Trump marks one month in office amid Zelensky rift as Vance opens CPAC: Live

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Donald Trump can go “toe-to-toe” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin when asked about concerns that the president may be under his influence.

“If there’s anybody in this world that can go toe-to-toe with Putin, that can go toe-to-toe with Xi, that can go toe-to-toe with Kim Jong Un … it’s Donald J. Trump,” Waltz said.

The question came after Trump echoed Kremlin propaganda on Wednesday, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator,” despite the fact he was democratically elected.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who called for Pentagon budget cuts, could be poised to fire several top generals and senior leaders perceived as too political or too close Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CNN reports.

This list includes Gen. CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the outlet.

Hegseth criticized Brown for some time before his confirmation but said he looked forward to working with him as he was sworn in.

“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth said in November. “But any general that was involved – general, admiral, whatever – that was involved in any of the DEI woke s*** has got to go. Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about.”

Read more about Hegseth’s budget cuts from The Independent’s Michelle Del Rey:

The Conservative Political Action Conference has a “declining influence,” evidenced by a sparse sponsor hall at this year’s event, The Hill reports.

Major sponsors that appeared in prior years, including the Heritage Foundation and Turning Point USA, are no longer there, the outlet reports.

The Trump administration has responded to a lawsuit filed by immigration attorneys seeking access to people detained by the government at Guantanamo Bay.

The administration revealed in the filing that officials have detained 178 people who all have orders for removal to Venezuela.

Agents are housing “higher-threat immigration detainees” in the notorious Camp VI jail, while “the lower-threat detainees” are being “housed in and around the Migrant Operations Center.”

There are also written instructions in English and Spanish for migrants to make phone calls to counsel, the administration’s filing claims, but it is unclear where these are posted.

Read more about the lawsuit:

Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, could join the list of people who are set to make a fortune when Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein goes public as soon as this year.

Patel formerly consulted for Shein’s parent company, Elite Depot, and was compensated with stock worth anywhere from $1 million to $5 million, according to the financial disclosures he submitted as part of his confirmation process to lead the FBI.

His financial disclosures state he plans to keep the stock if confirmed.

Now, critics in the national security sphere have told The Wall Street Journal they’re concerned about Patel maintaining ties with the company.

Katie Hawkinson has more.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, will have his confirmation vote at 1:45 p.m. ET.

He is likely to be confirmed given the chamber is in GOP control and just one Republican — Susan Collins — opposes his nomination.

A former inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said he knew he would be fired over a report blasting the Trump administration for cutting crucial funds, but did it anyway.

“This should be an alarm to all Americans,” former USAID inspector general Paul Martin warned the country about government watchdogs being let go by Trump.

Senator Mitch McConnell announced his retirement from the Senate floor today, his 83rd birthday.

“My current term in the Senate will be my last,” he said on the Senate floor before appearing to tear up.

“The only appropriate thing to take away today, apart from a healthy dose of pride, is my immense gratitude for the opportunity to take part in the business of the senate and the nation,” McConnell added.

The denizens of Donald Trump’s favorite morning show cheered the president on Thursday for hailing himself as a “king” after striking down New York’s congestion pricing, claiming he’s merely “making fun” of Democrats and driving them “crazy” by giving them “a little bait.”

The Fox & Friends hosts’ celebratory reaction to the president’s declaration, which they also said was a message to other “liberal” cities, comes just days after Fox News praised Trump for “triggering the libs” by parroting an authoritarian quote to suggest he is above the law.

Here’s more from Justin Baragona.