The White House says it fired an NTSB board member for serious misconduct, and he says the claims are false. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday accused Todd Inman of drinking on the job, harassing staff, misusing government resources, and skipping many meetings. Inman says he denies the allegations and plans to defend his reputation in court. Inman is a Republican appointed during former President Joe Biden's administration. The NTSB has declined to comment on Inman's dismissal. The agency now lists only three members, though the U.S. Senate has confirmed an American Airlines executive to join. The NTSB is investigating over 1,000 cases and will issue safety recommendations when it releases its final reports.
A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security is stalling out again in Congress. Republicans invoked the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tried Thursday to pass a bill funding the department. But Democrats blocked the legislation as they insist on changes to immigration enforcement operations. While the House will also take up the bill later Thursday, the vote will be more about putting lawmakers on the record again about where they stand. In the end, a bipartisan compromise will have to be reached to end a DHS shutdown that began Feb. 14.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has defended her agency in testimony and under questioning at a Senate hearing. She appeared before the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday as a backlash grows over deadly immigration enforcement actions tied to President Donald Trump's deportation push. It was her first congressional hearing since two protesters were killed in Minneapolis by Homeland Security officers in January. Noem's department sent hundreds of officers to Minnesota. Protesters marched and tracked enforcement activity. An ICE officer shot Renee Good. Border Protection officers shot Alex Pretti. The deaths led to demands for accountability. At the hearing, Noem blamed "violent protesters" for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.
Democratic lawmakers say former President Bill Clinton has tried to answer every question during a deposition over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Democrats said during a break after two hours of questioning Clinton had not invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Clinton tells members of Congress he "did nothing wrong" and saw no signs of Epstein's sexual abuse. Clinton says by the time the abuse came to light with a 2008 guilty plea, he had long stopped associating with Epstein. Friday's closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. Republicans relish the opportunity to scrutinize Clinton under oath.
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ALI SWENSON Associated Press
Updated
Vice President JD Vance has announced that the Trump administration would "temporarily halt" some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement Wednesday with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration was taking the action "in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people's tax money." Wednesday's move is part of a larger Trump administration effort to spotlight fraud around the country.
