Page 71 - Donald Trump Administration

China opposes US State Dept's revised fact sheet, alleges misrepresentation

Changes made by the US State Department on its 'US-China Relations' page and 'US Relations With China' fact sheet misrepresent the facts, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said

Trump's frustration with Zelenskyy's approach 'multifold', says US NSA

A top White House official has said that President Donald Trump's increasingly tough criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy reflects the administration's growing frustration with what they see as the Ukrainian leader creating roadblocks to finding an endgame to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The comments from White House national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday came a day after Trump described Zelenskyy as a "dictator" and warned that he "better move fast" to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy earlier Wednesday had said Trump was living in a Russian-made "disinformation space". "His frustration with President Zelenskyy that you heard is multifold," Waltz said Thursday of Trump. "There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people and the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term and what we've done since. There's some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were ...

Donald Trump signs commission to confirm Kash Patel as ninth FBI Director

Trump also spoke about the upcoming 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, expressing a commitment to recognising the contributions of Black Americans in protecting and expanding freedom

World War III not far away, claims Donald Trump; says US won't participate

Trump said that if former US President Joe Biden's administration had continued, the world would have been in war

Considering buying used planes for Air Force One amid Boeing delays: Trump

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft perhaps from an overseas seller to use as Air Force One when he's aboard, as he fumes over the US plane-maker's delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use. Speaking to reporters aboard one of the two nearly 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in current use, Trump said, We're looking at alternatives, because it's taking Boeing too long. We may go and buy a plane, Trump said, adding that he could then convert it. He later clarified that he was ruling out purchasing aircraft of Airbus, the European company that is the only other global supplier on large wide-body aircraft, but would consider a second-hand Boeing plane. I would not consider Airbus. I could buy one from another country perhaps or get one from another country." Boeing has the contract to produce updated versions, based on the more modern Boeing 747-8, but delivery has been delayed while the aircraft maker has .

Trump backs congressional GOP push for federal govt takeover of DC

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threw his support behind congressional efforts for a federal takeover of the nation's capital, saying he approves putting the District of Columbia back under direct federal control. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump complained about crime and homelessness in the district, saying, I think we should take over Washington, D.C. make it safe. He added, "I think that we should govern District of Columbia. Under terms of the city's Home Rule authority, Congress already vets all D.C. laws and can outright overturn them. Some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city's limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding. Trump said he liked District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser personally, but complained about the city's governance. They're not doing the job, Trump said. Too much crime, too much too many tents on the lawns these magnificent lawns. He arg

Trump orders study on IVF expansion, urges 'radical transparency' in govt

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of in vitro fertilisation and issued a presidential memorandum calling for radical transparency requirements from the government, which he suggested could reduce wasteful spending. On the campaign trail, Trump called for universal coverage of IVF treatment after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception. Trump, who was at his Florida residence and club, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday, also signed another executive order as well as a presidential memorandum. The second executive order outlined the oversight functions of the Office of Management and Budget, while the memo requires the government to detail the waste, fraud and abuse that's found as the Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, ...

Labour unions urge Trump to boost US shipbuilding against China's dominance

The heads of four major labour unions on Wednesday called on President Donald Trump to boost American shipbuilding and enforce tariffs and other "strong penalties" against China for its increasing dominance in that sphere. The presidents of the United Steelworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers argue that China's efforts have hurt American workers and national security. In a draft of the letter obtained by AP, they urged Trump to "impose tough penalties against vessels built according to the plans, policies, and actions of the Chinese Communist Party and to adopt complementary policies that rebuild America's shipbuilding capacity and workforce". Last year under President Joe Biden, the unions filed a petition seeking to address China's shipbuilding under Section 301 of the 1974 US Trade Act, hoping to start a process by which tariffs and other measures could

Trump seeks greater control of independent regulators with new order

US President Donald Trump is moving to give the White House direct control of independent federal regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. The executive order that Trump signed on Tuesday gives the president more power to shape the oversight of the financial system and lay out criteria for transportation safety, basic consumer protections and wireless, broadcast, satellite and broadband communications. It is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to assert greater authority over the government, possibly limiting the spending of congressionally approved funds in ways that could set up lawsuits and lead courts to weigh in. Past administrations saw public benefit in having regulators that could operate in the long-term interests of the country without the daily machinations of politics. Presidents could exercise informal control by whom they appointed to lead the agencies without ...

