{"id":370,"date":"2025-02-12T20:19:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T20:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/02\/12\/senate-confirms-gabbard-then-turns-to-rfk-jr-trump-cabinet-news-and-live-updates-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T20:19:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T20:19:15","slug":"senate-confirms-gabbard-then-turns-to-rfk-jr-trump-cabinet-news-and-live-updates-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/02\/12\/senate-confirms-gabbard-then-turns-to-rfk-jr-trump-cabinet-news-and-live-updates-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Confirms Gabbard, Then Turns to RFK Jr.: Trump Cabinet News and Live Updates – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Trump has made clear that finding a U.S.-backed end to the war in Ukraine is a priority.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

President Trump said on Wednesday that he had a \u201clengthy and highly productive phone call\u201d with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, characterizing it as the beginning of a negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

It was the first confirmed conversation between the two men during Mr. Trump\u2019s second term, coming as Mr. Trump has made clear to advisers that finding a U.S.-backed end to war that Russia began is a priority for his administration.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects,\u201d Mr. Trump wrote<\/a> in a social media post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,\u201d Mr. Trump added. \u201cBut first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia\/Ukraine.\u201d (An estimated several hundred thousand deaths have occurred in the conflict, not millions.)<\/p>\n

The U.S. president said he planned to inform President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that both countries planned to \u201chave our respective teams start negotiations immediately.\u201d Mr. Zelensky\u2019s office later said that the Ukrainian president spoke with Mr. Trump for an hour.<\/p>\n

However, Mr. Trump did not say in his social media post how Mr. Zelensky would factor into the negotiations that he and Mr. Putin were setting in motion. Mr. Trump has long been skeptical of Ukraine and has never warmed to Mr. Zelensky.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin\u2019s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters that Mr. Putin\u2019s call with Mr. Trump lasted almost an hour and a half.<\/p>\n

He said that the two men agreed to hold a personal meeting and that Mr. Putin invited Mr. Trump to visit Moscow, something that Mr. Trump also alluded to in his social media post. Mr. Putin agreed with Mr. Trump that \u201cthe time has come for our countries to work together,\u201d Mr. Peskov said.<\/p>\n

On Ukraine, Mr. Putin told Mr. Trump of \u201cthe need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict,\u201d Mr. Peskov said. That was a sign that Mr. Putin would not accept a simple cease-fire in Ukraine and would seek broader concessions from Ukraine and the West before he stops fighting.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainians appear to be facing an effort in which they have little leverage. The call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump came on the same day that the U.S. secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, speaking at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, said<\/a> that it was an \u201cunrealistic\u201d objective for Ukraine to restore its borders as they were before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Mr. Hegseth added that the U.S. does not support Ukraine\u2019s desire to join NATO as part of a realistic peace plan.<\/p>\n

He also suggested that Europe needed to assume a greater role in its own defense, echoing a point that Mr. Trump has made for many years.<\/p>\n

For Mr. Putin, the call was a major milestone, marking the collapse of Western efforts to isolate him diplomatically after he invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago. Ever since Mr. Trump\u2019s re-election in November, the Russian president has heaped praise on Mr. Trump<\/a>, underlining the Kremlin\u2019s hope that the new American leader could reshape Moscow\u2019s relationship with Washington and back away from supporting Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In response to news of the conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, the United Nations said Wednesday that it welcomed any efforts leading to peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would appreciate any efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine that would involve the Russian and Ukrainian sides, so obviously if both of them are willing to be involved in the process, that would be a welcome development,\u201d said U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq. <\/p>\n

Mr. Trump wrote in his social media post that the U.S. negotiating team would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio; John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director; his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and his Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. Mr. Witkoff was in Moscow this week and retrieved the American schoolteacher Marc Fogel<\/a>, who was imprisoned for more than three years in Russia.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump did not mention Keith Kellogg, the retired general named by Mr. Trump as his envoy for Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Kellogg has generally taken a more aggressive posture toward Russia than some of Mr. Trump\u2019s informal advisers, and he recently suggested that Mr. Trump could increase sanctions against Russia to force them toward a peace deal. <\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has repeatedly refused to say whether he\u2019s spoken to Mr. Putin before Wednesday, although individuals who would know of such a call in the U.S. government were not aware of one, according to people briefed on the president\u2019s conversations.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has often made admiring remarks about the Russian president, whom he called a \u201cgenius\u201d<\/a> after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But in the first week of Mr. Trump\u2019s second term, he was more critical, saying the Russian president should not have invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t be thrilled, he\u2019s not doing so well,\u201d Mr. Trump told reporters<\/a> in the Oval Office hours after he was inaugurated. \u201cRussia is bigger, they have more soldiers to lose, but that\u2019s no way to run a country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farnaz Fassihi and Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Katie<\/a>\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Associated Press accuses the White House of violating the First Amendment. <\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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President Trump\u2019s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico carries authority only within the United States. <\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pete Marovich for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Associated Press on Wednesday accused the White House of violating the First Amendment and called on the Trump administration to stop blocking its reporters from press events.<\/p>\n

