President Trump's political operation is profiting from his flurry of executive orders by hawking gear such as "Make Greenland Great Again," "Gulf of America" and "DOGE" T-shirts, along with the black "dark MAGA" caps worn by Elon Musk.
Why it matters: Trump's team is capitalizing on his loyalists' support for his early moves to help build a $500 million war chest, which will be used to promote his agenda, back favored midterm candidates and potentially help Trump engage in politics for years to come.
Zoom in: Trump's operation has been cashing in on MAGA-themed merchandise since his 2016 campaign. But this fundraising effort is the latest reminder that for Trump, the campaign never ends.
The black "Make America Great Again" caps that Musk frequently wears have become the Trump team's second-best selling item ever — behind only the red and white MAGA hat, according to a person with direct knowledge of the sales.
Trump's team has sold $1.6 million worth of black MAGA caps since the election, nearly twice as much as its red counterpart. Musk and his DOGE team are under fire for pushing huge cuts in the federal workforce, but the hats keep selling in Trump's world.
The caps, which retail for $40, were first sold during the 2024 campaign. Sales took off after Musk wore one at an October rally and declared himself "dark MAGA." Trump's team also sells matching T-shirts and sweatshirts; sales of the T-shirts raised $1.25 million for Trump's 2024 campaign.
Musk wore a gothic-font version of the black cap at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week. Those have drawn $400,000 in sales since the election.
Newer items being sold by Trump's operation include "DOGE"-themed shirts, with an image of Trump, Musk and the "DOGE dog." They've raked in $111,000 since the election, according to a source familiar with the sales totals.
Recently issued "Gulf of America" T-shirts also appear to be a hit. They've raked in $24,000 in the past month.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also is tapping into the pro-Trump merch effort.
The House GOP's campaign arm is selling its own "Gulf of America" T-shirt, complete with an image of an eagle (which has a Trumpian swoop of hair) sipping a beer on a beach chair.
"Greetings from the Gulf of America," reads the shirt, which sells for $35.
The big picture: Trump's operation has long been adept at tapping into issues that fire up his base and annoy liberals, and turning them into merch his fans can't get enough of.
His 2020 campaign sold Trump-themed plastic straws as an alternative to more eco-friendly paper straws. The item sold out within hours.
"These items are based on top-story news, and the Trump operation excels at quickly releasing this merch to hook into the news cycle," said Tim Cameron, a Republican digital strategist.
Between the lines: Launchpad Strategies, a Republican digital firm co-founded by Trump campaign aide Sean Dollman, has had a key role in producing Trump merchandise.
Trump lieutenants say that when an aide comes up with an idea, they pass it around to fellow staffers for input. If there's agreement, it's sent for production.
Ideas become gear quickly, often within a few days. After then-President Biden appeared to refer to Trump supporters as "garbage" during the 2024 campaign, Trump campaign aides rushed out T-shirts that said "garbage" on the front.
The merchandise is advertised to Trump supporters on Facebook and X, and through the operation's email list.
When a supporter buys a cap, shirt or coffee mug, they're allowing Trump's operation to capture their data — so they can be hit up for donations later.
What's next: Trump aides say they're still determining what the next piece of Trump gear will be.
"We're going to go after whatever POTUS does next," one adviser said.
President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is the congenial dealmaker for the very brash dealmaker-in-chief.
Witkoff has an expanding portfolio that now includes Trump's biggest geopolitical challenge — negotiating a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine as part of a controversial reset of U.S. foreign policy.
Why it matters: Trump's cage-rattling agenda — which has shocked European allies — is a keystone of his second term. He'll rely heavily on Witkoff, a billionaire real estate investor and friend for 40 years, to make it happen.
Zoom in: Associates describe Witkoff, 67, as something of a velvet glove when it comes to negotiating — smooth and to the point.
Witkoff helped persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to release U.S. teacher Marc Fogel on Monday, after talks in Moscow.
Witkoff played a key role in getting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire-and-hostages deal with Hamas last month.
He's also Trump's point man for talks the president wants to have with Iran to try to reach a new nuclear deal later this year, U.S. officials say.
