Page 2 - Trump Administration

Trump's new bridge threat came after Lutnick met rival crossing owner

On Monday evening the president said on Truth Social he'd prevent the Gordie Howe International Bridge from opening until Canada "fully compensated" the US, and said the US should own 50% of asset

US imposes entry ban on Palau Senate chief, Marshall Islands ex-mayor

According to State Department, Palau's Senate chief was designated 'for his involvement in significant corruption on behalf of China-based actors'

Trump admin allows US oilfield contractors to work in Venezuelan fields

The license issued by the Treasury Department allows US firms to explore, develop and produce oil and natural gas in Venezuela under certain limited conditions

Trump 'kicked' Epstein out because he was a 'creep', says WH Press Secy

While addressing her press briefing, Leavitt asserted that the release of Epstein files now shows the transparency Trump has

Trump admin plans to hold back grant money for some Democratic-led states

President Donald Trump's administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, but has not presented evidence beyond remarks from Trump and others in his administration. The approach has become a familiar one for the administration, and this time focuses on frequent targets: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Courts have so far temporarily blocked other similar efforts by this administration to restrict funds. The latest effort targets some public health and transportation funds An Office of Management and Budget official confirmed to The Associated Press that the office is telling the US Department of Transportation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel grants totalling more t

Trump set to repeal landmark climate finding in huge regulatory rollback

The repeal would remove the regulatory requirements to measure, report, certify, and comply with federal GHG emission standards for cars, but would not apply to stationary sources such as power plants

Democrats, White House trade offers as DHS shutdown deadline looms

Democrats have begun tentative talks with the White House on their demands for "dramatic" new restrictions on President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, trading offers just days before funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that Democrats had sent the White House their list of demands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement agencies. The White House said it had responded with a counterproposal. No details were immediately available. Time is running short, with another partial government shutdown threatening to begin Saturday. Among the Democrats' demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards and a stop to racial profiling. They say such changes are necessary after two protesters were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. "Republicans, the clock is ticking," Schumer said on the ...

Trump congratulates Japan PM Takaichi for 'landslide victory' in elections

Commending Japanese voters, Trump said the wonderful people of Japan had voted with enthusiasm and would always have his strong support

Trump praises Nexstar-Tegna broadcast television deal he once opposed

President Donald Trump endorsed Nexstar Media Group's USD 6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna on Saturday, an apparent reversal from earlier criticism of the deal. "We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks," Trump wrote on social media. "Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar - Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition. ... GET THAT DEAL DONE." The acquisition, which Nexstar announced in August and requires regulatory approval, would bring together two companies with significant holdings in local broadcast media. Nexstar oversees more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets nationwide and also runs networks like The CW and NewsNation. Meanwhile, Tegna owns 64 news stations across 51 markets. Trump criticised the purchase in November, saying: "If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to 'enlarge,' I would not be happy." But the companies operate independently of the large ...

Trump draws rare Republican backlash over racist video targeting Obamas

President Donald Trump received rare blowback from Republican lawmakers over a video posted to social media that included a racist image of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, depicted as primates. Since Trump's return to the White House, Republican lawmakers have treaded carefully when disagreeing with the president, often communicating their concerns in private for fear of suffering his wrath. But the swift calls to remove the post, which also echoed false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, represented a rare moment of bipartisan backlash to Trump's actions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Multiple GOP members of the Senate and House joined their Democratic colleagues in voicing disgust and criticism at the post and urged the president to remove it. Trump declined to apologise, saying he did not see the racist portion of the video when he passed it on to staff. How Republican lawmakers reacted South Carolina's Tim Scott, the only Black Republica

Trump to hold first Board of Peace meeting in Washington DC this month

President Donald Trump plans to convene the first meeting of his Board of Peace this month in Washington to raise money for the reconstruction of Gaza. The meeting, proposed for February 19, would include both world leaders who accepted Trump's invitation in January to join the board as well as members of an executive committee for Gaza that will oversee the specifics of the territory's governance, security and redevelopment, two Trump administration officials said Saturday. It was not immediately clear how many leaders would accept the Republican president's invitation, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced and details of its agenda were still being determined. One official said the administration expected "robust" participation. A copy of the invitation that was sent late Friday to invited participants and obtained by The Associated Press, says the meeting will be held at the US Institute of Peace,

