Page 5 - Trump Administration

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

Trump poached young voters as Democratic party fumbled: JFK's grandson

Democrat leader Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former US President John F Kennedy, said his party has "consistently fumbled" in winning over young voters, who have been influenced by Donald Trump. Schlossberg, the Democratic Congressional candidate from Manhattan's 12th District, credited US President Trump for "getting people fired up about politics" and embracing modernity the way Democrats used to in their heydays. Speaking at Fortune's CEO Initiative dinner earlier this month, Schlossberg said he doesn't believe the Democratic party lost its way on policy so much as it lost the plot on storytelling and cultural relevance. "The Republican Party has embraced modernity in a way that the Democratic Party used to own. Whether it's space, whether it's the AI race, crypto, investing in new technologies - the Democratic Party has been way anti-everything, and anti-business in particular. Anti-modernity. Trump has flipped the script," the 33-year-old Congressional aspirant told ...

Trump refers to Hormuz as 'Strait of Trump', says Iran keen to negotiate

Trump also claimed that Iran was under pressure and willing to negotiate, stating that Tehran had sent multiple shipments of oil as part of ongoing discussions

Rubio denies US asked Ukraine to cede Donbas for security guarantees

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion that the Trump administration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia to receive American security guarantees in any ceasefire plan. Speaking to reporters following a Group of Seven meeting in France, Rubio disputed Zelenskyy's recent comments and said the US has made no such stipulation in its talks with Ukraine. "That's a lie," Rubio said. "And I saw him say that. And it's unfortunate he would say that because he knows that's not true and that's not what he was told." In an interview published this week, Zelenskyy told Reuters the US was making its offer of security guarantees for Ukraine contingent on the ceding of the Donbas region, the industrial heartland long coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow's forces occupy the bulk of the region, but have not seized a strip of land that is among the most heavily fortified parts of the front ...

US Senate approves funding for TSA, but not immigration enforcement

The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call, next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. "We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we'll go from there," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD "Obviously, we'll still have some work ahead of us." With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the endgame emerged in the final hours before Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers miss another paycheck Friday. President Donald Trump said he would sign an order to immediately pay the TSA agents, saying he wanted to quickly stop the

Costa Rica to accept 25 deportees every week under deal with Trump admin

Costa Rica said it would accept 25 migrants deported from the United States per week as part of an agreement to help the Trump administration's latest policy of deporting immigrants to "third countries". The Central American nation joins a growing number of countries across Africa and the Americas that have signed contentious, often secretive agreements with the US to accept deportees from other countries as US President Donald Trump pressures governments to help him advance his agenda. In many cases, migrants who previously hoped to seek asylum in the US are left in a legal "black hole" in foreign countries where they don't speak the language. Countries who have agreed to receive third-party migrants include South Sudan, Honduras, Rwanda, Guyana, and several Caribbean islands like Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis. "Costa Rica is prepared to see this flow of people," said Public Security Minister of the country, Mario Zamora Cordero, in a video statement on Thursday. Costa Rica's .

Trump's signature on dollar bills to mark 250th year of US Independence

US President Donald Trump's signature is set to feature on US paper currency soon, a first for a sitting president since the introduction of dollar bills in 1861. The decision, taken by the US Treasury, coincides with the 250th anniversary celebrations of American Independence this year. "In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, President Donald J Trump's signature alongside (Treasury) Secretary Scott Bessent's will soon appear on US currency, marking a first in history, and symbolizes @POTUS' leadership and dedication to our great nation will carry a lasting impact," US Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a post on X. Earlier this month, a federal arts commission approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing Trump's image to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence. "Under President Trump's leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability," Bessent said i

US court sides with Trump admin on detaining immigrants without bond

The US can continue to detain immigrants without bond, an appeals court ruled on Wednesday, handing a victory to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. The opinion from a panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overturned a lower court ruling that required that a native of Mexico arrested for lacking legal documents be given a bond hearing before an immigration judge. It's the second appeals court to rule in favour of the administration on this issue. The 5th Circuit in New Orleans ruled last month that the Department of Homeland Security's decision to deny bond hearings to immigrants arrested across the country was consistent with the Constitution and federal immigration law. Both appeals court opinions counter recent lower court decisions across the country that argued the practice is illegal. In November, a district court decision in California granted detained immigrants with no criminal history the opportunity to request a bond hearing and had ...

US worried by rise in 'foreigner butchering' scams being run from China

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said recent crackdowns on scam centers had seen Chinese criminals return home to start smaller-scale operations targeting only foreigners

Trump's Iran war goals remain unfulfilled as he looks to wind-down conflict

President Donald Trump has listed five objectives that the US wants to achieve before ending its war with Iran. Now, as he suggests the US may soon be "winding down" the operation after three and a half weeks, some of his key aims remain undefined or unfulfilled. Trump most recently outlined five goals for the massive air campaign. That's up from four laid out by his staff and since the war's start February 28 (and up from the three generally enumerated by the Pentagon and Secretary of State Marco Rubio). Though the Trump administration has said its objectives are clear and unchanging, the list of priorities has expanded and shifted as the war has taken a toll on the global economy, tested alliances and raised unanswered questions about the planning for the conflict, its justification and its aftermath. By most accounts, the strikes by the US and Israel have significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders. But those tactical successes don't .