Trump aides emphasize that Witkoff shouldn't be seen as overshadowing Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Witkoff was instrumental in advising Trump to pick Rubio, Vice President Vance and White House national security adviser Mike Waltz for their positions.
They've all worked with Witkoff on the Middle East. But a senior Arab official said it's clear to everyone in the region that Witkoff is Trump's ultimate representative — and that if you want to cut a deal, you do it with him.
Between the lines: Witkoff's negotiating tactics are rooted in his experience as a New York real estate mogul, according to those who know him.
They say Witkoff knows when to employ charm, which he prefers, and when to apply pressure that can channel Trump's intimidating demeanor.
"The president sees Steve as one of the world's great dealmakers," said one White House official. "Game respects game."
"He's very respectful and direct," said one official who's seen Witkoff work. "He doesn't apologize for the president or undercut him. You never hear him say: 'Oh, I agree with you and disagree with Trump.'"
"He has all the good of Trump but he does not need the limelight," the official said. "He does not need to fly like Icarus, too close to the sun."
Israeli officials who worked with Witkoff on the Gaza ceasefire deal described him as energetic and informal. Witkoff even came to some negotiation sessions in Doha wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt and sneakers.
Witkoff's energy "was a key factor that led to the deal," an Israeli official said.
Witkoff favors swift, direct and to-the-point talks.
"He wants to talk to people that are empowered to close a deal, and not waste his time on talking to people that need to go back to their boss every two minutes to get approval," a source close to Witkoff said.
Reality check: Israeli and Arab officials told Axios that Witkoff still needs to become more knowledgeable about the Middle East — the different players and the historical and emotional sensitivities that underpin conflicts there.
Concerns about the U.S. trying to impose a shortsighted policy in Gaza have heightened amid Trump's call for Palestinians to be removed from war-torn Gaza and relocated permanently to Jordan and Egypt — a plan few see as remotely workable.
Trump's team faces a significant challenge in talks with Putin over Ukraine. During his invasions of Ukrainian lands in the past decade, Putin has shown no willingness to compromise.
But much to the consternation of America's European allies, Trump's administration has indicated the U.S. is willing to allow Russia to keep some of the territory it has gained.
Flashback: Witkoff was a behind-the-scenes negotiator and fixer during Trump's 2024 campaign.
He organized a bury-the-hatchet meeting between Trump and his bitter GOP primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
After Trump savaged popular Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for rejecting Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen, it was Witkoff who met with Kemp to smooth things over.
Witkoff flew to Kiawah Island, S.C., for a secret meeting with another primary rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Witkoff was in the room when Trump had his reconciliation meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago last July. He was also present when Trump met the Emirati and Qatari leaders in September.
The Trump-Witkoff relationship dates to the mid-1980s, when Trump was a rising New York builder and Witkoff was a real estate lawyer.
The two became golf buddies and dinner companions. Trump came to appreciate that, unlike others in Trumpworld, Witkoff wasn't seeking fame.
And unlike many other longtime friends of Trump's, Witkoff didn't ditch him after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. That resonated with Trump.
"Steve has stayed loyal and asked for nothing," an administration official said.
Trump often used Witkoff's Gulfstream G6 jet during the campaign, including when the Secret Service feared that Trump's jet would be targeted by Iranian assassins. Vance took a secret flight on Witkoff's plane to meet with Trump just before his selection as the VP nominee.
Witkoff also flew to Israel and Qatar for the negotiations that produced the Gaza deal. He gave Joe Biden's Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, a ride back to Washington after they sealed the deal.
Last week, Witkoff's jet flew to Russia to bring back Fogel, who'd been held there since 2021 for carrying a small amount of marijuana into the country.
President Donald Trump is expected to pardon former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Blagojevich served eight years in prison on charges stemming from his effort to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat after Obama won the 2008 presidential election, until Trump commuted his 14-year sentence in 2020.
Why it matters: Trump and Blagojevich have a relationship dating back to 2010, when the former governor appeared on the Trump-hosted "Celebrity Apprentice" after being impeached and removed from office.
Blagojevich, who was a Democrat while in office, supported Trump in the 2024 election and attended the Republican National Convention.
