Donald Trump News Highlights: US judge temporarily blocks President Trump’s plan to freeze federal funding

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

The visit, planned for 4 February, would make Netanyahu the first foreign leader to visit during Trump’s second term, though the Trump administration has yet to officially confirm the meeting.

Trump teased the upcoming visit in a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, but didn’t provide scheduling details. “I’m going to be speaking with Bibi Netanyahu in the not too distant future,” he said.

Denmark has announced that it will put in close to €2 billion in enhancing its military presence across the Arctic and North Atlantic region, country’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said amid US President Donald Trump’s repeated demands of buying or taking control of Greenland.

Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said, “There are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” adding that three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity will be included in the package.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is poised to meet NATO members, including Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in an effort to keep “unity” on the issue and sovereignty of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday will sign the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration's first piece of legislation. It mandates the detention and potential deportation of people in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft and violent crimes before they've actually been convicted.

The measure swiftly passed the Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support, despite immigrants rights advocates decrying it as extreme enough to possibly trigger mass roundups of people for offenses as minor as shoplifting. Trump has made a promised crackdown on illegal immigration unprecedented in the nation's history a centerpiece of his political career, however, and is now suggesting the law might only be the beginning.

“This shows the potential for additional enforcement bills that will help us crack down on criminal aliens and totally restore the rule of law in our country," the president said at a conference of House Republicans held at his Doral golf club in Florida.

The law is named for Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally. Ibarra was found guilty in November and sentenced to life without parole.

(AP)

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed.

A memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency, also said it would begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and ominously warned of future downsizing.

The email sent to millions of employees said those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary, but they have to chose to do so by Feb 6.

President Donald Trump has built a political career around promising to disrupt Washington, and vowed that his second administration would go far further in shaking up traditional political norms than his first did.

(AP)

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has tasked billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS).

The two NASA astronauts, who went to space aboard the Starliner capsule on June 5 last year for a presumed eight-to-10-day mission, have been stuck in space for close to eight months and concerns regarding their health deterioration have sparked debate.

Trump accused the previous Joe Biden administration of virtually “abandoning” Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in space and called the NASA astronauts “brave”.

US President Donald Trump's administration has revoked the extension of deportation protections that the previous Joe Biden administration granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States, the New York Times reported.

Ukraine needed broader security guarantees and Russian President Vladimir Putin was not afraid of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News in an interview in which he urged U.S. President Donald Trump to be on Ukraine's side.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, has promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war soon, without saying how. Aides have suggested that a deal could take months. Trump has expressed willingness to speak to Putin about ending the war, a contrast with the outgoing administration of Joe Biden, who shunned the Russian leader.

Trump's election win in November had sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow's invasion of Ukraine that began in Feb. 2022, but it also led to fears in Kyiv that a quick peace deal could come at a high price for Ukraine.

KEY QUOTES

"We want him (Trump) to be on the side of justice, on the side of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in the interview aired on Tuesday night. "Putin is not afraid of Europe." Zelenskyy added Ukraine cannot recognize Russia's occupation, but it preferred a diplomatic resolution.

CONTEXT

After the Russian invasion began, the United States under Democratic former President Joe Biden committed over $175 billion in aid for Ukraine, including over $60 billion in security assistance. It was uncertain if the aid would continue at that pace under Trump.

(Reuters)

US President Donald Trump still plans to implement a tariff on Mexico and Canada on February 1, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

Leavitt, in her first White House press briefing added that President Trump is also considering announcing a fresh tariff on China on February 1.

As soon as Trump took office on January 20, he announced a slew of measures including imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada until the two countries stopped the flow of illegal immigrants and the deadly opioid fentanyl into the US. Trump also announced a 10% tariff on Chinese goods over Beijing’s role in the fentanyl trade.

In a setback to US President Donald Trump’s administration, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of a sweeping order to pause federal grants and loans which had a potential to disrupt education, healthcare, housing assistance, disaster relief, and numerous other programs.

The White House said that the order wasn’t as sweeping as it appeared and just minutes before it was implemented to freeze all federal aid on Tuesday, US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan prevented the administration from carrying it out and said that the Trump administration must not block existing funding programmes until February 3.

White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Matthew Vaeth, in an official memorandum had said that federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance”.

