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European countries are pushing back against the Trump administration's designs on Greenland.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing that the U.S. government “has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil” with the global marketplace.
“All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and products will first settle in U.S.-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks to guarantee the legitimacy and integrity of the ultimate distribution of proceeds, and those funds will be dispersed for the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the United States government,” she added.
Trump said yesterday that the interim Venezuelan government will turn over between 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S.
Following a briefing from Trump administration officials to all senators on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the three-phase process the U.S. plans to embark on in Venezuela, a process he said he outlined in detail to the Senate.
“Step one is the stabilization of the country. We don’t want it descending into chaos,” Rubio told reporters, adding that stabilization includes the “quarantine” of oil in Venezuela.
He highlighted Trump’s vision, which he announced overnight, that includes a plan to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil at market rates.
The money from that sale of oil “will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people,” Rubio said.
“The second phase will be a phase that we call recovery,” Rubio added. “And that is ensuring that American, Western and other companies have access to the Venezuelan market in a way that’s fair.”
Phase two also includes reconciling with the Venezuelan government to ensure that “opposition forces can be amnestied and released,” Rubio said.
Since Saturday, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been serving as interim president, fueling worry among the leaders of Venezuela’s opposition parties, many of whom live in exile.
“The third phase of course will be one of transition,” Rubio told reporters, adding, “We feel like we’ll be moving forward here in a very positive way.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins criticized alleged fraud in programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in a press briefing.
“Clearly you all have been writing about Minnesota,” she said, referencing fraud allegations in the state. “California’s next, we’re looking at New York, some other states. The amount of fraud in all of these programs is absolutely stunning.”
She called it a “significant problem.”
Following a briefing for all senators from Trump administration officials about Venezuela, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters that they’d like House and Senate GOP leadership to hold public hearings about the Trump administration’s operations in Venezuela.
“The American people need answers,” Schumer told reporters after accusing Trump administration officials of only briefing lawmakers behind closed doors.
“Neither the House or the Senate have been willing to hold a hearing … why not?” Kaine asked.
The Senate minority leader added that he was “totally dissatisfied” with the answers senators received from the Trump administration briefers about conducting future operations in other countries, succession in Venezuela and whether the U.S. will try to take control of Greenland.
Following a briefing for all senators on Venezuela from members of the Trump administration, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters that last weekend’s military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was not regime change.
“No,” he said when asked whether the U.S. was engaged in regime change, highlighting that the U.S. “took out a president that was not duly elected.”
Mullin demurred when asked whether interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, was duly elected. The senator said he couldn’t say because he didn’t know whether presidents and vice presidents are elected on the same ticket in Venezuela, as they are in the U.S.
Mullin added that the priority regarding the U.S.’ involvement in Venezuela is “to bring stability to Venezuela” and to bring democracy back to the nation. Notably, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that holding elections and bringing back democracy was a secondary focus for U.S. operations in Venezuela, highlighting a priority to curb drug trafficking.
Mullin also spoke about Trump’s goal of revitalizing oil infrastructure in Venezuela.
The senator told reporters that Venezuelan oil is “not ours,” adding that the U.S. Treasury would get “not one dollar” from Venezuelan oil sales and that oil revenue would stay in Venezuela to help residents there.
This was also in contrast to what Trump himself said Saturday when he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela, and it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.”
And overnight, the president said that the U.S. would seize 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and sell it at market price to fund U.S. and Venezuelan interests.
The White House briefing has started, with appearances by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized that “we’re not at war with Greenland.”
He added that the U.S. has no “intention” or “reason” to be at war with Greenland.
“They’re talking about diplomatic channels for this,” Johnson said, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has not ruled out military action.
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., slammed what he referred to as “Somali fraud” in Minnesota.
“Send them home,” he said, referring to Somali immigrants who take part in fraud or who he believes do not assimilate into American culture.
Emmer, who serves as the Republican whip, argued that Gov. Tim Walz dropping his bid for a third term in office would not absolve him from accountability.
“Walz is running scared,” Emmer said. “But let me be clear. Tim Walz dropping out of the Minnesota’s governor’s race will not exempt him from the storm of accountability that is heading his way. Between the Oversight Committee’s congressional investigation and President Trump’s decisive action, Walz can try to run but he’s not going to be able to hide for long.”
Emmer’s comments took place during a press conference with Republican leadership. NBC News has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a press release that he would travel to the United Kingdom to address its Parliament on Jan. 20.
The remarks will honor the United States’ 250th anniversary, the release said.
