Closing summary
We are wrapping up our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day, but will be back at it on Tuesday. In the meantime, here are the latest developments:
President Donald Trump has nominated conservative economist EJ Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that is responsible for collecting and publishing the country’s employment and inflation figures. The nomination comes after Trump fired the BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, earlier this month following the release of a weak jobs report which he claimed had been “rigged”.
Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city’s police force, describing a “lawless” city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics. The US president’s move was swiftly condemned as a “disgusting, dangerous and derogatory” assault on the political independence of a racially diverse city. The federal takeover is expected to be in effect for 30 days.
Trump has once again delayed implementing sweeping tariffs on China, announcing another 90-day pause just hours before the last agreement between the world’s two largest economies was due to expire. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November.
A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday began hearing evidence and arguments on whether the Trump administration violated federal law when it deployed national guard soldiers and US marines to Los Angeles after protests over immigration raids this summer. The Trump administration federalized California national guard members and sent them to the second-largest US city over the objections of the California governor, Gavin Newsom, and city leaders.
Trump previewed his Friday meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, claiming he will know “probably in the first two minutes” whether a peace deal can be made. Trump confirmed that while Volodymyr Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of the summit, he would call him first as soon as he saw a “fair deal” for a ceasefire emerge. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of a future trading relationship with Russia.
A federal judge rejected on Monday a request from the justice department to unseal the grand jury transcripts relating to the criminal investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. The judge wrote that the transcripts could not be released publicly – “casually or promiscuously” – as Trump’s government had pushed for because it would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised”.
A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit created by Congress to promote democracy worldwide, The New York Times reports.
In a 15-page ruling, judge Dabney L Friedrich of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found that the administration withheld the money “for impermissible policy reasons,” causing the nonprofit irreparable harm, including layoffs of staff and the suspension of several democracy-promoting programs.
“These harms to the endowment’s global reputation and to the ‘very existence of its programs’ are irreparable,” judge Friedrich wrote. She ordered the release of $95m in federal funds to the nonprofit, roughly 30 percent of its annual budget.
Updated
My colleague Lauren Gambino and I are looking over the latest details on the nomination of EJ Antoni as the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here’s what to know:
Donald Trump nominated Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, after the president fired Erika McEntarfer earlier this month following the release of a weak jobs report which he claimed, without evidence, had been “rigged”.
The Senate will have to confirm his nomination to lead the BLS, an independent agency under the labor department. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that former White House adviser and rightwing provocateur Steve Bannon had advocated for Antoni’s nomination.
In a statement on X, labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said Antoni would “provide the American people with fair and accurate economic data they can rely on”.
House Republicans on Monday backed Trump’s moves to take control of the DC police force and deploy the national guard in the capital.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair James Comer said he will summon mayor Muriel Bowser, council chair Phil Mendelson, and attorney general Brian Schwalb to Capitol Hill next month for a hearing.
The public questioning would come as the 30-day expiration of Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department approaches, which would require congressional action to extend.
“For years, the D.C. Council’s radical, soft-on-crime agenda has emboldened criminals and put public safety at risk in our nation’s capital,” Comer said in a statement.
According to a letter posted on X by the Republican-led Oversight Committee, the panel was notified of Trump’s plans to use the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes.
The Trump administration agreed to, again, delay the deadline when tariffs on Chinese imports would increase as discussions between the two countries continue.
The new deadline would be 10 November.
“All other elements of the Agreement will remain the same,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Chinese officials said earlier on Monday that they hoped the United States would strive for “positive” trade outcomes, as the 90-day detente reached between the two countries in May was due to expire.
Currently, US exports to China, one of the United States’ largest trading partners, are subject to tariffs of about 30%. Imports from China are subject to a baseline tariff of 10% and a 20% extra tariff in response to fentanyl smuggling allegations against China. Some products are taxed at higher rates.
Last week, new import taxes took effect on goods from dozens of countries. Prices in the United States have already begun to rise as existing tariffs on imports from China and other nations continue to ripple through the economy.
Michael Sainato reports on the latest pause in the planned increase of China tariffs:
Updated
Trump spreads false narratives about DC crime – just as he did with LA
Donald Trump is deploying the national guard in Washington DC and seizing control of its police force, claiming that the nation’s capital has become “lawless” and is “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world”.
The president portrayed himself as DC’s savior, vowing to rid it of “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse”.
He demanded unhoused people leave the city, or face eviction.
Trump’s portrayal of Washington DC, where he has been forced to reside as president, cutting short his time in his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, did not come as a surprise. He’s presented DC as a “nightmare of murder and crime” before, and already in February was reported to be mulling a law-enforcement crackdown.
Nor is it the only major American city in his crosshairs. “Los Angeles has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations,” Trump said in June, while deploying the national guard to quell protests there.
Just as Los Angeles in June wasn’t overrun with insurrectionist mobs – the protests were largely confined to a few city blocks – Trump’s portrayal of crime in Washington DC has little to do with facts, but instead, are rooted in false and misleading claims about crime and homelessness, experts say.
Read the full analysis by Sam Levin here:
‘Red meat to throw to his base’: DC residents on Trump’s police takeover
As Donald Trump convened reporters at the White House on Monday morning to announce his plans for sending the national guard on to Washington DC streets and taking over the police department, protesters gathered a block away to denounce what they saw as his plans to put the federal district under his thumb.
“Nothing Trump is doing right now is about our safety,” Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, a group advocating for the city’s autonomy, told the 200 or so people gathered on a block of 16th Street Northwest that had once been called Black Lives Matter Plaza, before the city government ordered the name stripped shortly after Trump’s inauguration this year.