President Donald Trump’s brash populism has always involved incongruence: the billionaire businessman-politician stirring the passions of millions who, regardless of the U.S. economy’s trajectory, could never afford to live in his Manhattan skyscraper or visit his club in south Florida.

His second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his Republican administration. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency. Billionaires or mega-millionaires are lined up to run the treasury, commerce, interior and education departments, NASA and the Small Business Administration, and fill key foreign posts.

“He’s bringing in folks who have had great success in the private sector,” said Debbie Dooley, an early 2015 Trump supporter and onetime national organizer in the anti-establishment Tea Party movement. “If you need to have brain surgery, you want the proven brain surgeons.”Others raise concerns about conflicts of interest at odds with Trump’s pledge to fight for “forgotten men and women” in a country where the median household net worth is about $193,000 and median annual household income is about $81,000. - AP

The President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders focused on the military, including one that directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service. Here's the latest: Pentagon directed by Trump to begin developing the capability to shoot down missiles from space. For years, the U.S. has cautioned that China, Russia and others were weaponising space. It has at times declassified information about both countries’ efforts to create offensive weapons to disable critical US satellites, including the capability to move satellites from orbit, temporarily blind them or potentially even destroy them. - Reuters

The Trump administration has moved to stop the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe, a memo reviewed by Reuters showed. On Tuesday, contractors and partners who work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began receiving such memos to stop work immediately, sources said. The move is part of a wider freeze on U.S. aid and funding put in place since Trump took office on Jan. 20, while programmes are reviewed. One such memo went to Chemonics, a large U.S. consulting firm which works with USAID on the supply of medicines for a range of conditions worldwide. The memo covers the firm's work on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as well as contraception and maternal and child health supplies, one USAID source and one former USAID official told Reuters.

US President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs on imported computer chips, pharmaceuticals and steel, he said on Monday, to push companies to manufacture more in the United States.

The comments mark the latest in a number of trade-related threats unleashed by Trump in recent days. He has already promised to slap 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1 if the two countries don't meet demands on border security and other issues.

By focusing on chips and pharmaceuticals, Trump could squeeze U.S. allies in Asia, including Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

WHAT'S BEING TARGETED FOR CHIPS?

Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on imported computer chips without providing details.

Asia is the world's biggest chip manufacturing hub, producing more than 80% of semiconductors sold globally, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, makes semiconductors for Nvidia, Apple and other U.S. clients. TSMC generated 70% of its revenue in 2024 from customers based in North America.

While it is building a $65 billion manufacturing facility in Arizona, the bulk of TSMC's production remains in Taiwan, with exports to the U.S. theoretically subject to tariffs.

The Trump administration has placed around 60 senior officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on administrative leave, citing concerns that some staff members tried to circumvent the president’s executive orders.

This move comes after Trump’s executive order froze nearly all US foreign aid work, sparking widespread criticism from the global humanitarian and development community.

The affected officials will receive full pay and benefits until further notice, while the administration conducts an analysis of their actions.

President Donald Trump has sparked speculation about seeking a third term, despite the 22nd Amendment’s clear limit on a president serving more than two terms.

Speaking to House Republicans in Miami, Trump expressed uncertainty about his eligibility to run again, saying, “I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100% sure”.

However, the 22nd Amendment explicitly states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” making it highly unlikely that Trump could seek a third term without a constitutional amendment.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday to remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and take aim at transgender troops.

Earlier on Monday, Pete Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, referred to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job.

Trump signed the executive orders while flying back from Miami to Washington D.C. One of the executive orders signed by Trump said that expressing a "gender identity" different from an individual's sex at birth did not meet military standards. While the order banned the use of "invented" pronouns in the military, it did not answer basic questions including whether transgender soldiers currently serving in the military would be allowed to stay and, if not, how they would be removed.

(Reuters)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service.

He also ordered troops to be reinstated who had left voluntarily or been booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, outlined new rollbacks in diversity programs and provided for the deployment of a space-based missile defense shield for the U.S. — all on Hegseth ‘s first day.

Trump and Hegseth had described parts of the anticipated orders throughout the day, but the exact language did not drop until late Monday.

