Page 65 - Donald Trump Administration

CIA lays off some new hires as Trump shakes up intelligence community

The Central Intelligence Agency will fire an unreleased number of junior officers as President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize and reshape the federal government reverberate through America's intelligence community. The agency will review personnel hired within the past two years, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, and those officers with behavioral issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off. The spokesperson said not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job. The cuts are part of sweeping staffing reductions at agencies across the federal government made by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Some agencies, like the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been largely dismantled. While intelligence agencies have been spared the deepest cuts, they haven't been immune. In February the CIA offered buyouts to some employees. The typically secretive agency has not said how many employees accepted the offer. Trump's recently

Fired federal watchdog chief ends legal battle over his removal by Trump

The fired head of a federal watchdog agency said Thursday that he's abandoning his legal battle against the Trump administration to get his job back, acknowledging he was likely facing a tough road before the US Supreme Court. Hampton Dellinger said he was dropping his case a day after the federal appeals court in Washington sided with the Trump administration in removing him as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency dedicated to guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions. Dellinger's removal could threaten efforts his office has made in recent days to challenge the Trump administration's firing of thousands of probationary workers. It was not immediately clear who would replace Dellinger as special counsel. My fight to stay on the job was not for me, but rather for the ideal that OSC should be as Congress intended: an independent watchdog and a safe, trustworthy place for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing and be protected from ...

Judge orders Trump govt to pay nearly $2 bn in USAID, state dept debts

A federal judge on Thursday gave the Trump administration until Monday to pay nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the US Agency for International Development and the State Department, thawing the administration's six-week funding freeze on all foreign assistance. US District Judge Amir Ali ruled in favour of nonprofit groups and businesses that sued over the funding freeze, which has forced organisations around the world to slash services and lay off thousands of workers. Ali issued his order a day after a divided Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's bid to freeze funding that flowed through USAID. The high court instructed Ali to clarify what the government must do to comply with his earlier order requiring the quick release of funds for work that had already been done.

Donald Trump changes course, delays some tariffs on Mexico and Canada

President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25 per cent tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the taxes proposed by Trump have caused a gaping wound in the decades-old North American trade partnership. Trump's tariff plans have also caused the stock market to sink and alarmed U.S. consumers. In addition to his claims about fentanyl, Trump has insisted that the tariffs could be resolved by fixing the trade deficit and he emphasised while speaking in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose reciprocal tariffs starting on April 2. Most of the tariffs go on April the second, Trump said before signing the orders. Right now, we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it's a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada. Trump said he was not looking to exten

As Trump goes after universities, students now on the chopping block

Members of the administration have cast the cuts as a way to reduce wasteful government spending, sometimes in political terms

US House Republicans move to punish Al Green for disrupting Trump speech

A heated night on Capitol Hill has triggered a rare disciplinary move against Texas Democrat Al Green after the Congressman was removed from the House chamber for disrupting President Donald Trump during his address to Congress. Republican Representative Daniel Newhouse on Wednesday formally introduced a censure resolution against Green, who was removed by the House Sergeant at Arms after standing up and shouting during the opening minutes of Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday. Speaking on the House floor, Newhouse, a Washington state Republican, said he was seeking punishment against Green a formal condemnation once considered rare in the House chamber for his numerous interruptions of the president's speech. The clash erupted on Tuesday night when Trump declared his 2024 election victory a mandate. Green shot up from his seat, shouting: You have no mandate! Wielding his cane, Green defied warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson, prompting the Sergeant at Arms to remove him

Trump admin rejects Gaza reconstruction plan proposed by Arab leaders

Trump administration has said that US President Donald Trump stands by his vision, which includes expelling the Palestinian residents of the territory

Trump admin suspends military flights for deportations: Here's why

The US suspended costly military deportation flights after conducting about 30 C-17 and a dozen C-130 flights, transporting migrants to India, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Panama & Guantanamo

Fired veterans feel betrayed, including some who voted for Donald Trump

Nathan Hooven is a disabled Air Force veteran who voted for Donald Trump in November. Barely three months later, he's now unemployed and says he feels betrayed by the president's dramatic downsizing of the federal government that cost him his job. I think a lot of other veterans voted the same way, and we have been betrayed, said Hooven, who was fired in February from a Virginia medical facility for veterans. I feel like my life and the lives of so many like me, so many that have sacrificed so much for this country, are being destroyed. The mass firing of federal employees since Trump took office in January is pushing out veterans who make up 30 per cent of the nation's federal workforce. The exact number of veterans who have lost their job is unknown, although House Democrats last month estimated that it was potentially in the thousands. More could be on the way. The Department of Veterans Affairs a major employer of veterans is planning a reorganisation that includes cutting ove

China's premier, US president: Two speeches and differing world visions

Their words came just an hour apart this week two major speeches by two of the world's most powerful leaders, delivered on opposite sides of the planet. Together, they illustrate the very different approaches the world's 21st-century powers are taking to achieve their respective national ambitions. For China, it was a call for unity to overcome obstacles through innovation and opening up a time-honoured phrase in Chinese politics to eventually accomplish national rejuvenation. It came from Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing as he delivered an annual work report to the National People's Congress, nearly 3,000 representatives from a nation of 1.4 billion people. Seven thousand miles away and an hour later, at 9 p.m. in Washington, President Donald Trump addressed both chambers of the U.S. Congress, more than 500 lawmakers representing a nation of 340 million, as he vowed to levy tariffs on imports and defeat inflation to "make America great again" an equally resonant phrase for ..

