Today: Trump's priorities in China, and the Senate confirms Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:04]This is Today as it happened. Good Wednesday evening to you. I'm Holly Ferur and I'm here with your chronological look at the biggest events and stories of the day. Things you might have missed. From President Trump's pick as the new acting director of ICE to continued coverage of the Hauntus cruise ship outbreak as the number of reported cases reaches 11. But first this morning, we took a look at the beginning of President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

[00:00:35]President Trump touched down earlier in Beijing this morning to begin a two-day meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking President Trump's first official visit to China since 2017 and his first trip there during his second term. The meeting comes at a sensitive moment with both leaders aiming to stabilize USChina relations amid rising geopolitical and economic tensions. So let's bring in scripts news chief Washington correspondent Joe St. George who joins us now live from our newsroom.

[00:01:08]And Joe, an allimportant trip for so many reasons. Uh what can we expect is going to be on the docket for this trip?

[00:01:17]Well, uh, because the president is going to Xiinping's home turf, the Chinese are very much able to script this in in ways and bring up topics that maybe America uh, the American delegation is less inclined to talk about. This is a highly choreographed, highly scripted trip though to uh, to Beijing. And this is the big moment I I think of the day and that is just the welcome of President Trump. That long journey from Washington to Beijing. There was a a refueling stop, a bit of a pit stop in Alaska uh for a for a time. Interestingly enough, the president did not speak with reporters on Air Force One. Um that's a long journey. and president often when he's flying from Florida, let's say, to Washington, he'll pop in the back of Air Force One and and provide some updates.

[00:02:12]Did not uh do that. Um I I'm not sure what to to make of that or or read into it, but interestingly interesting. But you see this welcome ceremony. I I spot David Purdue uh there shaking hands with President Trump. Obviously, the Chinese top leaders there, not the president.

[00:02:29]Xiinping is not there, but David Purdue, the US ambassador to ch to China, uh there welcoming uh the president. You also saw many young people uh waving uh flags uh chanting a welcome welcome, a very noteworthy uh welcome ceremony. And President Trump likes the pomp and circumstance. He likes to provide it to world leaders when they come to Washington. And he likes to receive it.

[00:02:56]and he certainly received it a few moments ago in China. As for what will be brought up, Iran, the economy, trade, many business leaders accompanying the president, including the CEO of Apple and Nvidia, Elon Musk was on Air Force One. So, this will be a big trip on the economy and trade and technology. But for many experts, there is a focus on Taiwan.

[00:03:23]President Donald Trump's trip to China has been long talked about. Only eight sitting US presidents have ever visited the country. President Trump was the last in 2017. White House officials say the trip will focus on the economy with the Iran war being discussed as well.

[00:03:39]Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook are among a host of American business leaders accompanying the president. But for many, Taiwan will be one of the biggest topics to watch this week. Taiwan is home to around 23 million people. Since 1979, the US has had a strategic ambiguity of how the White House would respond if Taiwan was ever attacked by China. China believes self-ruuled Taiwan is a province of theirs that has acted ary.

[00:04:09]>> I imagine that will be discussed in the trip, but I don't think it'll be a feature of our trip. Our policy remains unchanged. You know, we don't want to see any forced or compelled change in the situation now. I think we'd be destabilizing to the world.

[00:04:22]>> Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Taiwan will likely be brought up while the president is in China, but dismissed that any policy shift is looming.

[00:04:30]>> These are highly choreographed, very scripted events, right? And especially since Trump is going to be on she's home turf, Taiwan will come up.

[00:04:38]>> Jonathan Zinn is a former CIA analyst who specialized in Chinese affairs and is now at the Brookings Institution. Zen says even a small unscripted moment from President Trump on Taiwan could be massive. For instance, the official position is that the US does not support independence for Taiwan. But a subtle potentially consequential change would be a statement that the US opposes independence.

[00:05:02]>> Even though that seems like pretty subtle stuff, that shift in rhetoric, what it signals is that there's active opposition to the government in Taiwan.

[00:05:10]Zen does not believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is imminent, but he does believe Chinese leaders will gauge Trump's temperature on this issue and question why 11 billion dollars in arm sales were approved by President Trump to Taiwan last year. Taiwanese officials, meanwhile, have said they hope Trump returns to the US with the status quo preserved.

