Closing summary
As attention in Washington turns to the tragic loss of life near Reagan National airport, we are wrapping up this politics live blog, but will return to chronicle new developments on Friday. Here is an overview of the day:
Donald Trump pre-empted the federal investigation by experts into the air disaster by speculating, in line with the prevailing views on Fox News, that somehow a push for diversity had lowered standards in the nation’s air traffic controller ranks. His comments, at a news conference that reminded many of his deeply partisan 2020 Covid briefings, prompted outrage from the Congressional Black caucus and other Democrats.
Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, was accused of being happy to lie for Trump at his senate confirmation hearing.
Robert F Kennedy won’t commit to keeping abortion pill mifepristone on market. Kennedy, pressed to answer whether he would keep the abortion pill on the market, refused to say that he would.
At least five senior FBI leaders who were promoted by the bureau’s former director, Christopher Wray, have been notified they are being demoted or reassigned.
Tulsi Gabbard, in her opening remarks at her confirmation hearing for national intelligence chief, said that she has “no love for Assad, Gaddafi, or any dictator, I just hate al-Qaida”. Gabbard was pushing back against criticism for her 2017 meeting with the then Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, during a visit to Damascus, Syria, that will become a focal point of questioning during the hearing.
Brendan Carr, the new, pro-Trump chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has opened an investigation into corporate sponsorship of public media. Carr warned the heads of NPR and PBS that his findings could be used by Republicans in Congress to end all funding for the networks.
Trump administration froze $45m of aid, most of it for Gaza, none of it for condoms. A United Nations agency that promotes sexual and reproductive health confirmed to the Guardian that it did have state department funding for its in work Gaza and the West Bank frozen by the Trump administration, but none of that funding was for condoms.
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US funding freeze imperils health of millions of vulnerable women and girls
The peals of laughter coming from rightwing precincts of the internet and cable news this week, after the White House claimed that Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” had stopped payment on a $50m shipment of condoms to Gaza – which appears to be untrue – echo a little hollow when the real costs of the blanket funding freeze for humanitarian assistance come into focus.
Eddie Wright, a spokesperson for the United Nations Population Fund, known by its old acronym, UNFPA, has shared with the Guardian some examples of the terrible impact the US funding freeze will have on millions of “vulnerable women and girls in some of the world’s most difficult settings”.
The US government contributed nearly half of the UN agency’s funding for humanitarian aid in 2024. In response to the funding freeze, Wright says, “UNFPA has currently issued a moratorium on all spending and payments related to active awards, which will have immediate and widespread effects across regions, both programmatically and operationally.”
Here are some examples provided by Wright of the impact of that US funding being frozen this week, apparently because someone in the administration mistakenly guessed that the funds were being used to send condoms to Gaza:
In Afghanistan, over 9 million beneficiaries will not receive services and over 1,700 female health workers will no longer be employed.
In Gaza, 50,000 pregnant women will lose critical care as UNFPA’s mobile health teams are forced to halt operations. These teams provide care through home and shelter visits, especially in the hardest-hit northern areas.
In Bangladesh, nearly 600,000 beneficiaries will be at risk of losing sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence prevention and response services.
In Ukraine, around 400,000 women and girls will be affected by cuts to psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and response services, safe spaces, and economic empowerment programs provided by 45 mobile teams and 21 safe spaces.
In Pakistan, 1.7 million people (including 1.2 million Afghan refugees) will lose the life-saving sexual and reproductive health services provided by 62 health facilities.
In Yemen, more than 220,000 people displaced by conflict or natural disasters will lose access to lifesaving emergency relief deliveries of essential items.
In Sudan and its surrounding countries, thousands of displaced people will lose emergency sexual and reproductive health services and gender-based violence prevention and response services.
According to Wright: “We are currently seeking a humanitarian waiver so that our life-saving assistance can continue, and look forward to engaging with the new US administration to support vulnerable women and girls in some of the world’s most difficult settings.”
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