Page 47 - Donald Trump Administration

What makes Trump's freebie Qatar jet the stuff of nightmares in spyworld

Aside from any legal and ethical qualms about Trump accepting the plane - an 89-seater with a sumptuous French-designed interior - there are technical and security concerns too

Harvard expands lawsuit against US after Trump ends $450 mn funding

In its new complaint, Harvard cited several actions taken by the administration since the university's initial lawsuit on April 21

Trump's pardon attorney to review Joe Biden's end-of-term mercy decisions

Ed Martin Jr., who will be the Justice Department's new pardon attorney after President Donald Trump pulled his nomination to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, said Tuesday that he plans to scrutinise pardons that former President Joe Biden issued on his way out of the White House. These are big moments, and so they have to be able to withstand scrutiny," Martin told reporters on Tuesday, his last full day as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses in January on his last day in office. He also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. None of them had been charged with any crime. The pardons were designed to guard against possible retribution by President Donald Trump. Trump pulled Martin's nomination last week amid bipartisan opposition and replaced him with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who is expected to be .

Harvard hit with new $450 mn grant cut amid growing clash with Trump admin

President Donald Trump's administration is cutting another USD 450 million in grants to Harvard University a day after the Ivy League school pushed back against government allegations that it's a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. In a letter to Harvard on Tuesday, a federal antisemitism task force said Harvard will lose grants from eight federal agencies in addition to USD 2.2 billion that was previously frozen by the Trump administration. The letter said Harvard has become a breeding ground for virtue signalling and discrimination and faces a steep, uphill battle to reclaim its legacy as a place of academic excellence. There is a dark problem on Harvard's campus, and by prioritising appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school's claim to taxpayer support, the letter said. It was signed by officials at the Education Department, Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration. University officials did not immediately provid

Battle over deportation: Steve Bannon warns of habeas corpus suspension

Steve Bannon claims immigration is an "invasion" and warns that a future Trump White House may suspend habeas corpus if courts block mass deportations, invoking emergency presidential powers

How secure is Air Force One and why is Trump considering a jet from Qatar?

The royal family of Qatar is set to gift an aircraft, hailed as a "flying palace", featuring lavish interiors with private bedrooms, elegant bathrooms and a staircase, to US President Donald Trump

Most powerful Americans: Trump, Pope Leo lead in different roles, realms

The motto of one newly elected American world leader: Fight! The other introduced himself to the world with his first public word as pope: Peace. The contrast between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV couldn't be more stark politically, personally or in their world views. They lead in different roles and realms. But Leo's historic election last week to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as the first US-born pope means that the two most powerful people on the planet are Americans. That raises questions about American influence at a time when Trump's tariff wars and one way or the other threats have upended eight decades of global order and sparked distrust among allies toward the United States. The prospect of too much American power in geopolitics is widely considered one reason that the Catholic Church had not elected an American to the papacy across the country's nearly 250-year history. Until, that is, the former Cardinal Robert F Prevost of Chicago Pope

Campus protests flare on smaller scale but with higher stakes this time

Campus activism has flared as the academic year winds down, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations leading to arrests at several colleges. Compared with last spring, when more than 2,100 people were arrested in campus protests nationwide, the demonstrations have been smaller and more scattered. But the stakes are also much higher. President Donald Trump's administration has been investigating dozens of colleges over their handling of protests, including allegations of antisemitism, and frozen federal grant money as leverage to press demands for new rules on activism. Colleges, in turn, have been taking a harder line on discipline and enforcement, following new policies adopted to prevent tent encampments of the kind that stayed up for weeks last year on many campuses. What are protesters demanding? More are pushing for the same goal that drove last year's protests an end to university ties with Israel or companies that provide weapons or other support to Israel. Protesters who took

Trump tariffs may have pushed up inflation in April, US govt report to show

Inflation may have picked up slightly last month as President Donald Trump's widespread tariffs kicked in, a trend economists expect will become more visible in the coming months. Consumer prices are forecast to have risen 2.4% in April compared with a year earlier, according to data provider FactSet, the same as in March and down from 3% at the start of the year. Still, on a monthly basis, economists expect that the consumer price index rose 0.3% from March to April, a pace that would worsen inflation if it continued, after it fell for the first time in nearly five years the previous month. Tuesday's report could provide an early read on how Trump's duties will affect the prices Americans pay for necessities and other goods such as clothing, shoes, furniture and even groceries. Duties on many goods from Mexico and Canada took effect in February and could have impacted prices last month. Still, economists forecast the impact from duties to be modest. Firms have indicated ... that th

Civil rights agency moves to fire judge fighting Trump's directives

The federal agency tasked with protecting workers' civil rights has moved to terminate a New York administrative judge who has resisted compliance with directives from the White House, including President Donald Trump's executive order decreeing male and female as two immutable sexes. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in response to Trump's order has moved to drop at least seven of its own pending cases representing transgender workers alleging discrimination, and is classifying all new gender identity-related discrimination cases as its lowest priority, signaling a major departure from its prior interpretation of civil rights law. EEOC Administrative Judge Karen Ortiz, who in February criticized the agency's Trump-appointed head, Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, in an email copied to more than 1,000 colleagues, on Wednesday was placed on administrative leave. She also received notice that the EEOC leadership sought to fire her, accusing her of profoundly unprofessional ...