[00:05:33]It's going to be a scripted trip in China for the president. How many unscripted moments will there be and will any unscripted Taiwan related issues uh come up? One of the many storylines we're watching, Holly, we also watch the clock on these big trips to Asia, right? It's 10 a.m. Eastern time. It's they're 12 hours ahead. So, it's 10 p.m. in China. Much of the big news will happen tonight when many many Americans are are asleep.

[00:06:00]>> So, in the morning, we will have a lot to talk about. Uh but right now I want to shift uh to here at home because while all eyes are on what's happening in China here in the US inflation news this morning it's bad for Americans. Uh the economic picture in the US right now going to come up when obviously President Trump talks about Iran in China. Uh give us an insight on that if you would.

[00:06:27]You cannot uh ignore the bad inflation reports that have come up this week. And we had another one this morning. The producer uh price index. This is what uh uh wholesalers uh have been are are paying. I just want to pull it up. 6% on an annual basis jumped in April. Biggest increase since 2022. I'm getting some COVID flashbacks here with some of these inflation reports. Right. We're starting to watch these ever so uh closely. The president was asked before he left Washington whether or not the financial strain that so many Americans are feeling with the high price particularly of gasoline if that's on his mind at all as he continues to think about what is next with Iran. Iran is certainly going to come up in China. Right. China receives 40 50 60% depending depending on what statistic you're looking at of their of their oil from the straight of Hermuz. They are greatly impacted by the US naval blockade. So this will be discussed at length. China has recently met with Iranian uh leaders. But this is what the president said again before departing Washington for China about whether Americans finances are on his mind as he thinks about what is next with Iran. Take a listen. Our inflation is just short term because if you go from before just before the war we were for the last three months 1.7%.

[00:07:58]And now what you have is as soon as this war is over you're going to see inflation go down to probably 1 and a half%. The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

[00:08:24]>> And a lot of Democrats this morning pouncing on that one phrase you heard at the end there. I don't think about Americans financial situation. Obviously the president making clear he's focused on Iran's nuclear capabilities. His whole national security team though uh Holly is traveling with him to Beijing including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegth. So, if any military questions come up, if any issues arise, his team will obviously be be close by during the president's high-profile trip to China this week.

[00:08:51]>> Joe, you know, when he made that comment, it was quite shocking to a lot of people. Um, especially his base as well. Is the White House saying anything to to to go back uh to to to comment on those uh that statement from the president, which I think a lot of people were not expecting.

[00:09:11]Well, and that is why I was a bit surprised that the president didn't pop in the back of Air Force One on that long journey uh from uh Washington uh to China to perhaps clean things up a bit.

[00:09:25]Often uh in the press, the the president's last statement is the one that gets gets played the most. And and we're approaching 24 hours now of those of those words uh being being uttered.

[00:09:37]we're not going to hear the president again until uh later later tonight. So, I I I I think it was important to play the whole soundbite because the president clearly was was making the case that nuclear capabilities on his mind. But to say that he's not thinking about the price of gas. He's not thinking about all these inflation reports that we're getting. I mean, it's hard to see how that doesn't pop up in a campaign ad for Democrats. I mean, obviously Republicans in this midterm election year, the they are the winds are not with them presently politically, and those statements don't necessarily ne necessarily uh help politically for uh the president.

[00:10:16]>> This is today as it happened. We'll be right back.

[00:10:28]Now, why don't we take a look at some of the other top headlines of the day that you might have missed. The price of gas continues to rise amid the conflict in Iran. The national average $4.51 a gallon, the highest it's been since 2022.

[00:10:45]Republican members of Congress say the gas prices are a quote temporary blip.

[00:10:50]Fact of the matter is is everybody relax. Few prices will go down. Iran's going to end very very soon.

[00:10:56]>> Well, I think certainly the gas price situation is tough, but I don't think that's going to be resolved in the next few weeks. I think this trip to China is going to be instrumental in getting uh the Chinese to weigh in. If that happens, gas prices will crash just like they did uh on the way up, they'll come on the way down. So, I think by call Labor Day, it's all in the rearview mirror.

