Page 19 - Trump Administration

Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans. The questions which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security. The US has shifted significant numbers of refuelling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect U.S. personnel and airbases. We are postured ...

Trump administration gives 36 countries new deadline to avoid travel ban

A diplomatic cable instructed embassies to assess if host nations will improve travel documentation, vetting process, and cooperate on resolving the status of their citizens living illegally in the US

Trump policies driving firms to explore markets beyond US: McKinsey chief

To counteract the impact of tariffs, McKinsey is increasingly working with clients to cut costs, adopt more 'frugality' when it comes to capital expenditures

Trump admin blocked from cutting health funding for four municipalities

A federal court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from clawing back millions in public health funding from four Democrat-led municipalities in GOP-governed states. It's the second such federal ruling to reinstate public health funding for several states. US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday sought by district attorneys in Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, and three cities: Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tennessee, and Kansas City, Missouri. The decision means the federal government must reinstate funding to the four municipalities until the case is fully litigated. Their lawsuit, filed in late April, alleged $11 billion in cuts to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention programs had already been approved by Congress and are being unconstitutionally withheld. They also argued that the administration's actions violate Department of Health and Human Services regulations. The cities and counties argued t

Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities

US President Donald Trump on Sunday directed federal immigration officials to prioritise deportations from Democratic-run cities after large protests erupted in Los Angeles and other major cities against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Trump in a social media posting called on ICE officials "to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History". He added that to reach the goal, officials "must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside". Trump's declaration comes after weeks of increased enforcement, and after Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five ...

As Trump heads to G7 summit, world leaders show they're not intimidated

President Donald Trump has long bet that he can scare allies into submission a gamble that is increasingly being tested ahead of the Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in Canada. He's threatened stiff tariffs in the belief that other nations would crumple. He's mused about taking over Canada and Greenland. He's suggested he will not honour NATO's obligations to defend partners under attack. And he's used Oval Office meetings to try to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa. But many world leaders see fewer reasons to be cowed by Trump, even as they recognise the risks if he followed through on his threats. They believe he will ultimately back down since many of his plans could inflict harm on the US or that he can simply be charmed and flattered into cooperating. Many leaders still seem intimidated by Trump, but increasingly they are catching on to his pattern of bullying, said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. In pl

US governors divided along party lines about troops deployed to protests

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling President Donald Trump's military intervention at protests over federal immigration policy in Los Angeles an assault on democracy and has sued to try to stop it. Meanwhile, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is putting the National Guard on standby in areas in his state where demonstrations are planned. The divergent approaches illustrate the ways the two parties are trying to navigate national politics and the role of executive power in enforcing immigration policies. In his live TV address this week, Newsom said that Trump's move escalated the situation and for political gain. All 22 other Democratic governors signed a statement sent by the Democratic Governors Association on Sunday backing Newsom, calling the Guard deployment and threats to send in Marines an alarming abuse of power that "undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement.

With Trump as ally, El Salvador's President ramps up crackdown on dissent

Days before his arrest outside his daughter's house in the outskirts of San Salvador, constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya called Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele a dictator and a despot on live TV. This week, lawyer Jaime Quintanilla stood outside a detention facility in El Salvador's capital with a box of food and clothes for his client, unsure if Anaya would ever be released. The Saturday arrest of Anaya, a fierce critic of Bukele, marks the latest move in what watchdogs describe as a wave of crackdown on dissent by the Central American leader. They say Bukele is emboldened by his alliance with US President Donald Trump, who has not only praised him but avoided criticising actions human rights defenders, international authorities and legal experts deem authoritarian. Authorities in El Salvador have targeted outspoken lawyers like Anaya, journalists investigating Bukele's alleged deals with gangs and human rights defenders calling for the end of a three-year state of emergency, .

