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On Politics

Tue Feb 10 2026

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Hello readers and welcome back to On Politics! Kathryn Palmer here. Tuesday is off to a busy start. Let's go ahead and dive right into today's news.

ICE, Border Patrol leaders hammered by Congress

Some of the country's top immigration officials are on Capitol Hill today for congressional hearings about the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement actions. The House Homeland Security Committee hearing comes amid intense scrutiny of President Donald Trump's immigration operation in Minnesota that prompted the killing of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. The fatal shootings and immigration agents' tactics in Minnesota have alienated a growing share of Americans and caused friction within the Republican Party. So far, the committee's top Democrat said Homeland Security's immigration enforcement and decision to block independent investigations into the deaths are the stuff of "dictatorship, not democracy." Read the latest updates from the protracted questioning here.

(L/R) Rodney Scott, Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Joseph Edlow, Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Todd Lyons, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are sworn in during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Feb, 10, 2026.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP via Getty Images

A politics roundup:

•	Tom Malinowski concedes to progressive Analilia Mejia in NJ House primary
•	Lawmakers find 6 more suspected accomplices in Jeffrey Epstein files
•	"This is how a wave starts": Democrats win another special election
•	The Marine Corps gets a clean financial audit, something the Pentagon has never had

Gallery: ICE, Border Patrol leaders face Congress over deadly Minnesota raids

Sen. Susan Collins launches 2026 Maine re-election bid

Republican Sen. Susan Collins confirmed she is running for a sixth Senate term representing Maine in a video announcement today, setting up what may become one of the most competitive and closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country this year. Collins' announcement was largely expected, though the race is expected to turn into one of the country's most closely watched during the midterm season. She is likely to face off against either Democratic newcomer Graham Platner or Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Howard Lutnick distances himself from Jeffrey Epstein

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Senate panel today he had nothing to hide about his meetings with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, but a senator said his previously evasive explanations hurt his credibility. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said Lutnick previously told Congress that he'd cut off relations with Epstein in 2005 after the late New York financier used sexual innuendo to explain the massage table in a room of his home. But documents released by the Justice Department include about 10 emails that mention Lutnick, including references to a visit to Epstein's private island in 2012, years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor. Lutnick said his wife, four children and their nannies also attended the island visit, said he couldn't recall why they were there and said he saw no inappropriate activity while there.

Thanks for reading! Scroll down for more politics stories. You can reach me at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @ KathrynPlmr.