Page 86 - Donald Trump Administration

US lawmakers introduce bill to repeal China's preferential trade status

China is the US's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting a record $690.6 billion in 2022

Kash Patel's confirmation hearing for FBI Director scheduled for Jan 30

Kash Patel will appear before a US Senate committee on January 30 for a confirmation hearing to be the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Patel, 44, is the highest-ranking Indian-American nominated by President Donald Trump in his administration. If confirmed, he would be the first-ever Indian American to lead the most powerful American investigation agency. "The Nomination of Kashyap Pramod Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" has been scheduled for January 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced on Thursday. Patel would replace Christopher Wray. He is considered to be a loyal supporter of Trump. I love the American dream. My story's pretty simple, it's unique, and some of you share in it, Patel, the former federal prosecutor, said during an inauguration event for Trump early this week. My parents were born and raised in East Africa. My father in the 1970s fled a genocidal dictatorship in Uganda, where he saw 300,000 of his ..

Not sure if US should be spending anything on Nato, says Donald Trump

Washington finances 15.8 per cent of the 32-member military alliance's yearly expenditure of around $3.5 billion, joint-largest share, alongside Germany

Trump inks executive order to form internal working group on crypto

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to form an internal working group on crypto aimed at making America the world capital in crypto. It also prohibited the establishment of central bank digital currencies. Chaired by White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, the working group would be tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluating the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile. The other members of the group include the secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prohibiting agencies from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote central bank digital currencies, the executive order revoked the previous administration's Digital Assets Executive Order and the Treasury Department's Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets which, the Trump administration claimed, suppressed innovation and undermined the US' ...

Just want level playing field: Trump condemns unfair trade ties with China

US President Donald Trump also criticised the Biden administration for allowing the trade deficit with China to go 'out of hand'

Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances

President Donald Trump has announced he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances. Trump called it "a great honour to sign this". "They should not have been prosecuted," he said as he signed pardons for "peaceful pro-life protesters. The people pardoned were involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a Washington clinic. Lauren Handy was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading the blockade by directing blockaders to link themselves together with locks and chains to block the clinic's doors. A nurse sprained her ankle when one person pushed her while entering the clinic, and a woman was accosted by another blockader while having labour pains, prosecutors said. Police found five fetuses in Handy's home after she was indicted. Trump pardoned Handy and her nine co-defendants: Jonathan Darnel of Virginia; Jay Smith, John Hinshaw and William Goodman, all of New York; Joan Bell of New Jersey; Paulette Harlow and Jean ..

Senate confirms Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump second Cabinet member

The Senate has confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation's premier spy agency. The Texas Republican is a former federal prosecutor who emerged as a fierce Trump defender while serving as a congressman during Trump's first impeachment. The vote was 74-25. At his Senate hearing last week, Ratcliffe said the CIA must do better when it comes to using technology such as artificial intelligence to confront adversaries including Russia and China. He said the United States needed to improve its intelligence capabilities while also ensuring the protection of Americans' civil rights. Ratcliffe said that if confirmed, he would push the CIA to do more to harness technologies such as AI and quantum computing while expanding use of human intelligence collection. "W

Trump's Cabinet picks: Where do they stand in confirmation process

It's been slow going in the procedure-heavy Senate since Monday's inauguration, with only two of Trump's top picks- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe- confirmed

Putin must make a deal, Zelenskyy ready for talks: Trump on Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin "should make a deal" with Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has said and asserted that they would meet as soon as they can. Earlier, he warned his Russian counterpart to end the 'ridiculous war' in Ukraine or face high tariffs and further sanctions. Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, said this on Truth Social on Wednesday, a social media platform owned by him. Talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, the president said, "I think he (Putin) should make a deal." When asked if he thinks that sanctions on Russia will force Putin to negotiate, he said, "I don't know." "Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think, from what I hear, Putin would like to see me. And we'll meet as soon as we can. I'd meet immediately. Soldiers are being killed on the battlefield," he said. "That battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II... and I have pictures that you don't

I know interest rates better than Fed chief Jerome Powell, says Trump

Trump's comments came hours after he delivered a video address to the world's elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he called for an immediate drop in interest rates

Americans will pay more if Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, says Trudeau

