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ICE to spend $38.3 billion on detention centers across US, document shows

February 13, 2026 9:05 PM UTC / Reuters

By Ryan Patrick Jones

节点运行失败

An ICE officer is seen at Otay Mesa immigration detention center in San Diego, California, U.S. May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

• Summary

• ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion this year on centers for detention, processing
• Plan calls for eight large detention centers, 16 regional processing centers
• Detention budget rose to $45 billion from $3.4 billion in FY2024

Feb 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend $38.3 billion by the end of the year on detention centers to detain and process tens of thousands of immigrants slated for deportation, according to an overview of the plan published by New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte’s office on Thursday.

The document was provided by the Department of Homeland Security after an inquiry Ayotte made following a U.S. Senate hearing on Thursday, her office said in a press release.

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Read more: Democrats say Trump’s foreign deportation deals cost taxpayers millions

ICE plans to buy 16 existing buildings and renovate them to serve as regional processing centers that can hold 1,000 to 1,500 detainees for average stays of three to seven days, according to the plan.

The agency will also open eight large detention centers capable of holding 7,000 to 10,000 detainees for an average of around 60 days that will serve as the “primary location” for immigrants being deported abroad.

In addition, ICE will acquire an additional 10 “turnkey” facilities where the agency already operates, according to the plan.

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The plan states that the centers are necessary as ICE prepares for an expected surge of arrests in 2026 after the hiring of 12,000 more agents.

“This new model will allow ICE to create an efficient detention network by reducing the total number of contracted detention facilities in use while increasing total bed capacity, enhancing custody management, and streamlining removal operations,” the document reads.

ICE plans to hire contractors to conduct renovations to the buildings to build detention spaces, medical and dental services, cafeterias, lobbies, recreational areas, dormitories, and courtroom spaces. The facilities will ensure the “safe and humane civil detention of aliens,” according to the document.

The detention centers will be paid for with funds from the massive spending package the Republican-controlled Congress passed in July 2025. That package, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” included an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for detention. The 2024 fiscal year budget included $3.4 billion for immigration detention.

A spokesperson for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FACILITIES TO INCREASE ICE DETENTION CAPACITY

ICE expects the facilities to be in operation by the end of November 2026, and they would increase the agency’s total bed capacity to 92,600 beds, according to the document.

The number of people in ICE detention has increased by around 74% since Trump took office in January 2025 to more than 68,000 this month, government data show.

U.S. President Donald Trump has overseen a widespread immigration crackdown since returning to office last year. The administration has surged immigration agents into major U.S. cities, boosted arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, cracked down on unlawful border crossings and expanded the pool of people who could be deported by stripping hundreds of thousands of immigrants of temporary legal status.

Despite growing signs of political backlash ahead of next year’s midterm elections, the Trump administration is poised to ramp up immigration enforcement this year with funds Congress gave ICE to hire thousands of agents, detain more than 100,000 migrants at any given time and expand surveillance to track down possible immigration offenders.

Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Kristina Cooke in Los Angeles; Editing by Ethan Smith

CNN’s Michael Smerconish breaks down the week as DHS hurls towards shutdown | CNN Politics

Published 2:20 PM EST, Fri February 13, 2026 / CNN

CNN’s Michael Smerconish weighs in on the recent dramatic developments out of Washington, DC on The Situation Room

4:33 • Source: CNN

Government shutdowns 8 videos

Trump critics Newsom, Ocasio-Cortez blast president at Munich conference | Fox News

By Paul Steinhauser, Leo Briceno | Fox News

Published February 13, 2026 3:44pm EST

Two of President Donald Trump’s top Democratic critics are using appearances at a high-profile European gathering to blast the Republican president’s agenda and beef up their foreign policy chops on the world stage ahead of possible 2028 White House runs.

“Donald Trump is temporary,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday during a climate change discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. “He’ll be gone in three years.”

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, during a town hall at the prestigious conference, pointed to Trump and charged, “We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm.”

Newsom and Ocasio-Cortez are the most well known of a small group of potential Democratic presidential contenders using appearances in Munich to criticize Trump’s international agenda and offer a contrast to Vice President JD Vance, the perceived 2028 Republican front-runner, who delivered a scathing attack on Europe during his speech at the security forum last year.

