Today in one sentence: Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown; the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away; a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians; Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Trump asked her to show up while the FBI searched Fulton County, Georgia’s election office; Congress still hasn’t received a whistleblower complaint filed last May accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing; and 62% of Americans said ICE officers had gone too far, up from 58% in a poll conducted just before Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis.

1/ Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown. The measure funds most agencies through Sept. 30, but Department of Homeland Security funding expires Feb. 13, leaving about 10 days for Congress and the White House to pass a separate DHS bill or face a department shutdown. Democrats have tied any longer-term DHS funding to new guardrails on immigration enforcement, including requiring agents to wear body cameras, to identify themselves and not wear masks, and to require warrants for some operations. House Republicans, however, have signaled they won’t accept at least some of those demands, especially judicial warrant requirements. (Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / NPR)

2/ The U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away. The Navy described the drone’s intent as “unclear” and framed the shootdown as self-defense. Central Command didn’t describe what “de-escalatory measures” were tried before the F-35C downed the drone, and Iran’s U.N. mission declined to comment. Hours later, Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats and another drone approached a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz at high speed and threatened to board it before a U.S. destroyer showed up and escorted it until the situation “de-escalated.” (Reuters / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Politico / CBS News / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

3/ A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians, ordering the Department of Homeland Security to extend the program that’s set to expire this week. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely failed to follow required procedures and that the record showed no evidence backing the administration’s claim that Haitian TPS holders threatened U.S. interests. Reyes also said the plaintiffs’ claim of hostility toward nonwhite immigrants “seems substantially likely” and that the decision to end TPS appeared motivated, in part, by racial animus. The order keeps deportation protections and work permits in place while the case proceeds. (CNN / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Reuters)

4/ Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Trump asked her to show up while the FBI searched Fulton County, Georgia’s election office and that she watched for only “a brief period of time.” In a letter to Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, the Director of National Intelligence said she acted under her “broad statutory authority” tied to election security, including counterintelligence, foreign malign influence and cybersecurity, and acknowledged that she “facilitated a brief phone call” so Trump could thank the agents, while insisting that neither she nor Trump asked questions or issued directives. Gabbard also said she hadn’t seen the warrant or the probable-cause evidence behind it. The FBI search targeted 2020 election records and seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documentation as Trump continues to baselessly claims widespread fraud that courts and election officials have rejected. Lawmakers and former officials said it was highly unusual for the DNI to appear at a domestic FBI search, and Warner’s office said her explanation “raises more questions than it answers.” (Reuters / Associated Press / Axios / The Hill / Politico / Bloomberg / The Guardian / NBC News / CNN)

5/ Congress still hasn’t received a whistleblower complaint filed last May accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing. The complaint has been “locked in a safe,” and the intelligence community inspector general’s office said the case involves “exceptionally sensitive materials” that require special handling and storage. One official warned that disclosure could cause “grave damage to national security” and that even the whistleblower’s lawyer hasn’t seen it. Gabbard’s office, meanwhile, called the complaint “baseless” and “politically motivated” and denied stonewalling Congress, saying it’s working through security and legal constraints. While the intelligence community inspector general’s office said allegations specifically about Gabbard weren’t credible, it couldn’t reach a determination on a separate allegation involving an office in another federal agency. The inspector general’s office said parts of the complaint are marked attorney-client privileged and could raise executive-privileges that may involve the White House. (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Associated Press / The Hill)

poll/ 62% of Americans said ICE officers had gone too far, up from 58% in a poll conducted just before Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis. Among Republicans, 45% said enforcement was about right and 22% said it hadn’t gone far enough, while 30% said it had gone too far – up from 20% before the shooting. Nearly half of self-described “non-MAGA Republicans” said ICE has been too aggressive in its deportation efforts. (New York Times)

The 2026 midterms are in 273 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,008 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to sit for sworn depositions in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation after Republicans advanced criminal contempt resolutions for defying earlier subpoenas. The pair will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. Chair James Comer, meanwhile, said they “completely caved.” (Politico / CNN / New York Times / Associated Press)

  2. The U.S. will create a roughly $12 billion “Project Vault” stockpile of critical minerals to curb manufacturing reliance on China. The plan hinges on $1.67 billion in private capital and a $10 billion, 15-year Export-Import Bank loan. The Trump administration likened it to a Strategic Petroleum Reserve-style backstop after China tightened controls such as licensing for rare-earth magnets. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

  3. For the fifth time, a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration’s effort to stop off shore wind farm construction. Judge Royce Lamberth said Orsted’s Sunrise Wind project would suffer “irreparable harm” and said the administration likely acted arbitrarily, failing to adequately explain its claimed national security concerns even after he reviewed classified material under seal. (New York Times / Bloomberg)

  4. After Trump reportedly dropped his demand that Harvard pay the government $200 million, he denied backtracking and said the government was now seeking $1 billion “in damages.” He called for investigations into Harvard’s handling of antisemitism to become criminal. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press)

  5. Trump said the Kennedy Center will close for roughly two years for what he called a “complete rebuilding,” while insisting he’s “not ripping it down” and will reuse the structure’s steel and some marble. He put the price at “probably around $200 million,” said financing is “fully in place,” and described his big plans for “brand-new” heating and air conditioning. Lawmakers raised oversight questions, saying Congress should have been consulted. Trump, meanwhile, said his plan is “totally subject” to approval by the board he installed. (ABC News / NPR / NBC News / Associated Press / Axios)

  6. Trump said he wants the proposed “Independence Arch” overlooking the Potomac River to be the world’s biggest. He wants a 250-foot version, which architectural experts and historians warn would dwarf and overwhelm the corridor between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery and block key sightlines. (Washington Post / CBS News)