Page 2 - Trump Administration

White House seeks record $1.5 trillion for military amid ongoing Iran war

The blueprint serves as a symbolic representation of the President's priorities and would increase government defence spending by more than 40% compared to previous year

Trump immunity ruling brings focus on Indian-origin judge Amit Mehta

Indian-American judge Amit Mehta has come into focus after he ruled that US President Donald Trump's speech ahead of the violence that rocked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was not subject to presidential immunity. Mehta, a federal judge of the US District Court of the District of Columbia, in 2022 rejected Trump's effort to dismiss three lawsuits accusing him of bearing responsibility for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Last August, Mehta had ruled that Google had broken anti-trust laws to maintain its dominance in online search. Born in Patan in Gujarat in 1971, Mehta was nominated as a judge to the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama. Mehta came to the US as a one-year-old and went on to pursue his B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Georgetown University in 1993 and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997. After law school, Mehta worked in a law firm in San Francisco before clerking for Sus

How Trump boxed himself in on Iran war as goals remain out of reach

President Trump faces the possibility that at the end of his own two-to-three week window for wrapping up the war in Iran, nothing much will have changed

'Civilisation cannot be destroyed by bombing': Iran slams Trump's threat

Iranian Mission to the UN said US President Trump's threat reflects 'ignorance, not strength'

Hegseth asks US Army Chief Gen Randy George to step down: Pentagon

The move comes as the US and Israel continue a war against Iran, a mission that has recently seen the US send thousands of troops into the region for a possible ground operation

Democratic leaders sue to challenge Trump's mail-in ballot limits

Top Democrats order issued Tuesday by the president "dramatically restricts the ability of Americans to vote by mail, impinging on traditional state authority

Iran conflict threatens to wreck Trump's dream of lower interest rates

Energy shock fuels inflation fears as markets push back rate-cut expectations

Iran foreign minister slams US 'America First' policy amid war tensions

Iranian Foreign Minister criticises US stance, says trust deficit blocks talks

Trump seeks to redefine 'regime change' in Iran war amid confusion

President Trump and his aides have made contradictory statements on whether the United States and Israel have transformed the Iranian government through violence

Trump cares deeply about US-India relationship, says US Ambassador

Back in the US for a few days. First stop, meeting with our great President in the White House. The President deeply cares about the relationship between the US and India, said Sergio Gor

US judge orders Trump admin to halt White House ballroom construction

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a USD 400 million ballroom it demolished the East Wing of the White House to make space for, barring work from proceeding without congressional approval. US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group's request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts US President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project. The White House quickly filed a notice to appeal while Trump fumed at the ruling. "We built many things at the White House over the years. They don't get congressional approval," he told reporters in the Oval Office a short time later. He also noted that the ruling will allow work on underground bunkers and other security measures around the White House grounds to continue - even though those will be paid for by taxpayers, not the private donors and Trump himself that the president has promised will cover the cost of the ballroom. Leon, who was nominat

US federal judge blocks Trump admin's order to end funding for NPR, PBS

Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities. The operational impact of US District Judge Randolph Moss' decision was not immediately clear - both because it will likely be appealed and because too much damage to the public-broadcasting system has already been done, both by the president and Congress. Moss ruled that President Trump's executive order to cease funding for NPR and PBS is unlawful and unenforceable. The judge said the First Amendment right to free speech "does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type." "It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to ...

Trump signs order to create national voter list; move to face challenges

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order creating a nationwide list of verified eligible voters, a move that is sure to draw legal challenges as the president continues to demand further restrictions on voting ahead of this year's midterm elections. The order calls on the Department of Homeland Security, working in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to make the list of eligible voters in each state. It also seeks to bar the US Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state's approved list, although the president likely lacks the power to mandate what the Postal Service does. Trump is also calling for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking, according to the executive order, which was first reported by the Daily Caller. "I think it's going to be really great," Trump said. Yet Tuesday's order is expected to prompt legal challenges, as the president continues to try to interfere with state-run ...

Securing Strait of Hormuz is 'not for us': Trump lashes out at allies

US President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort against Iran, telling them to "go get your own oil" and declaring that securing the Strait of Hormuz is "not for us." The president estimated that the American military will be done attacking in two to three weeks and said the US "will not have anything to do with" what happens in the strait that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it. There's "no reason for us to do this," Trump said after signing an executive order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. "That's not for us. That'll be for France. That'll be for whoever's using the strait." In other developments, the closure of the strait sent average US gas prices past USD 4 a gallon, and US strikes hit the central city of Isfahan, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Tehran attacked

US going to achieve objective in weeks, Iran at its weakest point: Rubio

US Secretary of State said Prez Trump has several options on the table to prevent Iran's hegemony over the strait

Trump warns of strikes on Iran desalination plants, here's what it means

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to target Iran's energy infrastructure, including the country's desalination plants. Such a move, and Iran's possible targeting of the plants of its Gulf Arab neighbours, could have devastating impacts across the water-starved Middle East. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said if a deal to end the war isn't reached "shortly" and the Strait of Hormuz, where much oil passes via tankers, is not immediately reopened, "we will conclude our lovely stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet touched.'" The biggest danger, analysts warn, may not be what Trump could do to Iran, but how Tehran could retaliate. Iran relies on desalination for a small share of its water supply while Gulf Arab states depend on it for the vast majority. Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf

US going to 'retake' control of Hormuz Strait, says Scott Bessent

His remarks come against a backdrop of heightened global concern over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for nearly one-fifth of world oil flows

Trump thanks Belarus Prez for releasing over '500 political prisoners'

Trump said his envoy, John Coale, secured the release of an additional 250 detainees following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko

US unveils 'Greater North America' strategy to redefine regional security

Plan outlines expanded northern security perimeter, urges allies to share defence responsibilities

Proposed H-1B wage overhaul may raise pay by $14,000; applications fall

Proposed changes to H-1B wage norms could raise foreign worker pay by up to $14,000, even as applications fall sharply amid higher costs and tighter immigration rules