Trump 2nd term updates: Trump attends the Super Bowl

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence by a vote of 9-8 this afternoon, according to senators leaving the closed-door vote.

All Republicans voted in favor of the nomination and all Democrats opposed it, according to a source familiar with the vote.

Majority Leader John Thune can now begin the process of moving Gabbard’s nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

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