President Trump is sitting down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Thursday night in his first network interview since he became president for a second time this week.
They went over a host of topics, including FEMA, TikTok pardons and former President Biden.
Trump’s administration has been busy, signing a slew of executive orders and partaking in executive actions that include warning federal workers in roles related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that they would be placed on paid leave in less than 24 hours. And it ordered the Pentagon to send 1,500 additional troops to the southern border.
Meanwhile, the House earlier Wednesday passed the Laken Riley Act, sending it to Trump’s desk for his first legislative win.
And in the Senate, Transportation secretary nominee Sean Duffy sailed through a Senate panel and his confirmation may now head to the floor.
Follow along for the latest news.
Trump defends Jan. 6 pardons
President Trump defended pardoning nearly all of the roughly 1,500 defendants charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
In the interview, Hannity asked Trump about concerns from some who point out that some of the Jan. 6 defendants who received pardons were violent with police officers that day.
“Most of the people were absolutely innocent, okay? But forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly, a long time,” Trump said, adding that “it would be very, very cumbersome to go” through the roughly 1,500 individuals charged.
“And the other thing is this,” Trump continued. “Some of those people with the police, true, but they were very minor incidents, okay? You know that they get built up by that couple of fake guys that are on CNN all the time. They were very minor incidents. And it was time.”
Trump suggests it was a mistake Biden didn’t pardon himself
Trump repeatedly suggested it was a mistake that former President Biden did not preemptively pardon himself as he danced around questions on whether Biden should be investigated.
“I went through four years of hell by this scum that we had to deal with. I went through four years of hell,” Trump said of his legal battles. “I spent millions of dollars in legal fees, and I won. But I did it the hard way. It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it also. It is very hard to say it.”
Asked if Congress should investigate Biden, Trump said he would leave it up to Congress.
“Joe Biden got very bad advice. Like he has in everything…Joe Biden has very bad advisers. Somebody advised Joe Biden to give pardons to everybody but him,” Trump said.
Trump says he was given option to pardon himself
Trump told Hannity that he was given the option on his way out of the White House in his first term to pardon himself but declined.
The president gave the answer as he and Hannity chastised Biden for preemptively pardoning multiple family members and Trump critics. Biden expressed concerns that they would be targeted by politically motivated investigations.
“I was given the option. They said sir, would you like to pardon everybody, including yourself?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to pardon anybody. We didn’t do anything wrong,’” Trump said.
Trump says he ‘might’ cut off funds to sanctuary cities
President Trump told Hannity that he “might” have to cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities, a term that refers to municipalities that shield undocumented migrants from federal detention requests.
“We’re trying to get rid of them,” Trump told Hannity about sanctuary cities. “We’re trying to end them. And a lot of the people in those communities don’t want them.”
“But would you cut off their money?” Hannity asked.
“I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do,” Trump responded.
Trump shrugs off spying concerns with TikTok
Trump brushed away national security concerns about the TikTok app, which were at the center of a bipartisan law to ban the app if its China-based owner did not divest its ownership stake.
“You can say that about everything made in China,” Trump said when Hannity noted concerns that the app could be used by Beijing to spy on its users.
“We have so many things made in China. So why don’t they mention that?” Trump said. “The interesting thing with TikTok though is you’re dealing with a lot of young people. Is it that important for China to be spying on young people? Young people watching crazy videos and things.”
Trump suggests states, not FEMA handle disaster response
Trump said he would rather see states “take care of their own problems” if they are hit by a natural disaster, with the federal government just providing financial assistance.
Trump’s comments were a shot at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has come under scrutiny from Republicans over its response to storms that ravaged North Carolina last year.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” Trump said. “I love Oklahoma. But you know what, if they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. And then the federal government can help them out with the money. FEMA is getting in the way of everything, and the Democrats actually used FEMA not to help North Carolina.”
Trump: ‘I don’t care’ about one bill vs. two
Trump told Hannity he did not care whether lawmakers moved his agenda in one reconciliation bill or two, as long as it got done.
“I don’t care, as long as we get to the final answer. I like the concept of the one bill,” Trump said.
