Page 18 - Trump Administration

Trump slams Israeli prosecutors over Netanyahu's corruption trial

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies

Elon Musk renews criticism of Trump's big bill as it faces key Senate vote

Elon Musk on Saturday doubled down on his distaste for US President Donald Trump's sprawling tax and spending cuts bill, arguing the legislation that Republican senators are scrambling to pass would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries. The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country, Musk wrote on X on Saturday as the Senate was scheduled to call a vote to open debate on the nearly 1,000-page bill. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, whose birthday is also Saturday, later posted that the bill would be political suicide for the Republican Party". The criticisms reopen a recent fiery conflict between the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency and the administration he recently left. They also represent yet another headache for Republican Senate leaders who have spent the weekend working overtime to get the

Pentagon shares test footage of bunker busters to prove damage in Iran

The briefing by officials comes days after a US intel report claimed that the nuclear sites have not been completely obliterated, but have only pushed back Iran's nuclear programme by a few months

US signs agreements with Guatemala, Honduras to take asylum seekers

Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements with the United States to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the United States, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday at the conclusion of her Central America trip. The agreements expand the Trump administration's efforts to provide the US government flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations. Noem described it as a way to offer asylum-seekers options other than coming to the United States. She said the agreements had been in the works for months. with the US government applying pressure on Honduras and Guatemala to get them done. "Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is

Mexico president slams sanctions on Mexican banks by Trump administration

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded sharply Thursday to US government sanctions to block transfers from three Mexican financial institutions, saying Washington hasn't shown evidence of its allegations of money laundering. The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions Wednesday on the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco and the brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, alleging that they had facilitated millions of dollars in money transfers for Mexican drug cartels. Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing Thursday that the administration of US President Donald Trump had showed no evidence proving that the institutions carried out any money laundering, despite repeated requests for such evidence. The Treasury Department hasn't provided a single piece of evidence to show that any money laundering was taking place," she said. We aren't going to cover for anyone, there isn't impunity here. They have to be able to demonstrate that there was actually money laundering, not with .

Dollar weakens as Donald Trump considers naming next Fed chair early

Traders are viewing the news as a signal that early rate cuts are becoming more likely, given Trump has repeatedly called on Powell to lower borrowing costs

Trump officials to give 1st classified briefing to Congress on Iran strikes

Senators are set to meet with top national security officials Thursday as many question President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again. Democrats, and some Republicans, have said that the White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress and they want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorised the attacks. Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who said Tuesday that it was outrageous that the Senate and House briefings were postponed. A similar briefing for House member

Trump's rejection of intel assessments shows deep distrust of spy agencies

President Donald Trump's fights with the intelligence community were a running theme of his first term, as he raged against an investigation into his campaign's alleged links to Russia. Now, a sequel is playing out as Trump battles to shape the public's understanding of his foreign policy gamble in Iran. An early US intelligence assessment said Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months after American strikes on three sites last weekend. Trump has rejected the report and pronounced the program completely and fully obliterated. The dispute is unlikely to fade anytime soon. Top administration officials are pressing Trump's case, with a news conference set for Thursday at the Pentagon. Briefings also are scheduled for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, though the White House plans to limit the sharing of classified information after the initial intelligence assessment leaked this week. Intelligence people strive to live in a world as it is, describe the world as it is, where

Senate struggle over Medicaid cuts threatens progress on Trump's big bill

One key unsettled issue stalling progress on President Donald Trump's big bill in Congress is particularly daunting: How to cut billions from health care without harming Americans or the hospitals and others that provide care? Republicans are struggling to devise a solution to the health care problem their package has created. Already, estimates say 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage under the House-passed version of the bill. GOP senators have proposed steeper reductions, which some say go too far. The Senate cuts in Medicaid are far deeper than the House cuts, and I think that's problematic, said GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Senators have been meeting behind closed doors and with Trump administration officials as they rush to finish up the big bill ahead of the president's Fourth of July deadline. Much of the package, with its tax breaks and bolstered border security spending, is essentially drafted. But the size and scope of healthcare cuts are among t

Judge blocks Trump admin from withholding funds for EV charger infra

US District Judge Tana Lin ruled that states are likely to succeed in their lawsuit claiming the federal government illegally withheld billions meant for EV charging station infrastructure

Donald Trump to meet Nato allies amid doubts over US defence commitment

President Donald Trump on Wednesday will meet with members of a NATO alliance that he has worked to bend to his will over the years and whose members are rattled by his latest comments casting doubt on the US commitment to its mutual defence guarantees. Trump's comments en route to the Netherlands that his fidelity to Article 5 depends on your definition" are likely to draw a spotlight at the NATO summit, as will the new and fragile Iran-Israel ceasefire that Trump helped broker after the US unloaded airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. At the same time, the alliance is poised to enact one of Trump's chief priorities for NATO: a pledge by its member countries to increase, sometimes significantly, how much they spend on their defence. NATO was broke, and I said, You're going to have to pay,' Trump said Tuesday. And we did a whole thing, and now they're paying a lot. Then I said, You're going to have to lift it to 4 or 5 per cent, and 5 per cent is better. Spending 5 per cent of