Julie Pace, the executive editor of The A.P., said in a letter<\/a> addressed to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, that the White House had blocked A.P. journalists from attending two press events with President Trump on Tuesday: an executive order signing in the Oval Office and an evening press event in the Diplomatic Room.<\/p>\n

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Ms. Pace said that the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, had earlier informed an A.P. reporter that the news organization\u2019s access to the Oval Office would be restricted if the news organization did not start using the term \u201cGulf of America\u201d to refer to the Gulf of Mexico. On his first day in office, Mr. Trump ordered U.S. authorities to make the change to official maps in an executive order. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish The A.P. for the content of its speech,\u201d Ms. Pace wrote in the letter. \u201cIt is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization\u2019s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Pace said The A.P. was prepared to \u201cvigorously defends its constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The A.P. had issued editorial guidance<\/a> on the geographical name change, explaining that it would continue calling the body of water the Gulf of Mexico because Mr. Trump\u2019s executive order only carried authority within the U.S. and had not been recognized by Mexico. The outlet did, however, say it would refer to Denali, the peak in Alaska, as Mt. McKinley, a change Mr. Trump declared in the same order.<\/p>\n

At the White House briefing room podium on Wednesday, the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, talked about the administration\u2019s commitment to the First Amendment while maintaining that the administration was within its rights to single out The A.P. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a privilege to cover this White House,\u201d she said, calling her own role a privilege, too. \u201cNobody has a right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added that other reporters with credentials were not part of the press pool and said, \u201cWe reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office.\u201d <\/p>\n

Asked if the standard was being set for how news outlets would be dealt with if they did not use \u201cGulf of America,\u201d she did not directly answer but said she\u2019d been clear \u201cthat if we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable.\u201d She maintained that \u201cGulf of America\u201d is the name for the body of water and said she did not understand why some news outlets were not using it. <\/p>\n

First Amendment supporters and freedom of the press groups objected strongly to the Trump administration\u2019s moves on Tuesday. Timothy Richardson, the journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America, a free-expression nonprofit, labeled the actions as \u201cretribution, plain and simple, and a shameful attempt to bully the press into ideological compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House Correspondents\u2019 Association president, Eugene Daniels, said in a statement on Tuesday that the White House \u201ccannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors\u2019 decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Javier<\/a>\"Robin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Trump is elected chairman of the Kennedy Center as its longtime president steps down.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Deborah F. Rutter at the 46th Annual Kennedy Center Honors event in Washington in 2023. She said on Wednesday that she was stepping down as president of the Kennedy Center.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pool photo by Ron Sachs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

President Trump was officially elected chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he announced on Wednesday, cementing his grip on an institution that he recently purged of Biden appointees.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump posted on social media: \u201cIt is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!\u201d<\/p>\n

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At the same time, the center\u2019s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, announced to staff that she was stepping down, according to an official at the center. Mr. Trump recently named Richard Grenell, who was ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, the center\u2019s \u201cinterim executive director.\u201d Mr. Grenell visited the center of Wednesday, the official said.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center, which has historically been run by bipartisan boards in the past, posted<\/a> a revised list of board members on its website on Wednesday that showed how much things had changed.<\/p>\n

While the board had been roughly split between Biden and Trump appointees until recently, it is now entirely made up of appointees of Mr. Trump. The new board members include a litany of Trump loyalists, including the president\u2019s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n

Ms. Rutter, the center\u2019s president since 2014, said last month that she planned to step down at the end of the year.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Charlie<\/a><\/p>\n

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Charlie Savage<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlie Savage has written about legal fights over detention at Guant\u00e1namo for more than two decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Immigrant aid groups seek access to migrants sent by Trump to Guant\u00e1namo.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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On Jan. 29, President Trump directed the military and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare to expand a migrant operations center at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A group of legal aid organizations sued<\/a> the Trump administration on Wednesday, asking that migrants who have been taken to the American military base at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba, have access to lawyers should they want legal representation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe isolation of the transferred immigrants at Guant\u00e1namo is stark compared to the attorney access protocols provided to ICE detainees in the United States,\u201d the complaint said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

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It is the second challenge to aspects of President Trump\u2019s policy after a judge prevented the government<\/a> from moving three Venezuelan men who are being held in immigration detention in New Mexico to the base.<\/p>\n

