Summary
Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in voting across the US with a series of new requirements, including the establishment of a national voter list.
The move was unprecedented and likely unconstitutional, according to experts. The Brennan Center said in response, “He has no lawful authority to write the rules that govern our elections. He tried a year ago; we sued him; we won. A year later, he has tried again. He can expect the same result.”
Several states and Democratic officials criticized the order, describing it as an illegal attack that amounted to voter suppression ahead of the midterms, and said they will take legal action to stop the president, including California.
Trump continued to fume over today’s ruling from a US judge that halted the construction of his $400m White House ballroom, and sharply criticized the decision during a press briefing and on social media.
Pete Hegseth lifted the suspension of the crew of the military helicopters that hovered near the home of singer Kid Rock, and said there would be no investigation.
Donald Trump will provide an “important update” on the war in Iran during an address to the nation on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Donald Trump is set to provide an “important update” on the war in Iran during an address to the nation on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The president spoke about the conflict during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters that the US could end its attacks on Iran within weeks. Earlier in the day, he also made comments online critical of European countries that did not join the war, stating that they should buy oil from the US or “go get your own oil” from the Gulf.
How common is voting by mail – and how rare is fraud?
Voting by mail is popular across the US, utilized by tens of millions of Americans, including Donald Trump himself. Despite his years-long vendetta against the method, and threats to eliminate it entirely, he voted by mail in a special election in Florida earlier this month.
Almost a third Americans voted by mail in 2024, according to States United Democracy Center. While people of all demographics in rural, suburban and urban areas vote by mail, the center notes, it was particularly popular among white voters, older voters and US military members.
Trump and other Republicans have for years promoted falsehoods about the security of US elections, and argued that voting by mail has led to rampant fraud and “cheating”. Mail voting fraud is exceedingly rare, data shows. According to a report from the Brookings Institute, such cases account for 0.000043% of total mail ballots cast which amounts to roughly four cases out of every 10 million votes.
Officials in California have said they also plan to sue over Donald Trump’s new executive order restricting mail-in voting.
“We’re challenging it,” Governor Gavin Newsom said. “See you in court.”
The state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, described it as a “dangerous and unprecedented escalation in his ongoing attacks on our elections”.
“The power to regulate elections belongs to the States and to Congress – he has no role to play. We blocked his previous Executive Order on elections in court, and we are prepared to stop him again,” Bonta said, adding that Trump and Republicans are likely to lose in the midterms and are seeking to make it more difficult to vote.
The state has filed more than 50 lawsuits against the administration since Trump’s second term began.
What exactly does Trump’s new executive order set out to do?
The action, which the president has framed as an effort to enhance “election integrity”, directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create a national voter list and share that with states.
It also directs the postmaster general to require all mail-in and absentee ballots to be placed in “secure ballot envelopes” with official markings, and the postal service to send mail-in ballots only to those on the list, and orders the attorney general to withhold federal funds from “noncompliant” states and cities. Under the order, the attorney general is also supposed to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of election officials and others who distribute federal ballots to ineligible voters.
Voting rights advocates and Democrats, however, say the order is an unlawful voter suppression effort intended to limit voting ahead of the midterms.
“Trump’s attack on vote by mail isn’t about integrity – quite the opposite. He knows vote by mail protects against all the well-known Election Day voter suppression tactics,” said Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, which conducts elections entirely by mail.
“This is all part of his effort to rig the upcoming November election. We can’t let him succeed. Save our Republic!”
Shortly after the army announced it would suspend the crew of the military helicopters that hovered near the home of singer Kid Rock, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he would lift the suspension.
“No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth wrote online.
Does Donald Trump actually have the authority to restrict mail-in voting?
Experts have spoken about today’s executive order, which would create a national voter registry and restrict the use of mail-in ballots, in no uncertain terms, describing it as unconstitutional and unlikely to stand up to legal challenges.
The president does not have legal authority over elections and mail-in voting. The US constitution permits states to set their own rules around elections. Only Congress can enact changes to US policy on federal elections. And federal courts blocked a previous order from Trump that sought to enact citizenship requirements on federal voter registration documents.