Senate Republicans seek congressional nod for DOGE spending cuts by Musk

The rescission process, which Congress established in 1974, allows presidents to cancel allocated funds through legislation approved by simple majorities in Senate and House of Representatives

'Bear with me', says Trump as farmers, consumers brace for tariff effects

Farmers and meat producers across the US can expect the new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and the retaliatory action from those countries to hurt their bottom lines by billions of dollars if they stay in place a while, and consumers could quickly see higher prices for produce and ground beef. But some of the impact on farmers might not be felt until the next harvest and some products might actually get cheaper in the short run for consumers if exports suffer. And the price of corn, wheat and soybeans accounts for relatively little of the price of most products. Plus, President Donald Trump could offer farmers significant aid payments, as he did during the trade war with China during his first administration, to offset some of the losses. In his address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump argued that agricultural imports hurt American farmers and asked them to "bear with me again" as he seeks to protect them. He didn't mention any additional aid. I love the farmer, he said. If t

Trump hails 'reclaiming' of Panama Canal after BlackRock deal to buy stake

The deal will give the US consortium control of key Panama Canal ports amid White House calls to remove them from what it says is Chinese ownership

After Trump's tariffs, Mexico seeks Asian, European crude oil buyers

The official said potential Chinese buyers were "very interested" in initial conversations, adding that "demand will decide how these flows are redirected"

Trump considers exempting some agri products from Canada, Mexico tariffs

Lawmakers from states with strong agriculture interests have pleaded with the administration to carve out tariff exemptions for fertilizers and other products that are critical for growing US crops

Trump admin deletes list of federal buildings targeted for potential sale

The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 440 federal properties it had identified to close or sell, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them not core to government operations." Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries none in Washington, DC And by Wednesday morning, the list was gone entirely. Non-core property list (Coming soon) the page read. The General Services Administration, which published the lists, did not immediately respond to questions about the changes or why the properties that had been listed had been removed. The initial list had included some of the country's most recognisable buildings, along with courthouses, offices and even parking garage and spanned nearly every state. In Washington, DC, it included the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which serves as FBI headquarters, the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the Old Post Office ...

As Musk eyes Lesotho for business, Trump says no one has heard of it

US President Donald Trump says no one has ever heard of Lesotho. The foreign minister of the small African kingdom tells The Associated Press that Trump should speak for himself. It is surprising and disappointing that he claimed no one knows Lesotho, especially given that the US has an embassy here, minster Lejone Mpotjoane said, a day after Trump's dismissive comment in a speech to Congress caused some laughter. He should speak for himself and not generalise. Mpotjoane said Trump appeared to pick on Lesotho because it isn't a rich country but warned: One day America may need Lesotho's support. In fact, Trump's key adviser Elon Musk has already sought it. Trump mocked Lesotho while criticising some US foreign aid contracts as a waste of money in his 99-minute speech on Tuesday. Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of, Trump said, struggling to pronounce the name correctly as Vice President JD Vance and House Speake

Greenland PM rejects Trump's bid, says 'island isn't for sale, it is ours'

Greenland's prime minister has a message for President Donald Trump: Greenland is ours. Mte Bourup Egede made the statement on Facebook Wednesday, just hours after Trump declared in his speech to a joint session of Congress that he intends to gain control of Greenland one way or the other. Kalaallit Nunaat is ours, Egede said in the post, using the Greenlandic name for his country. We don't want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland, he said. The post ended with a clenched fist emoji and a Greenlandic flag. On the streets of Nuuk, Greenland's capital, where the temperature was 4 degrees blow zero (minus 20 Celsius) at midday Wednesday and the bright sunshine reflected blindingly off a layer of fresh-fallen snow, people are taking Trump's designs on their country seriously. Since taking office six weeks ago, Trump has repeatedly

Trudeau not to lift retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves some on Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unwilling to lift Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump leaves any US tariffs on Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official confirmed Trudeau's stance on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter. The official said Trump and Trudeau spoke by phone around midday. Other Canadian officials publicly echoed Trudeau's position. We're not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed, Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada's most populous province, agreed. Zero tariffs or nothing. This attack was not started by our country. This was started by President Trump. He decided to declare an economic war against our country and our province, and we're going to hold str

House report reveals China's role in US fentanyl crisis, calls for action

Investigation reveals that nearly all illegal fentanyl ingredients are made by Chinese companies and then sent to Mexican drug cartels, which produce and distribute fentanyl in the US