kash-patel-confirmed-as-fbi-director-despite-fears-he-could-use-powers-to-pursue-trump-opponents-–-live
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Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director despite fears he could use powers to pursue Trump opponents – live

Posted bywamdiness

US Senate confirms Kash Patel as next FBI director

Hugo Lowell

Hugo Lowell

The US Senate has confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Donald Trump’s political opponents.

Patel was narrowly confirmed on Thursday in a 51-49 vote, a reflection of the polarizing nature of his nomination and what Democrats see as his unwillingness to keep the bureau independent from partisan politics or resist politically charged requests from the president.

Notably, at his confirmation hearing, Patel refused to commit that he would not use his position to investigate officials he portrayed as Trump’s adversaries in his book, and affirmed that he believed the FBI was answerable to the justice department and, ultimately, the White House.

Patel’s responses suggest that his arrival at FBI headquarters will usher in a new chapter for the bureau as a result of his adherence to Trump’s vision of a unitary executive, where the president directs every agency, and willingness to prioritize the administration’s policy agenda.

You can read more about Patel’s confirmation here:

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

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    The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Donald Trump’s political opponents. The Senate voted to confirm Patel in a 51-49 vote, with senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republicans to oppose Patel.

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    Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, announced he will not run for re-election next year. McConnell formally announced his retirement in a Senate floor speech on Thursday, on his 83rd birthday, bringing an end to a decades-long career for a Republican leader who marshaled his party through multiple administrations with a singleminded focus on power that enraged his critics and delighted his allies.

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    Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy should sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US. Trump is “obviously very frustrated” with Zelenskyy, Walz said, adding that “some of the rhetoric” and “insults” about Trump were “unacceptable”. Waltz also noted that the US “fully supports” Article 5 of the Nato alliance but that its European partners need to increase their spending.

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    Donald Trump will host his first official cabinet meeting at the White House next Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed that Trump will host the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Thursday.

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    JD Vance marked the Trump administration’s one month since its return to power with a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The vice-president claimed uncontrolled immigration was “the greatest threat” to both Europe and the US, and suggested that the US’s military commitment to European allies could be contingent on their domestic policies, particularly targeting Germany.

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    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will lay off thousands workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, according to reports. The layoffs reportedly affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments.

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    A Senate committee voted to advance Linda McMahon’s nomination as Donald Trump’s education secretary. The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to advance the nomination of McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to the Senate floor.

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As we reported earlier, Kash Patel has been narrowly confirmed by the Senate as the next FBI director.

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The Senate voted to confirm Patel by a 51-49 vote. Two moderate Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined all Democrats in opposing Patel.

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Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell, who earlier today announced he was not seeking re-election, voted to confirm Patel. He has voted against three of Trump’s most controversial nominees.

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In a statement before the vote, Collins said Patel had made “numerous politically charged” statements discrediting the FBI.

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These statements “cast doubt on Mr Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation”, she said.

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Murkowski’s statement said her reservations with Patel “stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership”.

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“I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Democratic senator Dick Durbin said before the vote this afternoon.

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Another Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said he was “absolutely sure of this one thing: this vote will haunt anyone who votes for him. They will rue the day they did it.”

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The US Senate has confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Donald Trump’s political opponents.

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Patel was narrowly confirmed on Thursday in a 51-49 vote, a reflection of the polarizing nature of his nomination and what Democrats see as his unwillingness to keep the bureau independent from partisan politics or resist politically charged requests from the president.

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Notably, at his confirmation hearing, Patel refused to commit that he would not use his position to investigate officials he portrayed as Trump’s adversaries in his book, and affirmed that he believed the FBI was answerable to the justice department and, ultimately, the White House.

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Patel’s responses suggest that his arrival at FBI headquarters will usher in a new chapter for the bureau as a result of his adherence to Trump’s vision of a unitary executive, where the president directs every agency, and willingness to prioritize the administration’s policy agenda.

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You can read more about Patel’s confirmation here:

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Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy needs to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US.

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The deal proposes giving Washington $500bn worth of natural resources, including oil and gas to recognize the amount of aid that the US has provided it with.

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“He needs to come back to the table,” Waltz said of Zelenskyy.

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It comes after the Ukrainian leader rejected US demands for $500bn in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid. Zelenskyy has pointed out that the US had provided $69.2bn in assistance under the Biden administration – far less than the figure the new White House is demanding. He said an agreement depended on the US giving security guarantees for a post-war settlement.