Multiple voting rights groups and Democratic lawmakers have already spoken against today’s order.
“The president has signed an executive order on mail voting. He has no lawful authority to write the rules that govern our elections. He tried a year ago; we sued him; we won. A year later, he has tried again. He can expect the same result,” the Brennan Center said.
“Our government’s citizenship lists are incomplete and inaccurate. The United States Postal Service is overburdened and inadequate. This combines a car crash with a train wreck.”
Updated
The president, meanwhile, continues to fume over today’s ruling from a US judge that halted the construction of his $400m White House ballroom.
He spoke about the matter during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “We built many things at the White House over the years. They don’t get congressional approval”.
An hour later he posted online that the judge in the case wrong.
“Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House. In this case, even less so, because the Ballroom is being built with Private Donations, no Federal Taxpayer Money!”
Officials in Oregon and Arizona are already warning they will challenge Trump’s new executive order on elections, arguing it amounts to an “illegal attack”.
“Only citizens vote in Arizona elections. That’s the law and we’ll continue to enforce it. We don’t need Washington politicians telling us how to run our elections,” wrote Arizona governor Katie Hobbs. “This Executive Order is nothing more than an illegal attack on vote by mail and access to the ballot box.”
Ron Wyden, Oregon’s senator, said voters in his state have successfully used vote by mail for more than three decades.
“We’ll be damned if we let Donald Trump change the way our state runs its elections. My message to the White House is this: if you come for Oregon’s vote-by-mail, you’ll have hell to pay.”
Tobias Read, the Democratic secretary of state in Oregon, which votes entirely by mail, also threatened legal action. “My message to the President: We’ll see you in court.”
During the press conference where Trump signed his order on voting, the president also waded into the recent controversy regarding one of his famous supporters, Kid Rock.
The army announced this week it had opened an investigation after two military helicopters on a training run hovered near the singer’s Nashville home as the singer offered a salute. Trump said he hadn’t seen the video, but that he would look into the incident.
“I’m sure they had a good time,” the president said. “Well, they probably shouldn’t have been doing it, you’re not supposed to play games, right? But they like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock. Maybe they were trying to defend him.”
'Massive and unconstitutional suppression effort': voting rights advocates and Democrats slam Trump's latest order
Donald Trump’s new executive order is already facing sharp criticism from voting rights advocates and Democrats.
Marc Elias, an attorney and the founder of Democracy Docket, described the order as unconstitutional.
“This is a massive and unconstitutional voter suppression effort aimed at giving Trump the power to create a list of who is allowed to vote by mail,” Elias said in a social media post. “We know where this will go – the targeting of Democrats for mass disenfranchisement. We will sue and we will win.”
Democratic senator Raphael Warnock said the order “will not stand”.
“The President’s attack on mail-in ballots is desperation plain and simple. It’s a panicked attempt to silence the people and salvage a failing presidency.”
Updated
Legal expert: 'the president has no power over elections in the states'
Trump’s new executive order follows a previous effort seeking to make significant changes to US elections, including requiring a documentary proof-of-citizenship to federal voter registration forms and requiring mail-in ballots to be received at election offices by election day at the latest.
That order was subject to immediate challenges from voting rights groups and Democratic state attorneys general.
David Becker, a former Justice Department attorney with the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told the Associated Press that the president’s latest action indicates he hasn’t learned from his previous failed efforts to control elections.
“The Constitution is very clear — the president has no power over elections in the states,” Becker said. “This will be blocked as soon as lawyers can get to the courthouse.”
Updated
Trump signs executive order to limit mail-in voting
Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in voting across the US with a series of new requirements.
The order directs his administration to establish a federal list of confirmed citizens that can legally vote in each state, and orders the postal service to send mail-in ballots only to those on the list. During a press conference at the White House, Trump said the administration would like to require voter ID and proof of citizenship, and repeated falsehoods about mail-in voting.
Trump has long attacked voting by mail and promoted misinformation about the practice, describing it as a scam that creates fraud in elections. Despite that, he has voted by mail himself, including in a recent special election in Florida.
