The White House says “the parties are pretty far apart” on reaching a deal to end the lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. DHS is enduring a shutdown confined to its own department, which started on Friday after a continuing resolution expired. The debate moving forward centers on federal immigration enforcement tactics, even though ICE is still largely funded through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed by President Donald Trump last year. “In terms of the written offer that was transmitted from the Democrats, the parties are still pretty far apart. The administration remains interested in good-faith conversations to end the Democrat shutdown before more Americans feel the impacts,” a White House official told The Daily Wire in a statement on background Tuesday. “But the administration also remains committed to carrying out the President’s promise to enforce federal immigration law,” the official added. Not only are Democrats and Republicans not seeing eye to eye on how to move forward, Congress is on recess this week, which means that agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard will be without funding for the time being – meaning those essential workers are at risk of going without a paycheck even if they show up to work. The exact details of the offers sent between Democrats and the White House have been largely private, as Democratic leadership went public with their original list of requests earlier this month, ranging from using judicial warrants for arrests to no longer permitting officers to wear masks while conducting operations. “This is why there must be a full, independent investigation of every incident that ICE has been involved in,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted to X on Friday in response to a Politico article headlined, “ICE says federal agents appear to have lied about confrontation that led to shooting.” “DHS and this administration cannot be trusted to carry out investigations on their own. And it’s why Democrats are fighting to rein in ICE,” he added. Meanwhile, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) blasted Democrats on the Senate floor on Friday, as a second continuing resolution was rejected to keep immigration talks going without risking the department’s funding. “We want to continue this conversation, but yet you’re penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is gonna go without a paycheck. Why? So that you can posture politically. I’m over it. Everybody on that side of the aisle knows that ICE and CBP will continue to be funded,” the Republican said, The Daily Wire reported. In the fall, the government faced a 43-day shutdown that resulted in a high number of TSA agents calling out, as they were working without pay. “This one’s very different than the first. First, air traffic controllers are paid. They’ve been funded through the first appropriations bill a couple of weeks ago. That was the big linchpin concern for us in the first one,” President and CEO of Airlines for America, Chris Sununu, told The Daily Wire last week. There was a second brief government shutdown earlier this month that was averted as part of a deal to split DHS funding from the rest of the spending package, as the rest of the federal government except for DHS remains fully funded through the end of the fiscal year in September.

Goldman Sachs plans to scrap its race, sex, and other DEI factors when considering potential additions to its board of directors. The board’s governance committee made the decision to axe DEI metrics from its list of qualifications for new board members after striking an agreement with the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative nonprofit, according to The Wall Street Journal. The committee has four broad factors it considers when looking for new board members, one of which is a demographic profile that includes viewpoints, military service, and other markers, as well as DEI variables such as a person’s race, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Going forward, the committee plans to strip away the DEI calculations from its rubric for board candidates. The National Legal and Policy Center has a small ownership stake in Goldman Sachs and in September, proposed that the committee strip away the DEI component of its board member criteria. The center had requested that the bank share the proposal with shareholders ahead of its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for this spring, but Goldman Sachs struck an agreement with the center that involved pulling the proposal and the bank scrapping its DEI metrics anyway. Goldman Sachs had last year dropped its DEI requirements for companies that wanted the bank’s help in listing for an IPO. Goldman Sachs’ curbing of its own DEI policies comes as the Trump administration has pursued policies to push such metrics out of the federal government while wielding federal powers to push companies to distance themselves from DEI as well. President Donald Trump, on his first day of his second term, took a stand against DEI, ordering federal departments and agencies to begin cutting DEI positions in the government. The president also directed federal agencies to look into companies with DEI policies for potential discriminatory practices. In February of last year, the president took aim at two financial firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, that the president said were pushing racial quotas and climates activism on numerous other companies. At the time, both firms had guidelines that had the potential to impact a wide swath of companies that encouraged them to adopt DEI criteria in promotions to their board. They also had similar guidelines directing companies to take steps to address climate change.

American Elana Meyers Taylor has many titles: professional bobsledder, wife, devoted mother of two, proud patriot, and now — finally — Olympic gold medalist. The 41-year-old also became the oldest athlete to win an individual event in the winter games, and is tied for the most decorated female Winter Olympian for Team USA. Before the Milan Cortina Games, Meyers Taylor has been overwhelmingly close to gold with five previous medals — three silver and two bronze. But after several years and Olympic appearances, this Monday, she finally secured first. Her win took place in the women’s monobob competition. Meyers Taylor was to go second to last, and delivered an impressive time of 3:57.93, beating her teammate Kaillie Humphries for the top spot. Only one person stood between her and the gold medal — Germany’s Laura Nolte, who was the gold medalist in the women’s bobsled from the Beijing games in 2022. She anxiously awaited as Nolte sped down the track neck-and-neck with her times, but finished a mere 0.04 seconds behind Meyers Taylor. Once she realized her victory, Meyers Taylor jumped and shouted with joy before falling to her knees, hands to her face and clutching the American flag. Elana Meyers Taylor’s GOLDEN reaction says it all.

