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It’s one thing to be named an NBA All-Star.

It’s quite another to be appointed one of the 10 starters.

The players who will be on the floor for tip-off of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco on Feb. 16 were announced Thursday night on TNT, ahead of a doubleheader featuring the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

As always, there are players who made strong cases to start the game, or at least deserved very serious consideration. Still, with only five starting spots per conference, the margins between starting and appearing as a reserve are exceptionally thin. All-Star reserves will be announced Jan. 30 on TNT.

Here are the players who are 2025 NBA All-Star Game snubs:

Eastern Conference

Cade Cunningham

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been a revelation and his play has sparked Detroit’s surge up the standings; entering Thursday, the Pistons were sitting in the No. 6 spot in the East — the final guaranteed playoff spot. Cunningham is averaging career bests in points (24.6), assists (9.4) and rebounds (5.6) per game, and he has been the catalyst for the Pistons (23-21) to surpass their wins total from last season by nine victories at the midway point.

Western Conference

Anthony Davis

Los Angeles Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis often is the anchor through which the offense runs, as much as LeBron James serves as a scorer and facilitator. Davis, though, stabilizes Los Angeles and provides a steady, consistent threat in the paint. So far this season, he also has helped space the floor with his 3-point shot, which he has embraced in recent games. Among players with at least 20 games played, Davis ranks fourth in player impact estimate (17.9), which is a statistic that measures a player’s comprehensive contributions (positive and negative).

Anthony Edwards

Despite a downtick in efficiency, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards remains the most explosive two-guard in the NBA, and one who can soar for powerful dunks. Edwards transformed his shot portfolio this season, leading the league in 3-pointers (184), and has the best 3-point shooting percentage (42.6%) among the top 25 players ranked by 3s attempted.

Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama is the best defender in the NBA, and with increased responsibility offensively and defensively in his second year, he has improved over his Rookie of the Year season. He averages 24.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, a league-best 4.0 blocks, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and shoots 47.3% from the field, 35.4% on 3s and 84.5% on free throws. The Spurs are a better team and in postseason contention with his development.

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Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin expressed confidence that Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as defense secretary, despite opposition from GOP moderates.

Hegseth cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday, setting up a final confirmation vote expected Friday evening. But Republican Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both publicly declared their opposition to his nomination, meaning the GOP can only afford one more defection before Hegseth’s confirmation is lost.

Mullin, in an interview on the ‘Guy Benson Show’ with guest host Jason Rantz, said there are 50 ‘hard yes’ votes for Hegseth to be confirmed and estimated he will receive as many as 52 votes, with all Democrats and the moderate Republicans from Alaska and Maine voting against.

‘He’s definitely being confirmed tomorrow,’ Mullin told Rantz. ‘I don’t know what the White House schedule is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sworn into office on Saturday.’

The Senate voted 51-49 to advance Hegseth’s nomination on Thursday, which triggered up to 30 hours of debate before a final vote. President Donald Trump’s embattled defense nominee has faced intense grilling from Democrats on his qualifications for the position, as well as personal questions about his drinking habits and alleged sexual misconduct, which he has vigorously denied. Hegseth has said he would abstain from alcohol if confirmed. 

Hegseth’s nomination faced another hurdle this week when reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged that Hegseth had abused his second wife. 

Two sources told CNN Hegseth’s ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, gave a statement to the FBI about Hegseth’s alleged alcohol use. The outlet said one of the sources said Samantha Hegseth told the FBI, ‘He drinks more often than he doesn’t.’

On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleges he has an alcohol abuse problem and at times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was previously married to Pete Hegseth’s brother and has no relation to Samantha.

But Danielle Hegseth added that she never witnessed any abuse herself, physical or sexual, by Pete against Samantha. 

Samantha Hegseth has also denied any physical abuse in a statement to NBC News.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed Hegseth at a news conference on Thursday and urged Republicans to join Democrats in opposition to the former Fox News host and Army national guardsman.

‘Hegseth is so utterly unqualified, he ranks up there [as] … one of the very worst nominees that could be put forward,’ Schumer said.

‘People’s lives depend on it — civilians and, of course, the men and women in the armed services — and Pete Hegseth has shown himself not only incapable of running a large organization, he often shows himself incapable of showing up or showing up in a way where he could get anything done. He is so out of the mainstream and so unqualified for DOD that I am hopeful we will get our Republican colleagues to join us.’