[NEWSOM STOP IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE SPARKS MORE 2028 SPECULATION]

[Image 45: Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, Feb. 14, 2025. ]

Vice President JD Vance gives a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, Feb. 14, 2025.(Leah Millis/Reuter)

The other Democrats with likely national ambitions making the rounds at the confab and meeting with international leaders are Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to her fellow Democrats in Munich and said, “I think many of us are here to say we are here, and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership … and increase our commitment to integrity to our values.”

At a second discussion later on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez argued that “the United States is very much in a compromised position compared to where we were five years ago. Our relationships with our allies are strained. Our commitment and demonstrated consistency on democratic values and human rights are also incredibly strained.”

[JD VANCE SAYS ‘DUMBEST’ DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WILL WIN NOMINATION IN 2028]

Newsom, who is speaking at his third major international conference in recent months, following appearances last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and late last year at a world climate conference in Brazil, hammered Trump over climate policy, arguing the president is “doubling down on stupid.”

[Image 46: Gavin Newsom at Munich Security Conference]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a session at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.(Michael Probst/AP Photo)

“Never in the history of the United States of America has there been a more destructive president than the current occupant of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” Newsom charged. “Donald Trump is trying to turn back the clock.”

[THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS ALREADY UNDERWAY]

Fox Digital has reached out to the White House for a response to the jabs from Newsom and Ocasio-Cortez.

Ocasio-Cortez, during the first of her two appearances at the conference, was asked by the town hall moderator, “When you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire’s tax?”

[Image 48: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Munich Security Conference]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., takes part in the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.(Sven Hoppe /dpa via AP)

Responding with a laugh, the four-term federal lawmaker who has long advocated for significant tax increases on the ultra-wealthy to fund progressive initiatives then said, “We don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax… That needs to be done expeditiously.”

Matthew Bartlett, who served at the State Department during the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital that “the regular foreign policy crowd is turning into something of a cattle call for 2028 as numerous Democrats take Munich to articulate their vision and try to develop some sort of foreign policy credential as the next presidential race is on the horizon.”

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

And Terry Shumaker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the Clinton administration, noted that the appearances in Munich by the potential candidates “gives them experience, confidence, and something to refer back to on the campaign trail when they’re asked about their foreign policy experience.”

And Shumaker, a longtime New Hampshire-based attorney and Democratic Party activist, said it also signals to the world “that Trump is not a monolith. That there’s another side of the story in the United States.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

Pentagon may bar tuition aid for top universities in Hegseth’s crackdown on ‘biased’ schools

By Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky
32 min ago
PUBLISHED Feb 13, 2026, 5:25 PM ET

Military officers could soon find dozens of top colleges and universities across the United States abruptly off limits for tuition assistance as part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s campaign against schools he describes as being biased against the US military and sponsoring “troublesome partnerships with foreign adversaries.”

The uncertainty about tuition assistance and eligible programs for Defense Department funding has led to confusion and concern amongst service members who have already applied or been accepted to these schools. Officials also said they were concerned it amounted to an attempt to purge diversity of thought from the military.

The policy was rolled out in a memo signed by Hegseth last week saying that beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, the Pentagon would be severing its relationship with Harvard University and discontinuing all graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs there for active-duty service members.

Hegseth ordered the military services to “evaluate all existing graduate programs for active-duty members at Ivy League universities and any other universities that similarly diminish critical thinking and have significant adversary involvement, and determine whether they deliver cost-effective, strategic education for future senior leaders when compared to public universities and military masters programs,” according to a source familiar with the memo.

The guidance’s broad terminology has injected confusion and concern into the military branches, who have begun to compile lists of colleges and universities that may have a moderate to high risk of being impacted, meaning the Pentagon wouldn’t fund any service members’ higher education there.

A preliminary list of at-risk schools compiled by the Army for troops enrolling in law school and reviewed by CNN characterizes the following schools as being at “moderate to high risk” of being banned: American University, Boston College, Boston University, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western University, Columbia University, College of William and Mary, Cornell University, Duke, Emory, Florida Institute of Technology, Fordham, Georgetown, George Washington University, Harvard, Hawaii Pacific University, Johns Hopkins University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, MIT, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, New York University, Pepperdine, Princeton, Stanford, Tufts, University of Miami, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington University in St Louis, and Yale.