In a move described by the White House as the “single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Trump have finalized a rule to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding. The decision effectively eliminates all federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for motor vehicles and engines. The Trump administration projects that this reversal will save Americans more than $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs. According to the EPA, the action will: Eliminate future obligations for manufacturers to measure, control, or report GHG emissions for highway vehicles. Apply retroactively, covering model years manufactured prior to the final rule. Lower vehicle prices by an estimated average of $2,400 per vehicle. Restore consumer choice by removing “de facto” electric vehicle mandates. Officials clarified that this action applies strictly to greenhouse gases and does not impact existing regulations on traditional air pollutants like smog or soot. The EPA’s new determination rests on a reevaluation of Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. Administrator Zeldin concluded that Congress never intended for the Act to grant the EPA authority to manage global climate change. The agency further argued that its previous regulations were “futile,” asserting they had no material impact on global temperature trends. The 2009 finding, established during the Obama administration, served as the legal bedrock for the EPA’s authority to regulate GHGs under the Clean Air Act. By determining that carbon dioxide and other GHGs endangered public health, the agency previously mandated strict emission limits that pushed the auto industry toward electrification. “The Endangerment Finding was a disastrous policy that damaged the American auto industry,” President Trump stated during the announcement in the Roosevelt Room. “We are bringing car prices tumbling down by eliminating this red tape.” The move drew immediate praise from Republican lawmakers and industry groups. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) called it a “transformational impact” for energy-producing states. “By ending the so-called Endangerment Finding, President Trump is delivering the largest cutting of red tape in history — unleashing American energy and making everything more affordable,” U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum echoed. Industry leaders, including the American Trucking Associations and the American Petroleum Institute, supported the shift, citing the need for “achievable” standards and the preservation of gas-powered vehicle options. While environmental advocates are expected to challenge the ruling in court, the administration remains firm that major climate policy must be decided by Congress rather than executive agencies.

A new CNN documentary traces the “activation” of Christian nationalists in the United States back to the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, suggesting that Kirk’s message — and his subsequent murder — had “radicalized” American Christians into believing that they are being “persecuted.” CNN anchor Pamela Brown announced the project exposing “Christian Nationalism,” which she said she’d been working on for several months, and framed the documentary as an investigation into a perceived threat against the United States. WATCH: CNN’s Pamela Brown announces she’s been working on a “special project” warn against “Christian nationalism” and portrays them as a radicalized threat to the country. She then launches into a report where she fears the assassination of Charlie Kirk uniting Christians and scoffs… pic.twitter.com/1J63ta6EIO — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 17, 2026 “For the past several months, I’ve been working on a special project, examining the growing influence of Christian Nationalism in America,” Brown explained. She went on to describe Christian Nationalism as an ideology unto itself that was rooted in the “belief” that the United States was founded to be a “Christian nation” and as such, should reflect “Christian values” in its laws and institutions. Brown then said that her documentary started with Kirk’s assassination: “Experts say it was a pivotal moment for the movement, and an occasion where the tragedy of his loss unified Christian nationalists and the Trump administration as they honored him.” After a brief clip of President Donald Trump’s remarks at Kirk’s memorial service, Brown added, “Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and prominent Christian nationalist, was assassinated. It became a rallying call for those who believed in his message … and it was a call to action.” Brown then cut to comments from Matthew Taylor, of the Georgetown University Center of Faith and Justice, who said, “[The] memorial service was one of the most potent examples of this shift in our culture that we’re experiencing right now, where a large segment of American Christians are being activated by these ideas, radicalized by these ideas that say that they are the persecuted ones and that they need to stand up for Christians rights.” In a second clip, Taylor suggested that there was something insidious in President Trump’s promise to “protect Christians.” “Trump has never explicitly said he believes the country should be a Christian nation,” Brown added. “But he is aligned with Christian nationalists and wants their support, and after an assassination attempt during his campaign, Trump said he believes God saved his life so he can lead the country.” TPUSA’s Andrew Kolvet responded to the coming documentary on Tuesday, saying, “Consider this: so CNN does a piece — talking about the radicalization of people at Charlie’s memorial. Charlie was assassinated by a radical, by somebody that was animated, at least in part, by his love affair with somebody that was trans. And instead of burning down the country, like the real radicals did, we held vigils and memorials, and people bought Bibles, and they got baptized.” “How is that a bad thing? What are we even talking about here?” he asked. CNN BACKLASH IS MOUNTING: They just announced a documentary covering the “rise of Christian Nationalism” in America, and it’s not going how they expected it to go.@AndrewKolvet let the TRUTH about America’s spiritual revival and the role Charlie Kirk has in it: “Consider this:… https://t.co/moi2PwF17c pic.twitter.com/isO2nt4bHi — Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 17, 2026