Mullin predicted that once Hegseth is confirmed, Democrats will turn their attention to another of Trump’s nominees, Tulsi Gabbard, who is the president’s choice to be director of national intelligence.

‘I think they’re going to turn their attention from Pete straight to Tulsi Gabbad,’ Mullin said, noting that Gabbard’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for next week. ‘They went from Matt Gaetz to Pete Hegseth. Now they’re going to go to Tulsi, and then after that I’m sure they’ll probably move on to [health secretary nominee] Bobby Kennedy.’

The Oklahoma Republican also suggested that Democratic senators who may harbor presidential ambitions stand to gain from making a show of opposition to Trump’s nominees.

‘You have all these Democrat senators now that are jumping up and down wanting attention so they can be the champion of the Democrat Party. What they don’t realize is the position they took underneath Biden and when Trump was in office is exactly why they got kicked out of office.’

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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House Republicans are unveiling a new bill to clear a path for President Donald Trump to enact his sweeping tariff plans.

First-term Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., is reintroducing the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Friday, which, if passed, would allow Trump to unilaterally make moves on import taxes from both adversaries and allies.

He would be required to notify Congress, however, which could file a joint resolution of disapproval against the moves.

‘American manufacturing has endured decades of decline under the globalist system that has hollowed out our industrial base and shipped countless jobs overseas. Leaders in both political parties deserve blame. But those days are over,’ Moore said in a statement.

Moore said Trump was ‘the first national politician in my lifetime to recognize this problem, campaign on it, and work to reverse that trend.’

‘With the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, we’ll give the executive the leverage necessary to go to bat for the American people and achieve tariff reductions on U.S. goods,’ he said.

Trump released a campaign video in 2023 pledging to work with Congress to pass the Reciprocal Trade Act, declaring, ‘Under the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, other countries will have two choices—they’ll get rid of their tariffs on us, or they will pay us hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will make an absolute FORTUNE.’

This week, the president announced that he wanted to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, making good on a campaign promise to use such taxes to lower the U.S. national debt, which is currently over $36 trillion.

‘We’re talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.’ 

During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.

He also recently pledged on Truth Social to create an ‘External Revenue Service‘ to ‘collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.’

Trump has praised the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act by name multiple times, including during a January 2019 meeting with House Republicans, including the bill’s former lead, ex-Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. Trump recently nominated Duffy to be secretary of Transportation.

‘The United States Reciprocal Trade Act — this legislation will help, finally, to give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries. Countries are taking advantage of us, whether they think we’re very nice or not so smart.  They’ve been doing it for many, many years, and we want to end it,’ Trump said at the time.

However, not everyone is in agreement that tariffs are an effective way to bolster the U.S. economy, with some economists warning it would only raise costs for consumers.

‘Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses,’ Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said while unveiling a measure to block Trump from using unilateral tariff powers by declaring a trade emergency.

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Sunday will mark five years since Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant died, but his legacy in the NBA continues.

A group of young stars, some old enough to have had several interactions with Bryant, have been outspoken about Bryant’s influence and impact on their careers.

Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, in Calabasas, California, as the contingent was on its way to an AAU basketball game Gianna was supposed to play in.

Bryant was 41.

Some of the players who consider Bryant an inspiration:

Jayson Tatum carries on ‘Mamba mentality’

Perhaps the player who most embodies this is Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.

On Tuesday night, Tatum appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where he was asked about how he idolized Bryant. He said Bryant mentored him after Bryant discussed Tatum’s game on the ESPN show “Detail”.

“After that (show), we connected and I got to pick his brain, I worked out with him, I met with him,” Tatum said during the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” appearance. “So, yeah, he was a big help to me. …

“Just like a full-circle moment. I was a kid in St. Louis growing up and the person that inspired me to chase my dream and going and being as great as I can was 3,000 miles away and 15 years later, he was a mentor and we got to talking. I remember the first time we worked out, he asked me a question, he was like: ‘How much does it mean to you?’ and that was such a powerful thing because you think of all the things he sacrificed and how hard he worked to perfect his craft, how much does it mean to you to be one of the greatest?”