“What we know from history is that authoritarians always want to control the capital and the people in the capital city. It’s because it’s the fastest way to silence dissent and to accelerate their agenda. And I want to be clear, this is not about crime. This is about what Trump is trying to do to DC in order to take over DC and silence us.”
Lamont Mitchell was not so sure. A lifelong Washingtonian who resides among the poorer and more crime-stricken neighborhoods east of the Anacostia river, he regarded Trump’s plans for the homeless as “inhumane”, but was open to his ideas for making the city’s streets safer. Mitchell described how he avoids certain areas on his drive home for fear of being struck by a stray bullet, no longer walks down certain blocks, had his RV stolen and plans to buy a gun.
“As a senior in Washington, I need to feel safe,” said 69-year-old Mitchell, who chairs the Anacostia Coordinating Council community organization. “We gotta take drastic action when drastic action is called for.”
Read the full story by The Guardian’s Chris Stein here:
Trump nominates economist at the Heritage Foundation as the new BLS commissioner
President Donald Trump announced he is nominating EJ Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The nomination comes after Trump fired the BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer earlier this month after the release of a weak jobs report.
Antoni has previously voiced concerns about revisions to the jobs data at BLS.
“There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data – that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years,” Antoni posted on X earlier this month.
Updated
The CDC has tightened security following an attack on Friday on its Atlanta headquarters that left a police officer and the gunman dead, Reuters reports.
Measures include having most employees work from home this week and removing vehicle decals showing where they work.
Both local and federal law enforcement are “conducting intensive monitoring of all potential threats to CDC and its staff,” the agency’s acting chief operating officer Christa Capozzola in an email to staff over the weekend.
An “all-staff” meeting on Tuesday will become a virtual-only event, CDC director Susan Monarez said in a separate email, according to the news wire. She said teams were working to determine “our workplace posture” moving forward.
A union representing CDC employees demanded that the federal government condemn vaccine misinformation after it was known that the shooter blamed the Covid-19 vaccination for making him depressed and suicidal.
In a statement, Mike Zamore, the ACLU’s national director of policy and government affairs, called Donald Trump’s actions to federalise the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington an “assault on our fundamental freedoms”.
“He is using the word ‘emergency’ as a blank check for asserting federal control whenever it suits his agenda – abusing emergency powers while militarizing our communities and endangering the very people he is sworn to protect”, said Zamore.
Monica Hopkins, the executive director of the ACLU of DC, called the move “political theater and a blatantly phony justification for abuse of emergency powers.”
Hopkins added: “The president foreshadowed that if these heavy-handed tactics take root here, they will be rolled out to other majority-Black and Brown cities, like Chicago, Oakland, and Baltimore, across the country. That should alarm everyone, not just Washingtonians”.
The DC Council, the chief policy-making authority for the district, issued a statement calling Trump’s move to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department “unwarranted” and “a manufactured intrusion on local authority.”
“Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years,” the statement said.
“Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency. Further, the National Guard has no public safety training or knowledge of local laws. The Guard’s role does not include investigating or solving crimes in the District. Calling out the National Guard is an unnecessary deployment with no real mission,” added the council.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he met with Intel Corp’s chief executive Lip-Bu Tan, along with commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and treasury secretary Scott Bessent.
“The meeting was a very interesting one,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Mr. Tan and my Cabinet members are going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week.”
Trump’s remarks come just days after he called on the chief executive to resign, alleging Tan had ties to the Chinese Communist party.
Trump plans to impose a 100% tariff on imported computer chips, a move experts warn could lead companies to pull back on production or raise prices, but could favor Intel as a US-based semiconductor firm.
Tan had invested in hundreds of Chinese firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military, Reuters reported in April.
Updated
Over the weekend, more details emerged about the fatal attack on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that took place on Friday, killing a police officer. In case you missed it:
We reported that the shooter had blamed a Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. The suspect’s father contacted police and said his son was upset about the death of his dog, and had also become fixated on the Covid-19 vaccine.
A union representing CDC employees demanded that the federal government condemn vaccine misinformation after it was known that the shooter blamed the Covid-19 vaccine. The CDC workers’ union said the deadly violence was not random and “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured”. It said vaccine misinformation had put scientists at risk.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation named Patrick Joseph White as the shooter. After firing shots at the CDC campus near Emory University on Friday, White was found dead on the second floor of the pharmacy building.
Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has recently discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine with secretary of state Marco Rubio.
On Monday, Yermak said in a post on X that Rubio was briefed “on active communications with our partners,” including a meeting with US vice-president JD Vance.
“We coordinated our positions ahead of important diplomatic steps planned for this week,” Yermak said in the post. “For Ukraine, the priority is a just and lasting peace, which requires an unconditional ceasefire as a prerequisite for substantive negotiations, as well as increased pressure on Russia to take real steps in this direction.”
The post comes after UK foreign secretary David Lammy and Vance held a meeting with Ukrainian and European partners in Britain over the weekend, where leaders discussed the drive for peace in Ukraine.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are slated to meet on Friday in Alaska to discuss ways forward to end the years-long war.
Updated
CNN is reporting that national guard troops in the nation’s capital deployed by the Trump administration are not expected to openly carry rifles.
An army official told the news outlet that troops will most likely have weapons nearby, like inside their trucks, if they absolutely need to access them for purposes of self-defense.
Still, the official said it is always a possibility that troops could be ordered to operate differently.
Gavin Newsom tried to play nice with Maga. But then in June, Donald Trump sent the national guard to LA, to quell immigration protests following Ice raids on the city, and the California governor went scorched-earth on the new administration.
