A new Senate bill on from Republican Sen. Jim Risch and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen would expand authorization to sanction Chinese entities that help finance foreign opioid trafficking. And the House has voted to censure Texas Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump's address to Congress.
Here's the latest:
Walz blames Trump for ‘destructive chaos’ in Washington
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz blamed Trump for the “uncertainty and the destructive chaos” in Washington as his administration presented an updated budget forecast Thursday.
“There is a storm in the federal level, and that storm is Donald Trump,” Walz told reporters.
Walz, who was Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, spoke after his budget commissioner and her team said their projections did not include the impacts of potential cuts in federal funding because the situation in Washington is so uncertain.
“This is chaos. It’s nonsense,” Walz said. “It’s not how you run any business, let alone the federal government. And the impact on states is immense.”
If threatened cuts happen, Management and Budget Commissioner Erin Campbell said it could blow “a dramatic hole” in the state budget.
Trump says he’d ‘probably’ extend TikTok sale deadline if no deal by then
Trump signed an executive order in January pushing to early April the deadline for TikTok to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S.
Asked Thursday about a possible extension, Trump said one isn’t needed at this time because there’s still a month to go before the deadline.
“But if I needed the extension, I’d probably get an extension,” he said, adding, “We have a lot of interest in TikTok.”
Trump says a ‘scalpel’ — not a ‘hatchet’ — is needed in cutting federal workforce
Trump says he has instructed department secretaries to work with DOGE but "be very precise" about which federal workers stay or go.
He told them to use a “‘scalpel’” — writing in a social media post — “rather than the hatchet.”
Those comments come amid mounting legal disputes over billionaire Elon Musk’s attempts to centralize management of the government workforce and bypass Congress — making the tech entrepreneur both an admired and deeply feared figure in Trump’s second administration.
Musk says it’s not his fault
Elon Musk is telling Republican lawmakers that he's not to blame for the firings of thousands of federal workers as he pushes to downsize the government.
Instead, the billionaire said in private talks this week that those decisions are left to the various federal agencies.
The message from one of Trump's most influential advisers came as Republicans publicly support Musk's mandate at the Department of Government Efficiency to dig up waste, fraud and abuse.
Privately, however, they are raising questions as personnel cuts ripple out across the country.
▶ Read more about Musk's talks with lawmakers
Justice Department moves to boost staffing at federal prosecutors’ offices along the border
The Justice Department is moving to beef up staffing at federal prosecutors’ offices along the U.S. border as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a memo sent to the Justice Department workforce on Thursday that federal prosecutors “must commit to investigations and prosecutions targeting all of the insidious results of the four-year invasion of illegal immigration that we are now working to repel.”
Blanche is authorizing U.S. attorneys’ offices in border districts to hire lawyers to work on investigations and prosecutions related to illegal immigration, drug trafficking and cartels. Other government lawyers, especially those at Main Justice in Washington, “are encouraged” to volunteer for details or permanent transfers to border districts, he wrote.
Officials should be more careful in cutting federal workforce, Trump says
“I want the Cabinet members to keep good people,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office, adding, “I don’t want to see a big cut where a lot of good people are cut.”
He also suggested that agency leaders would take the lead but that Elon Musk could make his own push if reductions don’t go far enough.
Agencies have occasionally needed to reinstate fired workers who handled critical tasks, such as maintaining nuclear weapons.
Trump says he’s heading to Saudi Arabia
Trump said he expects to go to Saudi Arabia soon and that the leaders of the oil-rich kingdom have agreed to make a $1 trillion investment in the United States.
“So I said, ‘I’ll go if you pay a trillion dollars, $1 trillion to American companies,’” Trump said. “They’ve agreed to do that, so I’m going to be going there.”
Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first country he visited during his first White House term. He said the upcoming visit would likely happen sometime in the next month and a half.
The Saudis hosted talks last month between senior U.S. and Russian officials to discuss Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The Saudis are also expected to host talks next week between U.S. and Ukrainian officials about ending the war.
