Closing summary
This brings our live coverage of the day in US politics to a close, as folks get back from a long Memorial Day weekend. We’ll be back on Wednesday. Here are some of the day’s developments:
The Trump administration ordered US embassies worldwide to immediately stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students as it prepares to implement comprehensive social media screening for all international applicants. The state department has also halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US. Here’s an explainer on the latest move against foreign students.
President Donald Trump is set to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of fraud and tax evasion convictions. Margo Martin, special assistant to Trump, posted a video on X, of the president calling Savannah Chrisley to announce his pardon of her parents. In 2019, the Chrisleys were indicted by a federal grand jury on 12 counts of bank and wire fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, all of which they have denied.
A judge in Washington struck down an executive order targeting law firm WilmerHale, marking the third ruling to overwhelmingly reject President Donald Trump‘s efforts to punish firms he perceives as enemies of his administration. WilmerHale is the former home of Robert Mueller, the Republican-appointed special counsel who led a probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and Trump campaign ties to Moscow. Trump has derided the investigation as a political “witch hunt.”
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville announced he is running for Alabama governor in 2026. In 2016, he was still working as the University of Cincinnati’s head football coach, and he previously coached at Auburn University in Alabama. In 2020, he won a seat representing Alabama in the United States Senate, his first stint into elected office. Tuberville is looking to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Kay Ivey.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to halt an order allowing migrants to challenge their deportations to South Sudan, an appeal that came hours after the judge suggested the Trump administration was “manufacturing” chaos and said he hoped that “reason can get the better of rhetoric.” Judge Brian Murphy in Boston found the White House violated a court order with a deportation flight to the chaotic African nation carrying people from other countries who had been convicted of crimes in the US. He said those migrants must get a real chance to be heard if they fear being sent there could put them in danger, he said.
Top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev, responding to Donald Trump’s warning that Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire”, said that the only truly bad thing to worry about was World War Three. “Regarding Trump’s words about Putin “playing with fire” and “really bad things” happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!” Medvedev wrote on X.
Israeli troops opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinian people as a logistics group chosen by Israel and backed by the US to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations.
The Trump administration is set to order federal agencies to cancel all government contracts with Harvard University worth an estimated $100m, dramatically escalating the president’s assault against America’s most prestigious university.
King Charles III delivered the “speech from the throne” to open Canada’s parliament, in which he made no direct reference to Donald Trump but was closely watched for implicit criticisms of the US president and his dramatic recasting of the US relationship with Canada. In the speech, which emphasized Canadian values, sovereignty and strength, Charles hailed Canada as “strong and free” and said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away”.
The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides last month, after advisers were told that the aides had supposedly been outed by an illegal warrantless National Security Agency wiretap. The extraordinary explanation alarmed the advisers, who also raised it with people close to vice-president JD Vance, because such a wiretap would almost certainly be unconstitutional and an even bigger scandal than a number of leaks. But the advisers found the claim to be untrue and complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who had been tasked with overseeing the investigation.
NPR, the US public broadcaster that provides news and cultural programming to more than 1,000 local stations, has filed a federal lawsuit against Trump’s administration, challenging an executive order that cuts federal funding to the public broadcaster as an unconstitutional attack on press freedom.
Robert F Kennedy Jr unilaterally announced that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would remove Covid-19 booster shots from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, in an unprecedented move from a US health secretary.
Donald Trump’s media company said that institutional investors will buy $2.5bn worth of its stock, with the proceeds going to build up a bitcoin reserve. About 50 institutional investors will put up $1.5bn in the private placement for common shares in Trump Media and Technology Group, the operator of Truth Social and other companies, and another $1bn for convertible senior notes, according to an announcement from the company.
Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if California did not stop a transgender girl in high school from competing in state track and field finals, and said he would discuss it with governor Gavin Newsom.
The United States warned Americans against traveling to Venezuela, emphasizing a growing risk of wrongful detention in the country where there is no US embassy or consulate.
A federal judge has issued an order temporarily barring the US transportation department from withholding federal funding from New York as the Trump administration seeks to kill Manhattan’s congestion pricing program.
President Donald Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a man who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes, one month after his mother attended a major fundraiser for the president, a justice department document shows.
First reported by the New York Times, Walczak submitted a pardon application to the president around inauguration day, citing efforts by Walczak’s mother, Elizabeth Fago, to support Trump and other Republicans.
Fago later attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner with a $1m cost per person, according to the Times, and Walczak was pardoned less than three weeks later.
The pardon spared Walczak from having to pay nearly $4.4m in restitution and from reporting to prison for an 18-month sentence that had been handed down just 12 days earlier. A judge had justified the incarceration by declaring that there “is not a get-out-of-jail-free card” for the rich.
According to the prosecutors, Walczak, a former nursing home executive, had siphoned off millions in employee payroll taxes to fund a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a $2m yacht and shopping sprees at luxury retailers like Cartier and Bergdorf Goodman.
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US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting
Earlier, we reported that the Trump administration ordered US embassies worldwide to immediately stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students as it prepares to implement comprehensive social media screening for all international applicants.
Now, the state department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US while it prepares to expand the screening of their activity on social media, the AP reports.
A US official said the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who had previously scheduled interviews.
The state department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting, according to the news agency.
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Former Democratic Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who ran against Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination, said he first urged JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor and the Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer to enter the race before deciding to run himself.
In a piece published last week in The Free Press, Phillips reflected on new reporting by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson about alleged efforts by Biden’s inner circle to hide signs of the president’s aging from the public.
He said he became convinced Biden was unfit to serve a second term after attending the White House holiday party in December 2022.
My opinion wasn’t an outlier. My congressional colleagues, like me, had eyes; behind closed doors we acknowledged the reality, lamented our party leadership’s inaction, and recognized the impending disaster awaiting us in November 2024,” Phillips wrote.
“After many of the same hushed conversations, I tried to impress a sense of urgency,” he continued. “I made calls to potential presidential candidates, like Illinois governor JB Pritzker and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, to urge them to run. But they didn’t even want their names mentioned — let alone return my calls.”