[00:11:15]President Trump has proposed suspending the federal gas tax, and that could save you 18 cents per gallon, but that takes congressional approval.

[00:11:25]David Venturella is expected to become the new acting ICE director. The longtime official has experience in the private sector, including working for one of ICE's biggest detention center contractors. Current ICE acting director Todd Lions last day is scheduled for May 31st. He faces scrutiny amid ICE shooting and killing two American citizens in Minnesota. DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen says he wants agents to take a quieter approach going forward. President Trump thinks ICE needs a rebrand starting with a new name, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement or NICE.

[00:12:04]The cruise ship pontirus outbreak has now left a French woman fighting for her life on an artificial lung. The outbreak has now grown to 11 reported cases.

[00:12:14]Three people have died. Here in the United States, the doctor who stepped in to treat sick passengers during the cruise is now sick himself. Dr. Steven Kornfeld is isolated in a bioontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after initially testing positive for the virus. Kornfeld says caring for ill passengers and spending time with a passenger who later died put him at higher risk. The CDC is awaiting results of a confirmatory test expected this week.

[00:12:47]All right, now on to the latest on the ongoing saga involving Trump's ballroom project. Senate Republicans remain torn over whether to spend $1 billion in taxpayer funds for ballroom security.

[00:13:01]Scripps News senior congressional correspondent Nathaniel Reid joins us now live from Capitol Hill. And Nate, uh, what can you tell us about this ongoing fight?

[00:13:11]>> Well, Holly, that billion dollars is in addition to roughly $70 billion in funds meant for ICE and Border Patrol.

[00:13:17]Republicans hoping to pass that funding alone with no Democrat support. So, there was a decision made last week to try and include that billion dollars in funding earmarked specifically for security for for the ballroom.

[00:13:29]Yesterday, the Secret Service Director Sean Curran came to Capitol Hill making a pitch to Senate Republicans for that billion dollars in funding. He said, according to Senate Majority Leader John Thoon, that only about 20% of it would be used for ballroom construction, the rest for training and other uh uh preparedness measures. That being said, as you noted, some Senate Republicans appear to be torn about that figure. I caught up yesterday with Republican Senator Jim Justice, the Republican from West Virginia, who told me he's not sure at this point if he can vote for that billion dollars in ballroom funding.

[00:14:00]Again, a reminder, we're just several months away from the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have made clear they're going to make that billion dollars in funding for a ballroom that President Trump had repeatedly promised would only be paid for with donation uh donated dollars, no taxpayer funds.

[00:14:15]They're going to make that a key issue.

[00:14:17]Take a listen. In terms of the ballroom funding that was you were pitched on earlier today by the uh Secret Service director, do you think that's the right move to spend a billion dollars in the ballroom ahead of the midterms?

[00:14:27]>> Well, to be perfectly honest, here's here's here's how I feel about that.

[00:14:32]First of all, if we're going to build a ballroom, it's got to be super secure.

[00:14:37]We know that. To think to think really and truly that it's going to cost a billion dollars is unfathomable to me. I mean, you're talking about a thousand millions, you know, a thousand millions.

[00:14:51]>> Can you support a billion dollar uh amendment or a billion dollar portion of that bill for the ballroom?

[00:14:58]>> I don't know. I don't know. You know, I surely I surely need to think a lot about it and everything and see a whole lot more numbers. But that's my problem.

[00:15:05]I just can't fathom it. I can't fathom that kind of number, you know, for security. Worth noting that that comment from Senator Justice saying he needs to see a more detailed breakdown of accounting for that billion dollars came after that briefing from the Secret Service director yesterday. So, safe to say there are still questions within the Senate Republican Conference just about how that billion dollars would be spent and whether that money is actually necessary. Now, Republicans appear to be in agreement that they want this ballroom to be secure. Uh that being said, concerns about that billion dollars still uh really pouring in.

[00:15:38]They're hoping to advance that bill, by the way, to send about 70 billion dollars in funding to ICE and Border Patrol along with possibly that billion dollars for the ballroom uh in the next couple weeks. Democrats have made clear they will fight that funding tooth and nail to try and get that excluded from the overall package. And >> and Nate, just a quick followup. So, the donor money, that private donor money that President Trump originally said would pay for all of the ballroom, is that still going to be included in this build or is it going to be completely taxpayer dollars?