Transgender order

A transgender ban had been widely expected, and Trump’s order largely sets the stage for a future ban — but directs Hegseth to come up with how that would be implemented in policy.

(AP)

A week into Donald Trump's second presidency and his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, federal officers are operating with a new sense of mission, knowing that “nobody gets a free pass anymore.” A dozen officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement gathered before dawn Monday in a Maryland parking lot, then fanned out to the Washington suburbs to find their targets: someone wanted in El Salvador for homicide, a person convicted of armed robbery, a migrant found guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material and another with drug and gun convictions. All were in the country illegally.

“The worst go first,” Matt Elliston, director of ICE's Baltimore field office, said of the agency's enforcement priorities.

The Associated Press accompanied the officers, who offered a glimpse of how their work has changed under a White House intent on deporting large numbers of immigrants living in the US without permission. People considered public safety and national security threats are still the top priority, Elliston said.

That is no different from the Biden administration, but a big change has already taken hold: Under Trump, officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal. Under Joe Biden, such “collateral arrests” were banned. “We're looking for those public safety, national security cases. The big difference being, nobody has a free pass anymore,” Elliston said.

The number of collateral arrests has fluctuated, he said. By the end of Monday across Maryland, ICE had arrested 13 people. Of those, nine were targets and the other four were people ICE came across during the course of the morning. Of those “collaterals,” one had an aggravated theft conviction. Another had already been deported once, and two others had final orders of removal.

(AP)

The Trump administration has temporarily paused grant, loan and other financial assistance programs at the Office of Management and Budget, according to a memo seen by Reuters, prompting criticism from congressional Democrats.

The memo referenced the executive orders, including those seeking to dismantle programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), President Donald Trump has signed since taking office last week.

"In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be impacted by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal," Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the memo.

The suspension goes into effect on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. eastern time (2200 GMT), according to the memo. Top Democratic congressional budget appropriation lawmakers responded to reports of the memo by sending a letter demanding the OMB reverse its decision. "The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country. We write today to urge you in the strongest possible terms to uphold the law and the Constitution and ensure all federal resources are delivered in accordance with the law,” Democratic Senator Patty Murray and Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro wrote.

(Reuters)

The US Senate confirmed billionaire investor Scott Bessent on Monday to serve as President Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary.

Bessent will be balancing the act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that doesn’t jeopardize growth.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he has suggested to relocate repeat criminal offenders to foreign land, and outlined it as a cost-effective method.

Trump expressed his desire to expel these repeat criminal offenders from the US, stating, “I want them out of our country," while he spoke at a conference for House Republicans in Miami.

Trump plans to implement this plan, aiming to transfer the offenders to a foreign land where they would be maintained for a minimal fee, thereby avoiding the costly use of US private prisons.

US President Donald Trump emphasized on the significance of border security at the House Republicans’ annual policy retreat in Doral, Florida, urging lawmakers to support his proposals on immigration crackdown and border security.

“We have no apologies and we’re moving very fast,” Trump said, while focusing on the border issue as his top priority.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Chinese Artificial Intelligence startup DeepSeek’s technology should act as a “wake up call” for AI companies in America and said it was good that Chinese companies have come up with the technology which is cheaper and faster.

Trump, while speaking in Florida, said “The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company should be a wakeup call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win.”

With the announcement of China’s DeepSeek, investors in AI companies sold stocks heavily due to concerns over emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model which could threaten the dominance of American AI companies in the market.

The US share markets indices S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit over one-week low on Monday. Nvidia, whose chips are the top choice for powering AI applications, dropped 11.7%, while a gauge of semiconductor stocks dropped 6.5%.

A week after Donald Trump was sworn in as the US President for the second time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that India would take the “right action” on the deportation of illegal immigrants. His statement followed talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day earlier.

“Discussed immigration with Modi. India will do what is right when it comes to taking back illegal immigrants,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying. The US president also revealed that PM Modi is expected to visit the United States “sometime in February,” although India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not yet confirmed this.

The leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation between the two nations, including addressing key regional issues such as security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.

President Trump emphasised the need for India to increase its purchase of American-made defence equipment and to move towards a more balanced trade relationship.

(Read more from the report)

The Justice Department said Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations and signaling an early willingness to take action favorable to the president's personal interests.

The abrupt termination targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and is consistent with the administration's determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president.