“It could be something else,” he added. “It could be a smaller bill and a big bill. But as long as we get to the right answer.”
Trump says 2020 vote totals influenced 2024 run
Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would not have run for the White House in 2024 if he had not gotten more than 70 million votes in the 2020 election when he lost to Joe Biden.
Trump indicated the support he got in 2020 signaled to him that he had enough backing to make a comeback bid, adding that he never considered the potential of losing in 2024.
“Had I gotten like 50 million, 40 million, or 60 million, I would never have run. But that was like a poll,” Trump said.
Hannity interviews Trump
The interview of Trump with Sean Hannity is airing on Fox News Wednesday evening.
It is Trump’s first network and primetime interview in the Oval Office since he was inaugurated Monday.
Released Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes goes to Capitol campus to meet with GOP lawmakers
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in relation to the Jan. 6 riot, was in the Capitol complex on Wednesday to meet with GOP lawmakers — shortly after getting out of prison because President Trump commuted his sentence.
Rhodes was spotted in the Dunkin’ Donuts inside Longworth House Office Building, which is accessible to the public, with a group of people. He said he did not go into the actual Capitol building.
Rhodes said he was advocating for the release of Jeremy Brown, another Oath Keeper who is in prison on federal weapons charges stemming from an investigation into his alleged involvement in the riot.
House passes Laken Riley Act, sending it to Trump for first legislative win
The House on Wednesday passed the Laken Riley Act, sending the immigration-related bill to President Trump’s desk in what is poised to be his first legislative victory since returning to the White House this week.
The chamber cleared the bill in a 263-156 vote. Passage in the House came two days after the Senate approved the measure in a bipartisan 64-35 vote.
Trump is expected to sign the measure, marking the first bill enacted in his second administration on a topic — immigration and the border — that he and Republicans made a priority on the campaign trail.
“Today, we’re going to send to President Trump’s desk his very first bill to sign into law,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on Wednesday.
Biden’s outgoing letter to Trump: ‘May God bless you’
In the letter former President Biden wrote to President Trump, he wished him well during his second term and said, “may God bless you.”
“As I take leave of his sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years,” Biden wrote. “The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.”
“May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding,” the letter concluded.
Biden departed office after his first and only term on Monday. Trump was sworn in for the second time and returned to the White House.
In the Resolute Desk upon his arrival was the letter, signed by Biden and dated Monday.
Trump said it was a “very nice letter” and “a little bit of an inspirational type of letter.”
COVID vaccine requirement dropped for permanent resident applications
The Trump administration on Wednesday dropped the requirement that people applying for permanent U.S. residency show proof they’ve been vaccinated against COVID.
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Service “will not deny any adjustment of status application based on the applicant’s failure to present documentation that they received the COVID-19 vaccination,” its website said Wednesday.
Senate Democrats block GOP’s ‘born-alive’ abortion bill
Senate Republicans failed on Wednesday to invoke cloture on a bill legislating care for infants “born alive” during attempted abortions, with the motion largely serving to get Democrats on the record as voting against a bill being framed as anti-infanticide.
Republicans sought cloture on the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” a bill that requires health care practitioners to provide the “same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence” for a child “born alive” during an attempted abortion, as they would during normal childbirth.
Health care practitioners who fail to comply with the law would face fines and up to five years in jail or both. House Republicans passed their version of the bill when they retook control in 2023. Democrats have routinely criticized “born alive” bills as being redundant since killing an infant born alive following an attempted abortion is already illegal.
Speaker Johnson forms committee to probe Jan. 6, Democrats’ original investigation
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday said he will establish a new select subcommittee that will probe the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — and likely dig into the now-defunct Jan. 6 Select Committee that was led by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) will chair the upcoming select subcommittee, which will be housed within the House Judiciary Committee.
Loudermilk pursued his own Jan. 6 investigation within the House Administration Committee, and had long been asking Johnson to break out the probe into its own entity.
Being classified as a “select” subcommittee means that Johnson will have the sole official power to decide which members sit on the panel.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are establishing this Select Subcommittee to continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people.”
