Updated
By NBC News
What to know today
- BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments to decide if President Donald Trump can lawfully roll back automatic birthright citizenship for nearly all people born in the U.S.
- REDISTRICTING: The Indiana House of Representatives voted in favor of new GOP-drawn maps amid a nationwide, mid-decade redistricting effort. The bill passed the state House, 57-41 but members of the state Senate have said they don’t have enough support to pass the bill. The newly drawn maps could net Republicans two seats in Congress.
- VACCINE MEETING: The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel voted to roll back a decadeslong recommendation that all newborns get a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
- JEFFREY EPSTEIN: A federal judge in Florida has ordered the release of material from grand jury investigations into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2005 and 2007.
21m ago / 2:58 PM EST
Gene Simmons makes an appearance at the White House
Rock icon Gene Simmons visited the White House briefing room this afternoon and spontaneously answered some questions from the press, mostly about rights for musicians.
Simmons did not directly answer whether he was meeting with Trump, but he appeared to have been taking a White House tour with his family. (Trump is not at the White House right now and remains at the Kennedy Center.) Simmons is in town ahead of Sunday’s Kennedy Center honors, where his band KISS will be honored.
29m ago / 2:50 PM EST
Sen. Richard Blumenthal: ‘Hegseth should go’
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said he remains concerned about Pete Hegseth’s leadership at the Defense Department.
“Hegseth should go. He should resign or be fired,” Blumenthal told NBC News after a press conference here. “He bears responsibility for potential murders or war crimes, not just in the two survivors of that Sept. 2 strike, but for more than 80 deaths, killings on 23 boats without any legal justification. I have not seen the video, but it’s been described to me. Americans need and deserve to see that video.”
The September operation targeting a boat in the Caribbean Sea that was suspected of smuggling drugs was carrying a total of 11 individuals, the Pentagon said at the time. After the first strike left two survivors, the military then launched a second.
Since then, the U.S. has conducted more than 20 strikes on vessels it alleges are carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing more than 80 people.
The Trump administration has said Adm. Frank M. Bradley was responsible for ordering the second strike.
“I am very fearful that Secretary Hegseth, very simply, is throwing Adm. Bradley under the bus, saying he has Bradley’s back enough to push him under the bus. It is ultimately Hegseth’s responsibility,” Blumenthal said.
“To be very blunt, my worry is we have no strategy, no end game, no real plan for what is happening off the coast of Venezuela with about 1/7 of our total naval strength committed to that area,” he added. “That amount of naval strength is unnecessary to interdict narcotics. It should be done by the Coast Guard as a law enforcement effort. And I think there needs to be an inquiry by the Armed Services Committee.”
NBC News reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
43m ago / 2:36 PM EST
Congresswoman says she’s still getting threats following Trump’s ‘seditious behavior’ post
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., said her office has continued to receive threats in the wake of a video she released with colleagues urging military members to refuse unlawful orders.
“I think that our posture right now is to be, remain attentive,” Houlahan said in an interview with NBC10 airing on NBC10@issue on Sunday. “We certainly do continue to get calls that are worrisome and threats and we do have protection, but I will also say that we get an enormous amount of calls still that are enormously positive.”
Trump labeled the lawmakers “traitors” and their actions seditious, at one point posting online: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He later said he wasn’t threatening death but thinks they are in serious trouble.
50m ago / 2:28 PM EST
Judge orders Jeffrey Epstein-related grand jury records in Florida to be released publicly
A federal judge in Florida has ordered the release of material from grand jury investigations into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2005 and 2007.
A similar bid was rejected earlier this year, but U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said he was granting the Justice Department’s renewed request in light of the bill that Congress passed last month requiring the DOJ to release all of its records related to Epstein.
58m ago / 2:21 PM EST
Supreme Court to decide if Trump can limit the constitutional right to citizenship at birth
Teeing up a blockbuster ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide the lawfulness of President Donald Trump’s contentious plan to roll back automatic birthright citizenship for nearly anyone born in the United States.
The eventual ruling in a case from New Hampshire, expected by the end of June, will likely determine conclusively whether Trump’s ambitious proposal can move forward.
The case sets up a major clash between a president whose aggressive use of executive power has been a defining characteristic of his second term and a court with a 6-3 conservative majority that has so far mostly avoided direct clashes with the White House.
2h ago / 1:59 PM EST
Indiana House passes new Republican-drawn congressional map
The Indiana House on Friday approved a new congressional map designed to net Republicans two seats, setting up a clash over the redistricting effort pushed by President Donald Trump in the state Senate.