A source familiar with Hegseth’s guidance told CNN that the implication is that “graduate programs for highest performing officers and non-commissioned officers are almost certainly at risk.” This source and a military official added that it has created extensive uncertainty within the services about how to proceed with applying for advanced civil schooling, including top law programs, medical programs, and nuclear engineering programs.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense referred CNN to the services for comment. The Army did not respond to a request for comment.

Several top political appointees at the Pentagon, including Hegseth himself, are graduates of Ivy League schools or other top universities. Hegseth attended Princeton and Harvard; Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg attended Princeton; Army Secretary Dan Driscoll obtained his law degree from Yale; Navy Secretary John Phelan holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and completed a general course degree in economics and international relations at the London School of Economics

The guidance was first mentioned publicly in a video Hegseth posted on social media last week, in which he bashed Harvard and other American universities that have “pervasive institutional bias” saying they “no longer live up to their founding principles, as bastions of free speech, open inquiry, and committed to the American values that make our country great.”

“In two weeks time, components of all of our departments — Army, Navy, and Air Force — will evaluate all existing graduate programs for active duty service members at all Ivy League universities, and other civilian universities,” Hegseth said.

Educational programs and opportunities are a key recruiting and retention tool for the military services, often exchanging mandatory years in uniform for tuition assistance to top schools in the country. Graduate programs have been lauded as a way to academically sharpen US military personnel, keeping the best and brightest in uniform, while also allowing them to invest in their futures after they’ve left military service.

Eligible schools are often those accredited by the major associations for those specialties. For qualifying service members who wish to go to law school, for example, schools are typically considered eligible for the Army to pay for them if they are accredited by the American Bar Association. The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program covers tuition for medical, dental, nursing, and psychology students in return for one year of active-duty service for each year of support. For medical programs, the military typically requires that the school is accredited by the American Medical Association or American Osteopathic Association.

The vagueness of the memo has also raised concern that tuition assistance could be impacted, which active-duty service members can use for other graduate or certification programs in their off-duty time that are not necessarily related to their day-to-day jobs. Service members can enroll in business administration courses, for example, or communication and marketing.

But the military also has extensive partnerships with various universities and colleges for professional military education opportunities. The Space Force, for example, announced in 2023 a partnership with Johns Hopkins, which was included on the Army’s tentative list of universities that are considered at risk.

The military official said the guidance was akin to prohibiting officers from obtaining a top tier education, and said it amounted to the Pentagon “attempting to purge intellect, diversity of thinking, and critical thought from the military.”

“The overall concern is that we want military officers and non-commissioned officers to have the ability to critically think and challenge ideas … and some of these institutions are great places to do that whether you agree with liberal or conservative thought or not,” said the source familiar with the matter. “It seems both very delicate — oh these words and ideas scare me, so I’ll preclude people from engaging — but also short-sighted and is generating confusion.”

Hegseth has been intensely focused on reshaping the culture of the military since taking office last year, which has involved everything from adding a secondary title for the Department of Defense as the “Department of War” to policy shifts that have deeply impacted servicemembers, like a ban on transgender troops and an evaluation of whether women should service in combat roles.

Last year, he also ordered all military academies to identify and remove books from their libraries that deal with issues such as race, gender ideology, and other “divisive concepts” that are now considered “incompatible with the department’s core mission,” according to a memo he signed at the time.

Hegseth’s latest war on Harvard and other top universities has also mirrored one waged by President Donald Trump, who over the last year has targeted federal funding, research grants, and student visas at elite universities across the country — beginning with Harvard— unless they comply with his demands to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and crackdown on pro-Palestine student protesters and antisemitism on campuses.

What services would be affected by a DHS government shutdown?

February 13, 2026 / 3:10 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — The Department of Homeland Security is all but certain to shut down when the clock strikes midnight, since Congress failed to pass a bill to fund its operations before a stopgap measure lapses at the end of the day Friday.