[00:16:07]Well, the bill still aims to pay for the vast majority of the ballroom with that donated $400 million or so, and a lot of that has come from private companies.

[00:16:15]Democrats have made clear that they're not happy with that funding, that they have serious concerns about the influence pedaling that could be happening with the White House. So, there's still the intent from the administration, at least apparently, to build the ballroom with that donated money. The billion dollars, though, again, a far more significant amount of money than 400 million, would just be earmarked for security. And the way the bill was written, it says as much that that money could not be used on any of the interior furnishings aside from physical security. That being said, safe to say there are still Republicans who were skeptical about that billion dollar figure. We'll be right back as we continue our look at today's top news.

[00:17:01]So glad you're back with us here on Today as it happened. Why don't we check back in on our daily briefing of today's top stories?

[00:17:09]And this just in, the South Carolina Supreme Court has overturned Alex Murdoch's murder convictions. He's the disgraced lawyer, you might recall, who was sentenced to life in prison in the shooting deaths of his wife and his son.

[00:17:23]Scripts News national correspondent Jay Gray covered this trial extensively. And Jay, catch us up. How did this uh verdict get overturned? Yeah, Holly, really a stunning reversal here by the state supreme court in a 50 vote. So, they were unanimous in deciding that this should go back to trial and that's exactly what prosecutors say is going to happen here. Let's talk about the case in general. First, of course, Alex Murdo, a prominent lawyer from a prominent family in the South Carolina low country. He was convicted in the killing of his wife and son in June of 2021.

[00:18:00]But his attorneys on appeal have said that that case was marred by the improper influence county clerk in a case, Becky Hill. Uh Becky Hill of course was a clerk that really ran that case. An extended case that drew uh intense public scrutiny. Uh there were several uh drama series produced about the Murd murders. It was something that really captured the attention of the nation throughout the trial. And and what we are told is that uh Becky Hill, that uh county clerk, had improper discussions with jury members uh telling them at one point and and acknowledging that she told them uh to watch the jury members body movements to lean into what they were uh doing as Murdoch testified or as others testified in this case. So, uh, that was something that they appealed and the appeals courts just said that there was too much evidence not to overturn this case. Becky Hill was convicted of tampering. Uh, she wrote a tell- all book about this trial as well. I can tell you that this was a very expensive case to try. It was something uh that cost a lot of not only dollars but manpower, time, and prosecutors have said they they did not believe that this should be overturned.

[00:19:23]that that was inconsequential compared to the evidence that was a part of this trial. But the Supreme Court said it will happen and prosecutors have since said that they will try the case, that they believe uh they can move forward and do this again, though they are very frustrated about this uh reversal.

[00:19:42]>> And Jay, so prosecutors saying now that they're going to retry Murdoch. What happens next? I mean, it was a six-w week trial, more than a half a million dollars. Do we have to start all over again from the beginning?

[00:19:55]>> In essence, that's exactly what's going to happen, Holly. They're going to start this trial again and bring in a new jury and and get that settled and and then move forward with a retrial. Right now, the conviction's been overturned.

[00:20:10]Murdoch will stay uh in jail. But uh this conviction has been overturned and they will move forward. Now, the case is in essence prepared. uh they will just move forward with retrying this case.

[00:20:23]>> The widow of a man killed in a mass shooting at Florida State University is suing Open AI. The lawsuit claims the alleged gunman used chat GPT to choose a weapon and pick a location for the attack. Two people were killed and six others were wounded. Vanana Jooshi, whose husband died in the shooting, says OpenAI knew this could happen. The company, however, denies any wrongdoing.

[00:20:51]And Australia's first plan, Trump Tower, is ditching the Trump name just three months after it was announced. The developer says the brand has become toxic in Australia, citing backlash over the Iran war and political divisions.

[00:21:06]More than 140,000 people signed a petition against the project. The 91story luxury tower on Australia's Gold Coast is still expected to be built, just under a different name. We'll be right back with more of today's top stories right here on Today's It Happened.

[00:21:36]You're watching Today's It Happened.

[00:21:38]This is scripts news rundown of the biggest events and stories of the day.

[00:21:42]Something you might not have seen. So why don't we get to it.

