Netanyahu to push Trump on Iran missiles in White House talks
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will press Donald Trump on Wednesday to adopt a tougher position in nuclear negotiations with Iran, after hastily traveling to Washington to reinforce the US president’s determination, AFP reported.
On the eve of the quickly arranged White House meeting—scheduled to begin at 11am—Trump stated he was considering dispatching a second US “armada” to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into reaching a nuclear agreement.
Netanyahu, on his sixth visit to the United States since Trump assumed office, will also urge the US leader to take a firmer stance on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, cautioned on Monday about “destructive influences” on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier’s visit.
On Wednesday, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian declared that his country would “not yield to excessive demands” regarding its nuclear program, though he affirmed that Iran is not pursuing an atomic weapon.
Netanyahu had been expected to visit Washington for a 19 February meeting of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Middle East policy, but reportedly advanced his visit as US-Iran talks progressed.
Trump is also scheduled to meet with special envoy to the UK Mark Burnett later today, while attorney general Pam Bondi is set to face questions from lawmakers concerning the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Federal prosecutors reportedly attempted, but failed, to persuade a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday over a video they recorded urging service members in the military and intelligence community that they are not obliged to follow illegal orders.
Donald Trump’s sudden opposition to a new, publicly owned bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario occurred shortly after a Republican donor who owns a private, competing bridge met with Trump’s commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross.
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, and the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, have undertaken the challenging task of explaining to Trump that the reasons he cited for threatening to block the opening of the new bridge are entirely unfounded.
On the rightwing channel Real America’s Voice, Republican congressman from Missouri Mark Alford stated, “we are still investigating” the lyrics of a song performed in Spanish by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on Sunday.
As the US Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether Trump has the authority to impose tariffs on foreign imports under a self-declared economic emergency, the president confirmed in an interview that he sets tariff rates partly based on his personal views of foreign leaders.
Veronica Escobar, the US representative, questioned the federal government’s explanation for the El Paso airport closure.
A potential drone incursion from Mexico, as suggested by transportation secretary Sean Duffy, would not be unusual because “there have been drone incursions from Mexico going back to as long as drones existed,” Escobar said. She added that, to her knowledge, nothing occurring at Fort Bliss, a nearby military base, would have affected the El Paso airport and its operations.
“I believe the FAA owes the community and the country an explanation as to why this happened so suddenly and abruptly, and was lifted so suddenly and abruptly,”she said.
Following the closure announcement, rumors circulated widely regarding the unusual nature of the action. Escobar reported receiving numerous concerns from locals about their safety but reassured the public that there was no safety threat to the airport.
“I was getting outreach from people asking, do we need to leave the vicinity, what is happening, what is going on,”she said.
“And that has led to a number of conspiracy theories.”
El Paso airport closed to 'address cartel drone incursion', says transportation secretary Sean Duffy
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy stated the El Paso airport closure was to “address a cartel drone incursion.”
“The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,”Duffy said on social media.
“The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.”
Federal government did not notify me or other local officials about airport closure, says representative Veronica Escobar
Veronica Escobar, the Democratic US representative for the El Paso international airport and surrounding area, said in a press briefing this morning that the federal government had not informed her or any other local officials about the abrupt airport closure.
“What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the FAA did not notify anyone locally,”she said, including the airport itself, the city manager, or the mayor.
“So everyone locally on the ground was in the dark, and the impact, obviously, it is highly consequential.”
She noted the closure would impact not only commercial travel but also medical and emergency services and training activities at a nearby military base.
“I am saying unequivocally, this was an FAA decision, and it was done without any local consultation and without any local communication,”she said.
“That is not the way that the federal government should operate. Any impact of this magnitude needs to be communicated with clarity and with advance notice.”
Federal Aviation Administration says it will close airspace around El Paso airport for 10 days
The Federal Aviation Administration announced late Tuesday it would close the airspace around the international airport in El Paso, Texas, a major city on the US-Mexico border, for 10 days, surprising local officials and stranding travelers overnight. The agency cited “special security reasons.”
This morning, the FAA announced the closure had been lifted. No detailed explanation was provided for the original 10-day closure, and no further details were given by the FAA this morning.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,”the agency wrote on social media.
“There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
Closing an airport for 10 days, especially without weather or emergency reasons, is highly unusual. Lawmakers are expected to seek further information about the initial closure plans.
US jobs market added 130,000 jobs in January 2026, with unemployment rate of 4.3%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released an updated jobs report this morning after a delay caused by the previous government shutdown.
In January, the US jobs market added 130,000 jobs, an increase following some slower months but still below the number of jobs added in January 2025. The unemployment rate was 4.3% in January.