The bill passed the state House, 57-41. But Republican leaders in the Indiana Senate have said there is not enough support for the map, which is designed to give the GOP control of all nine of the state’s congressional districts. But the White House has pressured reluctant Indiana lawmakers for months to redraw their map as Trump seeks to shore up his party’s narrow U.S. House majority ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
3h ago / 1:07 PM EST
Trump accepts inaugural FIFA peace prize
Trump accepted the inaugural FIFA peace prize at the World Cup draw event at the Kennedy Center this afternoon.
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said, adding that they’ve “saved millions and millions of lives.”
“The Congo is an example. Over 10 million people killed, and it was heading for another 10 million very quickly,” he said.
The president thanked the leaders of Canada and Mexico in his brief remarks.
“We’ve had a tremendous relationship, working relationship, with Canada. We have our prime minister of Canada there, and we have our president of Mexico, and we’ve worked closely with those two countries,” he said. “And the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding. And I want to thank you both very much.”
President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize today. Dan Mullan / Getty Images
On the red carpet before the ceremony began, Trump was asked by reporters what he would say to those who would say the prize might conflict with his pledge to strike Venezuela.
“I mean, I settled eight wars. I don’t know that I’m getting it. I haven’t been officially noticed. I’ve been hearing about a peace prize, and I’m here to represent our country in a different sense. But I can tell you, I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming, but — which nobody’s ever done before,” Trump said.
“I’ve saved millions and millions of lives, and that’s really what I want to do,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly expressed that he wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, even joking this week that he should win one for each conflict he has helped resolve. Last month, it was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
3h ago / 12:25 PM EST
Judges chide DOJ for leaving disqualified U.S. Attorney Lindsay Halligan’s name on court filings
Though U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie last week ruled that Lindsay Halligan’s appointment as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District unlawful, Halligan’s name is still appearing across criminal information and indictments filed in the district. Per guidance sent internally around the Eastern District last week, Halligan’s name is accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and First Assistant Robert McBride.
According to a Justice Department source with knowledge of the situation, staff in the U.S. Attorney’s office has been instructed to continue to refer to Halligan as the U.S. attorney “pending appeal” of last week’s ruling.
This week, in a federal court in Virginia, several judges have expressed frustration with the Justice Department for continuing to list Halligan as the U.S. Attorney on those various court documents, due to the court ruling in the Comey and James’ cases and the fact that the Justice Department has yet to appeal that ruling.
Details of the judge’s frustration were first reported by CNN.
Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said during a hearing earlier this week that listing Halligan’s name on charging documents “is simply not acceptable,” according to a transcript that was read to NBC News by a Justice Department source.
In several cases this week, Fitzpatrick told prosecutors he is going to strike Halligan’s name from court documents.
Magistrate Judge Lindsey Vaala has told prosecutors she is now going to annotate any new court filings with Halligan’s name on them.
On the signature page of at least one indictment issued this week, where the U.S. attorney is listed on the last page, there is now an asterisk and a reference to the Comey and James decisions in a footnote.
4h ago / 12:12 PM EST
Trump says he’s going to meet with leaders of Canada and Mexico after FIFA event
Trump said that he’s going to meet with the leaders of Canada and Mexico who are in Washington for the FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center today.
“We’re going to meet with both,” Trump said on the red carpet. “We’re getting along very well.”
He said he believed he had a meeting set up with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum after the event.
Sheinbaum mentioned the planned meeting with Carney and Trump during a press conference in Mexico yesterday. She said she expected to discuss trade issues with them.
From left, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Jim Watson / AFP – Getty Images
4h ago / 12:10 PM EST
Trump alludes to sending troops to World Cup host cities with crime issues
Asked about whether he’s concerned that some World Cup host cities have crime problems, the president told reporters, “We’ll take care of that problem,” and referred to his efforts to send federal troops to American cities like Washington, D.C.
“I will tell you if they do have a problem by the time we get there, we’ll take care of that problem. We can solve that problem. I’ve proven that in D.C. and everywhere else we went,” Trump said.
4h ago / 12:03 PM EST
Pentagon endorses AUKUS submarine deal after review
The Defense Department says it has finished its review of the AUKUS submarine deal, determining that it is “in alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda.”
The Trump administration said in June that it was launching a formal review of the 2021 deal with Australia and Britain, under which the U.S. would sell Australia three to five nuclear-powered attack submarines starting in 2032. Officials said there were concerns that the sale might leave the U.S. with fewer of the submarines for itself, raising fears in Australia for the future of the deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
“The review identified opportunities to put AUKUS on the strongest possible footing,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement yesterday. “This review is intended to inform the President and our allies as we move forward with the historic and ambitious AUKUS agenda.”