The norm-shattering move, which follows the reassignment of multiple senior career officials across divisions, was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain with the department across presidential administrations and are not punished by virtue of their involvement in sensitive investigations. The firings are effective immediately.

(AP)

TV host “Dr. Phil” accompanied US immigration officers during a crackdown operation in Chicago on Sunday, defending President Donald Trump’s controversial deportation policies as the effort approached the end of its first week.

Phil McGraw, known for his popular TV show on mental health, joined US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other federal agents for the operation.

McGraw, who had previously spoken at a Trump campaign event, took to X to explain that ICE was targeting 270 “high-value” individuals, saying it was a focused action, not a general sweep. “They’re not sweeping neighborhoods like people are trying to imply,” he stated.

The Trump administration, aiming to intensify immigration enforcement, deputised several law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the US Marshals Service, to assist ICE in its efforts.

(Read more from the report)

Top Trump administration officials, including “border czar” Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcementin the nation’s third-largest city as federal agencies touted arrests around the country. Few details of the operation were immediately made public, including the number of arrests. But the sheer number of federal agencies involved showed President Donald Trump’s willingness to use federal law enforcement beyond the Department of Homeland Security to carry out his long-promised mass deportations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday. While some of the operations may not have been unusual, ICE averaged 311 daily arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said he observed immigration agents from the DHS along with agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

He didn’t offer details on the operation, which came days after DHS expanded immigration authority to agencies in the Department of Justice, including the DEA and ATF. “We will support everyone at the federal, state, and local levels who joins this critical mission to take back our communities,” Bove said in a statement. “We will use all available tools to address obstruction and other unlawful impediments to our efforts to protect the homeland. Most importantly, we will not rest until the work is done."

(AP)

US President Donald Trump has resumed shipments of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, despite concerns about civilian casualties in the ongoing Gaza conflict. Trump justified the move, saying “they bought and paid for it,” referring to Israel’s prior purchase of the bombs.

The shipments had been halted by the previous Biden administration due to concerns about civilian casualties.

The bombs, known as Mark 84, can reportedly kill people 360 meters away from the point of detonation and cause severe injury and damage to building infrastructure 800 meters away.

The family of Martin Luther King Jr. has expressed their emotional response to President Donald Trump’s decision to declassify records related to his assassination, describing it as a “deeply personal family loss”.

They have urged Trump to allow them to review the files before their public release, highlighting their ongoing pain and desire for transparency regarding the events surrounding King’s tragic death.

The United States led by the President Donald Trump has suspended all foreign aid and financial assistance to other countries and ensure that they are aligned towards their America First agenda.

"President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Sunday.

The US Congress is ready to pass sanctions on countries which refuse to cooperate with the Trump administration's order on deportation of undocumented immigrants, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has warned.

Soon after taking over, the Trump administration started massive mass deportation. Raids are being reported from across the country.

“Colombia and all nations should be on notice - Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States,” Johnson said. "President Trump is putting America first, just like he said he would. And Congress will implement policies that reinforce his agenda,” he said.

Johnson came out in support of Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Colombia after its President Gustavo Petro turned away two US military aircraft full of detained Colombian migrants. The White House later on Sunday night that Colombia has agreed to the “unrestricted acceptance” of immigrants who entered the US illegally from Colombia and that President Donald Trump will not levy a 25 per cent tariff on the country “unless Colombia fails to honour this agreement.”

In a joint statement, two influential Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tammy Duckworth said these mass deportations have the potential to sweep up Dreamers who came to the United States as children, veterans who have served our nation and essential workers who care for American family members, build homes and ensure that they have food on the tables.

(PTI)

After Colombia President Gustavo Petro agreed to US President Donald Trump's conditions regarding the deported immigrants, the United States announced that 25% tariff imposed on Colombia will be reserved and the order will not be signed.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the tariff orders - which would have put in place 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, and then raised to 50% in one week - will be “held in reserve, and not signed."

However, Leavitt added that Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and customs inspection from the country's goods will remain enhanced.

In a major U turn by the Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the country has agreed to all the terms of US President Donald Trump as a standoff took place between the two countries over accepting flights of deported migrants from the US on Sunday.

"Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay," White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump has made headlines with his recent actions, including challenging constitutional norms, issuing executive orders, and delivering a fiery global address.

Here are the top highlights from Trump’s latest moves:

(Read more from the report)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who took to social media platform X, said that he would impose a similar 25% tariff on US goods as announced earlier by US President Donald Trump after Petro barred two US military planes carrying deported migrants from landing in the country.

US President Donald Trump announced imposition of tariffs and sanctions on Colombia in a Truth Social post after two US military planes carrying deported migrants were returned by President Gustavo Petro from landing in the country.

The United States and Colombia are locked in a tense trade and diplomatic row after US President Donald Trump announced new measures against Colombia on Sunday.

Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods entering the US, which will rise to 50% in one week. He also implemented travel bans and revoked visas for Colombian government officials and their families.

These actions came after Colombia refused to allow two US military planes carrying deported Colombian migrants to land. Trump called Colombia’s decision a violation of its legal obligations, saying on his platform Truth Social, “These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its obligations or jeopardise our security.”

Colombia responds with tariffs on US goods

Colombian President Gustavo Petro retaliated by increasing tariffs on US goods by 25%. He also threatened to raise them to 50% if the US persisted with its sanctions. In a defiant message on X (formerly Twitter), Petro declared, “Your blockade doesn’t scare me.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, criticized on Sunday the president's pardon of about 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it could lead to more violence.

Graham said that while Trump had the legal authority to issue the pardons: "Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake. Because it seems to suggest that's an OK thing to do."

As a result, "I fear that you will get more violence," Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Trump supporters serving prison sentences for taking part in the attack went free after Trump issued a grant of clemency on Monday, his first day in office. Some of those freed included supporters who had assaulted police officers.

The blanket pardon drew condemnation from police who battled the mob, their families and lawmakers, including some of the president's fellow Republicans. Reuters

Fresh off of his unexpected departure from President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy has set his sights on becoming governor of his home state. The 39-year-old biotech entrepreneur who made an unsuccessful bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has lined up strategists with Ohio experience and plans to announce his run as soon as this week. Ramaswamy will try to follow the paths of Vice President JD Vance and Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno — two political newcomers who won Senate seats with the help of Trump's endorsement.

Vice President JD Vance said bureaucrats at U.S. intelligence services were "out of control" and he defended Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's nominee to head those services, as the right person for the job.

"The bureaucrats at our intelligence services have gotten completely out of control," Vance said in an interview with the CBS "Face the Nation" program broadcast Sunday. "They've been part of the weaponization of our political system, the weaponization of our justice system.

"We need to have good intelligence services who keep us safe, but part of that is restoring trust in those services, and we think Tulsi is the right person to do it." Gabbard's selection in November to be director of national intelligence sent shock waves through the national security establishment, adding to concerns that the intelligence community would become increasingly politicised.

The former Democratic congresswoman lacks significant intelligence experience and in the past had been critical of Trump. Reuters

Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to seek explanations from the U.S. government over the "degrading treatment" of Brazilians on a deportation flight, the ministry wrote on X on Saturday night.

Last Friday, Brazilian deportees from the US. arrived in Brazil in handcuffs. Upon arrival, some of the passengers also reported mistreatment during the flight, according to local reports.

The plane, carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US security agents, and eight crew members, was originally scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. However, it made an unscheduled stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, due to technical problems, according to Brazil's Justice Ministry.

There, Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement Saturday. Reuters

President Donald Trump's suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is likely to be met with a hard “no" from the two US allies and the Palestinians themselves who fear Israel would never allow them to return.

Trump floated the idea on Saturday, saying he would urge the leaders of the two Arab countries to take in Gaza's now largely homeless population, so that "we just clean out that whole thing.” He added that resettling Gaza's population “could be temporary or long term.” “It's literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said, referring to the vast destruction caused by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas, now paused by a fragile ceasefire.

“I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump said.

There was no immediate comment from Egypt, Jordan, Israel or Palestinian officials.

The idea is likely to be welcomed by Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right governing partners have long advocated what they describe as the voluntary migration of large numbers of Palestinians and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Human rights groups have already accused Israel of ethnic cleansing, which United Nations experts have defined as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas “by violent and terror-inspiring means." AP

Republicans who control the US House of Representatives are trying to overcome internal differences on how to pay for President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cuts, with hardline conservatives determined to reduce an annual federal deficit approaching $2 trillion.

