ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - FEBRUARY 01: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on February 1, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. Sec. Austin spoke on various topics including his recent hospitalization from a diagnostic of prostate cancer. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow
Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will have a “multi-tiered response” to attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East, days after three service members were killed in Jordan.
Austin said the U.S. aims to “take away even more capability than we’ve taken in the past” from those responsible for the deadly attack, which also left dozens injured.
According to CBS News, U.S. officials said there are plans for a series of strikes against targets, including Iranian personnel, in Syria and Iraq. U.S. officials told CBS that weather will be a key factor in the timing of strikes.
Austin, speaking during his first press conference at the Pentagon since being hospitalized last month, said the U.S.
“will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region. But we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests, and our people.”
Regarding Iran’s involvement in the Jordan attack, Austin said the U.S. doesn’t know how much Iran knew about the suicide drone strike but that “it really doesn’t matter, because Iran sponsors these groups, it funds these groups … I think without that facilitation, these kinds of things don’t happen.”
The administration stressed this week it’s not seeking broader war with Iran.
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The
U.S. Capitol Police announced Thursday it’s closing an investigation into a sex video involving a now-former staffer in a Senate committee room, with no charges filed.
Dozens of House Democrats joined Republicans in passing a bill to strengthen laws preventing noncitizens from immigrating to the U.S. and allowing for their deportation if they are convicted of driving under the influence (DUI).
The
FBI is warning about scammers using a “multi-layered approach” posing as a tech company, financial institution and then government official to convince people“to liquidate their assets into cash and/or buy gold, silver, or other precious metals to protect their funds.” The PSA
Some Republicans in the House had threatened to hold up the tax bill, which contains a child tax credit expansion and business tax deductions, over the SALT exclusion. Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-N.Y.) SALT bill would double 2023’s deduction cap from $10,000 to $20,000 for married couples filing jointly with taxable income below $500,000.
west bank
Biden admin sanctions four Israeli settlers in West Bank
In a new executive order, President Biden authorized the State Department and
Treasury Department to sanction four Israeli settlers accused of attacks against Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank.
“The sanctions against the blacklisted individuals block their access to any property or interests held in the U.S., imposes a visa ban on entry to the U.S., and prohibits any American from transacting with the sanctioned person,”The Hill’s Laura Kelly reported.
Kelly noted Hamas’s October attack against Israel “fueled already-high levels of violence in the West Bank, a territory divided to varying degrees among Israeli and Palestinian control.”
The Hill’s
Joseph Choi updates us on the Medicare drug price negotiation debate as oral arguments kicked off in one drug company’s lawsuit and the government sent manufacturers its first maximum fair price offers this week.
Trump’s committees spent $50 million on legal fees last year
Former
President Trump‘s fundraising committees spent around $50 million on legal fees in 2023, including about $30 million in the second half of the year. Read more here.
Black maternal mortality crisis: Birth behind bars
In the latest episode of The Switch Up podcast, The Hill’s Cheyanne M. Daniels explores the maternal mortality crisis’s disproportionate impact on people of color, particularly those who are incarcerated.Listen here.
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