Trump obliterates an aide’s efforts to downplay his comments – again

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/05/politics/leavitt-trump-contradict-nationalize-elections

Trump on Tuesday laid waste to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s efforts to pretend he didn’t say something as controversial as he did. And this has become an altogether familiar exercise.

The controversy du jour in the Trump administration right now is Trump having floated nationalizing elections.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” Trump told former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino in a podcast episode published Monday. “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

So up stepped Leavitt to suggest that Trump hadn’t actually said what he said.

She claimed Trump was instead referring to Congress passing the SAVE Act, a bill that aims to combat noncitizen voting in federal elections – something that is already illegal and that experts say rarely happens.

And sure enough, Trump on Tuesday made clear that he meant what he said. Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins what he meant by nationalize the election, he made no mention of the SAVE Act and doubled down on the idea of the federal government asserting a more expansive form of control

Republicans fear Trump backlash could cost them Senate control

 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5723418-republicans-fear-trump-backlash-could-cost-them-senate-control/

Senate Republicans are concerned that public backlash to President Trump’s handling of the economy and his aggressive deportation policies could give rise to a Democratic wave that not only sweeps away the House Republican majority, but also threatens their own three-seat majority in the upper chamber.

The latest alarm bell rang over the weekend when Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet won a state Senate seat in a North Texas district that President Trump won by 17 points in 2024, a stunning upset that GOP senators say should serve as a “wake-up call” heading into November.

A second Republican senator who requested anonymity told The Hill that voters across the political spectrum aren’t happy with Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation, and a growing number of independents are turned off by his administration’s aggressive deportation tactics in Minneapolis.

Prosperity?

Hellbent’: Trump is reassembling his 2020 coup crew amid 2026 midterm panic

Rand Paul on Trump call to ‘nationalize’ elections: ‘That’s not what the Constitution says’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5722041-rand-paul-trump-call-to-nationalize-elections/

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he does not support President Trump’s proposal for Republicans to “take over” voting procedures in more than a dozen states and “nationalize” the midterm elections, declaring the president’s call to action blatantly unconstitutional.

“That’s not what the Constitution says about elections,” Paul said in an interview Tuesday with MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle, when asked about the president’s statement that Republicans “ought to nationalize the voting.”

Trump doubled down on his call for the GOP to “nationalize” voting Tuesday, despite efforts by the White House to soften his previous statements on the issue. He said the federal government should take a more active role in running elections to combat what he called “corruption.”

Haredi Jew assaulted in Zurich

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/02/03/haredi-jew-attacked-zurich-antisemitic-assault/

A 26-year-old Haredi man was the victim of an antisemitic attack in Zurich on Monday night. Around 8:15 PM, Zurich city police received a report that a Haredi man had been attacked by another individual.

Officers who arrived at the scene found several people preventing a man from fleeing. The detained man had attacked the 26-year-old Haredi Jew with his fists without any provocation from the victim. Thanks to the help of several passersby – including a Hasidic man and another non-Jewish individual – the attacker was held until Zurich police arrived. The attacker repeatedly shouted offensive and antisemitic remarks, even in the presence of police officers. The Haredi victim sustained minor injuries in the incident.

Trump’s Push to ‘Nationalize’ Elections, Explained

 https://time.com/7366147/trump-nationalize-voting-federalize-elections-fraud-republicans/

As President Donald Trump continues to allege widespread electoral fraud benefitting Democrats, his latest attempt to upend U.S. elections in the name of correcting that fraud is a call for the Republican Party to “nationalize” voting.

The Constitution decentralizes the U.S. election process and has specifically left the President out. Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 states that “the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing [sic] Senators.” 

In practice, this means local officials across thousands of jurisdictions administer elections and tabulate votes, with safeguards built in that the American Bar Association says makes it “almost impossible for systems to be breached on a scale to affect federal or state results.” 

At the heart of Trump’s push are repeated accusations that previous U.S. elections were rigged. Trump has claimed that he won the 2020 presidential elections over his then-opponent Joe Biden, despite state and federal officials as well as numerous courts rejecting such claims. “The 2020 election, I won that election by so much,” Trump told Bongino. “Everybody knows it.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D, Calif.), meanwhile, accused Republicans of “desperately trying to rig the rules for future elections” instead of trying to win on their policies. “The right to vote is fundamental, and Congress should be working to make it easier, not harder, for eligible Americans to participate.”

Hamas strengthens and the PA returns — this is no recipe for security and stability

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-strengthens-and-the-pa-returns-this-is-no-recipe-for-security-and-stability/

Israel went to war after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre with two essential goals: to get back the hostages, and to destroy Hamas and any other potential deadly threats to Israel. Among the subsequent conditions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also vowed to impose was that there would be no role for the Palestinian Authority in a postwar Gaza unless the PA underwent radical reform.