Democrats had made a number of demands to restrain the government’s immigration crackdown in exchange for their support of the funding measure but could not reach an agreement with the GOP.

After the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement officers last month in Minneapolis, Democrats wanted a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards, an end to detaining people without verifying they aren’t U.S. citizens first and to conducting searches based on a person’s race, language, accent or job.

Without funding, some DHS functions will cease, although the impact may not be more widely felt unless the shutdown continues well beyond the Presidents Day holiday weekend. DHS’ website says that during a funding lapse, the department “may only continue ‘exempt’ activities such as law enforcement and maritime protection.”

Generally, those whose work is “necessary for safety of human life or protection of property,” will be required to work “as necessary to continue even without funding.” Federal employees whose jobs are “necessary to the discharge of the president’s constitutional duties and powers” continue without funding, according to DHS’ 2025 funding lapse plan.

The shutdown will affect the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and other agencies within DHS that safeguard national security. About 13% of the total federal civilian workforce is implicated, with most forced to work without pay, according to DHS and Office of Personnel Management data.

Here is what would be affected in a DHS shutdown:

Most DHS employees will continue to work

---

The vast majority of DHS employees would be exempted — meaning they’re required to work — according to the department’s September 2025 funding lapse plan. They would not be paid during the shutdown but would receive backpay after it ends.

In 2025, DHS estimated 249,065 of its 271,927 employees — nearly 92% of its workforce — would be exempt and continue to work during a funding lapse. But that number can dwindle as time goes on, as workers going without pay, take leave or do not show up for work.

How would air travel be affected?

---

Air traffic controllers fall under the Department of Transportation’s budget, and that department’s funding for this fiscal year has already been enacted. So, air traffic control operations will not be affected..

But the Transportation Security Administration falls under DHS, so TSA workers will have to work without a paycheck. Eventually, TSA and airport security staffing levels may be affected, depending on the duration of the shutdown, so travelers could eventually see longer security lines.

Immigration enforcement will continue

---

The shutdown is not expected to affect the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement campaign, thanks to the $165 billion cash infusion from last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $65 billion for Customs and Border Protection. The funding goes well beyond the annual allotments that the agencies typically receive and means they will be able continue operations despite the shutdown.

The DHS funding measure that failed in Congress would have provided $64 billion in discretionary funding for the fiscal year, including $10 billion for ICE.

Secret Service

---

Protective functions of the U.S. Secret Service, such as protection for the president and vice president, will continue. Other Secret Service functions at the White House are expected to continue, as well.

Coast Guard

---

The Coast Guard is the only military branch under the DHS umbrella. It will likely suspend functions like training, but search and rescue operations will continue.

Counterterrorism

---

Counterterrorism surveillance and intelligence gathering are not expected to face disruptions.

Other law enforcement functions

---

DHS’ previous shutdown guidelines said federal law enforcement officers whose duties include protecting human life or property will continue their work, but those whose jobs are administrative and aren’t directly involved in protecting life or property would be furloughed during the shutdown.

Disaster zone help will continue, but shutdown would cause disruption for FEMA, one official said

---

When funding has lapsed in the past, Federal Emergency Management Agency deployments to major disasters or emergencies have continued. But Gregg Phillips, associate FEMA director, testified before Congress Wednesday that a shutdown would mean a number of employees would be furloughed and it “would severely disrupt FEMA’s ability to reimburse states for disaster relief costs and to support our recovery from disasters.”

DHS guidelines before the last shutdown at the end of 2025 said FEMA, as of May, had just under 25,000 employees, and about 21,000 would have exempt status and would work during a shutdown.

Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.

As Trump tests alliances, Democrats with 2028 ambitions offer reassurance at Munich conference

By [Arlette Saenz]
Updated 46 min ago
Updated Feb 13, 2026, 5:16 PM ET
PUBLISHED Feb 13, 2026, 4:28 PM ET

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks during a panel on populism at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the high-profile Democrats looking to counter [President Donald Trump] at the Munich Security Conference this week as they outlined their foreign policy visions and what could come next.

“Donald Trump is temporary. He’ll be gone in three years,” said Newsom during a panel on climate change. “California is a stable and reliable partner in this space. And it’s important for folks to understand the temporary nature of this current administration in relationship to the issue.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who spoke on a panel about the rise of populism, said “We are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership on, on greater and increased commitment to integrity to our values.”

Roughly half a dozen Democrats with potential presidential ambitions in 2028 are descending on the annual Munich conference, a frequent stop for politicians to test the foreign policy waters and elevate their own profiles on the international stage ahead of White House runs.

Other possible 2028 hopefuls participating in the weekend events include Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Democrats traveled to Munich one year after Vice President JD Vance, a potential 2028 contender, [chastised European leaders] at the conference, accusing them of suppressing free speech, losing control of immigration and refusing to work with hard-right parties in government.

While Vance is not in attendance this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is often included in chatter about 2028, was set to represent the Trump administration. As he departed for Munich, Rubio told reporters “the old world is gone, frankly” and “we live in a new era of geopolitics.”

[Related article German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the opening of the 62nd Munich Security Conference in southern Germany on February 13. Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Rubio and European leaders agree on one thing: The old world order ‘no longer exists’ 4 min read]

“It’s going to require all of us to sort of re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be,” Rubio added, also noting that Europe is important to the US. “I think they want honesty. They want to know where we’re going, where we’d like to go, where we’d like to go with them.”

But many Democrats in attendance sought to assure European leaders of their commitment.

In an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt, Kelly pushed back on Rubio’s comments, saying, “The old world is gone because Donald Trump blew it up.”

“What I’m hearing now is, even if we are able to repair these relationships, it’s going to take generations before they feel comfortable,” Kelly said. “I think we can fix this. I think we can get past this. It’s going to take a new president, a new administration.”

Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats are seeking “a return to a rules-based order” and warned against an “age of authoritarianism,” accusing Trump of turning the Western Hemisphere into “his personal sandbox.”

During the panel on populism, the progressive rising star also pitched “working class centered politics” to “stave off the scourges of authoritarianism.” Asked if she would impose a wealth tax “when you run for president,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, “We don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think that it needs to be done expeditiously.”

The New York Democrat also appeared on a panel with Whitmer on the future of foreign policy later in the day. In the lead-up to her appearance at Munich, Ocasio-Cortez was advised by Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Countering Trump

In an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt, Newsom warned of the damage Trump has caused with traditional US allies.

“They see us as a wrecking ball. They see us as unreliable and a lot of them think irrevocable. They don’t think we’ll ever come back to our original form,” Newsom said. “I’m not as convinced of that.”

“Whatever happens, we can undo, we can shape-shift, we can fix. And while trust is difficult to reestablish, there’s too much at stake in a multinational — from a multi-international perspective, that we have a lot of work to do once Trump’s done,” Newsom added.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a panel discussion on climate change at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

For Newsom, the Munich appearance marked his second turn on the international stage within the past month. He was on hand at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January and emerged as a focal point in Trump’s own speech at the summit.

Last year, Newsom [traveled to Brazil for COP 30], an international climate conference to which the Trump administration declined to send an official delegation.

“The United States was a footnote. China sent close to 800 delegates. The United States didn’t even send a stenographer. They sent nobody,” Newsom said Friday. “They’ve completely walked away, abdicated any role in relationship to the issue of low carbon green growth.”

Asked what he would do to restore trust in the US on climate issues if he “were to become president, maybe the next president,” Newsom turned to talking about “my day job as governor of California” and the work his state has done on the issue.

[Related article CNN After Newsom trolls Trump in Davos, one of his appearances is blocked 4 min read]

“We have long moved beyond the partisanship on this issue, because there is no Republican thermometer, there’s no Democratic thermometer, there’s just reality. And people in my state have been mugged by reality,” he said.

Newsom was also set to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and sign a memorandum of understanding relating to a new partnership with Ukraine while in Munich, his office said.

Speaking during a panel on Gaza, Murphy argued Trump has “engaged in a consistent campaign to alienate our friends in Europe” and said he must use “leverage” with the Israeli government to ensure the next steps of plan for Gaza are implemented.

“The humanitarian situation continues to be morally unacceptable,” he said “I really worry about the long term health of the US-Israel relationship, if we don’t see real, meaningful progress in the clearing of rubble, in the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid, the construction of actual, real, permanent shelters in which people can live.”

