The Latest: White House claims victory in a showdown with Colombia over taking deported migrants

Yahoo

27-01-2025

The White House is claiming victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.
Here's the latest:
Trump is expected to sign a flurry of new executive orders focused on the military
That includes reinstating troops booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, assessing transgender forces and further outlining new rollbacks in diversity programs.
It comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began his first day on the job Monday.
The orders could further clarify initial directives Trump issued shortly after his inauguration last week, when he removed protections for transgender troops put in place by former President Joe Biden and banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at federal agencies.
Air Force restores use of Tuskegee Airmen training videos as Hegseth starts his first day
The Air Force restored the use of training material referring to the storied Tuskegee Airmen after a temporary delay to edit its courses to meet the Trump administration's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the service said, resolving an issue roiling as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began his first day at the Pentagon.
Hegseth said in a post on X on Sunday that any move to cut the training was 'immediately reversed.' But the swirl of confusion reflects an ongoing struggle as leaders across the Defense Department try to purge diversity mentions from their websites and training.
Hegseth didn't mention the issue as he walked into the building Monday morning accompanied by Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But in other comments, Hegseth said 'military training will be focused on the readiness of what our troops in the field need to deter our enemies.'
▶ Read more about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's first day
JD Vance is making his first trip as vice president
He's flying to Damascus, Virginia, for a firsthand look at recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.
Vance, then still a senator from Ohio and a vice presidential candidate, visited the town near the Tennessee border in early October, shortly after Helene hit.
Helene's destruction was most extensive in western North Carolina and President Donald Trump paid a visit there Friday. But the storm caused damage in several states, including Virginia, and recovery efforts are ongoing.
Vaccine bills stack up in statehouses across the US
Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots.
Many see a political opportunity to rewrite policies in their states after President Donald Trump's return to the White House and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's nomination as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency oversees virtually every aspect of vaccination efforts in the U.S., from funding their development to establishing recommendations for medical providers to distributing vaccines and covering them through federal programs.
Childhood vaccination rates against dangerous infections like measles and polio continue to fall nationwide, and the number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions so their kids don't get required shots is rising.
▶ Read more about vaccination bills
All Senate Democrats but Fetterman condemn Jan. 6 pardons in resolution
All Democratic senators but one signed a resolution Monday condemning President Donald Trump's decision to pardon Jan. 6 rioters who were charged with assaulting U.S. Capitol police officers.
The non-binding resolution is Democrats' latest effort to blast the president for his efforts to rewrite the violence that happened four years ago when Trump's supporters tried to block congressional certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to not sign the resolution. Democrats are expected to bring the measure to the floor this week but given Republican's majority, it will likely fail.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has arrived at the Pentagon and said his first official day will be busy
Speaking Monday morning, he said that would include additional executive orders expected 'on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America — this is happening quickly,' Hegseth said in response to questions from reporters. The Iron Dome is an advanced air defense system used by Israel.
Hegseth was also asked if he intended to fire Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr — and in response said 'I'm standing with him right now,' while patting Brown on his back. Brown did not say anything in response.
Incarcerated transgender woman challenges Trump's order on gender
A transgender woman has sued President Trump and the head of the federal prison system over a plan to move her to a men's prison.
The lawsuit was filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Boston and is among the first court challenges related to the executive order Trump signed on his first day in office stating that the federal government would recognize only two sexes: male and female. The order defines them as being based on the reproductive cells present at conception and says they can't change.
The plaintiff says she was moved from the general population at a women's prison in Massachusetts to an isolated unit in Massachusetts the day after Trump signed the order, and that she was told she would be moved to a men's facility.
By Saturday, she says, the federal Bureau of Prisons changed her gender marker on publicly available prison records from female to male.
The plaintiff says she's been on hormones since she was a teenager and has never been in a men's prison. She says she would be at high risk there of harassment, abuse, violence and sexual assault. She also says she could be harmed if officials stop providing her with hormone treatment.
She says she's being deprived of due process to challenge the changes.
The Bureau of Prisons has not responded to questions from The Associated Press since last week about whether it is moving all transgender women inmates to men's facilities. As of last week, there were nearly 2,300 transgender inmates in federal prisons — about 1.5% of the total population.
Trump's celebration of American greatness puts a spotlight on a little-known panel of experts
Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump outlined in one of his many executive orders a mission to celebrate American greatness and to recognize those who have made contributions throughout history.
He jumpstarted the effort by ordering the name of North America's tallest peak to be changed from Denali back to Mount McKinley in honor of the nation's 25th president, William McKinley. He also called on the U.S. Interior Department to work with Alaska Natives and others to adopt names for other landmarks that would honor their history and culture.
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names will play a role. The little known panel made up of officials from several federal agencies has been in existence since 1890.
▶ Read more about the U.S. Board on Geographic Names
Trump could test intelligence sharing ties between the US and its allies
As Russia moved closer to invading Ukraine nearly three years ago, the United States and its allies took the extraordinary step of declassifying and sharing intelligence to expose Moscow's plans.
Information flew across the Atlantic from U.S. spy agencies to NATO and Western partners showing Russia was poised to launch the biggest attack on a European country since World War II.
It was designed to muster support for Kyiv, and on the strength of the U.S. warning, some nations sent weapons to Ukraine, which moved some equipment out of the range of Russian strikes.
Now, officials are bracing for a potentially changed security landscape under President Donald Trump. He's criticized America's allies and lambasted its intelligence agencies. He's been accused of disregarding secrecy rules and hoarding classified documents.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, has parroted Russian propaganda while his nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, has promised changes that could significantly curtail the flow of intelligence to America's friends. Both are expected to face sharp questioning from lawmakers during confirmation hearings Thursday.
▶ Read more about how Trump could affect intelligence sharing
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s famous name and controversial views collide in his bid for top health job
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said vaccines aren't safe. His support for abortion access has made conservatives uncomfortable. And farmers across the Midwest are nervous over his talk of banning corn syrup and pesticides from America's food supply.
The 71-year-old, whose famous name and family tragedies have put him in the national spotlight since he was a child, has spent years airing his populist — and sometimes extreme — views in podcasts, TV interviews and speeches building his own quixotic brand.
A son of a Democratic political dynasty, Kennedy is seeking to become the nation's top health official under President Donald Trump. To get there, he's softening those long-held beliefs, hoping to win approval from the Republican Party.
At stake is Kennedy's control of the nation's sprawling $1.7 trillion U.S. Health and Human Services agency, which oversees food and hospital inspections, health insurance for roughly half of the country and vaccine recommendations. The job would finally give him the kind of political power Kennedys have wielded for decades.
▶ Read more about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Some key moments from over the weekend
The Trump administration's first weekend in office is already offering signals about how his next four years in the White House may unfold.
Here are some of the key moments:
Where things stand with Colombia
The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.
Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S. and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each other's goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.
Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.
Trump said the measures were necessary because Petro's decision 'jeopardized' national security in the U.S. by blocking the deportation flights.
▶ Read more about the U.S.-Colombia tariff showdown