Netanyahu to push Trump on Iran missiles in White House talks
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will push Donald Trump on Wednesday to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran, after rushing to Washington to stiffen the US president’s resolve, AFP reported.
Trump said on the eve of the hastily arranged White House meeting – set to begin at 11am – that he was weighing sending a second US “armada” to the Middle East to pressure Tehran to reach a nuclear deal.
But Netanyahu, making his sixth visit to the United States since Trump took office, will also be urging the US leader to take a harder line on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned on Monday of “destructive influences” on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier’s visit.
On Wednesday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said his country would “not yield to excessive demands” on its nuclear program, though he said the country is not seeking an atomic weapon.
Netanyahu had been expected to come to Washington for a 19 February meeting of Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded.
Trump is also due to meet with special envoy to the UK Mark Burnett later today, while the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, is set to face questions from lawmakers over the justice department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
In other developments:
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Federal prosecutors reportedly tried, and failed, to convince a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday over a social media video they recorded to remind service members in the military and intelligence community that they are not required to follow illegal orders.
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Donald Trump’s sudden turn against a new, publicly owned bridge being constructed to connect Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario, came right after a Republican donor who owns a private, rival bridge met with Trump’s commerce secretary, the New York Times reports.
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Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, and the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, have taken on the daunting task of trying to explain to Trump that the reasons he cited for threatening to block the opening of the new bridge are entirely untrue. Carney told Trump that Canada paid for the bridge and the US shares ownership.
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In an appearance on the rightwing channel Real America’s Voice, a Republican congressman from Missouri, Mark Alford, said “we are still investigating” the lyrics of a song performed in Spanish by the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny during his Super Bowl half-time show on Sunday.
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As the US supreme court prepares to rule on whether Trump does have the power to impose tariffs on foreign imports to address a self-declared economic emergency, the president confirmed in an interview that he sets tariff rates based, in part, on his own feelings about the leaders of other nations.
Key events
José Olivares
The secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Doug Collins, and Representative Mark Takano of California engaged in a heated exchange during a House oversight hearing.
Takano grilled the secretary on his attempts to restructure the VA. Takano said there is a lack of transparency about the details of Collins’ goals. At one point, Takano asked Collins whether he is offering signing bonuses to new nurses and doctors, as the VA continues to struggle with staffing nationwide. “Quit yelling at me!” Collins said, as Takano grilled him on the question of staffing.
Takano then lambasted Collins for his public response to Alex Pretti’s shooting. Pretti was a VA nurse, who was killed by immigration enforcement officials in Minneapolis.
“Alex Pretti worked for you – can you just tell me, was he a good employee?” Takano asked.
“As far as I know, everything about it – I’ve already said what I’m gonna say about Alex Pretti and I’m not gonna be brought into anything else about it,” Collins said.
In response, Takano criticized Collins for not speaking out about his employee who was killed. Other Trump administration officials, after the shooting, called Pretti a “terrorist”.
“When your employee was attacked publicly and falsely, by your own colleagues, you had a choice to defend him or stay silent,” Takano said. “And you chose silence. And that silence is deafening.”
The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, just began screaming at committee members after trying to avoid a question from Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York.
“I’m gonna answer the question,” Bondi screamed.
“No, answer my question,” Nadler said back.
“Your theatrics are ridiculous,” Bondi said. “Chairman Jordan, I’m not gonna get in the gutter with these people. But I’m gonna answer the question.”
Then Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, interrupted to ask Nadler get more time to ask a question. “You can let her filibuster all day long, not on our watch, not on our time. No way,” he said.
When Raskin said he told Bondi she wouldn’t be allowed to take up time, Bondi screamed, “You don’t tell me anything,” and then proceeded to call Raskin “washed up” and “not even a lawyer”.
Democrats on the House judiciary committee are pointedly questioning the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, and shutting down her answers to questions if she doesn’t respond to the question asked.
After questions from Jerry Nadler, a Democratic representative, Bondi snapped back, and Nadler cut her off and attempted to reclaim his time to continue asking questions and commenting.
Ranking member Jamie Raskin jumped in: “You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch, not on our time. I told you about that, attorney general, before you started.”
Bondi hit back: “You don’t tell me anything, you washed-up lawyer. You’re not even a lawyer.”
After Nadler’s time ended, Bondi went on an extended commentary about how successful president Donald Trump is, calling him the “most transparent” president in history and praising the stock market.
Sam Levine
Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, is tussling with attorney general Pam Bondi early on in the hearing.
Last year, when Bondi testified before the senate judiciary committee, she aggressively brushed off questions from Democrats – a performance that delighted Trump allies. Democrats have clearly learned from that hearing and are being more aggressive today.