But the new case is significantly broader \u2014 and potentially more intrusive \u2014 on executive branch operations and raises the question of what rights detained immigrants are entitled to if they are relocated abroad. It asks the court to give immigration lawyers in-person access to the migrants at Guant\u00e1namo as soon as possible, and in the meantime, to immediately make remote access available, either by video or telephone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unprecedented,\u201d said Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer and the lead counsel in the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo president has ever before tried to move immigrants from the U.S. to Guant\u00e1namo and prevent lawyers from meeting with them,\u201d he added. \u201cIn an administration that has shown little regard for the rule of law, this may be the most flagrantly disrespectful action yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Any order to provide access to lawyers would create major logistical complications for the military. Human rights lawyers won a similar right to visit and communicate with the hundreds of terrorism detainees the Bush administration brought to the base after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks so they could represent those who wanted to file lawsuits.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has not released a list of the names of the migrants it sent to the base, and it is holding them incommunicado. As a result, the men cannot currently file lawsuits themselves.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs include four immigrant advocacy organizations that say they want to offer their services to the migrants to help them bring any lawsuits: Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Raices, American Gateways and Americans for Immigrant Justice.<\/p>\n

Several family members of three migrants have joined the suit, saying they want their relatives to have access to lawyers. They identified their relatives through photographs of one of the transfer operations that the government released.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit argues that under the circumstances, the legal groups and family members have standing to sue since the detainees cannot file their own cases. A ruling that requires the administration to facilitate the migrants\u2019 access to lawyers is required for several reasons, the plaintiffs contend.<\/p>\n

Under the Constitution, detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings on American soil cannot be held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers. The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration cannot eliminate those rights by moving prisoners to foreign soil against their will.<\/p>\n

As a result, it says, the migrants can still file habeas corpus lawsuits challenging the legality of their indefinite detention at the base, and with that comes a constitutional right to have lawyers. It also states that the legal organizations have their own First Amendment right to meet with detainees who may want to be represented by those groups.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 29, Mr. Trump directed the military and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare to expand a migrant operations center at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, saying it would \u201cprovide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, the military has flown dozens of men \u2014 all believed to be Venezuelans \u2014 from El Paso to the base. Most have been housed in a prison building built by the Bush administration to hold Qaeda suspects in wartime detention, while some are being held in a lower-security building on the other side of the base.<\/p>\n

But while the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress authorized the wartime detention operations at Guant\u00e1namo, it is not clear what legal authority enables the Trump administration to imprison the migrants at the overseas base.<\/p>\n

The U.S. government has long taken migrants picked up at sea to Guant\u00e1namo to be processed. But Mr. Trump\u2019s order signals the first time an administration has taken people already detained on American soil \u2014 and who therefore have constitutional rights, even if they are in the country unlawfully \u2014 to a U.S. facility abroad to be held in continued immigration detention.<\/p>\n

In addition to the A.C.L.U., lawyers with the Center for Constitutional Rights and the International Refugee Assistance Project are assisting with the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Earlier, the White House press secretary was asked if Trump had signed a conflict of interest waiver for Musk and if they\u2019d release it in the interest of their vow of transparency. Leavitt said she was unfamiliar with the conflict of interest law that makes it a crime for government workers to touch an official matter that affects their personal interests without a waiver, and did not address whether Musk had received one. <\/p>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On Tuesday, my colleagues Theodore Schleifer and Eric Lipton reported that Elon Musk planned to file a financial disclosure report to the White House, but that it would remain confidential<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Asked how President Trump views Russia, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: as a \u201cgreat competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Leavitt was also asked about the White House barring an Associated Press reporter on Tuesday because The A.P. is still referring to the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump has renamed the Gulf of America. The press secretary answered that it was a \u201cprivilege\u201d to go into the office to ask the president questions. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit…<\/span>Eric Lee\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, tells reporters that court injunctions by judges trying to curtail actions taken by Elon Musk\u2019s so-called cost-cutting efforts are part of a \u201cweaponization\u201d against Trump. She holds up a sheaf of papers that she calls documentation verifying claims that Musk made in the Oval Office<\/a>, without evidence, on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Coral<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Trump nominates an oil and gas advocate to run the Bureau of Land Management.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Kathleen Sgamma is president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, which has worked to strip away government protections and rules on extracting fossil fuels on public lands.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Mariam Zuhaib\/Associated Press<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

President Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma, a professional advocate for the oil and gas industry, to run the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Interior Department that oversees grazing, logging, drilling and wildlife conservation on 245 million acres of public land.<\/p>\n

The nomination was received by the Senate on Tuesday and referred to its Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Ms. Sgamma.<\/p>\n

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Ms. Sgamma is president of the Denver-based Western Energy Alliance, where she has worked for nearly 20 years on behalf of independent oil and gas companies that have sought to strip away government protections and rules on extracting fossil fuels on public lands in Western states.<\/p>\n