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Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, said Donald Trump’s “frustration” with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “multifold”.

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Waltz, at a White House briefing, said Trump was “obviously very frustrated” with Zelenskyy.

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“The fact that that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered,” he said.

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Waltz said “some of the rhetoric” and “insults” about Trump were “unacceptable”. Waltz said:

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n

There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people, what the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term.

n

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Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, said the US fully supports Article 5 of the Nato alliance but that its European partners need to increase their spending.

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“It is unacceptable that the United States and the United States taxpayer continues to bear the burden of the cost of the war in Ukraine [and] the defense of Europe,” Waltz said.

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n

We fully support our Nato allies. We fully support the Article Five commitment, but it’s time for European partners to step up.

n

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Waltz said he spoke with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte about how a third of Nato member countries were still not meeting the 2% GDP in defense requirement.

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n

Somebody else needs to pay. We’ve got other domestic priorities. It’s unacceptable.

n

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Article 5 says an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all members of Nato.

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National security adviser Mike Waltz was asked whether he was confident in the Trump administration’s competence to go “toe to toe” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Waltz, at the White House briefing, said there was “no question” that Donald Trump is the commander in chief.

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n

If there’s anybody in this world that can go toe to toe with Putin, that could go toe to toe with Xi [Jinping], that could go toe to toe with Kim Jong Un … It’s Donald J Trump.

n

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He said the world should have no doubt that Trump has the ability to “handle” Putin and to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

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Senators applauded Mitch McConnell on the floor this afternoon after the Republican senator announced his decision to retire next year.

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McConnell vowed to complete his work on several remaining fronts. “Thanks to Ronald Reagan’s determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well under way when I arrived in the Senate,” he said.

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n

But since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.

n

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in a wheelchair”,”caption”:”Mitch McConnell on Thursday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740074448000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.00 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740075512000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.18 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740074687000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.04 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.04″,”title”:”Senators applaud McConnell as Republican vows to keep working until end of term in 2026″,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 20 Feb 2025 16.19 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 07.53 EST”},{“id”:”67b768f18f080892273800ac”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

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    Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, announced he will not run for re-election next year. McConnell formally announced his retirement in a Senate floor speech on Thursday, on his 83rd birthday, bringing an end to a decades-long career for a Republican leader who marshaled his party through multiple administrations with a singleminded focus on power that enraged his critics and delighted his allies.

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    JD Vance marked the Trump administration’s one month since its return to power with a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The vice-president claimed uncontrolled immigration was “the greatest threat” to both Europe and the US, and suggested that the US’s military commitment to European allies could be contingent on their domestic policies, particularly targeting Germany.

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    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, according to reports. The layoffs reportedly affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments.

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    The Senate is set to vote this afternoon on whether to confirm Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s controversial nominee as FBI director. The Senate voted 51-47 on Thursday morning to end debate on Patel’s nomination. Susan Collins was the only Republican senator to oppose Patel’s confirmation, claiming that Patel’s previous public statements cast doubt on his ability to advance the FBI’s mission “in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation”.

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    Defense secretary Pete Hegseth could move soon to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers. A list of those who could be fired reportedly includes Gen CQ Brown, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top admiral.

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    A Senate committee voted to advance Linda McMahon’s nomination as Donald Trump’s education secretary. The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to advance the nomination of McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to the Senate floor.

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    A federal appeals court in San Francisco denied the Trump administration’s request to reinstate a ban on birthright citizenship. The appeals court’s decision leaves in place an injunction issued by a federal court in Washington state, and sets up a battle at the supreme court.

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Defense secretary Pete Hegseth could move soon to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, according to reports.

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A list of those who could be fired was recently shared with Republican lawmakers, suggesting the dismissals could be imminent, CNN reports, citing sources.

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Among the list includes Gen CQ Brown, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, according to multiple outlets. Lisa Franchetti, the navy’s top admiral, is also reportedly on the list.

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Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, has announced that he will not seek re-election next year.

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McConnell announced his decision in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, marking his 83rd birthday.

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“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” he said.

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n

Every day, I’ve been humbled by the trust they placed in me to do their business right here, representing our commonwealth has been the honor of lifetime.

n

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“I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last,” he said.

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Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, will announce that he won’t seek re-election next year, according to multiple reports.

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McConnell is the longest serving Senate party leader in US history. He told the Associated Press of his decision before he was set to address colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.

