Category Archives: Trump administration

Trump says Putin would keep his word on a Ukraine peace deal

Posted on by

President claims presence of US workers in Ukraine would deter Russian aggression after talks with Keir Starmer

Donald Trump has insisted that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal for Ukraine, arguing that US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again.

During highly anticipated talks at the White House with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president said that Putin could be trusted not to breach any agreement, which could aim to return as much of the land as possible to Ukraine that was seized by Russia during the brutal three-year conflict.

Continue reading...

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe says he was fired from coaching job after Maga protest

Posted on by
  • 43-year-old was arrested at city council meeting
  • Former player was coaching local high school

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe says he has been fired from his job as a high school football coach after his protest at a city council meeting in California.

Kluwe was arrested at the Huntington Beach city council meeting last week, at which he spoke out against the decision to erect a plaque at a local library. The plaque features the words “Magical, Alluring, Galvanizing and Adventurous” and the city commission confirmed it was a reference to Maga. The former Minnesota Vikings player then made critical comments about the Trump administration before saying he would “engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience” and walked on to the meeting’s stage. He was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for disrupting an assembly.

Continue reading...

Colorado woman charged with vandalizing Tesla dealership

Posted on by

Lucy Grace Nelson is accused of throwing molotov cocktails and spray-painting ‘Nazi cars’ on the EV maker’s building

Federal prosecutors have charged a woman in a string of vandalism incidents against a Colorado Tesla dealership, including throwing molotov cocktails at vehicles and spray-painting “Nazi cars” on the building along with a message that appeared directed at company co-founder Elon Musk.

The case comes amid rising concerns voiced by Democrats and some Republicans about Musk’s influence over the administration of Donald Trump and follows recent protests at Tesla showrooms elsewhere in the US.

Continue reading...

US deportees in ‘black box’ in Panama with no access to counsel, lawyers say

Posted on by

About 112 people held in immigration center deep in the jungle are unable to communicate with their attorneys

Lawyers for immigrants from around the world who were deported from the United States and moved to a remote jungle camp in Panama say they have been unable to communicate with their clients since they arrived there.

About 112 deported people are being held in the “San Vicente” immigration center deep in the dense jungle that separates Panama from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities. Their future is uncertain as they wait to see whether they will be granted asylum in Panama or elsewhere.

Continue reading...

Trump administration ends funding for UN program fighting HIV/Aids

Posted on by

Peter Marocco sends letter to UNAids terminating US involvement in serious blow to live-saving health service

The Trump administration has terminated its funding of the joint United Nations program on HIV/Aids, known as UNAids, delivering another devastating blow to the global fight against the disease.

The notice that US funding of UNAids is being cut off is the latest move by the administration to end American involvement in life-saving health and anti-poverty programs around the world. It was issued by Peter Marocco, a Trump loyalist who is spearheading the evisceration of the US overseas aid program through USAid.

Continue reading...

Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’

Posted on by

US president’s plan could prove to be an economic shock to both blocs, German thinktank says

Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger “economic turmoil”, sharply push down growth and send inflation soaring, according to a German thinktank.

The Kiel Institute said the US president’s promise on Wednesday that he would impose the levies “very soon” was a profound moment in the postwar relationship between Washington and Brussels and could prove to be an economic shock to both parties.

Continue reading...

Trump threatens China with additional 10% tariff in escalation of trade war

Posted on by

US president also insists delayed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on 4 March

Donald Trump has threatened China with an additional 10% tariff on its exports to the US, setting the stage for another significant escalation in his trade war with Beijing.

The US president also claimed that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, having delayed their imposition last month following talks with his counterparts.

Continue reading...

Transgender US military personnel must be identified and stood down, says Pentagon memo

Posted on by

Being transgender is not compatible with service, court filing says, foreshadowing removal of people from service within 60 days

Transgender service members will be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday – essentially banning them from joining or serving in the armed forces.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way – at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member”.

Continue reading...

Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine

Posted on by

Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war

Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.

“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts

Posted on by

Internal memo and court filings reveal president to also eliminate $60bn in overall US assistance around world

The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.

The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAid projects for advocates to try to save in what are current court battles with the administration.

Continue reading...

Trump signs executive order expanding power of Elon Musk’s Doge agency

Posted on by

Order calls for ‘transformation’ in US spending on contracts, grants and loans by requiring centralized payment system

Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order meant to expand the power of Elon Musk’s governmental cost-cutting program, the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge.

The new order calls for a “transformation” in federal spending on contracts, grants and loans by requiring agencies to create a centralized system to record and justify payments, which may be made public for transparency – an initiative that would be monitored by Musk’s team.

Continue reading...

Russia could reinvade Ukraine without US security guarantees, Starmer warns

Posted on by

UK prime minister faces major diplomatic effort to get president on board after he said no plans for US ‘backstop’

Keir Starmer has warned that Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine again unless the US provides security guarantees as he arrived for critical talks with Donald Trump at the most precarious moment for European stability in decades.