The president does not actually have legal authority over mail-in voting as states run their own elections and only Congress can enact changes to US policy on federal elections.
Democrats were critical of the move and threatened prompt legal action with Chuck Schumer writing, “See you in court. You will lose.”
Updated
US aware of reports of journalist kidnapped in Baghdad and liaising with FBI
The US state department has said it is aware of reports that a US journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad and it is liaising with the FBI.
In a post on X, the department’s assistant secretary for global public affairs, Dylan Johnson, said:
The US Department of State is aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq.
The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.
An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities.
Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now.
The State Department strongly advise all Americans, including members of the press, to adhere to all travel advisories.
Here's a recap of the day so far
A federal judge in Washington DC has blocked the construction of Donald Trump’s sweeping $400m White House ballroom project. In his ruling, district court judge Richard Leon said that project would be on hold until the administration receives approval from Congress to continue. Trump quickly railed against the decision on social media, claiming that the construction was “under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the taxpayer, and will be the finest building of its kind anywhere in the world”.
In a blow to Trump’s immigration agenda, a district court judge in Boston ordered the administration to restore the legal status of thousands of immigrants who had been allowed to temporarily live in the US by using an appointment app utilized under former president Joe Biden. Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the US Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully when it sent mass emails in April 2025 notifying up to 900,000 people who had entered the country using the CBP One mobile app that it was “time for you to leave the United States”.
Meanwhile at the supreme court, justices ruled against the state of Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” – a practice that seeks to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity. In an 8-1 decision, the majority reversed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the law in a case brought by psychotherapist Kaley Chiles, who argued that the ban violated her first amendment right to free speech. Ketanji Brown Jackson – one of the three liberal justices on the bench – issued a lone dissent rebuking her colleagues’ decision.
Donald Trump confirmed that King Charles and Queen Camilla, will travel to the US for a state visit from 27 to 30 April. The president said that the trip will include a banquet dinner at the White House on 28 April. “I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Average US fuel prices have crossed $4 per gallon for the first time in four years, piling pressure on drivers as Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to boost oil markets. The nationwide average climbed to almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago. It has not been this high since August 2022.
Updated
Trump lambasts ruling that halts construction of ballroom project
The president has railed against a federal judge’s ruling today that blocks construction of his prized White House ballroom project.
Donald Trump targeted the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), who filed the initial lawsuit against the administration, and claimed the $400m ballroom is “under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the taxpayer,” and – he added– “will be the finest building of its kind anywhere in the world”.
He also pointed to the fact that NTHP also sued Trump for his planned renovations of the Kennedy Center, which will result in the performing arts venue closing for two years.
On Truth Social, Trump claimed that he is “fixing, cleaning, running, and ‘sprucing up’ a terribly maintained” building. He also lobbed a familiar insult at the preservation group, and called them a “radical left group of lunatics whose funding was stopped by Congress in 2005”.
Trump also claimed that NTHP launched a politically motivated lawsuit against the president by not suing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the ongoing renovations to the central bank. A project which the president used as grounds to prosecute Powell – who he frequently targets in person and on social media – to little avail.
In response to today’s ruling, Trump added:
So, the White House Ballroom, and The Trump Kennedy Center, which are under budget, ahead of schedule, and will be among the most magnificent Buildings of their kind anywhere in the World, gets sued by a group that was cut off by Government years ago, but all of the many DISASTERS in our Country are left alone to die. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Updated
Federal judge blocks construction of Trump's sweeping ballroom project
A federal judge in Washington DC has blocked the construction of Donald Trump’s sweeping $400m White House ballroom project. In his ruling, district court judge Richard Leon said that project would be on hold until the administration receives approval from Congress to continue.
“It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project,” Leon wrote in his opinon. “The President may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds. Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballroom, or at least decide that some other funding scheme is acceptable. Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation’s property and its oversight over the Government’s spending.”
The president began demolishing the East Wing of the White House in October, to make way for the new construction. In response, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) launched a lawsuit against the project.