Trump monitoring shooting at Tennessee high school
President Trump and his team are monitoring the news out of Nashville, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
It added, “As details unfold, the White House offers its heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those impacted by this senseless tragedy and thank the brave first responders responding to the incident.”
On Wednesday morning, a student opened fire in a Tennessee high school’s cafeteria, killing a student and injuring another before turning the gun on himself.
Federal judge won’t dismiss 2 Jan. 6 cases with prejudice
A federal judge who oversaw Jan. 6 cases pushed back against President Trump’s sweeping pardons Wednesday, refusing to close two rioters’ cases in a manner that would prevent charges from being filed again.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell wrote in in court filings for Proud Boys Nicholas Ochs and Nicholas DeCarlo that she would not dismiss their cases with prejudice — leaving the door open for charges to be filed against the men in the future.
Howell suggested that agreeing to do so, which would block charges from being filed again, would “let stand the revisionist myth” relayed in Trump’s proclamation granting pardons to nearly all Jan. 6 defendants.
Senate panel overwhelmingly advances Sean Duffy nomination to run DOT
Sean Duffy, President Trump’s Department of Transportation (DOT), advanced out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on a 28-0 vote.
Duffy’s hearing begins for Transportation
Hearing to consider the nomination of Sean Duffy, President Trump’s Department of Transportation (DOT) nominee, started just after 2 p.m. local time.
Collins troubled over info missing from Hegseth background report
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters Wednesday that she was concerned that the FBI’s background investigation report about secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is said to have omitted relevant information, such as an interview with the nominee’s former sister-in-law alleging physical intimidation and drunken behavior.
“I’ve heard from others that pertinent information has not been included, and that is troubling,” Collins said. “When you’re making a decision about a nominee, you want to have as complete a picture as possible.”
Collins was referring to complaints from Senate colleagues that relevant interviews were not included in the FBI report on Hegseth’s background, including an interview with Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, who alleged a variety of misconduct in an affidavit later submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Trump sits for Hannity interview
Trump wrapped up an interview with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity, his first sit-down since taking office for his second term.
Hannity walked through the briefing room at the White House just before 1:30 p.m., where he told reporters the interview was “amazing.”
“He is focused and he’s happy and he has a big agenda. He’s dialed in,” Hannity said of Trump. The full interview will air Wednesday night.
Pentagon sending 1,500 troops to secure US-Mexican border
The Pentagon is sending some 1,500 troops to help secure the southern border as President Trump pushes to stem the tide of migrants entering the country and crack down on illegal immigration.
Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses is expected to sign a release order on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, but the exact number of troops and which ones would deploy is still unclear and could fluctuate. Trump had vowed on the campaign trail to send active-duty troops to the border.
Trump threatens Russia with taxes, tariffs, sanctions if ‘ridiculous’ Ukraine war not ended
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions on Russia if there is no deal to stop the fighting in Ukraine “soon.”
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” Trump posted on Truth Social, referencing a special counsel investigation into any coordination between his 2016 campaign and Moscow.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump continued.
He warned that if there was not a ceasefire deal soon, he would “have no other choice” but to impose tariffs, taxes and sanctions on “anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
Democrats grill Vought over ‘illegal’ Trump funding move
Democrats on Wednesday grilled Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee Russell Vought over recent executive orders made by President Trump they say “illegally” target funding authorized by former President Biden.
As Vought testified before the Senate Budget Committee, Democrats pressed him about orders announced earlier this week that “pause the disbursement of funds” appropriated through two major pieces of Biden’s agenda: the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Democrats have been sounding alarm over the orders, which they argue could result in the illegal impoundment of federal funding.
Trump to huddle with House GOP moderates at White House
A trio of moderate House Republicans are set to meet with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday, the latest huddle between the president and different GOP factions as the lower chamber prepares to pass his legislative agenda with its slim majority.
Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) — all of whom represent districts former Vice President Kamala Harris won in November — will attend the meeting, Bacon told reporters. The gathering is scheduled for 1 p.m., a source confirmed to The Hill.
