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February 5, 2026
Top Dems in Congress list ICE constraints they want in funding bill
(Nebraska Examiner) The top two Democrats in Congress on Wednesday outlined their proposal for restrictions on immigration enforcement, including body cameras and a ban on masks, though they had no details to share about when actual negotiations would begin. Lawmakers from both political parties have less than two weeks to find a solution before the stopgap law funding the Department of Homeland Security expires Feb. 13, which could force all of its components, including the Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency, into a shutdown.
Go to discussionSupreme Court Allow New California Voting Map For Midterms
(Bloomberg News) The US Supreme Court cleared California to use its new congressional map that favors Democrats during this year's midterm election, giving the party a pathway to neutralize anticipated Republican gains in the House due to new districts in Texas. The justices on Wednesday denied a request from the California Republican party and the US Department of Justice to prevent the state from using its new voter-approved map on the grounds that it was racially gerrymandered and therefore illegal.
Go to discussionRepublicans fear Trump backlash could cost them Senate control
(The Hill) Senate Republicans are concerned that a public backlash to President Trump’s handling of the economy and his aggressive deportation policies could give rise to a Democratic wave that not only sweeps away the House Republican majority, but also threatens their own three-seat majority. The latest alarm bell rang over the weekend when Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet won a state Senate seat in North Texas that President Trump won by 17 points in 2024, a stunning upset that GOP senators say should serve as a “wake-up call” heading into November.
Go to discussionElon Musk will have to sit for a deposition over what he did at DOGE, judge rules
(Business Insider) Elon Musk will have to sit for a deposition for lawyers to examine his role in dismantling USAID, a Maryland judge ruled. In an eight-page order released on Tuesday, US District Judge Theodore Chuang rejected a request from Musk and officials linked to the Department of Government Efficiency to forgo a deposition. It ordered him, along with former acting USAID director Peter Marocco and Department of State official Jeremy Lewin, to be deposed. Musk's legal team had tried to use the "apex doctrine" to avoid the deposition, a rule that allows high-ranking government officials to avoid depositions in some situations.
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Trump Gives Chilling Answer About Whether He’ll Accept Election Results
(Daily Beast) Donald Trump said he will only accept the GOP losing control of Congress in this November’s midterms if he considers the elections to have been “honest.” Speaking to NBC’s Tom Llamas, the 79-year-old president was pressed on whether he would trust the midterm results after his suggestion that Republicans should “nationalize” election races across the country.
Go to discussionICE agents mocked autistic woman for asking for wheelchair after dragging her out of car
(Raw Story) A woman who was recently released from custody by immigration agents described the horrifying way she was treated by President Donald Trump's immigration agents during a stop last month - one she said exacerbated disabilities - and the terrible conditions inside the Minneapolis-area ICE facility. Aliyah Rahman, an autistic South Minneapolis resident with a traumatic brain injury who needs a wheelchair for mobility, told lawmakers during a Congressional forum on Tuesday that she was stopped by ICE agents while on her way to a doctor's appointment.
Go to discussionSpanberger ends ICE agreement involving Virginia State Police and corrections officers
(Virginia Mercury) Gov. Abigail Spanberger has formally ended an agreement with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement that had allowed Virginia State Police troopers and Virginia Department of Corrections officers to assist ICE. The agreement — which stems from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration — had effectively placed state law enforcement under federal control and supervision to conduct civil immigration enforcement. Ending the agreements was a campaign promise of Spanberger’s last year when she said tasking state and local law enforcement to help with federal law enforcement was a “misuse of those resources.”
Go to discussionBitcoin sinks after Treasury Secretary Bessent says US government can't tell banks to bail out crypto
(Yahoo Finance) Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 2% on Wednesday to around $73,000 per token after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the US government would not bail out the cryptocurrency. In a heated back-and-forth during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Bessent was asked if the US Treasury had the authority to buy bitcoin or other cryptos. "I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of FSOC, I do not have that authority," Bessent stated.
Go to discussion'Can you shut him up?' House Democrats clash with Bessent in fiery hearing
(ABC News) House Democrats clashed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday during a fiery hearing on Capitol Hill that devolved into shouting matches and throwing sharp elbows. "Can you shut him up?" Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, at one point asked Chairman Rep. French Hill of Arkansas as Bessent repeatedly spoke over her question and ignored her repeated "reclaiming my time" declarations.
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