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday American consumers will pay more whenever President Donald Trump decides to apply sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he still plans to tariff Canada and Mexico at 25% rates starting as soon as Feb. 1. Trump previously threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he took office but the tariffs weren't applied on day one. Trudeau said if Trump does go forward "whether it be back on Jan. 20th, on Feb. 1st or Feb. 15th as a Valentines Day present, or on April 1st or whenever Canada will respond with retaliatory tariffs and "prices for American consumers on just about everything will go up." We don't think he wants that, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. By targeting America's second largest trading partner after Mexico, Trump risks upending the markets for autos, lumber and oil all of which could carry over quickly to consumers. T

Trump halts authorisations for renewable projects on federal lands, waters

President Donald Trump and his nominees have championed oil, gas and coal production while disparaging renewable power as unreliable

US to have only two genders, male, female; no more transgender rage: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US will have only two genders, male and female, and no men will be allowed to participate in women's sports. Days after assuming office for his second term, Trump addressed the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here through video conferencing and said that transgender operations, which became the rage, will occur very rarely going forward. "I've made it an official policy of the United States that there are only two genders, male and female. We will have no men participating in women's sports," he said. On Tuesday, Trump signed executive orders rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government. Both the executive orders are in line with Trump's campaign promises. One of the executive orders states that the federal government would recognise only two sexes: male and female. The definition will be based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm,

Trump revokes security for former Secretary of state Pompeo, top Iran aide

President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran ever since they took hardline stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration. A congressional staffer and a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personal security details, confirmed the change, but neither could offer an explanation. They said Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 pm that night. It's another sign of steps Trump is taking just days into his return to the White House to target those he has perceived as adversaries. A day earlier, Trump revoked the security clearance and Secret Service protection from John Bolton, who was fired as Trump's national security adviser during his first term. He later wrote a book whose publication the White House unsuccessfully sought to block on grounds

Trump signs executive order on developing AI 'free from ideological bias'

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on artificial intelligence that will revoke past government policies his order says act as barriers to American AI innovation." To maintain global leadership in AI technology, "we must develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas, the order says. The new order doesn't name which existing policies are hindering AI development but calls for the development of an AI action plan within 180 days. Just hours after returning to the White House on Monday, Trump repealed former President Joe Biden's guardrails for fast-developing AI technology, a sweeping executive order signed in 2023. Until Thursday, it wasn't clear if Trump planned to replace Biden's signature AI policy with his own order. Trump had also signed executive orders on AI in his previous term, which are still on the books. Much of Biden's 2023 order set in motion a sprint across government agencies to study's AI impact on everything f

Trump tells businesses to manufacture in US or face higher tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting here through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately. Throughout the world, food prices went through the roof and I've taken immediate actions to control inflation in America, he said. "United States has the largest amount of oil and gas in the world and I'm going to use it," he said. "I promise to eliminate 10 old regulations for every new regulation... I am going to pass the largest tax cuts in the American history to help our people," he said. At the same time, if a business doesn't manufacture its products in America, there would be tariffs to pay, he warned. Many companies globally have alr

Trump admin considers order to pause virus research linked to Covid-19

The Trump administration is drafting an executive order to temporarily halt federal funding for certain 'gain-of-function' virus research, although some pathogens, like H5N1, may be exempt from this

Trump appoints agent from assassination attempt as Secret Service director

Sean Curran, an agent who famously protected Donald Trump during an attempted assassination in July 2024 has been chosen to lead the Secret Service, against agency advise

May stop aid for LA if California doesn't change water policies: Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless California leaders change the state's approach on its management of water. In a Fox News interview, Trump repeated false claims that the state's fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. He says the blame for Los Angeles' struggles to tame some of the deadly fires lies with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political foe who has called for partnership and mutual respect as the state fights the blazes. I don't think we should give California anything until they let the water run down, Trump said. The president levelled the threat as he prepares for the first presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, he will visit Southern California in addition to western North Carolina, which is recovering after Hurricane Helene pummelled the area more than three months ago. Trump in the interview

Oil prices extend losses amid uncertainty over Trump tariff impact

Brent crude futures dipped 2 cents to $78.98 a barrel by 0941 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 4 cents to $75.40