[00:21:48]Fulton County, Georgia officials are fighting a DOJ request for the personal information of people who worked during the 2020 election. President Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that he won the state of Georgia in the 2020 election. Scripts News legal affairs correspondent Avajjoy Bernett is live with us now. And Avajjoy, uh, you spoke with the chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. What did he tell you about the government's request for the personal information of these election workers?

[00:22:20]>> Hey there, Holly. Well, Rob Pittz, he is one of those local election officials there in Fulton County, Georgia. And he believes the DOJ's request for the personal information of these election workers were talking about their names, addresses, phone numbers. He believes this is the administration's way at attempting to intimidate local election officials. Remember Fulton County, Georgia, it was at the center of controversy after the 2020 election and we are anticipating some highly watched races coming up this fall in the uh midterms in November. Here's a portion of my conversation with Pitts.

[00:22:57]What concerns you the most about the DOJ potentially gaining access to this information?

[00:23:04]Well, it's concerning that they even asked for the personal information of the workers going back to the 2020 elections. It's my understanding that they wanted uh personal information from workers, volunteers, truck drivers, anybody that did anything associated with the 2020 election. So, the first question is why in the world uh would they need it? And I think personally that that is a form of uh obviously harassment uh intimidation and a move to sort of dampen the interest of people willing to and wanting to work uh in future elections as well as probably uh put fear into people from even going to vote. In January, there was an FBI raid at the Fulton County Election Office, and that resulted uh in about 600 boxes being taken from that building. You fought to get the boxes back, but a judge ruled against you. What is your biggest concern with regards to those boxes being somewhere out of your control?

[00:24:15]>> That's a great question. And my concern is who has the boxes? What are they doing with them? Why did they take them in the first place? And if you have personal information of thousands and thousands of Fulton County residents who voted, what are they going to do with it?

[00:24:30]>> Are you concerned that the constant stories about voting in Georgia and more centrally Fulton County will impact people's uh thought process on the security of the elections there in Fulton County?

[00:24:46]>> Yes, I am. In fact, uh our the the the turnout to date in Felton County has been lower uh than it normally is. And I attribute that uh in part to all of the attention about voter information and this whole effort of harassment uh by the president and his allies.

[00:25:09]>> Now, I've reached out to the Department of Justice for comment here, and we have not heard back. Uh Pitt says he is making a move to possibly appeal the decision from a lower court judge which said the DOJ is allowed to hold on to those boxes. With regards to the subpoena for the personal information for thousands of election workers, they've gone to court to ask a judge to prohibit the administration from moving forward. And Eva Joy, just to follow up, those boxes with all that information uh that the the federal government now has, do we know where they're holding it? Is it secure? Is there concern about tampering with any of that information?

[00:25:50]uh you know, and in my mind, I know we all kind of go to different places, but who's to say they wouldn't go back and say, "Well, look, we have proof here that the election uh that there that that he did win Georgia, but we don't know that this is is actual evidence."

[00:26:03]Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but we just don't know who's protecting this information. Or do we?

[00:26:10]>> Uh that is the big issue that Fulton County, Georgia officials have right now. They do not know where the boxes are and what condition all of the contents of those boxes are in. And this is why they are saying they have plans to possibly appeal to a a federal appeals court to ask them to reverse the lower court's decision and force the Department of Justice to return those boxes. Uh the condition of the contents of the boxes and just how secure they are right now, we just don't know. But what we do know is that the DOJ, the FBI, they entered that facility in Georgia at the end of January this year and they took about 600 boxes with all of those contents. So, this is an ongoing uh saga uh between the Department of Justice and Fulton County officials as they try to retrieve the contents of those boxes.

[00:27:00]>> And quickly, do they say why they need to keep them and why they don't want to return them?

[00:27:06]>> Uh that's an excellent question actually. Uh the Department of Justice said this is part of an ongoing uh investigation that they may have into uh possible flaws in the 2020 election. We know that there have been numerous court cases that have said President Donald Trump did not win the 2020 election in uh Georgia. He did not win Georgia. Um, but we do know that allies uh of the president along with officials in the DOJ, they continue to try to find uh ways to possibly investigate any potential wrongdoing in Georgia and more specifically in Fulton County. And so this is why we see this back and forth.