Her nomination aligns with Mr. Trump\u2019s vision for the Interior Department as a government tool to achieve \u201cenergy dominance\u201d by aggressively promoting the extraction of the nation\u2019s oil and gas resources.<\/p>\n

Leading the execution of that vision is Interior Secretary Doug Burgum<\/a>, the former governor of North Dakota who served as a liaison between Mr. Trump and oil and gas companies during Mr. Trump\u2019s most recent presidential campaign. Mr. Burgum helped gather fossil fuel executives last year at Mar-a-Lago for a dinner during which Mr. Trump suggested that industry leaders raise $1 billion for his campaign<\/a> and that as president he would eliminate Biden-era climate policies.<\/p>\n

On Mr. Burgum\u2019s first day as interior secretary, he signed a stack of orders aimed at using all \u201clegal authorities available to facilitate the identification, permitting, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, distribution, exporting and generation of domestic energy resources and critical minerals.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email to The Times last week, Ms. Sgamma wrote, \u201cWe\u2019re pleased that the interior secretary\u2019s orders were so comprehensive and detailed, but they\u2019re just the start of a lot of work to roll back the anti-oil-and-gas policies of the Biden administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The selection of Ms. Sgamma to run the Bureau of Land Management is a 180-degree turn from her predecessor, Tracy Stone-Manning<\/a>, who sought to enact former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s \u201call-of-government\u201d approach to fighting climate change by opening up public lands to wind and solar development while limiting oil and gas drilling. Ms. Stone-Manning, who had worked as an environmental policy adviser to Congressional Democrats and at an environmental advocacy group, also worked with anti-logging activists in her early 20s and was criticized as an \u201ceco-terrorist\u201d by Senate Republicans.<\/p>\n

Ms. Sgamma\u2019s nomination alarmed environmentalists. Athan Manuel, the director of the Sierra Club\u2019s Lands Protection Program, said in a statement, \u201cBig oil C.E.O.s already had a friendly face in the White House, and now they have the B.L.M. on speed dial,\u201d referring to the Bureau of Land Management. \u201cBy naming Sgamma to run B.L.M.,\u201d he continued, \u201cDonald Trump is betraying the American people and threatening our public lands, all to keep the promise he made to the corporate polluters at Big Oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least one Republican lawmaker was quick to praise Ms. Sgamma\u2019s nomination on Wednesday. Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a vocal Trump supporter and frequent Congressional provocateur, said in a statement that Mr. Trump had made a \u201cfantastic selection,\u201d saying that Ms. Sgamma \u201cknows our public lands and their untapped resources as well as anyone. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work closely with her on several efforts to responsibly manage our lands while also allowing our oil and gas industry to thrive and bring back American energy dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, briefed reporters on the President Trump\u2019s calls with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. She said she did not know of other countries being involved in Trump\u2019s planned negotiations to end Russia\u2019s war with Ukraine. Asked why Keith Kellogg, Trump\u2019s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, was not named as part of Trump\u2019s announced team to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine and Russia, she said he remained \u201ca critical part of this team and this effort\u201d and that he was still \u201cvery much\u201d a part of the administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Benjamin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

F.C.C. chair orders investigation into Comcast\u2019s D.E.I. practices.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Brendan Carr, the chairman of the F.C.C., said the commission would look into D.E.I. practices broadly at many companies it regulates, starting with Comcast.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Pool photo by Jonathan Newton<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has ordered an investigation into the diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and Universal Studios.<\/p>\n

In a letter sent to Brian Roberts, Comcast\u2019s chairman, on Tuesday, Mr. Carr said the F.C.C. would look into D.E.I. practices broadly at many companies it regulated, starting with Comcast.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to ensure that your companies are not promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of F.C.C. regulations and civil rights laws,\u201d Mr. Carr said in his letter.<\/p>\n

Comcast confirmed it had received Mr. Carr\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission and will be cooperating with the F.C.C. to answer their questions,\u201d Jennifer Khoury, a spokeswoman for Comcast, said in a statement. \u201cFor decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Watson, a spokesman for Mr. Carr, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The investigation into Comcast is the latest in a series of moves by Mr. Carr to bring media companies under regulatory scrutiny. Appointed chairman of the F.C.C. by President Trump, Mr. Carr has ordered investigations into PBS and NPR, examined an interview that \u201c60 Minutes\u201d conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris and announced an inquiry into the San Francisco radio station KCBS for its coverage of immigration enforcement actions.<\/p>\n

While Mr. Carr has ordered investigations into several media entities, the inquiry into Comcast is the first focused solely on D.E.I. His investigation into PBS and NPR focused on corporate sponsorships of news programming, and his inquiry at CBS News is focused on a \u201cnews distortion\u201d complaint. Mr. Carr said in his letter that he was starting his D.E.I. push with Comcast because the company covered \u201ca range of sectors regulated by the F.C.C.,\u201d including cable and high-speed internet.<\/p>\n

