Trump Administration

Trump weighs $100,000 fee for foreign students to work after graduation

If implemented, the fee would put a popular post-graduate visa extension out of reach for many students

US Senate confirms Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence

The Senate has confirmed Jay Clayton to become head of the nation's intelligence agencies, putting a permanent director in place weeks after President Donald Trump sought to delay his nomination. Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, was confirmed 51-47 along party lines. Republicans had initially hoped to confirm Clayton in June, but Trump delayed his hearing in order to allow his temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, to take over for several weeks after former director Tulsi Gabbard resigned. Senators from both parties have expressed concerns about Pulte, a former housing regulator who had no intelligence experience. Pulte was in charge when Trump delivered a speech from the White House earlier this month doubling down on his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents that he said were relevant to his arguments. Pulte has also said he has presided over a

US Senate expected to confirm Jay Clayton as next intelligence director

The Senate is expected to confirm Jay Clayton on Tuesday to become head of the nation's intelligence agencies, ensuring that a permanent director is in place as the midterm elections approach. Clayton is expected to be confirmed along party lines after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly refused to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Still, Democrats have said they have more confidence in Clayton than they do in Trump's temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience and investigated the president's perceived enemies in his previous post as a federal housing regulator. Senators from both parties have expressed concerns about Pulte, who took over on an interim basis last month after Tulsi Gabbard resigned. Pulte was in charge when Trump delivered a speech from the White House earlier this month doubling down on his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents that h

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions

The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China's growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts. The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend USD 175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification on Monday. The administration has expressed deep concern about China's activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China's Belt and Road initiative in the region, and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector. A State Department official said China's economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to US national ...

Pentagon changes how it reports soldier casualties in Iran conflict

The changes separated the casualty numbers into two separate web pages, potentially making it more difficult to tally the war's full toll

Trump admin monitors OpenAI incident as lawmakers propose AI 'kill switch'

US Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat, and Republican Representative Nathaniel Moran, proposed giving ‌US officials the power to order AI firms to shut down models that ​put human life at risk

Trump tariff policy 'wildly successful', more coming, says USTR Greer

The US tariff policy has been "wildly successful," and the Trump administration was planning such measures to replace those overturned by the Supreme Court, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. Greer, in an interview with The New York Times, said the Trump administration had changed the US trade policy of 70 years in the past year and the new measures have resulted in reducing the trade deficit and reshoring of businesses. "They are. Yeah. I think we've been wildly successful," Greer said to a question on whether the tariff regime was delivering results. Greer said the administration acted quickly because it viewed America's widening trade deficit as an economic emergency that required decisive action. "At the end of the day, we are winning in changing the trade policy. We're winning in getting the trade deficit down. We're winning in reshoring. We're winning in wages. We're winning on all these things. So I'm happy with where we are and where we're going," he said. Accord

Trump imposes 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, cites unfair trade

US President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable. The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president's actions and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy. The 50 per cent tariffs would exclude energy products, potash

Iran 'hit very badly', doesn't control Strait of Hormuz, says Trump

US President Donald Trump claimed Tehran had been 'very badly' damaged and it no longer control the strategic Strait of Hormuz

US lawmaker calls for review of arms sales to India at Capitol briefing

A US lawmaker and national security experts have urged Congress to review arms sales to India over alleged transnational repression during a briefing at the Capitol Hill. Congressman Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, also called on Congress to pass the bipartisan and bicameral Transnational Repression Policy Act. McGovern urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review India's eligibility for US arms sales under the Arms Export Control Act. The congressional briefing titled "India's Transnational Repression: Implications for US National Security," held on July 14, was organised by Equitas Forum USA in partnership with Hindus for Human Rights, the Sikh Coalition, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF), the New York State Council of Churches and the Dalit Solidarity Forum, with support from the office of Congresswoman Summer Lee. Daniel Stanton, a former senior officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned that ...