Trump walks back threat to end daylight saving time
Last December, Trump said on his social media platform: “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”
He softened those comments Thursday when asked about the upcoming switch to daylight saving time.
“It’s a 50-50 issue. When something’s a 50-50 issue, it’s hard to get excited about it,” he said. “I assume people would like to have more light later, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don’t want to take their kids to school in the dark.”
Usha Vance will lead US delegation to Special Olympics
Second lady Usha Vance will lead the U.S. delegation to the Special Olympics in Turin, Italy.
The games begin with the opening ceremony Saturday.
As one of her first official assignments as second lady, Vance will be among eight people in the U.S. presidential delegation. The others are:
1. Shawn Croley, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., U.S. Embassy to Italy and San Marino
2. Trent Michael Morse, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel
3. Riley M. Barnes, Senior Bureau Official of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State
4. Douglass Benning, Consul General, U.S. Consulate Milan, Italy
5. Rachel Campos-Duffy, FOX News Host and wife of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
6. Boris Epshteyn, Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor to Trump
7. Richard Walters, Partner at FGS Global
State Department holds its f
irst news conference of Trump’s second administration
Appearing before a capacity crowd of journalists who crammed into the department’s small press briefing room and an overflow conference space across the hall, spokesperson Tammy Bruce parried virtually all the questions she was asked during the roughly 45-minute event.
That included declining to answer most queries about the status of Gaza ceasefire talks, discussions with Russia and Ukraine on ending their conflict and the state of U.S. foreign aid, which the administration has gutted in its first six weeks.
Trump wants to make it harder for political opponents to sue his administration
He signed a presidential memorandum directing the Justice Department to ask judges to require litigants to post injunction bonds. Essentially, Trump wants to force people to put up money if they’re seeking a temporary restraining order against his policies.
The president said that it was “from a legal standpoint, really a very big thing.”
Will Scharf, the cabinet secretary, said the tactic could be used “whenever someone tries to challenge our policies in court.” If the litigants lose, they would forfeit the bond, meaning they would be “held financially responsible for the disruption of federal activities that their actions have caused.”
Trump signs orders for monthlong delay on some new tariffs on Mexico and Canada
Trump is postponing 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war.
Trump said in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting April 2.
“Most of the tariffs go on April the second,” Trump said before signing the orders. “And then we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.”
Imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade pact will be excluded from the 25% tariffs for a month, according to the orders signed by Trump.
Imports from Canada — especially autos and auto parts — that comply with the trade deal will also avoid the 25% tariffs for a month. The potash that U.S. farmers import from Canada will be tariffed at 10%, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine-US talks on ending the war will take place next week
In his nightly address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday and his team would stay on to hold talks with U.S. officials.
“I am scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to meet with the Crown Prince. After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace,” Zelenskyy said.
UN releases $110 million in emergency humanitarian aid amid US foreign aid freeze
Thursday’s release of funds for humanitarian emergencies worldwide comes as the international body and nonprofits continue to grapple with the growing impact of the U.S. foreign aid freeze.
“For countries battered by conflict, climate change and economic turmoil, brutal funding cuts don’t mean that humanitarian needs disappear,” Tom Fletcher, the U.N.’s humanitarian chief, said in a statement. “Today’s emergency fund allocation channels resources swiftly to where they’re needed most.”
Humanitarian funding levels, which were dwindling well before President Trump’s decision earlier this year to cut off foreign aid, are now projected to hit a record low this year, according to the U.N.
The latest batch of funding will go toward supporting countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, such as Sudan, where a civil war has resulted in a massive displacement of the population, hunger and most recently a cholera outbreak that’s left more than 90 dead, according to the international medical aid group, Doctors Without Borders.
Class action appeals filed for thousands of fired federal workers
Attorneys have announced they have filed several appeals before an independent board against multiple federal agencies and are planning additional appeals on behalf of thousands of probationary federal workers fired by the Trump administration.