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man wearing glasses frowns”,”caption”:”Mitch McConnell at the Capitol in Washington, on 12 November 2024.”,”credit”:”Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740069036000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”11.30 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740069934000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.45 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740069272000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”11.34 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”11.34″,”title”:”Mitch McConnell to announce retirement from Senate”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 20 Feb 2025 16.19 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 07.53 EST”},{“id”:”67b757628f086d39922035c6″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, said she will be voting against the confirmation of Kash Patel as FBI director.

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The Senate is scheduled to vote this afternoon on whether to confirm Patel, after he cleared the Senate judiciary committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote.

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In a statement, Collins said Patel’s nomination comes at a time where is “compelling need” for an FBI director who is “decidedly apolitical”.

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n

Patel has made numerous politically charged statements in his book and elsewhere discrediting the work of the FBI, the very institution he has been nominated to lead. These statements … cast doubt on Mr Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation.

n

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Patel’s recent political profile “undermines his ability to serve in the apolitical role of Director of the FBI”, she said, concluding:

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“Therefore, I will vote against his nomination.”

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The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions have voted 12-11 along party lines to advance Linda McMahon’s nomination to serve as Donald Trump’s education secretary.

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McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), was co-chair of Trump’s transition team and served in his cabinet in his first administration as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

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McMahon chaired America First Action, a Super Pac that backed Trump’s re-election campaign. McMahon is the former chief executive of WWE, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.

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Her nomination now advances to the Senate floor.

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McMahon, Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Education, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing in Washington”,”caption”:”Linda McMahon, Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Education, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing in Washington”,”credit”:”Photograph: Tierney L Cross/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740066714000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.51 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740067924000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.12 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740066943000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.55 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.55″,”title”:”Senate committee advances Linda McMahon as Trump’s nominee for education secretary”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 20 Feb 2025 16.19 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 07.53 EST”},{“id”:”67b749f28f086d3992203515″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

JD Vance has taken to the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the National Harbor in Maryland.

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The vice-president said it was “hard to believe” that he and Donald Trump had only been in office for a month.

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“We’ve done more in a month than [Joe] Biden in about four years,” he said. “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun the past month.”

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CPAC organizers announced earlier that Elon Musk was scheduled to address the conference.

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The US envoy Keith Kellogg has cancelled his press conference following a meeting with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

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Kellogg would not be taking questions from the press, Ukrainian officials said, and would only appear for a photocall and protocol handshake.

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The cancellation means we will not hear from either of the two leaders after today’s Ukraine-US talks in Kyiv, at least for now, as they were meant to hold a joint press conference.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets US envoy Keith Kellogg at his offices in Kyiv on February 20, 2025.”,”caption”:”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets US envoy Keith Kellogg at his offices in Kyiv on February 20, 2025.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Kellogg’s three-day trip to Kyiv came as Donald Trump accused Zelenskyy of being a “dictator” and blamed him for his country’s war with Russia. Zelenskyy had suggested on Wednesday Trump was living in a Russian “disinformation bubble”.

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One senior Ukrainian source described Zelenskyy as engaged and “highly motivated”. He said it was unclear if Kellogg would take up the president’s invitation to visit the frontline together. Kellogg is due to leave Kyiv on Friday evening.

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We reported earlier that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to fire thousands of its employees starting today.

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About 7,000 IRS workers in Washington and around the country will be laid off beginning Thursday, Associated Press reports, citing a source.

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The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments, the news agency reports.

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The reported layoffs come in the middle of tax filing season and it is unclear how they may affect tax collection services this year.

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A federal appeals court in San Francisco denied the Trump administration’s request to reinstate a ban on birthright citizenship.

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Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office that ordered an end to birthright citizenship for children for whom neither parent is a US citizen or legal permanent resident.

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Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the constitution. Civil rights groups argue an end to birthright citizenship would create a “permanent underclass” of stateless people denied basic protections.

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The appeals court denied the administration’s request for an emergency appeal, saying that the justice department has not made a strong case that it would succeed on merits. A concurring opinion written by a Trump-appointed judge said the administration had not convinced her it was an emergency.

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The appeals court’s decision leaves in place an injunction issued by a federal court in Washington state, and sets up a battle at the US supreme court.

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Defense secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior leaders at the Pentagon and throughout the US military to develop plans for cutting 8% from the defense budget in each of the next five years, according to a reports on Wednesday.

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The memo, dated Tuesday, orders a number of branches within the military and the Pentagon to turn in budget-cutting proposals by next Monday.

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“President Trump’s charge to DoD is clear: achieve peace through strength,” Hegseth wrote in the memo obtained by the Washington Post.

