• Greenland framework reached: Much has been made of President Donald Trump’s insistence that the U.S. “needs” to own Greenland, the island territory currently under Danish rule. It appears some of Trump’s pointed rhetoric was simply the art of the deal. Following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump announced that he was pleased with a framework for a future deal over Greenland that will benefit all NATO nations if completed. In light of this framework, Trump now says he will not impose 10% tariffs on the NATO nations that sent a pitiful number of troops to demonstrate their resolve. Trump’s announcement came hours after the EU voted to pause the U.S.-EU trade deal agreed upon last year, saying it could not proceed unless Trump dropped the new tariffs.

• Contemptible Clintons: By votes of 34-8 and 28-15, the House Oversight Committee passed resolutions holding both Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over their refusal to comply with subpoenas to testify on Jeffrey Epstein. Committee Chair James Comer praised the bipartisan vote, saying, “This shows that no one’s above the law.” Comer further expressed his confidence that the full House will vote to hold the Clintons in contempt. Comer also defended the Committee’s rejection of the Clintons’ offer to testify privately off the record, observing, “Former President Clinton has a documented history of parsing language to evade questions, responded falsely under oath, and was impeached and suspended from the practice of law as a result. The absence of an official transcript is an indefensible demand.” Should the House vote to hold the Clintons in contempt, they risk potential jail time.

• Bringing back mental institutions: “[I] signed an executive order to bring back mental institutions and insane asylums,” President Trump said this week while recounting his first-year achievements. “We’re going to have to bring them back. … You’ve got to get the people off the streets.” The order he’s referring to was signed in July, and it directs federal agencies to assist states in moving toward institutional treatment for vagrants (homeless people) with mental health or drug issues, rather than the “housing first” model. As is often the case, Trump sounds a bit harsh, but he’s right. Liberals say they’re “compassionate” for not institutionalizing people, but the reality is that some people end up living under overpasses and in tents on the streets or in the woods by your local gas station. True compassion is recognizing the dignity of all people and working toward what’s best for them.

• Mexican cartel members face justice in the U.S.: It appears that when enough political pressure is brought to bear, the Mexican government can take bold action against the cartels that wield tremendous power in that nation. In December, the Mexican government raided multiple drug sites controlled by a Sinaloa cartel leader and seized 1,500 kilograms of fentanyl. That Sinaloa leader, Pedro Inzunza Noriega, and 36 other human traffickers and arms dealers who are members of various cartels were delivered by Mexico to the U.S. to face justice on Tuesday night. The Mexican government used its National Security Law to hand the criminals over to the U.S. Justice Department and signaled that Trump’s threatened military actions against cartels may not be needed.

• Self-deportation bonuses: Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin broke down the ongoing deportation efforts on “The Sitdown With Alex Swoyer” podcast this week. Over 100,000 self-deportation bonuses have been paid out to illegals who opted to take the Trump administration’s offer of $1,000 and a plane ticket. That means at least $100 million has been paid out in bonuses, though there was a surge over the holidays when the administration briefly raised the bonus to $3,000. Paying illegals to self-deport may seem strange to Americans, but McLaughlin explained that it’s “a 70% savings, at least,” compared to the average $17,000 cost to arrest, detain, and deport illegals forcibly. McLaughlin said that more than 600,000 illegals have been deported at a rate of about 2,500 a day. ICE’s officially available numbers only show about 118,164 forcible deportations, with the rate sitting at 1,200 daily.

• Jack Smith to testify publicly before House: Today, former Special Counsel Jack Smith will publicly testify before the House Judiciary Committee in connection with the two cases he led against Donald Trump regarding classified documents and the January 6 Capitol riot. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, and both served as leading examples of a lawfare campaign that was waged against Trump in the Biden administration’s failed effort to prevent him from returning to the White House. Smith, who expressed frustration over having to abandon his cases against Trump, has repeatedly sought a public hearing before Congress to make his case, despite having given closed-door testimony to lawmakers. This hearing will predictably amount to more expressions of anti-Trump political fodder than an actual informational hearing as Smith attempts to spin the narrative that he had no political bias.

• Bill to block investors from buying homes: Republican Rep. Mary Miller on Wednesday introduced a bill aimed at preventing large corporations from buying up single-family houses and “crowding families out of homes.” Dubbed the American Family Housing Act, the legislation would amend the “Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit certain large-scale companies from purchasing single-family residences.” Miller argued, “Homeownership is the foundation of the American Dream. But today, hardworking families are competing with massive Wall Street firms that are buying up single-family homes and pricing Americans out of their own communities.” The legislation, which mirrors President Trump’s recent executive order, would require the SEC to “monitor and enforce restrictions preventing large institutional investment firms from purchasing single-family homes” and apply to corporations with “more than $100 billion in assets under management.”

• House passes bill to fund pregnancy centers: With the annual March for Life happening on Friday, House Republicans passed a bill to continue federal funding for pregnancy resource centers that offer assistance and support for low-income pregnant women and mothers. The vote was 215-209; only one Democrat voted in favor of the bill. The bill’s author, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, said, “Pregnancy centers are the backbone of community-based support. The impact of their work is undeniable.” She observed that in 2024, some 2,700 pregnancy centers provided over $452 million in care services to 3.8 million women, children, and families. Fischbach also challenged Democrats who have falsely demonized these pregnancy centers to actually go and visit them and see the compassionate work they are doing. Predictably, Democrats opposed the legislation, with Rep. Danny Davis falsely framing these centers as “dangerous anti-abortion centers” that restrict “women’s reproductive choices.”

• New B-2 bomber order: President Trump reminded globalists in Davos, Switzerland, of the U.S.‘s military might in a speech yesterday, referencing the B-2 bombers’ precision strike on Iran last summer that was completely undetected until after bombs were exploding and crippling that nation’s nuclear project. He also promised that the U.S. would order 25 more of the advanced bombers to supplement the 19 already in service. Some defense aficionados may be surprised that Trump would order more B-2s when the newer B-21 bomber with many of the same capabilities is expected to enter service at this time. Given that the commander-in-chief also referred to the upcoming F-47 fighter as the “first stage-six plane” rather than “sixth-generation fighter,” perhaps he was merely opting not to dive into the difference between the B-2 and the B-21.

• Uvalde officer acquitted: In 2022, a mass murderer slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Our Mark Alexander thoroughly documented the assault and the problematic law enforcement response at the time. Officer Adrian Gonzales was one of the first responders, but he remained outside the building instead of confronting the killer. He was subsequently indicted on 29 counts of child endangerment, but he was acquitted yesterday. The defense argued that he was unfairly singled out because four other officers arrived simultaneously but also remained outside. Nearly 400 officers eventually responded to the scene. When a group of them, including Gonzales, did enter, the assailant fired at them, and they retreated. More than an hour went by before a law enforcement unit killed the assailant, but the jury declined to single out Gonzales for punishment.

Headlines

• Trump and world leaders sign Gaza Board of Peace charter (Fox News)

• Bondi cries foul on Dems’ abuse of blue slips after U.S. attorney’s exit in Virginia (Washington Times)

• Court rejects independent monitor to oversee Epstein files release (Washington Times)

• Judge rules NYC’s lone Republican congressional district unconstitutional, orders redraw (Fox News)

• Activist who stormed church paid $215k while nonprofit gave just $158k in grants (Fox News)

• Humor: Trump to convert entire city of Minneapolis into insane asylum (Babylon Bee)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.