Here's the latest
• Two days of diplomacy: The US expects to receive proposals from Iran in the next two weeks to address gaps between the two countries’ positions following talks in Geneva, according to a US official. Meanwhile, US-brokered talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations ended today, with Russia saying a new round of talks would take place in the near future.
• Shutdown stalemate: The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down amid a bitter policy fight over reforms to federal immigration enforcement. The White House rejected a Democratic counteroffer yesterday, with an official saying the two sides are “pretty far apart” on any agreement.
• Epstein files fallout: Lex Wexner, the former owner of Victoria’s Secret and a key player in Jeffrey Epstein’s rise to extreme wealth, is currently sitting for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee in Ohio, a source tells CNN. Wexner has for years denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Catch up on other news from Washington, DC
Amid the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the outcome of the latest diplomatic talks on Ukraine and Iran in Geneva, we’ve also been covering the latest back in Washington, DC.
Catch up on some of our latest reporting below:
- Tricia McLaughlin, the top DHS spokesperson, is stepping down, becoming latest official from the department to leave. She is expected to step down from her position as assistant secretary next week, a Trump administration official told CNN.
- An 18-year-old in a tactical vest charged the US Capitol with a loaded shotgun yesterday and was quickly arrested, US Capitol Police said. A man was identified by police in connection with the incident as Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Georgia. Authorities said he acted alone and are working to determine a motive.
- New Mexico’s House of Representatives has approved the creation of a bipartisan special committee to investigate a ranch owned by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the state. The committee will look into “allegations of criminal activity” on the property and decide whether other “legislative action” is required, the measure said.
- The Supreme Court said yesterday that it will start using software to assist in justices’ decisions to recuse themselves from cases that present a potential conflict of interest. The court outlined an electronic matching process already used by some lower courts to compare a case’s parties to lists judges assemble of individuals and organizations they have ties to.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Michael Williams, Holmes Lybrand, Kaanita Iyer and Tierney Sneed contributed to this reporting.
Leslie Wexner deposition now underway, source says
The House Oversight Committee’s deposition of billionaire retail magnate Leslie Wexner over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein is now underway, a source tells CNN.
Wexner is sitting with lawmakers and staffers in Ohio to discuss his relationship with Epstein.
Trump and Starmer discuss peace in Middle East and Europe
President Donald Trump spoke to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The leaders spoke about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing peace talks, the spokesperson said in a statement today.
They also discussed the current situation in Gaza, and Starmer “set out his support for the ongoing work to deliver the US-led peace plan.”
Starmer and Trump “confirmed their joint commitment to promoting stability and peace in the Middle East” and agreed that Iran should “never be able to develop a nuclear weapon,” according to the statement.
Talks on DHS between the White House and Democrats continue to be slow-moving
The Department of Homeland Security continues to be ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress has not acted to fund the agency since last Friday.
Lawmakers left town last week without any agreement on how to fund DHS, and the next steps are uncertain. Talks between the White House and Democrats have been moving slowly, and the two chambers aren’t scheduled to return to Washington until February 23, though GOP leaders could still call members back if a deal is reached.
Yesterday, the White House rejected Democrats’ latest offer to end the partial government shutdown, according to a White House official, saying the two sides remain “pretty far apart” on any agreement.
Nearly all DHS workers remain on the job, however — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.
TSA workers, for instance, will only receive a partial paycheck on February 28 if the impasse isn’t resolved by then. They will miss their first full paycheck on March 14.
Israel raises alert level ahead of potential joint US-Israel attack on Iran, sources say
Israel has raised its alert level and is stepping up military preparations amid growing indications of a potential joint US-Israel attack on Iran in the coming days, two Israeli sources told CNN.
Israel has for weeks been skeptical about the US-Iran negotiations and has been accelerating its operational and defensive planning despite the proclaimed progress in the second round of talks yesterday, according to the sources, one of whom is a military official.
The prospective offensive, if authorized by President Donald Trump, is expected to exceed the 12-day war in June and will involve coordinated strikes by both the US and Israel, one of the sources said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held several special security consultations this week to assess readiness and coordination, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held a closed-door briefing with the chief of the Israeli military’s Home Front Command. Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth said that “we are in challenging days facing Iran,” and the government and the public are “preparing for any scenario” of confrontation.
Ukrainians will reject any peace deal that involves withdrawing from Donbas, Zelensky says
The Ukrainian people will reject any peace deal that requires handing the eastern Donbas region to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Axios yesterday.
Zelensky said it is “not fair” that US President Donald Trump continues to pressure Kyiv, not Moscow, to make concessions for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long demanded that Ukraine give up the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still controls. Kyiv has previously rejected this.
Zelensky also thanked Trump for his peacekeeping efforts, telling Axios: “We respect each other.”
US continuing buildup of military presence in Middle East during Iran talks
The US military is continuing a significant buildup of air and naval assets in the Middle East as negotiations over a deal with Iran continue.
The pieces are being moved into place both to pressure Tehran as terms of a deal are discussed and to have options to strike inside the country should negotiations over its nuclear program fail, multiple sources told CNN.
US Air Force assets based in the United Kingdom, including refueling tankers and fighter jets, are being repositioned closer to the Middle East, according to sources familiar with the movements.
The US is also continuing to flow air defense systems to the region, according to a US official, and several US military units deployed in the region that were expected to rotate out in the coming weeks have had their orders extended, said one source familiar with the matter.
Dozens of US military cargo planes have transported equipment from the US to Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, according to flight-tracking data.
President Donald Trump has been threatening military action against Iran for weeks, beginning last month when he warned Iranian leaders that he was prepared to order an attack if the government did not stop killing protesters. And on Friday, he said he believes regime change “would be the best thing that could happen” in Iran.
Here is what's on Trump's schedule today
President Donald Trump has three events on his calendar this afternoon, according to the White House schedule.
At 3 p.m. ET, the president will take part in a Black History Month reception at the White House.
An hour later, at 4 p.m. ET, he is set to participate in signing time, then at 4:30 p.m. ET, he will take part in a policy meeting. Both of these events are closed to the press.
We will be sure to bring you any relevant updates on these events as we get them.
What we know about today's Russia-Ukraine talks in Geneva
The second day of talks in Geneva between representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States ended after roughly two hours today, according to Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Medinsky, who led the delegation for Moscow, described the talks as “difficult, but businesslike,” and said a new round would take place “in the near future.”
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, said the talks were “intensive and substantive” and brought “some progress.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who did not attend but received a debrief, told reporters there have been developments but that each side’s “positions still differ and negations were not easy ones.”
Just as today’s talks were beginning, Zelensky accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations.”
The Ukrainian leader also thanked the US delegation – comprising of Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law – for their “attention to detail” and “patience” in their conversations with the Russian negotiators.
Witkoff said yesterday that the first day of talks had made “meaningful progress” toward ending the war that next week is set to enter its fifth year.
CNN’s Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards and Lauren Kent contributed to this reporting.