The former governor defended Trump after Trump was indicted in the New York hush money case and likened Trump's legal problems to his own.
"I love Trump more today than ever!" Blagojevich said on social media at the time. "When you've lived through it yourself you recognize when they do it to someone else."
Iran's threat to assassinate Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign was far more serious than publicly known — and led to extraordinary precautions by his team that included using a decoy plane to avert a feared attempt on his life.
Iran clearly is still on Trump's mind: Last week, he said he'd given his team instructions to "obliterate" Iran if its operatives were to kill him.
He later tempered that remark by saying he wanted a "verified nuclear peace agreement" with Iran, which has targeted Trump since 2020, when as president he ordered an airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military leader.
Zoom in: For the book, which is set for release March 18, I was given extensive access to Trump's inner circle during his campaign.
Law enforcement officials warned Trump last year that Tehran had placed operatives in the U.S. with access to surface-to-air missiles.
Trump's team worried that the Iranians could try to down his easily recognizable personal jet — better known as "Trump Force One" — as it was taking off or landing.
The concern intensified after a foiled assassination attempt of Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15.
Iran hasn't been linked to that incident or the shooting in Pennsylvania two months earlier, in which a bullet nicked Trump in the ear.
But at one point soon after the Florida incident, Trump's security detail was concerned enough about the Iran threat that it had Trump travel to an event on a decoy plan owned by Steve Witkoff. He's a Trump friend and real estate executive who's now Trump's envoy to the Middle East.
Much of Trump's staff traveled on Trump Force One that day — infuriating some aides who worried they'd be "collateral damage" if the jet were shot down.
Co-campaign managers Susie Wiles — now White House chief of staff — and Chris LaCivita decided to split up. Wilestraveled on Witkoff's plane with Trump while LaCivita joined staffers on Trump Force One.
Many aides on Trump's jet didn't learn about the hush-hush plan until just before takeoff, when they realized Trump's window seat was empty.
"The boss ain't riding with us today," LaCivita told the group. "We had to put him into another plane. This is nothing but a sort of test for how things may happen in the future."
Campaign leaders tried to assure Trump aides they weren't being used as bait. But if Iranian operatives had access to surface-to-air missiles, several aides wondered, why were they put on board?
The flight was a surreal experience, with "gallows humor galore," three aides later told me. "This was some serious sh*t," they said those onboard realized.
Within the campaign, the ride on Trump's jet that day would become known as the "Ghost Flight."
The Secret Service also organized a decoy motorcade that day, with Trump in one and staffers in another.
There were other scares for Trump's campaign.
The Secret Service warned campaign leaders after a Sept. 18 rally on Long Island, N.Y., that they had intelligence that someone might be looking to shoot up his motorcade.
"Don't f**king hang out the window and take photos, because you're a f**king target," LaCivita darkly joked to Trump social media guru Dan Scavino. Wiles reclined her seat back.
During a trip to Pennsylvania the next week, Secret Service agents noticed a drone following Trump's motorcade. Officers in one of the cars opened up the moonroof and shot it with an electromagnetic gun, disabling it.
Campaign insiders told me that Trump was more worried about the Iran threat than he publicly let on.
Trump often had boasted at rallies about his killing of Soleimani.But as the Iranian threat intensified, staffers noticed that he talked about it less.And privately, he began expressing more concern about the staging of his events.
He also worried voters would get "assassination fatigue." Would Americans, he wondered, want to go through four years of their president being under threat?
It's not just wild 5 a.m. tweets from Donald Trump anymore.
Three weeks into his second term, Trump's White House is pumping out personal insults to his political enemies, provocative videos and flame-throwing social media attacks like no administration before it.
Why it matters: During Trump's first term, he was something of a lone wolf on Twitter. But in Trump 2.0, it's like the 2024 campaign never ended: An entire team is his avatar — a smash-mouth, 24-7 PR operation that seems bent on juicing political divisions.
Zoom in: Much of Trump's offensive plays out through a "Rapid Response 47" account the White House has set up on X, which according to its bio is focused on "supporting POTUS's America First agenda and holding the Fake News accountable."