With the return of all the hostages, living and dead, and the Trump administration’s declaration that we have now entered phase two of the US president’s broad Gaza peace plan, however, Hamas still rules half of Gaza, is targeting Israeli troops in the other half, and is not planning to disarm. And the PA, in more and less overt guises, is assuming a significant role during this fuzzy period of semi-war, semi-ceasefire. The Mahmoud Abbas-led PA, that, in a previous iteration, Hamas murderously and swiftly booted out of Gaza when seizing power there almost 20 years ago.

At President Donald Trump’s instruction, the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been reopened to limited entry and exit of people. And it is the PA, along with Egypt and European representation, that is managing the process — a fact that official Israel prefers not to acknowledge. (Israel, it should be stressed, is vetting and thus determining who is permitted to come in or go out, just not at the crossing itself.)

Rabbi Kook’s “Shemonah Kevatzim" - now in English

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/421969

During the course of our discussion about his new book, I asked: “While Rabbi Kook's teachings have had a profound influence on almost every sphere of life in Israel, his books are still not to be found in most Haredi yeshivot. Considering that Rabbi Kook was a universally recognized master of Halakhah and as stringent as can be, what do you think led to such harsh resistance to his teachings throughout the Haredi world?"

“Originally," Shulman answered: “Rabbi Kook was greatly respected throughout the Torah world. He was only opposed by the old haredi Jerusalem leadership because of his Zionistic views. Unfortunately, this polarizing outlook was zealously spread. I hope that as people in the haredi community search for an expansive, creative, and illuminating vision of Torah they will overcome any negative preconceptions they may have about Rabbi Kook and allow themselves to discovers the wonder of his teachings."

Cassidy, Blunt Rochester grill NIH director on Denmark fixation: ‘That’s a crazy idea’

 https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5721096-bhattacharya-denmark-health-policy/?tbref=hp

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) on Tuesday questioned a top Trump health official on the administration modeling policy around Denmark, a largely homogeneous country of just over 6 million people.

“Now if we pattern after the place that is wealthy, we’re not meeting the needs of those that are poor,” Cassidy said, pounding his fists into the hearing desk. “I have to admit, I was kind of like, ‘What? We’re like Denmark?’ I was just kind of like that’s a crazy idea.”

Cassidy, a longtime physician prior to being elected to Congress, has repeatedly butted heads with Kennedy when it comes to vaccine policy changes. Cassidy voted to confirm Kennedy as HHS secretary despite his long history of promoting vaccine skepticism.

Greene: MAGA ‘was all a lie’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5718355-marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-maga-lie/

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said President Trump’s Make American Great Again slogan was a “lie,” saying his first year back in office was focused on obliging wealthy supporters.

“I think people are realizing it was all a lie. It was a big lie for the people. What MAGA is really serving in this administration, who they’re serving, is their big donors,” Greene said in a Wednesday interview with radio personality Kim Iversen. 

“The big, big donors that donated all the money and continue to donate to the president’s PACs and donate to the 250th anniversary and are donating to the big ballroom,” she added.

Year-old child dies of measles in Jerusalem, in 14th fatality of outbreak

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/year-old-child-dies-of-measles-in-jerusalem-in-14th-fatality-of-outbreak/

A 1-year-old child died of measles Wednesday morning, health officials in Jerusalem said, marking the 14th fatality in a months-long outbreak that has swept through ultra-Orthodox communities and areas with low immunization rates.

However, a small increase in the number of parents choosing not to vaccinate “is enough to rapidly trigger the kind of outbreak that we’re seeing now in Israel,” said Prof. Michael Edelstein, a public health expert at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine.

One reason that people are skeptical about vaccines is that “they have been so successful that diseases like measles have almost disappeared,” said Edelstein.

Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/02/03/homeland-security-administrative-subpoena/

Homeland Security is not required to share how many administrative subpoenas it issues each year, but tech experts and former agency staff estimate it’s well into the thousands, if not tens of thousands. Because the legal demands are not subject to independent review, they can take just minutes to write up and, former staff say, officials throughout the agency, even in mid-level roles, have been given the authority to approve them.

Proponents describe administrative subpoenas as critical tools that allow investigators to avoid protracted judicial reviews to obtain information that could, for example, help them identify someone sexually exploiting a child or track down a suspected drug trafficker.

Speed is what makes them so useful, former and current federal investigators told The Post. With no external bureaucracy, the government can obtain phone, financial and internet records in days.

Detractors argue that the lack of independent oversight and the secrecy with which they can be wielded threaten core democratic principles.

Thune rejects Trump’s call for GOP to take over and ‘nationalize’ elections

 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5720386-thune-trump-federal-elections/

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Tuesday rejected President Trump’s call for Republicans in Washington to “nationalize” voting in the United States and “take over” the management of elections in 15 states.

Thune said that while he strongly supports requiring voters to show identification to prove they are citizens, he does not support the federal government seizing the power to run elections, noting the Constitution gives that power to the states.