With a narrow 218-215 House majority, they need near-total unity as they prepare to vote within weeks on a fiscal 2025 budget resolution that will be a critical step toward passing Trump's sprawling agenda of tax cuts, border and immigration reform, energy deregulation and increased military spending.

Ahead of a three-day policy retreat that kicks off in Miami on Monday, some worried openly that House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership team might balk at the spending cuts needed to offset the cost of Trump's $6 trillion tax-cut agenda while also addressing the nation's more than $36 trillion in debt.

Republicans have vowed to extend Trump's tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Reuters

In a heated exchange that has raised alarm across Europe, US President Donald Trump reportedly intensified his demands to purchase Greenland during a recent phone conversation with Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen. According to senior European officials quoted by The Financial Times, the US president was aggressive, pressing Frederiksen on the strategic importance of the Arctic territory, which is an autonomous region under Danish sovereignty.

Despite Frederiksen’s firm rejection of any sale of Greenland, Trump has continued to insist that acquiring the island is critical for US national security interests.

After assuming power as the US President for the second time, Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified government documents related to the assassinations of former President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert F Kennedy and the Rev Martin Luther King Jr. While the flurry of executive orders has triggered debates in various circles, the release of the classified documents is likely to create ripples in American politics and here we revisit how the prominent American leaders were assassinated.

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has ordered the US military to lift a hold placed by former President Joe Biden on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

“We released them. We released them today. And they’ll have them. They paid for them and they’ve been waiting for them for a long time. They’ve been in storage,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, as reported by Associated Press (AP).

The bombs, capable of penetrating thick concrete and creating large-scale destruction, were previously held back by the Biden administration due to concerns about their potential impact on civilians, particularly in Gaza’s Rafah during Israel’s recent war in the Palestinian enclave.

(Read more from the report)

President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump also said he's ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point that had been meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

“We released them today," Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time." Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”

(AP)

President Trump is set to deliver a high-profile speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4, following an invitation from Speaker Mike Johnson. This address is a tradition for new presidents, serving as a equivalent to a State of the Union address, where they outline their vision and priorities for the upcoming term. In the past, such speeches have covered a wide range of topics, including healthcare, military spending, and immigration reform.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has threatened a "very big bounty" on Taliban leaders if they are holding more American detainees than previously known, Reuters reported. Rubio made the comments on social media, referencing unconfirmed reports of additional American hostages in Afghanistan, where at least two US citizens, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, are currently detained.

President Donald Trump is using a stop on Saturday in Las Vegas to offer details on how he can begin excluding tips from federal taxes, betting that a city built on gambling and the hospitality industry will relish taking home larger slices of gratuities.

Trump is vowing to make good on a campaign promise and will give a speech at the Circa Resort and Casino, according to the Culinary Union, which represents about 60,000 hospitality workers across Nevada. The union supports eliminating taxes on tips, but says Trump's proposals don't go far enough.

His appearance is intended to energise supporters and strike a grateful tone. But it comes as part of a trip where Trump has already picked a series of political fights.

He spent Friday seeing storm damage firsthand and hearing harrowing stories from survivors of last fall's Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. In Los Angeles, he viewed the devastation from wildfires that could be among the costliest natural disasters in the nation's history.

Trump toured hard-hit areas by helicopter and walked a street where every home was reduced to charred, rubble in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood. (AP)

President Donald Trump's first week in office isn't over yet, but already it offers signals about how his next four years in the White House may unfold.

Some takeaways from the earliest days of his second term:

He's emboldened like never before

Within hours of being sworn in, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people who were convicted or charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Those pardoned include people who attacked, bloodied and beat police officers that day.

The pardons were the first of many moves he made in his first week to reward allies and punish critics, in both significant and subtle ways. It signalled that without the need to worry about reelection — the Constitution bars a third term — or legal consequences after the Supreme Court granted presidents expansive immunity, the new president, backed by a Republican Congress, has little to restrain him.

Trump ended protective security details for Dr Anthony Fauci, his former COVID-19 adviser, along with former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his onetime deputy. The security protections had been regularly extended by the Biden administration over credible threats to the men's lives.