Since then Newsom’s social media exchanges with Trump and his White House have taunted and trolled, factchecked and alarm-sounded.
Following Trump’s announcement on Monday that he’s activating the National Guard in the nation’s capital and taking over Washington’s police department, Newsom’s social media team set to work.
Newsom warned in one post that other cities were next (and reminded followers that he had predicted this might happen back in June.)
He was just getting warmed up in Los Angeles.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 11, 2025
He will gaslight his way into militarizing any city he wants in America.
This is what dictators do. https://t.co/IPvx9Hrp0q
His press office grabbed a screenshot of the Trump officials looking bewildered.
When you know every word Trump says is false but the camera’s rolling and your mortgage is due. pic.twitter.com/UJdKRsnkzh
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 11, 2025
The team continued its full-frontal social assault, peppering Trump with tweets on the DC takeover, tariffs and his partisan redistricting plan. They deployed a Taco tariffs meme (Trump always chickens out) in response to the news that Trump and China extended their truce for another 90 days. They questioned how Attorney General Pam Bondi, who they said “couldn’t find the Epstein files” might fare as the head of the newly installed DC police department.
They even fired off a Trump-style all-caps missive warning that California would redistrict if he did not call on Texas to stand down.
Updated
Following the DC mayor's press conference, here's a recap of the day so far
Donald Trump is launching a federal takeover of DC Metropolitan police department (MPD), and deploying 800 national guardsmen to assist local law enforcement. He declared crime in the city a “public safety emergency” in a press conference earlier, invoking a section of the DC Home Rule Act which places MPD under federal control. It’s expected to last 30 days, according to the White House.
DC’s mayor Muriel Bowser said today that her office plans to comply and cooperate with federal government, but noted there are questions about the “subjectivity” of the emergency declaration. DC has seen a notable drop in violent crime, and even saw a record 30-year low in 2024, according to the justice department.
Beyond Washington, Trump also previewed his Friday meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, claiming he will know “probably in the first two minutes” whether a peace deal can be made. Trump confirmed that while Volodymyr Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of the summit, he would call him first as soon as he saw a “fair deal” for a ceasefire emerge. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of a future trading relationship with Russia.
And while the ongoing redistricting battle across the US wasn’t the main story of the day, California governor Gavin Newsom said that he will be “forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states” in a letter to Donald Trump. Newsom said he would be left with no choice if the president can’t get governor Greg Abbott to drop his push to redraw Texas’ congressional maps mid-decade.
Updated
In a statement, Democratic congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who serves as the House minority leader, said that the president’s plan to federalise the DC police department and deploy the National Guard had “has no basis in law and will put the safety of the people of our Nation’s capital in danger”.
He added:
The violent crime rate in Washington DC is at a 30-year low. Donald Trump doesn’t care about public safety. On his first day in office, he pardoned hundreds of violent felons – many of whom brazenly assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6. We stand with the residents of the District of Columbia and reject this unjustified power grab as illegitimate.
Updated
On the president’s statements earlier that he would be comfortable bringing the military into DC if he deems it necessary, Muriel Bowser says that “we don’t believe it’s legal to use the American military against American citizens on American soil”.
Trump did, however, bring in out-of-state, unfederalised national guard troops during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Bowser does note that she suspected that the national guard would be deployed, but had no prior knowledge of the federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department.
Updated
Trump announces another 90-day pause on China tariffs
Donald Trump has once again delayed implementing sweeping tariffs on China, announcing another 90-day pause just hours before the last agreement between the world’s two largest economies was due to expire.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 9 November, officials confirmed to Reuters.
Chinese officials said earlier in the day they hoped the United States would strive for “positive” trade outcomes on Monday, as the 90-day detente reached between the two countries in May was due to expire.
“We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state … and strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” a foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, said in a statement.
Updated
DC mayor: 'this action today is unsettling and unprecedented'
Bowser says that her office plans to follow the law, and cooperate with the federal government. The DC Home Rule Act requires the mayor to “provide the services” of the police department in the case of a declared emergency.
Although, she notes that there is a “question about the subjectivity” of the declaration – referring to the recorded evidence of a dropping violent crime rate in DC. “While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can’t say that, given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we’re totally surprised,” she adds.
The mayor also says that she’s requested a meeting with attorney general Pam Bondi, who will temporarily oversee the Metropolitan police department.
Bowser notes that all officers should be clearly identifiable: “a uniform, a badge, a jacket, so that people know that they are law enforcement”.
Updated
DC Mayor Bowser responds to Trump's federal takeover of DC police and national guard deployment
The Democratic mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, is now addressing the president’s actions today.
“I’ve said before, and I’ll repeat, that I believe that the president’s view of DC is shaped by his Covid-era experience during his first term,” she says. “It is true that those were more challenging times related to some issues. It is also true that we experienced a crime spike post-Covid, but we worked quickly to put laws in place and tactics that got violent offenders off our streets, and gave our police officers more tools.”
Updated
Newsom threatens Trump with California redistricting effort
In a letter to the president, California governor Gavin Newsom has asked Donald Trump to call on Texas governor Greg Abbott – and other red states who are acting under the president’s direction – to end the ongoing efforts to redraw their states’ congressional maps mid-decade.
This comes as the redistricting battle in Texas enters its second week. State Democrats broke quorum again on Friday in protest of a gerrymandered GOP-drawn map – that could lead Republicans to pick up five extra seats in the US House ahead of the 2026 midterms.
In his letter Newsom said that he will be “forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states”, if Trump does not stand down. “You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California any gains you hope to make,” he wrote.
Updated
We’re seeing a number of reactions from DC city leaders on the president’s move to deploy the National Guard to the city, and federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department (MPD).
