In our news wrap Friday, Senate Republicans passed a $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement, Trump said he wants his new acting director of national intelligence to slash the agency’s staffing, a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s immigration processing freeze for 39 countries, and the International Space Station experienced an air leak.
Geoff Bennett:
On Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans passed a $70 billion bill to fund several immigration enforcement agencies for the rest of President Trump’s term.
Man:
This bill, as amended, is passed.
Geoff Bennett:
The predawn vote capped a marathon 18-hour session and ended a months-long Democratic blockade of funding for both ICE and customs and border protection. The measure now heads to the House. Republicans ultimately passed the bill without adopting a proposal to block the $1.8 billion settlement fund for Trump allies who say they were politically persecuted.
The final package also omitted $1 billion requested for White House security upgrades and President Trump’s proposed White House ballroom. The Senate also failed to renew a government surveillance authority with just one week until it expires. The hangup over what’s known as the FISA Section 702 is because of senators’ concerns about Bill Pulte, President Trump’s pick to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies.
And, on that front, President Trump says he wants Pulte to cut staffing even further within the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
President Donald Trump:
I wouldn’t mind. I’ve heard that’s way too high for way too long. Yes, I wouldn’t mind. If he cut, I wouldn’t mind that.
Geoff Bennett:
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Mr. Trump called Pulte very good and very talented. The nomination has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers because Pulte, a federal housing finance regulator, lacks a national security background.
A federal judge today struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze of immigration processing for people from 39 countries. That included things like asylum claims, work permits, and green cards. The Trump administration moved to pause such claims last November following the killings of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national.
Today, the court ruled that the administration ignored the law and left immigrants in legal limbo in a manner that was arbitrary and capricious.
Turning now to the Middle East, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah showed little sign of stopping today. Israel unleashed more airstrikes across Southern Lebanon and ordered thousands of residents there to flee. Rockets streaked across the sky as fighting intensified. Lebanese media reported at least nine people were killed.
Israel issued new evacuation warnings for several villages, including some sheltering hundreds of displaced families. The escalation comes one day after Hezbollah rejected the latest U.S.-brokered cease-fire proposal.
In Northern Israel, where residents have endured months of cross-border attacks, some expressed skepticism that any cease-fire would hold.
Elay Revivo:
I’m 23, about to be 24 years old, about to study here in the area. And they tell us time and time again that there is a cease-fire, but we keep seeing that it doesn’t hold and doesn’t exist. Like, a cease-fire here means nothing.
Geoff Bennett:
Israeli troops have now seized about a fifth of Lebanon. It’s their farthest advance into the country in decades. Iran’s foreign minister reiterated today that the U.S. war with Iran will only end when the war in Lebanon does. The Lebanese president responded, telling CNN that Tehran was using his country as a bargaining chip.
An air leak aboard the International Space Station prompted five astronauts to take shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for a potential evacuation.
Man:
Crew Dragon, establish safe haven. And if we need to suit up, we will do that once we’re inside the Dragon.
Geoff Bennett:
NASA later lifted the shelter order and told the astronauts they could return while Russian crewmates examined and worked to fix the leak on the Russian side of the station. That part of the ISS has suffered from cracks and leaks over the years. A NASA spokesperson said today’s decision was made out of an abundance of caution.
Three remaining “60 Minutes” correspondents told their colleagues today that they will stay with the program. Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim wrote in a memo that they — quote — “don’t want to see ’60 Minutes’ die and will remain to try and repair and preserve the show’s reputation.”
“60 Minutes” has been thrown into turmoil, with CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss overseeing the recent firings of the show’s executive producer, as well as correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley.
And despite today’s strong jobs, numbers stocks plummeted and Wall Street suffered its worst day since October. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped by nearly 700 points. Worries of an interest rate hike rattled tech stocks and sent the Nasdaq into a 4 percent freefall. And the S&P 500 finished with its first losing week in the last 10 weeks.
