U.S. President Trump states that he hopes Palestinians will not want to return to Gaza, and they he would like to see Palestinians permanently moved from the Gaza Strip to other Arab Nations, threatening to take “Action” against Jordan and Egypt if they don’t accept the Proposal.

CBS News reports that USAID Missions in Countries across the World have been instructed to immediately cease all Operations and for Staff to return to the United States by Friday; with Peter Marocco, who was just appointed USAID Deputy Administrator on Monday, telling State Department Officials earlier today, that if they did not return they would be evacuated by the U.S. Military.

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted 9–8 to send Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald J. Trump’s choice for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.

During an ongoing press briefing at the White House with U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump doubled down on his previous commitments to push for some level of relocation of the population currently in the Gaza Strip, citing the widespread lack of intact infrastructure as one key reason for the move.

Additionally, both leaders have reaffirmed their commitment on Iran, saying “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

During the joint presser at the White House, with U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump also said that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip and be in charge of its redevelopment. Currently, a number of private U.S. and Egyptian entities are facilitating the civilian traffic throughout the Gaza Strip.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced that they will be temporarily suspending the acceptance of International Packages from both China and Hong Kong.

The U.S. Senate voted tonight 54-46, to confirm Pam Bondi as Attorney General.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) today offered all roughly 22,000 of its Employees the the same “Buyout” offered last week to Millions of other Federal Employees, which would include 8 Months of Full Pay and Benefits in exchange for their Resignation; but originally did not include Employees deemed vital to National Security such as the CIA or Military. This comes as U.S. President Trump hopes to reduce to the Federal Workforce by up to 10% before the start of 2026, with over 20,000 Federal Employees having already accepted their own Buyouts; all Employees have until Thursday at 11:59pm to accept the Buyout.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 “RCH140” is crossing the Gulf of America on its way back to the United States, after carrying out a DHS Deportation Flight to Guatemala City from Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas.

A memo, from West Point’s U.S. Army Corps of Cadets, indicates that a number of clubs, forums and initiatives have been dissolved. These include, among others, the Asian-Pacific Forum, Latin Cultural Club, and the Native American Heritage Forum. The changes reflect the service academy’s compliance with the series of executive orders on DEI initiatives last week.
Photo excerpt: @DanLamothe

The General Services Administration (GSA), an Independent Agency of the U.S. Government which supports the Basic Function of all other Federal Agencies, with Products, Communication, Transportation, and Office Space, while managing over $500 Billion in U.S. Federal Property, as well as a 215,000 Motor Pool; is reportedly planning to sell upward of 50% of the 363 Million Square Feet of Office Space in 8,397 Buildings, leased and owned by them for Federal Agencies across the United States.

Amidst an uptick in Chinese coercive measures in the South China Sea, the Armed Forces of the Philippines have announced that they will conduct a joint Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity alongside the air and naval forces of the United States, Japan, and Australia inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) today, February 5. The 6th such activity of its kind comes amidst continuous Chinese aggressive measures within the Filipino EEZ in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

Since Asian Affairs is my remit, I’ll be looking to include more developments from the Indo-Pacific over time. Tensions in the Western Pacific have been heightened for awhile, and this is not a measure that should be deemed as an outlier. I just haven’t been covering it. For example, just yesterday, the Philippines and the U.S. flew a joint air patrol of two U.S. Pacific Air Force (PACAF) B-1b Lancer and Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50 fighter jets over the West Philippine Sea.
- @DefenseBulletin

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) confirms the joint Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity alongside the Philippines, Australia, and Japan.

Some info on the release of the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-2) on the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump earlier today. As we covered before, the memo green lights the resumption of the “Maximum Pressure” approach towards Iran, with the goal of “denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran’s malign influence.”
The memo directs the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN, Secretary of Commerce, and the Attorney General to all exercise their respective authorities to impose a multifaceted and comprehensive sanctions regime on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Notable hearings (not confirmation hearings) in the U.S. House of Representatives today, mentioned by ChadPergram of Fox News. Most notably, the hearing noscriptd “The State of American Education” is ongoing now in the House Committee on Education and Workforce. U.S. President Donald J. Trump has signaled a desire to completely revamp and overhaul the U.S. Department of Education.