Page 87 - Donald Trump Administration

Trump withdraws US from Paris Agreement: Know why that's not so bad

Before signing the order, Trump declared his reasons to an arena of cheering supporters, describing the global agreement as an 'unfair, one-sided Paris climate accord rip-off'

Resigned from anti-vaccine work to seek top health official job: RFK Jr

Robert F Kennedy Jr is distancing himself from his anti-vaccine work as he seeks to become the leader of the nation's top health agency under President Donald Trump, according to government ethics documents released on Wednesday. Kennedy has pulled in roughly USD 10 million in income from his work over the past year, which includes speaking fees, leading an anti-vaccine nonprofit and legal fees, government ethics forms filed for his nomination show. He has millions of dollars more tied up in investments and other assets. If confirmed, he has promised to stop collecting fees on some of his vaccine lawsuits involving the US government. Kennedy is a lawyer who has worked on lawsuits involving environmental and vaccine injury claims against some of the country's biggest companies. He also said he would forgo payment from claims against the US under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation programme. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about t

Pentagon sending up to 1,500 active-duty troops to secure US-Mexico border

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, putting in motion plans US President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration. Acting Defence Secretary Robert Salesses said the Pentagon will provide military aircraft to support Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants and the troops will assist in the construction of barriers. The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. "This is just the beginning," he said. It remains to be seen if they will end up doing law enforcement, which would put American troops in a dramatically different role for the first time in decades. The active duty forces will join the roughly 2,500 US National Guard and Reserve forces already there. There are currently no active duty troops working along the roughly 3,219-km ...

Trump meets with more Republicans as they discuss legislative roadmap

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday met with a small contingent of the most politically endangered House Republicans as the party struggles to agree on a strategy for implementing the tax cuts and other priorities that it promised voters. The meeting happened as Trump tried to advance other priorities during the first week of his second term. Roughly 160 aides at National Security Council were sent home while they are reviewed to determine if they align with Trump's agenda. "The American people have been waiting for such a time as this," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Stephen Miller, a top Trump advisor, met with Senate Republicans to update them on plans for deportations and reinstating what's known as Title 42, a policy that was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic to stop border crossings. Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, they have only thin majorities on Capitol Hill, and there are disagreements on how t

Trump threatens Russia with sanctions if 'ridiculous' war does not end

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn't reached to end the war in Ukraine, a warning that is likely to fall on deaf ears in the Kremlin. The United States already prohibits the import of virtually all Russian products, and Russia has faced a multitude of US and European sanctions since the invasion began almost three years ago. In a post on his Truth Social site on Wednesday, Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "settle now and stop this ridiculous war". Trump said he had no desire to hurt Russia -- which he noted had played a major role in securing victory for the Allies against Nazi Germany in World War II -- and has a good relationship with Putin, but warned of the penalties if the war isn't stopped soon. "If we don't make a deal, and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and variou

House passes immigrant detention bill, to be first law signed by Trump

The Republican-led House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that requires the detainment of unauthorised migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, marking the first legislation that President Donald Trump can sign as Congress, with some bipartisan support, swiftly moved in line with his plans to crackdown on illegal immigration. Passage of the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man, shows just how sharply the political debate over immigration has shifted to the right following Trump's election victory. Immigration policy has often been one of the most entrenched issues in Congress, but a crucial faction of politically vulnerable Democrats joined with Republicans to lift the strict proposal to passage on a 263-156 vote tally. "For decades, it has been almost impossible for our government to agree on solutions for the problems at our border and within our country," said Senator Katie Britt, an Alabama ...

Trump administration freezes many health agency reports, online posts

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothy Fink, told agency staff leaders that an "immediate pause" had been ordered on -- among other things -- regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts until such communications had been approved by a political appointee. The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication. The pause is in effect through February 1, the memo said. Agencies subject to the HHS directive include the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration -- entities that fight ...

Republicans renew efforts to limit people in US illegally from census count

Republican efforts to exclude people in the US illegally from numbers used to divvy up congressional seats among states have begun anew, with four Republican state attorneys general suing to alter the once-a-decade head count even before President Donald Trump's second term in office began Monday. Trump joined in the battle immediately upon returning to office, signing an executive order on Monday that rescinded a Biden administration order and signalled the possibility of a push by his new administration to change the 2030 census. Those efforts may get a boost from the GOP-controlled Congress, where Republican US Rep. Chuck Edwards from North Carolina earlier this month re-introduced legislation that would put a citizenship question on the census form. During his first term, Trump signed an order that would have excluded people in the US illegally from being included in the 2020 census numbers used to allot congressional seats and Electoral College votes to each state. The GOP ...