[00:27:43]The judge who oversaw this last issue, he said uh the DOJ has the right to hold on to the documents. Uh but there's a possibility that we will see in the future Fulton County uh make a demand to a higher court to revisit this issue once again and possibly they might be able to get those boxes back. We continue to see legal cases pop up uh with regards to who won the 2020 election. Um and so this is something that we anticipate will continue to play out even as we head into the midterm elections. Holly, >> which is why we're glad we have you to decipher it all. Scripts News legal affairs correspondent Abjoy Bernett for us. Thank you. I'm enjoy. So glad you're back with us here on Today as it happened. Thank you. I'm Holly Ferur. I have your daily rundown of today's top stories.

[00:28:37]So glad you're back with us here on today's It Happened. Thank you. I'm Holly Ferur. I have your daily rundown of today's top stories.

[00:28:45]Trade, Taiwan, and the war with Iran all on the table during the president's trip to China. China's leader Xiinping also could be holding the so-called Trump card. Scripts News senior international correspondent Jason Bolini joins us now live in New York. And and Jason, that so-called Trump card seems to be the new gold. Explain what it is.

[00:29:06]>> Hi D. China uses its supply chain advantages strategically. Now, this isn't a perfect analogy, but China is holding a Trump card, and it's almost the equivalent in terms of leverage as what uh Iran has with the straight of form. Again, not a perfect analogy, but now let's throw into the mix drones.

[00:29:29]>> Banned Chinese drones to protect national security. The problem is Americanmade drones run on parts requiring Chinese rare earth minerals.

[00:29:40]Cros, of course, have transformed warfare. I've watched it in Ukraine, where a $300 quadcopter with a camera and an explosive zip tied to it has become the defining weapon of that war.

[00:29:52]One Ukrainian expert recently credited these drones for 70 to 80% of Russian battlefield casualties.

[00:29:59]>> You guys good in the back?

[00:30:00]>> The US military is racing to drone up its own arsenal.

[00:30:04]>> Stay steady, bro. We've reported on special forces training with new Americanmade versions. The Pentagon ordered 10,000 in 2025 alone, but that's a relatively tiny number, small enough to produce without most Chinese parts.

[00:30:20]But manufacturing them requires rare earth metals and magnets needed for the motors from China. The Chinese produce 90% of the world's supply of both the metals and the magnets. So, here's what's actually being negotiated in Beijing this week. The US wants China to guarantee long-term export licenses for the rare earth magnets American factories currently cannot source from anywhere else. A prerequisite for fulfilling Trump's executive order seeking American drone dominance.

[00:30:51]>> If we were to reshore in the into the United States all of our production of those magnets, um that's a moonshine level investment and we're clearly not there. And so we're still going to have to rely on China for probably a considerable amount of time.

[00:31:06]>> In return for the continued flow of minerals and magnets, Washington is quietly offering to extend waiverss on its own ban on Chinese consumer drones.

[00:31:16]Keeping the very components, motors, controllers it sought to eradicate legal. With US drone supply chain independence years away, the administration has taken stakes in US critical minerals mining companies and guaranteed a 10-year price floor for American processed minerals. It's essentially a government bet that domestic production can scale up if Washington can buy time from China.

[00:31:44]A new American magnet factory, it's not expected to go online until 2028. D >> Jason, how is China's president Xi Jinping expected to play the minerals card, I guess, if you will. Uh, what is he hoping to get out of the US?

[00:32:00]>> What we're anticipating is that he's going to bundle with other interests, including a Boeing deal for buying Boeing airplanes, an AI agreement or discussion as both countries are trying to work together on safety measures there. You also have, of course, the conflict in Iran and then there's Taiwan. Now, will he use these minerals that the United States needs as leverage? That's a very interesting question, especially since you've got a new deal, funding deal from the US for weapons for Taiwan to the tune of 14 billion. And Trump has to approve that in the coming months.

[00:32:44]>> A new head of ICE could soon be tapped.

[00:32:46]The president set to tap David Vinderella as the new acting director of immigration and customs enforcement. But the appointment is raising ethical questions. Vinterella spending years as an executive at a private prison company that currently runs ICE detention centers. Scripts News investigative reporter Patrick Turfer has been digging into Vinterella's background. He is part of our ICE Inc. investigative team. And Patrick, this appointee served in the private prison industry for years.