DC’s attorney general Brian Schwalb wrote in a post on X that “the administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful”. He added that “Violent crime in DC reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year”.
Similarly, DC congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said that the president’s actions are “a counterproductive use of DC’s resources to use for his own purposes”.
By contrast, the DC Police Union, which represents more than 3,000 officers in the MPD, said in statement that it “acknowledges and supports” Donald Trump’s decision to federalise the department. “The Union agrees that crime is spiraling out of control, and immediate action is necessary to restore public safety”. The statement did underscore that the measure should be temporary, with “the ultimate goal of empowering a fully staffed and supported MPD to protect our city effectively”.
Updated
The US conference of mayors has issued a statement that pushes back against the administration’s deployment of DC national guard troops.
Crime rates are plummeting in cities across the United States, including in Washington, D.C., as documented in the FBI’s national crime rate report released just last week…America’s mayors never see takeovers by other levels of government as a tactic that has any track record of producing results. Local control is always best.
But the conference’s president, Republican David Holt, mayor of Oklahoma City, did add that “we do see great value in partnership between levels of government, and we can imagine value in such partnerships in our nation’s capital”, in his statement.
Updated
White House confirms federal takeover of DC police expected to last 30 days
A White House official confirms to the Guardian that the federal takeover of the DC Metropolitan police department is expected to be in effect for 30 days.
The official added that this would be “subject to change” consistent with the taskforce’s operations.
Section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act stipulates that this would be the maximum length for a federal takeover, before requiring a joint resolution in Congress to extend the 30-day limit.
Updated
US-China trade truce deadline looms threatening escalation of economic tensions
A trade truce between the US and China was set to expire on Tuesday, threatening an escalation of economic tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Chinese officials said they hoped the United States would strive for “positive” trade outcomes on Monday, as the 90-day detente reached between the two countries in May was due to expire.
“We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state ... and strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” a foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, said in a statement.
Chinese and US officials said they expected the pause to be extended after the most recent round of trade talks held last month in Stockholm. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said last week the US had “the makings” of a trade deal with China and that he was optimistic about a path forward.
Donald Trump has yet to confirm any extension to the pause. “We’ll see what happens,” he told reporters on Monday. “They’ve been dealing quite nicely — the relationship is very good with President Xi and myself.”
Failure to reach a deal would have major consequences. Trump had threatened tariffs on China as high as 245% with China threatening retaliatory tariffs of 125%, setting off a trade war between the world’s largest economies.
Updated
Federal takeover of Washington DC police intended to last for 30 days – report
The New York Times is reporting that the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is intended to last for 30 days, citing a White House official.
Updated
Here is the full text of Donald Trump’s presidential memorandum “Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia”.
Section 1. Background. As President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the District of Columbia National Guard, it is my solemn duty to protect law-abiding citizens from the destructive forces of criminal activity. That obligation applies with special force in our Nation’s capital, where, as Commander in Chief of the District of Columbia National Guard, I must also ensure that all citizens can avail themselves of the right to interact with their elected representatives, and that the Federal Government can properly function, without fear of being subjected to violent, menacing street crime.
The local government of the District of Columbia has lost control of public order and safety in the city, as evidenced by the two embassy staffers who were murdered in May, the Congressional intern who was fatally shot a short distance from the White House in June, and the Administration staffer who was mercilessly beaten by a violent mob days ago. Citizens, tourists, and staff alike are unable to live peacefully in the Nation’s capital, which is under siege from violent crime. It is a point of national disgrace that Washington, D.C., has a violent crime rate that is higher than some of the most dangerous places in the world. It is my duty to our citizens and Federal workers to secure the safety and the peaceful functioning of our Nation, the Federal Government, and our city.
Sec. 2. Mobilizing the District of Columbia National Guard. Pursuant to my authority under the Constitution and laws of the United States and the District of Columbia, I direct the Secretary of Defense to mobilize the District of Columbia National Guard and order members to active service, in such numbers as he deems necessary, to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital. The mobilization and duration of duty shall remain in effect until I determine that conditions of law and order have been restored in the District of Columbia. Further, I direct the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with State Governors and authorize the orders of any additional members of the National Guard to active service, as he deems necessary and appropriate, to augment this mission.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP
Following Trump’s press conference, the Democratic Mayors Association released the following statement:
Let’s be clear: Crime is down in most major cities – including Washington, DC – in spite of Donald Trump, not because of him. If Trump actually cared about reducing crime, he wouldn’t have made unprecedented cuts to public safety programs that actually work. If Trump actually cared about our communities, he would be working with our cities, not against them. But the truth is Trump doesn’t care – he only wants to create yet another political charade to serve his own interests and distract Americans from his failures. While Trump may try to vilify Mayors and take credit for their work, Democratic Mayors will never stop fighting to protect and strengthen our communities because that’s what they do – they get things done.
Updated
Trump says he'll know 'in first two minutes' of Putin meeting whether a deal can be made
During that press conference, Donald Trump previewed his Friday meeting with Vladimir Putin, claiming he will know “probably in the first two minutes” whether a peace deal can be made. The US president told reporters:
I am going in to speak to Vladimir Putin and I will be telling him you have to end this war. You have to end it. And he wasn’t going to mess with me.
I thought it was very respectful that the president of Russia is coming to our country as opposed to us going to his country or even a third party place. [Though Trump did earlier get geographically confused on this point.]
He confirmed that there were no plans for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend but Trump intends to call him straight after.
We’re going to see what the parameters are – then I’m going to call up President Zelensky and the European leaders right after the meeting and I’m going to tell them what kind of a deal … It’s not up to me to make a deal. I think a deal should be made for both.
