Trump 2nd term updates: Trump attends the Super Bowl

Seven ranking House Democrats wrote to Trump Tuesday seeking information regarding DOGE attempts to access classified and sensitive information without proper clearance.

The lawmakers laid out eight questions they’d like the president to answer by Valentine’s Day, such as did DOGE affiliates possess the necessary security clearances; did they access any classified, sensitive or personally identifiable information, and other related questions.

“Given the legal requirements to handle classified, sensitive, and personally identifiable information, we seek a swift explanation of how DOGE personnel’s intrusion into and access to secure government spaces, data, and information systems comport with U.S. law and national security interests,” the Democrats wrote to Trump. “DOGE’s current approach appears to pose enormous risks to national security and to the privacy and civil liberties of Americans.”

-ABC News’ John Parkinson

NOAA

Trump nominated Neil Jacobs, an atmospheric scientist, to
lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If confirmed, this will be Jacobs' second stint leading the agency. He served as its acting director from 2019 until Trump left office at the end of his term.

During the first Trump administration, the NOAA Science Council
investigated Jacobs after the "Sharpiegate" incident, in which Trump altered
a hurricane track map with a Sharpie to support his incorrect claim that
Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama when the forecasted path wouldn’t hit the state.

The Science Council said he violated the organization's scientific integrity policy by pressuring the agency to release a statement supporting Trump's claim.

In a November 2024 podcast interview, Jacobs shared his views on the future of government agencies like NOAA, and weighed in on Project 2025.

"Anytime there's an administration or an election year, whether it's an incumbent or a new administration, you're always going to have these think tanks and groups pushing transition documents to the transition team saying, ‘This is what you should do, you should read this,’" Jacobs said. "The executive branch can't just come in and completely change something that's authorized in law."

He also said that "NOAA has all of these congressional mandates that
are codified. Congress would have to rewrite a mountain of legislation to undo all that."

-ABC News' Matthew Glasser and Daniel Peck

A medical nonprofit group is suing the Trump administration over the sudden removal of health information from multiple government websites, alleging the change creates a “a dangerous gap in the scientific data” needed to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks.

Advocacy group Doctors for America filed the lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management, Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services, asking a federal court in Washington to order the government to restore the webpages and datasets.

“The removal of the webpages and datasets creates a dangerous gap in the scientific data available to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, deprives physicians of resources that guide clinical practice, and takes away key resources for communicating and engaging with patients,” the lawsuit said.

-ABC News’ Eric Strauss and Peter Charalambous

Senate Republicans defended the Trump administration’s sweeping revamp of USAID, led by Elon Musk. But, some lawmakers tried to downplay the billionaire’s power over the president.

"In terms of any decisions made, those are made by the president or the secretary,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told ABC News. “If Musk wants to make recommendations, wants to go and say, you know, 'We ought to cancel this, we ought to cancel that,' that's fine."

Hawley dismissed Musk's framing that he has more authority, calling it "a form of self-promotion."

Other GOP lawmakers defended the administration’s decision to gut a congressionally appropriated agency.

“My message to my Democratic friends and to the tofu-eating 'wokerati' at USAID is, ‘I hear your question, but you need to call somebody who cares,'" Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters.

Sen. Thom Tillis R-N.C., told ABC News he doesn't have any concerns about Musk's role in the federal government.

"Everybody is acting like Congress doesn't exist anymore. Many of the things he's thinking about will require congressional approval to actually structurally change them," he claimed, adding that reporters are asking questions about "the old way of doing things."

"We've got oversight. If it goes too far I'll be the first person to step up he went too far," Tillis added.

-ABC News' Jay O'Brien, Rachel Scott, Allison Pecorin, Isabella Murray and Lalee Ibssa