Capitol Hill abuzz for details of deal tying Ukraine aid to US immigration measures after fraught negotiations and attempts by Trump to derail it
Welcome, readers, to the politics liveblog. Capitol Hill is abuzz with the prospect of finally getting to see the cold, hard text of a much-discussed, long-awaited border security bill. After months of fraught negotiations between a core group of senators and the White House, the majority leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, announced that details of the emerging border deal would come as early as today, with plans for the chamber to vote on the measure next week.
The agreement pairs dramatic changes to the US immigration system and border policy with tens of billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. Senators in both parties say this is their best hope of addressing the US’s beleaguered immigration system after decades of inaction, but conservatives are already lining up against the measure, egged on by Donald Trump to oppose it. Many progressives are also wary of what has been described as the most conservative immigration deal in generations.
The US economy added 353,000 in January, defying fears of a downturn, our Dominic Rushe says of the new labor department data released this morning.
Trump is cruising toward the Republican nomination while making plans for the possibility that he could become the first convicted felon in American history to represent a major party’s presidential ticket, according to Axios.
Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump organization, is discussing a plea deal with prosecutors in Manhattan that would require him to plead guilty to perjury, the New York Times reports.
Meanwhile, ABC is reporting that special counsel Jack Smith’s team questioned witnesses about a closed and a “hidden room” that the FBI didn’t search when it raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence last year.
In the US House, the congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced censure legislation against Ilhan Omar that would remove her from committees over what appears to be a poor translation of a speech the congresswoman delivered in the Somali language.
Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, which, by tradition, means an early spring is on the way. Happy Groundhog Day, everyone.
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