Ominously, however, he complained about the Ukrainian president and referred once again to “land swapping”:
I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying I have to get constitutional approval. He has approval to go to war and kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap because there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia.
I get along with Zelenskyy but, you know, I disagree with what he has done. Very, very severely disagree. This is a war that shouldn’t have happened.
Reverting to his previous mindset as a property developer, Trump acknowledged that Russia had taken some “oceanfront property” and promised:
We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.
There will be some changes in land … Russia has taken some very prime territory. They’ve taken largely ocean – in real estate we call it oceanfront property – that’s always the most valuable property.
During last year’s election campaign, Trump promised to end the war on his first day in office. But on Monday he conceded that he might walk away with nothing resolved.
I’m going to meet President Putin and we’re going to see what he has in mind and if it’s a fair deal … I may say lots of luck, keep fighting, or I may say we can make a deal.
Probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.
A reporter asked: “How will you know that?”
Trump replied: “Because that’s what I do – I make deals.”
Then, despite getting it right earlier in the briefing, for the second time on Monday Trump said: “We’re going to Russia.” For those keeping up, the meeting will be held in the US state of Alaska.
Updated
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has invited Donald Trump to join emergency virtual talks with EU leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, as European demands grow that the US president agree red lines before Friday’s summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin.
Neither Zelenskyy nor European leaders have been invited to Trump’s meeting with the Russian president.
Merz’s office said in a statement that the virtual talks would focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” and “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.
It is not clear whether or not Trump has accepted the invitation to the call.
There was another once unthinkable spectacle when Jeanine Pirro, a controversial former Fox News host, stood behind the lectern bearing the presidential seal.
Now the US attorney for the District of Columbia, Pirro told reporters:
We need to recognise that the people who matter are the law-abiding citizens – and it starts today ... President Trump is going to make sure these emboldened criminals understand: we see you, we’re watching you, and we’re going to change the law to catch you.
Pirro, a longtime personal friend of Donald Trump, added:
We need to go after the DC council and their absurd laws.
Updated
The president has now wrapped up his press conference, so here's a recap of some the key points
Trump is placing Washington DC police under federal control and deploying the national guard. He said he was taking “historic action” to combat crime and homelessness in the US capital by invoking a section of the DC Home Rule Act, which allows him to place the DC Metropolitan police department under direct federal control. This provision would typically last for 48 hours, but Trump suggested that this could last longer. He added that he’ll be “making the appropriate notifications to Congress and to the mayor”, possibly referring to the rule’s requirement that the relevant congressional committee members on DC legislative matters are informed if he extends the provision beyond two days.
Trump was joined by key members of his cabinet, including attorney general, Pam Bondi, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI director Kash Patel, secretary of the interior Doug Burgum, and newly-minted US attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro. Trump said that the police, under Bondi’s direction, would “immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks to get them the hell off the street”.
Trump said that there will be 800 national guardsmen assisting local law enforcement to start, but that number would increase if necessary. DC doesn’t have control over its own national guard, unlike all other states and territories. Instead, the troops are under the command of the president.
Trump declared, repeatedly, that there is a “public safety emergency” in DC. However, violent crime in the capital hit a 30-year-low in 2024, according to the justice department.
The president also vowed to remove homeless encampments throughout DC. He said that while the administration would “help them as much as you can help”, people experiencing homelessness in the city would “not be allowed to turn out capital into a wasteland”.
Throughout the press conference, Trump and his team decried – what they claim is – overall weakness within the criminal justice system. The president said that DC’s “no cash bail” policy was a “disaster”, and said he would count on Republicans in Congress to help “change the statute”.
Pirro added that that the juvenile justice system in the city was too lenient. “I can’t arrest them. I can’t prosecute them,” she said. “They go to family court, and they get to do yoga and arts and crafts. Enough, it changes today.”
The president also took questions on his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Alaska. He said that while Volodymyr Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of the summit, he would speak to him as soon as he saw a “fair deal” for a ceasefire emerge. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of a future trading relationship with Russia.
Updated
Photos: people protest against the deployment of the national guard in DC on Monday
The president said earlier that “the number of carjackings has more than tripled, murders in 2023 reached the highest rate – probably ever.”
A quick fact check and some important context here. According to the non-partisan Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), the number of carjackings in DC did peak in June 2023. Their data comes from the DC Metropolitan police department.
But when you compare June 2023 to June 2025, carjackings actually fell by 75 %.
And on homicides, the city did experience a peak in August 2023, but that has fallen by 65% compared to June of this year.
Overall, the homicide rate in DC fell by 19% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to CCJ.
Updated
Now, on the subject of Trump’s upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the president confirms that Volodomyr Zelenskyy will not be part of Friday’s summit.
He adds “we’re going to see what he [Putin] has in mind,” and then will call Zelenskyy first “out of respect” if it’s a fair deal. He says that afterwards he’ll inform European Union leaders and Nato.
He goes on to say that there is a world where the US and Russia can be trading partners down the line, or if Friday’s meeting goes well.
“Russia has a very valuable piece of land, if Vladimir Putin would go toward business instead of toward war,” he says.
Updated
Trump on China deadline: 'We'll see what happens'
Pivoting, the president says “we’ll see what happens”, when it comes to the tariff deadline for China set for later today.
“They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi and myself.”
In response to a question about how personal the issue of crime and homelessness is to the president, Donald Trump says that he wants leaders or dignitaries to come through the capital “beautifully”. He adds, “if our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they don’t respect us”.
Donald Trump made an embarrassing gaffe earlier, when he previewed his meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
He told reporters: “I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday.”
