Page 49 - Donald Trump Administration

Top Trump officials visit Alaska oil field amid push to expand drilling

President Donald Trump wants to double the amount of oil coursing through Alaska's vast pipeline system and build a massive natural gas project as its "big, beautiful twin," a top administration official said Monday while touring a prolific oil field near the Arctic Ocean. The remarks by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright came as he and two other Trump Cabinet members Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Prudhoe Bay as part of a multiday trip aimed at highlighting Trump's push to expand oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state that drew criticism from environmentalists. During the trip, Burgum's agency also announced plans to repeal Biden-era restrictions on future leasing and industrial development in portions of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that are designated as special for their wildlife, subsistence or other values. The petroleum reserve is west of Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, the industrial ...

US to move forward with tariffs despite court ruling, say Trump aides

The Trump administration has confirmed that the tariffs announced under President Donald Trump will proceed, with no plans to extend the 90-day tariff pause

Trump's crackdown aside, foreign student boom in US needs scrutiny too

Trump administration's attempt to keep Harvard from enrolling foreign students has drawn new attention to the remarkable internationalisation of American higher education over the past 2 generations

China accuses US of violating trade truce over chip curbs, vows retaliation

US-China truce in jeopardy as Washington and Beijing trade accusations over Geneva trade agreement violations

Trump officials to visit Alaska for talks on gas pipeline, oil drilling

The Trump administration is sending three Cabinet members to Alaska this week as it pursues oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and reinvigorating a natural gas project that's languished for years. The visit by Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin comes after Trump signed an executive order earlier this year aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in Alaska. It also comes amid tariff talks with Asian countries that are seen as possible leverage for the administration to secure investments in the proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas project. Their itinerary includes a meeting Sunday with resource development groups and U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski in Anchorage before heading to Utqiagvik, an Arctic town on the petroleum-rich North Slope where many Alaska Native leaders see oil development as economically vital to the region. T

Chinese students at US colleges will be 'fine', says Donald Trump

'Well, they're going to be OK It's going to work out fine,' Trump said when asked what his message would be for students who want to remain in the country

Appeals court keeps block on Trump admin's downsizing of federal workforce

An appeals court on Friday refused to freeze a California judge's order halting the Trump administration from downsizing the federal workforce, which means that DOGE-led cuts remain on pause for now. The Republican administration had sought an emergency stay of an injunction issued by US Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco in a lawsuit brought by labour unions and cities, including San Francisco and Chicago. The judge's order questioned whether Trump's administration was acting lawfully in trying to pare the federal workforce. Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake the federal government, and he tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead the charge through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programmes or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation, and thousands

Trump seeks $1 billion for private-sector-led human missions to Mars

The White House's 2026 budget proposal, calls for allocating more than $1 billion for Mars exploration, including a new Nasa initiative called the Commercial Mars Payload Services programme

Trump admin threatens to cut NY funding over Native American mascot ban

New York is discriminating against a school district that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot and could face a Justice Department investigation or risk losing federal funding, President Donald Trump's top education official said Friday. US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, on a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, said an investigation by her agency has determined that state education officials violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by banning the use of Native American mascots and logos statewide. The department's civil rights office found the state ban discriminatory because names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the Dutchmen and the "Huguenots", are still permitted. McMahon described Massapequa's chiefs mascot as an incredible representation of Native American leadership as she made the announcement backed by dozens of students and local officials in the high school gymnasium. The Trump administration wi

Trump administration 'MAHA' health report cited nonexistent studies

Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from US biomedical research spending

Trump’s tariffs back: But for how long? | Trade war | US news | Trump administration

A federal appeals court has temporarily allowed US President Donald Trump’s tariffs to stay in place. This comes a day after a lower trade court said Trump had no authority to impose trade tariffs.

