US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat and his main spokesperson walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after US allies and Republicans rebuffed his suggestion that the US would take “ownership” of the territory.
Follow our live blog for the latest developments.
Key Events
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🎥US military plane lands in India carrying deported migrants
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Trump is a 'shrewd, big thinker' who wants Middle East peace: Dutton
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National Collegiate Athletic Association will align policy with Trump's ban on transgender athletes
Marco Rubio will not attend G20 meeting in South Africa
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend an upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa, the top US diplomat said on Wednesday, local time, days after Trump threatened to cut off funding to the African country.
South Africa will host a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group of countries from February 20-21 in Johannesburg. South Africa has the G20 presidency from December 2024 to November 2025.
AI Safety Institute director leaves role
The US AI Safety Institute's inaugural director, Elizabeth Kelly, is leaving her role, she said in a LinkedIn post, a move that leaves open the developing government body's direction under President Donald Trump.
Named to the position a year ago, Kelly oversaw the institute's initial work to measure and counter risks from increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems.
This included reaching agreements with startups OpenAI and Anthropic that let the institute test their AI models prior to release, as well as collaborating with other AI safety bodies around the world.
The institute, founded in the administration of former President Joe Biden, sits within the US Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Since coming to office on January 20, Trump has revoked Biden's 2023 executive order on AI, but it was unclear what plans his administration had for the AI Safety Institute.
She said in the LinkedIn post: "I am confident that AISI's future is bright and its mission remains vital to the future of AI innovation."
Reporting with Reuters
🎥US military plane lands in India carrying deported migrants
A United States military aircraft carrying 104 deported Indian nationals has landed in India as US President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigration.
CFO of Office of Personnel Management is resigning, US publications report
Erica Roach, The chief financial officer of the federal government's Office of Personnel Management is resigning after being pushed out of the role, an ABC News reporter said on X, citing sources familiar with the move.
The Office of Personnel Management is the US government human resources agency.
Aides to billionaire Elon Musk took control of the agency recently as part of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
Roachand the OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Reporting with Reuters
Trump is a 'shrewd, big thinker' who wants Middle East peace: Dutton
Oppostion Leader Peter Dutton took to the airwaves this morning, where he was asked about Donald Trump's declaration the US will "take over" Gaza.
Dutton didn't directly throw his weight behind the president's plan but described Trump as a "big thinker", a "deal maker" and "shrewd".
"I think its part of a desire to see peace and stability in the region," he told Sydney's 2GB.
"Let's be honest: what's gone before us has failed and people who dismiss President Trump and say … he's not serious or whatever derogatory comments they want to make, I think it defies the reality of the gravitas that he brings to the situation.
"The might of the United States, working with an ally like Israel and Jordan and Egypt and other countries who will have to, in his judgment, contribute to the rebuild in the region, and I don't think they're unreasonable expectations.
"I think it is about, how do you leverage the best possible outcome, provide that peace and stability so that people can raise their kids in an environment that is conducive to them leading a good life, not being blown apart."
(ABC News: Mark Moore)
National Collegiate Athletic Association will align policy with Trump's ban on transgender athletes
The US National Collegiate Athletic Association says its board will take step to align its policy with Trump's executive order on transgender athletes.
The NCAA is a non-profit organisation that regulates student athletics at colleges in the United States.
"The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes," a statement from NCAA President Charlie Baker published on the organisation's website read.
"We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today's student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump's order provides a clear, national standard."
"The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration.
"The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy."
In pictures: 50501 Movement across the US
(Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee Beal)
(Reuters: Shannon Stapleton)
(Reuters: Eric Dischino)
(Reuters: Erica Dischino)
Movement against Donald Trump sparks nationwide protests
A movement to oppose US President Donald Trump organised under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, has sparked nationwide protests on Wednesday.
Flyers circulating decry Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society, and include messages such as "reject fascism" and "defend our democracy".
So far people have rallied outside Idaho Statehouse in Boise, in Washington, in New York City, the Arizona State Capitol, the Minnesota Capitol and outside the California Capitol building in Sacramento.