On May 29, 2022, as the Celtics traveled to Miami to face the Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Tatum led all Boston players with 26 points in a victory that sent the Celtics to the Finals. During the game, he wore a purple armband with the No. 24 on it, an homage to Bryant’s jersey number with the Lakers. In fact, Tatum revealed that before the game, he texted Bryant’s old phone number with the message: “I got you today.”

In the past two Olympic games, Tatum has worn jersey No. 10 for Team USA, which was the same number Bryant wore when representing the U.S.

After Bryant’s death, Tatum got a tattoo on his left leg of the No. 24 in black Mamba snakes, which paid tribute to Bryant’s jersey number, and his Black Mamba nickname.

‘Be Legendary.’

In March 2016, then a rookie, Devin Booker of the Suns played his first and only game against Bryant. Booker scored 28 points in a Phoenix victory, and impressed Bryant so much that Bryant gifted him a signed pair of shoes with the caption: “Be Legendary.”

Booker, at times in his career, has drawn comparisons to Bryant for his scoring proficiency and easy jumper.

“He inspired me,” Booker said in 2019. “He changed the game of basketball. Changed the city of Los Angeles. Just incredible. The way he went out and got love on every road trip he went on. If you wouldn’t want to go out like that, I don’t know why you’re playing the game.

“So that always sticks in my head while I’m playing. When I’m done, I want to be remembered as someone like Kobe Bryant.”

Team USA stars see Kobe Bryant work ethic up close

Bryant was a key member of the 2008 and 2012 Team USA squads that won gold medals. In fact, Team USA did not lose a single game in which Bryant was a member of the team.

He served as a captain in 2008 and young stars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony all witnessed how maniacal Bryant was in his approach and preparation. In 2012 there were new players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Anthony Davis who also saw this.

“Kobe’s a brother to me,” James said during a pre-game speech before the first Lakers game after Bryant’s death. ‘From the time I was in high school and watching him from afar to getting in this league at 18 watching him up close, all the battles we had throughout my career, the one thing that we always shared is that determination to just want to win and just want to be great.”

‘Giannis literally changed after that meeting’

Because of Bryant’s immense popularity abroad during his playing days, aided in part because of Bryant’s experience living in Italy, he championed the growth and development of basketball in Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that players like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo looked up to him.

In fact, in Mirin Fader’s book ‘Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion’, she details a moment when Bryant pulled Antetokounmpo aside after a Lakers-Bucks game to give him advice.

The game was Feb. 22, 2016, when Antetokounmpo was in his third year. The Bucks started Antetokounmpo at point guard for the first time in his career that night, and he responded with his first career triple-double, scoring 27 points and adding 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Bucks won, 108-101, in what would be Bryant’s last game in Milwaukee.

After the game Bryant sought out Antetokounmpo and counseled him for an hour, per Fader.

“Kobe gave him advice for about an hour,” Fader wrote, per Sports Illustrated. “He told him to work on his jump shot, get in the gym every day, and shoot a thousand jumpers a day. Kobe also told him about the mentality it took to be great. ‘Be serious until the last day you play basketball,’ Kobe told him, also noting the importance of recovery, of taking care of one’s body, of making sacrifices. …

“Giannis literally changed after that meeting.”

Antetokounmpo is a two-time NBA MVP and Embiid has won the award once.

Follow NBA reporter Lorenzo Reyes on social media @LorenzoGReyes

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President Donald Trump’s executive order to declassify the JFK files left one of the 35th president’s descendants unimpressed. Jack Schlossberg, former President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, made his stance on the order clear in a post on X, saying that there was ‘nothing heroic’ about Trump’s latest move.

‘Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when he’s not here to punch back,’ Schlossberg wrote. ‘There’s nothing heroic about it.’

After signing the order, which included the declassification of files on the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., Trump told reporters that ‘everything will be revealed.’

RFK Jr., son of the late senator and Trump’s HHS nominee, told press that the order was a ‘great move’ on the president’s part. He believes that the move will bring ‘more transparency’ and it shows that Trump is ‘keeping his promise to have the government tell the truth to the American people about everything.’ Kennedy has called for answers on his father and uncle’s assassinations.

‘I have now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue,’ Trump’s order reads.