Trump also revoked the security clearances of dozens of former government officials who had criticised him, including Bolton, and directed that the portrait of a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, retired Gen. Mark Milley be removed from the Pentagon walls. (AP)

An Indiana man accused of using TikTok to urge attacks on the government and the death to Trump has been arrested.

The FBI said 23-year-old Douglas Thrams of Goshen made a series of threats in videos posted to the social media site this week.

In one TikTok video, Thrams said Trump needed to be killed “and this time don't ... miss,” an FBI agent wrote in a court filing.

He is charged with using interstate commerce to make threats.

Thrams is in custody awaiting an appearance Monday in federal court in South Bend. He does not have an attorney yet. (AP)

In 2017, Betsy DeVos narrowly secured her confirmation as President Trump's Education Secretary, with a tiebreaker vote from Vice President Mike Pence. DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor with little public education experience, became one of the few cabinet nominees to advance after a vice president’s intervention.

On February 7, 2017, Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski opposed Betsy DeVos’s nomination, but without a third Republican defection, she was confirmed with a 51-50 vote. It was the first time a vice president — in this case, Vice President Mike Pence — had been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination.

On Friday, Pete Hegseth was confirmed as the next defense secretary, becoming the second nominee to secure a cabinet position through a tiebreaker vote by Vice President JD Vance. Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell voted against him.

Democrats criticized Hegseth’s qualifications, citing allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive behavior, public drunkenness, and mismanagement of two veterans’ nonprofit organizations. They argued these issues made him unfit to lead the 1.3 million active-duty troops and manage the Pentagon's nearly $850 billion budget.

Long stretches of silence on a Border Patrol scanner are punctuated with updates on tracking a single migrant for hours. The radio traffic sounds like a throwback to earlier times before the United States became the largest destination for asylum-seekers in 2017.

“There's a pair way down there. We'll see if they start moving up,” one agent says.

“Yeah, maybe they'll try to move north in a bit,” another responds.

Saying that “America's sovereignty is under attack,” President Donald Trump's declaration of a border emergency comes at a time of relative calm after years of deep turmoil. Active-duty military arrived Thursday in San Diego and in El Paso, Texas, as part of an initial deployment of 1,500 troops.

Arrests for illegal border crossings plummeted more than 80 per cent to about 47,000 in December from an all-time high of 250,000 the same period a year earlier.

Arrests fell by about half when Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own borders a year ago and by about half again when former President Joe Biden introduced severe asylum restrictions in June. (AP)

The US Senate narrowly voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and military veteran, to be President Donald Trump's secretary of defense, clearing the way for a vote on his confirmation later this week.

The tally was 51-49 in the 100-member Senate on a procedural measure to end debate, as all but two of Trump's fellow Republicans voted in favor of moving ahead on the nomination despite new allegations about his personal conduct.

One of the most divisive nominees among Trump's cabinet picks, Hegseth was confirmed despite Democrats' concern about his lack of management experience and multiple allegations - which he denied - of inappropriate personal conduct and heavy drinking. (Reuters)

Donald Trump administration has also ordered a sweeping freeze on new funding for almost all foreign assistance, except for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The order prompted a quick halt to several of the US-funded projects worth billions of dollars to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance among others.

Amid raging fire in California, US President Donald Trump surveyed disaster zones and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While Democrats pressed Trump for federal assistance, the Republican President urged local officials to waive permitting requirements so people can immediately rebuild, pledging that federal permits would be granted promptly.

Less than a week after assuming power, Donald Trump administration has begun a crackdown on illegal immigration. In a post on X, the White House said deportation flights have begun and added that those who enter the country will face serious consequences. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 593 arrests on Friday and 538 on Thursday. Armed forces have been sent to the US-Mexico border and longtime rules restricting immigration enforcement near schools and churches have been lifted.

Hello and welcome to Doland Trump News live blog! Less than a week after assuming power, the US President Doland Trump has sent shockwaves across various circles with his flurry of executive orders. Among the orders is the crackdown on illegal immigration. Within few days after taking charge, the Trump administration has already arrested over 1,000 people on the charges of illegal immigration. Scenes at the borders are quite tense and officials in Newark, New Jersey, are lashing out over what they called illegal arrests by immigration agents.