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n

The time for preparation is over – we must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and re-establish deterrence. Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit.

n

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Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Warsaw on February 14, 2025.”,”caption”:”US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Warsaw on February 14, 2025. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Wojtek Radwański/AFP/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The memo listed some 17 exceptions that the Trump administration wants exempted, among them operations at the southern US border, modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense and acquisition of one-way attack drones and other munitions.

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to fire thousands of its probationary employees as early as today, according to reports on Wednesday.

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About 6,000 IRS employees are reportedly slated for termination, with further reductions in the size of the agency expected as part of the Trump administration’s push to downsize the federal work force.

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The terminations will reportedly target relatively recent hires who do not enjoy as much job protection. They are described as largely auditors and support workers involved in compliance work, CNN reports.

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The move would come during peak tax-filing season in the US.

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The Senate is set to vote this afternoon on whether to confirm Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s controversial nominee as FBI director.

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Patel, a longtime Trump adviser who served in his first term, is expected to be confirmed unless more than three Republican senators vote against him, which is seen as unlikely. He cleared the Senate judiciary committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote.

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During his confirmation hearing last month, Patel faced questions about previous provocative public remarks attacking the FBI and his ability to resist political pressure from the White House.

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Critics have said Patel, one of Trump’s most loyal lieutenants, would weaponise the FBI against the president’s political opponents if he becomes the agency’s director.

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Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.”,”caption”:”Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.”,”credit”:”Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740057151000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”08.12 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740057583000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”08.19 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740057583000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”08.19 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”08.19″,”title”:”Senate to vote on confirmation of Kash Patel as FBI director”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 20 Feb 2025 16.19 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 07.53 EST”},{“id”:”67b71d0c8f0835381101893b”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Good morning US politics readers. Today marks a full month since Donald Trump’s inauguration – and in that month the 47th president and his administration have fundamentally reshaped the federal government and driven a truck through international relations.

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Trump is sure to celebrate at this year’s CPAC, which is held at the National Harbor in Maryland. As my colleagues David Smith writes, the conference will be a vivid demonstration of how his “Make America great again” (Maga) movement has gone from the margins to the mainstream.

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The vice-president, JD Vance, is expected to address the conference at 10am ET. We’ll follow it live and bring you the key moments of his speech.

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Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship may be headed to the supreme court after an appeals court declined to grant a justice department request that would have lifted a lower court’s order blocking the president’s executive order.

“,”elementId”:”8724c390-328e-4e42-b15c-efd4bc9b3d79″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The US 9th circuit court of appeals decision means the case may be headed to the nation’s highest court, one month after Trump signed the executive order.

“,”elementId”:”3237409d-3892-4d93-ab2c-8c0421352910″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Here’s what else is happening today:

“,”elementId”:”7aceb5ea-1023-44d9-8de0-88e62a338854″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

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    After Trump escalated his rift with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president is trying to move the difficult conversation with the US forward ahead of today’s meeting with Trump envoy Keith Kellogg. In his regular video update on Wednesday night, he said it was “crucial that this discussion and our overall cooperation with the US remains constructive”. We’re covering the latest developments in our Europe live blog:

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“,”elementId”:”6257e58b-2b7a-4e7d-9b97-923883520383″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Trump’s Ukraine envoy to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv amid growing rift – Europe live”,”elementId”:”daa3943f-dfff-4c06-87d5-00a037c4e7fc”,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/feb/20/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-trump-putin-europe-latest-news-updates”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

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    Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, is set to be confirmed today around 1.45pm.

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    At 1pm, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters.

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    At 3pm, Trump is expected to address a White House reception for Black history month.

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    At 7.20pm Trump speaks at a reception for Republican members of the National Governors Association.

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Key events

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Addressing guests at the White House, Donald Trump struck an uneasy tone celebrating Black History Month while also criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“We now have more Black Republicans serving in the US House than at any time since 1870,” he said. As the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding approaches, he added “we’re going to look forward to honoring the contributions of countless Black Americans who fought to win, and protect and expand American freedom from the very, very beginning.”

Trump went on to say, “The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year, 1619, but under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date 1776.”

Trump’s mention of 1619 appeared to be a reference to the New York Times’ 1619 Project which marked the year enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas.

Donald Trump has just taken the stage at the White House’s Black History Month reception, alongside golfer Tiger Woods.