A reminder that Trump also fired all six members of the independent US Commission of Fine Arts responsible for reviewing the ballroom plan, and replaced them with handpicked designees who gave their unanimous consent last month.
The president has frequently bragged about the project as a hallmark of his legacy, and branded it as a much-needed improvement for the White House.
According to the New York Post, representatives for Kristi Noem’s family, say the former homeland security secretary has been “blindsided” by a report from Daily Mail which alleges that Noem’s husband Byron communicated with only fetish models.
The Mail claims that Byron Noem was in touch with three women from the ‘bimbofication’ scene. This, the outlet notes, is a subsection of performers who transform themselves into real-life Barbie dolls by inflating their breasts with saline.
The report also states that Noem’s husband also took selfies where he appears to have stuffed two balloons inside his shirt to resemble breasts.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) leapt on to the revelations, and re-shared the photos of Byron, with screengrabs of Kristi Noem’s now-infamous Department of Homeland Secrurity (DHS) advertisements. “That’s cute they both like to dress up,” the DNC wrote of the couple in a caption.
While many Trump supporters praised the video he shared of the presidential library rendering on social media, other posts were swift and more brutal.
The press office of Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, posted photographs of giant shining effigies of other world leaders with the mocking words: “The gold statue in Trump’s new library (of himself) looks awfully familiar to a few others from around the world.”
The author and media personality Rutger Bregman also seized on an AI-generated image of Trump’s statue on a stage in front of a large audience of supporters. “A golden statue in a temple where the faithful gather to worship their idol. But enough about the Book of Exodus – here’s Trump’s Presidential Library!” he wrote.
The video was set entirely to music and gave no indication of a timeline for its construction after Trump is set to leave office in January 2029. But the valuable tract of waterfront land on which it will sit already belongs to Eric Trump’s foundation after it was gifted by Miami-Dade College (MDC) in a highly controversial transfer last year.
A federal judge initially blocked the transaction after opponents argued the college did not give enough advance notice for a public meeting at which the deal was approved, but the ruling was later overturned and college trustees voted again to cede the land to the state of Florida, which in turn handed it on to Eric Trump.
“It’s a land giveaway to the Trump Library Foundation,” Marvin Dunn, a local historian and retired MDC professor who brought the lawsuit, told CBS News at the time.
“Who is the Trump Library Foundation? Eric Trump, his wife, and some dude lawyer.”
A day ahead of blockbuster oral arguments at the supreme court, the line to get a seat has already started forming in Washington DC, according to local journalist Andrew Leyden.
Justices will hear a case challenging one of Donald Trump’s most controversial actions since he returned to the White House – an executive order preventing babies born in the United States from being granted citizenship if their parents are in the US either illegally or temporarily.
Lower courts have ruled Trump’s executive order unconstitutional in legal challenges over the last year, saying that the attempt to gut birthright citizenship violates a key clause of the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees American citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”.
In Trump v Barbara, the challengers also argue that the administration’s efforts run afoul of the citizenship clause, ratified after the Civil war, to overturn the supreme court’s Dredd Scott decision. The ruling that stated enslaved people were not citizens of the US, and therefore were not entitled to protection from the federal government.
Last year, initial attempts to block Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship were limited by the supreme court. In a 6-3 decision the bench ruled that federal judges could not issue universal injunctions that would obstruct executive orders.
On Wednesday, the judges will hear arguments on the merits of the case. The administration argues that the president’s executive order is meant to return to the original meaning of the citizenship clause, which ensured citizenship to formerly enslaved people, instead of “the children of aliens who are temporarily present in the United States”. In a brief to the court, US solicitor general D John Sauer argues that “aliens who are just passing through the United States, and those who cross our borders illegally, lack ties of allegiance and do not obtain the ‘priceless and profound gift’ of citizenship for their children.”
Updated
When US federal workers were missing paychecks and the partial government shutdown entered its seventh week, Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, was doing what any responsible lawmaker would do: riding Space Mountain and carrying a bubble wand at Disney World in Florida.
Naturally, TMZ had photos of the vacationing senator on its homepage a few days later.
