Donald Trump Administration
Trump admin to allow resumption of H20 AI chip sales to China: Nvidia
The development comes amid a preliminary trade deal between the US and China last month, which sought China to resume the exports of rare earth and the US to relax its export curbs
US imposes 17% duty on Mexican tomatoes hoping to boost local production
The US government said Monday it is placing a 17 per cent duty on most fresh Mexican tomatoes after negotiations ended without an agreement to avert the tariff. Proponents said the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking US tomato industry and ensure that produce eaten in the US is also grown there. Mexico currently supplies around 70 per ccent of the US tomato market, up from 30 per cent two decades ago, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange. But opponents, including US companies that grow tomatoes in Mexico, said the tariff will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for US buyers. Tim Richards, a professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, said US retail prices for tomatoes will likely rise around 8.5 per cent with a 17 per cent duty. The duty stems from a longstanding US complaint about Mexico's tomato exports and is separate from the 30 per cent base tariff on products made in Mexico and the European Union that President Donald Trump announc
US Supreme Court allows Trump to cut nearly 1,400 Education Department jobs
The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Education Department back on track and go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees. With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an order from US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan. The layoffs will likely cripple the department, Joun wrote. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed. The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department, one of Trump's biggest campaign promises.
Trump admin defends immigration policies after California worker's death
Trump has vowed to deport millions of people in the country illegally and has executed raids at work sites including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term
Republican governors push DOGE programmes, embrace cost-cutting brand
The brash and chaotic first days of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, once led by the world's richest man Elon Musk, spawned state-level DOGE mimicry as Republican governors and lawmakers aim to show they are in step with their party's leader. Governors have always made political hay out of slashing waste or taming bureaucracy, but DOGE has, in some ways, raised the stakes for them to show that they are zealously committed to cutting costs. Many drive home the point that they have always been focused on cutting government, even if they're not conducting mass layoffs. I like to say we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in announcing her own task force in January. Critics agree that some of these initiatives are nothing new and suggest they are wasteful, essentially duplicating built-in processes that are normally the domain of legislative committees or independent state auditors. At the same time, some governors are using
Trump visits Texas flood area, defends officials amid questions on response
President Donald Trump on Friday toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded state and local officials, even amid mounting criticism that they may have failed to warn residents quickly enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way. Trump has repeatedly promised to do away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of his larger pledges to dramatically shrink the size of government, and he's fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy. But the president struck a far more somber and sympathetic tone while visiting America's largest Republican state highlighting the heartbreak of what happened while effusively praising elected officials and first responders alike. The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable, Trump, seated with officials around a table with emblazoned with a black-and-white Texas Strong banner, said at a makeshift emergency operations ..
US State Department lays off over 1,300 employees under Trump admin's plan
The US State Department fired more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration that critics say will damage America's global leadership and efforts to counter threats abroad. The department sent layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with assignments in the United States, according to a senior department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Notices said positions were being abolished and the employees would lose access to State Department headquarters in Washington and their email and shared drives by 5 p.m., according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. As employees packed their belongings, dozens of former colleagues, ambassadors, members of Congress and others spent a warm, humid day protesting outside. Holding signs saying, Thank you to America's diplomats and We all deserve better, they mourned the institutional loss from the cuts and .
