What we're covering
• DHS funding: Lawmakers will return to Washington on Monday with just days to find a funding solution on the Department of Homeland Security or see the agency shut down. Democrats are demanding reforms to federal immigration enforcement.
• Racist video: President Donald Trump has faced backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike over a since-deleted racist video depicting the Obamas as apes. The social media post, which Trump refused to apologize for sharing, was the latest in a long line of offensive messages amplified by the president’s account.
• Epstein fallout: The Department of Justice’s release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files is still producing major headlines in the US and around the world, with documents showing the extent to which the late sex offender tried to cozy up to Russian officials. Members of Congress can begin reviewing unredacted versions of the files tomorrow.
Trump says he's "very proud" of the economy under his leadership
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he inherited an economic “mess” from the former administration, took ownership of the economy in an interview with NBC News, stating that he’s “very proud” of where it stands under his leadership.
Asked by NBC News’ Tom Llamas in an interview that aired Sunday at which point the United States will be in the “Trump economy,” the president said, “Oh, I’d say we’re there now. I’m very proud of it.”
“You know, we have a GDP of 5.6 despite a shutdown,” he said, adding, “I think ’26 is even gonna be better.”
While broad economic growth is strong — third-quarter GDP expansion hit an annualized rate of 4.4%, according to Commerce Department data — Americans are still hurting, as reflected by a recent CNN poll, which found 3 in 10 rating the economy positively.
As CNN’s Daniel Dale fact-checked, overall prices have increased during Trump’s second term, Consumer Price Index data shows. In December 2025, average consumer prices were 2.7% higher than they were in December 2024 — and far more products have gotten more expensive since Trump’s inauguration than have gotten cheaper.
During the interview, Trump also underestimated the price of gas and falsely claimed that we have “almost no inflation.”
CNN’s Daniel Dale, Allison Morrow and Ariel Edwards-Levy contributed reporting.
Trump says he thinks the Super Bowl is "gonna be a great game," praises both teams
President Donald Trump praised both teams playing in the Super Bowl, telling NBC News that he anticipated “a great game” because both the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have “amazing” quarterbacks.
The president said he will likely watch the game at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida “with a lot of friends.”
Asked by NBC News’ Tom Llamas on his reaction to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s recent snub from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Trump said it was “terrible.”
He’s “won so many Super Bowls. Great coach. Became a little bit controversial, I guess, after that. … During it he was just a great coach. I thought it was very inappropriate,” Trump said.
The game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks is slated to kick off around 6:30 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Some background: Despite attending many high-profile sporting events in his second term, Trump said last month he would skip the Super Bowl. While he blamed his absence on the long flight, it’s no secret he is not thrilled about this year’s Super Bowl performers, Bad Bunny and Green Day, both of whom backed Kamala Harris in 2024.
Group planning America’s 250th birthday party takes out a Super Bowl spot
The nonprofit group leading the Trump administration’s celebrations surrounding the US’ 250 birthday is running a public service announcement during tonight’s Super Bowl, with a message it says is meant to promote unity as the country hits a new milestone.
The 30-second spot by Freedom 250, first obtained by CNN, features iconic imagery from the nation’s past, along with videos of modern Americans.
“Just as Super Bowl Sunday brings Americans together around a shared love of competition, tradition, and excellence, the 250th anniversary will unite our entire nation in celebration of the values and freedoms that make America exceptional,” said Keith Krach, Freedom 250 CEO. “This is our moment to come together as one country and honor the American story and celebrate the bright future ahead. “
The PSA was produced in a partnership with Angel Studios, a media company that’s produced films, many with religious themes, that President Donald Trump and prominent conservatives have promoted.
“After 250 years, the American experiment still isn’t finished. It’s been built, tested, carried forward and fought for, and we passed it on, hand to hand, life to life,” says a voiceover in the video. “Generations ago, ordinary people risked everything to begin it – 250 years later, the work continues.”
Trump has long touted his desire to shape the nation’s 250th celebrations. In the past few weeks, his administration has rolled out a slate of events that align with the president’s call for programming that renews national pride.
Freedom 250 plans include an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout on the White House’s South Lawn on the president’s birthday, an IndyCar race near the National Mall in August, the “Patriot Games,” a competition with young athletes from across the country and the construction of a giant triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial.
Correction: This post has been corrected to reflect that the spot is being run as a public service announcement. An earlier version of this post incorrectly indicated Freedom 250 bought the spot.
