Page 43 - Trump Administration

Iran must give up nuclear enrichment in any deal with US, says Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview released Wednesday that Iran must give up all nuclear enrichment if it wants to make a deal during talks with the Trump administration and head off the threat of armed conflict. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian energy use and says it does not seek to make weapons-grade uranium to build atomic bombs. If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries can have one, and that is they import enriched material, Rubio said in a podcast interview with journalist Bari Weiss. But Iran has long refused to give up its ability to enrich uranium. President Donald Trump in his first term pulled the US out of a Obama-era nuclear deal focused on monitoring to ensure Iran did not move toward weapons-grade enrichment. In the first months of his second term, Trump opened talks that he says will get a tougher agreement on Iran's nuclear programme, with a second round of negotiations held Saturda

Trump to hold rally in Michigan next week to mark first 100 days in office

President Donald Trump will mark his first 100 days in office next week with a rally in Michigan, his first since returning to the White House earlier this year. Trump will visit Macomb County on Tuesday, the White House press secretary said. The region just north of Detroit, known as an automotive hub. President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS! Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday on social media. The rally will take place one day before Trump's 100th day in office a traditional early milestone in which a president's progress is measured against campaign promises. Michigan was one of the key battleground states Trump flipped last year from Democrats on his path back to the White House. Trump has not travelled much since taking office outside of personal weekend trips. His only other official trip in his second term was during the first week, when he visited disaster zones in No

Dozen US states sue Trump administration over tariffs, trade policy

The suit, filed in the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan, argues that Congress didn't grant Trump the necessary authority to impose the tariffs

Trump again flags Canada's reliance on US days ahead of federal election

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Canada would cease to exist if it weren't for the United States comments that came just days before Canadians are set to vote in an election dominated by Trump's comments on the country's economy and sovereignty. Trump re-inserted himself into Canada's election during a signing ceremony inside the Oval office saying Canada would cease to exist as a country without the US buying goods from Canada. I have to be honest, as a state, it works great, said Trump, who previously threatened to make the country the 51st state through economic coercion. Trump reiterated his claim that the US doesn't need anything from Canada including autos and oil. We don't really want Canada to make cars for us, to put it bluntly. We want to make our own cars, Trump said. In recent weeks, Trump has dialled back his talk of Canada becoming the 51st state. He stopped saying it after a call with new Prime Minister Mark Carney last month. Trump also suggested Wedne

Trump putting his 'touches' on WH with flagpoles, Oval Office overhaul

President Donald Trump is putting his touches on the White House with new flagpoles, new artwork, a complete redecoration of the Oval Office and possibly covering up the lawn in the Rose Garden. Trump, a former real estate developer and hotelier, said Wednesday that he's adding two beautiful flagpoles to the grounds to fly the American flag in about a week or so. The Republican president recently hung new artworks featuring himself, including a rendering of him with his fist raised after last year's attempted assassination in Pennsylvania. He has spruced up the Oval Office by adding portraits of all of his predecessors, a wall-mounted copy of the Declaration of Independence that is shieled by dark drapes and many golden accents. Trump has also talked about paving over the lawn in the Kennedy-era Rose Garden All families granted the privilege of living in the White House try to find ways to leave their mark on property, and Trump isn't any different. Near the end of his first term

Americans see govt as inefficient, but sceptical if Musk & DOGE can fix it

Recent poll suggests that while many Americans support improving government efficiency, there is growing concerns about Elon Musk's leadership of DOGE causing sharp divisions among US voters

'No intention' of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, says Trump

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, just days after his statement that he would like to terminate the head of the US central bank caused a stock market selloff. I have no intention of firing him, Trump told reporters. The US president had previously insinuated otherwise as he said he could fire Powell if he wanted to, having been frustrated by the Fed putting a pause on cuts to short-term interest rates. Powell has said that Trump's tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures, while the president maintains that inflationary worries are essentially non-existent. The president maintains that energy and grocery prices are falling, so the Fed should cut its benchmark rates because inflation is no longer a threat to the US economy, Trump said. His remarks indicated that he still plans to use the bully pulpit to pressure a US central bank that is committed to resisting political press

