Taylor Alert – Trump’s FBI pick Kash Patel finds out his fate after critical vote: Recap

The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director.

The vote paves the way for Patel to be confirmed by the Senate.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director.

The vote paves the way for Patel to be confirmed by the Senate.

It comes as Democrats have accused Patel of wanting retribution against Trump foes with a so-called ‘enemies list’ and claim he would do immense damage to the bureau he has been tapped to lead.

But Republicans have dismissed concerns about his judgement and lack of experience as they have moved to confirm even Trump’s most controversial nominees in recent weeks.

Donald Trump has ordered the firing of all ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys as he attempts to ‘restore confidence’ at the Department of Justice.

‘Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before. Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining “Biden Era” U.S. Attorneys,’ he wrote on Truth Social.

‘We must “clean house” IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!’

Trump’s declaration comes as Pam Bondi has completely shaken up the DOJ.

Top aide to Donald Trump Stephen Miller got into a wild exchange with a CNN host after she pressed him on Elon Musk’s government slashing work at DOGE.

Miller, who serves as White House deputy chief of staff, laughed in CNN host Brianna Keilar’s face when she expressed dismay about DOGE’s latest cuts.

‘We want to talk about who’s making decisions here,’ Keilar tells Miller in the contentious back and forth.

She described how workers at the Department of Energy who deal with the U.S. nuclear arsenal were recently fired and then had their terminations rescinded after the agency determined they were irreplaceable employees.

‘Who is it making those decision of which federal employees are terminated?’ she asked.

‘The cuts in the Department of Energy, those are directed by the Senate confirmed secretary of energy,’ Miller dryly shot back.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is preparing to file cloture on President Donald Trump’s FBI Director pick Kash Patel.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted to X on Tuesday evening that the Republican leadership is preparing to bring a final confirmation vote for Patel on Thursday ‘at the latest.’

After that, the Senate will move to confirm Trump’s Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick.

Donald Trump answered a question about reports that the CIA is flying drones over Mexico to spy on cartel operations.

Multiple U.S. officials revealed to the New York Times today that the CIA is conducting intelligence-gathering operations over the U.S.’ southern neighbor.

Addressing the question, the Republican did not confirm or deny the report but did signal that the U.S. is ready to help Mexico deal with the cartels.

‘We’re dealing with Mexico,’ he said after decrying the record immigration that happened under Joe Biden.

‘I have a very good relationship with Mexico, but I think Mexico is largely run by the cartels, and that’s a sad thing to say.’

‘If they wanted help with that, we’d give the help,’ he continued.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered on Tuesday his first speech as an official member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet.

After the Democrat-turned-pro-MAGA-independent was sworn-in as Secretary of Health and Human Services last week, a series of layoffs ensued at the agencies that fall underneath his department’s purview.

He gave a speech to HHS staffers on Tuesday outlining his priorities as head of the department.

‘Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formerly taboo or insufficiently scrutinized – the childhood vaccine schedule, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, other pesticides, ultra-processed foods, artificial food additives, SSRI and other psychiatric drugs, PFAs, PFOAs, microplastics,’ Kennedy said.

‘Nothing is going to be off limits.’

‘Whatever belief or suspicion I have expressed in the past, I’m willing to subject them all to the scrutiny of unbiased science,’ he continued. ‘That is going to be our template: unbiased science.’

‘That’s something that will make us all proud of this agency and of our role in restoring American health.’

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

President Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even while reporting progress in U.S.-Russia talks that wrapped up in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine.

‘You have leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened, even without the United States,’ Trump said, even as he said ‘I like him personally’ when speaking about Zelensky.

‘You should have ended it – three years, you should have never started it,’ he said, appearing to blame Zelensky for Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Trump offered a positive assessment when asked about the talks, saying he was ‘much more confident’ than before and saying ‘they were very good.’

‘Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism,’ he said, amid reports it had launched new drone attacks on Kyiv after the talks ended.

Asked to respond to Ukraine being left out of the first talks, Trump instead spoke about the death toll of thousands. ‘And I think I have the power to end this war,’ he said.

He also commented on the potential for European troops taking a peacekeeping role in the event of a ceasefire. ‘If they want to do that, that’s great. I’m all for it. If they want to do that, I think that’s that’d be fine.’ As for U.S. forces, ‘we won’t have to put any over there, because, you know, we’re very far away,’ Trump said.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Some Republican lawmakers slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin as top Trump officials move to reestablish relations with the Russian government.

‘I’m not sure what, what the policy is,’ said Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, just hours after the first in-person meeting between high-level officials took place in Saudi Arabia.

‘I maintain that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal in any way which you look at it,’ Wicker told a group of reporters on Capitol Hill.

It comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov in Riyadh to discuss Ukraine.

Officials said talks would continue as they work to normalize relations for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, but some GOP lawmakers blasted Russia as the Trump administration pushes to rebuild ties.