Christopher Bonk, a partner at Gilbert Employment Law, confirmed the appeals Thursday.
Multiple lawsuits have previously been filed in federal court over the mass terminations. But the latest legal challenges have gone to a federal board responsible for protecting government employees from political reprisals or retaliation for whistleblowing.
The attorneys said the appeals seek to get the workers reinstated with back pay.
▶ Read more about the appeals on behalf of the fired workers
Top Trump administration officials aim to meet with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia next week
Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff confirms that senior administration officials are arranging to hold talks next week with senior Ukrainian officials.
The anticipated talks, which he said would either take place in Riyadh or Jeddah, come after last week’s disastrous Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy led to the White House announcing it was pausing military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has called the heated words during his recent White House visit "regrettable" and said he's ready to sign a critical minerals agreement with the U.S. that Trump has been seeking.
“We’ll see if he follows through,” Witkoff told reporters, when asked if the agreement could be signed during the upcoming talks.
Zelenskyy told European leaders in Brussels on Thursday that teams from the U.S. and Ukraine had resumed their work and hoped to have “a meaningful meeting” next week.
Citing DEI, Trump cut teacher training grants that helped rural schools
The cuts to teacher training grants are putting a strain on rural school systems, which have relied on the money to help address teacher shortages.
In an overhaul at an agency Trump has described as being infiltrated by " radicals, zealots and Marxists," the Education Department last month cut $600 million in grants to the training programs, which it characterized as supporting divisive ideologies. Trump has said he wants to close the department, and new Education Secretary Linda McMahon has laid out how it could be dismantled.
Federal money makes up a significant portion of budgets in some rural districts, which rely more on grants and philanthropy because of their limited tax base, said Sharon Contreras, CEO of the Innovation Project, a collaboration among North Carolina school districts. A grant to that group supported teacher recruitment and retention, providing scholarships for teachers pursuing master’s degrees if they agreed to return to the area and serve as principals for three years.
▶ Read more about the administration's cuts to teacher training grants
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US has kept its sanctions on Russia in place
Speaking about the sanctions on Russia at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, Bessent also said the U.S. “will not hesitate to go all in should it provide leverage in peace negotiations.”
Over the course of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration imposed thousands of sanctions on Russian firms, people, ships and imposed a price cap on Russian oil, among other actions.
In New York, Bessent called Biden’s sanctions on Russian energy “egregiously weak” and “stemming from worries about upward pressure on U.S. energy prices.”
“Per President Trump’s guidance, sanctions will be used explicitly and aggressively for immediate maximum impact. They will be carefully monitored to ensure that they are achieving specific objectives,” Bessent said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum elaborated on her call with Trump
She said later that she told the president Mexico was making great strides in fulfilling his security demands.
“I told him we’re getting results,” Sheinbaum said. But the U.S. imposed the tariffs, so she asked Trump “how are we going to continue cooperating, collaborating with something that hurts the people of Mexico?”
“I need to continue working together and cooperating with you all, but we need to work as equals,” she said she told Trump.
She added that “practically all of the trade” between the U.S. and Mexico will be exempt from tariffs until April 2.
She said the two countries will continue to work together on migration and security, and to cut back on fentanyl trafficking to the U.S.
She added that Trump said he would crack down on the flow of American weapons trafficked into Mexico, which has fueled cartel warfare in the Latin American country, though Trump hasn’t elaborated on what his government has done to address the weapons trafficking.
National Endowment for the Arts is sued over ‘gender ideology’ ban
Four arts groups filed federal lawsuits against the NEA on Thursday, seeking a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order before March 24, when the next round of grant applications are due.
President Trump’s executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” calls for denying federal money to any programs that “promote gender ideology.”
The American Civil Liberties Union argues on behalf of the Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive and Theater Communications Groups that the NEA’s new certification requirement and funding prohibition violates the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment.
FBI director: Agency is committed to bringing home American hostages
Kash Patel says the bureau will work to “zero out” the population of Americans detained or held hostage in foreign countries.