Indian-American lawmakers oppose executive order on birthright citizenship

Indian-American lawmakers have opposed the executive order by US President Donald Trump on changes in birthright citizenship, a move likely to hit not only illegal immigrants from around the world but also students and professionals from India. On Monday, in the opening hours of his second term as president, Trump signed an order declaring that future children born to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens. The order would extend even to the children of some mothers in the country legally but temporarily, such as foreign students or tourists. Trump's executive order asserts that the children of such noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and thus are not covered by the 14th Amendment's longstanding constitutional guarantee. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said changes in birthright citizenship as done through the executive order would impact newborn babies of not only illegal and undocumented immigrants but also those ...

Trump team holds first meetings with Jaishankar, signals India top priority

Following US President Donald Trump's inauguration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NSA Mike Waltz held their first bilateral and international meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar

Hegseth's former sister-in-law alleges wife's abuse in affidavit to Senate

Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for US defence secretary received an affidavit on Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife, to the point where she feared for her safety. Hegseth has denied the allegation. The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, was formerly married to the nominee's brother, and in an affidavit obtained by The Associated Press, she said she believes that Pete Hegseth is "unfit" to run the defence department based on what she witnessed and heard. She said she first relayed her allegations to the FBI last December but was concerned that the information was not shared with Congress as senators consider Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon. The affidavit describes Hegseth's treatment of his second wife, Samantha, and alleges repeat drunkenness and a domestic situation where Samantha had a safe word to indicate if she was in danger at home. Danielle Hegseth said Samantha texted that safe

Canada may inflict economic pain on US against Trump's tariffs: Trudeau

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau promised that his country would respond with 'robust, rapid' and 'very strong' retaliatory measures

Oil falls as Trump's energy emergency order fuels oversupply concerns

oil market is expected to be oversupplied this year, after weak economic activity and energy transition efforts weighed heavily on demand in top-consuming nations the United States and China

As Trump takes over, Ukraine eyes peace with 'world leader' India's help

Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 47th US President during an indoor ceremony at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Monday

Look forward to working alongside Trump to serve American people: Vance

JD Vance on Monday took oath as the 50th Vice President of the United States at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington

Donald Trump's inauguration: What a front-row seat for Jaishankar means

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Special Envoy

Migrants stranded as thousands of US entry appointments cancelled by Trump

They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments finally to legally enter the United States. Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. US Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023. Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told. That was it. There was no way to appeal, and no one to talk to. In Tijuana, where 400 people were admitted daily on the app at

Trump inauguration highlights: Encounters, awkward moments among rivals

A president's inaugural address is typically a choreographed spectacle. A makeshift grandstand is erected next to the Capitol, hundreds of thousands of people line the National Mall and the images and words of the day endure for generations. This time was different. Forced inside to the Capitol Rotunda by frigid temperatures, Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term as president in an intimate setting for a man who has always favored the largest one possible. The day's pomp and unusual circumstances made for a lot of close-up encounters between political combatants, some awkward, some not. It also made for a pecking-order configuration for attendees top-level guests in the Rotunda and several hundred other VIPs watching from another room at the Capitol, as well as thousands of Trump supporters at a local arena outside the grounds of Congress. Associated Press reporters, photographers and videographers were in all those rooms, as part of a pool arrangement typically used to cove

Trump temporarily halts leasing and permitting for wind energy projects

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects. The interior secretary will review wind leasing and permitting practices for federal waters and lands. The assessment will consider the environmental impact of wind projects on wildlife, the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry, the order states. Trump wants to increase drilling for oil and gas and has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. Trump's pick for interior secretary, Doug Burgum, was asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would commit to continuing with offshore wind leases that have been issued. Burgum said projects that make sense and are already in law will continue. Wind power currently provides about 10% of the ...

A look at false and misleading claims Trump made at inaugural event

In his first address after being sworn in on Monday, President Donald Trump repeated several false and misleading statements that he made during his campaign. They included claims about immigration, the economy, electric vehicles and the Panama Canal. In remarks later at the Capitol's Emancipation Hall, he issued a number of other false claims, including one that distorts pardons made by President Joe Biden as he left office. Here's a look at the facts. Biden did not pardon 33 murderers CLAIM: Trump, at Emancipation Hall, said Biden pardoned what is it, 33 murderers, absolute murderers, the worst murderers. You know, when you get the death sentence in the United States, you have to be bad. THE FACTS: Biden announced on December 23 that he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment. A commutation does not exonerate the person. In making the announcement, Biden said: These commutations are consistent wit