donald trump Archives - Page 5 of 25

Trump’s administration is pulling almost all USAID workers off the job worldwide

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration says it’s pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide. The order takes effect just before midnight Friday and gives direct hires of the agency overseas 30 days to return home unless they’re deemed essential. The notice posted online Tuesday says contractors not determined to be essential also would be fired. The move had been rumored for several days and is the most extreme of several proposals considered for consolidating the agency into the State Department. Thousands of USAID employees already have been laid off and programs worldwide shut down after the Republican president imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.… Continue Reading

US Postal Service flip-flops on Hong Kong-China packages, lifting a ban imposed a day earlier

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is reversing course a day after placing a ban on all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong. The post office announced Tuesday that it would no longer accept parcels from the China and Hong Kong after the U.S.…… Continue Reading

Senate confirms Pam Bondi as US attorney general, putting Trump ally at Justice Department’s helm

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general. Her confirmation puts a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president. Bondi is a former Florida attorney general and corporate lobbyist. She is expected oversee a radical reshaping of the department that has been the target of Trump’s ire over the criminal cases it brought against him. Bondi has sought to reassure Democrats that politics would play no part in her decision-making, but she has refused to rule out investigations into Trump’s adversaries.… Continue Reading

RFK Jr. appears on track to become US health secretary as he wins key Republican senator’s support

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vocal vaccine skeptic and activist lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears on track to become the nation’s health secretary after winning the crucial support of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor who says Kennedy has assured him he would not topple the nation’s childhood vaccination program. In a starkly partisan vote Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee advanced Kennedy’s nomination 14-13, sending his bid to oversee the U.S. Health and Human Services agency for a full vote on the Senate floor later. With Cassidy’s vote no longer in doubt, Kennedy’s nomination is likely to succeed absent any last-minute vote switches. Cassidy says Kennedy “will be the secretary.” All Democrats on the committee opposed Kennedy.… Continue Reading

Rubio says El Salvador’s offer to jail violent American criminals faces ‘legalities’

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “there are obviously legalities involved” in Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s offer to accept and jail violent American criminals. Rubio called it “a very generous offer” and said that it would allow the U.S. to outsource the cost of some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States. But he noted that “we have a Constitution” and the Trump administration “will have to make a decision.”… Continue Reading

Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his new tariffs that are triggering a trade war

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. He’s also claiming that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States. The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort are causing a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty. And they’re threatening to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China. But by following through on a campaign pledge, Trump may have simultaneously broken his promise to voters in last year’s election that his administration could quickly reduce inflation. The tariffs are set to launch on Tuesday.… Continue Reading

Trump puts tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, spurring trade war as North American allies respond

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, fulfilling a campaign promise but raising the prospect of trade conflict and increased prices for American consumers. Trump is declaring an economic emergency to put duties of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada — America’s largest trading partners — except for a 10% rate on Canadian oil. The White House said Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S., as they have threatened. Trump says the tariffs are to force the countries to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.… Continue Reading

US colleges returning to campus sexual assault rules created during Trump’s first term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools and universities responding to complaints of sexual misconduct must return to policies created during President Donald Trump’s first term, with requirements for live hearings and more protections for accused students. In a memo to education institutions across the nation, the Education Department clarified that Title IX will be enforced according to a set of rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The rules govern how complaints of misconduct are investigated and how to settle cases where students present differing accounts. Colleges have already been returning to DeVos’ 2020 rules in recent weeks after a federal judge in Kentucky overturned the Biden administration’s Title IX rules.… Continue Reading

Trump White House rescinds order freezing federal grants after widespread confusion

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s budget office has rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter on Wednesday. The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding. The people confirmed that OMB pulled the order Wednesday in a two sentence notice to agencies and departments, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal guidance.… Continue Reading

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggles to answer questions on Medicare and Medicaid at confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has struggled to answer questions at his Senate confirmation hearing about how he’d reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Kennedy inaccurately claims Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government when states and federal taxpayers fund it. Kennedy’s hearing Wednesday to be the nation’s top health official quickly devolved into an argument over the questions he’s raised for years about vaccine safety. Kennedy is seeking to lead a $1.7 trillion agency that will oversee vaccine recommendations as well as food inspections and health insurance for half the country in President Donald Trump’s administration. Kennedy denies he’s anti-vaccine.… Continue Reading