‘While Russia is demanding elections in Ukraine hoping for a leadership change, we should remind ourselves that Putin has murdered or exiled all his political rivals,’ wrote Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) on X. ‘Russia is the most anti-Democratic country in Europe. What is demanded of Putin?’

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Tuesday also weighed in with strong words against the Russian president.

‘Putin is now asking for a new election in Ukraine, conducted in a specific manner that he can influence, so that he can install his puppet and accomplish that which he couldn’t militarily,’ Bacon posted. ‘Nice try, Vladimir. Try holding a free and fair election in your own country first.’

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators co-sponsored a bill to rename a section of street near the Russian Ambassador to the U.S.’ residence as ‘Alexei Navalny Way’ after the Russian opposition leader who died in a Russian prison a year ago.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin introduced the bill with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy.

‘Renaming the street near the Russian Ambassador’s residence, Navalny Way memorializes his fight for freedom and democracy. When Russians visit our nation’s capital, they will remember his unflinching opposition to Putin’s dictatorial control,’ Cassidy said in a statement.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in West Palm Beach, Florida

President Donald Trump dug his heels in as his White House has banned the Associated Press over the wire service’s refusal to use the term ‘Gulf of America.’

Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday afternoon that the Associated Press ‘refuses to go with what the law is and what is taking place.’

‘It’s called the Gulf of America now. It’s not called the Gulf of Mexico any longer,’ Trump argued.

‘We’re very proud of this country and we want it to be the Gulf of America,’ the president added.

Trump renamed the body of water last month.

Last week the White House press staff – including press secretary Karoline Leavitt – started excluding the AP’s reporters and photographers from White House events.

On Friday, the Trump administration stepped up by the ban by refusing to allow the AP’s reporter and photographer who were supposed to travel to Florida with the president to board Air Force One.

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that expands access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Trump, who bizarrely referred to himself as the ‘father of fertilization’ on the campaign trail, made the order while at his home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the order will ‘aggressively’ reduce out-of-pocket costs for the procedure.

‘PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT: President Trump just signed an Executive Order to Expand Access to IVF!’ she wrote on X.

‘The Order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.’

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) signaled the Senate will move ahead with its own budget as House Republicans struggle to put together their plan.

It comes after the Senate held meetings to mark up their own blueprint last week.

‘Securing the border, rebuilding our defense, and unleashing American energy. That starts this week with passing Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC’s budget,’ Thune wrote on X.

‘Let’s get it done,’ he added.

The Senate GOP is moving forward with a budget resolution that would split their priorities into a two-bill approach with the one that addresses immigration and national security.

The House had been attempting to put together one massive bill that includes both immigration as well as extending provisions of the Trump tax law before they’re set to expire.

‘I am grateful to Leader Thune for scheduling the Senate budget resollution for this week,’ Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement.

‘This sets in motion fully funding President Trump’s border security agenda and provides $150 billion in new spending to strengthen our military,’ he added.

Graham said taking up the budget resolution puts them ‘one step closer to the most transformational border security bill in history.’

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lost its head of food division on Monday.

Jim Jones, who led the FDA towards its banning of food dye Red No. 3 last month, cited widespread cuts at the agency for his decision to resign.

The move came after 89 staffers at the food division were laid off in what Jones describes as ‘indiscriminate’ cuts.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn-in last week as Secretary of Health and Human Services – though it’s not clear if his confirmation contributed to Jones’ resignation.

‘I was looking forward to working to pursue the department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food,’ he said in a resignation letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner.

But he claimed that given the new administration’s ‘disdain for the very people’ needed to make these changes, it would be ‘fruitless for me to continue in this role.’

Steve Bannon fired another shot in his war against Elon Musk this week.

The 71-year-old former Chief White House Strategist for President Donald Trump gave an interview to the British publication UnHerd, where he unloaded on Musk, who’s become the president’s right-hand man as of late.

In the Q&A published Tuesday morning, Bannon argued that his more pro-worker version of MAGA was winning out against the so-called ‘broligarchs.’

Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values, or traditions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to the airwaves to reassure Americans their personal information won’t get compromised after the head of the Social Security Administration resigned in a clash with Elon Musk’s team.

The resignation of Michelle King, who spent decades at the agency, came amid a push by officials in Musk’s DOGE office to gain access to sensitive government databases of information.

That has sparked fears that the information on millions of Americans could get leaked or be vulnerable to hacks.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Donald Trump is the ‘only leader’ who can bring about peace between Russia and Ukraine, his secretary of state Marco Rubio said following talks in Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. kicked off the talks with Russian officials where they were able to reach four outlining principles, but whether a full deal can materialize remains to be seen amid questions over Ukraine’s involvement in the negotiation process.

Rubio, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov in Riyadh on Tuesday.

