Elizabeth Warren Brutally Questions Scott Bessent Over Trump's Stock TradingSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) grilled Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on President Donald Trump's stock trading, asking him if the United States Securities and Exchange Commission should be "knocking on" Trump's door.Bessent said Wednesday during a Senate hearing that Trump isn't "sitting in the Oval Office engaging in a high-frequency trading strategy" and said there should be a trading ban put in place for House and Senate members before the president.Last year, Bessent said if a private citizen traded stocks like some members of Congress, the SEC "would be knocking on their door."Bessent told Warren on Wednesday that Congress should get its "house in order" first and lead by example. Warren told him that she doesn't own individual stocks.Latest Live UpdatesDOJ Disputes Report That It's Investigating George Santos For Insider TradingThe Justice Department is disputing a report that it is investigating former disgraced Congressman George Santos for possible insider trading.The DOJ told HuffPost there is no current investigation.The department's response comes one day after sources told NPR that Santos was being investigated for using the prediction market app Kalshi to allegedly place a bet on whether or not he would attend President Donald Trump's February State of the Union address."I'm going to be there for the State of Union in the gallery, guys," Santos said in a video he posted to X a day before the speech.Santos, a notorious liar, later claimed he missed his flight."Watching SOTU from an airport tv was not part of the plan! FML," Santos posted on X.Rubio: U.S. Talking With 'Multiple Countries' About Taking In Afghan Nationals, Including CongoThe U.S. is talking with "multiple countries" about taking in Afghan nationals who helped U.S. troops combat the Taliban, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified Wednesday.“That was just one country that expressed interest,” he told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. His response followed pushback from some Democratic lawmakers due to the African country facing humanitarian crises, including an Ebola outbreak.“We want them to go to a place that’s not Afghanistan, that they choose to want to go to, and that are welcoming of them, and we are actively engaging countries around the world," he said.Rubio pointed to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump for preventing Afghan refugees, including military allies, from entering the U.S.The Afghan allies, including translators, guides and former members of the Afghan military, had been promised a safe haven in the U.S. for their service. Many are being held in limbo on a former U.S. military base in Qatar, however.Scott Bessent Clears Up Bill Pulte Altercation: 'I Actually Said I Was Going To Kick His Ass'Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent "actually" told Bill Pulte he was going to "kick his ass," not "punch him in the face."The clarification came Wednesday during a Senate hearing when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) asked Bessent about a report that came out last year saying Bessent threatened Pulte, President Donald Trump's pick for acting director of national intelligence, with a punch to the face after he had heard Pulte was bad-mouthing him."No, sir," Bessent replied to Tillis about the specifics of the altercation. "I actually said I was going to kick his ass."Tillis responded with "good" and that he shared Bessent's emotion.Senate Republicans Drop Ballroom Funding From Immigration BillSenate Republicans have officially ditched an effort to fund President Donald Trump's ballroom at the White House.Money for the Secret Service and the "East Wing Modernization Project" was omitted from a new version of Republicans' bill to fund immigration enforcement operations at the Department of Homeland Security.The previous version of the bill included $1 billion for the project, which Trump started last year with the surprise demolition of the entire East Wing. The Senate parliamentarian said the provision couldn't stay in the bill under the special budget rules Republicans are using to pass the legislation. Republicans were reworking the provision, but then left town in a furor over Trump's $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."Now that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the slush fund is dead, Republicans are back on their immigration bill -- with no ballroom.A White House official said it's old news that ballroom funding is out and suggested Republicans had no choice but to obey the parliamentarian, whom Trump has repeatedly demanded they fire.