GOP Sen. Cassidy evasive on whether he regrets his 2021 Trump impeachment vote
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, wouldn’t say last week whether he regrets that vote, which has put him in Trump’s crosshairs.
Trump successfully pushed Rep. Julia Letlow to challenge Cassidy in the Louisiana GOP primary this year, setting the stage for a potentially expensive primary battle for a safe Senate seat.
CNN’s Manu Raju on Thursday chased Cassidy down in the halls of Congress, where the lawmaker declined to weigh in on why Trump appears to be angry with him.
“You’re asking me the president’s motivation. I can’t comment on that. Frankly, I don’t think you can either,” Cassidy said.
Pressed by Raju on how he looks back on his vote to convict Trump for his role in inciting the 2021 Capitol riot, Cassidy said he’s “commonly asked by reporters how do I feel and how do I regret.”
“All I can say, brother, is you live your life forward,” Cassidy said.
Democratic senator questions Gabbard's competence over handling of whistleblower complaint
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s ability to lead the nation’s intelligence community as lawmakers scrutinize a whistleblower complaint.
Gabbard accused Warner of “lying” yesterday after the Virginia Democrat expressed concerns about a delay in her office sharing information on a whistleblower complaint. The complaint includes claims that the distribution of a highly classified intelligence report had been “restricted for political purposes” and that an intelligence agency lawyer had failed to report a potential crime to the Justice Department.
Though Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, a Republican, has made clear he approves of how the whistleblower complaint has been handled, Warner said, “I’m not comfortable with the process, the timing, and I can’t make a judgment about the credibility or the veracity, because it’s been so heavily redacted.”
Asked whether the panel will be able to speak to the whistleblower, Warner said he understands the person “has been waiting for guidance, legal guidance, on how to approach the committee.”
Trump lashes out at Olympic skier who expressed "mixed emotions" representing the US
President Donald Trump called Olympic skier Hunter Hess a “loser” today after the athlete expressed “mixed emotions representing the US right now” in the Winter Olympic Games.
“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday morning. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Hess, who hails from Bend, Oregon, said during a press availability last week that “just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US.”
“It’s a little hard; there’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t,” Hess said. “I think for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe that are good about the US. I just think, if it aligns with my moral values, I’m representing it.”
A number of conservatives have criticized Hess for his comments in recent days.
“If you can’t say you love America while competing on behalf of our nation then you shouldn’t be at the Olympics,” wrote Katie Miller, a Trump ally and the wife of top White House aide Stephen Miller, on social media yesterday.
Murkowski begrudgingly rules out an Alaska gubernatorial bid
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said today she does not plan on joining the open field in the race this year to be Alaska’s next governor.
“Would I not consider returning back to the state that I love and working on hard problems and challenges? Absolutely,” Murkowski told CNN’s Manu Raju this week, adding, “I also feel that the role that I’m playing here in the United States Senate is a particularly important one for our state and for the country.”
“So hard decisions, but you got to pick one, and I’m here and going to continue to serve Alaskans here,” she added.
The Alaska Republican has broken with President Donald Trump and many of her GOP colleagues on several key issues, including on the confirmations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, said she’s “not happily” ruling out a gubernatorial bid.
“The idea of being able to be home and shovel real snow instead of ice snow, big difference,” she said, referring to weather conditions in Washington, DC.
Trump to attend Super Bowl watch party in Florida
President Donald Trump is set to attend a Super Bowl watch party in Palm Beach, Florida, today.
The Seattle Seahawks will play the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California, a place Trump previously said was “just too far away” for him to travel to in person.
Trump will attend the watch party at 6:30 p.m. ET, and return to the White House some time after this. The event is closed to the press.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore frames redistricting push as an effort to save democracy
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore defended his effort to redraw the Maryland congressional map as part of a push by Democratic-led states to respond to President Donald Trump’s efforts to create more Republican seats throughout the country.
The proposed map would eliminate the only Republican-held seat in Maryland, currently occupied by conservative Rep. Andy Harris.
“This is about our democracy. This is about the fact that you know who started this. It wasn’t (California Gov.) Gavin Newsom. It was Donald Trump. When Donald Trump first contacted Texas and said, I need you to find the additional congressional seats, and they went to a back room with a sharpie and started redrawing maps,” Moore told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
The Maryland House approved the new congressional map last week, but leadership in the state Senate has said the bill doesn’t have enough support to advance in that chamber — largely due to concerns it could backfire.
