Page 2 - Donald Trump Administration

Trump admin to roll out 'economic isolation' plan for Iran next week

Iran's economy has already taken a significant hit from the war, with much of its industrial capacity destroyed and crude exports severely curtailed by the US blockade

US court dismisses Trump admin lawsuit alleging antisemitism at Harvard

A federal judge in Boston on Thursday dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that accused Harvard University of turning a blind eye to harassment of Jewish students. The decision from US District Judge Richard G Stearns said President Donald Trump's administration failed to prove an ongoing violation of federal civil rights laws. The judge said the lawsuit, filed in March, mostly focuses on incidents that took place in the 2023-24 academic year, with a few from March 2025. The cases were "too isolated and episodic" to prove a persistent civil rights violation at the Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the judge said. Harvard and the White House did not immediately provide comment on the decision. The lawsuit accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled the campus after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. The Trump administration argued Harvard officials did nothing as Jewish students were "harassed, ...

Trump gives green light to US companies to aim hacks at cybercriminals

The practice would align the United States more closely with countries like China and Russia, where spy agencies have long relied on private-sector hackers to help with national security missions

Trump orders Navy to return to older jet-launch system on aircraft carriers

President Donald Trump is ordering the US Navy to remove the advanced system used to launch fighter jets from its newest type of aircraft carrier and return to using older steam catapults that he has long said he prefers, according to a directive issued Thursday. The new mandate would likely cost billions of dollars and revert the Navy's most advanced ships to a system that takes more sailors to operate and is more difficult to maintain. The memo directs the Pentagon and the Navy to present Trump with plans to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, also known as EMALS, within two months. It also says the Ford-class carrier's electromagnetic weapons elevators should be replaced. The move comes after years of Trump railing against the new, magnetically powered catapult system that shoots fighter jets off the deck of the carriers. It also comes at a time when the US military is trying to find funding from Congress for all its desired equipment and as the Navy is struggling

Trump admin deploys AI to crack down on China-linked tariff dodging

White House report accuses dozens of countries of helping China evade US tariffs through third-country transshipments, with the new AI set to track such illicit trade flows

Trump enlists pvt sector to boost cyber-offensive arsenal against criminals

A new Trump administration programme will allow private companies under federal oversight to conduct offensive cyber operations against criminal groups targeting Americans

Trump reverts to economic squeeze as 'entrenched' Iranian regime resists

Facing munitions shortages and growing pressure over the conflict, the Trump administration is turning again to sanctions and a naval blockade to squeeze Iran's oil exports

Trump sued over paid early access to US policy posts on Truth Social

President Donald Trump was sued in federal court Wednesday to stop him from making money off a new, paid service at his Truth Social company offering early, exclusive access to his posts on US policy. The lawsuit alleges that Trump's deal to post first on his own company's site about US policy decisions on war, tariffs and other issues violates the Constitution and that official announcements should be made available to everyone at the same time. The suit comes after his media company, Trump Media & Technology, rolled out a new subscription service earlier this month charging Wall Street firms as much as USD 100,000 a month to get his posts faster so they can trade off them. "A president selling priority access to news he himself generates for the benefit of a private company he controls is so blatantly corrupt and unconstitutional that it would have been hard to even fathom just a few years ago," said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, a plaintiff ..

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to leave role at month's end

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave at month's end, President Donald Trump has announced. Leavitt, 28, just recently returned to the White House after taking a brief leave for the birth of her second child in May. Leavitt, who served Trump as a press aide during his first go-around in the White House, has been one of the most visible advocates of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement. The Republican president described her as one of his "most trusted aides" in a social media post announcing her departure. He said Leavitt "will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect! Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.

Judge again bars Trump admin from implementing order to limit mail voting

A federal judge has ruled against President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and directly involve the US Postal Service in election operations in a way that would limit mail voting. US District Court Judge Indira Talwani had already halted the order Trump signed in March, his second one attempting to set national election rules. On June 25, she sided with Democratic state attorneys general in granting summary judgment, preventing the core parts of Trump's order from taking effect. Tuesday's ruling creates another legal hurdle for the Trump administration to overcome should it get the initial injunction lifted by the US Supreme Court. "That it is now less than 90 days before the November 3, 2026 midterm elections underscores the critical need for an injunction to prevent Defendants from changing election rules on the eve of the election," she wrote. The Trump administration in late July requested that the Supreme Court halt lower court decisi

