Trump Suggests US Should Control Gaza
President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week at the White House where he suggested the United States take control of and rebuild the Gaza Strip.In their first meeting since his inauguration, Trump suggested that the United States would be responsible for clearing the area of any explosives and destroyed buildings.
Trump reiterated previously suggested comments that countries like Egypt or Jordan should take in more Palestinian refugees, then the United States could “clean out” Gaza entirely and build it again.
His comments received opposition from the international community, which broadly supports a two-state solution recognising the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Pam Bondi Confirmed as Attorney General
Pam Bondi was confirmed on Feb. 4 by the U.S. Senate to lead the U.S. Department of Justice.Bondi, who was President Donald Trump’s pick to be U.S. attorney general, will now be responsible for overseeing the justice system and its law enforcement agencies, which include the FBI.
Since her nomination, she has committed to returning the Department of Justice to its core mission of upholding the rule of law and restoring its integrity—which she says has been subject to partisan weaponisation—and targeting the country’s opioid crisis.
Bondi has been through contentious questioning in the past few weeks in front of the Senate in which she was eventually confirmed along a partisan divide. Democrats had raised concerns of her inability to maintain independence from the White House, which she has vowed to uphold.
US Pulls Out of UN Human Rights Council
The United States has officially pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 4, claiming that it had “not fulfilled its purpose and continues to be used as a protective body for countries committing horrific human rights violations.”
It noted that fellow members Venezuela, Iran, and China are the worst human rights perpetrators.
The United States initially pulled out of the UNHRC in 2018 during Trump’s first term, only to rejoin when President Joe Biden entered office in 2020.
Trump also cut off assistance to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East agency, claiming it has ties to the Hamas terrorist group.
Border Crossings Down 93 percent
Encounters at the southern border are down 93 percent since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, according to border czar Tom Homan.Trump issued a number of executive orders on his first day of office aimed at tightening security at the border, calling the crisis an “invasion.”
