Category Archives: Trump administration

US deports 119 immigrants of varying nationalities to Panama

Posted on by

People from Afghanistan, Iran, China and other countries flown out as Trump’s deportation effort intensifies

The US has sent undocumented immigrants from several Asian countries whose governments have refused to accept them to Panama, in a move signalling an intensification of the Trump administration’s deportation effort.

A military plane carrying 119 immigrants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Pakistan flew from California to Panama City on Wednesday in what was expected to be the first of three migrants flights to the country.

Continue reading...

Some federal workers given just 30 minutes to leave amid Trump layoffs

Posted on by

As many as 200,000 US workers slated to be affected by mass terminations as Musk leads crusade to slash spending

Some federal employees who have been laid off under the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to slash the federal workforce were reportedly given only 30 minutes to pack their belongings and vacate federal offices.

Federal agencies were ordered by Donald Trump to fire mostly probationary staff, with as many as 200,000 workers set to be affected and some made to rush off the premises, the Washington Post reported. More layoffs are expected on Friday, Reuters reported, as thousands of employees have already been terminated and the purge is widening.

Continue reading...

Trump disrupting US bird flu response as outbreak worsens

Posted on by

Experts’ concern grows as communication breaks down among federal agencies responsible for tackling epidemic

The Trump administration has disrupted the US response to bird flu as the outbreak worsens, leading to confusion and concern among federal staff, state officials, veterinarians and health experts, 11 sources told Reuters.

Since Donald Trump took office on 20 January, two federal agencies responsible for monitoring and responding to the epidemic have withheld bird flu reports and canceled congressional briefings and meetings with state health officials, the sources said.

Continue reading...

‘In Alaska, it’s Denali’: senators move to counter Trump’s mountain name order

Posted on by

Republican senator Lisa Murakowski introduces bill to require peak’s name kept on US maps, laws and regulations

The Alaska Republican US senator Lisa Murkowski has introduced legislation to officially rename North America’s tallest mountain as Denali, a counter to Donald Trump’s executive order to revert the peak’s name to Mount McKinley.

Murkowski’s bill, which was co-sponsored by her fellow Republican senator for Alaska, Dan Sullivan, would require the peak to be referred to as Denali on any US maps, laws and regulations.

Continue reading...

Trump’s reciprocal tariff threat brings fears for Australian trade

Posted on by

Economist argues GST is not protectionist and should not attract any new levy from the US but concern remains for steel industry

US president Donald Trump has threatened “reciprocal tariffs” on US trade partners in retaliation for some domestic taxes, such as value-added taxes, sparking concerns Australia could be targeted.

But economists have argued Australia’s value-added tax – the goods and services tax, which is applied to imported and domestically sourced goods and services identically – is not protectionist, and so could escape retaliation from the US.

Continue reading...

Ukraine on ‘irreversible path’ to Nato membership, Starmer tells Zelenskyy

Posted on by

Prime minister uses call with Ukraine president to restate UK support in face of Trump interventions

• Europe live – latest updates

Ukraine remains on “an irreversible path” towards Nato membership, Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that underlined the divide between Europe and the US over the future of the country.

According to a Downing Street readout of the call with the Ukrainian president, Starmer stressed “the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed”.

Continue reading...

Trump’s Gaza plan unites jihadist and far-right circles, experts warn

Posted on by

Trump’s threat to take over Gaza is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movements

As Donald Trump continues to threaten to take control over the Gaza Strip, an unlikely consensus has emerged across hardcore jihadist and far-right circles: both strongly oppose any new US military actions in the territory.

Now experts are warning that Trump’s plan is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movements with track records of domestic terrorist attacks.

Continue reading...

The heartlessness of the deal: how Trump’s ‘America first’ stance sold out Ukraine

Posted on by

The US president does not care who controls east Ukraine, so long as he can access the rare earth minerals underneath

In Donald Trump’s world, everything has its price.

There is no place for sentiment in his politics. Common values cannot secure loans for military aid. And the US president does not care who controls the blood-soaked soils of east Ukraine, so long as he can access the rare earth minerals that lie beneath.

Continue reading...

Stars pull out of shows and positions at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover

Posted on by

Issa Rae, Ben Folds and Shonda Rhimes among those who chose not to associate with the institution and president

Donald Trump’s takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has generated outcry from performers and members, with several stars pulling out of engagements or associations.

Trump purged the board of the arts foundation last week, clearing the group of appointees by Joe Biden. Stacked with Trump loyalists, the new board terminated the center’s president, Deborah Rutter, and installed Trump as chair. The board then named Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, as interim president.

Continue reading...

Trump proposes nuclear deal with Russia and China to halve defense budgets

Posted on by

‘We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things,’ the US president said

Donald Trump said that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China and that eventually he hopes all three countries could agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump lamented the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in rebuilding the nation’s nuclear deterrent and said he hopes to gain commitments from the US adversaries to cut their own spending.

Continue reading...

‘No to ethnic cleansing’: over 350 rabbis sign US ad assailing Trump’s Gaza plan

Posted on by

Jewish creatives and activists also sign New York Times ad after US president’s proposal to ‘take over Gaza’

More than 350 rabbis, alongside additional signatories including Jewish creatives and activists, have signed an ad in the New York Times in which they condemn Donald Trump’s proposal for the effective ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

The ad, which was signed by rabbis including Sharon Brous, Roly Matalon and Alissa Wise, as well as Jewish creatives and activists including Tony Kushner, Ilana Glazer, Naomi Klein and Joaquin Phoenix, says: “Trump has called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jewish people say no to ethnic cleansing!”