The celebrity tabloid empire – better known for staking out actors and artists outside restaurants, gas stations, courthouses and their palatial estates – has turned its paparazzi prowess on a new and maybe equally chaotic subject: the US Congress. And America’s lawmakers may find themselves uniquely ill-equipped for the Hollywood experience.
The outlet last week put out a public call for tips on lawmaker sightings as the partial government shutdown dragged on, leaving thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees without pay.
Graham’s Disney World excursion earned him the headline: “Living in Fantasyland as Government Shutdown Drags On.” Senate majority leader John Thune, Senate majority whip John Barrasso and senator Ted Cruz also appeared in the outlet’s dispatches, with Cruz sitting as the lead story on the site.
But TMZ doesn’t play sides: it highlighted how Seth Magaziner, a Democratic congressman of Rhode Island, is headed to a Real Housewives watch party this week during the shutdown. The outlet also photographed Robert Garcia, a Democratic California representative, at a Las Vegas casino, which he addressed on X: “Actually I don’t mind what TMZ is doing here,” Garcia wrote, noting he had been visiting his father, and blamed Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, for sending everyone home in the first place.
Read the full report here:
Reuters now has more on that ruling, which came in a class-action lawsuit filed in August by three people from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti and the advocacy group Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts. They argued the Trump administration’s action constituted an abrupt, unlawful move to strip immigrants of their parole status and work authorization.
Per my last post, such immigrants had been generally granted two-year terms of humanitarian parole after using the Biden-era app CBP One to schedule an appointment to cross the US-Mexico border. Biden’s homeland security department had begun requiring many asylum seekers to use the app in an effort to alleviate chaos at the border.
Donald Trump, shortly after returning to the White House in January 2025, moved to shut down use of the app, as his administration began to implement his hardline immigration and mass deportation agenda.
In April 2025, many non-citizens who received parole through the CBP One process got an email from DHS saying it was exercising its discretion to terminate their parole. The email said:
Do not attempt to remain in the United States_the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately.
Trump administration unlawfully terminated status of migrants using Biden-era app, US judge rules
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the legal status of thousands of immigrants who had been allowed to temporarily live in the United States by using an appointment app utilized by his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.
US district judge Allison Burroughs in Boston ruled that the US Department of Homeland Security acted unlawfully when it sent mass emails in April 2025 notifying up to 900,000 people who had entered the country using the CBP One mobile app that it was “time for you to leave the United States”.
The app – a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s strategy to create and expand legal pathways to enter the country in an attempt to discourage illegal border crossings – allowed people to make appointments to request legal entry to the US.
Since January 2023, more than 900,000 people were allowed in the US after using the app to schedule appointments with immigration officials and apply for asylum. They were generally allowed to remain in the US for two years with authorization to work under a presidential authority called parole while awaiting their cases to be heard.
The sudden shutdown left thousands of people with scheduled appointments left in limbo at the border, while the DHS sent emails to those already living in the US temporarily urging them to “abandon the US” and “self-deport”.
Updated
The White House has added a 5pm ET executive order signing to the Donald Trump’s official schedule today. This will be open to the press, and we’ll bring you the latest lines.
We’ll be keeping an ear out for the any comments about the war on Iran, the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the scheduled arguments at the supreme court in the case challenging the president’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship.
On Truth Social, Trump posted a nearly two-minute video rendering of his proposed presidential library in Miami.
Set to dramatic music, the mock-up showed an enormous mirrored skyscraper emblazoned with his name and the American flag. The video uses AI to show guests mingling in the entrance of the library, with golden escalators, a replica of what appears to be Air Force One, and reconstructions of Trump’s prized ballroom – that remains under construction.
There’s also a replica of the Oval Office, rooftop gardens and a large gold statue of Trump.
A credit says the design comes from Bermello Ajamil, a Miami-based firm. Trump posted the video with no explanation beyond a link to a new website for the library. The website says, “coming soon”, with a link to donate money.
On Monday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill directing the Palm Beach international airport to be renamed to the President Donald J Trump international airport.