Moore called on his state’s Senate to back the proposal, saying that Trump’s racist post on social media on Friday, which depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, “highlights the kind of urgency that we have within this moment … we are watching a president who is just unchecked.”
“It’s why I’m urging the Maryland Senate to let democracy not die in the free state and to let a vote to happen on the Maryland Senate,” Moore said.
Go deeper: Moore confronts limits of his power in clash with state Dems
Trump "needs to apologize" for posting racist video of Obamas, Jeffries says
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded President Donald Trump apologize for the racist video depicting the Obamas as apes that was shared on his Truth Social account on Friday.
The post has since been deleted after several Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator and a close political ally of the president, expressed outrage. Trump has said he doesn’t think he needs to apologize since the White House said it was a staffer who shared the content.
Jeffries also accused the president of “unlawfully withholding funds” from a major New York infrastructure project amid reports that Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last month that he would drop his freeze on billions of dollars in funding for a long-planned rail tunnel if Schumer agreed to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after Trump.
“It’s another example of Donald Trump trying to force presidential graffiti down the throat of the American people. It’s completely and totally unacceptable,” Jeffries said.
Oz urges Americans to take the measles vaccine
The administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services urged Americans to “please” take the measles vaccine, but denied that the fast-growing South Carolina outbreak of the disease is a consequence of the Trump administration undermining confidence in the vaccine.
“We’ve advocated for measles vaccines all along. Secretary Kennedy has been at the very front of this,” Mehmet Oz told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “When the first outbreak happened in Texas, he said, ‘Get your vaccines for measles,’ because that’s an example of an ailment that you should get vaccinated against.”
While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraged people to get their measles vaccines in April during a Texas outbreak, he advocated against government mandates for vaccines. Bash also pointed out how Children’s Health Defense, which Kennedy founded and ran up until April 2023, posted on X, “Despite the media’s scare tactics, there’s no reason to fear measles.”
Asked by Bash if people should fear measles, Oz said, “Oh, for sure and we actually are pretty aggressive. CMS, we fund any vaccine you want to take. There will never be a barrier to Americans get access to the measles vaccine.”
“Take the vaccine, please,” Oz said. “We have a solution for a problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people equally susceptible to those illnesses, but Measles is one you should get your vaccine,” Oz said.
GOP Rep. Massie: Trump should “absolutely apologize” for racist post
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie today said Trump should “absolutely apologize” for sharing a since-deleted racist post on his social media network that depicted former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
“He’s gone too far,” Massie told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics.”
“He’s attacked my wife recently online, and I do think there are limits. For a while it’s kind of funny, but once pass certain guardrails like attacking a man’s spouse or getting into racist tropes – I think somebody at the White House, maybe (Chief of Staff) Susie Wiles needs to go to the president and just ask him for his phone.”
Trump has for months attacked Massie, who has been among the lawmakers behind the push to compel the Department of Justice to release case files surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, on social media. He recently suggested on Truth Social the lawmaker’s wife was part of the “radical left.”
“It doesn’t make me angry, but it’s unfair to my spouse,” Massie told Raju today.
Jeffries says "ball is in the court" of the GOP on DHS funding deal
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he’s not willing to accept anything less than Democratic leaders’ demands and cast blame on Republicans for stalled negotiations on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security before a crucial deadline.
“Not at this point,” Jeffries told CNN’s Dana Bash just days before DHS, which includes FEMA and TSA, will shutdown without a funding solution, declaring the top immigration enforcement agency is “completely and totally out of control.”
Democrats have put forward their list of requirements for a bill to fund DHS and reform ICE, including requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras and remove face masks and to use judicial warrants, an issue that has been a nonstarter for Republicans.
Jeffries said Democrats haven’t heard back from the White House or GOP leaders on their “common sense” demands, adding, “in our view, the ball is in the court right now of the Republicans” ahead of the February 13 deadline.
“Either they’re going to agree to dramatically reform the way in which ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies are conducting themselves, so that they’re behaving like every other law enforcement agency in the country, or they’re making the explicit decision to shut down the Coast Guard, shut down FEMA and shut down TSA,” he warned.
GOP lawmaker behind Congress' Epstein push says Commerce Secretary Lutnick should resign over links
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a coauthor of the law that compelled the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, today called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign over his links to the late sex offender.
Asked on CNN’s “Inside Politics” if Lutnick, who appeared to have corresponded with Epstein multiple times, should testify, Massie responded, “No, he should just resign. I mean, there are three people in Great Britain that have resigned in politics.”