On Jan. 31, the Rapid Response account posted a message portraying House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as violent for promising that Democrats will "fight" Trump's agenda "legislatively… in the courts, and … in the streets."
Thursday afternoon, the feed posted a sarcastic response to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who had posted about pulling an all-nighter on the Senate floor in protest of Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought.
"Stunning and brave," Trump's team wrote.
A day earlier, the account had derided Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as "the weirdest man in Washington, D.C."
Between the lines: White House staffers also are using their personal government accounts on X to bash Trump opponents, sometimes in personal ways. Those posts often are amplified on the White House account.
White House communications director Steven Cheung on Wednesday said of Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett: "Jasmine Crock-o–Sh*t wants men to play in women's sports." That was after Crockett criticized Trump for signing an executive order banning transgender women from participating in women's sports.
Cheung called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a "cuck" after Walz had described influential Trump adviser Elon Musk a "terrible president."
And Cheung labeled Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono "one of the most unserious goofballs in Congress" after she criticized new Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Alex Pfeiffer, another White House communications official, on Friday called Democratic Rep. Darren Soto not "too bright" after Soto called the January jobs report "WEAK" under Trump, who took office Jan. 20.
The White House digital team, meanwhile, has been pushing out videos that are designed to trigger liberals and go viral on conservative media.
The team's latest production, released Friday, was actually milder than most: A video celebrating Trump's executive order targeting transgender women.
It features girls, young women and mothers talking about the importance of protecting girls and women in sports. "I think it's not fair that boys are running against girls," a girl says in the 90-second video, which the White House released on Friday.
Last week, the team released a video featuring mothers whose children's deaths were linked to undocumented immigrants, criticizing singer Selena Gomez for an Instagram post in which she grew emotional over Trump's deportations plan.
The big picture: Past administrations used official government social media accounts and surrogates to spread their messages, typically in the official-speak of Washington.
That's not the formula with this White House, which is stocked with former campaign advisers who say the political, media and social media environment has changed.
"There's no point not engaging like this. There's a nonstop war against us," a senior White House official involved with the messaging told Axios.
"Are we supposed to take it and just leave it up to the press briefing to get our message out? That doesn't make sense."
The other side: Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson under President Biden, said the White House's strategy is more deflection than swagger.
It's a tell that they know they're on defense when it comes to voters' top priority: Trump's now-broken, #1 campaign promise of lowering costs on 'Day 1,' " Bates said.
"... The press team is clearly feeling the heat as they try to obscure those failures."
White House officials say theirbrass-knuckle approach reaches more people than duller, more traditional White House messaging of the past.
One White House official said posts on the new Rapid Response team's X account already have generated more than 60 million views.
The White House outlined its tax priorities in a meeting with House GOP leaders on Thursday — a list that includes campaign promises like ending taxes on tips and Social Security benefits, a White House official tells Axios.
Why it matters: President Trump promised that tax cuts would be a centerpiece of his agenda, but the wishlist presented Thursday also includes the closure of some loopholes typically used by the wealthy.
The priorities: Administration officials informed the Republican leaders that they were stressing Trump's "no tax on tips" proposal as well as ending taxes on Social Security benefits and on overtime pay.
Trump is also pushing to renew his 2017 tax cut bill, adjust the SALT cap and to implement tax cuts for goods made in the U.S.
The wealthy could take a hit under some of the proposals. Trump is advocating to eliminate special tax breaks for sports team owners and to close the carried interest tax deduction.
The so-called "carried interest loophole" allows partners of investment funds to pay a lower tax rate on a portion of their profits. Trump also wanted to close it in 2017 but the idea was not included in the final bill.
The attendance list: The meeting was attended by Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, among others.
"This can't go on like this," President Trump said as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat in the Oval Office on Tuesday, discussing Gaza's rebuild from the rubble.
"Here's what I want to do...," Trump said, according to two officials briefed on the meeting, which included Cabinet members and Trump senior advisers.
Trump then laid out a plan far more ambitious than what he and his aides had discussed earlier in the day: "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip ... we will develop it."
Driving the news: Trump's earthquake of an announcement — an "audible," staffers called it — continued to ripple around the world Wednesday, drawing some praise but a lot of backlash, namely about its legality and logistics.