Johnson said in a statement, “I will be happy to visit one of the great shrines of democracy itself, where the principles that launched the long struggle for American liberty were debated and refined.”
Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., was discharged from the hospital after a car accident, according to his X account. His wife “continues to receive excellent care as she recovers,” the post said.
“Rep. Jim Baird and his family expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of love and support, and he thanks everyone for their prayers and well wishes,” said the post, which included a picture of Baird in what appeared to be a neck brace.
Baird’s office said yesterday that the congressman was expected to make a full recovery.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this morning that he doesn’t “think anybody’s talking about using military force in Greenland” after he was asked whether he expressed his opposition to the idea to Trump.
“They’re looking at diplomatic channels,” Johnson told reporters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement yesterday that Trump’s team was discussing “a range of options” to acquire Greenland, adding, “utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
Asked about Leavitt’s comments on using the military, Johnson said that “the U.S. always has military options for everything.”
“I think it’s a general statement,” he said. “I think with Greenland, it’s very clear that we are working on their diplomatic channels.”
Trump’s administration said yesterday that it is withholding funding for programs that support needy families with children in five Democratic-led states over concerns about fraud.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program, will require the states to provide extra documentation to access the funds.
“Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement.
The administration has not laid out details about the fraud allegations.
HHS said in a statement last evening that it “identified concerns that these benefits intended for American citizens and lawful residents may have been improperly provided to individuals who are not eligible under federal law.”
Five states — California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York — are targeted, and HHS said they had been notified.
Read the full story here.
Trump released a controversial new website to mark the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that aims to rewrite the history of the day. It calls the rioters “peaceful protestors” and blames the capital police officers for deliberately escalating tensions. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for “TODAY.”
A federal judge yesterday ordered Trump ally Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues to call herself the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia even though another judge determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed to the position.
U.S. District Judge David Novak of Richmond issued a three-page order demanding to know why Halligan is still serving in the post. Halligan, who unsuccessfully prosecuted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, is also referred to as U.S. attorney by the Justice Department in official documents.
The judge’s order is unusual because he issued it on his own, not at the request of defense attorneys. It came in a case involving a carjacking and attempted bank robbery suspect who was indicted last month.
Novak gave Halligan seven days to respond in writing “explaining the basis for … identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge Currie’s contrary ruling. She shall also set forth the reasons why this Court should not strike Ms. Halligan’s identification of herself as United States Attorney from the indictment in this matter.”
The judge’s order goes on to say Halligan “shall further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement.” Novak also alluded to potential disciplinary action and demanded that Halligan sign her response.
Read the full story here.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a radio interview today in France that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him the U.S. has “ruled out” going after Greenland in the same way it did Venezuela.
The White House said yesterday that using the military to acquire the self-governing Danish territory was under consideration.
“Greenland is not for sale,” Barrot told France Inter Radio. “It belongs to the Greenlanders and its future will be defined in the agreement between the Greenlandic and Danish authorities”.
“It would make absolutely no sense for one NATO country to attack another NATO country,” Barrot said. “It would make no sense and, above all, it would be completely contrary to the interests of the United States”.
Barrot said he spoke by telephone yesterday with Rubio. “He confirmed that this was not the option chosen by the United States. He ruled out the possibility of what has just happened in Venezuela happening in Greenland.”
“There is massive support in the United States for this country’s membership of NATO, a membership that would be compromised overnight by any form of aggression towards another NATO member. It is an alliance, and members owe each other mutual respect,’
Asked if Europe should push back harder against the Trump White House, Barrot said, “I believe that we are not lacking in any form of firmness.”
“Our position is neither to lament as spectators of violations of international law, nor to throw international law out with the bathwater,” he said. “Our position is to defend these great principles because they are right, but at the same time to strengthen and rearm ourselves so that we can defend ourselves against the law of the strongest.”
The United States for the first time backed a broad coalition of Ukraine’s allies in vowing to provide security guarantees that leaders said would include binding commitments to support the country if Russia attacks again.
The pledge came today at a summit in Paris of the “coalition of the willing” of mainly European nations to firm up guarantees to reassure Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, which invaded its neighbor in 2014 and again at full scale in 2022.
Unlike previous coalition meetings, the summit was also attended by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law — as well as America’s top general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, who a day earlier fleshed out details of security guarantees with European army chiefs.
Witkoff, who has led talks with Russia, said after the summit that Trump “strongly stands behind security protocols.”
Read the full story here.
NBC News