Lutnick said in an interview last year that after a 2005 encounter at Epstein’s home, he grew uncomfortable and vowed that he “will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.” But the documents reveal Lutnick sought to meet with or call Epstein several times since 2005, including after Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.
A Commerce Department spokesperson told CNN last month, “Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”
Massie, who has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side in large part because of his push to compel the Department of Justice to release the files, also told CNN it is too soon to say if Congress should call on Trump to testify on his own links to Epstein.
“The Democrats want to make this about Trump, and the Republicans want to make it about the Clintons. I want to make it about the survivors and getting them justice and transparency,” he later added.
A look at some of the latest news from Washington, DC
If you missed it, here’s a round-up of some of our reporting from Washington this past weekend.
- A 33-year-old Ohio man has been charged with threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance with an automatic weapon, the Justice Department said in a news release on Friday.
- A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s policy of detaining undocumented immigrants, including those who have been living in the US for decades, without the opportunity to challenge their detention.
- The top lawyer for ICE in Minnesota has left the agency, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN. Chief Counsel Jim Stolley retired after 31 years of service, the spokesperson said.
- Meanwhile, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to endorse Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy’s grandson, in his bid to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District, according to a source familiar with the matter.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Devan Cole, Aleena Fayaz and Camila DeChalus contributed to this reporting.
Catch up on the latest foreign policy developments
US officials have held initial indirect talks with Iran over Tehran nuclear program, while President Donald Trump said he spoke with Honduran President Nasry Asfura.
See below for a round-up of our reporting on the Trump administration’s latest foreign policy developments.
Too early to say how talks with US will end, Greenland’s foreign minister says
Talks between Greenland and the United States are not currently where Greenland would like them to be — and it is too early to say what the outcome will be, the Arctic island’s foreign minister said yesterday.
On January 21, Trump announced he had reached a “framework of a future deal” regarding Greenland. The ongoing talks between the US, Greenland and Denmark are aimed at finalizing that deal.
Trump touts “very important meeting” with Honduran president
Trump praised his Honduran counterpart, Nasry “Tito” Asfura, saying the pair held a “very important meeting” yesterday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Asfura, a conservative, narrowly edged out right-leaning centrist Salvador Nasralla late last year.
Trump endorsed Asfura days before the election was held, warning that if he didn’t win, “the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is.”
The US president yesterday touted the countries’ “close partnership” on security, anti-drug-trafficking, and immigration issues. He said the two leaders “discussed many other issues,” including trade.
Netanyahu expected to visit Washington to discuss Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is expected” to visit Washington to meet with Trump on Wednesday, “where he will discuss with him the negotiations with Iran,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement yesterday.
“The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and an end to support for the Iranian axis,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday the country must uphold its right to continue uranium enrichment, after initial indirect talks with the United States over the country’s nuclear progam. Abbas Araghchi described the program as a “sovereignty necessity.”
A key point of contention remains Iran’s 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.
CNN’s Sophie Tanno, Isabelle D’Antonio, Eugenia Yosef, Max Saltman and Laura Sharma contributed to this post
What to know about the racist video posted on Trump's social media account
President Donald Trump drew swift condemnation for a racist video posted to his Truth Social account last Thursday depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle.
Here’s what you need to know about the situation:
What was the post?
The video Trump shared largely discussed false claims that voting machines helped to steal the 2020 election. As that section of the video ended, a separate clip showing the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the bodies of apes played, set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
The post, which recalls the racist trope of comparing Black people with monkeys, prompted swift backlash. It was online for roughly 12 hours before it was deleted from Trump’s feed.
The White House initially defended the post and downplayed the response to the video, calling it “fake outrage. Following a bipartisan backlash, the White House then told CNN a “staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.”
What was the reaction?
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the video in a post on X, writing: “Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.”
GOP Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican and close Trump ally, wrote on X that he was “praying (the video) was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.”
Trump and Scott spoke about the video on Friday morning before it was deleted from the president’s feed, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an Instagram video Friday that the “disgusting video, posted by the so-called president, was done intentionally,”
What has Trump said about the video?
For his part, Trump said Friday evening that neither he nor his staff had seen all of the video before it was posted to Truth Social.
“I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to the first part of the video that contained debunked claims about fraud in voting machines.
“Somebody slipped and missed a very small part,” he said, but when asked directly whether he would apologize, he declined.
CNN’s Alayna Treene, Adam Cancryn and Ellis Kim contributed to this reporting.
