White House

Diplomacy 1st option, Iran would be wise to make nuclear deal: White House

Earlier on Tuesday (local time), US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held discussions with Iranian authorities in Geneva

Trump to chair Board of Peace meeting today, discuss security in Gaza

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that member states of the newly formed Board of Peace have pledged over $5 billion towards humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza

US govt shutdown drags on as lawmakers deadlock over DHS oversight

Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump's team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Coast Guard, the Secret Service, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Customs and Border Protection. The work at ICE and CBP goes on unabated because Trump's tax and spending cut law from 20

White House orders Homeland Security shutdown as funding lapses at midnight

While the shutdown formally takes effect at midnight, DHS employees were instructed to report to work and begin an "orderly shutdown" on their next regularly scheduled shift

Fact sheet changes reflect joint statement: MEA on US interim trade pact

Foreign ministry says amendments to White House fact sheet align with February 7 joint statement, which remains the framework for interim trade pact

Trump privately weighs exiting the USMCA trade pact he negotiated

A White House official, asked about the discussions, described Trump as the ultimate decision-maker and someone always seeking a better deal for the American people

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

'Historic' trade deal will open Indian markets to US goods: White House

The fact sheet highlights key terms of the agreement, including that India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products

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 ...

Epstein e-mails reveal he helped arrange White House tour for Woody Allen

In 2015, Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn went on a trip to Washington, D.C. With the help of their friend Jeffrey Epstein, they were able to tour the White House. Allen's friendship with Epstein has been known for years, but e-mails in the huge trove of records released by the Justice Department in recent days illustrate that relationship in new depth. The filmmaker, his wife and Epstein were neighbours in New York City, and the three dined together often, records show. They offered each other emotional support during periods when they were being criticised in the media. They commiserated about being accused -- unfairly, they told each other -- of sexual misconduct. And in 2015, Epstein used his connections to another friend who had been in President Barack Obama's administration to help the couple get a White House tour. "Could you show soon yi the White House," Epstein wrote in a May 2015 e-mail to former White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler. "I assume woody would be too ..

White House adviser Kratsios to lead US delegation to AI summit in India

The India-AI Impact Summit will be held from February 16 to 20 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, marking the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South

India commits $500 bn investment, to end Russian oil purchases: White House

The White House has hailed a new trade agreement with India, saying the country has committed to "no longer" purchasing Russian oil, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also agreeing on investments of USD 500 billion across key American sectors. These remarks were made by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday. "The President struck another great trade deal with India. He spoke with Prime Minister Modi directly. They share a very good relationship. India is committed to not only no longer purchasing Russian oil, but buying oil from the United States, also perhaps from Venezuela too, which we know will now have a direct benefit on the United States and the American people," Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. She further said that in addition to that, Prime Minister Modi "committed to $500 billion of investments into the United States, including for transportation, for energy and for agricultural products as well. So this is another great trade deal thanks to President ...

Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran steps down from White House post

Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran has stepped down from his position as chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, ending a controversial arrangement where he held positions at both institutions. His resignation was confirmed by White House spokesman Kush Desai late on Tuesday. President Donald Trump appointed Miran in September to a seat on the Fed's seven-member board of governors after Adriana Kugler, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, abruptly resigned. Miran completed her term, which ended January 31. Yet he can remain on the Fed's board until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. It is unusual for someone to keep a White House position while also serving as a Fed governor, a nonpartisan position. Previous presidents have appointed aides to the Fed, but for decades they gave up their White House positions before joining the Fed. Miran took an unpaid leave of absence instead. Miran said when he was named in September that he would step down from hi

Democrats, White House strike spending deal, avert partial govt shutdown

Democrats and White House have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump's surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides have agreed to separate homeland security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund DHS for two weeks while they debate Democratic demands for curbs on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The potential deal comes after Democrats voted to block legislation to fund DHS on Thursday. Trump said in a social media post that "Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September," while extending current funding for Homeland Security. He encouraged members of both parties to cast a "much needed Bipartisan YES' vote." Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Associat

'Count now 70': Cong takes dig at PM after Trump repeats 'India-Pak' claim

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim of ending the India-Pakistan conflict last year, saying the number of times the PM's "good friend and the recipient of his many forced hugs" has declared that he was responsible for the sudden halt of Operation Sindoor has shot up to 70 now. The opposition party's swipe came after Trump touted ending the conflict between India and Pakistan as among the accomplishments of the first year of his second term in the White House, saying the two countries "were going to go nuclear" in his opinion, and that he saved millions of lives by stopping the war. Trump said he ended "eight unendable wars in 10 months". In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Before yesterday the count stood at 68. Yesterday itself the count shot up not to 69 but to 70 - once in the opening statement of his White House Press Conference and later in

Trump makes obscene gesture at Ford plant heckler; White House defends him

During a visit to Ford's Detroit plant, Donald Trump made an obscene gesture and mouthed an expletive at a heckler; the White House called his response 'appropriate'

Trump keeping 'all options on table' including airstrikes for Iran: WH

Karoline further said that Trump has shown he is "unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran

Trump discussing range of options to acquire Greenland: White House

Trump has in recent days adopted a more expansionist foreign policy posture, including a renewed focus on Greenland, following the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro

Trump invites Colombian Prez to WH days after threatening military strike

President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tone on Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, saying the two had exchanged a friendly phone call and that he'd invited the leader of the South American country to the White House. It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had, Trump posted on his social media site Wednesday night. "I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future, he added. Trump said the meeting would take place at the White House. This comes mere days after Trump said in the wake of the US operation in Venezuela over the weekend that Colombia is very sick too and accused Petro of making cocaine and selling it to the United States before adding: He's not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you". Asked whether US intervention was possible, Trump responded, Sounds good to me".

21 Democratic-led states sue White House for Trump admin's CFPB funding

A coalition of 21 attorneys general from Democratic-led states sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director, Russell Vought, on Monday, asserting that the White House's argument to withhold funds from the consumer protection agency is unconstitutional. The lawsuit has to do with the Trump administration's argument that the CFPB can only be funded by the Federal Reserve's profits. The Federal Reserve has been running a loss since 2022, a side effect of the Fed raising interest rates sharply to combat inflation, because it holds bonds that pay low interest from the pandemic, but it needs to pay out higher amounts of interest to the banks that hold their deposits with the bank. The White House has argued for several months that the CFPB cannot lawfully draw funds to fund its operations from the Fed if the Fed does not have combined earnings to allocate to the bureau. Without additional funds, the CFPB is expected to deplete its operating funds completely in January. T