It was the first round of talks as the U.S. looks to broker a peace deal to the war that has been raging since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The talks came after Trump spoke with Putin last week as the U.S. moves away from isolating Russia, but Ukrainian representatives were not present for the sit-down in the Middle East.

Rubio said that the U.S. and Russians agreed on four principles during their meeting as they start the initial steps toward reaching a deal.

First, he said the U.S. and Moscow will work to reestablish their ‘missions’ in both countries, so they can move forward with diplomatic relations.

Second, the secretary of state said the U.S. will appoint a high-level team to help negotiate, and third, they will begin to discuss geopolitical and economic cooperation that could help resolve the conflict.

Fourth, he said that the five people who were involved in the first meeting will remain engaged, so they know it is moving along ‘in a productive way.’

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in West Palm Beach, Florida

President Donald Trump took his motorcade Tuesday morning to his West Palm Beach golf property during an extended Presidents’ Day holiday.

Several police officers on horseback greeted Trump as the president and his entourage pulled onto the property a little after 10 a.m.

On Monday he sent out hot dogs to a group of Trump supporters waiting for him outside the Florida golf course.

He jumped out of the Beast from across the street to wave out the crowd – which included several members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, including former leader Enrique Tarrio.

Tarrio had been sentenced to 22 years in prison over his role in plotting the January 6th Capitol attack.

He was among those pardoned by Trump at the start of the Republican’s second term.

The White House stated emphatically in a court filing that Elon Musk works for Trump as a senior advisor to the president, not as the leader of DOGE.

The specificities of Musk’s role are expected to feature prominently in court challenges surrounding Trump’s attempts to cut the federal government.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Trump as peace talks in Saudi Arabia between Russia and Ukraine kicked off:

For 3.5 years while this conflict has raged, no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can… the only thing President Trump is trying to do is bring about peace.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

The Senate returns on Tuesday where lawmakers will move forward in the confirmation process for two of President Trump’s nominees.

The Senate this evening will have a procedural vote on Trump’s pick to serve as FBI director Kash Patel.

The controversial nominee made it out of committee last week despite outrage from Democrats who accused him of potentially perjuring himself during his confirmation hearing, noted him having an ‘enemies list’ and undermining the bureau and lacking the experience to lead the FBI.

Now, the full Senate will get a say on his confirmation with a procedural vote today after the committee vote came down along party lines.

If he gets a majority of the votes in the full Senate to move forward, he could be confirmed as early as this week.

Also today, the Senate will vote to confirm of Howard Lutnick who is Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary. He is expected to be confirmed these evening and could even receive some bipartisan support.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency discovered $4.7 trillion in United States Treasury payments on an untraceable budget line.

The agency announced Monday that the Treasury Access Symbol, which are used to describe the account the money is linked to, was missing on a number of payments the Treasury Department has made.

‘In the federal government, the TAS field was optional for about $4.7 trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible,’ DOGE posted on X.

Supporters of Donald Trump on Monday reacted to a threat from a European leader warning him that they were the ones who controlled the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski spoke about Trump’s attempts to achieve a peace between Russia and Ukraine, at the Munich Security summit.

Sikorski warned Trump not to give too much deference to Russia during the peace negotiations to end the war.

Democrats are expressing dismay at Elon Musk and his young DOGE ‘nerd army’ after they requested access to Americans’ most sensitive IRS data.

The IRS keeps records on Social Security numbers, banking information, tax returns and more – all sensitive records that Americans typically keep private to avoid being the targets of fraud.

Democrats are now sounding the alarm that DOGE may be able to comb through those personal records of everyday Americans.

‘I want to save billions of your money and make our government more efficient,’ Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., posted on X about Musk’s efforts to infiltrate the IRS. ‘Rummaging through your personal s*** is *not* that. A party of chaos loses—always.’

However, for all the chatter about DOGE’s access to the sensitive IRS data, there is no indication that Musk’s team has gotten their hands on the files so many Democrats are worried about.

Musk’s team of twenty-year-old nerds haven’t been able to access sensitive data at the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, because their efforts have been held up in court.

Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system. In less than four weeks, we have already begun the process and are engaging the smartest minds in the entire world.

Here’s the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees. Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.

Mayor Pete chose to use this amazing department—that is so critical to America’s success—as a slush fund for the green new scam and environmental justice nonsense. Not to mention that over 90% of the workforce under his leadership were working from home – including him. The building was empty!

When we finally get a full accounting of his mismanagement, I look forward to hearing from him. In the meantime, I will not rest until I return the Department of Transportation and its incredible employees to its mission of efficiency and safety.

The Trump administration is firing hundreds of workers at the Federal Aviation Administration, cutting a swath through staff weeks after personnel shortages were cited as a factor in the fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, said the first emails were sent to probationary workers late on Friday night.

He said hundreds had received notice that their employment was terminated.