The White House has cast Trump's takeover plan as an idea worth discussing, but it has walked back one highly controversial part of Trump's plan by saying Palestinians would be relocated from Gaza only temporarily, not permanently as he indicated.
Zoom in: His shocking idea for Gaza was a reminder of Trump's go-big style of management that prizes headline-grabbing news. He calls audibles, staffers say, and they react.
The Gaza episode also has shown how unencumbered Trump feels in making unilateral, potentially world-changing foreign policy decisions, even if they conflict with his longstanding views against foreign entanglements and nation-building.
Trump aides and advisers say his string of recent foreign policy wins, GOP control of Congress, his new Cabinet and his trusted White House staff have emboldened him into believing he can do what others say is impossible.
But Trump's plan was particularly far-fetched — especially his suggestion that nearly 2 million Palestinians could be permanently relocated while Gaza was rebuilt.
To many that seemed more like a Trump negotiation tactic for reshaping the Middle East than a serious plan.
To critics, it sounded like an endorsement of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
It's a huge issue for Netanyahu, Iran's biggest regional foe.
The war in Gaza and the possibility of moving Palestinians from Gaza was supposed to be on the agenda of their meeting, but the notes prepared for Trump that morning said that such a move, if it happened, would be "temporary."
But Trump wanted something bigger, bolder, more surprising. That's why he decided to say Palestinians should be "permanently" removed from Gaza for the rebuilding and that the U.S. should take over the enclave to develop it, a source familiar with the process told Axios.
That huge shift reflected Trump's thinking and private discussions he'd been having about Gaza for more than two months, sources tell Axios.
Trump's idea was influenced by the findings of his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who had just returned from the region. Witkoff, a Florida-based developer, was shocked by the devastation from Israel's bombing campaign in retaliation for Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks.
"I've never seen anything like it," Witkoff told Trump, according to an aide who heard his remarks. "It's going to take 10 or 15 years, at least, to rebuild."
Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, as Trump and Netanyahu sat in facing wing chairs in the Oval Office with reporters present and cameras rolling, Trump echoed Witkoff's remarks: "Gaza maybe is a demolition site right now," he said, pivoting to the idea of permanent relocation.
"If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people permanently in nice homes and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed, not be knifed to death, like what's happening in Gaza," Trump said, then people would move.
Trump's remarks surprised the press corps and roiled social media. But he wasn't done.
About 10 minutes later, the press filed out of the room. Trump and his team were supposed to have a private bilateral meeting with Netanyahu and his team in the Cabinet room, but the president said they should remain in the Oval Office.
Joining Trump and Netanyahu were senior advisers of both as well as Witkoff, Vice President Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Marco Rubio joined via phone from Guatemala, where he was on his first trip as Trump's secretary of state.
With Netanyahu were his confidant Ron Dermer, his national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter and military adviser Gen. Roman Gofman.
"POTUS wanted action," said a senior administration official briefed on the meeting. "And he talked doing something bold, something that's completely 180 degrees from what's been done to get back to some semblance of normalcy, or whatever passes for normalcy."
Trump mentioned his idea of the U.S. interceding in Gaza and taking a "leadership" role, the official said, and no one objected.
An Israeli official briefed on the meeting said Trump devoted most of the time to his vision for Gaza. Trump emphasized to Netanyahu that Egypt and Jordan eventually would agree to accept Palestinians in their territory, but didn't clarify why he believed that.
"Trump didn't tell Bibi where this idea came from, but said in the meeting he would include it in his statement at the press conference, and that's what happened," an Israeli official said.
Trump finished the meeting by jotting down his ideas on paper. They were then added to his prepared remarks that he gave about two hours later in the press conference with Netanyahu.
The big picture: In contrast to his first administration, when Trump aides and advisers would leak details of decisions they disagreed with, Trump's new White House crew is all in.
"Anyone who thinks we can keep doing what we've been doing in the Middle East and getting a different result is smoking from a crack pipe," one White House adviser said.
"The president has been talking about this relocation and rebuilding issue for weeks, if not longer, with [Persian] Gulf leaders," another White House aide said. "This really intensified after Steve Witkoff returned from his trip."
