The briefing for Monday, February 2.

President Donald Trump announced Friday he will nominate Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair to replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Warsh, 55, previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 and was a runner-up for the position in 2017. Trump described him as coming from 'central casting' and praised his credentials, which include degrees from Stanford and Harvard Law School. Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, daughter of billionaire Republican donor Ronald Lauder.

The nomination comes as Powell remains under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice, which the current chair has called a pretext to force rate cuts. Two Republican senators have already said they will oppose Warsh's confirmation unless the DOJ investigation is resolved, potentially complicating Senate approval. Warsh will face the challenge of maintaining Fed independence while satisfying Trump's demands for lower interest rates, navigating relationships with Fed officials, financial markets, and the White House simultaneously.

Warsh's economic record during the 2008-09 financial crisis shows mixed judgment. He initially pushed for keeping interest rates higher when the economy faced deflation risks, and objected to the Fed's $600 billion Treasury bond purchase program in 2011, though he ultimately voted for it. More recently, he has become critical of the Fed, calling for 'regime change' and criticizing Powell for engaging on issues like climate change and diversity. His challenge will be demonstrating independence from the White House while gaining the trust of Fed officials and markets, a balancing act made more difficult by the ongoing investigation of his predecessor.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday the government funding package won't come to a vote until at least Tuesday, ensuring the partial federal shutdown will extend into the week. The impasse centers on Democratic demands for new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations following two fatal shootings during protests in Minneapolis. Under a plan approved by the Senate, the Department of Homeland Security would be funded only through February 13, while other agencies remain in shutdown limbo.

Democrats are demanding restraints on ICE that go beyond the $20 million for body cameras already included in the bill. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said ICE agents should be required to unmask, identify themselves, and obtain judicial warrants before breaking into homes or detaining people. President Trump struck a deal with senators to separate DHS funding after public outrage over the Minneapolis deaths, with Trump acknowledging he wants to 'turn down the volume' on immigration enforcement operations.

Johnson faces a difficult path forward, needing his slim GOP majority for procedural votes after Democrats refused to provide support for speedy passage. Some House Republicans are making their own demands, including the House Freedom Caucus pushing for fuller DHS funding and others wanting to include Trump's SAVE Act requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Federal agencies including Defense, Health, Transportation and Housing received shutdown guidance over the weekend, though many operations are deemed essential. Lawmakers from both parties worry the closure will disrupt FEMA operations, which constituents rely on after storms and disasters.

President Donald Trump described his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday as a major success, announcing he would cut tariffs on China from 57% to 47%. The president told reporters aboard Air Force One he reduced the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs imposed earlier this year to 10%, rating the meeting 'a 12' on a scale of zero to ten. Trump said he would visit China in April and Xi would come to the U.S. afterward.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China agreed to purchase 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually for three years, starting with 12 million metric tons by January. U.S. soybean exports to China, previously halted in the trade dispute, had left American farmers as 'political pawns,' Bessent told Fox Business Network. Trump also said China agreed to allow exports of rare earth elements and that advanced computer chip sales would be discussed, with Nvidia in talks with Chinese officials.

Xi told Trump that both sides should focus on the benefits of cooperation rather than falling into 'a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,' according to state media. Despite the optimistic tone, major sources of tension remain between the world's two largest economies over manufacturing dominance, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and geopolitical issues including Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump's aggressive use of tariffs since returning to office, combined with China's retaliatory export limits on rare earth elements, had given the 100-minute meeting newfound urgency.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Monday that any U.S. attack would spark a regional war, as American forces continue building up in the Middle East. 'The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,' Khamenei said according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The warning comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln operates in the Arabian Sea and several guided-missile destroyers have moved into the region.

Iran summoned all European Union ambassadors Monday to protest the bloc's designation of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The EU move followed the Guard's role in a bloody crackdown on January protests that killed thousands, with the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency confirming more than 6,300 deaths and investigating another 17,000 reported deaths. Iran's parliament speaker said the Islamic Republic now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups in response.

President Trump said Thursday that Iran must do two things to avoid U.S. military action: 'Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters.' Iran was expected to begin live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global traded oil passes, though a Reuters report Sunday cited an Iranian official saying the Revolutionary Guards Corps navy had no plans for such drills. The U.S. Central Command warned Iran against 'unsafe and unprofessional behaviour' near its forces in the area. Two explosions in Iran on Saturday heightened anxiety, with local authorities blaming gas leaks for blasts in Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz that killed at least five people total.

Venezuelan human rights activist Javier Tarazona was released from prison Sunday after more than four years of detention, according to rights organizations and family members. Tarazona, director of the nonprofit FundaRedes, was arrested in July 2021 after reporting harassment by national intelligence officials. Venezuela's Foro Penal said 317 people jailed for political reasons had been released as of Sunday noon, with 700 others still waiting to be freed.

The release came shortly after U.S. Charge d'Affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas to reopen the American diplomatic mission after seven years of severed ties. It follows President Trump's military action that removed President Nicolás Maduro from office and brought him to trial in the U.S. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced an amnesty bill Saturday to release political prisoners, one of the key demands of the Venezuelan opposition.

Venezuela's government had accused Tarazona of terrorism, treason, and hate speech over his reports on illegal armed groups on the Colombia border and their alleged connections to high-ranked Maduro administration officials. Amnesty International reported Tarazona's health deteriorated from lack of medical attention during imprisonment. Opposition leader María Corina Machado praised Tarazona on social media, saying 'All of Venezuela admires you and respects your bravery.' Despite the releases, Foro Penal noted many freed prisoners have not had charges dropped, leaving them in legal limbo and barred from speaking publicly.

Israel announced it will ban Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from operating in Gaza after the medical charity refused to provide a list of its Palestinian and international staff. The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said the decision followed 'MSF's failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region.' Israel had ordered 37 organizations to submit employee documents, claiming some MSF staff had links to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the charity vehemently denies.

MSF said Friday it had informed Israeli authorities it would share staff names as an 'exceptional measure,' but only with clear safety assurances. 'However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,' the charity said. These included guarantees that staff information would be used only for administrative purposes and would not put colleagues at risk. The charity noted that 1,700 healthcare staff have been killed in the war, including 15 MSF personnel.

Sam Rose, director of Gaza affairs for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, told the BBC the ban will have 'major negative consequences on the ability of international organisations to provide healthcare inside Gaza.' MSF currently provides at least 20% of hospital beds in Gaza and operates around 20 health centres. Last year it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and performed more than 10,000 infant deliveries while providing drinking water. The ban follows Israel's December 30 announcement that it would revoke licenses for 37 international NGOs working in Gaza and the West Bank, a move condemned by 10 countries including the UK, France and Canada.