Trump's ally from hush money trial named acting librarian of Congress

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial, has been appointed acting librarian of Congress, the Justice Department said Monday. Blanche replaces longtime librarian Carla Hayden, whom the White House fired last week amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a woke agenda. Also Monday, two other Trump appointees to the library attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Copyright Office, according to a person with knowledge of the incident. Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior counsel in Blanche's office, was named acting assistant librarian, Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin confirmed. And Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general and veteran Justice Department attorney, is now the acting register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, replacing Shira Perlmutter, whom the Trump administration pushed out last weekend. Nieves and Perkins were in the hallway outside the Copyright

Trump administration welcomes 49 white South Africans as refugees

The Trump administration on Monday welcomed a small group of white South Africans as refugees, saying they face discrimination and violence at home, which the country's government strongly denies. The decision to admit the 49 people also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why the group should be admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people who are fleeing war and persecution and have gone through years of vetting before coming to the US. The group from South Africa, including children holding small American flags, arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on a private charter plane and was greeted by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar. I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years," Landau told the group in a hangar at the airport, many of them holding U.S. flags. "We respect t

House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts of upto $880 bn to help cover tax

House Republicans unveiled the cost-staving centrepiece of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" late Sunday, at least USD 880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of USD 4.5 trillion in tax breaks. Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation is touching off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump's first term in 2017 -- which ended in failure. While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out "waste, fraud and abuse" to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warn millions of Americans will lose coverage. A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over the decade. Savings like these allow us to use this bill to renew the Trump tax cuts and keep Republicans' promise to hardworking middle-class families, sa

Trump's reshaping of higher education tests US' appeal for int'l students

As he finishes college in China, computer science student Ma Tianyu has set his sights on graduate school in the United States. No country offers better programmes for the career he wants as a game developer, he said. He applied only to US schools and was accepted by some. But after the initial excitement, he began seeing reasons for doubt. First, there was President Donald Trump's trade war with China. Then, China's Ministry of Education issued a warning about studying in America. When he saw the wave of legal status terminations for international students in the US, he realised he needed to consider how American politics could affect him. The recent developments soured some of his classmates on studying in the US, but he plans to come anyway. He is ready to adapt to whatever changes may come," he said. American universities, home to many programmes at the top of their fields, have long appealed to students around the world hoping to pursue research and get a foothold in the US jo

US Prez Trump set to accept luxury jet as gift from Qatar: Report

The Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar's royal family might be the most valuable gift ever received from a foreign government

Trump installs statue depicting 2024 assassination attempt in Oval Office

The sculpture was spotted sitting on a side table next to Trump's Resolute Desk on Friday as he signed several executive orders in front of reporters

US, China officials to meet in Geneva for tariff talks amid hopes globally

The US treasury secretary and America's top trade negotiator will meet with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world's two biggest economies and to damage global commerce. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim. But there is hope that the two countries will scale back the massive taxes tariffs they've slapped on each other's goods, a move that would relieve world financial markets and companies on both sides of the Pacific Ocean that depend on US-China trade. US President Donald Trump last month raised U.S. tariffs on China to a combined 145%, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125% levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries' boycotting each other's products, disrupting trade that last year topp

Judge pauses much of Trump admin's massive downsizing of federal agencies

The Republican administration must halt much of its dramatic downsizing of the federal workforce, a California judge ordered Friday. Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed by labour unions and cities last week, one of multiple legal challenges to Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the size of a federal government he calls bloated and expensive. The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime, Illston wrote in her order. The temporary restraining order directs numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the president's workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Personnel Management. The order, which expires in 14 days, does not require departments to rehire people. ...

Tufts grad student Ozturk freed on bail in setback to Trump administration

The Friday ruling in favor of Tufts student Rümeysa Ozturk marks a setback for the administration amid its crackdown on foreign students accused of antisemitic activism over the Israel-Hamas conflict

15 states sue Trump over emergency order to fast-track oil, gas projects

A coalition of 15 states is suing over President Donald Trump's efforts to fast-track energy-related projects, saying the administration is bypassing environmental protection laws and threatening endangered species, critical habitat and cultural resources. Trump issued an executive order declaring a national energy emergency on the first day of his presidency. The order urges oil and gas expansion through federal use of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to use private land and resources to produce goods deemed to be a national necessity. Those kinds of steps are supposed to be reserved for actual emergencies, such as projects needed in the aftermath of disasters like hurricanes, flooding or major oil spills, the attorneys general wrote in the lawsuit filed in Washington state on Friday. But now, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and the other plaintiffs said, agencies like the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interi