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Donald Trump said that the federal government will maintain its mortgage guarantees and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as he works to take both mortgage finance firms public.
“I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the U.S. Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social today.
The US Treasury still holds preferred shares and warrants to purchase about 80% of the firms’ common stock, remnants of the government’s 2008 rescue during the housing crisis.
“These Agencies are now doing very well,” Trump added, referring to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Fannie, formally the Federal National Mortgage Association, and Freddie, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., are for-profit companies with private shareholders. These two companies are the backbone of the US housing market. Together they support about 70% of US mortgages.
Here’s more context on his plans to take both firms public, which he announced last week:
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr threatened to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, escalating his ongoing campaign against institutions he claims are influenced by pharmaceutical companies.
Speaking on the “Ultimate Human” podcast, Kennedy called the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet (three of the most prominent medical journals worldwide) “corrupt”. He claimed they publish studies funded and approved by pharmaceutical companies.
“Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop NIH scientists from publishing in them and we’re going to create our own journals in-house,” he said, referring to the National Institutes of Health, the HHS agency that is the world’s largest funder of health research.
The Trump administration has issued a narrow authorization for US oil producer Chevron to keep assets in Venezuela, including its stakes in oil joint ventures with state company PDVSA, Reuters reports.
The guidelines, whose terms are similar to those in a US license held by Chevron between 2020 and 2022 for its Venezuelan operations, came as the administration allowed the energy company’s wider license to operate in the country to expire on Tuesday. Former President Joe Biden had issued that license more than two years ago.
Under the new authorization, Chevron cannot operate oilfields in Venezuela, export its oil or expand activities, sources told the news agency, adding that its intention is to avoid any possible payments to President Nicolas Maduro’s administration.
Chevron, which has a formidable lobbying operation in Washington, is the only US oil major to have retained a presence in Venezuela after Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez tightened the screws on foreign companies, according to The Financial Times.
The company now produces more than a quarter of the country’s oil.
Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that a proposed Golden Dome missile defense shield that he has previously said Canada wanted to be part of would cost Ottawa $61 billion.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that the country is looking at potential investments in the proposed $175-billion project.
Trump said that he wanted the project to be operational before he left office. Republicans had agreed to allocate $25bn in initial funding, which is coming from Republicans’ budget bill. The final price tag could exceed $540bn over the next two decades, according to the congressional budget office.
Trump set to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of fraud and tax evasion convictions
Margo Martin, special assistant to President Donald Trump, posted a video on X, of the president calling Savannah Chrisley to announce his pardon of her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley.
Martin posted, “President Trump calls @_ItsSavannah_to inform her that he will be granting full pardons to her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley!”
The stars of the reality TV series Chrisley Knows Best rose to fame for showcasing their lavish lifestyle and tight-knit family.
In 2019, the Chrisleys were indicted by a federal grand jury on 12 counts of bank and wire fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, all of which they have denied.
The reality stars began their prison sentences in January 2023. Their original sentences, which were 12 years and seven years, respectively, were reduced in September 2023.
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The possibility of halting abortions in Missouri has resurfaced after the state’s supreme court sent a case back to the lower court for reconsideration.
The court ruled today that a district judge had used the wrong legal standard in decisions made in December and February. Those rulings had temporarily allowed abortions to continue in Missouri for the first time since the state’s near-total ban took effect following the US supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022.
The high court ordered Judge Jerri Zhang to vacate her previous rulings and reassess the case using the proper legal framework it outlined.
The state argued in its March petition that Planned Parenthood failed to prove women were harmed in the absence of the temporary blocks. Instead, officials said Zhang’s rulings left abortion clinics “functionally unregulated” and women with “no guarantee of health and safety.”
Judge strikes down Trump's targeting of law firm WilmerHale
A judge in Washington struck down an executive order targeting law firm WilmerHale, marking the third ruling to overwhelmingly reject President Donald Trump‘s efforts to punish firms he perceives as enemies of his administration.
US District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of Republican President George W Bush, said Trump’s order retaliated against the firm in violation of US constitutional protections for free speech and due process, Reuters reports.
WilmerHale is the former home of Robert Mueller, the Republican-appointed special counsel who led a probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and Trump campaign ties to Moscow. Trump has derided the investigation as a political “witch hunt.”
Leon barred federal agencies from enforcing the 27 March executive order against WilmerHale, a 1,100-lawyer firm with offices in Washington, DC and across the country.
Updated
The Associated Press is reporting that the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to halt an order allowing migrants to challenge their deportations to South Sudan, an appeal that came hours after the judge suggested the Trump administration was “manufacturing” chaos and said he hoped that “reason can get the better of rhetoric.”
Judge Brian Murphy in Boston found the White House violated a court order with a deportation flight to the chaotic African nation carrying people from other countries who had been convicted of crimes in the U.S. He said those migrants must get a real chance to be heard if they fear being sent there could put them in danger, he said.
In an emergency appeal, the federal government argued that Murphy has stalled its efforts to carry out deportations of migrants who can’t be returned to their home countries. Finding countries willing to take them is a “a delicate diplomatic endeavor” harmed by the court requirements, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.
Murphy, for his part, said he had given the Trump administration “remarkable flexibility with minimal oversight” in the case and emphasized the numerous times he attempted to work with the government, according to an order published Monday night.
“From the course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite a lack of clarity as a means of evasion,” the Boston-based Murphy wrote in the 17-page order.
Republican senator Tommy Tuberville announces Alabama governor run
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville announced he is running for Alabama governor in 2026.
The Alabama lawmaker launched his campaign website today, and he’s set to officially announce his campaign this afternoon on Fox News.
In 2016, he was still working as the University of Cincinnati’s head football coach, and he previously coached at Auburn University in Alabama. In 2020, he won a seat representing Alabama in the United States Senate, his first stint into elected office.
