Page 31 - Donald Trump Administration

Trump nominates close aide Sergio Gor as next US Ambassador to India

President Donald Trump has nominated his longtime aide Sergio Gor, who is currently the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, as the next US Ambassador to India. In a social media post on Friday, Trump said Gor, 38, is a "great friend, who has been at my side for many years". "I am pleased to announce that I am promoting Sergio Gor to be our next United States Ambassador to the Republic of India," he said. He would also serve as a special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs, Trump said. The announcement comes amid tariff tensions between Washington and New Delhi. Trump said Gor and his team had overseen the hiring of nearly 4,000 officials across federal departments and agencies in record time, adding that over 95 per cent of positions were now filled. Gor will remain in his current role at the White House until his confirmation, he said. "Gor has worked on my historic presidential campaigns, published my best-selling books, and ran one of the biggest

US to not issue worker visas for truck drivers: Rubio after Florida crash

The decision follows a recent incident in Florida's St. Lucie County, where an Indian-origin driver's illegal U-turn on a highway led to a crash that killed three people

Texas House approves redrawn maps sought by Trump ahead of 2026 elections

The Texas House has approved redrawn congressional maps that would give Republicans a bigger edge in 2026, muscling through a partisan gerrymander that launched weeks of protests by Democrats and a widening national battle over redistricting. The approval on Wednesday came at the urging of President Donald Trump, who pushed for the extraordinary mid-decade revision of congressional maps to give his party a better chance at holding onto the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. The maps, which would give Republicans five more winnable seats, need to be approved by the GOP-controlled state Senate and signed by Republican Gov Greg Abbott before they become official. But the Texas House vote had presented the best chance for Democrats to derail the redraw. Democratic legislators delayed the vote by two weeks by fleeing Texas earlier this month in protest, and they were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring upon their return to ensure they attended Wednesday's

Trump rules out US troops in Ukraine, keeps air security option open

Upon being asked if the US would provide 'air' as a security option, Leavitt said that it was a possibility

White House launches TikTok account as Trump's deadline to ban app looms

The first video posted by the White House features a montage of Trump and other administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Trump govt revokes security clearances of 37 current, former govt officials

The Trump administration has ordered the revocation of the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, including some who worked on the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorised to discuss it by name. A memo from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which was seen by The Associated Press, accuses the targeted individuals of having engaged in the politicisation or weaponisation of intelligence to advance personal or partisan gain. It's the latest action of retribution by the Trump administration against national security officials he perceives as having been against him. It comes as his government has launched a sweeping effort to cast doubt on the legitimacy of intelligence community findings that Russia interfered on his behalf in the 2016 election.

Trump moves to use presidential power to help party in 2026 midterms

President Donald Trump has made clear in recent weeks that he's willing to use the vast powers of his office to prevent his party from losing control of Congress in next year's midterm elections. Some of the steps Trump has taken to intervene in the election are typical, but controversial, political maneuvers taken to his trademark extremes. That includes pushing Republican lawmakers in Texas and other conservative-controlled states to redraw their legislative maps to expand the number of US House seats favourable to the GOP. Others involve the direct use of official presidential power in ways that have no modern precedent, such as ordering his Department of Justice to investigate the main liberal fundraising entity, ActBlue. The department also is demanding the detailed voter files from each state in an apparent attempt to look for ineligible voters on a vast scale. And on Monday, Trump posted a falsehood-filled rant on social media pledging to lead a movement to outlaw voting ..

Trump admin in talks to take 10% stake in Intel via Chips Act grants

The federal government is considering a potential investment in Intel that would involve converting some or all of the company's grants from the US Chips and Science Act into equity

Trump vows to change how elections are run, targets mail voting, machines

President Donald Trump on Monday vowed more changes to the way elections are conducted in the U.S., but based on the Constitution there is little to nothing he can do on his own. Relying on false information and conspiracy theories that he's regularly used to explain away his 2020 election loss, Trump pledged on his social media site that he would do away with both mail voting which remains popular and is used by about one-third of all voters and voting machines some form of which are used in almost all of the country's thousands of election jurisdictions. These are the same systems that enabled Trump to win the 2024 election and Republicans to gain control of Congress. Trump's post marks an escalation even in his normally overheated election rhetoric. He issued a wide-ranging executive order earlier this year that, among other changes, would have required documented proof-of-citizenship before registering to vote. His Monday post promised another election executive order to help

20 states, DC sue DOJ over cuts to crime victim funds tied to immigration

A coalition of attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, DC, is asking a federal judge to stop the US Department of Justice from withholding federal funds earmarked for crime victims if states don't cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. The lawsuit filed Monday in Rhode Island federal court seeks to block the Justice Department from enforcing conditions that would cut funding to a state or subgrantee if it refuses to honour civil immigration enforcement requests, denies US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers access to facilities or fails to provide advance notice of release dates of individuals possibly wanted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of their immigration status. The lawsuit asks that the conditions be thrown out, arguing that the administration and the agency are overstepping their constitutional and administrative authority. The lawsuit also argues that the requirements are not permitted or outlined in t

