Scoop: Senate Dems target Trump and DOGE on counterterrorism

• A trio of Senate Democrats wants to know whether the Treasury Department has frozen hiring or eliminated positions in its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
• Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrats on the banking and intelligence committees, signed onto the letter. So did Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on a national security subcommittee.
• Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence tracks terrorist financing and is responsible for enforcing a wide range of government sanctions.

The big picture: Trump issued an exemption to the hiring halt for jobs related to national security. But Democrats, shocked by Trump's funding freeze and the purge of federal workers by DOGE, don't trust how the exemption is being administered.

• "The Administration is rashly slashing staff, programs, and even departments established by Congress," the Democrats said in the letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

• Warren, Warner and Kim said they are "not aware" of any communication from Treasury leadership to employees about which roles are covered by the exemption.
• The senators requested Bessent provide answers to whether the hiring freeze has affected national security posts by the end of next week.