15% tariff for 150 days: Trump admin prepares 'Plan B' after court ruling

Provisions under the rarely used US Trade Act of 1974 allow the Trump administration to impose short-term tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days to address trade imbalances

Trump admin reverses planned closures of 3 dozen US mine safety offices

The Donald Trump administration is dropping plans to terminate leases for 34 offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws, the Department of Labour said Thursday. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, targeted federal agencies for spending cuts, including terminating leases for three dozen MSHA offices. Seven of those offices were in Kentucky alone. Ending the MSHA leases had been projected to save USD 18 million. Musk said this week that he's leaving his job as a senior advisor to the Trump administration. A statement released by a Labour Department spokesperson said it has been working closely with the General Services Administration "to ensure our MSHA inspectors have the resources they need to carry out their core mission to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthy workplaces for American ..

Hope US gives Indian students visa on merit: MEA on US visa interview pause

While acknowledging that visas are a part of the US' sovereign rights, the Ministry of External Affairs urged the US to process student visas for deserving Indian students in a timely manner

Judge rules Trump admin wrongly ended parole for hundreds of thousands

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Donald Trump administration wrongly ended humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of people allowed to live in the United States temporarily. The decision is another legal setback for President Trump's plans for mass deportation, but it may prove temporary and its immediate impact was unclear. US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston sided with people who were already admitted to the United States but were unable to renew their short-term permits. They cover parole policies that benefited Afghans, Ukrainians, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and children from Central American countries trying to join their parents in the US, among others. Talwani, who was appointed by then-president Barack Obama, said two orders by Department of Homeland Security officials to suspend renewals pending further review were unlikely to survive a legal challenge. One of the orders gives no reasoned explanation for the actions, she wrote. Th

Judge refuses to block Trump admin from removing copyright office director

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to temporarily block the Donald Trump administration from removing and replacing the director of the US Copyright Office. US District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled from the bench that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn't met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her to suffer irreparable harm. Kelly's refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn't the final word in the lawsuit that Perlmutter filed last week. If Perlmutter decides to seek a preliminary injunction, the judge is giving her attorneys and government lawyers until Thursday afternoon to present him with a proposed schedule for arguing and deciding the matter. Perlmutter's attorneys say she is a renowned copyright expert who also has served as Register of Copyrights since the Librarian of Congress appointed her to the job in October 2020. As Register, Perlmutter is a critical advisor to Congress on matters of important legislative interest a

Trump effect: Visa hurdles, scrutiny may defer Indian students' US dream

The proposed social-media scrutiny and suspension of student visa interviews could lead to delays in the application process for Indian students

Trump admin sues North Carolina over its voter registration records

The Trump administration accused North Carolina's election board on Tuesday of violating federal law by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. The Justice Department sued in federal court also asking a judge to force board officials to create a prompt method to obtain such numbers. The department alleges that the state and the board aren't complying with the 2002 Help America Vote Act after board officials provided a statewide voter registration form that didn't make clear an applicant must provide either a driver's license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. If an applicant lacks neither, the state must assign the person another unique number. A previous edition of the state board, in which Democrats held a majority, acknowledged the problem in late 2023 after a voter complained. The board updated the form but declined to contact people who had registered to vote since 2004 in time for the 2024 electio

Trump's campaign against law firms sees setback as judge blocks order

US President Donald Trump's campaign against the legal profession hit another setback as a federal judge struck down an executive order that sought to sanction one of the country's most prestigious law firms. The ruling on Tuesday in favour of WilmerHale marks the third time this month that a federal judge in Washington has deemed Trump's series of law firm executive orders to be unconstitutional and permanently barred their enforcement. The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The Founding Fathers knew this! wrote US district judge Richard Leon. To permit the order to stand, Leon wrote, would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers". The firm applauded the ruling from Leon, an appointee of former Republican president George W Bush. The court's decision to permanently block the unlawful executive order in its entirety strongly affirms our ...

University of California next target of Donald Trump's antisemitism probe

The University of California abhors antisemitism and is working to eradicate it across the system, said Rachel Zaentz, senior director of strategic and critical communications