Tuberville is looking to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Kay Ivey. He is immediately the frontrunner to win the seat in the deeply-Republican state. The move also sets up an open Senate race in Alabama in the midterms.
The senator has been flirting with the idea of going for the governor’s seat for some time now, and was already backed by several groups before announcing his candidacy. GOP groups like the Club for Growth preemptively backed him, and other would-be Republicans candidates like lieutenant governor Will Ainsworth opted out of the race.
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Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to “maybe permanently” strip federal funding to California if the state continued to allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.
In an early post on social media, Trump assailed California Governor Gavin Newsom, accusing him of defying an executive order the president signed earlier this year by continuing to “ILLEGALLY allow MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS”.
“I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go???” Trump said of Newsom. “In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!”
As of midday on the west coast, it remained unclear if the president and the governor had spoken. Nor was it clear what federal funds Trump was threatening to withhold from the state.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarity.
The president’s post appeared to reference a transgender high school student who recently won the regional girls’ long jump and triple jump competition.
Also on Tuesday, the California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high school sports, announced that it would pilot an entry process for this weekend’s track and field championship. It said it was extendinga spot to “any biological female student-athlete” who would have qualified in a competition where a transgender athlete secured qualifying marks.
In the inaugural episode of his podcast, Newsom said it was“deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for his office said the federation’s new policy was “a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness” and that Newsom was “encouraged by this thoughtful approach”.
Newsom has not responded publicly to the president’s taunt. Until now, Trump has largely avoided the public clashes with Newsom that were commonplace during his first term. Newsom in return has done little to antagonize the president, seeking federal aid to help Los Angeles recover from the devastating fires earlier this year.
California law allows transgender students to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. According to the governor’s office, the number of transgender high school student athletes in California’s 5.8 million student public school system is fewer than 10.
Trump administration asks supreme court to intervene in attempt to rapidly deport migrants to third countries
The Trump administration has asked the supreme court to intervene in its attempt to rapidly deport migrants to countries other than their own, Reuters is reporting.
We’ll bring you more on this as we get it.
The day so far
Top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev, responding to Donald Trump’s warning that Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire”, said that the only truly bad thing to worry about was World War Three. “Regarding Trump’s words about Putin “playing with fire” and “really bad things” happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!” Medvedev wrote on X.
Israeli troops opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinian people as a logistics group chosen by Israel and backed by the US to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations.
The Trump administration has ordered US embassies worldwide to immediately stop scheduling visa interviews for foreign students as it prepares to implement comprehensive social media screening for all international applicants. A Tuesday state department cable instructs consular sections to pause adding “any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued” within days.
The Trump administration is set to order federal agencies to cancel all government contracts with Harvard University worth an estimated $100m, dramatically escalating the president’s assault against America’s most prestigious university.
King Charles III delivered the “speech from the throne” to open Canada’s parliament, in which he made no direct reference to Donald Trump but was closely watched for implicit criticisms of the US president and his dramatic recasting of the US relationship with Canada. In the speech, which emphasized Canadian values, sovereignty and strength, Charles hailed Canada as “strong and free” and said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away”.
The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides last month, after advisers were told that the aides had supposedly been outed by an illegal warrantless National Security Agency wiretap. The extraordinary explanation alarmed the advisers, who also raised it with people close to vice-president JD Vance, because such a wiretap would almost certainly be unconstitutional and an even bigger scandal than a number of leaks. But the advisers found the claim to be untrue and complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who had been tasked with overseeing the investigation.
NPR, the US public broadcaster that provides news and cultural programming to more than 1,000 local stations, has filed a federal lawsuit against Trump’s administration, challenging an executive order that cuts federal funding to the public broadcaster as an unconstitutional attack on press freedom.
Robert F Kennedy Jr unilaterally announced that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would remove Covid-19 booster shots from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, in an unprecedented move from a US health secretary.
Donald Trump’s media company said that institutional investors will buy $2.5bn worth of its stock, with the proceeds going to build up a bitcoin reserve. About 50 institutional investors will put up $1.5bn in the private placement for common shares in Trump Media and Technology Group, the operator of Truth Social and other companies, and another $1bn for convertible senior notes, according to an announcement from the company.
Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if California did not stop a transgender girl in high school from competing in state track and field finals, and said he would discuss it with governor Gavin Newsom.
The United States warned Americans against traveling to Venezuela, emphasizing a growing risk of wrongful detention in the country where there is no US embassy or consulate.
A federal judge has issued an order temporarily barring the US transportation department from withholding federal funding from New York as the Trump administration seeks to kill Manhattan’s congestion pricing program.
Russia's Medvedev on Trump's criticism of Putin - the only bad thing is new world war
Top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev, responding to Donald Trump’s warning that Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire”, said on Tuesday the only truly bad thing to worry about was World War Three.
“Regarding Trump’s words about Putin “playing with fire” and “really bad things” happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!” Medvedev wrote on X.
Israeli troops open fire as controversial US-backed aid group loses control of distribution centre in Gaza
Israeli troops have opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinians as a logistics group chosen by Israel and backed by the US to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations, my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison reports from Jerusalem.
An 11-week total siege and an ongoing tight Israel blockade means most people in Gaza are desperately hungry. Hundreds of thousands walked through Israeli military lines to reach the new distribution centre in Rafah on Tuesday.
But the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses armed American security contractors, was not prepared for them and staff at one point were forced to abandon their posts.
“At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the SDS [secure distribution centre] was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Palestinians in Gaza to take aid safely and dissipate,” the foundation said in a statement.
The Israeli military said it fired “warning shots” near the compound to restore control. It was not immediately clear if there had been any injuries among people trying to get food.
On Sunday, Jake Wood, the founding director of the GHF, resigned, my colleague Lorenzo Tondo reported, saying that it would not be possible for the group to deliver aid “while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence”.
The UN and major humanitarian organisations had already refused to work with the GHF on the grounds that doing so would compromise values that are key to reaching civilians in all conflict zones, and put both their teams and recipients of aid in Gaza at risk.