Trump’s family business filed a trademark application for the airport name in February. If approved, the name change would take effect on 1 July. Before the airport’s name can be changed, a formal request must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which then must process the change in various flight charting and navigation databases, and the airport signs must be changed.
Supreme court rules against Colorado 'conversion therapy' ban
The supreme court did, however, issue an opinion today, ruling against the state of Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” – a practice that seeks to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity.
In an 8-1 decision, the justices reversed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the law in a case brought by psychotherapist Kaley Chiles, who argued that the ban violated her first amendment right to free speech. The law applies to licensed mental health clinicians who seek to change a patient’s gender identity or sexual orientation, discredited tactics that major medical associations have said are ineffective and harmful.
In a lone dissent, Ketanji Brown Jackson – one of the three liberal justices on the bench – issued an opinion rebuking her colleagues’ decision.
“The majority has failed to appreciate the crucial context in which Chiles’s constitutional claims have arisen. Chiles is not speaking in the ether; she is providing therapy to minors as a licensed healthcare professional,” Jackson wrote. “It cannot also be the case that Colorado’s decision to restrict a dangerous therapy modality that, incidentally, involves provider speech is presumptively unconstitutional.”
Colorado is one of more than 20 states in the US that have banned conversion practices. The ruling in favor of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal group, now makes these laws across the country vulnerable to similar challenges.
A reminder, we were watching for opinions in three highly anticipated cases today.
Louisiana v Callais: A high-stakes voting rights case in which the court’s conservative majority appears poised to gut one of the most powerful provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.
Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.
None of these opinions were issued, so we’ll make sure to bring you the latest when the court sets its next decision day.
Supreme court set to issue decisions
It’s another decision day at the supreme court, and we’re watching for rulings in key cases we’ve covered throughout this term.
The court has brought out one box of decisions, which typically means one or two opinions.
Updated
Trump confirms King Charles visit to the US
Donald Trump confirmed that King Charles and Queen Camilla, will travel to the US for a state visit from 27 to 30 April.
The president said that the trip will include a banquet dinner at the White House on 28 April. “I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
This will be Charles’s first state visit to the US since taking the throne in 2022.
He is also expected to make an address to Congress and attend events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.
A reminder that Democratic congressman Ro Khanna requested a meeting with King Charles during his upcoming visit to the US. Khanna said he’d like to bring survivors of the late sex offender Jefferey Epstein to the meeting. This comes after Charles’s brother – Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office relating to his ties to Epstein. Peter Mandelson, a former UK ambassador to the US, was also arrested in February on similar allegations.
Updated
Donald Trump is in Washington today. Per the official White House schedule, we’re not expected to see the president until 7.30pm ET when he heads to the Kennedy Center to watch the opening night of “Chicago” with first lady Melania Trump.
We’ll keep an eye out for latest lines upon his arrival.
Updated
Hegseth repeated the president’s frustrations with European nations for their reluctance to assist in the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, we reported that Donald Trump chided countries like the UK to learn “how to fight for yourself” because the US “won’t be there to help you anymore”.
At his Pentagon press conference today, the defense secretary said there are countries around the world “who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well”.
Hegseth reiterated the administration’s frustration with allies. “Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.” he said. “So the world ought pay attention and be prepared to stand up. President Trump has been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran. It’s not just our problem set going forward.”
Hegseth: next days in Iran war will be ‘decisive’
The next days of the Iran war will be “decisive,” Pentagon chief Hegseth says.
“The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” Hegseth tells the news conference, his first in nearly two weeks.
He adds:
We have more and more options, and they have less... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive.
Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it.
Updated
Hegseth starts the press conference by saying he visited the Middle East on Saturday and spoke with US troops.
He claims morale is high and there is an appetite among the military personnel to “finish the mission” and that they want bigger bombs and weapons to attack Iranwith.
He says:
These troops want to finish this fight for their kids and their grandkids.
This is about history, this is about legacy.
The defence secretary says that while previous presidents were “all talk”, Trump is “all action”.
Follow along with the latest here:
Updated
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth and joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine are due to give an update on the military campaign in Iran on the hour.