Food company CEOs pushed White House to delay ultra-processed food policy

CEOs and trade group representatives sent letters and called the White House in a bid to delay the release of a white paper marking the first federal effort to define the controversial food category

Trump's former lawyer Todd Blanche sworn in as US attorney general

President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department's direction under the Republican president. Another former Trump attorney - Emil Bove, now a federal appeals court judge - administered the oath of office to Blanche at the White House following early Saturday's Senate confirmation vote by the narrowest of margins. Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York, is officially taking command of a Justice Department he has been leading in an acting capacity since Pam Bondi's firing in April. With the confirmation battle behind him, Blanche now faces the challenge of having to navigate the demands of a president who has made no secret of his desire to use the law enforcement agency to target his political foes. Blanche will do so with an agency that has been hollowed out by resignations, firings and voluntary departures while also ...

Trump names staff secretary Will Scharf as new White House counsel

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the USD 400 million ballroom project. Trump said that, beginning September 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a number of cases, including at the Supreme Court. "Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!" The shakeup in the White House counsel's office comes at a critical juncture - just months ahead of the midterm elections, where Trump's Republican Party will be fighting to hold on to control of Congress. Democrats have vowed to pursue investigations into Trump and his ...

Todd Blanche confirmed as Trump's attorney general in 50-49 Senate vote

The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a vote early Saturday morning, cementing President Donald Trump's former personal attorney's command of a Justice Department the Republican president has sought to bend to his will. The Republican-led Senate voted 50-49 to make Blanche the second confirmed attorney general since Trump returned to the White House last year with a stated desire to use the law enforcement agency to investigate his political enemies. While Blanche has already been leading the department in an acting capacity, his confirmation could free him to pursue the Trump administration's agenda even more aggressively. The vote followed a tumultuous confirmation fight that exposed deep concerns - from some Republicans as well as Democrats - about installing Trump's close ally atop a Justice Department that historically prided itself on its independence from the White House. In the end, Blanche was confirmed by the narrowest of margins, opposed by two ...

Trump gets temporary reprieve from disclosing business finances in BBC suit

President Donald J Trump, Plaintiff, got a welcome break this week in one of his battles with the media - but for the moment, only a temporary one. As his USD 10 billion lawsuit against the BBC proceeds, a federal judge in Florida granted the president a temporary reprieve on Thursday from an order that he begin divulging details of his business empire's financial performance - something he is clearly loath to do. US District Judge Roy Altman agreed to put that order on hold while he considers an amended complaint from Trump that would narrow his claim that he suffered damage to both business and reputation. By focusing only on the latter, Trump's lawyers hope to avoid the need for the financial disclosures. That updated complaint has not been made public. Trump filed the lawsuit in December over the way the British broadcaster, in a 2024 documentary, edited a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington. It is one of many actions he has take

Trump calls court ruling on WH ballroom a 'national security threat'

US president says his administration will challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court said the project requires congressional approval

Iran talks going to be messy, will take time: US Vice-President JD Vance

Vance described Iran's leadership as fractured, saying negotiations would be complex while stressing Washington would use military, economic and diplomatic pressure to secure its objectives

Trump's proposed Golden Fleet could cost up to $275 billion: CBO

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the proposed fleet of 15 nuclear-powered battleships could become the most expensive US warship programme ever undertaken

USCIS empowers officers to deny incomplete immigration benefit requests

The USCIS has restored officers' discretion to deny immigration benefit requests if applicants submit incomplete applications or fail to provide the required documents to establish eligibility. The earlier policy gave applicants a 12-week period to respond to requests for further evidence made by immigration officers on applications for change or extension of immigration status, green cards, visa or naturalisation. It also added an additional 14 days to the response deadline when a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) was mailed outside the United States. "The burden is on the requestor to establish that he or she is eligible for the requested benefit at the time of filing the benefit request and that he or she continues to be eligible through adjudication," the USCIS said in a statement here on Wednesday. It said if a benefit requestor fails to demonstrate eligibility for a benefit or fails to provide all required initial evidence when filing an ...

Fact-check: Trump's claims on Iran war, weapons, and oil prices examined

The president misleadingly blamed the Biden administration's weapons transfers to Ukraine for current concerns over munitions stockpiles, among other claims about the Iran war