Tom Wheeler, a former chairman of the F.C.C., said in an interview that the recent investigations by the agency fit into a pattern of using the commission\u2019s power to further Mr. Trump\u2019s political agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that what is going on here is \u2014 whether it be Comcast and D.E.I. or NPR and PBS, or CBS and the \u201860 Minutes\u2019 interview \u2014 is how can you use the coercive authority of regulation to accomplish the goals of your master and mentor, Donald Trump?\u201d Mr. Wheeler said.<\/p>\n

Anna Gomez, a Democratic commissioner on the F.C.C., said in a statement in response to Mr. Carr\u2019s investigation into Comcast that the commission should not stoke \u201cpartisan culture wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time we return to our core mission \u2014 closing the digital divide, fostering innovation and protecting consumers,\u201d Ms. Gomez said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sheryl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Top N.I.H. official abruptly resigns as Trump orders deep cuts.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, who resigned from the National Institutes of Health, has weathered past presidential transitions.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The No. 2 official at the National Institutes of Health abruptly resigned and retired from government service on Tuesday, in another sign that the Trump administration is reshaping the nation\u2019s public health and biomedical research institutions.<\/p>\n

The official, Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak<\/a>, a dentist and researcher, was long considered a steadying force and had weathered past presidential transitions. In a letter that Dr. Tabak sent to colleagues on Tuesday, he did not give a reason for his decision. One person familiar with the decision said Dr. Tabak had been confronted with a reassignment that he viewed as unacceptable.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt has been an enormous privilege to work with each of you (and your predecessors) to support and further the critical NIH mission,\u201d Dr. Tabak wrote.<\/p>\n

Dr. Tabak resigned at a turbulent time for the institutes, the nation\u2019s premier biomedical research industry, composed of 27 separate institutes and centers that study and develop treatments for diseases like cancer and heart conditions as well as infectious diseases like AIDS and Covid. The N.I.H. spends roughly $48 billion a year on medical research, much of it in grants to medical centers, universities and hospitals across the country.<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s decision to slash billions of dollars in N.I.H. grant funding<\/a> has sparked a bitter court battle. And the Senate on Wednesday voted to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic and the president\u2019s pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the N.I.H.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kennedy has said he would cut 600 N.I.H. jobs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The N.I.H. said it would soon have a statement about Dr. Tabak\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Dr. Tabak was not well-known to the public. But his decision to leave is surprising, and destabilizing for an agency that is on the political hot seat. He was viewed as someone who could work across party lines; he had survived the presidential turnovers of both parties and had indicated he expected to stay on after Mr. Trump was elected in November.<\/p>\n

Ordinarily, Dr. Tabak would have ascended to the job of acting N.I.H. director during the transition from one administration to the next. But the Trump administration installed another researcher, Matthew Memoli of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as acting director. Dr. Memoli criticized Covid vaccine mandates, as did Mr. Kennedy.<\/p>\n

As acting director of the N.I.H. last year, Dr. Tabak pushed back<\/a> against Republicans\u2019 assertions that a lab leak stemming from U.S. taxpayer-funded research might have caused the coronavirus pandemic. He told lawmakers that viruses being studied at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, bore no resemblance to the one that set off the world\u2019s worst public health crisis in a century.<\/p>\n

Ellen Barry contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maria<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After his call on Wednesday with President Trump, Zelensky posted details of the conversation on X. He said he and Trump discussed a plan that would secure continued U.S. support in exchange for access to Ukrainian natural resources and the \u201cpreparation of a new document on security, economic cooperation, and resource partnership.\u201d He described the discussion as long and meaningful and said that he and Trump were now \u201ccharting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let\u2019s get it done.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
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\"Devlin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Todd Blanche, at his confirmation hearing to be the No. 2 Justice Department official, said he is still President Trump\u2019s lawyer, although he is no longer working on any active cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you still Donald Trump\u2019s lawyer?\u201d asked Sen. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy attorney-client relationship with President Trump remains, yes,\u201d Blanche said.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Credit…<\/span>Pete Kiehart for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Tulsi Gabbard, recently confirmed by the Senate, will be sworn in at the White House later as the director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On his social media website, President Trump said he just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and that the \u201cconversation went very well.\u201d He said a meeting was being set up in Munich for this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Farnaz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The United Nations said it welcomed any efforts leading to peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. \u201cWe would appreciate any efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine that would involve the Russian and Ukrainian sides, so obviously if both of them are willing to be involved in the process, that would be a welcome development,\u201d said Farhan Haq, a U.N. spokesman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Alan<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Kyiv and presented President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine with a \u201cpartnership document\u201d with proposals to deepen economic ties between the U.S. and Ukraine. They are discussing an agreement that would allow the U.S. to secure rights to Ukrainian natural resources, including rare earth minerals<\/a>. Bessent said the partnership would provide a \u201clong term security shield for all Ukrainians,\u201d adding, \u201cWe would like to further intertwine our shared economics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sheryl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate advances Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s nomination for health secretary to a final vote. <\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his confirmation hearing in January.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine critic who spawned a movement he calls \u201cMake America Healthy Again,\u201d moved one step closer to becoming the nation\u2019s health secretary on Wednesday after the Senate voted along party lines to advance his nomination, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote, likely on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The 53-47 vote was a stunning show of Republican support for President Trump, who embraced Mr. Kennedy, the scion of a liberal Democratic dynasty, and promised to let him \u201cgo wild\u201d on health. And it was a sign of Mr. Kennedy\u2019s strength; in the immediate aftermath of Mr. Trump\u2019s election, many observers thought he would be unable to win confirmation.<\/p>\n