It comes as Donald Trump described Iran as having been “decimated” by the US-Israeli war.
We will have all the latest news lines from that over on the Middle East crisis live blog:
Donald Trump tells allies, including the UK, to go to the strait of Hormuz and 'just take' fuel
Donald Trump has urged other countries to buy oil from the US and go to the strait of Hormuz to take the fuel for themselves.
He also warned allies, including the United Kingdom, to learn “how to fight for yourself” because the US “won’t be there to help you anymore’.
Writing on Truth Social, he said:
All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.
You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil! President DJT
Updated
A federal panel will meet today to consider exempting oil and gas drillers operating in the Gulf of Mexico from a decades-old law meant to protect endangered species including whales, birds and sea turtles.
The meeting of the Endangered Species Committee for the first time in more than 30 years is the latest effort by US president Donald Trump’s administration to unwind regulations it says hold back domestic energy production.
The committee, nicknamed the ‘God Squad’ because it has the power to grant exemptions to the Endangered Species Act, has convened only a handful of times since its creation in 1978. In an executive order last year, Trump ordered the committee to meet at least quarterly.
The meeting, called by interior secretary Doug Burgum, will be broadcast online starting at 9:30am local time.
Average US fuel prices have crossed $4 per gallon for the first time in four years, piling pressure on drivers as Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to boost oil markets.
The nationwide average climbed to almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago. It has not been this high since August 2022.
On the west coast, many drivers filling up cars and trucks are grappling with prices far higher than the US average. In California, the average is $5.89 per gallon; in Washington state, the average is $5.35.
Prices at the pump have historically proven costly for political incumbents in the White House. Trump faces his the biggest electoral test of his second term later this year, with Republican control of Congress in the balance ahead of November’s mid-term elections.
Oil prices have surged since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, with Brent, the global benchmark, hitting $115.48 per barrel.
Congestion at airport security eases as TSA workers receive backpay but shutdown drags on
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Security lines have eased at airports, clearing the worst of the bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.
Lines that at times stretched to four hours at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport shrank to waits of 10 minutes or less on Monday.
In other previous trouble spots such as Atlanta and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, travelers were moving smoothly to their flights.
Weary travelers hope the overdue paychecks will end the seemingly endless security lines and missed flights many experienced, AP reported.
It remains unknown how long federal immigration officers will maintain a visible presence in airport terminals as the busy spring break travel season continues.
TSA workers told union leadership Monday that they received some, but not all, of their back pay, according to Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the TSA chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees.
He said the rest is expected by next week. Some employees also reported incorrect backpay amounts, including missing overtime, the union said.
“None of my colleagues feel like they’ve been made whole,” Jones said. “Their finances are destroyed.”
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately to ease the lines plaguing airports.
Trump had rejected bipartisan efforts to fund the TSA while negotiations over ICE continue with Democrats, who have refused to approve more funding without restraints on Trump’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations.
Trump’s order left other DHS employees unpaid.
In other developments:
Allegations swirl that a broker for Pete Hegseth inquired into an investment in key defense companies before the Iran war began. The Morgan Stanley broker allegedly made an inquiry with BlackRock regarding an investment into a defense-focused equity fund. The Pentagon denied the allegations calling them “entirely false and fabricated”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill to rename the Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump. This would make the airport the latest in a long list of institutions, government programs, buildings and even money named after the president.
The US government has directed all of its embassies and consulates to launch coordinated campaigns against foreign propaganda. Marco Rubio signed a cable on Monday directing the embassies to coordinate with the US military’s psychological operations unit to address disinformation. It suggested using Elon Musk’s social media platform X to carry out the campaign.
José Guadalupe Ramos, a Mexican national, becomes the 14th known person to die in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the beginning of the year. He was found unconscious in his bunk last week at the Adelanto detention center in California and pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby medical center.
The army is investigating a helicopter fly-by at Kid Rock’s hillside swimming pool in Tennessee on Saturday. Two army choppers on a training run visited and hovered by the rocker’s house as he saluted them. According to the army, there was no official request for the fly-by, which triggered the administrative review.