With the future of Ukrainian security hanging in the balance, he urged the president to commit a US backstop to a British and French-led peacekeeping force, saying it was the only way to avoid Russia plunging Europe back into war.

Continue reading...

What will Keir Starmer try to achieve during talks with Donald Trump?

Posted on by

British prime minister heads to Washington as Europe reels from seismic shift in relations with US president

Keir Starmer heads to Washington on Wednesday for a visit that will be brief but watched intensely not just in the UK but in many other European capitals – particularly Kyiv. What will the prime minister hope to get from his talks with Donald Trump on Thursday? And just as importantly, how can he get the US president to listen? These will be the main issues.

Continue reading...

US climate research agency braces for ‘efficiency’ cuts: ‘They will gut the work’

Posted on by

Workers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fear crackdown will have global fallout

The Trump administration has set its sights on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency, with significant cuts and a political crackdown on climate science. As Trump takes aim at the agency, the impact is likely to be felt across the US and around the world.

Noaa provides essential resources to the public and has helped make the US a scientific leader internationally. Operating 18 satellites and 15 research and survey ships, the agency’s scientists, engineers and policy experts issue forecasts relied on by aviation, agriculture and fishing industries; ocean floor mapping depended upon for shipping; advises on species protection, and increasingly precise and accurate modeling on what to expect as climate crisis unfolds.

Continue reading...

Trump may rue firing experts when environmental rollbacks land in court

Posted on by

Advocacy groups are better prepared than the first term for legal challenges – but will the administration obey rulings?

Amid spending freezes and policy rollbacks from Donald Trump, environmental advocacy groups are gearing up for a long series of legal showdowns with the administration.

The experience of suing Trump during his first term has left the movement better prepared, but the court battles will still be daunting, with the administration appearing to test the nation’s legal boundaries in an effort to consolidate power under the executive branch.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump orders new tariff investigation into US copper imports

Posted on by

President opens new front in assault on global trade norms as advisers claim China moving to dominate copper market

Donald Trump on Tuesday opened yet another front in his assault on global trade norms, ordering a new investigation into possible tariffs on copper imports to rebuild US production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors and a wide range of consumer goods.

Trump, looking to thwart what his advisers see as a move by China to dominate the global copper market, signed an order directing commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to start a new national security investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same law that Trump used in his first term to impose 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Continue reading...

US judge blocks Trump’s suspension of refugee resettlement program

Posted on by

US district judge in Seattle says Trump’s executive order exceeded his powers by shutting down program

A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to suspend the US’s refugee admission system after ruling that the move exceeded his powers.

The ruling, from US district judge Jamal Whitehead, stated that Trump’s executive order affecting refugee admissions, issued on the day of his inauguration, amounted to an illegal usurpation of the powers of Congress.

Continue reading...

Ex-US security officials urge funding for science research to keep up with China

Posted on by

Appeal from officials, including two senior figures from Trump’s first term, comes amid reports National Science Foundation’s budget will be slashed

Chuck Hagel, the former US defense secretary, and other former US national security officials, including two senior figures from Donald Trump’s first term, on Tuesday warned that China was outpacing the US in critical technology fields and urged Congress to increase funding for federal scientific research.

The appeal comes a week after the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds science research, fired 170 people in response to Donald Trump’s order to reduce the federal workforce. An NSF spokesman declined comment on reports that hundreds more layoffs were possible and that the agency’s budget could be slashed by billions.

Continue reading...

Lester Holt to exit NBC Nightly News as MSNBC cuts Ayman Mohyeldin’s show

Posted on by

Holt to step down as anchor as Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, whose shows also canceled, to remain at MSNBC

NBC’s Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of its Nightly News show, and MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin is stepping down from a similar role at his namesake weekend evening show as the networks’ owners continue a major programming shake-up on Monday.

Others at MSNBC affected by changes revealed on Monday include Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, the New York Post reported.

Continue reading...

Confusion at US agencies over whether to comply with Elon Musk email demanding workers justify their jobs – US politics live

Posted on by

Government agencies give conflicting advice after email from Elon Musk demanding employees list accomplishments from past week

Elon Musk said on Monday that starting this week, government workers would be put on administrative leave if they fail to return to the office.

Musk, who is leading a downsizing effort at the US government wrote on X:

Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning.

Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, saying he will present “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat” in Europe and ensure peace in Ukraine.

Conservative podcaster Dan Bongino has been appointed as FBI deputy director. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer turned conservative radio host, puts a second Trump ally at the top of the agency. Trump announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as “a man of incredible love and passion for our country”.

The Trump administration on Sunday said it was placing all but a handful of USAid personnel around the world on paid administrative leave and eliminating about 2,000 of those positions in the US, according to a notice sent to agency workers and posted online.

More than 150,000 people from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for their country to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to conquer its independent neighbor to the north and turn it into its 51st state.

Continue reading...