José Olivares
The secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Doug Collins, is not interested in discussing Alex Pretti’s killing during an ongoing Congressional hearing. Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot and killed in Minneapolis by immigration enforcement officials in late January.
Collins expressed his “deepest sympathies” to Pretti’s family, but said he was not interested in discussing it during the hearing, saying he wants to focus instead on the VA’s restructuring.
“As you know, his death is currently being investigated,” Collins said. “VA is not involved in that investigation. And neither I nor my fellow panelists are able to provide any additional details at this time.”
Representative Pramila Jayapal asked the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse who are in the hearing room to raise their hands if they had not been able to meet with the department of justice. All of them raised their hands.
Attorney general Pam Bondi said in her opening statement that she apologized to the survivors. Jayapal recalled the apology and said, “Will you turn to them now and apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information?”
Bondi tried to answer by placing blame on the prior attorney general under Biden and called Jayapal’s question “theatrics”.
Representative Takano grills Department of Veterans’ Affairs secretary for attempting to restructure the VA
José Olivares
Rep. Takano grilled the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) secretary Doug Collins and the Trump administration, for attempting to restructure the VA.
Takano said Collins’ attempts to reorganize the VA are the “third attempt to shrink” the agency. The first involved cuts by DOGE, leading to 2,000 employees being fired. And the second was a failed attempt by Collins to lay off 83,000 VA employees.
This is all happening as the department struggles with staffing and retention.
Takano says the actions were “performative.”
“They provided absolutely no benefit to veterans,” Takano said.
Bondi attacks judges in opening statement
Sam Levine
Attorney general Pam Bondi attacks judges in her opening statement to the House judiciary committee.
“America has never seen this level of coordinated judicial opposition towards a presidential administration,” she said.
José Olivares
The House Committee of Veterans’ Affairs began what is expected to be a tense hearing, with the Secretary of the VA on Wednesday morning. To begin, ranking committee member Rep. Mark Takano from California began by having a moment of silence for Alex Pretti, the VA nurse who was shot and killed in Minneapolis by immigration enforcement officials.
“It was clear that Alex was exactly the type of employee that VA needs and exemplified the values of a true public servant,” Rep. Takano said. “I am outraged that Alex was taken from us by the hands of the lawless Trump regime.”
Other members of congress are expected to grill the VA Secretary, Doug Collins, on Pretti’s killing, the restructuring of the VA, and more. In recent months, the Guardian has been reporting on efforts by VA leadership to build a massive report of the agency’s non-citizen workforce that would then be shared with immigration authorities.
Pam Bondi testifies to House judiciary committee
Attorney general Pam Bondi is appearing before the House judiciary committee this morning for an oversight hearing.
During introductory remarks, Republican representative Jim Jordan, who chairs the committee, commended Bondi for righting the ship at the department, claiming she had worked to depoliticize the department after excesses during the Biden administration.
Jordan’s remarks were immediately negated by Democratic ranking member Jamie Raskin, who listed a litany of department of justice problems – the Epstein files, investigations into the killings of two US citizens by immigration agents, hiring of political allies over experienced career officials.
Bondi’s testimony is expected to include pointed questioning from Democrats on the committee.
‘As far as I am aware, there was nothing different or extraordinary about a drone from Mexico last night,’ says Veronica Escobar
Veronica Escobar said the explanation from the federal government about a cartel drone incursion didn’t line up with what explanations she and other members of Congress have been given for the abrupt closure of the El Paso airport.
“The information coming from the administration does not add up, and it’s not the information that I was able to gather overnight and this morning,” she said.
She said she’s communicated with the ranking member on the House armed services committee, and her understanding is that a potential drone incursion would not have caused the closure.
“As far as I am aware, and the committees in DC are aware, there was nothing different or extraordinary about a drone from Mexico last night,” she said.
Veronica Escobar, the US representative, cast doubt on the federal government’s explanation for the airport closure.
A potential drone incursion from Mexico, as transportation secretary Sean Duffy suggested as the reason, would not be unusual because “there have been drone incursions from Mexico going back to as long as drones existed,” Escobar said. Escobar said that, to her knowledge, nothing happening at Fort Bliss, a nearby military base, would have impacted the El Paso airport and its operations.
“I believe the FAA owes the community and the country an explanation as to why this happened so suddenly and abruptly, and was lifted so suddenly and abruptly,” she said.
After the closure was announced, rumors spread widely about why such an unusual move would be needed. She said she fielded lots of concerns from locals about their safety, but assured people there was no safety threat to the airport.
“I was getting outreach from people asking, do we need to leave the vicinity, what is happening, what is going on,” she said. “And that has led to a number of conspiracy theories.”
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