Dozens of world leaders are gathering in Washington, where on Thursday morning, February 19, President Trump will convene the first meeting of the Peace Council. The body was created on his initiative a month ago and is tasked with overseeing the reconstruction of the Gaza sector amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and with an eye toward a possible end to the war. A number of countries, including many US allies, have declined to take part, voicing doubts about the council’s very model and the makeup of its participants—among those named are Russia and Belarus.
On Capitol Hill, negotiations over funding for the Department of Homeland Security remain deadlocked—the partial government shutdown has now entered its sixth day. The House of Representatives and the Senate are in recess.
The White House has stepped up pressure on Democrats, accusing the party of refusing to compromise in the dispute over the methods used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out Trump’s deportation agenda. Details of the talks remain undisclosed—lawmakers and their aides point to the relative lull as a sign that serious negotiations are under way.
The annual meeting of the National Governors Association also gets under way on Thursday—against this backdrop, Trump continues to criticize individual leaders of the Democratic Party.
At the same time, the story surrounding Jeffrey Epstein has intensified—following the publication in late January of millions of pages of documents, former Prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of abuses committed while holding public office.
Later on Thursday, Trump will travel to Georgia, where he is set to deliver a speech on the economy.