US Representative Rashida Tlaib speaks at a rally in Washington. (Reuters: Nathan Howard)
Reporting with Reuters.
International law expert says Trump's Gaza proposal is 'dramatically unlawful'
International law expert Juliette McIntyre has told News Channel that Donald Trump's Gaza proposal as it stands is "dramatically unlawful".
"The idea that the United States could go in to a part of Palestine, take their land using military force and simply put the population somewhere else is fundamentally prohibited by the United Nations charter," McIntyre said.
Palestinians react to Donald Trump's Gaza proposal
Middle Eastern leaders and Gazans have rejected Donald Trump's suggestion that the US should take control of Gaza and relocate Palestinians.
You can read more about their response in my colleague Matthew Doran's piece here:
Trump's proposal to 'take over' met with widespread condemnation
Donald Trump's suggestion to 'take over' Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders and from people in the enclave.
Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek is in Jerusalem and says Gazans have mixed feelings of resignation and despair.
"They have asked 'why we weren't consulted. Do we have no decision about whether we stay or leave our land?'"
"They said 'there's no other land for us.'"
North American bureau chief Jade Macmillan is in Washington DC and says the White House is defending the president's proposal.
"Officials here have conceded that it has come as a surprise but they're arguing that this is a bold vision for the Middle East from Donald Trump."
A lot happened while you were sleeping
Goodness gracious me. Where to begin?
US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement Tuesday night that he wanted to "take over" the Gaza Strip has been walked back a bit by some officials today.
- At a press conference in Guatemala on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president didn't want the US to control the territory indefinitely. This came after Trump had said the previous evening that it would be "a long-term ownership position".
- House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed journalists in Washington on Wednesday morning where he urged people to "withhold judgement" on the president's "bold" proposal until more details were announced. Some other Republican member of Congress expressed surprise and confusion about Trump's blueprint for Gaza.
The president, who is in his third week in the White House, also signed an executive order on Wednesday afternoon banning transgender students from participating in women's sports.
Trump is relying on the Education Department to ensure the new edict is enforced, and has instructed authorities to pull federal funding from schools that don't comply.
He has also previously pledged to eradicate the Education Department.
The day also started with a report in The Washington Post that every CIA employee had been offered a "buyout".
This term isn't really in the Australian vernacular, but it basically means you accept money to leave your job quickly. The CIA is essentially the US's spy agency.
This policy is in line with Trump's promises to slash public spending, although the scale of it (offering everyone in an entire organisation) appears to have taken some people by surprise. The CIA doesn't make public its budgets, so it's hard to know how much this could save.
Also, a Federal Court judge in Maryland has pledged to block Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenships for children born in the US to undocumented migrants.
They're the second judge to do that.
I hope every day is not like this, as it's a bit hard to keep up.
Trump signs executive order to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports
While Trump's top officials have been walking back the idea of permanently relocating Palestinians, Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Wednesday attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports.
The order directs the Department of Justice to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump's interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education.
"The war on women's sports is over," Trump said at a signing ceremony with dozens of women and girls aligned behind him.
"My administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes."
The order, which is likely to face legal challenges, calls for "immediate enforcement" nationwide.
It threatens to cut off federal funding for any school that allows transgender women or girls to compete in female-designated sporting competitions.
The order would affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 520,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
Reporting by Reuters.
US officials say Trump only wants to displace Palestinians from Gaza temporarily
Donald Trump's top officials have walked back the idea that the US president wants a permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.
In a press conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Trump's proposal as a "very generous" offer to help with debris removal and reconstruction of the enclave following 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
"In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you're rebuilding it".
Marco Rubio spoke about Trump's proposal at a press conference in Guatemala. (AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump only sought to move the roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily to allow for reconstruction.
"The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza," she said, calling it currently "an uninhabitable place for human beings" and saying it would be "evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions."
Reporting with AP.
Welcome to our live coverage
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump's top officials walking back the idea of the US taking 'ownership' of Gaza.
This comes after the US president said in a presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would 'take over' Gaza and 'permanently' relocate Palestinians.
Stay with us as we update you with the latest.