Raimondo, a former commerce secretary under President Joe Biden and governor of Rhode Island, was also on hand to moderate a panel on economic security and emerging technology. Slotkin is scheduled to participate in a panel conversation Saturday about defending Europe and supporting Ukraine while Gallego is slated to speak on a panel about security for the Western Hemisphere.

This story has been updated with additional details.

Tillis suggests Warsh faces long Fed chair nomination process that could restrict his business life

February 13, 2026 / 4:27 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Friday that Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, will have to decide whether he would like to proceed with his nomination process because of potential impacts to his business life amid the senator’s pledge to oppose the confirmation of any nominee to the central bank until the Justice Department resolves its investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell.

In an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” set to air Sunday, Tillis said Warsh “is going to have to decide whether or not he wants to go through with this, because, as I’m sure you know, once the nominee is put forward, there are certain restrictions on what he can do in his business life.”

Tillis reiterated that he has “no intention” of supporting the confirmation of any nominee to the Fed Board until the Justice Department’s investigation into Powell is resolved. That would include the confirmation of Warsh, whom Mr. Trump announced last month as his pick to succeed Powell as Fed chair.

The senator said last month that Warsh is a “qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy,” but repeated his position that he would oppose the confirmation of any Fed nominee until the inquiry into Powell ends.

“Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable,” Tillis wrote in a post on X.

In his interview with “Face the Nation,” the North Carolina Republican also sharply criticized the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro, for the investigation into Powell. The Fed chair revealed last month that the central bank had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department, which he said threatened a criminal indictment stemming from Powell’s June 2025 testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about a multi-year project to renovate the Fed’s headquarters.

“I think we had a young U.S. attorney with a dream trying to get the president’s attention, not even consulting with the administration and big DOJ on something that maybe they thought they’d get brownie points for,” he said. “It’s not cute.”

Pirro served as the Westchester County, New York, district attorney and was a Fox News host before Mr. Trump tapped her to serve as the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia. She said her office contacted the Fed on “multiple occasions” to discuss cost overruns related to the renovation and Powell’s testimony, but turned to the legal process when prosecutors were “ignored.” The Fed is self-funded and is not part of the congressional appropriations process, so taxpayer dollars are not being used for the renovation.

“The word ‘indictment’ has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s. None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach,” she wrote on social media last month. “This office makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less. We agree with the chairman of the Federal Reserve that no one is above the law, and that is why we expect his full cooperation.”

Several Republicans joined Tillis in criticizing the investigation involving Powell and pushed back on the notion that he had committed a crime while testifying. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Banking Committee, told Fox Business earlier this month that while he thinks Powell made a “gross error in judgment” and wasn’t prepared for the hearing, “I do not believe that he committed a crime.”

Tillis, meanwhile, said prosecutors should listen to Republicans who said they don’t believe Powell acted with criminal intent.

“More importantly, the prosecutor should understand that the protocol normally would be a referral from the chair or a member of the committee to say, ‘we think a crime was committed here,’” he said. “We’ve got a crime scene where seven Republican members say no crime was committed. How hard is that to understand?”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC earlier Friday that he believes the Banking Committee will move forward with a confirmation hearing for Warsh. The decision to hold a confirmation hearing rests with Scott as the panel’s chair, Tillis said, though as a committee member, he gets to decide for himself whether to block Warsh’s nomination.

“The decision I get to make is whether or not I allow a markup, and if I do allow a markup, how I vote,” Tillis said. “And I’m saying that until the matter is solved, I’m a no.”

Mr. Trump frequently attacks Powell over the Fed’s decisions related to interest rates and has called him “crooked” and “incompetent.” The president tapped Powell for chair of the Fed Board during his first term, and his tenure in that role is set to end in May. Powell’s term as a Fed governor, however, is not up until 2028, though he could step down sooner.

While Mr. Trump announced Warsh as his pick to follow Powell as Fed chair, the nomination has not yet been sent to the Senate.