Between the lines: Those high-level conversations Trump and Witkoff have had with Gulf leaders have led them to believe there's an increasing appetite to settle the conflict in the Middle East and participate in a peace plan.
Central to the Trump team's thinking is Saudi Vision 2030, a rebranding and restructuring of the kingdom economically, socially and culturally. It's the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Reality check: But officials from several Gulf states said neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates would be ready to pay for, or take part in, a reconstruction effort in Gaza that would include displacement of Palestinians. They're very concerned such a move could destabilize Egypt and Jordan.
"This plan is neither practical or politically viable for any Arab country," one Arab official said.
Jordan's king and Egypt's president will be in Washington in the next two weeks to meet with Trump and discuss his plan.
Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that besides not committing U.S. troops to Gaza's rebuild, Trump hasn't planned on U.S. taxpayers' money being used for it. She said Trump is looking to make a deal on Gaza with countries in the region.
"The whole region needs to come up with their own solutions if they don't like Trump's solution," Waltz told CBS.
Rubio said Wednesday Trump's plan wasn't meant as a hostile move, but was one people need to think about.
"Trump is a builder. He knows how to rebuild. He's a leader. And he's the ultimate negotiator," a senior adviser said. "Everything is a negotiation.What he wants is a negotiation for peace. So everything is on the table."
President Trump and his allies —including the online right, Vice President Vance and Sen. Tom Cotton — are mobilizing to try to boost Tulsi Gabbard's nomination as director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: The MAGA machine that helped Pete Hegseth narrowly win confirmation as defense secretary last week is now focused on Gabbard. Trump's team believes she faces the most headwinds of any of his current Cabinet nominees.
"We feel OK about Tulsi's chances," one senior White House official told Axios. "But we want to feel better."
State of play: Trump plans to start making calls to Republican senators on the Intelligence Committee, where Gabbard faced tough questions Thursday about her past views questioning surveillance tactics and defending Edward Snowden.
Losing just one GOP vote on the committee — which includes nine Republicans and eight Democrats — could sink her confirmation.
Gabbard refused to call Snowden a "traitor" for leaking secret intelligence documentsbeforeending up inRussia. That appeared to bother Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), whom Trump's team is most worried about.
But Gabbard seemed to please another swing-vote Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, by saying she wouldn't ask Trump to pardon Snowden. Collins' reaction was a relief to Trump's team because of her penchant for bucking the president more than mostother GOP senators.
If that sounded like a deal in the making, Trump's team wasn't ruling it out.
"The president isn't really talking about pardoning Snowden, but if that's a guarantee they want to get Tulsi confirmed, the president will have those conversations," the White House adviser said.
Catch up quick: Trump has been in a feud with the U.S. intelligence community since his first administration. He sees Gabbard — a former Democratic House member from Hawaii with similar disdain for the so-called "Deep State" — as a disruptor and change agent.
Trump's Day 1 executive order, "Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government" specifically calls on the director of national intelligence to "review the activities of the intelligence community over the last 4 years and identify any instances" of political prosecutions and investigations.
Zoom in: Vance and his team worked closely with Gabbard on her presentation to the committee. And Vance, a former Ohio senator, has been Trump's go-to representative to the Senate for all of his prominent nominees.
Cotton, the Arkansas senator who chairs the intelligence panel, committed to getting Gabbard the votes she needed. The two are friends from their days serving in the House.
The Senate Republican Conference, also led by Cotton, has turned its X page into a pro-Gabbard "war room," an operative involved in the process noted.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said it's unlikely Gabbard would get a full vote by the Senate if she doesn't win a majority of the votes on the Intelligence Committee.
Zoom in: Many MAGAdiehards outside of the administration also are pushing for Gabbard because they see her — and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's Health and Human Services nominee and another former Democrat — asrepresenting how Trump is growing his coalition beyond the GOP.
Gabbard and Kennedy were dubbed "Blue MAGA" in Trump world because of the key roles they played on the campaign trail, touring the country on Trump's behalf.
Donald Trump Jr. also has been involved in touting the pair. He told Axios in a written statement that both are "highly qualified" and are "also vital to the GOP's new governing coalition."