Alaska has not been part of Russia since 1867, when it was sold to the US for $7.2m. Trump has long been criticised for failing to take a tough stance against Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
In his press conference, where reporters are squeezed into both aisles, Donald Trump continued: “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful Capital was.”
He continued: “We’re declaring a public safety emergency in the District of Columbia and attorney general Pam Bondi is taking command of the Metropolitan police department as of this moment.
“They’ll immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks to get them the hell off the street.”
Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, walked to the lectern and told reporters: “This morning, we’ve mobilised the DC national guard … You will see them flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.”
Kash Patel, the director of the FBI added: “We’re going to clean up Washington DC. We’re going to do it the right way, the lawful way. We’ll make sure Washington DC is safe again.”
Updated
DC attorney general Jeanine Pirro – who was only confirmed to her role on 2 August – says that she sees “too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the hell out of you or anyone else”.
Pirro expresses her frustration with, what she sees as, excessive leniency when it comes to the way juveniles are prosecuted. “I can’t arrest them. I can’t prosecute them,” she says. “They go to family court, and they get to do yoga and arts and crafts. Enough, it changes today.”
Updated
Trump: 800 national guardsmen being deployed to Washington DC
Donald Trump is saying that, to begin with, the administration will deploy 800 national guardsmen to support local law enforcement.
He adds that they will add “much more if necessary”.
Updated
Trump vows to remove homeless encapments throughout DC
“We’re getting rid of the people from underpasses and public spaces from all over the city,” the president said. “We’re going to help them as much as you can help, but they’ll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland.”
A block away from the White House, about 200 protesters gathered before his press conference to condemn Donald Trump’s plans to deploy federal law enforcement in Washington DC.
“I’m here this morning to say that nothing Trump is doing right now is about our safety,” said Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, a group that advocates for the district’s rights.
She criticised the president’s support for cutting Medicaid, firing federal workers and rounding up undocumented immigrants, and argued that his concerns about crime are insincere.
“Trump does not care about DC safety. He cares about control,” she said.
Chatterjee later informed the crowd of Trump’s plans to federalize Washington DC’s police department and deploy the national guard.
They broke into boos and shouts of “shame”. Right now they’re singing a song that goes:
DC is our home, you can’t have it, Trump.
Updated
Secretary of defense Pete Hegseth is now speaking about the deployment of the DC National Guard:
We will work alongside all DC police and federal law enforcement to ensure this city is safe. This city is beautiful, and as I always say about President Trump, to the troops, he has their back. And my message to the National Guard and federal law enforcement in Washington is we have your back as well. Be tough. Be strong. We’re right behind you.
Trump declares 'public safety emergency' despite record crime low
The president confirms that attorney general Pam Bondi will now oversee the Metropolitan Police Department, as he declares a “public safety emergency”. This, despite violent crime hitting a 30-year-low in 2024, according to the justice department.
Updated
The president is saying that DC’s no cash bail policy is “a disaster”.
“We’re going to change the statute and get rid of some of the other things, and we’ll count on the Republicans in Congress and Senate to vote,” Trump vowed. “Cashless bail, watch what we do with that.”
Trump: 'You spit, we hit'
Donal Trump is now speaking about how the police are treated during apprehensions.
You know, they love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform. They’re standing and they’re screaming at them an inch away from their face, and then they start spitting in their face. And I said, ‘you tell them you spit, and we hit’, and they get hit real hard.
Updated
The president is now vowing to “get rid of the slums” in the nation’s capital. “We have slums here. We’re getting rid of them. I know it’s not politically correct. You’ll say, ‘Oh, so terrible’.”
Updated
Donald Trump is now showing a number of charts, and the sources are unclear as of now, that show DC’s crime rate to be worse than a number of cities across the world, including Baghdad, Panama City, Brasília and Bogotá.
Updated
The president says:
Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs, and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen any more.
Trump places Washington DC police under federal control and deploys National Guard
The president says that he’s announcing an “historic action” to “take the capital back”.
He’s invoking section 740, of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, that places the DC Metropolitan police department under direct federal control.
He adds that he’s deploying the national guard to help “re-establish law and order”.
Updated
As we wait for the president to begin his press conference, we’re seeing images and video from local news outlets who report that hundreds of people have gathered in Lafayette Square – which sits just north of the White House – to protest the president’s plans for DC.
Trump begins press conference on ending crime and homelessness in DC
Donald Trump is now addressing the press in the White House briefing room about his plans to tackle crime and homelessness in Washington DC, and make the nation’s capital “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before”.
He’s flanked by attorney general Pam Bondi, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as other members of his cabinet.
The president said that DC would be “LIBERATED today!” in a post on Truth Social.
He’s also expected to discuss plans to deploy the DC National Guard to help local law enforcement, despite a notable drop in violent crime compared to this time last year.
Updated
Federal judge rules that Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury transcripts will remain sealed
Today, a federal judge rejected a request from the justice department to unseal the grand jury transcripts relating to the criminal investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
In his ruling, Judge Paul A Engelmayer of the southern district of New York wrote:
Its entire premise – that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes, or the Government’s investigation into them – is demonstrably false.
In July, Donald Trump directed attorney general Pam Bondi to release any relevant grand jury testimony related to Epstein, and the justice department later filed a motion in federal court in New York to release the transcripts.
Updated
Four days after JD Vance reportedly asked top Trump administration officials to come up with a new communications strategy for dealing with the scandal around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he appears to have put his foot in it, sparking a new round of online outrage even as he tried to defuse the furor.
In an interview with Fox News broadcast on Sunday, the vice-president tried to deflect criticism of the administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files by blaming Democrats. He accused Joe Biden of doing “absolutely nothing” about the scandal when he was in the White House.