Trump open to extending July 9 trade talks deadline, to send out letters

The US President also announced that they would soon start sending out letters, possibly in the coming weeks, mentioning the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries

Pentagon mulls scrapping Aukus submarine deal with Australia, Britain

The review will study whether the deal, signed by President Joe Biden's team in 2021, is "aligned with the President's America First agenda," the Pentagon said

Trump admin hit with second lawsuit over restrictions on asylum access

Immigration advocates filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday over the Trump administration's use of a proclamation that effectively put an end to being able to seek asylum at ports of entry to the United States. The civil lawsuit was filed in a Southern California federal court by the Centre for Gender & Refugee Studies, the American Immigration Council, Democracy Forward, and the Centre for Constitutional Rights. The lawsuit is asking the court to find the proclamation unlawful, set aside the policy ending asylum at ports of entry and restore access to the asylum process at ports of entry, including for those who had appointments that were cancelled when President Donald Trump took office. Unlike a similar lawsuit filed in February in a Washington, D.C., federal court representing people who had already reached US soil and sought asylum after crossing between ports of entry, Wednesday's lawsuit focuses on people who are not on US soil and are seeking asylum at ports of ...

Over 20 detained on first night of LA curfew amid protest crackdown

Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, officials said Wednesday. But there were fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than on previous nights, and by daybreak, the downtown streets were bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups. Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators after five days of protests, which have mostly been concentrated downtown. Demonstrations have also spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin in Texas, and Chicago and New York, where thousands rallied and more arrests were made. The LA curfew, which is expected to last several days, covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometre) section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Frid

Trump admin moves to rehire workers fired by DOGE under Musk amid fallout

Musk, who exited DOGE on May 28, was responsible for this newly established department. It was meant to bring down federal spending by slashing jobs at the federal agencies

Protests over immigration raids pop up across US with more planned

Protests that sprang up in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement raids and prompted President Donald Trump to mobilise National Guard troops and Marines have begun to spread across the country, with more planned into the weekend. From Seattle and Austin to Chicago and Washington, D.C., marchers have chanted slogans, carried signs against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and snarled traffic through downtown avenues and outside federal offices. While many have been peaceful, some have resulted in clashes with law enforcement as officers made arrests and used chemical irritants to disperse crowds. Activists are planning more and even larger demonstrations in the coming days, with "No Kings" events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump's planned military parade through Washington. The Trump administration said it would continue its programme of raids and deportations despite the protests. "ICE will continue to enforce the law," Homeland Security .

Trump admin can keep collecting 'sweeping tariffs' for now, says US court

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends a similar order after a federal court struck down the 'sweeping tariffs' on May 28, stating that Trump overstepped his authority

Associated Press challenges ruling limiting access to White House

In a filing Tuesday, the Associated Press asked that all the judges on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit review a 2-1 decision by a smaller panel of the court

Harvard may regain federal grants if policies change: US education secy

McMahon said the administration was "making progress in some of the discussions" with Harvard, despite ongoing legal fights

Trump's tax bill may deter foreign firms, hurt overseas investment inflow

President Donald Trump likes to say he is bringing in trillions of dollars in investments from foreign countries, but a provision in his tax cuts bill could cause international companies to avoid expanding into the United States. The House-passed version of the legislation would allow the federal government to impose taxes on foreign-parented companies and investors from countries judged as charging "unfair foreign taxes" on US companies. Known as Section 899, the measure could cause companies to avoid investing in the the US out of concern they could face steep taxes. The fate of the measure rests with the Senate setting off a debate about its prospects and impact. A new analysis by the Global Business Alliance, a trade group representing international companies such as Toyota and Nestl, estimates that the provision would cost the US 360,000 jobs and USD 55 billion annually over 10 years in lost gross domestic product. The analysis estimates that the tax could cut a third off the

US resumes Harvard student visa processing after judge blocks Trump ban

The Harvard University lawsuit accused the Trump administration of punishing the school for resisting control over its curriculum, governance, and ideology

US Health Secy removes members of committee advising CDC on vaccine usage

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has vowed to replace all 17 members of the committee with his picks, according to a press statement shared by the Department of Health and Human Services