Karoline Leavitt snaps at reporter casting doubt on Trump's Gaza plan: Live updates

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his new Attorney General Pam Bondi will be ‘as impartial as a person can be’ as she was sworn-in by Justice Clarence Thomas.

‘I know I’m supposed to say she’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be,’ Trump said during the Oval Office ceremony.

He also said of Bondi – formerly Florida’s attorney general – that she was ‘unbelievably fair and unbelievably good.’

Bondi brought along her husband and her mother for the swearing-in ceremony.

The president complimented them both.

‘I just want to introduce her very, very handsome husband. I hate being around him. He looks too good,’ Trump said. ‘And mother, look how good you look, huh? So I just wanted to introduce them.’

Trump declined to fully answer a question about his eye-popping plan for Gaza, telling reporters, ‘everybody loves it, but this is just not the right time.’

He said that Bondi’s top priority is ‘very simple.’

‘Make America Great Again. That’s what we’re going to do… She’s going to take crime out of the system. As much as anybody can do that, she’s going to do.’

‘We’re going to make America safe again,’ Bondi chimed in.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Sen. Mitch McConnell, 82, was spotted in a wheelchair at the Capitol on Wednesday after he fell down multiple times.

The Kentucky Republican feel down marble stairs when exiting the Senate floor after voting to confirm President Donald Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary nominee Scott Turner.

He was helped up by Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla).

Once the longtime lawmaker regained his footing and headed into a senators-only lunch, he reportedly fell again.

McConnell was carrying a plate of food before he fell and landed on his side. He reportedly has bruising on his face from the tumble.

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill

Senator Mitch McConnell, 82, fell down multiple times on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

The Kentucky Republican’s first stumble occurred just after the longtime lawmaker exited the Senate floor after voting for Donald Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.

After taking a tumble down some marble stairs he was reportedly helped up by Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla).

Then after regaining his footing and heading into a senators-only lunch McConnell reportedly fell again.

The 82-year-old was carrying a plate of food before he fell and landed on his side, Punchbowl News reported.

The Kentuckian may have new bruising on his face due to the tumble.

McConnell, the former longtime leader of the Senate Republicans from 2007 – 2025, has been battling a string of health issues over the last few years.

And his fall Wednesday raises fresh questions about his ability to do his job and the advanced age of so many of the nation’s political leaders.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the embattled USAID will no longer by paying for subscriptions to Politico – which she said amounted to ‘subsidizing’ the outlet.

She spoke after MAGA allies online unearthed $8.2 million in payments to the publication, amid the hunt for wasteful spending in an agency that funds international relief.

Leavitt brought up the expenditure immediately after calling on a Politico reporter at the White House press briefing Wednesday.

‘I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room, and I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico – on the American taxpayer’s dime – will no longer be happening.’

Amid apparent decimation of its ranks, Leavitt indicated that it is Elon Musk’s DOGE, not the agency itself, who will be nixing the professional-level subscription.

‘The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now,’ she said.

The agency has recalled employees from posts around the world including Ukraine and Kenya amid an administration 90-day freeze on foreign assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he is now the acting administrator of the agency.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Lara Trump is joining Fox News for her very own show, DailyMail.com can confirm.

President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law was co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) last year. She stepped down and later removed her name from consideration to be the next U.S. Senator from Florida.

My View with Lara Trump will air Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Fox News Channel.

A source familiar with Fox’s negotiation practices told DailyMail.com they ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if Lara’s contract is as much as $5 million for a two-year deal.

‘MAGA is cooler now,’ the source noted, claiming it appears Fox upped its budget to make ‘higher-than-usual’ offers for those within the president’s inner circle.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Elon Musk has set his sights on the powerful government agency that controls Medicare and Medicaid payments, going through financial systems to see where funds are being spent.

Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency has been on-site at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were they have gotten access to key payment and contracting systems, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The DOGE team have accessed similar systems at the Treasury Department and have a meeting at the Labor Department on Wednesday afternoon as part of their mandate to cut federal spending and the size of the government. USAID saw all its staff put on leave.

Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, confirmed the news, writing on X: ‘Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.’

Senate Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk of breaking the law, but their response to what some are even calling a ‘coup’ is far from unified.

Democratic lawmakers this week sounded the alarm over reports that Musk’s team of DOGE outsiders had gained access to the Treasury payment system and millions of taxpayers’ information including social security numbers.

At the same time, they’ve accused the administration of illegal activity and a gigantic power grab as it moves to shutter agencies that were created and funded by Congress like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

But lawmakers have been reacting to the ‘five-alarm fire’ in a series of different ways from protests outside government buildings, calls for investigations and a series of press conferences.

But being in the minority, they appear to have limited tools in their toolbox without Republican lawmakers stepping in.

And while Democrats have told DailyMail.com that GOP senators are raising concerns in private with them, few Republicans on the hill have openly expressed any reservations and have largely remained in ‘wait and see’ mode.

But only some Democrats so far have taken a hard approach in their response to the new administration’s activities.

Senator Mitch McConnell, 82, fell down the marble Senate staircase Wednesday after voting for Donald Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.

He was reportedly helped up by Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla).

McConnell, the former longtime leader of the Senate Republicans, has been battling a string of health issues over the last few years including multiple falls.

The Senate confirmed Scott Turner as secretary of housing and urban development.

The former NFL player and Trump White House aide was confirmed with bipartisan support 55 to 44.

President Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department advanced out of commitee. The confirmation heads to the full Senate next.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 16 to 12 for Howard Lutnick’s nomination to move forward.

The billionaire Cantor Fitzgerald CEO said last week he was advising Trump on across-the-board tariffs ahead of Trump slapping 10 percent tariffs on China, but pausing tariffs on Mexico and Canada at least for now.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

President Donald Trump received the first real threat of impeachment during his second term from a lawmaker on Wednesday.

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said: ‘I rise to announce that I will bring Articles of Impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.’

The Democrat said his announcement is in response to Trump’s backing of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians in Gaza , the territory out of which Hamas terrorists are operating.

Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday and during a joint press conference said the U.S. will move to use troops to take the war-torn Gaza Strip ‘if necessary’ as Palestinians are moved to neighboring countries.

‘Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the President of the United States,’ Green said of the president’s bombshell comments.

‘Injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America,’ the progressive congressman insisted in his remarks from the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday morning.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The U.S. Army hit the highest recruitment figures seen in more than a decade in both December and January – the two months following President Donald Trump ‘s reelection.

‘America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong ‘America First’ leadership of Donald Trump,’ Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X/

The former Fox News host said that Army recruitment reached a 12-year high in December 2024. That was then overshadowed by a 15-year high recruitment figure in January.

The Army posted to X it recruited an average of 346 soldiers every day in December, meaning that approximately 10,700 were added to the roster in that month alone.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Donald Trump’s administration is not ruling out tariffs on U.S. allies who don’t get in line with his Gaza plan, which has sparked outrage and condemnation in all corners of the globe.

The administration, however, defended the president, saying ‘nobody has a realistic solution.

‘The fact that nobody has a realistic solution, and he puts some very bold, fresh, new ideas out on the table I don’t think should be criticized in any way,’ Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told CBS This Morning.

‘I think it’s going to bring the entire region to come with their own solutions, if they don’t like Mr. Trump’s solutions.’

Waltz spoke to reporters at the White House after his TV appearance and didn’t rule out the president placing tariffs on Arab countries if they don’t agree to take in Palestinian refugees.

‘I think President Trump views tariffs as a key tool for our foreign policy,’ he said.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

As President Donald Trump dropped his bombshell announcement that the United States should take ownership of Gaza, a hundred hands in the East Room of the White House flew up.

The more than 100 journalists there to cover his press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went into a frenzy.

Trump was in total control, calling on reporters himself instead of following the tradition of letting the foreign leader call on a member or two of the press corps that traveled with him.

The president took the lead on deciding on reporters and answering questions as Netanyahu deferred to him.

As Trump defended his plan to have the U.S. take over the devastated Gaza strip while moving Palestinian population to neighboring countries, Netanyahu enjoyed the show.

The Israeli prime minister leaned against his podium, legs crossed at ankle, grinning as Trump easily tossed out more suggestions, including not ruling out sending in American troops to make his vision a reality and bragging he could turn Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East.’

In the 15 days since Trump has been in office that averages out to around 370 – 400 deportations per day.

ICE deported 512 illegal immigrants on Monday alone, according to federal data shared with DailyMail.com.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been ordered to shut down by Friday following Elon Musk’s effort to dismantle the government relief service he labeled a ‘criminal organization.’

The State Department is now working diligently to recall thousands of staff members in more than 100 countries across the world, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

The employees were told by Peter Marocco, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, that all USAID staff members and their families should be recalled back to the United States by Friday.

USAID employees in many bureaus at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. also received a memo that they are being placed on administrative leave, according to PBS NewsHour.

Donald Trump’s bold plan to have the U.S. take over Gaza and transform it from rubble into a Middle East ‘Riviera’ is sparking fears from foreign policy experts who warn it could lead to a bloody occupation if it actually took place.

Trump laid out his ambitious plan on Tuesday afternoon, describing how the U.S. would seize an ‘ownership position’ in the territory – even by sending troops if necessary.

His remarks had lawmakers and analysts wondering if his vision would plunge the nation into the potentially bloody role of occupying power amid an intractable conflict.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump will meeting with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.

Both the Republican and Democrat governors will meet with the president in the Oval Office in what are sure to be two very different interactions.

Abbott’s meeting will most likely focus on the Trump administration’s push to help with securing the southern border.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The Senate will vote on Wednesday to confirm Eric Scott to be President Donald Trump’s Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary.

A procedural vote will also take place to advance Russell Vought to be Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.) posted to X: ‘Dems will throw a fit on Russ. Again—it won’t matter, we have the votes to confirm.’

So far the Senate, which has a Republican majority, has confirmed 11 of Trump’s nominees.

But two of the most controversial picks – Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy for Health and Human Service – have yet to clear a full Senate vote after making it out of committee.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

President Donald Trump will sign another executive order on Wednesday.

Between separate meetings with the Texas and California governors, Trump will take a break to sign the No Men in Women’s Sports order into law.

The 3:00 p.m. signing will put into motion a ban on transgender athletes competing in sports on the teams opposite from the sex they were biologically born.

It comes amid a massive conservative push to prevent biological men from competing – and dominating – in women’s sports, especially at the high school and collegiate level.

Female athletes have long complained that the transgender athletes competing against them have an unfair biological and physical advantage that they say regresses the rights women have gained in the sports industry over the last few decades.