“And now President Trump has demanded full transparency from this. And yet somehow the Democrats are attacking him and not the Biden administration, which did nothing for four years,” he said.
If Vance’s attempt to switch public blame on to Democrats was the big idea to emerge from his strategy meeting with attorney general Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel, which according to CNN he convened at the White House last week, then their labours appear to have backfired. (Vance denied to Fox that they had discussed Epstein at all, though he did acknowledge the meeting took place.)
Within minutes of the Fox News interview being broadcast, social media began to hum with renewed cries of “release the files!”
Read more on the fallout here:
Updated
Trump administration to reassign FBI agents to DC night patrol – reports
According to reports from the New York Times and the Washington Post, the Trump administration is planning to reassign FBI agents to assist night patrol duty in DC, and help local law enforcement deal with street crime.
Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Times that most of the agents will be pulled from their regular duties at the FBI’s Washington field office.
Updated
Federal trial on Trump's use of National Guard begins today
In court later today, the Trump administration and California governor Gavin Newsom will fight out the president’s use of the National Guard, to quell the protests over the Trump immigration agenda in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Judge Charles Breyer will hear arguments about whether the Trump administration violated a 19th-century law, known as the Posse Comitatus Act, which inhibits the president from using the military as a ‘domestic police force’.
The trial’s outcome could ultimately set a precedent for how the president federalises the National Guard moving forward.
On a related note, Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard in DC before, and multiple reports this morning state that he is considering the move. A reminder, DC doesn’t have control over its own National Guard, unlike other states. Instead, the troops are under the command of the president.
In her interview with MSNBC on Sunday, Mayor Muriel Bowser was concerned about the possible use of the Guard in DC.
“They’re not law enforcement officials,” she said. “I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our guard.”
Updated
Trump promises that DC will be 'liberated' ahead of press conference
Donald Trump said on Truth Social today that DC “will be LIBERATED today”.
Ahead of his press conference, in just over an hour, the president said that “crime, savagery, filth, and scum will disappear” from the city.
He added:
I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN! The days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER! I quickly fixed the Border (ZERO ILLEGALS in last 3 months!), D.C. is next!!!
Important to note that the DC violent crime rate dropped to a 30-year-low in 2024, and was by down 35% compared to 2023, according to a report by the justice department released in January.
Updated
In an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, DC’s mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, pushed back against the president’s persistent claims on social media that the capital is inundated with violent crime.
“It is true we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023, this is 2025,” Bowser said.
“I suspect that his announcement is that he is surging federal law enforcement and he may talk about even larger numbers or longer periods of time,” Bowser added. But she expressed concern about the use of the national guard in DC. “I’m concerned about them not being used efficiently, and I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our guard,” she said.
Bowser also took aim at Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller – who called DC “more violent than Baghdad” last week.
“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” she said.
Updated
The Department of Veterans Affairs has lost thousands of healthcare professionals deemed “core” to the system’s ability to function and “without which mission-critical work cannot be completed”, agency records show.
The number of medical staff on hand to treat veterans has fallen every month since Donald Trump took office. The VA has experienced a net loss of 2,000 registered nurses since the start of this fiscal year, the data shows, along with approximately 1,300 medical assistants, 1,100 nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, 800 doctors, 500 social workers and 150 psychologists.
The numbers are at odds with claims by the VA secretary, Doug Collins, that veterans’ healthcare would not be affected by an agency-wide reduction of 30,000 workers to be completed this year through a combination of attrition, a hiring freeze and deferred resignation program.
The reduction in medical staff is also feeding fears that the Trump administration is seeking to transform the VA, which currently operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, into a private voucher program.
“It’s a betrayal,” said Manuel Santamaria, 42, a disabled veteran who served as a US army medic and paratrooper in Iraq and Afghanistan. “It takes away the government’s accountability to veterans who have sacrificed for them.”
The VA said in a statement to the Guardian that the fear of privatization “is a far-left canard” and that “anyone who says VA is cutting health care and benefits is not being honest”.
Updated
Villagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.
Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood.
The sprawling golf resort, the first project by the Trump Organization in Vietnam, broke ground as the country scrambled to reach a crucial trade deal with the US.
Vietnam, which is heavily dependent on exports, was facing the threat of a 46% tariff in April, which has since been reduced to 20% for many goods.
Vietnam’s prime minister said the project played an important role in deepening the country’s relationship with the US and that villagers would be reimbursed. Pham Minh Chinh added that he hoped the development would create jobs and improve livelihoods.
The project will include a 54-hole VIP golf course, luxury resorts, high-end villas and a modern urban complex, according to state media. Reactions among local people have been mixed, with many farmers suggesting the compensation rates are too low.
The Trump administration’s immigration policies are affecting workers and driving, in part, a decline in tourism, including international tourists, to Las Vegas, according to workers and the largest labor union in the state of Nevada.
Visitors to Las Vegas overall dropped 11.3% in June 2025, compared to the same month last year. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, international visitors to one of the world’s largest tourist destinations dropped 13% in June.
“A lot of departments are having a lot of layoffs,” said Norma Torres, a housekeeper for eight years at Mandalay Bay and a member of the Culinary Union, who has worked in the hospitality industry since she was 18 years old. “In the housekeeping department, the people on call are barely called into work.”
Canada is Nevada’s largest international market. Flair Airlines, a Canadian airline, reported a 55% drop in passengers compared to last year. Air Canada reported a 13.2% drop in passengers from May to June this year to Las Vegas, and one third lower compared to last year.