Trump asserts control in 2nd term in departure from first-term chaos

Months into his first term as president, Donald Trump was furious with the snowballing Russia investigation and ordered White House Counsel Don McGahn to make sure that special counsel Robert Mueller got fired. Mueller has to go, McGahn recalled Trump saying. Call me back when you do it. But McGahn didn't do it, and Trump didn't even bring it up the next time they saw each other. Such incidents were common during Trump's initial experience in the White House, where officials would soften or ignore his most outrageous decisions and the president seemed unwilling to enforce his will. It's hard to imagine the same thing happening during Trump's second term. Instead of repeating his laissez-faire attitude toward his own administration, the Republican president is asserting control at every opportunity, backed up by loyalists at all levels of government. Despite occasional disorganization and confusion, there's a headstrong determination to push through any obstacles. Trump doesn't just

US will go bankrupt: Musk criticises high trade deficit, tax expenditure

Musk said that US President Donald Trump inherited a $2 trillion trade deficit, warning that "America will go bankrupt" if it fails to bring the deficit under control

Cong slams Trump's threat to GST, questions Modi's stance on tariffs

The Congress on Wednesday claimed that the talk of reciprocal tariffs by US President Donald Trump is calling into question a consumption tax like GST, and wondered whether his "good friend in New Delhi" would stand up to it when national sovereignty is at stake. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said his party has long been calling for a GST 2.0 that will make GST a truly Good and Simple Tax, as it was intended to be. It has called for the barest minimum of rates and vastly reformed compliance rules, he said in a post on X. "Now President Trump is threatening the very existence of GST. By its very structure, GST is applicable to imports but not on exports. This has never been disputed," he said. Now all this talk of reciprocal tariffs by the US President is calling into question a consumption tax like GST, Ramesh claimed. "WTO apart, national sovereignty is at stake here. Will President Trump's good friend in New Delhi, who keeps trumpeting that he

Trump, Musk target tax enforcers, scientists, bank regulators for job cuts

White House has not said how many people it plans to fire and has given no numbers on the mass layoffs

Trump halts aid for representing unaccompanied kids in immigration court

The Trump administration on Tuesday stopped support for legal representation in immigration court for children who enter the US alone, a setback for those fighting deportation who can't afford a lawyer. The Acacia Center for Justice says it serves 26,000 migrant children under its federal contract. The Interior Department gave no explanation for the stop-work order, telling the group only that it was done for "causes outside of your control" and should not be interpreted as a judgment of poor performance. The halt remains in effect until further notice. The Interior Department and Health and Human Services Department, which oversees unaccompanied migrant children, did not respond to requests for comment. Acacia says it runs the legal aid programme through a network of 85 organisations nationwide that represent children under 18. The halt comes shortly after the Justice Department briefly stopped support for other contacts to provide legal information and guidance to people facing .

DOGE effort has saved estimated $50 billion so far, says US treasury secy

He added the cost-cutting effort could eventually lead to several percent of GDP that we are saving

US Senate votes 48-45, advances Kash Patel's nomination for FBI director

Kash Patel, who has celebrated rank-and-file FBI agents for being "courageous, apolitical warriors of justice," will serve a 10-year term if confirmed

DOGE getting lists of military's probationary workers from Pentagon

Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military's probationary employees, US officials said. However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go -- instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business to identify their probationary employees. The affected personnel would include defence civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The potential cuts at the Pentagon, first reported by The Washington Post, follow reductions at other federal agencies, where probationary employees who were conducting critical functions and had high-level clearances, including staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, were fired despite their role. The vast majority of the fired

Donald Trump's son says US military should focus on China, avoid war

Donald Trump Jr added that 'when you consider that the American people would benefit most from a balance of power with China that avoids war, it makes perfect sense'

Trump wants Ukraine's mineral resources, but what exactly is up for grabs?

Various reports have suggested that Ukraine has mineral deposits worth upwards of $10 trillion, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government has been keen to promote crucial materials

Donald Trump likely to impose 25% tariffs on US imports of auto, drug, chip

'I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it'll be in the neighborhood of 25 per cent,' Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs