Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some urgent stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening.
President Donald Trump makes a critical phone call to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the ongoing war in Ukraine; the U.S. Senate confirms a highly scrutinized nominee to a critical national security position, and our nation’s border czar makes a surprising claim about ICE raids being compromised by the FBI.
Also, a federal judge puts a hold on a government probe into the Department of Education’s financial records, and a number of dismissed federal employees have just filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an effort to get their jobs back.
Trump Says Putin Agreed to Start Negotiations to End Ukraine War
Trump says that he’s just had a “lengthy and productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the two leaders have agreed to immediately begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.The president says that he and Putin discussed a number of possible ways to end the war, as well as how they can improve relations between our two nations. He also said that he would immediately reach out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to inform him of the progress that’s currently being made.
The president went on to say that he has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz to head up the negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine.
He told them that Ukraine’s ambition to retake all of the territory that they’ve lost to Russia since 2014 is an unrealistic war goal; that its wish to join NATO is also impractical; and that Europe must take on a greater share of the burden of supporting Ukraine.
Senate Confirms Gabbard as DNI
Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has just become our nation’s new director of national intelligence and she has already stepped into her new role.Gabbard was approved by a 52–48 vote following several weeks of debate regarding her qualifications and judgment. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle questioned her ability to lead the intelligence community before eventually voting along party lines.
Gabbard’s nomination was highly scrutinized by both Democrats and Republicans who expressed concern over her desire to eliminate a number of controversial surveillance laws. They were also bothered by her praise of Edward Snowden, a U.S. intelligence contractor who leaked more than a million files from U.S. intelligence and defense servers before eventually fleeing to Russia.
A number of leading intelligence Democrats who voted against Gabbard say that the former congresswoman’s history of speaking favorably of hostile foreign powers raises serious questions about her ability to recognize key security issues.
On the other hand, Senate Republicans favor Gabbard’s willingness to take on what they see as an entrenched bureaucratic class within the intelligence community, which they say frequently does not work in the best interests of the American people.
For her part, during her confirmation hearings, Gabbard said that for too long, inadequate or weaponized intelligence has been undermining our national security. She says that “ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people is a mandate of leadership that rises above partisan politics.”
Border Czar Says FBI Leaking Info About ICE Raids
Both border czar Tom Homan and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem are suggesting that those leaks, which concern raids made throughout the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, are coming from inside the FBI.Homan says that both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DHS, which oversees ICE, are now investigating those incidents. He also says that some of the information they’re receiving backs up their claims.
He went on to say that the disclosed information deals with ICE raids that target the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. He says the leaks are “giving the bad guys a heads-up,” allowing them to escape apprehension, and that it’s only a matter of time before ICE officers are ambushed and their lives are put at risk as a result.
The border czar went on to say that a high-ranking DOJ official has promised him that when they’re caught, the person behind the leaks will lose their job, forfeit their pension, and eventually go to jail.
Secretary Noem says that her department will work with every available agency to both stop those leaks and prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law.
Additionally, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirms that the Department of Justice is also going after potential leakers. She says that they jeopardize the lives of our law enforcement officers and that anyone who is caught will be held fully accountable for their crimes.
Judge Blocks DOGE From Accessing Federal Student Aid Data
A federal judge in Washington has just temporarily stopped Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing federal student loan and financial aid information that is stored at the U.S. Department of Education.The judge’s order bars any members or associates of DOGE from either seeing or using any information found in more than a dozen internal databases related to student finance.
Both sides of the lawsuit—the University of California Student Association and the Education Department—have agreed to the pause while they prepare their arguments, which are scheduled to be heard sometime next week.
In their complaint, the student association alleges that the Education Department has been providing DOGE with ongoing access to sensitive personally identifiable information, without any clear oversight or legal authorization. They argue that since DOGE’s actions are “shrouded in secrecy,” no one knows what information is being shared or how it’s being used.
By the way, the lawsuit comes amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Education Department, which last year operated on a more than $265 billion budget and oversees $1.5 trillion in federal student loans owed by more than 40 million Americans.
Fired Government Watchdogs Sue Trump Admin to Get Jobs Back
Eight inspectors general who were let go by the Trump administration are now asking a federal judge in Washington to recognize their dismissals as unlawful and to reinstate them to their respective offices.The plaintiffs are the former inspectors general of the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, State, Education, Agriculture, Labor, and the Small Business Administration.
They were all fired via identical emails that were sent out on Jan. 24. So far, at least 18 total inspectors general have been fired.
By the way, the role of inspector general is meant to be a nonpartisan, oversight position. It involves rooting out corruption, waste, and abuse within the federal government.
The dismissal of these inspectors, who are presidentially appointed, legally requires the president to provide in writing a detailed and substantial rationale for the termination, as well as a 30-day notice to Congress; the lawsuit argues that neither was given.
Following their release, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators wrote a letter to the president, telling him that while inspectors general can be removed, the law must be followed in doing so. They also asked Trump to provide the required rationale for each terminated inspector general and to name their acting replacements.
It’s almost time to wrap things up but before we go, a couple more stories we’re following very closely here in the News Brief newsroom:
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
To make contact with the News Brief crew, simply reach out to us via email and we’re at [email protected] and you can also leave comments for us on The Epoch Times app which you can download for free on either the App Store or Google Play.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote and this one comes to us from Conan O’Brien who said:
“Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.”
O’Brien is an actor, writer, producer, comedian, and television host. He’s also a Harvard graduate with a degree in history and literature, and was the editor of The Harvard Lampoon for two years.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your day and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
For now, it’s imperative that we all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