US golfing legend Tiger Woods looks on as President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Black History Month in the East Room of the White House on February 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
US golfing legend Tiger Woods looks on as President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Black History Month in the East Room of the White House on February 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Woods said “it was an honor” to be at the White House with Trump. Trump gave Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, which Woods was wearing at the reception today.

“Today we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people. What a great, nice group of…,” Trump said.

Trump also shouted out Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, and Senator Tim Scott.

David Smith

David Smith

One of the more intriguing groups at CPAC this year is the Third Term Project, which says it is exploring the case for reconsidering presidential term limits – in other words, changing the constitution so Donald Trump can run again.

“Drawing on historical examples like Franklin Delano Roosvelt’s four-term presidency and international cases such as Viktor Orban in Hungary, the discussion will highlight how sustained leadership fosters policy continuity, national stability, and long-term progress,” the project said ahead of a press conference on Thursday.

Republican congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee has already put forward a bill proposing a constitutional amendment allowing for a president to serve up to three terms, provided that they did not serve two consecutive terms prior to running for a third.

Wearing a “Trump 2028” sticker, Amber Harris of the Third Term Project said: “You need more than four years to enact some of the things he wants to do and giving him the two consecutive terms to do it could get this country back on track.”

She dismissed concerns over Trump turning into an emperor or king as “fearmongering” and was unworried by the fact he would be 82 in 2028. “I’m not an ageist kind of person. I don’t worry about somebody’s age if they’re mentally competent to do the job. I would fully support it.”

However, an unscientific Guardian survey of eight CPAC attendees found little enthusiasm for the proposal, with most preferring the idea of Trump passing the torch to a rising star such as Vice-President JD Vance.

Summary of the day so far

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

  • The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Donald Trump’s political opponents. The Senate voted to confirm Patel in a 51-49 vote, with senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republicans to oppose Patel.

  • Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky, announced he will not run for re-election next year. McConnell formally announced his retirement in a Senate floor speech on Thursday, on his 83rd birthday, bringing an end to a decades-long career for a Republican leader who marshaled his party through multiple administrations with a singleminded focus on power that enraged his critics and delighted his allies.

  • Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy should sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US. Trump is “obviously very frustrated” with Zelenskyy, Walz said, adding that “some of the rhetoric” and “insults” about Trump were “unacceptable”. Waltz also noted that the US “fully supports” Article 5 of the Nato alliance but that its European partners need to increase their spending.

  • Donald Trump will host his first official cabinet meeting at the White House next Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed that Trump will host the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Thursday.

  • JD Vance marked the Trump administration’s one month since its return to power with a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The vice-president claimed uncontrolled immigration was “the greatest threat” to both Europe and the US, and suggested that the US’s military commitment to European allies could be contingent on their domestic policies, particularly targeting Germany.

  • The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will lay off thousands workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, according to reports. The layoffs reportedly affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments.

  • A Senate committee voted to advance Linda McMahon’s nomination as Donald Trump’s education secretary. The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to advance the nomination of McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to the Senate floor.

David Smith

David Smith

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, whose 18-year prison sentence following the 6 January 2021 attack was commuted by Donald Trump, is roving the corridors of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Wearing a black patch on his eye and a Trump tattoo on his arm, Rhodes told reporters:

I’m the new spokesman for Condemned USA to advocate for the other J6ers who are still in prison and then other political prisoners like Tina Peters, the election worker in Colorado, once again targeted simply for exercising her rights to question an election.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes: “I’m the new spokesman for Condemned USA to advocate for the other J6ers who are still in prison.” pic.twitter.com/HKpdofD4SF

— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) February 20, 2025

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Last year Peters, a local elections official in Colorado, was sentenced to nine years in prison for leading a voting system data-breach scheme inspired by the rampant false claims that fraud altered the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Rhodes, 59, from Granbury, Texas, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, told the Guardian that he owns the trademark for the Oath Keepers. “I can do what I want with it,” he said. “We’ll see what I want to do with it. I’m thinking about it.”

Richard Barnett, a January 6 rioter who put his feet on House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk and was sentenced to more than four years in prison, showed off his “certificate of pardon” from Trump.

The 64-year-old retired firefighter, wearing a sweater emblazoned with “J6” “political prisoner” and “376369”, said of Trump’s first month in office:

“Awesome, baby. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Absolutely. Let’s get some arrests on the books. There’s a lot of treason going on in this country. It’s time to clean it up.