Continue reading...

USAid cuts sow feeling of betrayal among Yazidis, 10 years after IS genocide

Posted on by

Figures who backed rights of religious minorities in Trump’s first term fall silent as vital work halted on the ground

During the first Trump administration, Mike Pence, the vice-president, pledged hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly through USAid and the state department, to help Christians and other religious minorities who were persecuted by Islamic State and – in the case of the Yazidis – suffered a genocide.

But under the second Trump administration, the same figures who championed the rights of religious minorities have fallen silent or actively participated in the destruction of USAid, cutting crucial aid to support the same communities they once helped – who now feel abandoned by the US.

Continue reading...

US justice department sues New York over immigration rules

Posted on by

Attorney general Pam Bondi targets state law allowing people to get driver’s licenses without legal residency

The US attorney general announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration is suing New York state over its immigration policies, accusing state officials of choosing “to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens”.

Standing in front of federal agents who have been tasked with helping in Trump’s immigration crackdown, Pam Bondi echoed the president’s rhetoric as she vowed the justice department would take on communities that thwart federal immigration efforts.

Continue reading...

Democratic Senator accuses FBI head nominee Kash Patel of orchestrating agency purge

Posted on by

Patel’s alleged purge of FBI calls into question if he perjured himself at his Senate confirmation hearing

A senior Democrat has accused Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s controversial nominee as FBI director, of having already secretly orchestrated a purge of the bureau’s agents even as senators debate whether to confirm him in the post.

Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, said he had “highly credible information” that Patel had given orders to sack senior personnel when he had no power to do so as a private citizen – directly contradicting testimony he had given at a confirmation hearing.

Continue reading...

Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as intelligence head despite fears of pro-Russia stance

Posted on by

Senate approves nomination of former Democrat as Mitch McConnell is sole Republican to vote against Trump pick

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who has been publicly questioned over her affinity for foreign dictators and promoting conspiracy theories, has been confirmed as director of national intelligence by the US Senate.

The Senate voted 52 to 48, with just one Republican – the senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky – voting against her confirmation.

Continue reading...

Canada and Mexico tariffs risk inflating US housing crisis, Trump is warned

Posted on by

Exclusive: Dozens of congressional Democrats urge president to reconsider threatened import duties on US’s two largest trading partners

Pressing ahead with steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico risks exacerbating the US housing crisis and threatening the broader economy, dozens of congressional Democrats have warned Donald Trump.

The US president, after threatening to hit imports from the US’s two biggest trading partners with a 25% tax, is weighing how to proceed after approving a one-month delay.

Continue reading...

Australia ‘killing’ US manufacturing with aluminium imports, Trump’s trade adviser says

Posted on by

Peter Navarro’s comments to US media, which follow president’s 25% tariff announcement, were shared on an official Trump administration account on X

Donald Trump’s trade adviser claims Australia is “crushing” and “killing” America’s manufacturing sector with its imports of aluminium, as the Albanese government scrambles to try to secure exemptions to the president’s 25% tariffs on metal.

Anthony Albanese said he was still hopeful the local steel and aluminium industry could be spared from the tariff regime, even after escalating comments from the Trump administration criticising current trade arrangements with allies, including Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Elon Musk appears with Trump and tries to claim ‘Doge’ team is transparent

Posted on by

Key presidential ally, whose agency has operated in secrecy, also makes claim – without evidence – of fraud at USAid

Elon Musk claimed in the Oval Office on Tuesday that his so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) was providing maximum transparency as it bulldozed its way through the federal government, remarks contradicted by the reality of how he has operated in deep secrecy.

The appearance from Musk was the first time he had taken questions from the news media since his arrival in Washington, and he used his time standing next to Donald Trump at the Resolute Desk to defend the aggressive cost-cutting measures the Doge team has pursued.

Continue reading...

Associated Press barred from Oval Office for not using ‘Gulf of America’

Posted on by

Agency says its reporter wasn’t allowed into event in effort to ‘punish’ style guide on upholding use of Gulf of Mexico

The Associated Press said it was barred from sending a reporter to Tuesday’s Oval Office executive order signing in an effort to “punish” the agency for its style guidance on upholding the use of the name of the Gulf of Mexico, in lieu of Donald Trump’s preferred name for the geographic landmark as the Gulf of America.

AP’s executive editor, Julie Pace, said in a statement: “As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism.”

Continue reading...

Trump reportedly fires watchdog who oversees USAid after damning report

Posted on by

Paul Martin, an independent inspector general and Biden appointee, warned of drastic effects of shuttering USAid

Donald Trump reportedly fired the federal watchdog responsible for overseeing the US Agency for International Development (USAid) on Tuesday, one day after the independent inspector general issued a damning report detailing the impact of the president’s sudden dismantling of the agency.

Paul Martin, who was appointed by Joe Biden in December 2023, was dismissed in an email from Trent Morse, deputy director of the White House office of presidential personnel, seen by the Washington Post.

Continue reading...