US Senate pushes Lindsey Graham's Russia sanctions bill after his death

Sen. Lindsey Graham's pursuit of a Russia sanctions bill has taken on renewed urgency after his death as colleagues look to pay tribute and build on the progress he made in gaining the White House's support for the measure. Supporters of Ukraine have been working for more than a year to pass a bill that would impose steep tariffs on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports. They unveiled a revised measure Tuesday with the goal of depriving Russia of money it uses to fund its war against Ukraine. Some lawmakers worried the original bill was too broad and could harm the economies of some of the US' strongest allies that have also helped Ukraine. The White House wanted to ensure the president had adequate flexibility to waive sanctions when it is the national interest to do so. The revised bill attempts to address both concerns. The final bill more narrowly applies the tariffs to the world's top five purchasers of Russia oil or natural gas, according

Trump admin orders ICE to suspend most vehicle stops after deadly shootings

Trump administration officials have told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings in little over a week, according to a person familiar with the matter. The order came a day after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian man in Maine, renewing criticism of the agency's tactics during enforcement operations. The suspension is not absolute and there's room for exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies, according to a person who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations. The Department of Homeland Security said an ICE officer, "fearing for public safety," shot and killed the man Monday in the city of Biddeford while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and had a final order of removal from the country. Hundreds of people protested in Maine on Tuesday over the killing of a Colombian man by an ...

US veteran Republican Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after sudden illness

The cause of death was 'a brief and sudden illness,' Graham's office said in a post on X

OpenAI gets US govt's approval for broad rollout of advanced GPT-5.6 model

OpenAI expects to release GPT 5.6 more widely this week following additional testing and meetings with US government officials, the report ‌said

'Terrible partner': Trump orders halt to US trade with Spain at Nato summit

Trump, speaking alongside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte ‌at the start of the summit ​in Ankara, said he ​wanted no business with Spain

Lawsuit accuses Trump admin of giving secret data to Iran on asylum seekers

The lawsuit claims that an Iranian official requested a list of its citizens subject to deportation, and the administration of President Donald Trump provided about 150 names

Have support from India: Netanyahu counters Vance's 'only ally' claim

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday cited support from India, countering American Vice President J D Vance's remarks that the US was its sole powerful ally "anywhere left in the entire world." Netanyahu told the 'Fox News Sunday Briefing' that Israel has the support of many other countries, including "a small country called India." "We have some other friends, like a small country called India, you know, it has 1.4 billion people and, boy, do we have tremendous support there," Netanyahu said. Last month, Vance told a briefing at the White House that Israel should respect the US-Iran peace talks. Asked about reports that Israeli leaders were unhappy with the US-Iran agreement and were criticising President Trump, Vance said, "If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world." Netanyahu said he was getting a lot of support from India on Facebook. "You know, I have this ..

Trump refuses to cancel America 250 address despite storms, Mall evacuation

President Donald Trump's plans to commemorate America's 250th anniversary of independence with a rally on the National Mall were complicated on Saturday by severe storms that gathered near Washington, forcing event organisers to order an evacuation. "Freedom 250 will share updates on programming and doors reopening," Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement that encouraged participants to seek shelter at museums and federal buildings near the National Mall. Washington's metro system also said several of its underground stations were available for shelter. Severe weather prompted the cancellation of celebrations in Hartford, Connecticut, along with Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Spectators at Boston's fireworks and concert were told to briefly seek shelter before events later resumed. Plans for fireworks were still moving forward in other cities such as New York, where tall ships passed the Statue of Liberty earlier in the day, recalling the fanfare

US President insists 'there's nothing wrong' with his big crypto gains

Trump reported earlier this week earning at least $1.4 billion in 2025 from crypto and memecoin-related firms

Trump's financial disclosure shows 21,000 securities trades in 2025

The total dollar value of the trades was somewhere between $600 million and $1.86 billion, according to his financial disclosure for 2025, which lists values in broad ranges