded the Aquila II on Feb. 9.
“The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully,” Southern Command said in its press release today.
Rubio says no reason to dispute "troubling" report that Navalny was poisoned
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just been speaking during a press conference with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.
He said he has no reason to question or dispute the assessment of several European governments that Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny was poisoned by a rare frog toxin.
“Sometimes countries go out and do their thing … based on the intelligence they’ve gathered. We obviously are aware of the report. It’s a troubling report,” Rubio said during a visit to Slovakia.
Navalny was killed while in prison by a lethal toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America, five European countries said in a statement yesterday.
Analyses of samples taken from Navalny’s body have “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine,” the statement said. The substance is not found naturally in Russia, it added.
The five countries – UK, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands – said Moscow “had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison” to Navalny while he was held in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle.
Robert Fico — the populist prime minister of Slovakia
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Bratislava, the capital city of his country and they are both currently holding a press conference. We’re monitoring and will bring you any significant lines as and when we get them.
Fico, a populist and reported to be a loyal Trump ally, also has warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He served as prime minister of Slovakia twice before returning to power once more in 2023, running on a campaign against further military aid for Ukraine
Fico has since worked closely with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in attempting to veto financial support from being offered to Kyiv by the European Union.
He has blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Putin into launching Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, repeating the false narrative Putin has used to justify his invasion.
In May 2024, Fico was shot five times after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The country’s defense and interior ministers called the shooting “politically motivated.”
Months later, the prime minister met with Putin in Moscow. Last September, the pair met again in Beijing.
During these talks, Fico said that he was “very interested in standardizing relations between the Slovak Republic and the Russian Federation,” according to a Kremlin readout of the meeting.
CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Sophie Tanno, Heather Chen, Sugam Pokharel and Zahid Mahmood contributed to this reporting.
What we learned at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday
It’s the final day of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Here’s what we’ve learned so far from the gathering of world leaders over the past two days:
Rubio’s address
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure uneasy European leaders that the US remains committed to their partnership during his high-profile address, but he didn’t back down from its underlying demand that they change course on a number of fronts.
Rubio’s tone was also in stark contrast to that used by Vice President JD Vance a year ago, when he criticized Europe for relying too heavily on US support.
China looks to woo Europe
After Rubio proclaimed that the United States and Europe “belong together” in his Munich address, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi took to the stage with his own pitch.
“China and the EU are partners, not rivals,” Wang told his audience, speaking from the same stage.
Ukraine war
Trump is seeking an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “once and for all,” said Rubio after the US diplomat met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the conference.
In his address at the conference, Zelensky said his counterpart Vladimir Putin “cannot let go of the idea of war.”
UK seeks “closer economic alignment” with EU
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “closer economic alignment” with the European Union and said London would “move closer to the single market” in certain areas.
Since leaving the EU after the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK has been excluded from the bloc’s single market, although it has sought to reduce trade barriers.
Navalny death
Several European countries accused Russia of fatally poisoning Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny with a lethal toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America, a substance that they say is not found naturally in Russia.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied being responsible for Navalny’s death.