They also warned that a newly formed group with no experience would not be able to handle the logistics of feeding over 2 million people in a devastated combat zone.
The dangerous chaos on Tuesday appeared to confirm many of those fears. The GHF said its decision to abandon the distribution centre “was done in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties”.
Updated
And here’s Joseph Gedeon’s story on National Public Radio, the US public broadcaster that provides news and cultural programming to more than 1,000 local stations, filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging an executive order that cuts federal funding to the public broadcaster as an unconstitutional attack on press freedom.
Here’s my colleague Leyland Cecco’s story on King Charles III’s speech to Canada’s parliament, in which he made no direct reference to Donald Trump but was closely watched for implicit criticisms of the US president and his dramatic recasting of the US relationship with Canada.
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RFK Jr unilaterally drops Covid-19 boosters for kids and pregnant women from CDC list in unprecedented move
Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would remove Covid-19 booster shots from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women.
Legal experts said the Trump administration appointee’s decision, which Kennedy announced on social media, circumvented the CDC’s authority to recommend such changes – and that it is unprecedented for a health secretary to unilaterally make such a decision.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that as of today, the Covid vaccine shot for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule,” Kennedy said in the announcement.
Kennedy claimed the Biden administration last year “urged healthy children to get yet another Covid shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children”.
The secretary was flanked by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner – Dr Marty Makary – and the head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr Jay Bhattacharya. Neither the head of the FDA nor of the NIH would typically be involved in making vaccine administration recommendations.
Bhattacharya claimed the announcement was “common sense and good science”.
Removing the booster shot from the recommended immunization schedule could make it more difficult to access – and it could affect private insurers’ willingness to cover the vaccine. About half of Americans receive healthcare through a private insurance company.
Such a unilateral change is highly unusual if not unprecedented for a typical US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary. And it could leave the HHS department open to litigation.
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Trump’s media company to take $2.5bn investment to buy bitcoin with proceeds going to creation of 'bitcoin treasury'
Donald Trump’s media company has said that institutional investors will buy $2.5bn worth of its stock, with the proceeds going to build up a bitcoin reserve.
About 50 institutional investors will put up $1.5bn in the private placement for common shares in Trump Media and Technology Group, the operator of Truth Social and other companies, and another $1bn for convertible senior notes, according to an announcement from the company.
Trump Media said it intended to use the proceeds for the creation of a “bitcoin treasury”. The effort mirrors the president’s moves to create a “strategic bitcoin reserve” for the US government.
Trump, who referred to cryptocurrencies in his first term as “not money”, citing volatility and a value “based on thin air”, has shifted his views on the technology. During his campaign, he became the first major candidate to accept donations in the form of cryptocurrency. Since assuming office, he has launched his own cryptocurrency.
Last week, Trump rewarded 220 of the top investors in one of his other cryptocurrency projects – the $Trump memecoin – with a swanky dinner luxury golf club in northern Virginia, spurring accusations that the president was mixing his duties in the White House with personal profit.
During an event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida during his presidential campaign in May 2024, Trump received assurances that crypto industry backers would spend lavishly to get him re-elected. He spoke at the major bitcoin event during his campaign, and JD Vance, the vice-president, is slated to speak at the conference this week.
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Earlier we reported that Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding if California did not stop a transgender girl in high school from competing in state track and field finals, and said he would discuss it with governor Gavin Newsom.
Reuters reports that in his social media post, Trump appeared to be referring to AB Hernandez, 16, who has qualified to compete in the long jump, high jump and triple jump championship run by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) at a high school in Clovis this weekend.
The CIF is the governing body for California high school sports, and its bylaws state that all students “should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity”. California law prohibits discrimination, including at schools, based on gender identity.
Trump referred in his social media post earlier today to California’s governor as a “Radical Left Democrat” and said: “THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.” He said he was ordering local authorities not to allow the trans athlete to compete in the finals.
Under the US and California constitutions, state and local officials and individuals are not subject to orders of the president, who can generally only issue orders to agencies and members of the federal government’s executive branch.
Trump threatened that “large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently,” if his demands are not met. Such a move would almost certainly lead to a legal challenge by California, which has already sued over multiple Trump administration actions it says are illegal or unconstitutional.
Trump also referred to comments Newsom made on his podcast in March when the governor also said he believed competition involving transgender girls was “deeply unfair”.
A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment on Trump’s remarks, but referred to comments Newsom made in April when he said overturning California’s 12-year-old law allowing trans athletes to participate in sports was not a priority.
“You’re talking about a very small number of people,” Newsom told reporters. Out of the 5.8 million students in California’s public school system, there are estimated to be fewer than 10 active trans student athletes, according to the governor’s office.
A CIF spokesperson did not respond to Reuters’ questions, and Hernandez could not be immediately reached for comment.
US warns Americans against traveling to Venezuela citing 'growing risk of wrongful detention'
The United States has warned Americans against traveling to Venezuela, emphasizing a growing risk of wrongful detention in the country where there is no US embassy or consulate.
“US citizens in Venezuela face a significant and growing risk of wrongful detention,” the State Department said in a statement. It has assigned Venezuela its highest travel alert - Level 4: Do Not Travel.
It cites risks including torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, unfair law enforcement practices, violent crime, civil unrest and inadequate healthcare.
Venezuela’s authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro tightened his grip on power yesterday as his ruling party yesterday celebrated its “overwhelming victory” in regional and parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by the majority of opposition parties – who called the elections a “farce”. Turnout was below 15%.
Meanwhile last Monday, the US supreme court allowed the Trump administration to end Biden-era protections that had allowed some 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants to remain in the United States. The decision lifted a federal judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s plans, meaning temporary protected status holders are now at risk of losing their protections and could face deportation. Joe Biden, had granted the status to Venezuelans due to political and economic strife in their home country.
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US judge temporarily blocks Trump from cutting funds over New York congestion program
A federal judge has issued an order temporarily barring the US transportation department from withholding federal funding from New York as the Trump administration seeks to kill Manhattan’s congestion pricing program, according to NBC New York.