Appeals court affirms Trump policy of jailing immigrants without bond

President Donald Trump's administration can continue to detain immigrants without bond, marking a major legal victory for the federal immigration agenda and countering a slew of recent lower court decisions across the country that argued the practice is illegal. A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday evening that the Department of Homeland Security's decision to deny bond hearings to immigrants arrested across the country is consistent with the constitution and federal immigration law. Specifically, circuit judge Edith H Jones wrote in the 2-1 majority opinion that the government correctly interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act by asserting that "unadmitted aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided inside the United States." Under past administrations, most non-citizens with no criminal record who were arrested away from the border had an opportunity to request

At empire's end: Countries have to guarantee their security on their own

As Washington turns inward, the world must confront what a narrowing US role means for security, alliances and the fragile order it once underwrote

Trump pushes efforts to secure critical minerals supply beyond China

The Trump administration is expected to unveil its grandest plan yet to rebuild supply chains of critical minerals needed for everything from jet engines to smartphones, likely through purchase agreements with partners on top of creating a $12 billion U.S. strategic reserve to help counter China's dominance. Vice President JD Vance is set to deliver a keynote address Wednesday at a meeting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting with officials from several dozen European, Asian and African nations. The US is expected to sign deals on supply chain logistics, though details have not yet been revealed. Rubio met Tuesday with foreign ministers from South Korea and India to discuss critical minerals mining and processing. The meeting and expected agreements will come just two days after President Donald Trump announced "Project Vault," or a stockpile of critical minerals to be funded with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export and Import Bank and nearly $1.67 billion in private ..

Sergio Gor key in India-US ties, has access to Trump: Ex-intel officer

Ex-US Marine intel officer Newsham said that Gor had a lot of vested power, and chose to come to India because he likes the country

Trump pushes plan for arch near Lincoln Memorial, citing disputed history

President Donald Trump says history is on his side. He wants to build a towering arch near the Lincoln Memorial and argues that the nation's capital first clamored for such a monument two centuries ago - even going so far as to erect four eagle statues as part of the project before being derailed by the attack on Fort Sumter. "It was interrupted by a thing called the Civil War, and so it never got built," Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida last weekend. "Then, they almost built something in 1902, but it never happened." Trump's history is off - the eagles he references are actually part of a bridge connecting Virginia and Washington that was built decades after the Civil War. The closest Washington came to an arch was a wood and plaster construction built in 1919 to mark the end of World War I - and even that was always meant to be temporary. "For 200 years they've wanted to build an arc," Trump said, meaning an arch. "They have 57 cities throughout the world tha

Trump admin sued over $16 bn funding freeze for Hudson River tunnels

New York and New Jersey sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for freezing USD 16 billion in federal funding for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between the two states, seeking a quick ruling because construction that has been underway could be forced to shut down as early as Friday. The administration put a hold on the funding in September, citing the government shutdown. The White House budget director, Russ Vought, said on the social platform X at the time that officials believed the spending was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion principles, and the US Department of Transportation said it was reviewing any "unconstitutional practices." The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan by New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, asks a judge to declare the funding suspension unlawful and order payments to resume immediately so construction can continue without interruption. "Allowing this

Trump signs $1.2 trillion bill, ending partial US government shutdown

President Donald Trump signed a roughly USD 1.2 trillion government funding bill on Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote. "This bill is a great victory for the American people," Trump said. The vote on Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programmes through September 30. Trump has said he will sign the bill when it reaches his desk, ending the partial government shutdown that began on Saturday. Passage of the legislation marked the end point for one funding fight, but the start of another. That is because the package only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, through February 13, at the behest of Democrats who are demanding more restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shoot

Trump urges House to vote quickly to end partial government shutdown

President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations. Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administration's deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. That's forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in line behind Trump's deal with Senate Democrats. Voting could begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four of the partial shutdown. The Pentagon, Homeland Security and other agencies saw their funding lapse Saturday. And while many operations at those departments are deemed essential, and still functioning, some workers may go without pa

US special envoy for Iraq no longer in the post amid tensions with Baghdad

Savaya, a Christian Iraqi-American entrepreneur, was among a handful of Arab Americans named to senior posts by Trump, however, it was not immediately clear what prompted Savaya's departure