[00:33:12]>> Yeah. Yeah, and Dell, you know, in this town, it's really not anything new to have people bounce around from the private industry to the federal government, back to the private industry. But what's interesting about Venturella, who is set to become the next acting director of ICE, is the kind of work that he was doing before he returned to the government. He was a longtime executive at a company called the Geog Group. And the GEO group is the number one vendor for the government for these private ICE detention centers that house thousands of immigrants all over the country. Venturella was there until 2025. He actually retired in 2022 but then had a consulting contract good until 2025 uh making $10,000 a month.

[00:33:55]And it's what he was doing while at Geog Group that is raising a lot of eyebrows.

[00:34:00]he was actually working in the division that was trying to get more contracts and more government business. Uh now, ever since he's been at ICE, he's actually been overseeing the office that works with companies to try to actually open new detention centers. So, essentially, he is on the other side of the table now. He's going to be leading this agency that he used to be lobbying for a very long time and getting paid for it. And that has some government contracting experts concerned.

[00:34:32]>> This is a uh an unfortunate if not dreadful example of the revolving door having a fox in the hen house because it's his interest to have people in place and policies in place that make life easy and more profitable uh for for the private prison companies.

[00:34:56]Strong words there. We reached out to DHS to ask what the reason is that they picked Venturella and if there will be any sort of firewalls to sort of prevent uh him from being uh ethically compromised given that he was again serving at the GEO group as an executive vice president uh until 2022 and then again had that consulting contract until 2025.

[00:35:20]But we do know that he is very close to Tom Hman. That is the border zar of course. So uh that might explain why he has been tapped to take over for Todd Lions who will step down again. All this change we expect by the end of the month.

[00:35:34]>> Patrick, they knew that this was going to generate controversy. I'm curious what is DHS or for that matter the White House saying about this appointment?

[00:35:41]>> They really aren't talking much about it. And what's interesting is because it's a an acting ICE director, he's not going to have to go in front of the Senate. he's not going to have to answer questions from US senators about uh his past, how much money he has made, whether there might be some of these ethical issues. So really, we aren't hearing anything from them about this at all. And as long as he's in the acting capacity, he continues to serve in that and doesn't really have to be forced to answer those questions.

[00:36:09]>> Um does this signal a shift in in immigration enforcement policies?

[00:36:13]>> That's really what we're gonna have to watch to see. you know, Todd Lions that served under Christy Gnome who is now gone. We all remember seeing uh ICE at the time having a lot of uh street level arrests that were being made. Of course, uh the the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Prey. Since then, the past couple of months, we have seen sort of a a change in tone coming from now DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen. We haven't seen as many of those street level arrests. Will that change uh with Venturella? That's something we're going to have to to watch to see. At the same time, detention numbers are coming down.

[00:36:50]But Dell, we have to point out that there is still such appetite for huge numbers of immigrant arrests, deportation push uh from the the the MAGA base.

[00:37:02]>> We'll be right back to continue our rundown of today's top stories right here on Today's It Happen.

[00:37:17]Welcome back to today's it happens scripts news debrief of our top stories of the day. So let's jump right back in.

[00:37:24]>> We're following breaking news coming out of Capitol Hill. The Senate just confirmed Kevin Walsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve. He will replace Jerome Pal who Trump feuded with for months. Scripts News senior congressional correspondent Nathaniel Reed is live on Capitol Hill. Nate, how close was the vote?

[00:37:43]>> No huge surprises here, Dell. Remember, Republicans have a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

[00:37:48]But this vote through the Senate, all Republicans voting in favor of Mr. Worsh's confirmation. And one Democrat, Senator John Federman, the Democrat from Connecticut, excuse me, Pennsylvania, voting with all Republicans on confirming Kevin Worsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. Now, to be clear, he does not become chair immediately, but he will be chair this week. Jerome Powell's term runs through February 15th. On the 15th, Kevin Worsh will succeed him as chairman. There will be no gap there. There will be no need for Jerome Powell to remain on as the chair. Now, you just might remember as as recently as a couple weeks ago, there was serious question about whether Mr. Worsh's nomination could even make it out of the Senate Banking Committee.