Trump administration officials have reportedly pushed for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to arrest 3,000 people a day as part of their anti-immigration agenda. They have subsequently denied that those quotas exist. But they have continued to revoke immigration statuses, delayed action for childhood arrivals, and other humanitarian immigration programs.
“If you tell the rest of the world you’re not welcome, they are going to listen. Our members are telling us that they’re quite nervous, and that’s why they’re calling it a Trump slump,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
But the Ice raids, trade wars with trading partners and fears that rising tariffs will hit the finances of potential visitors are all having an impact on Sin City tourism.
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of revenue from sales to China of advanced computer chips, a US official said on Sunday, in an unusual move likely to unsettle US companies.
President Donald Trump’s administration halted sales of H20 chips to China in April, but Nvidia announced last month that Washington had said it would allow the company to resume sales and it hoped to start deliveries soon.
Another US official said on Friday that the Commerce Department had begun issuing licenses for the sale of H20 artificial intelligence chips to China.
Updated
Poland’s prime minister said on Monday he felt a mixture of fear and hope ahead of a Russia-US summit on the war in Ukraine this week, but added that Washington had pledged to consult its European partners before the talks.
US president Donald Trump will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August, and Kyiv fears that the two leaders may try to dictate terms for ending the war.
“The American side has promised that it will consult with European partners on its position before the meeting in Alaska,” Donald Tusk told a news conference.
“I will wait... for the effects of the meeting between presidents Trump and Putin - I have many fears and a lot of hope.”
He said that Trump’s recent comments on the war in Ukraine could give the impression the US president was increasingly understanding Ukrainian and European arguments regarding the conflict, but that he was not 100% sure that this position would be lasting.
French, Italian, German, Polish, British, Finnish and European Commission leaders on Saturday welcomed Trump’s efforts to try to end the war, but emphasised the need to pressure Russia and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
Trump to speak about effort to 'stop violent crime' in Washington DC
President Donald Trump’s news conference is due to take place in about three-and-a-half hours and it follows his Truth Social promising the new measures “will, essentially, stop violent crime” in the capital district, without explaining how.
In a subsequent post, he said that the news conference at 10am on Monday, “will not only involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation’s Capital, but will also be about Cleanliness”.
The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it and him to sign off.
Trump has cited a recent assault on a federal staffer and viral videos of youth crime to argue the nation’s capital is in crisis. His response marks a renewed focus on crime as a political priority and grounds for increased federal intervention, which could challenge Washington’s autonomy and reshape the balance of local and federal power.
While details of the plan remain unclear, the administration is preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, a US official told Reuters, a controversial tactic Trump used recently in Los Angeles to tackle immigration protests over the objections of local officials.
Updated
Washington DC mayor refutes Trump's claim about city violence: 'not experiencing a crime spike'
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, pushed back on Trump’s claims, saying the city is “not experiencing a crime spike” and highlighting that violent crime has fallen to a 30-year low.
President Trump called Bowser “a good person who has tried” but said she’s been given many chances while crime numbers continue to worsen, Reuters reported.
Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city’s police department. But gun violence remains an issue. In 2023, Washington had the third-highest gun homicide rate among US cities with populations over 500,000, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
Over the past week, Trump has intensified his messaging, demanding the swift eviction of homeless residents and vowing to jail offenders. He has raised the prospect of stripping the city of its local autonomy and signaled a possible full federal takeover.
The Trump administration is also preparing to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, a US official told Reuters, a controversial tactic that Trump used recently in Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests over the objections of local officials.
Trump has not made a final decision, the official said, adding that the number of troops and the role they would play are still being determined.
Updated
Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington DC
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 next few hours.
We start with news that president Donald Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets in the nation’s capital.
Trump wrote in a social media post that he planned a White House news conference at 10am today to discuss his plans to make the District of Columbia “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before”, AP reported.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Sunday morning, shortly after being driven from the White House to his golf club in Virginia. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
The post was illustrated with four photographs, all apparently taken from the president’s motorcade along the route from the White House to his golf course.
Two of the images showed a total of 10 tents pitched on the grass along a highway on-ramp just over a mile from the White House. The third image showed a single person sleeping on the steps of the American Institute of Pharmacy Building on Constitution Avenue.
The fourth image showed the line of vehicles that whisk Trump to his golf course passing a small amount of roadside litter on the E Street Expressway, near the Kennedy Center.
Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed.”
On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the US Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.
Read our full report here:
In other developments:
Four days after JD Vance reportedly asked top Trump administration officials to come up with a new communications strategy for dealing with the scandal around the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the vice-president appears to have put his foot in it, sparking a new round of online outrage even as he tried to defuse the furor.
The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has stepped up his war of words with Democratic lawmakers who have left the state to foil an aggressive redistricting plan aimed at giving his Republican party five additional seats in Congress, saying on Sunday that the fight “could literally last years”.
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales in China, under an unprecedented arrangement to obtain export licenses for the semiconductors, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN security council, offered support for Israel and accused those nations who supported Sunday’s meeting of “actively prolonging the war by spreading lies about Israel”. “Israel has a right to decide what is necessary for its security and what measure measures are appropriate to end the threat posed by Hamas,” said the US envoy to the UN, Dorothy Shea.
The United States has pledged to consult its European partners before a meeting between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Monday.
The US and China have not yet announced an extension to their tariff deadline, with tensions flaring up again just as a fragile truce nears its expiry. Following the latest bilateral meeting in Stockholm in July, Beijing said that both sides would work toward extending the tariff truce by another 90 days.
A federal judge in Hawaii has ruled that commercial fishing is illegal in the Pacific Islands Heritage marine national monument, a federally protected area in the central Pacific Ocean.
