Trabia Garden

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/12/day-1850/

Today in one sentence: The Senate failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, leaving the agency headed for a partial shutdown when funding expires Friday night; the Trump administration said it will end “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, drawing down thousands of federal immigration agents after a 2-month crackdown that produced mass protests, more than 4,000 arrests, and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis; the Justice Department tracked the search histories of lawmakers who reviewed the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation; the whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on an intelligence intercept that captured two foreign nationals discussing Jared Kushner; the House passed the SAVE America Act; a federal judge blocked the Pentagon from demoting Sen. Mark Kelly’s retired Navy rank and cutting his retirement pay over a video advising troops not to follow illegal orders; Trump rescinded the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” removing the legal basis the agency has used to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades; and 62% of Americans say Trump’s “gone too far” by deploying federal immigration agents into major U.S. cities, and 61% say he’s gone too far using federal law enforcement at protests.

1/ The Senate failed to advance a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30, leaving the agency headed for a partial shutdown when funding expires Friday night. After the vote failed, Republicans then tried to pass a short-term extension to keep DHS open while talks continued, but Democrats blocked it, saying they wouldn’t extend the “status quo” without new enforceable limits on immigration operations after DHS immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. With no agreement, lawmakers left Washington for a weeklong recess with funding set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. (Politico / CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The Trump administration said it will end “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, drawing down thousands of federal immigration agents after a 2-month crackdown that produced mass protests, more than 4,000 arrests, and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. White House border czar Tom Homan said a “significant drawdown” was already underway and would continue into next week. Homan called the operation a success and said he had secured better access to detainees through county jails. The sheriff’s office in Hennepin County, however, said it doesn’t coordinate with ICE and that its policies haven’t changed. Gov. Tim Walz also said there’s been no change in state policy on immigration enforcement. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg / The Guardian / Axios)

3/ The Justice Department tracked the search histories of lawmakers who reviewed the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. At a House Judiciary hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi was photographed with a printout labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History” listing the unredacted Epstein files that Jayapal had reviewed. Jayapal called it “totally inappropriate” and “against the separations of powers,” and described it as a “burn book.” The Justice Department confirmed that it “logs all searches made on its systems,” saying the tracking is meant to prevent disclosure of victim information. Rep. Jamie Raskin, however, said he would ask the inspector general to examine what he called an “outrageous abuse of power.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he didn’t think “it’s appropriate for anybody to be tracking that.” (NBC News / Axios / Politico / CBS News / CNN / Associated Press / Bloomberg / The Guardian / CNBC / The Hill / ABC News)

4/ The whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on an intelligence intercept that captured two foreign nationals discussing Jared Kushner. The top secret whistleblower complaint was drafted last May while the Trump administration was deliberating a strike on Iran. A month later, the military bombed Iranian nuclear sites. The complaint has been “locked in a safe” until last week when Congress received a heavily redacted briefing. The conversation between the two foreign nationals, collected by a foreign intelligence service and shared with the U.S., reportedly touched on Iran and included unverified claims about Kushner that some administration officials said were “demonstrably false.” (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)

• 📌 Day 1840: A U.S. intelligence official filed a whistleblower complaint in May alleging wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, but the complaint itself hasn’t been shared with Congress and its contents remain undisclosed because it could cause “grave damage to national security.”
• 📌 Day 1847: The top House and Senate party leaders received a heavily redacted May 2025 whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard after an eight-month delay. The complaint followed an NSA intercept last spring of two foreign intelligence-linked callers discussing someone close to Trump involving Iran.

5/ The House passed the SAVE America Act, sending the federal elections overhaul bill to the Senate. The bill would require in-person documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, mandate photo ID for in-person voting nationwide, and tighten mail voting by requiring voters to submit copies of eligible IDs when requesting and returning absentee ballots. Democrats said the measure would disenfranchise eligible voters, noting noncitizen voting is already illegal and rare, while some voting rights groups warned it could create added hurdles for people whose legal names don’t match their birth certificates. The bill has no path to the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans would nevertheless still vote, but ruled out changing Senate rules to bypass the 60-vote threshold. (NBC News / CNBC / The 19th / Politico / New York Times)

6/ A federal judge blocked the Pentagon from demoting Sen. Mark Kelly’s retired Navy rank and cutting his retirement pay over a video advising troops not to follow illegal orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the Defense Department had “trampled” Kelly’s First Amendment rights and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. The ruling stops enforcement of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s censure and the administrative process to reduce Kelly’s retirement grade. Hegseth said the decision would be “immediately appealed,” adding, “Sedition is sedition, ‘Captain.’” The decision separately follows a grand jury refusing to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Kelly, over the same video. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Reuters / Washington Post / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / NPR)

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection used a Pentagon-provided anti-drone laser to shoot down party balloons near El Paso, prompting the FAA to shut down nearby airspace for 10 days. The restriction was lifted hours later. The Trump administration, however, continues to claim the military had shot down a cartel drone. (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN)

7/ Trump rescinded the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” removing the legal basis the agency has used to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades. The repeal wipes out federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and clears the way for further rollbacks affecting power plants, and oil and gas operations. The EPA said the change would save about $1.3 trillion by cutting compliance costs and lowering car and truck prices, though the administration didn’t detail its methodology. Environmental and public health groups, meanwhile, said the repeal would increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions about 10% over 30 years, contributing to as many as 58,000 premature deaths and 37 million asthma attacks by 2055, while also worsening extreme heat, wildfires, floods, and drought risks. Trump, nevertheless, called the endangerment finding “a disastrous Obama-era policy” with “no basis in fact.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom and multiple environmental and public health groups said they’ll sue over whether the EPA can abandon the finding and still meet its obligations under the Clean Air Act and prior court precedent. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / The Guardian / CNBC / CNN / ABC News / NBC News)

poll/ 62% of Americans say Trump’s “gone too far” by deploying federal immigration agents into major U.S. cities, and 61% say he’s gone too far using federal law enforcement at protests. 52% say he’s gone too far deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and 54% say he has gone too far restricting legal immigration. About 38% approve of Trump’s handling of immigration. 60% view ICE unfavorably and 32% view it favorably. About 33% trust Republicans more on immigration and 29% trust Democrats more, while 28% trust neither party. (Associated Press)

The 2026 midterms are in 264 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 999 days.

• Today last year: Day 1485: "What democracy is all about."
• Two years ago today: Day 1119: "Appalling and unhinged."
• Five years ago today: Day 24: "Ordinary political rhetoric."
• Six years ago today: Day 1119: "Ought to apologize."
• Seven years ago today: Day 754: Not happy.
• Eight years ago today: Day 389: Ready, larger, and more lethal.
• 9 years ago today: Day 24: Shots fired.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/12/day-1850/