At Davos this week, Trump faced the world’s elite after threatening to destroy NATO and punish allies with crippling tariffs.
Within hours, he backed down on all of it because the people across the table didn’t owe him anything and are ready to rebuild the world order without America at the center.
Back home, Trump is surrounded by allies chosen specifically to enable him. That lockstep loyalty allows ICE to grow stronger each day. They spread operations into Maine today while military police at Fort Bragg got orders to prepare for deployment to Minnesota. An appeals court restored their authority to use tear gas and chemical agents against protesting Americans. And whistleblowers leaked a secret memo revealing ICE now claims the legal authority to break down doors without a judicial warrant.
Their impunity was captured in a video from St. Paul showing an ICE agent entering a Thai restaurant with his handgun drawn while customers ate lunch, accusing the owners of hiding “a kid.”
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U.S. meets key condition for losing measles elimination status after 12 months of sustained transmission, with CDC official calling it "the cost of doing business."
Today’s GovBrief News
Trump suspends tariffs on eight European nations after claiming "framework" deal with NATO on Greenland, says he will not use force to take the island.
Source: Euronews
January 21, 2026
HHS threatens to strip Illinois of federal health funding over 2017 law requiring doctors who oppose abortion to refer patients to providers who offer it.
Source: The Washington Post
January 21, 2026
Video shows ICE agent entering St. Paul Thai restaurant with handgun drawn, accusing owners of hiding "a kid" as customers ate.
Source: USA Today
January 21, 2026
House votes 214-208 to reverse 20-year mining ban near Boundary Waters wilderness, clearing path for Chilean-owned copper mine in northern Minnesota.
Source: The Duluth News Tribune
January 21, 2026
New York judge orders Staten Island's congressional district redrawn by Feb. 6, potentially pairing the conservative borough with liberal lower Manhattan.
Source: The Staten Island Advance
January 21, 2026
Pentagon orders Army military police brigade at Fort Bragg to prepare for Minnesota deployment, adding to 1,500 troops already on standby.
Source: The Independent
January 21, 2026
Eighth Circuit lifts injunction that barred ICE from tear gassing and detaining peaceful protesters in Minneapolis, restoring agents' authority to use force.
Source: The Minnesota Reformer
January 21, 2026
Fourth Circuit upholds Maryland law banning guns in schools, parks, government buildings and near protests, strikes down restriction on private property open to public.
Source: Maryland Matters
January 21, 2026
DHS launches "Operation Catch of the Day" in Maine, first statewide immigration enforcement in New England under Trump deportation campaign.
Source: WMTW Portland
January 21, 2026
ICE deports eight-months-pregnant Colombian asylum seeker through Atlanta despite medical distress, attorneys say, while her mother's credible fear claim was approved.
Source: The Georgia Recorder
January 21, 2026
Internal ICE memo authorizes forcible home entry using only administrative warrants, reversing years of Fourth Amendment guidance, whistleblower complaint reveals.
Source: The Associated Press
January 21, 2026
Medical examiner rules Cuban detainee's death at Texas tent camp a homicide by asphyxiation, contradicting ICE claim that he died while attempting suicide.
Source: CNN
January 21, 2026
Trump administration drops appeal of ruling that blocked DEI memos threatening to pull funding from universities and K-12 schools.
Source: The Hill
January 21, 2026
House Oversight Committee schedules Feb. 9 deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell in Epstein probe; her attorney says she will invoke Fifth Amendment throughout.
Source: NBC News
January 21, 2026
House Oversight Committee votes to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt for skipping Epstein depositions, with nine Democrats supporting the former president's resolution.
Source: UPI
January 21, 2026
FCC warns TV networks that late-night and daytime talk shows must offer equal time to political candidates, targeting programs Trump has called for taking off air.
Source: CBS News
January 21, 2026
Federal judge orders government to stop searching Washington Post reporter's seized devices, calls hearing on whether FBI must return them.
Source: Ars Technica
January 21, 2026
Three-star admiral Nancy Lacore, removed by Hegseth without cause after 35-year Navy career, announces run for Congress in South Carolina.
Source: ABC News
January 21, 2026