The briefing for Wednesday, January 21.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on President Trump's unprecedented attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell in attendance. No president has removed a sitting Fed governor in the central bank's 112-year history. Trump alleges Cook committed mortgage fraud, which she denies, though critics say the real motivation is control over interest rate policy.

If Trump succeeds in replacing Cook, he would have four appointees on the seven-member board. Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's governing board, was appointed by President Biden in 2022. Lower courts have allowed her to remain in her position while the case proceeds. The justices are being asked to effectively bless Trump's effort to undermine Fed independence, according to legal experts.

The threat to Fed autonomy prompted Powell's three living predecessors—Greenspan, Bernanke, and Yellen—along with five former Treasury secretaries from both parties, to file briefs supporting Cook. They warned that immediately ousting her would expose the Fed to political influences and jeopardize the credibility of US monetary policy. Economists caution that a politicized Fed could damage its credibility as an inflation fighter and lead investors to demand higher rates on US treasuries.

The European Parliament is suspending approval of the July trade deal with the United States, according to sources close to its international trade committee, just hours after Trump threatened 10% tariffs on eight European NATO members over their support for Denmark regarding Greenland. The move marks a dramatic escalation in transatlantic tensions one year into Trump's second term.

The July agreement had set US tariffs on European goods at 15%, down from the 30% Trump initially threatened. Europe agreed to invest in the US and make changes expected to boost American exports. But the deal still needs European Parliament approval to become official. Without action, EU retaliatory tariffs on $109 billion worth of American goods will take effect February 7, as the bloc's voluntary reprieve expires.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Trump's tariff threats are "a mistake especially between long-standing allies" and questioned his trustworthiness. She vowed the EU's response would be "unflinching, united and proportional." French President Emmanuel Macron warned of "a shift toward a world without rules," while markets tumbled on both sides of the Atlantic. The EU is considering deploying its "anti-coercion instrument" for the first time, which could sanction individuals or institutions putting undue pressure on the bloc. Trump is scheduled to arrive in Davos Wednesday for meetings with European leaders.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued the most direct threat yet against the United States on Wednesday, warning that Iran will be "firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack." The statement comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group moves westward from Asia toward the Middle East, with ship-tracking data showing it has passed through the Strait of Malacca and is now in the Indian Ocean.

Araghchi made the threat in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, contending Iran's crackdown on protesters lasted "less than 72 hours" and blaming armed demonstrators for violence—claims contradicted by videos showing security forces using live fire against apparently unarmed protesters. He wrote that "unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have," referring to the 12-day war with Israel last June. He warned an "all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious" and would "engulf the wider region."

The death toll from Iran's crackdown has reached at least 4,519 people, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which relies on activists inside Iran to confirm fatalities. The toll exceeds any other protest or unrest in Iran in decades. More than 26,300 people have been arrested, with fears some could face execution. Iran also reportedly launched a drone and missile attack on a Kurdish separatist base in Iraq, marking its first foreign operation since the protests began. American fighter jets and HIMARS missile systems have been repositioned in the Middle East in recent days.

US military forces seized a seventh oil tanker connected to Venezuela on Tuesday, the Motor Vessel Sagitta, as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to control the South American country's oil production following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro. US Southern Command said the Liberian-flagged vessel was apprehended "without incident" and was operating in defiance of Trump's "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean."

Since Maduro's removal in a January 3 raid, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to control Venezuela's oil production, refining, and global distribution. The Sagitta was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2022 under an executive order related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trump administration officials view seizing these tankers as a way to generate cash for rebuilding Venezuela's battered oil industry.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that the US has already taken 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil and is "selling it on the open market" to bring down oil prices. He met with oil company executives two weeks ago to discuss investing $100 billion in Venezuela's oil infrastructure. The first tanker was seized December 10, with most captures occurring in Venezuelan waters, though one vessel was apprehended in the North Atlantic after abruptly changing course away from the Caribbean.

President Trump's immigration enforcement operation is being funded by billions of dollars from the Republican tax and spending cuts bill passed by Congress, creating a national ICE force of 22,000 officers—larger than most police departments in America. The expansion includes hiring bonuses of $50,000 and represents an unprecedented transformation of immigration enforcement, according to budget experts who say Americans may not fully grasp the scale of what's being built.

The militarized enforcement operations have sparked protests across the country, particularly after the shooting death of Renee Goode in Minneapolis. Videos show armed and masked officers smashing car windows, yanking people from vehicles, and wrestling individuals to the ground in cities including Los Angeles and Chicago. A long list of federal, state, and local police agencies are entering contract partnerships with Homeland Security to conduct immigration enforcement operations nationwide.

While illegal crossings at the Mexico border have fallen to historic lows under Trump, the aggressive tactics of ICE officers in American cities represent a shift not normally seen in the US. Reports indicate non-criminals and US citizens are also being detained in the operations. Trump's public approval rating on immigration has slipped since he took office, according to an AP-NORC poll. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Democrats against opposing the enforcement efforts, while protesters and some lawmakers are pushing legislation to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Trump has revived threats to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell demonstrations, with 1,500 Army soldiers ready to deploy.

Israeli forces on Tuesday bulldozed at least two United Nations facilities in east Jerusalem, including UNRWA's headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah and a vocational school in Qalandia, marking Israel's most dramatic step yet against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Crews confiscated devices and forced out private security guards at the headquarters, while tear gas was fired at the vocational school where more than 300 young refugees receive job training.

UNRWA's West Bank director Roland Friedrich called the demolitions a violation of international law guaranteeing protection for such facilities, saying it was "the culmination of two years of incitement and measures against UNRWA in east Jerusalem." A 15-year-old was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet near the school, and children were overcome by tear gas on their way home, according to Palestinian Authority officials.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said the demolition enforced a new law banning UNRWA, noting Israel owns the site. Israeli leaders have long claimed UNRWA has anti-Israel bias and maintains ties with militant groups including Hamas, though the UN has ardently denied such claims. UNRWA provides aid and services to 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, plus 3 million more in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. The agency's operations were curtailed last year when Israel's Knesset passed legislation severing ties and banning it from functioning in areas Israel defines as its territory, including east Jerusalem.