US district judge Lewis Liman held the hearing one day before transportation secretary Sean Duffy has warned the government could begin withholding federal government approvals for New York projects.
New York launched its first-in-the-nation program in January, charging most passenger vehicles a toll of $9 during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, in a bid to cut congestion and raise funds to improve mass transit.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have now departed the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada and are on their way back to the airport.
After Charles’s speech in the Senate, the pair attended a wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial.
Donald Trump has “never evolved” and “isn’t close with anybody”, according to Mary Trump, the US president’s niece and a vocal critic of his business and political career.
The daughter of Donald’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr (nicknamed Freddie), Mary Trump told the Hay festival in Wales – where she was discussing her latest book about the Trump family, Who Could Ever Love You – that she no longer has relationships with anyone in her family apart from her daughter.
She described herself as “the black sheep of the family”, calling her grandfather, Fred Trump, Donald’s father, “literally a sociopath”, and adding: “Cruelty is a theme in my family.”
She explained that much of her understanding of her uncle comes from when she was in her 20s and Donald hired her to ghostwrite his second book. She said:
He is the only person I’ve ever met who’s never evolved, which is dangerous by the way … Never choose as your leader somebody who’s incapable of evolving – that should be one of the lessons we’ve learned, for sure.
Trump administration orders stop to new student visa interviews - report
The Trump administration is ordering US embassies and consular sections to stop scheduling interviews for foreign students applying to study in the US, according to a report.
The cable, obtained by Politico, indicates the administration is weighing requiring all foreign student visa applicants to undergo social media vetting. The cable states:
Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days.
Donald Trump’s latest Truth Social post warning that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire” follows days of back and forth with the Kremlin over continued attacks in Ukraine.
Moscow launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine over several consecutive nights over the weekend, killing dozens. A Ukrainian air force spokesperson confirmed it was the largest drone attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Something has happened to [Putin]. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said on Sunday night.
I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!
In response, the Kremlin sought to downplay Trump’s remarks, attributing them to “emotional overload”.
Trump says Putin is 'playing with fire'
Donald Trump has posted to his Truth Social platform to say that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is “playing with fire”.
The post reads:
What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!
Trump’s latest comments come after a previous Truth Social post on Sunday night in which he said Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY”.
'The True North is indeed strong and free," Charles quotes Canadian national anthem to conclude throne speech
He says Canada continues to set an example to the world as a “force for good”.
“As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free!” he says, ending the speech to a standing ovation and applause.
'There is no better time to come home,' throne speech tells Canadians abroad
He says the the government will always protect the rights and freedoms that the charter guarantees for every Canadian.
He says it will be a “reliable partner” to indigenous people, adding that the creation of their “long-term wealth and prosperity” is central to its commitment.
On immigration, Charles outlines the government’s new policies to slow down the rate while attracting foreign talent.
The government’s policy also sends a message to Canadians abroad that “there is no better time to come home”, he says.
Canadians are “uniting behind what makes Canada unique” during a time of “great change”, says Charles.
He celebrates the French language and the Quebec culture and says Canada respects its official and Indigenous languages. (This is in marked contrast to Trump’s executive order designating English as the official language of the United States).
He says the government is “determined to protect” the institutions which bring these to the world, such as Radio Canada. (Again, this is in marked contrast to Trump’s treatment of US public broadcasters).
He adds that the government will protect Canada’s nature and national parks “more than ever before” (Trump, on the other hand, is laying the groundwork to privatize America’s national parks).
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Charles outlines Carney’s priorities for addressing the housing shortage and strengthening Canada’s borders, saying law enforcement will get new tools to stop the flow of fentanyl and its precursors. (You will remember that fentanyl is a top priority for the Trump administration, and it’s one of the reasons the US has cited for raising trade tariffs on Canada).
He also talks through measures to protect Canadians, including hiring more police, and focusing on reducing car theft, home invasions, and the movement of guns and drugs across the border.
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Canada will emerge from trade wars 'stronger than ever', throne speech declares
He says that by removing barriers that have held back the Canadian economy, “we will unleash a new era of growth that will ensure we don’t just survive ongoing trade wars, but emerge from them stronger than ever”.
He says this will enable Canada to become a superpower in both clean and conventional energy, that would make it more globally competitive while fighting climate change and increasing jobs.
Turning to laying out the policy priorities of Mark Carney’s new government, Charles touches on upcoming changes to homebuying credits, childcare costs and pharmacare.
On the economy, he says the government’s “overarching goal” and “core mission” is to building the strongest economy in the G7.
“Canada is ready to build a coalition of like-minded countries that share its values, that believe in international co-operation, and the free and open exchange of goods, services, and ideas,” Charles says.
“In this new, fast-evolving world, Canada is ready to lead.”
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'Canada has what the world needs and the values the world respects,' says Charles
The Canadian government is also working to strengthen its relationships with “reliable” trading partners around the world, he says, adding that it is “recognising that Canada has what the world needs and the values the world respects”.
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Canada and the US “have begun defining a new economic and security relationship,” he says, “rooted in mutual respect and rooted in common interests to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations.”
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'Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power can ever take away,' says Charles
“A confident Canada,” Charles says, “can recognize that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away.”
“By staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians,” he says.
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It’s an opportunity for renewal and big thinking, Charles says, for Canada to transform its economy in the largest way since ww2.
Many Canadians feel anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them, he says.
The system of open global trade that has helped to deliver prosperity to Canada, he says, is changing.
Canada’s relationships with partners are also changing, he says.
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'Canada faces critical moment' in protecting democracy, freedom and self-determination, says Charles
“Today, Canada faces another critical moment,” Charles says.
“Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear and ones which the government is determined to protect,” he says.
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When his mother opened Canada’s parliament in 1957, ww2 was a “fresh and painful memory”, he says, and the cold war was intensifying, with freedom and democracy under threat.
Canada, he says, meanwhile was emerging as a force of peace in the world.
