Daily Roundup — January 7, 2026

Executive actions and administration policy

• Presidential Memorandum on withdrawing from international organizations (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • President signed a Presidential Memorandum directing executive departments and agencies to cease participation in and funding for 66 international organizations (listed as 35 non‑UN organizations and 31 UN entities).
  • Administration rationale: the organizations operate contrary to U.S. national interests, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty; document references prior actions including WHO, the Paris Agreement, the UN Human Rights Council, OECD tax rules, and UNRWA funding restrictions.
  • The memorandum directs the Secretary of State to provide guidance to agencies and to publish the memorandum in the Federal Register.

• "Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting" Presidential memorandum (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • Directs the Secretary of War to identify defense contractors that underperform, fail to invest in production capacity, deprioritize U.S. government contracts, or have inadequate production speed.
  • Timelines and requirements: identification within 30 days; notification and a 15‑day period for contractors to submit board‑approved remediation plans; additional contract‑term changes to be implemented within 60 days for future contracts.
  • Authorized remedies: contract amendments, Defense Production Act authorities, other enforcement actions; prohibits stock buybacks/corporate distributions during periods of underperformance; directs consideration of SEC Rule 10b‑18 amendments and allows future contracts to cap executive base salaries and tie incentives to delivery and production metrics.

• CEQ permitting changes (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • CEQ published a White House article describing deregulatory actions intended to address permitting delays and characterized as fixes to long‑standing permitting failures.

Diplomacy and foreign policy

• Secretary of State engagements (Jan. 7, 2026)
  • Secretary Marco Rubio participated in a G7 foreign ministers call discussing U.S. counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean and reaffirming support for negotiations to end the Russia–Ukraine war.
  • Secretary Rubio met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
  • State Department and administration briefings reported U.S. maritime enforcement actions related to an oil quarantine, plans described by officials to take and sell 30–50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil with proceeds managed to benefit the Venezuelan people, and seizure of a sanctioned vessel tied to the IRGC; items presented as administration statements.

Defense and national security

• Operational and procurement notes (Jan. 7, 2026)
  • Air Force F‑35A operations highlighted as providing deterrence at altitude.
  • DoD published routine contract awards for Jan. 7, 2026.
  • Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced travel to Los Angeles, CA.
  • The defense contracting memorandum (see above) imposes new review and contracting requirements to address contractor performance and production capacity.

Homeland security, immigration, and biodefense

• ICE enforcement announcement (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • DHS/ICE announced arrests described as targeting "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens, including individuals convicted of sexual assault of a child, assault, and human trafficking; DHS stated 70% of ICE arrests were of criminal illegal aliens with charges or convictions in the U.S.

• CWMD 2025 statistics

  • DHS published CWMD 2025 statistics documenting activities and metrics from the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office.

• Event security

  • DHS released a notice on protective measures for New Year’s events.

Regulatory and agency updates

• SEC proposed amendments (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • SEC proposed changes to small‑entity definitions for registered investment companies, investment advisers, and business development companies under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

• NLRB appointments and personnel (Jan. 7, 2026)

  • James Murphy and Scott Mayer were sworn in as NLRB board members (terms expiring Dec. 16, 2027 and Dec. 16, 2029, respectively).
  • NLRB announced Crystal Carey as General Counsel.

Notable official claims and actions recorded Jan. 7, 2026

• Administration items presented in White House and agency materials:
  • Withdrawal order covering 66 international organizations (35 non‑UN; 31 UN entities) and related implementation instructions for agencies.
  • Defense contracting reforms with timelines (30/15/60 days) and enforcement options including Defense Production Act authorities.
  • DHS statements on ICE enforcement composition and CWMD statistics.
  • State Department/administration remarks describing maritime enforcement actions related to an oil quarantine and planned disposition of seized Venezuelan oil (as stated by administration officials).

All items above are summaries of official releases and statements from the White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, the SEC, and the NLRB on Jan. 7, 2026.