Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, an evening email that provides you with the most recent coverage and commentary from the campaign trail, Capitol Hill, and the White House by the NBC News Politics team.
Following President Donald Trump’s startling remarks about Gaza, Sahil Kapur and Yamiche Alcindor speak with members of the uncommitted movement in today’s program. Adam Edelman also delves into the ways that Republican lawmakers and governors are hurrying to support or even imitate Trump’s agenda at the state level.
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Wollner, Adam
‘Uncommitted’ leaders stand by 2024 strategy after Trump floats Gaza takeover
By Sahil Kapur and Yamiche Alcindor
Democrats are once again debating how the uncommitted movement contributed to their 2024 election loss in light of President Donald Trump’s proposal for a U.S. takeover of Gaza that would force Palestinians to leave.
When Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee, pro-Palestinian organizations refused to support either her or Joe Biden in protest of the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Though its persistent criticism signaled that people may send a message by voting for a third-party candidate or even by staying at home, its leaders did not support Trump or any other candidate.
Even if Trump’s record on the Middle East had been more antagonistic toward the Palestinian cause, Democrats are now reiterating their critique that the movement hurt their party’s ticket in the presidential election in the wake of Trump’s remarks that shocked Washington.
Following Trump’s comments, Layla Elabed, a co-chair of the undecided movement, expressed her sadness, anger, and fear for our communities.
While Trump visited Dearborn and flooded a dejected community with lies, Harris left a void by failing to visit Michigan families affected by U.S.-supplied bombs to help establish a proper structure for their trust, according to a statement from Elabed. Trump’s unlawful calls for racial genocide are appalling, but Democrats squandered their opportunity to convince Americans they were the superior choice, just like they did on so many other issues.
Some Democrats were offended by her remark. incredibly careless individuals that wish to avoid their responsibilities. In response, Clowns, a former Harris aide who was given anonymity to talk freely, stated.
Although the precise impact of the movement on the 2024 election outcome is impossible to determine, there are indications that it was successful in driving Democratic-leaning voters away from Harris. The city with the nation’s largest Arab American populationAfter supporting Biden by over 17,500 votes four years prior, Dearborn, Michigan, favored Trump by over 2,600 votes in November.
See more from Yamiche and Sahil.
Additional repercussions of Trump’s comments about Gaza:
-
Lawmakers from both parties
expressed concern about the plan
, with responses ranging from calling it problematic to deranged.
-
The proposal also provoked
shock and disbelief around the world
, with some wondering whether it s even practically possible, suggesting it might be more a diplomatic gambit or a distraction technique rather than an actual policy plan.
-
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
sought to offer some clarity
, saying that no commitment had been made to putting U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza and that taxpayer dollars would not be funding such an effort.
What to know from the Trump presidency today
Check out our new executive order tracker to keep informed and find out more about Donald Trump’s most recent unilateral actions before we get into today’s news.
The administration’s main statements are as follows:
-
Trump signed
an executive order
prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.
-
The administration plans to
expand the prison at Guantanamo Bay
so that immigrants can be held not only inside the facility, but also in tent camps surrounded by fencing that have not been completely built.
-
The CIA sent a list of all recently hired employees
in an unclassified email
to comply with the president s executive order to reduce the federal workforce. So-called buyout offers have now also been extended to employees of the CIA and the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
.
-
Defense Department officials are developing plans to
withdraw all U.S. troops
from Syria.
-
The U.S. Agency for International Development announced that almost all direct hires around the world will be
placed on administrative leave
this week.
-
USAID employees and contractors are
discussing potential lawsuits
targeting the attack on the agency.
-
The administration is
moving to exert more control
over the federal government s technology, turning the people who oversee that infrastructure into political appointees it can hire and fire at will.
-
The U.S. Postal Service
agreed to resume
accepting shipments from China, less than 12 hours after announcing it would stop doing so.
Keep up with real-time updates
State Republicans rush to align themselves with Trump s agenda
By Adam Edelman
Republicans at the state level are trying to emulate Donald Trump’s rapid transformation of Washington by racing to openly support or imitate some of the most notable acts the president has made since taking office.
Immigration: Republican governors and state legislators have been working to pass legislation in recent weeks that would aid Trump’s ambitions for mass deportations; several of these bills are named after or make specific mention of the president.
One such law is the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act in Florida, for example.
At least eleven states’ elected leaders have also tried to establish their own versions of the Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseen by Elon Musk.
The most recent instance occurred in Oklahoma this week when Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order establishing a Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE-OK) within the state’s information technology and human resources agency.
According to Stitt, the objective is to concentrate on reducing unnecessary government expenditure, enhancing productivity, and making sure that tax money are being spent wisely by all state governments. According to his office, a top DOGE advisor—an unpaid role that answers directly to the governor—will head the division.
In summary, the actions, which are mostly concentrated in red areas, show that the GOP is fully supporting Trump at the start of his second term and that party elected officials want to be perceived as being devoted to him.
Read more from Adam.
Today s other top stories
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Checks and balances:
Elon Musk has received quiet White House reminders in recent days that while he has wide, nearly unprecedented latitude to slash spending and reorient the federal government, his power is not unchecked.Read more
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Bad bromance:
The relationship between Trump and Vladimir Putin has noticeably fizzled in the new term, though Trump has yet to reveal the extent to which he ll pressure Russia to end its grinding war with Ukraine.Read more
-
Freeze fallout:
Dozens of Head Start programs, which provide childcare and preschool education to low-income children, have been unable to access previously approved federal funding, putting some programs at risk of having to close their doors in the coming days.Read more
-
New gig:
Lara Trump, the president s daughter-in-law who co-chaired the Republican National Committee, will now host a weekend show on Fox News.Read more
For now, that’s all from the Politics Desk. Adam Wollner put together today’s newsletter.
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