US shutters key DEA office in the Caribbean amid agent corruption scandal

By Holmes Lybrand, Evan Perez
5 min ago
PUBLISHED Feb 13, 2026, 5:56 PM ET

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent wears a tactical vest in Washington, DC, on August 21, 2025.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP/File

A day after the US announced it took the unusual step of shuttering it’s Drug Enforcement Administration office in the Dominican Republic — a key site in the agency’s effort to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean — a top agent there was charged with running a visa fraud scheme.

US Ambassador Leah F. Campos announced on social media Thursday that she had closed the DEA’s office, writing “It is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust to use one’s official capacity for personal gain.”

“I will not tolerate even the perception of corruption anywhere in the Embassy I lead,” Campos added.

The Justice Department announced Friday the charges against supervisory special agent Meliton Cordero, who the DOJ said in a press release was assigned to the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic for six years. Cordero was arrested Thursday.

Cordero is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors didn’t ask that he be detained, but he was ordered to surrender his passport.

Prosecutors say Cordero accepted thousands of dollars in exchange for assisting foreign nationals with securing nonimmigrant visas that would allow them to visit the US for a temporary period.

“During his assignment at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, Cordero expedited at least 119 visa applications, at least one of which is alleged to have been fraudulent, often coaching individuals in preparation for their visa interview with U.S. Consular Officers,” the Justice Department said.

Charging documents against Cordero have not yet been unsealed in court records.

The US ambassador made the extraordinary move to shut down the DEA’s office in the Dominican Republic in recent days, in response to the corruption probe,

The decision could hamper US anti-narcotics efforts in the region, which the Trump administration has cited as a high priority.

The office is a major base of operations for monitoring and cutting off traffickers using the Caribbean as a route to traffic cocaine from South America to Europe and the US.

The Dominican government has allowed the Defense Department to use its military facilities as part of a broader effort that includes military strikes on purported trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

“The temporary closure of the DEA office in Santo Domingo is to allow time for an investigation internal to this Embassy. The Dominican Republic remains a critical partner in our work to combat narco-terrorism throughout the region,” the US embassy in the Dominican Republic said in a statement on X. “That work will continue at the same robust pace between the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo and our Dominican partners even as our internal investigation ensues.”

President Donald Trump Friday sharply criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it an “embarrassment” and arguing his administration would not have left military equipment behind.

“You remember that where they left all the military equipment behind? We didn’t. We wouldn’t have left anything,” Trump said while speaking at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “We were going to get out with dignity and strength, respect. We looked like we were running. We don’t run from anybody. That was a Biden embarrassment.”

Trump also questioned why aircraft were not flown out of the country.

“We don’t leave equipment behind. We don’t leave jets behind,” he said. “I said, why do you leave those jets behind, sir? I thought it was cheaper to leave it behind. You know, $150 million plane. All they had to do is put a little jet fuel in there and fly it to wherever they want to fly it.”

He said the U.S. military had been rebuilt during his first term and is now stronger than ever.

“So with the help of everyone in this room, America is the strongest military on the face of the earth. We rebuilt it. We really did,” Trump said. “We rebuilt it in my first term.”

His remarks came during a visit that honored the special operators involved in the operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which he contrasted as an “extraordinary military operation.”

The U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after nearly 20 years of war. The evacuation followed a February 2020 agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term that set a timeline for U.S. forces to leave the country.

Biden oversaw the final withdrawal as Taliban forces rapidly seized control of Afghanistan, culminating in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians.

Biden has argued that he was bound by the withdrawal agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term and faced the choice of completing the pullout or sending more U.S. troops back into combat. Trump has rejected that claim, saying his deal with the Taliban was “conditions-based” and that he would not have withdrawn if the Taliban failed to meet its commitments.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden Friday for comment and has yet to receive a reply.

Trump vows to require voter ID in midterms “whether approved by Congress or not”

Updated on: February 13, 2026 / 5:21 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — President Trump declared Friday he would bypass Congress and require voter identification in the November midterm elections as legislation on the issue appears doomed in the Senate.

“There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

He said there should also be proof of citizenship and a ban on mail-in ballots, with some exceptions.

Mr. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that widespread voter fraud has helped Democrats win elections. Instances of noncitizens voting are exceedingly rare.

In another post, the president said he would be making his case in a forthcoming executive order.

“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW!” he wrote. “If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.