\n

Mr. Kennedy\u2019s vocal criticism of vaccination made some Republicans deeply uneasy. During his confirmation hearings,<\/a> he refused to accept the scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism, rejecting large scale studies that have found no link.<\/p>\n

But at the same time, Mr. Kennedy declared himself in favor of the measles vaccine and the polio vaccine and vowed not to do anything as health secretary that would prevent or discourage people from taking those shots.<\/p>\n

Among the most closely watched votes on Wednesday was that of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and the Senate\u2019s lone polio survivor, who voted in favor of moving ahead with the confirmation. That does not mean Mr. McConnell\u2019s final vote is assured; he voted to advance the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence, but voted against confirming her on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

Mr. McConnell did not have a customary courtesy visit with Mr. Kennedy, and he had warned<\/a> that \u201canyone seeking the Senate\u2019s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear\u201d of \u201cefforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures.\u201d Polio survivors<\/a> were watching his vote closely.<\/p>\n

Senator Lisa Murkowski Republican of Alaska, whose support for Mr. Kennedy was also uncertain, also voted in favor. Ms. Murkowski told Mr. Kennedy during his confirmation hearing that vaccination campaigns had been essential to the survival of Alaska\u2019s native people.<\/p>\n

Both Mr. McConnell and Ms. Murkowski had kept their plans a tight secret. Still, it was clear going into Wednesday\u2019s vote that the nomination would move forward. Mr. Kennedy had already won the support of two other key Republicans: Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who along with Ms. Murkowski is one of the few remaining Republican centrists, and Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana,<\/a> who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. That panel oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, which Mr. Kennedy, if confirmed, would lead.<\/p>\n

Mr. Cassidy, a doctor, is an ardent proponent of vaccines. Early in his medical career, he cared for a young woman who required an emergency liver transplant because of her infection with hepatitis B, a disease that vaccines can prevent\u2014 a story he recounted when Mr. Kennedy testified before the health committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I have tried to do everything I can to make sure I never have to speak to another parent about their child dying due to a vaccine-preventable disease,\u201d Mr. Cassidy said in that hearing. He later had heated exchanges with Mr. Kennedy about vaccines and autism, and declared himself in a quandary over how to vote.<\/p>\n

But in the end, Mr. Cassidy backed the nomination after winning certain concessions, including a promise from Mr. Kennedy to give Congress advance notice of any vaccine policy changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sheryl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be health secretary, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote, most likely on Thursday. The 53-47 vote demonstrated once again President Trump\u2019s grip on the Republican party, as well as the power of Kennedy and his \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d movement. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Andrew<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

House Republicans release a roughly $3 trillion budget outline.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The budget blueprint envisions a bill that would add more than $3 trillion to the deficit over a decade.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Samuel Corum for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

House Republicans released a plan on Wednesday for enacting President Trump\u2019s sweeping fiscal agenda, laying out initial budget targets for a bill that would cut taxes, slash spending on health care for the poor and raise the debt limit.<\/p>\n

The budget blueprint calls for legislation that would add roughly $3 trillion to the deficit over a decade while imposing deep cuts in spending on health care and food programs for low-income people. That would help pay for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, a huge sum that Republican tax writers have nevertheless said will constrain their and Mr. Trump\u2019s ambitions. It also calls for raising the debt limit, the statutory cap on what the government can borrow to finance its debt, by $4 trillion, a heavy lift among anti-spending conservatives.<\/p>\n

\n

House Republicans have struggled for months to come up with the numbers they released Wednesday, and even now have yet to make major decisions that would determine whether it can win approval given their razor-thin majority. Fiscal hawks have clashed with moderates in the party over how much spending to cut and how much more the United States can borrow.<\/p>\n