Lawsuit challenges billions of dollars in Trump admin's funding cuts

Attorneys general from more than 20 states and Washington, DC, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging billions of dollars in funding cuts made by the Trump administration that would fund everything from crime prevention to food security to scientific research. The lawsuit filed in Boston is asking a judge to limit the Trump administration from relying on an obscure clause in the federal regulation to cut grants that don't align with its priorities. Since January, the lawsuit argues that the administration has used that clause to cancel entire programmes and thousands of grants that had been previously awarded to states and grantees. Defendants' decision to invoke the Clause to terminate grants based on changed agency priorities is unlawful several times over, the plaintiffs argued. The rulemaking history of the Clause makes plain that the (Office of Management and Budget) intended for the Clause to permit terminations in only limited circumstances and provides no support for a

Court orders Trump admin to return man wrongly deported to El Salvador

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the return of Jordin Alexander Melgar-Salmeron, deported to El Salvador on May 7 due to administrative errors, saying he must be brought back as soon as pos

Trump administration postpones classified briefings for lawmakers on Iran

The Trump administration on Tuesday postponed classified briefings for Senate and House members as lawmakers look for more answers about President Donald Trump's directed strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend and his announcement on Monday that the two countries had reached a ceasefire agreement. The Senate briefing has been rescheduled for Thursday so that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio can attend, according to multiple people with knowledge of the scheduling change who would only discuss it on the condition of anonymity. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, said on social media that the House briefing will now be held on Friday, "details to follow." Trump proclaimed on social media that Israel and Iran had agreed that there will be an "Official END" of their conflict. That tentative truce briefly faltered Tuesday when Israel accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace, but Trump later declared it was "in effect!" The separ

US House shelves impeachment bid against Trump over Iran strikes

The US House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to set aside an effort to impeach President Donald Trump on a sole charge of abuse of power after he launched military strikes on Iran without first seeking authorisation from Congress The sudden action forced by a lone Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, brought little debate and split his party. Most Democrats joined the Republican majority to table the measure, for now. But dozens of Democrats backed Green's effort. The tally was 344-79. I take no delight in what I'm doing, Green said ahead of the vote. I do this because no one person should have the power to take over 300 million people to walk without consulting with the Congress of the United States of America, he said. I do this because I understand that the Constitution is going to be meaningful or it's going to be meaningless. The effort, while not the first rumblings of actions to impeach Trump since he started his second term at the White House in January, shows the unease many ...

Trump admin to provide $30 mn to Israeli group distributing food in Gaza

The Trump administration is providing USD30 million to an Israeli-backed group distributing food in Gaza, a US official said Tuesday. The request is the first known US government funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid distribution efforts amid the Israel-Hamas war. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue involving a controversial aid programme, confirmed that the US authorised the funding. The Associated Press reported Saturday that the American-led group had asked the Trump administration for the initial funding so it can continue its aid operation, which has been criticised by the UN, humanitarian groups and others.

Republican tax bill to ease rules on gun silencers, some rifles, shotguns

The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill. The guns provision was first requested in the House by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican gun store owner who had initially opposed the larger tax package. The House bill would remove silencers called suppressors by the gun industry from a 1930s law that regulates firearms that are considered the most dangerous, eliminating a $200 tax while removing a layer of background checks. The Senate kept the provision on silencers in its version of the bill and expanded upon it, adding short-barreled, or sawed-off, rifles and shotguns. Republicans who have long supported the changes, along with the gun industry, say the tax infringes on Second Amendment rights. They say .

Republicans hold hearing on Biden's mental fitness as Democrats boycott

Nearly six months after Joe Biden left the White House, Senate Republicans are still scrutinising his presidency, kicking off the first in what's expected to be a series of congressional hearings this year on his mental fitness in office. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee brought in three witnesses Wednesday none of whom served in Biden's administration to scrutinise his time in office, arguing that Biden, his staff and the media must be held accountable. Democrats boycotted the hearing and criticized Republicans for arm chair diagnosing Biden when the committee could be looking into serious matters. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who co-chaired the hearing, said that they will aim to shine a light on exactly what went on in the White House during Biden's presidency. We simply cannot ignore what transpired because President Biden is no longer in office, Cornyn said. A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment on the hearing. It was the first in what could be several ...

Alleged murderer of lawmaker could face death penalty, rarity for Minnesota

The man charged with killing a prominent Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another could face something that is a rarity for Minnesota but could become more common under the Trump administration: the death penalty. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, and the state's last execution was a botched hanging in 1906. But federal prosecutors announced charges against Vance Boelter on Monday that can carry the death penalty. It's not unheard of for state and federal prosecutors to both pursue criminal cases for the same offense, especially in high-profile matters. In this case federal authorities essentially grabbed the lead from the state prosecutor, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. Boelter had been scheduled to make his first court appearance on state charges Monday, but instead marshals took him from the county jail to the US courthouse in St Paul, where he appeared on the more serious federal charges. Boelter is accused of fatally shooting former Democratic House Speak

Trump turning US into electric vehicle laggard with rollback of policies

Trump ordered the elimination of subsidies and other measures boosting electric vehicles during his first day back in the White House in January