Morning Report — Trump eyes ‘long-term’ US ownership in Gaza

In today’s issue:  

• Trump floats “long-term ownership” of Gaza Strip
• Bondi confirmed as Trump Cabinet takes shape
• Senate GOP in the lead on budgeting
• Who takes the mantle for Democrats?

President Trump floated one of his most stunning proposals yet Tuesday night with the suggestion the U.S. “take over” the Gaza Strip and evict around 2.2 million Palestinians as the enclave is rebuilt. The idea sparked swift and broad pushback. 

At a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the U.S. should be responsible for clearing the territory of rubble and unexploded bombs and proposing an “economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

The president’s remarks — during which he called his plans for Gaza “the Riviera of the Middle East” — are some of his most extreme proposals regarding the future of the 141-square-mile territory where nearly 2 million Palestinians live and hope to be part of a future Palestinian state. 

Since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, and a vast majority of Gaza’s population has been internally displaced. Trump said the Palestinians who have lived in Gaza have “lived a miserable existence.” He suggested other countries invest millions of dollars to create “numerous sites or one large site” where Palestinians could relocate.

Netanyahu — who during the press conference called Trump “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House” — said that he was open to the idea.

“You say things others refuse to say and after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, ‘You know, he’s right,’” Netanyahu said. “President Trump is taking it to a much higher level. … He sees a different future for that piece of land. It’s worth paying attention to this. We’re talking about it. It’s something that could change history.”

▪ The New York Times: With his Gaza plan, an unbound Trump pushes an improbable idea.

▪ The Associated Press: Aid is surging into Gaza under the ceasefire. Is it helping?

▪ ABC News: Why shutting down USAID could have major impacts on Gaza aid.

The president on Tuesday suggested the U.S. would develop the land but gave no details about who would be allowed to live there, referring multiple times to “the world’s people.” The idea appears to build on Trump’s 2020 peace plan that envisioned Gaza’s coastline developed for commercial and leisure resorts. The plan was developed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose background is in real estate development. 

Asked about the possibility of sending U.S. troops to Gaza, Trump said the U.S. will “do what is necessary” as he laid out plans for the U.S. to take the area over in “a long-term ownership position,” and he suggested he would visit the territory. 

Gaza is not a sovereign land and is considered under international law to be occupied territory.

“A U.S. invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of U.S. troops and decades of war in the Middle East,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on the social platform X. “It’s like a bad, sick joke.”

▪ NBC News: “Deranged” and “problematic”: Bipartisan lawmakers bash Trump's Gaza proposal.

▪ Politico: Trump’s Gaza plan sparks backlash in the Middle East.

The proposal underscores Trump’s broad approach to the region and appears to give little consideration to what Palestinians have said they want. Gazans generally want to stay on their land, and neighboring Arab nations have fiercely opposed handing over territory because they do not want to aid an Israeli expulsion of Palestinians. Neighboring Egypt and Jordan have resisted Trump’s attempts to convince them to take in Palestinians during the reconstruction of Gaza, a process he has said could take 10 or 15 years. The Geneva Convention bars mass forcible transfers of populations.

“Our Palestinian people, and the people of Gaza in particular, are rooted here and will not go anywhere,” Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political expert, wrote on Facebook. “If Trump wants to pave something, he can go pave the sea.”

The Hill’s Laura Kelly has five key takeaways from the joint news conference.

Netanyahu also gave credit to Trump for the ceasefire deal in Gaza ahead of former President Biden, whose team — along with mediators from Qatar and Egypt — spearheaded the negotiations over many months. Trump’s Middle East adviser, Steve Witkoff, joined the talks in their final phase.

Mediators are beginning talks on phase two of the three-phase ceasefire deal that is expected to go into effect on March 1 — although that deadline can be extended as long as both Israel and Hamas are engaged in talks. But Trump said he doubted whether the Palestinian Authority, the ruling body in the West Bank, could administer Gaza.

“Well it’s had a pretty hard time wouldn’t you say?” he said. “I’d say it’s had a pretty bad time of it.”

SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN:

Here’s some video you don’t see every day, perhaps ever. NewsNation's Ali Bradley reports the Mexican cartels are now turning to weaponized drones, and even using them on each other.   

Ali told me the other day that cartels authorized the use of weaponized drones at the southern border. Her report caught the attention of Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.). “That’s not surprising to hear that after what you saw happened with Ukraine, and especially with the Hamas attacks in Israel,” he told me. 

You've likely heard a good amount about the cartels recently. Prepare to hear a lot more. The cartels are a focus of President Trump and his team, and the administration recently labeled them as foreign terrorist organizations.   

“To the cartels: All options are on the table. We will secure our border,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned in Texas on Monday.  

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation. 

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:

▪ The administration flew 10 “high-threat” migrants from Texas to Guantánamo Bay Naval Base prison Tuesday, officials said, suggesting the male detainees are associated with a Venezuelan gang.

▪ China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence company poses U.S. data privacy and national security concerns. Australia on Tuesday banned the app from all government devices because of security worries. 