They rushed out their plan on Wednesday just as the Senate Budget Committee was meeting to consider its own, much narrower fiscal blueprint<\/a>, having decided to move forward ahead of the House given the many divisions that have delayed action there. The Senate plan is focused on increasing spending on immigration enforcement and the military.<\/p>\n

Republicans in Congress must agree to a budget outline to unlock a special legislative procedure, known as reconciliation, that allows them to blow past Democratic opposition in the Senate and push through a fiscal package on a simple-majority vote.<\/p>\n

At the center of the differences between the chambers is whether to try to pass a tax cut quickly. House Republicans want to, while Senate Republicans have made clear they are happy to take their time with the tax code. Many of the tax cuts enacted in 2017 during Mr. Trump\u2019s first term expire at the end of the year, creating a hard deadline for Congress to extend them or effectively impose a tax hike on many Americans.<\/p>\n

But simply preserving current tax rates on individuals, as well as large and popular tax benefits like the child tax credit, could cost more than $5 trillion over a decade. Cutting taxes any further would add to that price tag, and Representative Jason Smith, the Ways and Means chairman, has in recent days complained that even a $4.7 trillion budget for the tax cuts would be insufficient.<\/p>\n

The $4.5 trillion maximum for tax cuts set by the House budget plan would require Republicans to rein in their plans. They have already discussed the possibility of extending some of the 2017 tax cuts only temporarily and are planning to ignore many of Mr. Trump\u2019s ideas for additional tax cuts, like not taxing overtime pay.<\/p>\n

Republicans trying to squeeze their favorite tax cuts into the bill, including lawmakers from New York and New Jersey who want to lift the limit on the state and local tax deduction, will now have to compete for precious budget space.<\/p>\n

At the same time, House Republicans plan to pursue deep cuts to Medicaid, the health care program that covers nearly 90 million Americans. The plan instructs the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to come up with at least $880 billion in cuts, more than half of the reductions laid out in the budget outline. Cutting spending on programs for poor Americans while approving tax cuts that provide their largest benefits to the rich could pose a political problem for Republicans, some of whom have worried about deeply cutting Medicaid.<\/p>\n

The outline also calls for $300 billion in new spending on defense and immigration enforcement. House Republicans now plan to consider it in the Budget Committee on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sheryl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As the Senate votes to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as health secretary, two Republicans whose support was in doubt, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both voted to advance his nomination to a final confirmation vote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Anton<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Kremlin confirms that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Trump talked. Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin\u2019s spokesman, said the call lasted an hour and a half, and Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maggie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

President Trump posted on Truth Social that he just had a \u201chighly productive\u201d call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. He said that he authorized a team to start immediately negotiating toward a peace deal with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Credit…<\/span>Kristina Kormilitsyna\/Sputnik<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Today\u2019s procedural vote, which is expected to pass, would set up a final confirmation for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as early as Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Advertisement<\/p>\n

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sheryl<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate is now deciding on whether to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary to the floor for a final confirmation vote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Julian<\/a>\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tulsi Gabbard is confirmed to a top intelligence post, demonstrating Trump\u2019s control over Republicans.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Tulsi Gabbard during her confirmation hearings in January. In Ms. Gabbard, President Trump will have someone aligned with his foreign policy views.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Eric Lee\/The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to be the next director of national intelligence in a 52 to 48 vote that demonstrated President Trump\u2019s political control over Republican lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Ms. Gabbard had one of the most contentious confirmation hearings of all of the president\u2019s nominees. A number of Republican senators joined Democrats in asking tough questions about her previous support of Edward Snowden, a former government contractor who released reams of classified data, and her skepticism about warrantless wiretaps of overseas communications.<\/p>\n

\n

Her defense of Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian dictator, and her sympathy toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia also gave some Republican lawmakers pause.<\/p>\n

But in the end only one Republican was willing to oppose her. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the former majority leader, voted against her.<\/p>\n

Mr. McConnell said he voted against her because the director of national intelligence should not be someone \u201cwith a history of alarming lapses in judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrusting the coordination of the intelligence community to someone who struggles to acknowledge these facts is an unnecessary risk,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. McConnell has taken stances against several of Mr. Trump\u2019s nominees, but so far has not persuaded many in his caucus to join him.<\/p>\n

Before the floor vote, the Republican members of the Senate Intelligence Committee fell in line and backed Ms. Gabbard\u2019s confirmation. Some, like Senator Susan Collins of Maine, highlighted Ms. Gabbard\u2019s pledges to streamline the office. Others, like Senator Todd Young of Indiana, emphasized her vows to hold accountable people who leaked classified information and to help reauthorize overseas surveillance programs.<\/p>\n