Australia’s defense industry minister, Pat Conroy, said he was pleased the review confirmed that the AUKUS deal was moving “full steam ahead,” as Trump said in October during a visit to Washington by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “We’ll engage constructively with its findings and its recommendations on how to improve AUKUS even further,” Conroy said.
4h ago / 11:36 AM EST
Sen. Bill Cassidy says CDC advisory panel decision on hep B vaccine ‘is a mistake’
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement this morning that the decision by the CDC advisory panel to reverse its hepatitis B vaccination recommendation for newborns “is a mistake.”
Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and had expressed concerns over the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as health and human services secretary before deciding to vote for his confirmation. Kennedy replaced members of the CDC panel with known anti-vaccine activists.
“As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate,” Cassidy said.
He said before the birth dose of the hepatitis vaccine was recommended, “20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B. Now, it’s fewer than 20.”
“Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker,” Cassidy continued. “Acting CDC Director O’Neill should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.”
4h ago / 11:30 AM EST
Appeals court rules Trump can fire members of National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board
In a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that Trump has the power to fire members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board.
The court wrote in its opinion that under a 1935 ruling, “Congress may restrict the President’s ability to remove principal officers who wield only quasi legislative or quasi-judicial powers.”
But, it wrote, a 2020 ruling said, “Congress may not restrict the President’s ability to remove principal officers who wield substantial executive power. As explained below, the NLRB and MSPB wield substantial powers that are both executive in nature and different from the powers that Humphrey’s Executor deemed to be merely quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial. So, Congress cannot restrict the President’s ability to remove NLRB or MSPB members.”
In a dissent, Biden appointee Judge Florence Pan wrote, “My colleagues’ substantial acceptance of the government’s maximalist theory of executive power brings us closer to autocracy, harms our nation, and violates the separation of powers. I respectfully dissent.”
Amid the Trump administration’s efforts earlier this year to dismantle large swaths of the federal government, Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox, who served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which handles cases brought by federal employees about personnel decisions.
In May, the Supreme Court permitted the administration’s request to fire the members of the independent agencies.
5h ago / 10:45 AM EST
CDC advisory panel rolls back universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel rolled back a decadeslong recommendation that all newborns get a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
The panel, formally known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — whose members Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired in June and replaced with a group that has largely expressed skepticism of vaccines — recommended that women who test negative for hepatitis B can decide in consultation with a health care provider whether their baby should get the birth dose. The group suggested waiting until at least 2 months of age for the first dose if the vaccine is not given at birth.
6h ago / 9:52 AM EST
CDC advisory panel expected to vote on hepatitis B vaccine for newborns
The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel is expected to decide today whether all newborns should routinely get hepatitis B vaccines.
The vote was delayed after a chaotic meeting yesterday when members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — whose members Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired in June and replaced with a group that has largely expressed skepticism of vaccines — debated the voting language. The vote on the hepatitis B vaccine had already been pushed back after a September meeting.
7h ago / 9:16 AM EST
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he believed 2020 election conspiracy theories
The man charged with planting two pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican party headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol told the FBI he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the matter.
7h ago / 8:50 AM EST
Indiana House to vote on redistricting today
The Indiana House of Representatives is expected to vote on the partisan redistricting bill boosted by Trump this morning. If passed, the state Senate is expected to take the bill up next week.
7h ago / 8:50 AM EST
How Trump’s immigration policies could affect the World Cup
Trump will take part in the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw at the Kennedy Center today at noon in Washington. The event is shaping up to be quite Trump-tailored, from musical selections to a new “FIFA Peace Prize” that is expected to be awarded to him by FIFA President and close ally Gianni Infantino.
The question of whether the Trump administration’s immigration policies could affect players and those who want to attend matches looms large. The White House has placed travel restrictions on 19 countries, including Iran and Haiti, which have already qualified. Their fans could be subject to the ban if it remains in effect, and the administration has indicated it may expand to include even more countries.
The State Department says it is working closely with people outside the U.S. who have already bought tickets, launching a system known as “FIFA PASS” meant to expedite wait times for visa appointments and interviews.
7h ago / 8:50 AM EST
FIFA’s World Cup draw in Washington features some Trumpian flair
The FIFA World Cup draw today will be viewed by millions around the globe, but the high-profile event appears to be tailored to one key player: Trump.
The celebrity-packed ceremony will determine which national teams are sorted into various groups for the 2026 men’s tournament, resulting in a schedule for most of the 48 countries that will participate. The final slots will be decided by playoff games in the spring.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada are making history as the first group of three nations to host the World Cup together. While the leaders of each host nation will attend, Friday’s draw will have some distinct Trump rally hallmarks.