"Unfortunately, there are still a few establishment Republicans in the Beltway who don't seem to get that," he said. "I think they are severely underestimating the backlash that would occur from our voters if either of them were blocked from being confirmed."
Tucker Carlson, Judicial Watch's Tom Fitton, Turning Point Action's Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon with his "War Room" also pushing Gabbard on podcasts and social media.
"We are 100% serious," Turning Point Action spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a statement. "GOP senators in red states will open themselves up to well-funded, well-organized primary challenges if they stand in the way of confirming the Cabinet the president wants and the American people voted for."
A new White House video features mothers whose children's deaths were linked to undocumented immigrants rebuking actress Selena Gomez for her Instagram post in which she cried over President Trump's plans for mass deportations.
Why it matters: The video is the latest sign that Trump's new administration will use campaign-like tactics — and the power of social media — to talk tough on immigration and other divisive issues it sees as political winners.
"You don't know who you're crying for," Tammy Nobles, an "Angel Mom" whose daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was killed in July 2022 by a gang member, says in the video, addressing Gomez.
"What about our children who were brutally murdered and raped and beat to death and left on the floor by these illegal immigrants?"
Catch up quick: Gomez, the granddaughter of undocumented immigrants, posted her video to her 422 million followers Monday, bemoaning the Trump-ordered raids on unauthorized immigrants.
"All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don't understand," she said in the post, which was quickly deleted — but not before becoming a viral sensation.
"I'm so sorry, I wish I could do something but I can't. I don't know what to do. I'll try everything, I promise."
Trump critics and others — including rapper Flavor Flav and Geraldo Rivera — defended Gomez. But she drew scorn across conservative social media and from figures such as Trump border czar Tom Homan and pro-Trump influencer Charlie Kirk.
Zoom in: The White House's new video features Nobles and two other "Angel Moms," who became centerpieces of Trump's 2024 campaign. The women are shown reacting to Gomez's video with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"It's hard to believe that it's actually genuine and real because she's an actress," Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was killed in June 2024, says in the video.
"I just feel like it's a ruse to deceive people and to garner sympathy for lawlessness," says Patty Morin, whose daughter, Rachel, was killed in August 2023.
Zoom out: Trump has made targeting illegal immigration a central part of his platform since he launched his first campaign for president in 2015.
Less than two weeks into his second term, he's ordered immigration raids across the country as part of a plan to deport "millions" of undocumented immigrants, vowed to use the military to help boost border security and carry out deportations, and announced plans to detain 30,000 immigrants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Monday, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement announced it had arrested more than 3,500 unauthorized immigrants during Trump's first week in office.
President Trump ordered a review of all federal aviation hiring and safety decisions in response to Wednesday night's deadly air collision near Washington.
Why it matters: The order shows Trump is doubling down on his claim, without evidence, that DEI policies were a factor in the crash. His memo explicitly mentions "diversity equity and inclusion," and reflects how anti-DEI efforts are a centerpiece of his second administration's policy.
It's also the latest example of Trump trying to blame the Biden administration and Democrats on issues that arise during his term.
Zoom in: Trump signed the new memo today, according to a person familiar with the matter. It directs the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the FAA administrator to:
"Review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior four years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards."
"This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration."
Reality check: It's unclear what caused Wednesday night's crash involving American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Blackhawk military helicopter. The investigation into the collision is just beginning.
Trump's memo alleges that Biden's administration "egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all agencies to implement dangerous 'diversity equity and inclusion' tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with 'severe intellectual' disabilities in the FAA."
The "disabilities" language that Trump now opposes was in FAA regulations during his entire first term and first appeared around 2013, according to the fact-checking website Snopes.
Democrats on Thursday pointed fingers at Trump and criticized him for suggesting DEI played a role.
Catch up quick: Trump issued a blizzard of executive actions and orders in his first week in office, including the "Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation" action, which his new memo largely repeats.
Trump dismantled DEI hiring in the federal workforce in a Day 1 order.
Trump's administration established an email reporting site to root out DEI programs.
Trump placed DEI staffers on paid leave on his third day in office.
