Page 7 - Donald Trump

US Congress nears approval of $70 bn boost for Trump's deportation agenda

With virtually no strings attached, Congress is on the verge of providing a sizable infusion of cash to the Department of Homeland Security, powering President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda for the remainder of his term in the White House. The nearly $70 billion package, which cleared the Republican-held Senate in a middle of the night vote and now heads to the House, was declared a "rotten bill" by the Democratic leader and an "ATM for ICE" by pro-immigrant advocates. But for those aligned with Trump's campaign promise for the largest mass deportation operation in US history, it all but guarantees an uninterrupted flow of money to carry out the administration's immigration enforcement operations - and comes on top of some $170 billion Congress already approved for the department last summer, as part of Trump's big tax breaks bill. "We're going to continue to arrest people, we're going to continue to detain people and we're going to keep deporting people," Trump border czar

Trump's lawyers sought to halt discovery in $10 billion BBC lawsuit

Trump has accused the BBC of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he directed supporters to storm the US ‌Capitol

US hails 'robust' partnership with India, highlights Trump-Modi bond

The US said its strategic partnership with India remains robust and that President Donald Trump's invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington is a "testament" to the "great relationship" between the two leaders as well as the growing ties between the two countries. State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday said the strong ties between the two countries were on full display during Secretary of State Marco Rubio's recent visit to India. "We have a robust strategic partnership with India... That was on full display during that trip, and there were real deliverables that were discussed there, including on critical minerals, including on technology," he said. Pigott was responding to a question by PTI on Rubio's visit to India during a roundtable interaction organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre with a select group of international journalists. Rubio visited Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi from May 23 to 26 and participated in the Quad Foreig

Trump confident of trade deal with India, calls PM Modi a 'good friend'

US President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a good friend and expressed confidence that the United States and India would reach a trade agreement. "We will get to a deal because I like your prime minister a lot. He is a good friend of mine. We get along great, and we are gonna make a deal," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday. Responding to a question on the trade deal being negotiated between the two countries, Trump said India had taken advantage of US policies for years and charged "tremendous tariffs". "They charged tremendous amounts of tariffs to our companies, and we didn't charge them anything," Trump said. A US delegation was in India earlier this week and concluded four days of negotiations on an interim bilateral agreement on Thursday. India's commerce ministry said the trade talks were marked by a spirit of cooperation and pragmatism, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to concluding a mutually beneficial agreement that

If Iran kills US troops, it would be a good reason to restart war: Trump

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that those who voted against him would rather see the country "fail" than give him another victory

John Bolton reaches deal to plead guilty over classified information

The former Trump national security adviser plans to plead guilty to a count of illegal retention of classified information, which could result in a fine and possibly prison time of up to five years

A year of tariffs: Donald Trump's trade policy impoverishes US workers

New evidence from economists at Morgan Stanley sheds light on how US firms that are exposed to tariffs are changing their behaviour

Trump's trade chief says new tariffs can fit within existing deals

The EU and US agreed to a free-trade deal in July that would see the bloc erase levies on US industrial goods in exchange for a 15 per cent tariff ceiling on its exports

Trump picks former personal lawyer Todd Blanche for attorney general post

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role. Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide. "We are going to make him permanent attorney general," Trump said at the Rose Garden event. Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favourite for the permanent job after Pam Bondi's firing in April, accelerating investigations into Trump foes and announcing a nearly USD 1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the president's allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea earlier this week in an extraordinary about-face. Blanche was brought into the Just

Trump signs order to tighten customs enforcement, curb tariff cheats

Trump's order targets customs loopholes by cracking down on shell companies, inadequate customs bonds, and shipment-routing schemes used to conceal the true origin of imported goods

Trump plans $700 mn in new coal support using Cold War-era defence powers

Trump admin has framed energy issues in existential terms as it eyes domestic need to sustain power-hungry AI data centers and aims to marginalise foreign adversaries that hold fossil fuel reserves

US House approves resolution to halt military action against Iran

The House approved a war powers resolution that would halt the US military action against Iran, defying President Donald Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the three-month-long war that has reordered politics at home and abroad. House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent an outcome that would show the mounting opposition to the war, abruptly shutting down floor action two weeks ago when the war powers resolution was on the verge of approval. But displeasure has only grown as the conflict drags on and as Trump struggles to negotiate a quick resolution. The roll call on Wednesday was 215-208, and cheers erupted in the House chamber. "This reckless and costly war of choice needs to end today," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said earlier in the week. "All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us and we can end this reckless and costly war of choice -- a war that has cost the American taxpayer over USD 100 billion -- that's ..

Strait of Hormuz to reopen 'immediately' once Iran deal is signed: Trump

US President also indicated his preference to keep the issue of reopening the strait separate from the continuing conflict in Lebanon, which has seen intensive Israeli strikes in the southern parts

US-India trade deal 99% complete, final talks under way: US envoy Gor

US Ambassador Sergio Gor said negotiators are working through the final technical and legal issues as both sides push to conclude the long-pending trade agreement

Trump says Iran has agreed to forgo nuclear weapons, may meet Mojtaba

Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely. ...I think they have a lot of respect for him"

War games and warnings on Strait of Hormuz went unheeded by Trump

Over the past two decades, Iran repeatedly threatened to close down the waterway. President Trump underestimated Iran's ability to do so

US-India trade deal 99% done, last-mile talks this week: US Ambassador Gor

US Ambassador Sergio Gor says 99 per cent of the bilateral trade pact is in place, with negotiators working to resolve final technical and legal issues during talks in New Delhi

Trump's Netanyahu problem is latest key hurdle to Iran peace deal

The latest diplomatic rupture followed days of Israeli military escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting a phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Trump signs order seeking oversight of AI models for security risks

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on oversight of artificial intelligence Tuesday, less than two weeks after postponing a White House ceremony over his concerns that a similar policy could dull America's technological edge. The order establishes a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary, the order says. "Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies," the order says. It was not immediately clear to what extent the order differed from the one Trump declined to sign on May 21. The order says the government would have only 30 days to review an AI system, a shorter time frame than some in the industry were expecting. A longer time period might have been seen as too burdensome for

Trump admin proposes 25% tariffs on Brazil despite US trade surplus

The Trump administration proposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Brazil, charging that the world's 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are "unreasonable'' and that "burden or restrict US commerce.'' Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he received the decision "with indignation." He also blamed the decision by the US administration on his rival in October's elections, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, once nicknamed "the Trump of the Tropics" by his allies. The announcement late Monday came after an investigation by the Office of the US Trade Representative, charging Brazil with lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other things. The US has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that he and President Donald Trump had "constructive'' meetings with Lula and other Brazilian officials. B