▪ At least 20,000 federal workers have signed up ahead of a Feb. 6 deadline to exit government service in exchange for paychecks offered through September. The Trump administration’s buyout pitch to civil servants appears to have attracted about 1 percent of the eligible workforce. 

LEADING THE DAY 

© The Associated Press | Rod Lamkey, Jr.

TRUMP’S CABINET is taking shape as suspense ebbs about whether the Senate will confirm some of the president’s most controversial choices, likely next week.

The full Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Florida prosecutor Pam Bondi as attorney general and Republican Doug Collins, a former House member from Georgia, to be secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department. 

Both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard narrowly cleared Senate panels Tuesday that evaluated their fitness to lead the Health and Human Services Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, respectively. Republican senators on the fence about Trump’s picks announced they were satisfied and would offer support to forward the two former Democrats to the full Senate, where they’re likely to button up confirmations, handing the president additional evidence that he holds early sway over his party.

▪ The Hill: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday approved Kennedy’s nomination by a vote of 14-13. Committee member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, said Tuesday he now backs Kennedy after the nominee and the Trump administration committed to protecting vaccines. In a speech, Cassidy said the nominee and the White House pledged to maintain a key federal vaccine advisory board, work within the current vaccine approval and safety system and allow Cassidy to provide input about department hiring decisions.

▪ The Hill: The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 9-8 along party lines to send Gabbard’s nomination to the floor for a vote. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Monday that her concerns about the former Hawaii House member were overcome during their conversations. 

Hours after the committee voted on Gabbard, the CIA offered so-called buyouts, equivalent to eight months of pay and benefits, to its workforce, a CIA spokesperson said, the latest move by the Trump administration to overhaul the federal government and following a push against employees at the FBI and elsewhere. Some CIA personnel — including those handling high-priority tasks — will not be eligible for the offer. The Senate confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe two weeks ago.

Is Trump steamrolling Congress, as NBC News reports? Or are House Democrats rising up to push back with anti-Trump resistance, as Axios described?

One sure sign of opposition emerged in the form of a raft of lawsuits filed by FBI agents, public sector unions, representatives of older Americans and liberal-leaning legal groups challenging laws tied to Trump’s actions. The president and his advisers envisioned at the outset they’d face lawsuits over the constitutional order, checks and balances and the founders’ vision of the separation of powers. They believe the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is likely to support Trump’s executive say-so.

FBI agents are suing the administration to try to block efforts to gather a list of all agents assigned to probe Jan. 6, 2021, cases for fear that such a roster would be used to target and fire them. Trump has described the rioters at the Capitol as “hostages” and “patriots” and pardoned them.

Lawmakers in both parties are troubled by the legally dubious manner in which Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk, designated by the president as a “special government employee,” is carrying out his mission to slash federal spending, purge civil servants and shrink the size of the bureaucracy — but Republicans in Congress say it’s necessary to root out waste, fraud and abuse. In other words, they embrace the advertised “efficiency” goal.

The Washington Post: U.S. government officials privately warn that Musk’s blitz appears illegal.

Musk’s weekend targeting of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), its personnel and the NGOs with which it contracts around the world resulted in a State Department takeover of the independent agency. On Tuesday, CBS News reported that those serving in USAID missions overseas were told to shut down operations and all staff were recalled to the United States by Friday. New USAID Deputy Administrator Peter Marocco told State Department leaders Tuesday that if they did not comply, they would be evacuated by the U.S. military, according to CBS. 

▪ The Hill: Musk sets himself on a collision course with lawmakers. 

▪ The New York Times: Inside Musk’s aggressive incursion into the federal government.

▪ The Atlantic: Musk’s bureaucratic coup is underway.

To date, Trump has publicly blessed Musk’s abrasive, bullying efforts, backed by a small team Musk handpicked from his various companies, to drill deep into detailed computer data at the Office of Personnel Management, penetrate the sensitive payment system at the Treasury Department, impound funds appropriated by Congress and push civil servants to quit, retire or be fired.

The Hill: Musk’s expansive portfolio divides Trump world.

Trump says Musk’s actions are approved by the White House and will be overseen for any conflicts of interest. The president, who is busy challenging statutes, oversight, investigative bodies and the courts, did not explain whose oversight holds sway. House Democrats, narrowly in the minority, want to investigate Musk’s authority and his team’s actions.      

The New York Times: Because of fentanyl shipments out of Asia and scant customs inspection, the United States Postal Service temporarily stopped accepting packages from China and Hong Kong on Tuesday, hours after a Trump order took effect that ended duty-free handling of many parcels.

Protests: Today, demonstrators opposed to the Trump agenda are poised for what they call “50 States” protests at capitals, including Washington, D.C. Online through Instagram, Reddit, Bluesky, Discord, Signal and a website at 50501movement.carrd.co, the “rejection” events are advertised. 

WHERE AND WHEN

• The House will convene at 10 a.m. 
  
• The Senate meets at 10:30 a.m. 
  