He spoke Thursday during a flag-raising at the State Department honoring hostages and their families.
Americans are being held in multiple countries including Russia and Venezuela. The Trump administration is also working to secure the release of Americans still held by Hamas.
Adam Boehler is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, leading direct talks with the militant group.
Trump hosting Cabinet-level meeting on DOGE
One day after Elon Musk met with Republicans on Capitol Hill, the president is convening Cabinet members to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted a video of himself arriving at the West Wing of the White House and said they would be talking about “where we can make us more efficient, where we can cut.”
Federal agencies are putting together plans for large-scale layoffs, known as reductions in force, to achieve Trump's goal of a radically smaller government workforce.
Trump delays tariffs on most goods from Mexico until April 2
President Donald Trump said he's postponed 25% tariffs on most goods from Mexico until April 2 after a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The reprieve would apply to goods that are compliant with the trade agreement Trump negotiated with Canada and Mexico in his first term.
“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum,” Trump said. “Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl.”
Sheinbaum posted on X that they “had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.”
The Mexican government has cracked down on cartels, sent troops to the U.S. border and delivered 29 top cartel bosses long chased by American authorities to the Trump administration in a span of weeks.
Why tariffs, President Trump?
To President Donald Trump, "tariff" is more than "the most beautiful word in the dictionary," something he says often.
Tariffs, in Trump's view, are a cure for a number of the nation's ills and the tool to reach new heights. Among the reasons for steeply taxing the U.S. consumption of products from Canada, Mexico, China and beyond:
Most economists see taxes paid on imports as capable of addressing unfair trade practices, but they're skeptical of the quasi-miraculous properties that Trump claims they possess.
▶ Read more on how Trump justifies his trade policy
Trump’s FDA pick says ‘trust in doctors and hospitals is at a crisis’
Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire held stacks of paper that she said show “lots and lots of data” supporting the safety and efficacy of mifepristone.
“The concern is whether you’re going to unilaterally overrule the data that currently exists for political purposes,” she said.
Makary responded to each question on the abortion pill by saying he had “no preconceived plans” on mifepristone policy.
“I wish you were hedging a little bit less today,” Hassan said.
Makary rose to national attention by bashing the COVID-19 response, calling the federal government the "greatest perpetrator of misinformation."
Fired head of federal watchdog agency ends legal battle
Hampton Dellinger announced his decision after the federal appeals court in Washington sided with the Trump administration in removing him as the head of the Office of Special Counsel.
The case had become a flashpoint in the debate over how much power the president should have to replace the leaders of independent agencies as he moves to radically reshape and shrink the federal government.
The case was expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, but justice delayed is justice denied — In the months it would take to get a final ruling, the office “will be run by someone totally beholden to the President,” he said.
Class-action appeals seek jobs and back pay for thousands of fired workers
The filings by lawyers with Gilbert Employment Law and James & Hoffman say Trump’s layoffs aren’t individualized actions but large-scale terminations, and laws for such reductions in force haven’t been followed.
The appeals to the U.S. Merit Systems Protections Board say the workers got no advance notice, no severance pay and no consideration of job performance.
Probationary workers generally have a limited recourse before the board. But attorney Daniel Rosenthal says it is clear from regulations and precedents that even probationary employees can challenge an improper reduction in force to the board.
Dire warning at United Nations: US aid freeze is forcing decisions ‘on which lives not to save’
The UN’s humanitarian chief told the U.N. Security Council that U.S. foreign aid cuts are a “body blow to our work to save lives.”
Tom Fletcher said the pace of the shutdowns of so much vital work “adds to the perfect storm that we face.”
He said he’s had to ask UN partners to provide lists of areas where they have to abandon lifesaving help.
Commerce Secretary: Most tariffs on Canada and Mexico ‘likely’ to be delayed
Howard Lutnick said Trump will likely broaden the exemption to 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico that he granted Wednesday to the auto industry.
