February 12

Anthropic launches $20 million political PAC to fund pro-AI-regulation candidates

Anthropic announces a $20 million political action committee to support congressional candidates who favor federal AI safety regulation. The PAC — one of the largest AI industry political investments ever — targets competitive House and Senate races where AI legislation is on the agenda. CEO Dario Amodei frames it as necessary to counter AI industry lobbying from companies opposed to safety rules. Critics note Anthropic simultaneously benefits commercially from regulations that would raise barriers for smaller AI competitors. The move follows OpenAI's lobbying against the Biden AI executive order and tech industry PAC spending exceeding $125 million in the 2026 cycle.

Tom Homan announces end of Operation Metro Surge after Minneapolis killings

Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Operation Metro Surge, the mass immigration enforcement operation that had deployed up to 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis since December 2025. The operation produced between 3,700 and 4,000 arrests — the government initially reported 3,000, with later FOIA data showing 3,789 — but triggered intense national backlash after ICE agents killed Renée Good and CBP agents killed Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens. Political pressure from congressional Democrats, state officials, and DHS funding negotiations compelled the operation's wind-down.

ICE acting director tells Congress: 37 use-of-force investigations opened in past year

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons disclosed to Congress that ICE had opened 37 internal investigations into officer use of force during the preceding year, a period that included the Minneapolis killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The Trump administration had simultaneously eliminated three DHS watchdog offices — the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman — that had oversight authority over excessive force by agents.

Trump controls Venezuelan oil revenue outside congressional appropriations

Energy Secretary Chris Wright disclosed on February 12, 2026 that Venezuelan oil sales had totaled $1 billion, with $5 billion more expected, held in a Qatari bank account controlled by the US government. The arrangement flowed from a January 2026 executive order directing Treasury to hold Venezuelan oil revenues in a custodial capacity. Congressional Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee demanded Treasury provide statutory authority, arguing the administration was collecting and controlling sovereign revenue without a congressional appropriation.

Judge Ana Reyes reads death threats into court record after blocking Haiti TPS termination

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of the District of Columbia entered death threats she received into the record during a hearing on her ruling blocking the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitians. Reyes had issued a preliminary injunction one day before the TPS designation was scheduled to expire, and in the hearing refused to pause her ruling while the government appealed. A Uruguayan immigrant herself, Reyes stated she and her judicial colleagues would not be intimidated, noting that federal judges now routinely receive death threats.

White House fires DOJ antitrust chief Slater while she reviewed Netflix-Warner merger

The White House ousted Gail Slater, head of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, on February 12, 2026, effective immediately. Slater had been reviewing Netflix's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal estimated at $82.7 billion. CBS News reported she had lost the trust of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche after clashing with them over her skepticism of large corporate mergers. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the removal "corruption," alleging that MAGA-aligned lobbyists were selling merger approvals.

Anthropic donates $20M to pro-AI regulation super PAC ahead of 2026 elections

Anthropic donated $20 million to Public First Action, a super PAC supporting candidates who favor AI safety regulation, on February 12, 2026. The group, headed by former lawmakers Brad Carson and Chris Stewart, planned to back 30-50 candidates across party lines including Republican senators Marsha Blackburn and Pete Ricketts. White House AI czar David Sacks accused Anthropic of running a "sophisticated regulatory capture strategy based on fear-mongering." OpenAI distanced itself from the move, though OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman had separately donated $25 million to a Trump-supporting PAC.

EPA finalizes repeal of 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin finalized the rescission of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding on February 12, 2026, eliminating the scientific and legal foundation for nearly all federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. The final rule also repealed federal GHG emission standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty motor vehicles covering model years back to 2012. The rule was published in the Federal Register on February 18 and takes effect April 20, 2026. Legal challenges began immediately from environmental groups and state attorneys general.

Justice Alito retirement speculation intensifies as memoir publication and valedictory signals mount

Intense speculation about Justice Samuel Alito's retirement from the Supreme Court circulated in February 2026, driven by several indicators: his memoir was scheduled for an October 2026 release — one day before the new Supreme Court term begins — and former clerks published laudatory articles with a valedictory tone. Alito gave a rare interview to Politico discussing his legacy and appeared to view his Dobbs decision as the capstone of his tenure. However, sources close to Alito told Fox News and CBS News he did not plan to retire in the current term.

Trump announces 31-action deregulatory package alongside EPA rollback

President Trump joined EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in the White House Roosevelt Room on February 12, 2026, to announce what the administration called the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history — a package of 31 simultaneous regulatory rollbacks. The announcement framed the endangerment finding repeal as one element of a sweeping effort to eliminate Obama-era environmental rules, including vehicle emission standards for model years 2012–2027. The White House claimed over $1.3 trillion in projected savings from the package.

Sen. John Cornyn introduces bill targeting Sharia law amid rising anti-Muslim rhetoric

Sen. John Cornyn introduced legislation branded around defeating Sharia law amid Republican attacks on Muslim civic life and Islamic law. The proposal fit a broader 2026 campaign that framed Muslim communities and Sharia as threats to American constitutional order.

Trump nominates Sheria Clarke for South Carolina federal court

On February 12, 2026, President Donald Trump nominated Sheria Akins Clarke to serve as a U.S. district judge for the District of South Carolina. The nomination filled a vacancy left by Judge Robert Bryan Harwell's senior status and elevated a Greenville lawyer who had worked as a federal prosecutor and congressional staffer. The nomination started the Senate confirmation process that later focused on Clarke's refusal to answer basic questions about the 2020 election and January 6 (Congress.gov; Senate executive calendar; South Carolina Public Radio; SC Daily Gazette; Alliance for Justice).

Trump pardons five former NFL players and others including corporate Clean Air Act defendant

Trump pardoned five former NFL players on February 12, 2026 — Joe Klecko (Jets, perjury), Jamal Lewis (Ravens, cocaine facilitation), Travis Henry (cocaine distribution), Nate Newton (Cowboys, marijuana), and Billy Cannon (LSU Heisman winner, posthumous counterfeiting). Pardons also went to Timothy Smith (IRS fraud) and Elite Diesel Service Inc., a corporate entity pardoned for Clean Air Act violations. Elite Diesel represented one of the rare instances of a corporation receiving executive clemency, continuing a pattern of nullifying Clean Air Act enforcement through pardons.

Epstein files show Howard Lutnick had a 13-year relationship with Epstein

Released Epstein files revealed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick maintained correspondence and business dealings with Jeffrey Epstein for at least 13 years, contradicting his Senate confirmation testimony in which he claimed he cut ties with Epstein after a single 2005 visit. Documents showed Lutnick and Epstein co-invested in a digital advertising firm called Adfin in 2012, and that Lutnick brought his wife and four children to lunch on Epstein's private Caribbean island that same year. Democrats wrote that Lutnick's testimony was "demonstrably false."

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Goldman Sachs general counsel Ruemmler resigns after Epstein emails revealed

Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathryn Ruemmler announced her resignation on February 12, 2026, after Epstein files released by the DOJ included emails showing she had described Epstein as an "older brother" and accepted luxury gifts including handbags and a fur coat from him after his 2008 sex offender conviction. Ruemmler, who previously served as White House Counsel under President Obama, said the press coverage had "become a distraction." Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon accepted the resignation and praised her tenure.

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