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President Donald Trump eased tensions at the World Economic Forum in Davos after causing a transatlantic riff over his desire to purchase Greenland. He had threatened tariffs on European nations that opposed the proposal. But after meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte, Mr. Trump backed off, saying on social media the two had 鈥渇ormed the framework of a future deal鈥� for the Arctic island.

Nine Muslim and Arab states joined President Trump鈥檚 Board of Peace to oversee Gaza鈥檚 ceasefire and reconstruction. Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan joined a list that includes Morocco and the UAE. In a joint statement, they pledged to advance 鈥渁 just and lasting peace鈥� grounded in Palestinian self-determination. Mr. Trump ratified the board in Davos today.

ICE expanded immigration enforcement to Maine, targeting unauthorized immigrants the agency says have criminal records. Portland and Lewiston, the state鈥檚 largest cities, are home to a substantial population of African immigrants, particularly from Somalia. The administration has recently targeted Somali immigrants over allegations of fraud in Minnesota.

Abe Shinzo鈥檚 killer, Yamagami Tetsuya, was sentenced to life in prison. He admitted to shooting Japan鈥檚 longest-serving prime minister in 2022, citing outrage at Mr. Abe鈥檚 ties to the controversial Unification Church, which he blames for bankrupting his family. The rare act of political violence shook Japan, drawing scrutiny to the religious group鈥檚 political influence.

A federal judge barred the FBI from examining devices taken from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson until the case is reviewed. The newspaper had requested the return of her phone, laptops, and other items, saying the seizure 鈥渃hills speech鈥� and 鈥渃ripples reporting.鈥� Authorities said the search was part of a probe into a government contractor accused of illegally obtaining classified documents.

Colombian lawmakers will lose their bonus payments amid concerns over economic inequality. President Gustavo Petro issued a decree this week cutting monthly pay from about $13,000 to roughly $9,400 starting in July. The move comes amid a budget crunch and weeks after the government approved a 23% minimum-wage increase. Most Colombians earn $500 or less per month.

Chileans began clearing debris after wildfires spread across the central and southern parts of the country, killing at least 19 people. Hundreds of volunteers have helped with clean-up and cooked and distributed food to those who lost their homes. Nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen said it is delivering 6,000 meals a day, while others have set up mobile units to care for injured pets and animals.

An Indian construction worker in Romania is being honored after saving a 5-year-old girl who fell through ice on a frozen lake. Vipan Kumar jumped into the icy water without hesitation and held the child until rescuers pulled them both out. City officials in Craiova say Mr. Kumar, who has a young daughter in India, will be named an honorary citizen and granted a residence permit, praising his act of 鈥渃ourage and humanity.鈥�

鈥� From Monitor writers around the globe

Responding in part to Chinese competition, President Trump is more aggressively leveraging economic tools in foreign policy, from Venezuela to Greenland.

A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared wary of President Donald Trump鈥檚 attempt to remove a member of the Federal Reserve Board, given the central bank鈥檚 importance to the U.S. economy.

With an eye on his own possible presidential run, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel tells a Monitor Breakfast that fellow Democrats need聽to show voters a viable path for addressing economic issues including affordable health care, education, and housing.

To support its rapidly aging population and preserve its pension system, China is raising its retirement age for the first time in 70 years. At the same time, demand for broader pension reform is growing.

The Patriotic Citizen Initiatives shelter gives male migrants a place to stay when they are deported back to Nigeria. It also helps them rebuild their lives at home.聽鈥淭here were shelters for females,鈥� the shelter鈥檚 founder says, 鈥渂ut nobody was talking about shelters for young men.鈥�

Over the course of the first year of his second term in the White House, Donald Trump鈥檚 attempts to assert presidential authority over the whole executive branch might well be his defining legacy. If his actions prevail, they would bring a massive reshaping of America鈥檚 democratic republic.

He has fired officials from government positions long presumed to be independent in decision-making. And because Mr. Trump鈥檚 actions have brought lawsuits, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court seems poised to rule soon that the separation of powers between the three branches of government does allow such a 鈥渦nitary鈥� 鈥� or powerful 鈥� executive.聽

To many Americans who voted for Mr. Trump, he is merely making good on his electoral legitimacy to fulfill campaign promises. He is altering the policies of the administrative state through the removal of 鈥渦naccountable鈥� government workers deemed to be opposed to the chief executive鈥檚 vision. A few previous presidents, from Andrew Jackson to Richard Nixon, have assumed similar authority.

Such a maximal use of the presidency is seen by Trump backers as a type of accountability to a democracy鈥檚 ultimate sovereignty: the will of the people as expressed through elections. The Constitution states the United States president is solely charged to 鈥渢ake Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.鈥�

鈥淎 feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government,鈥� wrote Alexander Hamilton.

To the opponents of a unitary executive, however, both Congress and the courts have put necessary checks on a president鈥檚 ability to fire career civil servants or meddle in regulatory agencies set up by Congress to tap professional expertise in solving today鈥檚 complex problems.

Agencies also have their own accountability, such as obedience to law. They must listen to public input and provide reasoned justifications for their decisions.

There is also a third way, one that is now being practiced in some state governments that have leaned toward allowing stronger governors to shape agency behavior while improving the lines of accountability.

According to a report last year by the conservative Manhattan Institute, about 20 states have made reforms since the 1990s that have decentralized hiring capabilities and the resolution of grievances to agency managers, allowed variation in pay-based performance, and made many or almost all state workers to be employed at-will.

鈥淢ost observers and researchers agree that state reforms鈥� effects have been either positive or, at worst, neutral,鈥� says the institute鈥檚 report. 鈥淭here have been general reports of improved performance with little evidence of politicization.鈥�

In Indiana, reforms led to fewer complaints by state employees and 鈥淸a]gency performance [was] up in almost every category, including customer service and teamwork.鈥�

Rather than being punished or removed, civil servants in any government can be given incentives to change and allowed to face mistakes honestly and learn from failures. Through deliberation and consensus, elected leaders can help career officials through regeneration, not retribution.

Fear can be a hindrance to the listening and learning needed to align government in harmonious action. At its best, political accountability relies on humility and patience more than assertions of moral superiority. Many states are adopting such approaches.

鈥淕ubernatorial administration emerges as a promising vehicle for efficacious governing and a new source of state resilience,鈥� wrote Miriam Seifter, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, in a 2017 Harvard Law Review article.

States have long been laboratories for new ideas in governance. Yet 鈥渄espite the decades of evidence, states鈥� reforms have had remarkably little impact on the conversation about the federal civil service,鈥� said the Manhattan Institute report. 鈥淭he federal government can and should learn from them.鈥