Lutnick told CNBC that this one-month delay in import taxes “will likely cover all USMCA- compliant goods and services,” referring to the trade agreement Trump negotiated in his last term that replaced NAFTA.
Lutnick estimated that more than half of what the U.S. imports from those two countries would be eligible.
Lutnick added that Trump could make an announcement after speaking with Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum later Thursday.
▶ Read more on tariffs developments
Medical research cuts could affect patients, universities and local communities
The ripple effects of Trump crackdown on U.S. medical research promise to reach every corner of America.
Among the biggest blows, if it survives a court challenge: Massive cuts in funding from the National Institutes of Health that would cost an estimated 58,000 jobs across every state, according to an analysis by The Associated Press with assistance from the nonprofit United for Medical Research group.
These layoffs would be in addition to the mass firings of other government workers and uncertainty about how already-funded research is being canceled under Trump’s anti-diversity orders.
▶ Read more on Trump's cuts to medical research
Rep. Al Green says: ‘Friends, I would do it again’
The House voted mostly along party lines, 224-198, to censure the unrepentant Texas Democra t for disrupting President Donald Trump's address to Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had Green removed from the chamber after Green stood and shouted that Trump wasn't telling the truth when he claimed the election gave him a governing mandate not seen for decades.
Thursday’s majority vote requires Green to stand in the well of the House while the speaker or presiding officer reads a rebuke.
Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern noted that Republicans were silent when their own side interrupted Democratic President Joe Biden’s speech last year. “Nobody apologized for interrupting Joe Biden time and again,” McGovern said. “You talk about lack of decorum. Go back and look at the tapes.”
Trump’s FDA pick says he'll review abortion pill; Democrats note it's safer than Viagra
Marty Makary said he would create an “expert coalition” to review ongoing data on the abortion pill mifepristone and that he has no “preconceived plans” on what the Food and Drug Administration’s policy should be on medication abortion.
Makary told the Senate health committee at his initial confirmation hearing that he would “take a solid, hard look at the data” and “meet with the professional career scientists who have reviewed the data at the FDA.”
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy had asked Makary whether he supports reinstating requirements that mifepristone be dispensed in person.
The FDA has been facing mounting pressure from anti-abortion groups to restrict mifepristone following legal battles over access, despite the drug’s decades-long safety record, vouched for by leading medical associations and health experts.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, pressed Makary about his plans to convene experts to review this data.
“If that’s you’re approach for something that has been approved for now decades, are you going to do the same with Tylenol?” she said. “There are a lot of side effects for daily use, including liver damage.”
Trudeau describes ‘colorful call’ with Trump
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that after his call with the U.S. president, he expects Canada and the U.S. to be in a trade war for the foreseeable future.
Trudeau said the call was constructive nevertheless, and said both sides are “actively engaged in ongoing conversations in trying to make sure these tariffs don’t overly harm” certain sectors and workers.
“There are conversations ongoing right now with the U.S. administration but as I have said, we will not be backing down from our response tariffs until such a time as the unjustified American tariffs are Canadian goods are lifted.”
▶ Read more about Canada's response to Trump's tariffs
Trump envoy: Ukraine ‘brought on themselves’ the US pause of aid and intelligence
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said it was made clear to the Ukrainians that last week’s Oval Office meeting would focus on signing a critical minerals deal.
Kellogg said it went sideways when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed to press Trump — who is trying to play the role of intermediary to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia — to side with Kyiv.
Zelenskyy, who insisted that Ukraine needs security guarantees before any cease fire, later called the heated words “regrettable” and said he’s ready to sign.
But Kellogg said he couldn’t guarantee a resumption of weapons deliveries even if Zelenskyy accepts the deal — “That’s up to the President,” he said.
▶ Read more on developments between the U.S. and Ukraine
Trump moves swiftly to assert his vision at Voice of America
Just last week, there were moves to reassign the Voice of America's White House bureau chief and to investigate the social media practices of another veteran correspondent, who was effectively put on paid leave.