The order gives officials just over two weeks (15 days) to give Trump a plan for ‘the full and complete release of records’ on the JFK assassination. Additionally, officials have 45 days to present a plan on files relating to RFK and MLK Jr.’s assassinations.

King’s family reacted to the order in a statement, saying that they ‘hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.’

While Trump promised to release the JFK files during his first administration, there is still an undisclosed amount of material that remains under wraps more than 60 years later.

Trump ultimately agreed to block the release of the files after pleas from the CIA and FBI. At the time, he said that the threat of making the documents public were of ‘significant gravity’ that they outweighed ‘public interest.’ In a recent appearance on ‘Hannity,’ Trump said that then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked him not to release the documents, though he did not say if Pompeo explained why the files should remain classified.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

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This story was updated with more information

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers had a successful outing Thursday night in a 117-96 victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena.

The victory could be viewed as a statement win to start the second half of the season after the Lakers finished the first half of the season with a 23-18 record.

The Lakers’ defensive effort managed to hold the Celtics to their second-lowest point total of the season.

Anthony Davis scored a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers while LeBron James added 20 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double. Austin Reaves produced 23 points and six assists in the victory.

All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

“Hopefully we can use the things we learned from the first 41 (games) in the next 41 and get better,” James said after the victory. “We will see.”

Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania in an interview that aired before the game that the team should add another big for the back half of the schedule with the trade deadline approaching on Feb. 6.

“I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the (power forward) and having a big out there,” Davis said.

Charania reported Wednesday that Davis and James have a growing concern about the team’s ability to make a significant roster upgrade to make a strong push toward the playoffs. The Lakers have a pair of tradeable first-round picks.

Lakers coach JJ Redick wasn’t alarmed by Davis’ comments when asked about them during his postgame press conference.

“The reality is that isn’t a new report,” Redick said. “I got the job six months ago so I know that. I’ve followed this team since I’ve retired. Just put a date next to it and that’s the new report. It’s not a big deal. Those guys want to win. We want to win.”

The Lakers acquired Dorian Finney-Smith in a trade that sent D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in late December. He’s come off the bench to play in the last nine games for Los Angeles. Finney Smith averaged seven points and two rebounds with the Lakers before Thursday’s game.

‘It’s a challenging environment to just go out and make trades,’ Redick added. ‘We feel very fortunate that we were able to execute and get someone like (Finney-Smith) on our team. We will continue to look over the next several weeks.’

The Lakers had multiple true centers on the roster (Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee) when Los Angeles won the NBA championship in the bubble in 2020.

The Lakers will play their next six games on the road, starting with a trip to Golden State on Saturday.

With the loss the Celtics have lost five of their last 10 games and will travel to Dallas for a 2024 NBA Finals rematch with the Mavericks.

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Alexander Zverev will play in the Australian Open final after counterpart Novak Djokovic was forced to retire from their semifinal match due to injury.

Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open champion, received a mixed reception from the crowd as he walked off the court after pulling out following the first set, won 7-6 by Zverev via a tiebreaker (7-5).

Zverev, who is seeking his first Grand Slam title, admonished the crowd a bit for the reaction during his on-court interview.

‘Please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,’ Zverev said, to cheers. ‘I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see, hopefully, a great five-set match and everything, but you got to understand: Novak Djokovic is somebody that has given the sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.’

‘He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, he has won this tournament with a hamstring tear … if he cannot continue a tennis match, it really means that he cannot continue a tennis match,’ Zverev added. ‘So please, be respectful and really show some love for Novak as well.’

Zverev will face either No. 1 Jannik Sinner or American Ben Shelton in the final.

Djokovic told reporters in his post-match press conference that he was dealing with a muscle tear that really started to impact him in the latter stages of the first set.

‘I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had,’ Djokovic said. He said medications, physio work and a strap he wore on his leg ‘helped to some extent today. But, towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain and it was too much I guess to handle for me in the moment.

‘Unfortunate ending, but I tried.’

This story has been updated with new information.

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The NFL’s version of the Final Four is just about set for kickoff Sunday, both berths in Super Bowl 59, which will be staged in New Orleans, on the line.