Google to offer heavy discount for cloud computing services to US govt
In April, Google agreed to offer a 71% discount till September 30 to US federal agencies for its business apps package that could generate up to $2 billion in savings if there is govt-wide adoption
Brazil can survive without US trade, says Lula amid Trump tariff threat
In televised interviews, Lula struck a defiant tone, saying Trump must respect Brazil's sovereignty and cannot act as if he owns other nations
Nato to fully fund US weapons sent to Ukraine under new deal, says Trump
In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Putin over the lack of progress towards ending the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
Brazil vows retaliatory tariffs if Trump goes through with 50% import taxes
Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump follows through on a pledge to boost import taxes by 50% over the South American country's criminal trial against his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. Lula said he will trigger Brazil's reciprocity law approved by Congress earlier this year if negotiations with the US fail. If there's no negotiation, the reciprocity law will be put to work. If he charges 50 (per cent tariffs) from us, we will charge 50 from them, Lula told TV Record in excerpts of an interview that will be fully aired later in the day. Respect is good. I like to offer mine and I like to receive it. Lula's comments raise the risk of a tariffs war erupting between the two countries, similar to what has happened between the US and China. Trump has vowed to respond forcefully if countries seek to punish the US by adding tariffs of their own. The tariffs letter that Trump sent to
George Mason University faces investigation in Trump admin's crackdown
The Trump administration on Thursday opened a civil rights investigation into the hiring practices at George Mason University, expanding a national campaign against diversity policies to Virginia's largest public university. The Education Department said it is responding to a complaint from multiple professors at George Mason who accuse the university of favoring those from underrepresented groups. The complaint takes aim at the university's president, Gregory Washington, saying he issued guidance that favors faculty candidates based on diversity considerations rather than their credentials, according to the department. It marks an expansion of the Trump administrations campaign to reshape higher education, which until recently focused on elite private institutions like Harvard and Columbia universities. George Mason is the second big public university to face scrutiny in recent weeks, following a Justice Department investigation at the University of Virginia that prompted the ...
Rubio echoes Trump's frustration over stalled peace talks in Lavrov meet
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Trump is going to do everything he can within his power to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Trump appoints transport secretary Sean Duffy as interim Nasa chief
Duffy's appointment comes less than two months after Trump unexpectedly pulled the nomination of his original choice for Nasa administrator, SpaceX astronaut and billionaire Jared Isaacman
Trump eyes trade deals before deadline, but hints at more time for talks
The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with plans for the United States to start sending letters Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in August 1. That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to give up on negotiations. The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything, Hassett said. There are deadlines, and there are things that a
US tariffs to take effect on August 1, says Trump as deals near completion
President Trump confirms tariff hikes will take effect on August 1, with letters and agreements set to go out ahead of the deadline
Trump signs his 'big, beautiful' tax bill at White House ceremony
The legislative milestone reinforces Trump's grip on the Republican Party, whose Capitol Hill leaders muscled the bill through the House and Senate this week
US trade deal remains unclear: South Korean prez as Trump's deadline looms
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that it remained unclear whether Seoul and Washington could conclude their tariff negotiations by the deadline set by President Donald Trump for next week, noting Thursday that both nations were still working to clarify their positions and identify areas of agreement. Speaking at his first news conference since taking office last month, Lee also reiterated his intentions to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, though he acknowledged that mutual distrust between the Koreas is too deep to heal anytime soon. Trump's tariff hikes and other America First policies are major challenges for Lee's month-old government, as are North Korea's advancing nuclear programme and domestic economic woes. Lee, a liberal, came to power after winning a snap presidential election caused by the ouster of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December. Lee calls tariff talks with US clearly not easy Lee said the
State AI law ban dropped from Trump's tax bill after GOP rift over rules
A controversial bid to deter states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade seemed on its way to passing as the Republican tax cut and spending bill championed by President Donald Trump worked its way through the US Senate. But as the bill neared a final vote, a relentless campaign against it by a constellation of conservatives including Republican governors, lawmakers, think tanks and social groups had been eroding support. One, conservative activist Mike Davis, appeared on the show of right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon, urging viewers to call their senators to reject this AI amnesty for trillion-dollar Big Tech monopolists. He said he also texted with Trump directly, advising the president to stay neutral on the issue despite what Davis characterised as significant pressure from White House AI czar David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and others. Conservatives passionate about getting rid of the provision had spent weeks fighting others
Wrongly deported from US, Garcia says subjected to torture in El Salvador
Kilmar Abrego Garcia said he suffered severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation and psychological torture in the notorious El Salvador prison the Trump administration had deported him to in March, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported and became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The new details of Abrego Garcia's incarceration in El Salvador were added to a lawsuit against the Trump administration that Abrego Garcia's wife filed in Maryland federal court after he was deported. The Trump administration has asked a federal judge in Maryland to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it is now moot because the government returned him to the United States as ordered by the court.