President Donald Trump chose Arizona’s Kari Lake to lead the agency, but she can’t be installed because Trump fired members of the board empowered to do that. So now she’s on board as a “special advisor.”
The agency’s charter requires its journalists to deliver independent news and information, and not be a government mouthpiece. Trump posted that Lake will help “ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the world.”
▶ Read more on changes at the VOA
Another federal judge extends block preventing Trump’s freeze on federal funding
The grants and loans involved potentially total trillions of dollars.
U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, who had already approved a temporary restraining order on the funding freeze, on Thursday granted the request for a preliminary injunction from nearly two dozen Democratic states.
Last month, the White House said it would temporarily halt federal funding to ensure that the payments complied with President Donald Trump’s orders barring diversity programs. Government lawyers argued the court lacks the constitutional authority to block a funding pause by the Republican administration.
▶ Read more about court action on funding freeze
Trump’s FDA nominee faces Senate questions after agency layoffs and resignations
A surgeon, author, researcher and Fox News contributor, Dr. Marty Makary is known for his contrarian views and outspoken criticism of the medical establishment. Like health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Makary traces many of the health issues afflicting Americans to food additives, overprescribing of drugs and the influence of drugmakers, insurers and food companies.
Republicans generally support Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. But Senate Democrats are expected to press Makary on his willingness to break with Kennedy on some scientific issues.
If confirmed to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Makary would take over a shaken agency, which fired hundreds of employees only to quickly rehire some of them.
Fear of Trump's next moves unsettles US consumers and worldwide markets
Anxiety has returned to Wall Street with markets poised to give back much of Wednesday's gains, which were spurred by President Donald Trump's one-month exemption for U.S. automakers on his 25% tariffs for Mexican and Canadian imports.
Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all slid in premarket trading. Shares in retailers Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret fell sharply as consumer confidence tanks.
Applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell, showing the labor market was steady ahead of the purge of federal employees.
And Europe's Central Bank lowered interest rates to support consumers and businesses bracing for Trump to impose new import taxes on U.S. consumers buying European goods.
Trump administration pauses flow of intelligence to Ukraine that helps on battlefield
The U.S. has paused its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation target Russian invaders, but Trump administration officials said Wednesday that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean it may only be a short suspension.
Information about Russia's intentions and military movements has been critical to Ukraine's defense and a strong indication of support from the U.S. and other Western allies. The suspension comes after Trump paused military aid to Ukraine and is another sign of how he has transformed America's relationship with close allies.
“We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” national security adviser Mike Waltz said Wednesday.
Comments from top Trump administration officials suggest the decision is part of the broader negotiations between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, and that intelligence could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the suspension a "pause" and said it came after the disastrous meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week. Ratcliffe said Trump wanted to know that Zelenskyy was serious about peace.
▶ Read more about the suspension of U.S. aid to Ukraine
Veterans fired from federal jobs say they feel betrayed, including some who voted for Trump
The mass firing of federal employees since Trump took office in January is pushing out veterans who make up 30% of the nation’s federal workforce. The exact number of veterans who have lost their job is unknown, although House Democrats last month estimated that it was potentially in the thousands.
More could be on the way. The Department of Veterans Affairs — a major employer of veterans — is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Veterans represent more than 25% of the VA's workforce.
In interviews, several veterans who supported candidates of both parties described their recent job losses as a betrayal of their military service. They are particularly angered by how it happened: in an email that cited inadequate job performance — despite, they say, receiving positive reviews in their roles.
▶ Read more about the veterans losing their federal jobs
Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
Israelis take part in a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Jerusalem,Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Trump on Wednesday issued what he called a "last warning" to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, directing a sharply worded message after the White House confirmed that he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, Trump added that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”
The pointed language from Trump came after the White House said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in "ongoing talks and discussions" with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not directly engaging with the militant group.
Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital of Doha came as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It's the first known direct engagement between the United States and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
▶Read more about the negotiation talks
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