That support from skeptics paved the way for Ms. Gabbard\u2019s confirmation by the full Senate. Republicans cited her military experience \u2014 Ms. Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve \u2014 and her support of Mr. Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has been a consumer of intelligence for many years, giving her valuable insight into the intelligence needs of our government and military,\u201d said Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Democrats remained united against her. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said Ms. Gabbard was not qualified. He said that in a secret vote, she would have received little Republican support. He said he was troubled by her \u201clong record of weakness\u201d against Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply cannot in good conscience trust our most classified secrets to someone who echoes Russian propaganda and falls for conspiracy theories,\u201d Mr. Schumer said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Schumer said there was pressure on Republicans to support Ms. Gabbard. In recent weeks, supporters of Mr. Trump have made huge numbers of calls on behalf of Ms. Gabbard<\/a>. Some members of Mr. Trump\u2019s coalition see Ms. Gabbard as a key voice in their movement and have demanded more traditional Republican senators back the president\u2019s choices.<\/p>\n

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence\u2019s most important job, arguably, is overseeing the President\u2019s Daily Brief, an intelligence summary assembled each morning. In Ms. Gabbard, Mr. Trump will have someone aligned with his foreign policy views supervising those updates.<\/p>\n

During his first term, Mr. Trump grew irritated when briefers lingered too long on Russian influence operations. He often wanted briefings focused on economics and trade. He also liked the agency\u2019s insights on world leaders he was meeting, or with whom he hoped to make deals.<\/p>\n

Ms. Gabbard shares Mr. Trump\u2019s skepticism of mainstream views of Russia as a grave national security threat. She also, like Mr. Trump, is deeply critical of the long overseas wars the United States became embroiled in during the George W. Bush administration.<\/p>\n

Still, there are limits to the office\u2019s power and influence. While it sets broad goals for collecting intelligence, the individual spy agencies have latitude to set their own collection targets and collection goals.<\/p>\n

Those limits, along with Ms. Gabbard\u2019s commitment to rein in the office\u2019s work, persuaded Republican lawmakers that opposing her nomination was not worth the political risk.<\/p>\n

Ms. Gabbard\u2019s fierce opposition to foreign wars, and frequent appearances on Fox News, have made her a darling of the Trump wing of the Republican Party. Elon Musk, the president\u2019s ally, attacked at least one senator, Mr. Young, who was thought to be wavering on his support for Ms. Gabbard. Mr. Musk initially called Mr. Young a \u201cdeep state puppet,\u201d then retracted his comment after speaking with him. Mr. Young denied he had spoken to Mr. Musk about Ms. Gabbard but later announced his support for her.<\/p>\n

Ms. Gabbard has said her first moves will be to depoliticize the organization, a frequent refrain among Mr. Trump\u2019s nominees. She has cited the faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as one example. She has said information from intelligence agencies was used to falsely portray Mr. Trump as a puppet of Mr. Putin.<\/p>\n

She has also criticized former intelligence officials for a letter suggesting that material from Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop could be Russian disinformation.<\/p>\n

Some former officials expect her to halt the work of the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which watches for threats against the election from adversaries.<\/p>\n

She is also expected to press intelligence agencies to scour their files for any information on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that has not yet been released.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate voted 52 to 48<\/a> to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, a position overseeing the 18-agency intelligence community and a top adviser to President Trump on matters of national security. Senator Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican to join all Democrats in opposition of her confirmation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gabbard, a former Democratic House representative, faced bipartisan concerns about her lack of intelligence experience and sympathetic statements about the former Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Her confirmation was the latest sign that Republicans, facing intense pressure from President Trump and his supporters, are willing to drop serious reservations and capitulate to his wishes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Advertisement<\/p>\n

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Julian<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, opposed the Pete Hegseth\u2019s nomination for defense secretary but just voted for Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. McConnell\u2019s no vote may be the only Republican dissent on the nomination.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Credit…<\/span>Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Many expected this opposition from Senator Mitch McConnell. He refused to make public statements about how he would vote, something that the White House feared would open the door for additional Republican opposition. His decision to keep quiet until votes were cast allows the former Republican leader to register his opposition without escalating a feud with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Julian<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While Republicans used much of the floor time this morning to support the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Senator John Thune, the majority leader, attacked Democrats for their failure to support Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. He noted that, as a former member of the minority party, she and Kennedy \u201cprobably agree\u201d with Senate Democrats on \u201ca lot of the positions that they hold.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Julian<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, votes against Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s confirmation as director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Advertisement<\/p>\n

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SKIP ADVERTISEMENT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trump has made clear that finding a U.S.-backed end to the war in Ukraine is a priority. President Trump said on Wednesday that he had a \u201clengthy and highly productive phone call\u201d with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, characterizing it as the beginning of a negotiation to end the war in Ukraine. It was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}