The action starts with the NFC championship game, the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, after splitting their season series, in the biggest matchup of their storied history. Philly is aiming for its third conference title in eight seasons, while Washington is on the verge of its first in 33 years.

In the AFC, sort of the same old story, the two-time-defending champion Kansas City Chiefs meeting the Buffalo Bills for the fourth time in the past five postseasons. But will it be the same old story? K.C., two wins from the first-ever Super Bowl threepeat, is 3-0 against Buffalo during that stretch but has arguably never had more at stake.

Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ panel of experts see championship weekend going down:

Expert NFL playoff picks: Unique data and betting insights only at USA TODAY

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

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Parcells can hardly contain his excitement that Glenn, a former cornerback who played for the Hall of Fame coach with the Jets and Dallas Cowboys, landed his first head coaching job this week.

“I’m so excited for him,” Parcells told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday, a day after the former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator finalized his return to the Jets. “He’s really a great young man. And I’ll tell you what: Don’t let his size fool you. He’s a tiger now. They’re going to have somebody…you’re going to know he’s in charge.”

The 5-foot-9 Glenn, drafted in the first round by the Jets in 1994 (12th overall), was one of the team’s top players when Parcells arrived as coach in 1997. It didn’t take long for Parcells, aka “The Tuna,” to realize that Glenn fit the profile of a potential coach because of the serious approach that he demonstrated as a player.

“He was always looking to find out stuff,” Parcells recalled. “I can remember just standing there with him and talking with him about techniques – how to force the run, how to get out of trouble when guys are trying to block him. I can remember talking several times to him specifically about things. And the good thing about him, when you taught him something, he could take it right to the field. Not every player can do that. You explain it to him, ‘Here’s how you go about doing it,’ and he would come pretty close to doing it correctly right away.”

All things Jets: Latest New York Jets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Glenn and Parcells have remained in contact over the years. Parcells predicted that Glenn won’t be fazed while scrutinized in the nation’s largest market. After all, the coach has been well-prepared for the New York scene. Glenn played the first eight seasons of his 15-year NFL career with the Jets.

“He played there. He’s been there. He knows,” said Parcells, who guided the New York Giants to two Super Bowl crowns. “I grew up in that area. I knew what was going on. And he knows it. He’s experienced it. But even with that, there’s always something different coming up.”

Parcells reunited with Glenn in 2005, two years after the coach came out of retirement to coach the Cowboys.

Speaking of the Cowboys, was Parcells surprised Jerry Jones didn’t pursue Glenn for Dallas’ vacant job?

“I don’t have any idea about it,” Parcells replied. “I don’t mean that to be sarcastic. I don’t have any idea of what’s going on.”

There’s healthy debate about the attractiveness of the Cowboys job, which includes the factor of Jones’ presence as a hands-on, high-profile owner and general manager. Parcells, though, won’t engage in the debate. He still has a favorable impression.

“I can only tell from my experience,” Parcells said. “I really enjoyed being there. I have a high regard for Jerry Jones. I like him. His word is good. That goes a long way with me.”

Parcells was reminded of how he described the Cowboys’ stage when he joined forces with Jones. He said he came back “only for the big room.”

“That remains that way,” Parcells said. “I hope they find someone who’s suitable for them.”

Glenn, meanwhile, is in the middle of another big room with the Jets. And he has quite the persona to command that room.

“He definitely does have that,” Parcells said. “I’m going to tell you: They’ve got a tiger by the tail.”

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If President Donald Trump’s personnel moves are any tell, he may come out of the gate toward Iran with a tone that is more diplomatic than combative. 

And Trump on Thursday evening suggested he was open to a nuclear deal with Iran.

Asked if he would support Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump told reporters, ‘We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. We’ll see, but hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it.’

‘Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK, too.’

Iran, at least, is hoping for just that. The Tehran Times, a regime-linked English language newspaper, questioned in a recent article whether the firing of Brian Hook, the architect of the ‘maximum pressure’ policy on Iran during Trump’s first term, could ‘signal a change in [Trump’s] Iran policy.’

In November, news outlets reported that Hook was running the transition at the State Department. But Hook was relieved from the transition team shortly after in December, sources familiar with the move confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

This week, Trump knocked Hook back a step further by posting on social media that he’d be removed from his position at a U.S. government-owned think tank.