“The parliamentarian's decision was reported weeks ago," the official said. "This framing is false as it implies that Republicans removed it deliberately rather than under parliamentary pressure.”A federal judge has said construction can't continue at the White House unless Congress approves it, such as by providing funds. The White House has asked a higher court to undo the order.Scott Bessent Mansplains Farming To Minnesota SenatorSen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) clapped back at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's assertion that he understands what farmers are going through, writing Wednesday on X, "I get a kick out of the idea of Scott Bessent going to farmers and saying 'I'm just like you!'"Smith's post comes after she questioned Bessent about the rising cost of fertilizer during a Senate hearing Wednesday. Bessent then mansplained what a farmer is to her."If you were to look in the dictionary, the definition of a farmer is someone who owns a farm and farmed the land so as a former farmer I will tell you ... that 75% of the fertilizer had already been purchased this year."Iranian Nuclear Threat Now Higher Than Before Trump Started War, IAEA ConcludesPresident Donald Trump's efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon are likely having the opposite effect, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency.A copy of the restricted 119-page document, seen by Bloomberg, determined that Iran is more likely to covertly pursue nuclear weapons now than it was a year ago, before the U.S. and Israel began military strikes on the country.Of particular note: Prior to the U.S.-led 2025 bombing of Iran’s principal nuclear sites, inspectors from the IAEA reviewed Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles on a weekly basis to ensure it wasn’t being diverted to a weapons development program.That’s since ceased to be the case.The IAEA can no longer “draw any conclusion regarding this nuclear material,” the report found. “This gives rise to a proliferation concern as this nuclear material, which the agency was not able to verify, includes a large amount of high- enriched uranium.”McConnell Indicates He Won't Support Trump's Nepo Baby DNI NomineeFormer Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell suggested Wednesday that Bill Pulte — the home-builder heir President Donald Trump nominated to be his new Director of National Intelligence — is unqualified for the position."Very few Senate-confirmable positions come with statutory eligibility requirements," the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. "There are good reasons why the Director of National Intelligence is one of them. Anyone performing this role of such immense public trust must have the extensive national security experience required by statute, and no nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote."Pulte, 38, is the grandson of the founder of the residential construction giant PulteGroup. He has no experience working in intelligence.McConnell voted against confirming Trump's previous DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation last month.Marco Rubio Defends The Too-Big Shoes Trump Reportedly Gifted HimThe shoes President Donald Trump gave Marco Rubio fit just fine, the secretary of state claimed Wednesday during a foreign affairs hearing. The assertion came after Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) questioned Rubio on who won the 2020 election. After Rubio refused the answer, Jacobs scorched him, saying he has an "issue admitting facts.""You can't say that the president lost the 2020 election, just like you won't admit President Trump is losing this reckless war of choice and just like you couldn't admit that the shoes the president bought you were too big," Jacobs said.Rubio said he didn't know what shoes Jacobs was talking about, but the Florsheim oxfords Trump gifted him were "actually pretty good" and "fit fine."Earlier this year, it was reported that Trump gifted Rubio and Vice President JD Vance pairs of shoes, but photos showed that they were clearly too big for the men. FBI Fatally Shoots A Man Holding Hostages In A California Office Building, Police SayA man who was holding hostages inside a California office building for about 12 hours was shot and killed by the FBI early Wednesday, police said.The hostages were found unharmed inside the downtown Bakersfield building that houses a bank and a school district office, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.Read more from The Associated Press: Netanyahu Downplays Reports Of Trump Privately Calling Him 'F**king Crazy'Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly dodged questions on Wednesday about a call with President Donald Trump where he reportedly told the Israeli prime minister he's "fucking crazy" for threatening Iran's ceasefire deal by attacking Lebanon."I'm not going into details over our conversations," Netanyahu told CNBC's Sara Eisen. "Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements. We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends. We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon we have common action."Earlier this week, Axios reported that Trump told Netanyahu he'd "be in prison if it weren't for me," and that "everybody hates you now." The prime minister downplayed the comments on Wednesday by saying Trump has been "very vocal about the absurdity of" his long-running corruption trial in Jerusalem.Trump confirmed the call in a Wednesday morning interview with "Pod Force One," where he said he was less angry and more "perturbed at [Netanyahu's] constantly fighting with Lebanon." He also said there "would be no Israel right now" if he wasn't there to help."He's been the greatest friend that Israel's ever had in the White House," Netanyahu said. "He respects me, I respect him, we always find a way to work out our differences."See All Updates