Posted by Matt Kiser
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/02/02/day-1840/
Today in one sentence: The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies; attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency”; the Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti; Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records; Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” and seize control of election administration from states; and 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove.
1/ The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies. The Senate measure would fund most of the government through the end of the fiscal year and extend Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks. House Democrats, however, said they won’t help fast-track it and Speaker Mike Johnson has faced internal resistance from Republicans demanding changes, even as Trump warned that there can be “NO CHANGES at this time.” With Democrats withholding procedural votes, Johnson can only afford one Republican defection. Meaning, if two Republicans vote no, or one defects and another is absent, the bill will fail without Democratic support. The shutdown has already delayed the January jobs report and other labor market data until funding is restored. (ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Axios)
2/ Attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency.” On Friday, the Justice Department published the final tranche of Epstein documents to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act – more than a month after Congress’s Dec. 19 deadline. The release totaled more than three million pages, plus thousands of videos and images. Layers said they had flagged “thousands” of redaction failures affecting nearly 100 survivors, including FBI 302 victim statements and interview notes with full names visible, a document listing 32 underage victims with most names unredacted, and records that paired victims’ names with details like dates of birth, addresses, and bank or ID information. The Justice Department blamed “technical or human error,” said it has removed documents flagged by victims or counsel and is running its own searches for additional problems. It said it aims to repost corrected files within about 24 to 36 hours. Separately, Trump again denied wrongdoing connected to Epstein, saying he “never went to the infested Epstein island,” even though his name appears in at least 4,500 documents. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said “We did not protect President Trump,” while warning the files “may include fake or falsely submitted” material and “untrue and sensationalist claims.” (CNN / Axios / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian)
3/ The Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti, who was shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the FBI is leading the review with Justice Department civil-rights lawyers involved, without explaining why the FBI was taking over the case from Homeland Security Investigations. Officials had claimed Pretti brandished a gun, but videos show him holding a phone as officers restrained him on the ground and removed a handgun from his clothes before shots were fired. Blanche said the DOJ’s decision to open a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing doesn’t change its earlier decision not to open a similar probe into the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good. (Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal)
-
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota. Menendez said officials hadn’t shown that the deployment was unlawful or an unconstitutional attempt to coerce state cooperation, even as she cited evidence of racial profiling, excessive force, and widespread disruption in nearly all aspects of Minnesotans’ lives. (Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Washington Post)
-
Federal prosecutors indicted journalist Don Lemon and eight others over a Jan. 18 protest that disrupted a service at a St. Paul church. Before the indictment, a magistrate judge declined to approve arrest warrants for Lemon and several others, citing insufficient evidence, and Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz later said there was “no evidence” Lemon or his producer committed or conspired to commit a crime. A judge in Los Angeles then released Lemon without bond after prosecutors sought a $100,000 bond and travel limits. His arraignment is set for Feb. 9 in federal court in Minneapolis. (Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / New York Times)
-
A federal judge ordered ICE to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from detention in Texas, calling their seizure from a Minnesota suburb unconstitutional. Judge Fred Biery order didn’t decide the family’s immigration case. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times)
4/ Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records. Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said agents took hundreds of boxes of original ballots, ballot images and voter rolls, and he said a separate court order authorized only copying, leaving the county unable to confirm what was removed because “there was no chain-of-custody inventory.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was photographed outside the Fulton County election office during the operation, prompting Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees to demand she testify about why she was there. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he didn’t know why Gabbard was present, adding that she was “not part of the grand jury investigation.” Gabbard reportedly met with FBI agents in Atlanta the next day and used her cellphone to call Trump, who spoke to agents on speakerphone. A White House spokesman said Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel were working together on the president’s election integrity priorities. After the seizure of Fulton Country election records, Trump then posted and reposted discredited conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, writing “Prosecutions are coming.” (NBC News / New York Times / CBS News / The Hill / CNN / Reuters / ABC News)
- Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” and seize control of election administration from states while speaking on former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino’s podcast. He said the party should “take over the voting” in “at least many, 15 places,” repeated his claim that he won the 2020 election “in a landslide,” and alleged without evidence that illegal voting occurred while pointing to an FBI raid at an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, as something that would produce “interesting things.” (Bloomberg / Politico)
poll/ 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove. 54% said the country is worse off than a year ago and 70% rated the economy as in bad shape. 45% said the economy will get worse this year, while 70% said Trump isn’t spending enough time on the economy, and 52% approved of his handling of border security. (Fox News)
The 2026 midterms are in 274 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,009 days.
✏️ Notables.
-
Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to chair the Fed. Trump said he expects Warsh to cut rates even though he said he didn’t get a commitment. Warsh, who served on the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, has recently called for lower rates and “regime change” at the Fed. Senator Thom Tillis, meanwhile, said he’d oppose any Fed nominee until the Justice Department resolves its investigation into Jerome Powell’s handling of the Fed headquarters renovation. (New York Times / Bloomberg / CNBC)
-
Trump said the U.S. reached a trade deal with India that cuts tariffs on Indian goods to 18% in exchange for India “stop buying Russian Oil,” but no deal text or signed agreement was released. India has been importing roughly 1.5 million barrels a day of Russian oil. (CNN / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / New York Times)
-
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.” The whistleblower’s lawyer said Gabbard’s office is blocking transmission by not providing the security instructions needed to send it securely. (Wall Street Journal)
-
The Justice Department stripped Ed Martin of most authority and removed him from chairing the Weaponization Working Group. Martin had pushed investigations and attempted prosecutions of Trump’s perceived political foes, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI director James Comey, and Sen. Adam Schiff. Despite the demotion, the department said he “continues to do a great job” as Trump’s pardon attorney. (Washington Post / CNN)
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/2026/02/02/day-1840/
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weofodthignen
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
