Page 35 - Trump Administration

Musk risks losing govt contracts worth billions as Trump feud reignites

Elon Musk may find out what happens when DOGE bites man. The billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner who catapulted his zealous embrace of President Donald Trump into a powerful position slashing government spending now risks sweeping cuts to his own bottom line after resuming the feud that led to their very public bitter split last month. Musk's renewed heckling of Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill, which passed the Senate on Tuesday, threatens to put billions of dollars of his government contracts in jeopardy if Trump retaliates. The rupture of their tenuous peace has resulted in a wobbling of the stock price of a market-moving company and led the president to muse about deporting Musk to his native South Africa. In a Frankenstein-style twist, as Musk volleyed fresh critiques about the cost of Trump's signature legislation, Trump mused Tuesday about turning Musk's Department of Government Efficiency back on its creator. DOGE is the monster that might have to go back an

Harvard 'violated' civil-rights law on Jewish students' safety: Trump admin

Federal attorneys accuse Harvard University of indifference to antisemitism, warning of funding cuts unless immediate changes are made to protect Jewish and Israeli students

Musk threatens to form new party over Trump's 'insane' $5 trn spending bill

Elon Musk criticises Trump's debt ceiling bill as 'fiscally reckless', warns Congress members of primary losses

Trump orders review of US-Cuba policy, seeks tougher sanctions in 30 days

President Donald Trump has instructed his top Cabinet officials to review the US policy toward Cuba, ordering them to examine current sanctions and come up with ways to toughen them within 30 days. In a memo on Monday, Trump said the reviews should focus on Cuba's treatment of dissidents, its policies directed at dissidents and restricting financial transactions that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people". In one potential significant change, the order said the US should look for ways to shut down all tourism to the island and to restrict educational tours to groups that are organised and run only by American citizens. The move is not a surprise given that Trump has previously said he plans to rescind the easing of sanctions and other penalties in Cuba that were instituted during the terms of former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In the days before leaving office, Biden mov

Trump's tax, spending cuts bill clears key Senate vote before July 4

Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline. The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous session with Vice President JD Vance on hand if needed to break the tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed to debate, joining all Democrats. It's still a long weekend of work to come.

Senate holds rare weekend vote to meet Trump's tax, spending cuts deadline

The Senate is taking a key procedural vote during a rare Saturday evening session as Republicans race to pass US President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July 4 deadline. But the tally was tight and voting came to a standstill as Vice-President J D Vance arrived at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Several Republican senators were registering their opposition to proceeding to open debate on the bill. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some USD 3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it strongly supports passage of the bill that implements critical aspec

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