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President Donald Trump's teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president's speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi, the White House said Thursday. The firm's enforcement chief said Kalshi contacted federal regulators about bets allegedly made about what the president would say in public addresses. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is aware of the situation, which she described as "unfortunate" and "a disgrace." "The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this," Leavitt told reporters, saying the aide is on unpaid leave. ABC News reported Thursday that Gabriel Perez, who has been operating Trump's teleprompter since 2016, used his inside knowledge to win more than USD 100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year. Robert Denault, Kalshi's lawyer and head
President Donald Trump said Monday that he's building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, insisting that the landing area is needed to accommodate new, more powerful presidential choppers. Confirmation of the project came as construction crews had already begun working on the helipad on the South Lawn, where the president had UFC build a temporary arena for a cage fight celebrating his 80th birthday. He said the project would be privately funded and estimated its cost at up to USD 6 million. "It's got the seal of the White House on it in granite, in carved granite," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's really a beautiful thing." The president did not offer details on how long the work would take. It is the latest major construction project he has overseen in an effort to increasingly mold the White House in his own image. The helipad can handle new choppers, Trump says ------------------------------------------------------ Some of Trump's major White House ...
The White House has formally requested USD 87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the US war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as a majority of lawmakers have objected to any further military action. The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch -- engaging in a shouting match with one -- over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities. The request is mostly for Operation Epic Fury, but it also includes a range of other items including aid to American farmers, help for the Ebola crisis in Africa and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C. "I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible," said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike ...
President Donald Trump marked turning 80 on Sunday by hailing an agreement to end the war in Iran hours before a birthday celebration that once would have seemed unfathomable: a cage-fighting show on the storied South Lawn of the White House. He had been touting the emerging deal for weeks, and last-minute strikes in the conflict had threatened to overshadow the ostentatious UFC mixed martial arts extravaganza - where combatants sealed inside a wire-mesh octagon try to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission. Hour before the fights began, the president said an agreement to end the conflict "is now complete" and declared that the US will end its blockade of Iran and that Strait of Hormuz would reopen, potentially easing high oil prices and skittish global markets. But the crucial details are still to be negotiated. Word of the deal will allow the president to be especially jubilant as he walks out of the White House for the fights. Cabinet leaders, Republican lawmaker
Lawyers representing the federal government argued that a court could not stop construction of a White House ballroom because it was already underway and because of the sensitive security concerns they say the structure is meant to address. Attorney Yaakov Roth, speaking during an exchange with U.S. Appeals Court Judge Patricia Millett, said only Congress could halt the $400 million project. The administration has been asking the court to allow it to press on with the ballroom without congressional approval. At issue is an April 16 order from US District Judge Richard Leon for Trump's Republican administration to halt aboveground work on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, allowed for construction to continue on belowground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site. The hearing Friday centered on who has standing to challenge government steps once they have already been taken and ..
Donald Trump's physician says the president is in "excellent health" and is "fully fit" to serve as commander in chief after a medical exam Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A report from Dr Sean Barbabella, released late Friday, says Trump underwent a CT scan and other heart imaging along with cancer screenings and other preventative assessments carried out by 22 specialists. Trump, 79, said after the visit Tuesday that everything checked out "PERFECTLY." The president weighed in at 238 pounds (108 kilograms), up 14 pounds (6 kg) from a medical exam in April 2025. His doctors gave him guidance on his diet, physical activity and weight loss, but concluded his "cognitive and physical performance are excellent.
A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and began firing at officers has died, according to federal officials. The US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 pm ET, "removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers". Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service. A bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it wasn't clear whether that person was struck by the suspect's initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers. Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that President Donald Trump -- who was at the White House at the time -- was not "impacted." Journalists working at the White House on Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room. On X, the S
The US and China have agreed to set up boards on trade and investment and build a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity, according to a fact sheet by the White House on President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing. The fact sheet, issued on Sunday, said China will address the United States' concerns regarding supply chain shortages related to rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium. It also said that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and agreed that no country or organisation can be allowed to charge tolls. The fact sheet also mentioned that Trump will welcome Xi for a visit to Washington this fall, and both countries will support each other as hosts of the G20 and APEC summits later this year. "President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearise North Korea," the fact she
A proposal to fund USD 1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president's new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years. The parliamentarian's ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump's massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the budget bill, which only needs a simple majority - and no Democratic votes - to pass. It's unclear if Republicans will be able to salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would have funded security for Trump's ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening centre, training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events. Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation ..
A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer. In a court filing late Thursday, Allen's attorneys argued that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case. "As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder - how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?" defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote. Ohm and