• The president will meet at 2:30 p.m. with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Trump at 3 p.m. will sign an executive order barring transgender athletes in women’s sports. The president will meet in the Oval Office with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). 
  
• Vice President Vance reportedly will meet with Netanyahu today.
  
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he will meet cabinet ministers this morning before holding a joint press availability with President Bernardo Arevalo. The secretary will meet this afternoon with U.S. Embassy employees and families before participating in a “criminal migrant repatriation” and “fentanyl seizure engagement” in Guatemala City.
  
• The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m.

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite

SHUTDOWN WATCH: The possibility of a government shutdown next month is growing as Democrats and Trump square off over efforts to freeze funding and Republicans battle amongst themselves over strategy and the size of potential cuts. The Hill’s Aris Folley and Mike Lillis report the timeline is slipping for negotiators to hash out a bipartisan deal on how to fund the government, and Democrats are signaling more trouble ahead for spending talks as leaders see an opportunity in the March 14 deadline.

As House Republicans remain deadlocked, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will brief Republican senators today about taking the lead on a budget resolution to lay the groundwork for a package that could pass the Senate with a simple majority. Graham and other Republican senators are eager to get started on phase one of Trump’s agenda by moving a budget reconciliation package that would include about $100 billion in funding to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, reforms to expand oil and gas drilling and a substantial increase in defense spending.

Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.) said that House Republicans “right now” are “not able to move at the level we’d like them to move.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the plan is still for the House, not the Senate, to move forward on a budget package that would encompass border security, energy, defense and tax legislation.

“The Senate will not take the lead. We’ll take the lead. We’re right on schedule,” he said.

Meanwhile, caught between the debt and their tax base, Republicans are considering novel ways to account for the cost of their legislative agenda as a budget cut impasse looks set to hamstring early moves on their tax bill. Known as working from the “current policy baseline,” the accounting method would let Republicans sweep nearly $5 trillion of debt under the rug — likely producing a much smaller and more palatable number by which the tax legislation would add to the deficit. 

▪ The Hill: Trump is expected to sign an executive order today banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, the latest in a string of executive actions from the new administration taking aim at LGBTQ rights.

▪ The Hill: A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hear a request today from three anonymous transgender inmates to block Trump’s executive order mandating that incarcerated transgender women be housed in male facilities.

▪ The Hill: Trump is reportedly eyeing an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, which has placed dozens of staffers on leave in what their union says is a move to encourage resignations.

▪ The Hill: Diversity, equity and inclusion proponents are scrambling to find ways to counter Trump as he moves to dismantle some of the programs and policies intended to bolster their movement. 

▪ The Hill: Trump withdrew the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council and UNESCO, the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization, on Tuesday with the stroke of his pen.

The big question plaguing Democrats since their grueling loss in November: Who is the party leader? It’s a question party operatives have encountered trouble in answering. And with Trump taking a series of swift actions to remake the government, finding the answer is imperative. This week, Democrats took the first major step in their rebuilding effort when they elected Ken Martin as the new Democratic National Committee chair. Right out of the gate, Martin signaled the party would be taking a more forceful approach to Trump. But Democrats quietly expressed concern that Martin, who is relatively unknown, would not be enough.

“Democrats are craving true leaders, who can emerge by being louder and using all the emotions,” said Tracy Sefl, a veteran Democratic consultant. “The crisis we’re in demands leaders who will talk with the passion of someone who calls into sports radio shows. Show us you're fighting like hell for our team, while we risk losing badly with precious time left.” 

▪ The New York Times: New York lawmakers may give Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) more time to schedule special elections, a move backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) because it could keep a key House seat vacant for months.

▪ NOTUS: Democrats are finally coming to a plan to counter Trump. Maybe.

ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press | Efrem Lukatsky 

RARE MINERALS: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday slammed Trump's proposal for continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine in exchange for access to its valuable mineral rights. "If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis," Peskov told reporters.

The minerals deal is an idea previously suggested by Republican senators and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has sought to appeal to Trump’s dealmaker persona to ensure Washington’s support of Kyiv under Russia’s incursion — which has claimed the lives of an estimated 45,000 Ukrainian troops. 

A senior Ukrainian official told The Washington Post that Zelensky’s team is “ready to sign documents about joint agreements” and that “having a strategic U.S. interest in Ukraine is a key component to our security in the future.”

Still, Kyiv’s supporters remain nervous that Trump may try to force a ceasefire favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Moscow makes steady battlefield gains, Putin has shown no interest in a truce without significant territorial gains and a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO.

▪ The Guardian: Greenland plans to ban foreign political donations over fears about potential interference in its forthcoming elections after attracting Trump’s interest.

▪ Reuters: Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will visit the White House this week.

▪ NPR: Sweden's worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: The Salvadoran mega-prison offering to take America’s worst criminals. Lockup currently houses thousands of members of gangs that terrorized the Central American country for decades.

OPINION 

■ Elon Musk is president, by Jonathan Lemire, contributing writer, The Atlantic.

■ To save democracy, start filing cases, by Peter M. Shane, guest essayist, Washington Monthly.

THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press | NASA

And finally …