India's Russian crude buying has to stop, says US trade adviser Navarro

India's Foreign Ministry has previously said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the United States and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia

'Every single day we keep an eye on...India and Pakistan': US Secy of State

Ties between Washington and New Delhi hit a fresh trade snag as government sources confirmed the US team will skip the sixth round of bilateral trade talks scheduled in India for August 25

Zelenskyy, European allies seek clarity on Trump's peace talks with Putin

Unease hangs over the allies, which have few options for pushing back on demands from Trump that Ukraine may oppose, and are skeptical that Putin really wants peace

Trump runs into the difficulty of Putin diplomacy, ending long war

President Donald Trump walked into a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening severe consequences and tough new sanctions if the Kremlin leader failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine. Instead, Trump was the one who stood down, dropping his demand for a ceasefire in favour of pursuing a full peace accord a position that aligns with Putin's. After calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump wrote as he flew home from Friday's meeting in Alaska that it had been determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up. It was a dramatic reversal that laid bare the challenges of dealing with Putin, a cunning adversary, as well as the complexities of a conflict that Trump had repeatedly boasted during his campaign that he could solve within 24

Zelenskyy to meet Trump on Aug 18 after US-Russia summit secured no deal

US President Donald Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska and also was talking with NATO leaders early Saturday, the White House said. Trump secured no agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine even after rolling out the red carpet for Putin. Trump said that there's no deal until there's a deal, after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an understanding on Ukraine and warned Europe not to torpedo the nascent progress. During an interview with Fox News Channel before leaving Alaska, Trump insisted that the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy to get it done, but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. Trump did not speak to reporters on his flight back to Washington. When his plane landed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was on the phone with NATO leaders after a lengthy call with Zelenskyy. There was no immediate comment Saturday fr

Trump repeats claim of resolving India-Pak conflict on day he met Putin

On the day of his summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump repeated multiple times his claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan, while also commenting on New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi has been maintaining that India and Pakistan halted their military actions following direct talks between their militaries without any mediation by the US. I've negotiated five wars to their end, and the wars that were tough. India, Pakistan..." Trump said in an interview with Fox News a couple of hours after his high-stakes summit meeting with Putin ended in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. The meeting between the two leaders concluded without any agreement on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. In the same interview, Trump again spoke about resolving the conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as others, including between Congo and Rwanda, Thailand and Cambodia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. Look at India. Take a look at India and

Trump says Xi assured him China won't act on Taiwan during his presidency

The US has long sought to deter Beijing from any military action seeking to unify the self-governing island of Taiwan with China by force

Trump admin partially retreats from a takeover of Washington's police

Federal troops are patrolling the National Mall and neighborhoods across Washington while President Donald Trump's administration exerts extraordinary power over law enforcement in the nation's capital. But the administration backed down from an attempt to take over the city's police department by installing its own emergency police commissioner after a federal judge indicated she would rule against it. The partial retreat interrupted one aspect of the most sweeping uses of federal authority over a local government in modern times. How it will play out and whether the federal government will use this experience as a potential blueprint for dealing with other cities remains up in the air. Here's what to know about the situation and what might come next: Why is Trump taking over the police in DC? The Republican president this week announced he's taking control over Washington's police department and activating National Guard troops to reduce crime, an escalation of his aggressive ...

Judge strikes down Trump-era ban on DEI programmes in schools, colleges

A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes at the nation's schools and universities. In her ruling, US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives. The guidance has been on hold since April when three federal judges blocked various portions of the Education Department's anti-DEI measures. The ruling Thursday followed a motion for summary judgment from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which challenged the government's actions in a February lawsuit. The case centres on two Education Department memos ordering schools and universities to end all race-based decision-making or face penalties up to a total loss of federal funding. It's part of a campaign to end practices the Trump ...

Trump admin's lawsuit against Maryland federal judges critised in court

A judge on Wednesday questioned why it was necessary for the Trump administration to sue Maryland's entire federal bench over an order that paused the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals. US District Judge Thomas Cullen didn't issue a ruling following a hearing in federal court in Baltimore, but he expressed skepticism about the administration's extraordinary legal manoeuvre, which attorneys for the Maryland judges called completely unprecedented. Cullen serves in the Western District of Virginia, but he was tapped to oversee the Baltimore case because all of Maryland's 15 federal judges are named as defendants, a highly unusual circumstance that reflects the Republican administration's aggressive response to courts that slow or stop its policies. At issue in the lawsuit is an order signed by Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III that prevents the administration from immediately deporting any immigrants seeking review of their detention in a ..