He then lists the “epoch-making events” that followed: the Vietnam War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the start of the ‘War on Terror’.
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King Charles says Canada would remain 'strong and free' in speech from the throne
Charles, who is speaking during a symbolic visit to show support for Canada at a time it has faced US annexation threats, expresses his love for Canada and says the country would remain “strong and free” – a reference to the Canadian national anthem.
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This year marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day / VJ Day, he says, in which many Canadians fought and died with the allies.
I should have said, these are Charles’s personal remarks before the speech itself.
He credits Canada’s “unique identity” on his 20th visit to the country.
Charles is speaking now, he refers to a “renewed sense of national pride, unity and hope”.
The speech has arrived in the room and Charles will speak momentarily. We have a feed at the top of the blog if you’d like to watch along.
Charles, who is here in his capacity as king of Canada, is now sitting on the throne after working the room and greeting officials for the last 10 or so minutes. He’s currently speaking to PM Mark Carney and the speech is due to begin shortly.
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University of Toronto political science professor Elizabeth McCallion told CBS News reckons Charles’s speech to parliament, which will set out the government’s agenda, is unlikely to name Trump overtly, but it could mention Canada’s sovereignty. She said:
Everybody knows what it means in this context.
McCallion added that the speech could have more explicit references to the US-Canada trade relationship, as Trump imposed sweeping and steep tariffs on Canadian goods, prompting Canada to hit back with retaliatory levies.
She said that ultimately Charles’s visit is likely intended as a “reminder that we are an independent country” adding:
Our national identity is at times muddied because it’s made up of so many different cultures that have come together. Often, Canadians primarily express their national identity as not being American.
The monarch, who formally serves as Canada’s head of state, is in the country on a two-day visit that is being widely viewed as a kind of pushback against Donald Trump’s musings about making Canada the 51st US state.
He and Queen Camilla have just arrived in parliament.
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King Charles III to deliver speech to open Canadian parliament in pushback against Trump annexation threats
King Charles III is in Ottawa for the formal opening of Canada’s parliament, where he will deliver the “speech from the throne”. The highly unusual move – that will mark only the third time a monarch has delivered the speech - is widely being read as a stern reminder to Donald Trump of Canada’s sovereignty, amid the US president’s repeated annexation threats and tariff policies. Indeed given Trump’s longstanding fascination with the British royal family, the speech is sure to be symbolic in a number of ways.
The speech has been written by the prime minister’s office, as is tradition in Commonwealth countries. Canadian PM Mark Carney said it would outline, among other things, Canada’s economic and security relationship with the United States, and its shared history with England. It is usually made by the monarch’s representative in Canada, the governor-general, but, the Associated Press reported, Trump’s repeated threats to annex Canada prompted Carney to invite Charles to deliver the speech. In a statement welcoming Charles yesterday, the prime minister didn’t mention Trump, but did hint at Canada’s “distinct identity” and “historic ties that crises only fortify”.
The speech is expected at 11am ET – I’ll bring you all the key lines here.
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Trump says EU call to set up trade meetings is positive and he feels 'empowered' to make a deal after delaying 50% tariff
Donald Trump said the EU’s move to set up trade meetings was positive and that he hoped Europe would “open up” to trade with the US.
He wrote on Truth Social:
I was extremely satisfied with the 50% Tariff allotment on the European Union, especially since they were “slow walking (to put it mildly!), our negotiations with them. Remember, I am empowered to “SET A DEAL” for Trade into the United States if we are unable to make a deal, or are treated unfairly. I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America. They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!
Trump announced on Sunday that we would delay his threatened 50% tariffs on all European Union imports into the US, after what he described as a “very nice call” with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen wrote that she had a “Good call with POTUS” in a social media post announcing she had secured a tariff delay of more than a month, to 9 July, to give both sides more time to negotiate.
The decision marks a U-turn since Friday, when Trump warned he would impose the 50% tariffs on 1 June because discussions with the EU were “going nowhere”. Trump claimed he was “not looking for a deal” that could deter the levies.
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Trump threatens to pull funding as he says he will speak to California governor Gavin Newsom about transgender athletes
Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if authorities in California did not bar a transgender athlete from state finals and said he would speak with the state’s governor Gavin Newsom on the matter today.
Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in which he misspelled Newsom’s name:
California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow “MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.” This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won “everything,” and is now qualified to compete in the “State Finals” next weekend. As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS. Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to. The Governor, himself, said it is “UNFAIR.” I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go??? In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!
In early February Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, in a slew of moves rolling back the rights of trans people since he resumed office.
The order – titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” - establishes stricter mandates on sports and gender policy, directing federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to interpret federal Title IX rules as the prohibition of transgender girls and women from participating in any female sports categories.
Newsom, a Democrat, shocked and angered his political and LGBTQ+ allies in March when he said on his podcast in conversation with influential Maga figure Charlie Kirk that it’s “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in female college and youth sports.
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'This wolf comes as a wolf': NPR sues Trump administration over 'retaliatory' order to cut taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS
Public broadcaster NPR and three Colorado public radio stations have sued the Trump administration over the president’s executive order to cease federal funding for NPR and fellow broadcaster PBS, calling the order an “affront to the first amendment”.
An extract from the broadcasters’ lawsuit, filed earlier today in the District of Columbia, reads:
It is not always obvious when the government has acted with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment. ‘But this wolf comes as a wolf. The Order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the President’s view, their news and other content is not ‘fair, accurate, or unbiased’.
Per NPR, “the lawsuit says the administration is usurping Congress’ right to direct how federal money will be spent and to pass laws. It calls Trump’s early May executive order ‘textbook retaliation’ and an existential threat to the public radio system ‘that millions of Americans across the country rely on for vital news and information’.”
NPR’s chief executive Katherine Maher said in a statement:
The Executive Order is a clear violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press.
This is retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times over the past 80 years that the government does not have the right to determine what counts as ‘biased’.
NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights, or the constitutional rights of our Member stations, and NPR will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity.