‘Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars… YOU’RE FIRED!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

And after taking office, Trump removed the government-sponsored security details of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN his detail was also pulled, as was Hook’s.

‘You can’t have [protection] for the rest of your life. Do you want to have a large deal of people guarding people for the rest of their lives? I mean, there’s risks to everything,’ Trump said.

Trump recently put his Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, in charge of addressing U.S. concerns about Iran, according to a Financial Times report.

Witkoff most recently helped seal negotiations on a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, suggesting he may test Iran’s willingness to engage at the negotiating table on nuclear issues before ramping up pressure, sources told the Financial Times. 

Experts warn that Iran is enriching hundreds of pounds of uranium to the 60% purity threshold, shy of the 90% purity levels needed to develop a nuclear bomb.

At the same time, the president hired Michael Dimino as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, a foreign policy expert who has said the Middle East doesn’t ‘really matter’ to U.S. interests any longer. 

Dimino is cut from the same cloth as undersecretary of defense for policy Elbridge Colby, who has argued for the U.S. to focus military resources on countering China and devote fewer resources to other regions. 

Dimino, a former expert at the Koch-funded restraint advocacy think tank Defense Priorities, has strongly advocated for pulling U.S. resources out of the Middle East.

‘The core question is: Does the Middle East still matter?’ Dimino said during a panel last February. ‘The answer is: not really, not really for U.S. interests. What I would say is that vital or existential U.S. interests in the Middle East are best characterized as minimal to non-existent.’

‘We are really there to counter Iran and that is really at the behest of the Israelis and Saudis,’ he added.

‘Iranian power remains both exaggerated and misunderstood. Its economy continues to underperform, and its conventional military is antiquated and untested. Tehran simply doesn’t have the financial capital or hard power capabilities to dominate the Middle East or directly threaten core U.S. interests,’ he wrote in a 2023 article.

Dimino has also argued the U.S. does not need to focus resources on an offensive campaign against the Houthis amid attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea. 

‘Put simply, there are no existential or vital U.S. national interests at stake in Yemen and very little is at stake for the U.S. economically in the Red Sea.’

Instead, he argued in a 2023 op-ed that working to increase aid into Gaza would rid the Houthis of their stated reason for their attacks in the Red Sea, which they’ve said are a means of fighting on behalf of Gaza.

‘Working to increase aid shipments to Gaza would not just help to alleviate the humanitarian crisis there but would deprive the Houthis of their claimed justification for attacks in the Red Sea and provide the group with an off-ramp for de-escalation that would also serve to prevent indefinite U.S. participation in a broader regional war.’

Others in Trump’s foreign policy orbit historically have struck a more hawkish tone toward Iran, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Israel Ambassador Mike Huckabee. 

Rubio has already said he will work to bring back the snapback sanctions that were suspended in the 2015 Iran deal, as indicated by written responses he provided to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. 

‘A policy of maximum pressure must be reinstated, and it must be reinstated with the help of the rest of the globe, and that includes standing with the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy,’ Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy to Russia and Ukraine, recently said. 

The Dimino hiring – along with other recent personnel moves – has caused rumblings from prominent Iran hawks. 

Mark Levin, a radio host who has the ear of Trump, has posted on X multiple times in opposition to Dimino: ‘How’d this creep get a top DoD position?’ he asked in one post. 

‘While Dimino and Witkoff are very different issues, Witkoff is Trump’s best friend, [it] seems difficult to detangle, very concerning,’ said one Iran expert. ‘Dimino is a mystery and does not align with Hegseth or Trump values on Iran or Israel.’

‘There is an ongoing coordinated effort by Iran’s regime and its lobby network in the West to cause divisions in President Trump’s administration over policy towards Tehran,’ Kasra Aarabi, director of research on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard at the group United Against a Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Having spent the past four years trying – and failing – to assassinate President Trump, the ayatollah has now instructed his propagandists to cause fissures between President Trump and his advisors so as to weaken the new administration’s policy towards [the] Islamist regime.’

Aarabi warned, ‘In the past 48 hours, Ayatollah Khamenei-run entities in Iran’s regime – such as the ‘Islamic Propaganda Organization’ – have been celebrating certain appointments across the broader administration in the same way as they praised some of former president Biden’s appointments.’

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