Today in one sentence: Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations; Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center; the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired; the Trump administration plans to reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal workers, making them easier to fire; U.S. job openings fell to about 6.5 million in December – the lowest since September 2020; Trump insisted that the Federal Reserve is “in theory” independent and that he wouldn’t have nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he wanted to raise interest rates.

1/ Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations, setting up a shutdown deadline on Feb. 13. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the Democratic demands “unrealistic,” while Democrats said they would withhold votes without new limits after the Minneapolis shootings. The Democratic proposal seeks judicial warrant requirements in certain cases, rules on masks and identification, and limits on stops based on race, language, or location, but Republicans said they’d reject most of those demands. Thune said he was prepared to move another stopgap funding bill if negotiations don’t produce a deal before the deadline. (NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / Axios)

2/ Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center. Gabbard, however, told Democratic lawmakers Trump directed her “observance” of the warrant’s execution, and her spokesperson later said both Trump and Bondi asked and that “two things can be true at the same time.” The FBI seized hundreds of boxes of 2020 election materials in the search, which Fulton County has asked a federal judge to order the records returned. Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats have also demanded Gabbard testify under oath about her role. (New York Times / CBS News / NBC News / Axios)

3/ The last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired, ending the last legally binding limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time since the early 1970s. Trump said he wouldn’t pursue an extension of the New START treaty and instead called for a “new, improved, and modernized” pact, arguing that any future framework should include China, which has rejected arms control talks. Russia said it regrets the treaty’s end and reiterated that it’s willing to keep observing the core limits for at least a year if Washington did the same. U.S. officials, however, gave no indication they would accept. (New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / CNN)

4/ The Trump administration plans to reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal workers, making them easier to fire. The rule would move those employees into a new “Schedule Policy/Career” category, stripping them of long-standing civil service protections, including key appeal rights to independent bodies, and shifting many whistleblower complaints to internal agency processes instead of the Office of Special Counsel. The Office of Personnel Management said the change would help presidents carry out policy priorities and remove employees who “obstruct” directives. OPM said the rule said it prohibited “political patronage, loyalty tests or political discrimination” and is set to be published in the Federal Register and take effect in about 30 days. (CNN / Wall Street Journal / Axios / New York Times)

5/ U.S. job openings fell to about 6.5 million in December – the lowest since September 2020. The Labor Department said vacancies dropped from roughly 6.9 million in November, while layoffs edged up and quits held near 3.2 million. A separate report that tracks corporate layoff announcements said companies have announced about 108,000 announced layoffs in January, up from 35,500 in December, and the highest level for the month since 2009. (ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Politico / CNBC)

6/ Trump insisted that the Federal Reserve is “in theory” independent and that he wouldn’t have nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he wanted to raise interest rates. Trump said he expects rates to fall soon because they are “way high,” argued inflation was low, and said Warsh understood he wanted rate cuts and “wants to anyway,” while adding he knows the economy “better than almost anybody.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later declined to commit that Warsh wouldn’t face a Justice Department investigation or lawsuit if he refused to cut rates, telling Sen. Elizabeth Warren it would be “up to the president.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / CNBC / Associated Press / Politico)

The 2026 midterms are in 271 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,006 days.