The three stations joining in the suit are the statewide Colorado Public Radio, based in Denver; Aspen Public Radio which broadcasts throughout the Roaring Fork Valley; and KSUT, originally founded by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and now serving four federally recognized tribes in the Four Corners region in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
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Earlier this morning, Alan Garber, president of Harvard University, told NPR’s Morning Edition that elite institutions need to double down on their “commitment to the good of the nation” and “be firm in our commitments to what we stand for”.
Garber said he finds the measures taken by the Trump administration to be “perplexing”; while he acknowledges there is work to be done on campus regarding viewpoint diversity, he said he struggles to see a link between funding freezes and fighting antisemitism.
I think that we have heard from some people that they do feel that [Harvard lacks viewpoint diversity]. What is perplexing is the measures that they have taken to address these that don’t even hit the same people that they believe are causing the problems. Why cut off research funding? Sure, it hurts Harvard, but it hurts the country because after all, the research funding is not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work – research work – that the federal government designates as high-priority work. It is work that they want done. They are paying to have that work conducted. Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard, and it is hard to see the link between that and, say, antisemitism.
Later in the interview he points to the many ways Harvard’s work directly benefits the American public, highlighting recent honors awarded to Harvard faculty by the Breakthrough Prize, known as “The Oscars of Science”, for their work on obesity and diabetes drugs and gene editing, used to correct disease-causing genetic variations. Garber goes on:
I would say that the federal government has the authority through the budgeting process to reallocate funds. But the question to ask is what problem is [Trump] trying to solve by doing that? The money that goes to research universities in the form of grants and contracts, which is almost all of the federal support that we get, is used to pay for work that we perform at the behest of the government. So in reallocating to some other use, including trade schools, it means that work just won’t be performed. So the right question is, is this the most effective use of federal funding? Do you really want to cut back on research dollars? I’m less concerned about whether it goes to a trade school or if it goes to some other project, like working on highways. The real question is, how much value does the federal government get from its expenditures on research? There is a lot of actual research demonstrating the returns to the American people have been enormous.
He ends the interview with a warning to other universities:
I would say that we need to be firm in our commitments to what we stand for. And what we stand for – I believe I speak for other universities – is education, pursuit of the truth, helping to educate people for better futures. And hopefully our own students, after they graduate from our institutions, go out and serve the world. In the end, we’re about producing and disseminating knowledge and serving our nation and our world. When we fail in that, then we can expect to be attacked. So number one, I think we all need to redouble our commitment to the good of the nation and the world. And I know my fellow leaders fully embrace that.
Donald Trump wants to “dictate” policies like those of far-right regimes in the 1930s, a leading billionaire investor has warned.
Ray Dalio writes in a new book that the US president is acting like a chief executive without a board as he seeks to expand executive power even more aggressively than predecessors Andrew Jackson and Franklin D Roosevelt.
Dalio, 75, is the founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, and a rare critic of the system that generated his wealth. His book How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle addresses the national debt and Trump’s attacks on democratic norms. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Invoking a decade when fascists such as Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy were in power, Dalio writes: “When I say that the policies President Trump is using to ‘make America great again’ are remarkably like the policies that those of the hard-right countries in the 1930s used, that should not be controversial.”
He continues: “It would be fair to argue that his attempts to maximise the power of the presidency by bypassing the other branches of government are analogous to the ways that Andrew Jackson (of the right) and Franklin D Roosevelt (of the left) did, though he is even more aggressive than they were. We will see how far he will take it.”
White House stunned as Hegseth inquiry brings up illegal wiretap claims
The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides last month, after advisers were told that the aides had supposedly been outed by an illegal warrantless National Security Agency (NSA) wiretap.
The extraordinary explanation alarmed the advisers, who also raised it with people close to JD Vance, because such a wiretap would almost certainly be unconstitutional and an even bigger scandal than a number of leaks.
But the advisers found the claim to be untrue and complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who had been tasked with overseeing the investigation.
The episode, as recounted by four people familiar with the matter, marked the most extraordinary twist in the investigation examining the leak of an allegedly top secret document that outlined options for the US military to reclaim the Panama canal to a reporter.
The advisers were stunned again when Parlatore denied having told anyone about an illegal NSA wiretap himself and maintained that any information he had was passed on to him by others at the Pentagon.
The leak was first attributed internally to Hegseth’s senior adviser, Dan Caldwell, who was escorted out of the Pentagon and fired last month alongside two other aides, Hegseth’s former deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick, and the deputy defense secretary’s chief of staff Colin Carroll.
But the illegal wiretap claim and Caldwell’s denials fueled a breakdown in trust between the Pentagon and the White House, where the Trump advisers tracking the investigation have privately suggested they no longer have any idea about who or what to believe.
Trump administration to cancel last of its Harvard contracts, report says
Harvard looks set to lose its remaining federal business worth an estimated $100m, with the New York Times reporting this morning that the Trump administration is set to cancel all contracts with the university.
The NYT says a letter severing all business with Harvard is going out to federal agencies on Tuesday. They are also being told to find “alternative vendors”.
This comes after Donald Trump on Monday threatened Harvard with further cuts to its funding.
Trump posted on his social media platform: “I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land.”
Harvard has launched legal actions over what it said was Trump’s attempt to “gain control of academic decision-making” at the university and his administration’s threat to review about $9bn in federal funding. Last week the Trump administration announced it would revoke federal permission for the institution to enrol international students. A federal judge issued an injunction within hours, temporarily blocking such a ban.
A recent former president of Harvard University urged people to “speak out” in defense of “foundational threats” to values such as freedom, autonomy and democracy in the US, as those whose deaths for such causes in war were being honored on Memorial Day.
Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female president of Harvard, also warned on Monday of US constitutional checks and the rule of law being “at risk” under the current administration, even as Donald Trump issued a fresh threat against the elite university as it seeks to repel his assaults on its independence and funding.