Although January’s numbers exceeded expectations, Tuesday’s report revised 2025 total new job numbers downward. Last year’s total new jobs were 181,000, down from an initial report of 584,000 jobs—the weakest year for job growth since the pandemic.
Labor reporter Michael Sainato noted:
On Tuesday, White House adviser Peter Navarro criticized high expectations for the monthly jobs number, claiming new jobs would be in the 50,000 range.
“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,”Navarro told Fox News.
“Job figures during the Biden administration were actually inflated because ‘we were letting in 2 million illegal aliens,’ but ‘all of the jobs that we were creating in Biden years were going to illegals,’”he said.
A new poll released this morning shows Americans’ views on immigration enforcement declining, signaling potential challenges for Republicans in the midterm elections.
An NBC News poll conducted online after the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti found about three in four people wanted some changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though the extent of changes supported varied.
Nearly 30% of Americans said ICE should be abolished outright, while the same percentage said it should continue in its current form. Forty-three percent said the agency should be reformed.
Among Minnesota respondents, across political ideologies, more than 60% disapproved of ICE’s performance, with 57% strongly disapproving. High numbers of independents and suburban voters also disapproved, a warning sign for Republicans who need those voters in November, the Star Tribune reported. Sixty-six percent said immigration agents’ tactics had gone too far. Forty-three percent wanted ICE reformed, and 26% wanted it abolished.
A Washington DC grand jury declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers who were criticized by Donald Trump after they produced a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders.
Federal prosecutors had sought an indictment against the Democrats involved in the video, including Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Chrissy Houlahan, all with military and intelligence backgrounds.
Slotkin, a former CIA officer, organized the video in which the lawmakers stated officers can resist unlawful commands. Trump condemned the clip as
“seditious behavior by traitors” that was “punishable by death.”
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth formally censured Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut and decorated navy captain, over the incident and sought to reduce his rank and pension. Kelly filed a lawsuit last month arguing the video was protected free speech and that the secretary’s actions were an
“unconstitutional crusade”against him.
Following the failed indictment, Kelly described it as an
“outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies.”
As Trump intensified his criticism of the European Union and NATO in recent weeks, senior State Department official Sarah B. Rogers publicly attacked policies on hate speech and immigration by US allies and promoted far-right parties abroad.
Rogers has become the public face of the Trump administration’s growing hostility toward European liberal democracies. Since assuming office in October, she has met with far-right European politicians, criticized prosecutions under longstanding hate speech laws, and praised sanctions against critics of hate speech and disinformation on US big tech platforms.
Rogers is undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, a top-10 State Department role created in 1999 to strengthen relationships between the US and foreign publics rather than foreign governments and diplomats.
However, Rogers appears focused on appealing to a particular segment of foreign public opinion.
Her recent posts on Twitter/X included characterizing migrants in Germany as
“barbarian rapist hordes,”commenting on Sweden in a way that linked sexual violence to immigration policy (
“If your government cared about ‘women’s safety,’ it would have a different migration policy”), and repeating the view that
“advocates of unlimited third world immigration have long controlled a disproportionate share of official knowledge production.”
sent Rogers a detailed request for comment on this reporting.
US jobs reported due out at 8.30am EST as White House looks to manage expectations
The highly anticipated US jobs report is due today, with the White House attempting to temper expectations.
Peter Navarro, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing to Donald Trump, spoke on Fox News last night.
“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like. When we were letting in 2 million illegal aliens a day we had to produce 200,000 [jobs] a month for steady stay.
Now 50,000 a month is going to be more like what we need. Wall Street, when this stuff comes out, they can’t rain on our parade, they just have to adjust for the fact that we’re deporting millions of illegals.”
When asked if the number would be weak, he retracted slightly but emphasized that investors should expect smaller numbers going forward.
This follows a warning from National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett on Monday:
“One shouldn’t panic,”he said.
“You should expect slightly smaller job numbers.”
The data release, delayed from last week, is expected to show the economy created 70,000 jobs in January, following 50,000 in December.
For more information, see our business live blog.
Bondi to face questions on Epstein files in House testimony
Attorney general Pam Bondi will testify before a House Judiciary Committee panel on Wednesday, where lawmakers are expected to question her about the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi’s testimony comes amid frustration from lawmakers, including some Republicans, regarding the volume of redactions and withheld material despite a federal law mandating the release of nearly all files.
The Justice Department released what it described as a final tranche of more than three million pages of documents late last month, renewing scrutiny of wealthy and powerful individuals who maintained ties with Epstein even after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
However, lawmakers have complained that the redactions exceed the limited exemptions allowed under a law passed nearly unanimously by Congress in November.
The department has also declined to publish a substantial amount of material, citing legal privileges.