US defense secy shared Yemen attack details in second Signal chat with wife

Pete Hegseth shared details about the Houthis attack in a second private Signal group chat that included his wife and brother: Details here

Appeasing the US at the expense of Beijing won't be tolerated, warns China

China has strongly condemned any nation that reaches a trade deal with the Trump administration that may compromise Beijing as US-China trade war escalates

Pete Hegseth's Pentagon faces 'full-blown meltdown,' warns ex-spokesman

The warning from John Ullyot, who resigned last week after initially serving as Pentagon spokesman, followed statements by three top officials who were reportedly fired amid inquiry into leaks

Tesla bull issues 'code red,' urges Musk to step back from DOGE role

Tesla shares have fallen 43 per cent since January 17. When the company reports earnings Tuesday, it will face questions about volume sales for 2025

Trump draft order proposes radical reshaping of US State Department

Some employees writing on a foreign service-dedicated Reddit page also expressed doubt about how such an order could be implemented

Ex-advisers to Hegseth decry 'baseless attacks' after ouster in leak probe

Three former senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decried on Saturday what they called baseless attacks after each was escorted from the Pentagon in an expanding probe on information leaks. Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth's deputy chief of staff were among four officials in Hegseth's inner circle who were ousted this past week. While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X said the three were incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door. At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of leaks' to begin with, the post said. Former .

Thousands rally across US in fresh wave of protests against Trump policies

Nearly a fortnight after the first wave of demonstrations, protesters returned to the streets to express frustration over Trump's policies

JD Vance visits Vatican after Pope's rebuke of Trump migrant crackdown

US Vice President JD Vance is meeting with the Vatican No. 2 official, following a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration's crackdown on migrants and Vance's theological justification of it. Vance, a Catholic convert, was due to meet Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. There was speculation he might also briefly greet Pope Francis, who has begun resuming some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia. Vance was spending Easter weekend in Rome with his family and attended Good Friday services in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. Francis and Vance have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration's plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic Church. Vance, who converted in 2019, identifie

Supreme Court blocks, for now, new deportations under 18th century law

The Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Centre until further order of this court. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Two federal judges refused to step in and the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to act. The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday unsuccessfully asked two federal judges to order the Trump administration not to deport any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law, contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals despite the US Supreme Court's restrictions on how

Trump admin makes major cuts to Native American school research projects

At least USD 1.6 million in federal funds for projects meant to capture and digitise stories of the systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children in boarding schools at the hands of the US government have been slashed due to federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump's administration. The cuts are just a fraction of the grants cancelled by the National Endowment for the Humanities in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration's deep cost-cutting effort across the federal government. But coming on the heels of a major federal boarding school investigation by the previous administration and an apology by then-President Joe Biden, they illustrate a seismic shift. If we're looking to Make America Great Again,' then I think it should start with the truth about the true American history, said Deborah Parker, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. The coalition lost more than USD 282,000 as a result of the cuts, halting its work to digiti

Judge orders Trump admin to clarify firings not due to poor performance

A US district judge in San Francisco on Friday ordered the Trump administration to provide probationary workers fired en masse a written statement saying they were not terminated for performance reasons, but as part of a government-wide termination. Judge William Alsup is overseeing a lawsuit brought by labour unions and nonprofits contesting the mass firings of thousands of probationary workers in February under Republican President Donald Trump. In March, Alsup ordered six federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers because their terminations were directed by the Office of Personnel Management, which did not have the authority to fire workers at any other agency but its own. The US Supreme Court last week blocked Alsup's order requiring the administration to return those terminated employees to work, but did not decide whether the firings were unlawful. Alsup was particularly upset that the firings of probationary workers many young and early in their careers followed an

US may recognise Russian control of Crimea under proposed peace deal

The potential concession is the latest signal that President Donald Trump is eager to cement a ceasefire deal

Venezuelan detainees ask US Supreme Court to halt El Salvador deportations

Lawyers for the men filed their requests less than two weeks after the Supreme Court let Trump resume trying to deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798