“We are being asked not to charge into … artillery fire but only to speak up and to stand up in the face of foundational threats to the principles for which [the US civil war dead] gave the last full measure of devotion. We have been entrusted with their legacy. Can we trust ourselves to uphold it?” Faust wrote in a guest opinion essay for the New York Times.
She highlighted, in particular, the principles fought and died for by Union soldiers in the US civil war and the roles played by assassinated US president Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and leading Black civil rights leader of the 19th century.
“We must honor these men,” she wrote.
Faust, who led Harvard between 2007 and 2018 and still teaches there, did not mention the US president by name but she referred to his position and made a direct link between the civil war and now.
US stock futures rally after long weekend on trade reprieve
US stock index futures jumped on Tuesday after president Donald Trump rolled back his threat of steep tariffs against the EU and tensions between the United States and the European bloc cooled as traders returned after the Memorial Day break.
On Sunday, Trump backed off from his threat to impose 50% tariffs on EU imports next month, restoring a 9 July deadline to allow for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal, Reuters reported.
He had said on Friday that he was recommending a 50% tariff effective June 1, expressing frustration that trade negotiations with the EU were not moving quickly enough.
“However, we’re still in the dark as to whether talks will lead anywhere, despite EU preference of a deal over escalation,” Rabobank analysts said in a note.
Asian and European markets were mixed after rising on Monday, although moves in US assets were more pronounced as traders returned after the long weekend.
Russia says US Golden Dome project undermines strategic stability
The United States’ Golden Dome project undermines the foundations of strategic stability as it involves the creation of a global missile defence system, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
The $175-billion project, proposed by US president Donald Trump, is aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia.
Moscow and Washington are also continuing to work on another prisoner swap between their two countries, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed a possible prisoner exchange involving nine people from each side during a phone call last week.
Holidaymakers in countries hit the hardest by Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are taking the US off their list for trips abroad, according to online travel booking data.
Findings from the hotel search site Trivago also suggest that UK and US travellers are increasingly choosing domestic holidays amid concerns over an uncertain economy.
The company has seen double-digit percentage declines in bookings to the US from travellers based in Japan, Canada and Mexico. The latter two countries were the first on Trump’s tariff hitlist when he announced tariffs of 25% on 1 February.
Canadians in particular were incensed at Trump’s repeated suggestions that its northern neighbour would be better off annexed as the 51st state of the US.
According to Trivago’s findings, which were shared with PA Media, demand among Germans was also “down heavily”, with hotel bookings in the US showing a single-digit percentage decline.
Germany is the largest economy in the EU, which Trump has repeatedly threatened with increased tariffs, most recently saying on Sunday he had “paused” a 50% tax he intended to introduce next month.
Trump peppers Memorial Day speech with personal boasting and partisan attacks
Donald Trump honored the sacrifices of US military veterans in the traditional presidential Memorial Day speech at Arlington national cemetery, but also peppered his address on Monday with partisan political asides while talking up his own plans and achievements.
The US president laid a wreath and paid tribute to fallen soldiers and gave accounts of battlefield courage as tradition dictates, from prepared remarks, after saluting alongside his vice-president, JD Vance and defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who both served in Iraq.
But Trump also veered off into rally-style personal boasting and brief partisan attacks during the solemn event.
“Those young men could never have known what their sacrifice would mean to us, but we certainly know what we owe to them. That valor gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth,” he said of those killed in military service.
Then he went on: “A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through.”
The president continued with an anti-immigration statement that chimes with his agenda, though without directly mentioning his predecessor, Democratic president Joe Biden who served between Trump’s first term and the Republican’s return to the White House this January.
“Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders unchecked. People doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss,” Trump said.
It was a nod to his Truth Social platform on Monday morning where he posted a tirade against judges who hold up his deportation aims, chiefly because of his ignoring due process obligations, as “monsters” and again attacked undocumented immigrants, using sweeping disparagements.
Trump announces full pardon for Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the coming hours.
We start with the news that Donald Trump has issued a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges.
Scott Jenkins, who had been the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, was set to report to jail on Tuesday after he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Jenkins was convicted by a jury in December 2024 for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointments as auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump wrote:
Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ.
He said Jenkins was a “victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice” and a “wonderful person”, adding:
He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.
More on that as we get it today. Meanwhile, in other news:
Donald Trump used the traditional presidential Memorial Day speech at Arlington national cemetery to talk up his own plans and achievements. The president laid a wreath and paid tribute to fallen soldiers but also veered off into rally-style personal boasting and brief partisan attacks during the solemn event.
EU leaders expressed hopes for a quick deal to resolve the trade war with the US after Trump announced he was delaying his threatened 50% tariffs for the bloc until 9 July. The US president said on Sunday he would pause the border tax due to be imposed on 1 June, which he had announced two days earlier, after what he called a “very nice call” with European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.
Trump issued a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges. Scott Jenkins, who had been the sheriff of Culpeper county, Virginia, was set to report to jail on Tuesday after he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointments as auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
Trump also said he is considering taking a further $3bn of grant money away from Harvard University and giving it to trade schools across the US. Former president of Harvard and current professor Drew Gilpin Faust warned that American freedoms and democracy were at risk.
Trump suggested Russian leader Vladimir Putin had “gone crazy” after Moscow launched its third consecutive night of massive drone strikes against Ukraine, killing at least six people. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump railed against Putin while also criticising the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for calling out US inaction against Russia.
Former congressman Charles Rangel of New York died on Monday at the age of 94. An outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat who spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill, Rangel was a founding member of the Congressional Black caucus and the first African American to chair the powerful House ways and means committee.
The FBI will launch new investigations into the 2023 discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House during Joe Biden’s term, and the leak of the supreme court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade in 2022. The FBI will also investigate pipe bombs discovered at Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.
The Trump family media company plans to raise about $3bn to spend on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, according to a Financial Times report. The Trump Media & Technology Group, which is behind the Truth Social app and controlled by the president’s family, aims to raise $2bn in fresh equity and another $1bn via a convertible bond, the paper said, citing sources.