January 6 rioter Richard Barnett on Donald Trump’s first month in office: “Awesome, baby. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Absolutely. Let’s get some arrests on the books. There’s a lot of treason going on in this country. It’s time to clean it up.” pic.twitter.com/ctiI9DaoL2

— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) February 20, 2025

“}}”>

January 6 rioter Richard Barnett on Donald Trump’s first month in office: “Awesome, baby. Keep it coming. Keep it coming. Absolutely. Let’s get some arrests on the books. There’s a lot of treason going on in this country. It’s time to clean it up.” pic.twitter.com/ctiI9DaoL2

— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) February 20, 2025

Joan E Greve

Joan E Greve

Donald Trump has appeared to embrace a proposal to share a portion of the cuts in US government spending made by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) with all US households in the form of checks.

Trump addressed the idea in a speech at an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday, telling attendees:

There’s even under consideration a new concept, where we give 20% of the Doge savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt.

Trump suggested the policy would incentivize Americans to “participate in the process of saving us money” by reporting suspected government waste to boost their own share of the funding cuts.

Elon Musk has been spearheading Trump’s mandate to cut costs within the government, with mixed results.
Elon Musk has been spearheading Trump’s mandate to cut costs within the government, with mixed results. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Hugo Lowell

Hugo Lowell

The greatest challenge for recent FBI directors has been the delicate balance of retaining Donald Trump’s confidence while resisting pressure to make public pronouncements or open criminal investigations that are politically motivated or that personally benefit the president.

Kash Patel is unlikely to have difficulties, such is his ideological alignment with Trump on a range of issues including the need to pursue retribution against any perceived enemies like former special counsel Jack Smith and others who investigated him during his first term.

The new leadership at the FBI comes as questions about the far-reaching nature of his loyalty to Trump remain unresolved. At his confirmation hearing, Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee tried in vain to elicit answers about his role as a witness in the criminal investigation into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.

Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, at his confirmation hearing.
Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, at his confirmation hearing. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP

During the investigation, Patel was subpoenaed to testify about whether the documents the FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago had been declassified under a “standing declassification order”, as he had represented in various public comments at the time.

The Guardian reported at the time that Patel initially declined to appear, citing his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. He later testified after the chief US district judge in Washington authorized Patel to have limited immunity from prosecution, which forced his testimony.

That loyalty, to resist federal prosecutors, endeared him to Trump and is understood to have played a factor in him ultimately getting tapped for the FBI director position after Trump struggled for weeks to decide who he wanted at the bureau, a person familiar with the matter said.

Two Republican senators voted against Patel’s nomination

As we reported earlier, Kash Patel has been narrowly confirmed by the Senate as the next FBI director.

The Senate voted to confirm Patel by a 51-49 vote. Two moderate Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined all Democrats in opposing Patel.

Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell, who earlier today announced he was not seeking re-election, voted to confirm Patel. He has voted against three of Trump’s most controversial nominees.

In a statement before the vote, Collins said Patel had made “numerous politically charged” statements discrediting the FBI.

These statements “cast doubt on Mr Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation”, she said.

US Senator Lisa Murkowski at the US Capitol in Washington DC, on 20 February 2025.
US Senator Lisa Murkowski at the US Capitol in Washington DC, on 20 February 2025. Photograph: Alex Wroblewski/EPA

Murkowski’s statement said her reservations with Patel “stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership”.

“I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Democratic senator Dick Durbin said before the vote this afternoon.

Another Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said he was “absolutely sure of this one thing: this vote will haunt anyone who votes for him. They will rue the day they did it.”

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse had some harsh words for Kash Patel and his Republican colleagues who voted for his confirmation earlier today.

Whitehouse said Patel is the “first senior law enforcement official in American history to have plead the fifth, and he’s been unwilling to even explain to the judiciary committee what crimes it was that he was concerned about that caused him to plead the fifth.

“Kash Patel, mark my words, will cause evil in this building behind us. Republicans who vote for him will rue that day.”

Senate Democrats hold newsconference opposing Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director.
Senate Democrats hold newsconference opposing Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Kash Patel’s confirmation was a close one.

If more than three Republican senators voted against him, Patel wouldn’t have been confirmed.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski announced earlier today on X that she planned to vote against Patel’s nomination, largely due to his refusal to cooperate with January 6 investigations.

“My reservations with Mr. Patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership,” Murkowski wrote.

“The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores. I have been disappointed that when he had the opportunity to push back on the administration’s decision to force the FBI to provide a list of agents involved in the January 6 investigations and prosecutions, he failed to do so.”

Source: www.theguardian.com