“He likes meeting with everybody,” Bacon said of Trump. “You can tell, he sleeps four hours a day, he’s like non-stop on the phone… I think he wants to build that relationship.”
Connolly urges whistleblower protection, inspector general independence
House Oversight ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) encouraged agencies to protect whistleblowers and uphold inspector general independence — noting past interference under the first Trump administration.
Connolly on Wednesday sent letters, obtained by The Hill, to both the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) as well as the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC), two agencies active in ensuring inspector general independence as well as protecting the rights of government whistleblowers.
The letter to OSC asks the agency to contact the panel’s Democrats “any time your independence or transparency is undermined” — a sign both of the committee’s interests in whistleblowers as well as how it plans to position itself under a second Trump administration.
The letter to CIGIE outlines a string of incidents during the first Trump administration, most notably firing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community, after he raised concerns from Alexander Vindman that became the subject of Trump’s first impeachment.
Speaker Johnson won’t ‘second guess’ Trump pardons of violent Jan. 6 rioters
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended President Trump’s sweeping pardons of those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including numerous people who violently attacked police officers.
“The President’s made his decision. I don’t second guess those,” Johnson said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s kind of my ethos, my worldview, we believe in redemption. We believe in second chances,” Johnson added. “You could argue that those people didn’t pay that heavy penalty having been incarcerated and all of that. That’s up to you. But the President’s made a decision. We move forward. There are better days ahead of us.”
Refugee flights to US canceled after Trump order
The State Department has suspended flights bringing previously approved refugees to the United States, cutting off access to protection in advance of the timeline set by President Trump in a new order pausing the program.
In an email reviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press, the U.S. agency overseeing refugee processing and arrival told staff and stakeholders that “refugee arrival to the United States have been suspended until further notice.”
The suspension of flights indicates early action on an order that didn’t direct movement from agencies until Jan. 27.
Ron Johnson floats ‘three-step’ approach on budget reconciliation
As Republicans in both chambers debate whether it’s easier to advance Trump’s sweeping agenda in one package or two packages using a complex procedure known as budget reconciliation, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) offered another proposal while questioning Vought on Wednesday.
“I know people talking about one big, beautiful bill or two steps. I would actually recommend three steps,” Johnson said.
“First reconciliation, handle the border, keep it simple,” he continued. “We all agree on that. Second would be, just extend the Tax Cut and Job Act, as it is, that would take any tax increase off the table, because what I want to do in the third step is simplify and rationalize the tax code.”
Senate Budget Committee Chair Linsdey Graham (R-S.C.) quipped, “I don’t know if it’s going to be one step, two steps or three steps, but let’s take a step.”
Merkley sounds alarm over ‘impoundment strategy’ under Trump
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, sounded the alarm over what he described as a potential “impoundment strategy” under President Trump as he targets funding greenlit by laws passed under former President Biden.
“On day one, President Trump issued an executive order that requires agencies to pause the disbursement of funds that were authorized [through the] Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” Merkley said.
“There is a legal mechanism for changing past law. It’s called a rescission and there’s an illegal way. It’s called an impoundment. Will you send a rescission message to Congress, or will you use the illegal impoundment strategy?” he said.
In response, Vought defended the executive orders, calling them “pauses” that “ensure that the funding that is in place is consistent and moves in a direction along the lines of what the president ran on, unleashing American energy away from the green New Deal.”
Merkley doubled down, asking, “What each strategy will you use? That’s a simple question.”
Vought said there’s a section in the recent orders “that says that the Office of Legislative Affairs will work with Office of Management Budget.”
“They may put forward precisions, but they, again, the language of the EO says required by law, and it’s meant to do a programmatic delay to figure out what are the best ways to make sure–”
Merkley cut off Vought, saying, “I’ll just note that you are not willing to say that you will use rescissions the legal method rather than the illegal method.”
“That is a big concern for all of us here, because the Constitution laid out the vision that Congress makes the law, not the president,” he said. “So, the fact that you continue to advocate for this impoundment strategy that is completely in violation of our Constitution, and I’m deeply disturbed that you will not renounce that today.”