[00:38:26]There were concerns held by some Republicans, including Senator Tom Telis of North Carolina, about that ongoing investigation into Jerome Powell, that criminal investigation into the cost of the renovation of the Federal Reserve's headquarters here in Washington.

[00:38:40]Ultimately, the Department of Justice, specifically the US Attorney for DC, dropping that criminal investigation into Jerome Powell. That then cleared the way for his nomination to make it out of the Senate Banking Committee and to the full Senate for a vote. He's now been confirmed to the Federal Reserve Board and will become the next chairman.

[00:38:57]He'll now have to face the difficult task of meeting with all of the members of the Federal Reserve and all the different Federal Reserve banks across the US to determine whether to raise or lower interest rates. Obviously, President Trump has talked a lot about wanting to lower interest rates. Still, many Republicans voting to confirm him, saying they believe that he will be sufficiently independent from the Federal Reserve. He said as much as well during his confirmation hearings.

[00:39:22]Democrats though Dell quite skeptical.

[00:39:25]>> Nate, among the skeptical Democrats, Senator Elizabeth Warren, she actually asked Warsh if he would be uh the president's personal sock puppet. What do we know about uh about Wars?

[00:39:38]>> Well, Worsh has an interesting history here. He has uh you know, a long history of government service. He's someone who had previously seemed to be uh someone who was in favor of at times raising interest rates and uh you know strict federal monetary policy but in uh recent months has become someone who believes the Fed should take a more hands-off role uh with federal monetary policy.

[00:40:00]Now President Trump has repeatedly said he wants the Fed to lower rates. We just saw obviously higher inflation numbers yesterday that inflation has grown quite significantly for the most uh in a quarter since 2023. There's now the active question of whether the Federal Reserve will have to raise rates to slow the uh economy growth and and over concerns that it could be overheated.

[00:40:22]Now Kevin Worsh will have to make that decision. However, he could theoretically draw President Trump's eye if he does not lower interest rates, which President Trump has repeatedly said he wants him to do. The president even telling CNBC on the day of Mr. Worsh's confirmation hearings in the Senate Banking Committee that he would be disappointed if Kevin Worsh did not lower rates. I caught up with Democratic Senator Peter Welch of Vermont earlier who voted against Mr. Worsh's nomination. He reiterated the concern shared by almost all Democrats with the exception apparently of Senator John Federman who voted in favor the only Democrat to vote in favor of his nomination. Take a listen. Given what we've seen on inflation numbers, do you think there's a chance that uh uh Kevin Worsh when confirmed will actually have to raise interest rates as chair?

[00:41:07]>> He's got a tough call. And the real question for him is will he be independent? Will he make a decision based on the economic well-being of the American people or capitulate to Trump?

[00:41:17]>> Do you think he will?

[00:41:19]>> I have my questions. I haven't seen, you know, No, I am not >> for that reason. I mean, he he's got qualifications, but what we've seen is that some of the qualified people that President Trump has nominated give up their autonomy and then capitulate to the demands of the president.

[00:41:38]>> Kevin Worsh beginning his term as the chairman of the Federal Reserve this coming Friday, the 15th of the month of May. Again, he is the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. He's now been confirmed by the Senate. Next thing he needs to do, take the oath of office, Dell. pretty much the uh time of Jerome Powell on the board. The speculation we've heard since President Trump took the oath of office in 2025, the beginning of 2025. That speculation that Jerome Powell could be fired, that appears to have now been rendered moot given that he appears to be on track to finish his term this Friday and allow Kevin Worsh to succeed him. He will, however, apparently stay on the board of the Federal Reserve. That's something else that has generated a lot of controversy. In the past, other Federal Reserve chairman, even though they might have unexpired time on the board itself, have resigned once their term as chairman has ended. It's not yet clear if Jerome Powell resigned from the Federal Reserve once his term as chair expires this Friday.

[00:42:39]>> Yeah, POW seems to indicate it is a matter of trust but verify. He is concerned that even though the Justice Department has dropped its investigation into him, he's not sure it will stay that way. Thank you for joining us on Today as it happened. I'm Holly Ferur.

[00:42:55]Have a unique Wednesday night.