Trump adds Paul Dabbar, Hung Cao to administration
Dabbar, a former nuclear submarine officer, has been dominated as deputy secretary of Commerce. Cao, a former GOP nominee to serve as a congressman and a senator from Virginia, was nominated to serve as under secretary of the Navy.
'I am pleased to nominate Paul Dabbar to be United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Paul will work closely with our Great Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, to bring back American Leadership in Global Commerce, Trade, and Technology,' Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post.
'Paul served as my Under Secretary of Energy for Science, where he led the National Labs that started as the Manhattan Project, helping to drive semiconductors, AI, quantum, Energy Dominance, and our War-fighting capabilities,' he added of Dabbar, a graduate of the Naval Academy and Columbia University.
Trump praised Cao, a refugee from Vietnam, for his 25 years of service as a special operations officer.
'As a refugee to our Great Nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the Country that gave his family a home. He went to our amazing United States Naval Academy, and later earned his Master's Degree in Physics,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'With Hung's experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done.'
The appointments come as the Republican administration faces scrutiny over recent firings of top military officials including Charles 'CQ' Brown who formerly served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti.
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Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Dalay: Putin Blames Ukraine & EU for the Lack of Deal
Live on Bloomberg TV CC-Transcript 00:00Before we get to this meeting today, I want to start with what we saw on Friday and what, if anything, you think was accomplished or achieved by these two leaders. I think first what the true leader wanted from these meetings. Putin clearly wanted the meeting, wanted a deal, at least a deal and a cease fire to be in all of the meetings. And obviously the Putin got to a meeting that he wanted that's effective. And then the western isolation of Russia breaking the Western consensus on Russia. And probably he hopes that it's not only going to be Ukraine in talks between himself and Trump, but rather Ukraine turns into one subject among many other subjects. That's all the subject includes from that and from the nature, the overall nature of the relation between us and Russia, how to improve it and how to prevent the further sanctions coming down on Russia. So therefore, for Putin, the meetings and the meetings should not be only about Ukraine. For Trump, obviously he wanted a deal that to be announced. Right now what we see at this word in terms of the initial outcomes that Putin has gotten, what it wanted, which was the meetings and the Trump in terms of what he has gotten is still unclear. But what is so important, what is so significant at this stage is the normalization of the meetings and the record like treatment with the Putin by the by the most important by the most important country in the world, which is the united of the most powerful country in the world in the Western camps. And I think that meeting probably has paved the way for paved the way for other meetings coming down, coming down on the coming down the road. And the finally, in all the important things that Russia always wanted to talk about, the European security, not only Ukraine, but the overall nature of the European security order with us, not with with Europeans. And thus far it seems that the Russia is succeeding. Well. Well, so then where does that leave the discussions around a ceasefire or potentially peace? Because Trump also wants to see Zelensky and Putin meeting in the near term. European leaders are against that. Is that not a part of the discussion right now? Is that what you're saying? Well, the Trump wanted a ceasefire and they found that Putin didn't want a ceasefire. Is that the Putin talk about a comprehensive peace agreement which is unlikely to be achieved anytime soon? And I think one thing that probably one strategy that put it is pursuing the failure of getting a comprehensive deal, whatever that means at this stage, because that will that will involve some really tough questions regarding the territorial adjustment, the regarding what the U.S. means by the security guarantees that deal with the security guarantees that has been floated around, whether that is effectively a NATO like commitment without the NATO membership for Ukraine or what it is like, just like an idea that is being floated without much of much did. But nevertheless, right now, the if the failure the failure of this talk about a comprehensive deal, I think then Putin wants to blame Ukraine and Europeans for the intransigence and then basically tell the standard from that it was it was dumb that they didn't want a comprehensive deal rather than Russia once did, and therefore that it is time for the U.S. and Russia to even to reset the ties despite the fact that there may not be over or Ukraine. Gleb, do you see the European leaders stepping in and potentially changing the calculus of where these talks are at right now? Well, the trouble with European leaders or the European strategy towards Russia, towards Ukraine is even though Europe has been talking about the plan A, plan B, a plan C, but all of them coming to the same idea, actually, how to keep the U.S. in the game in one way or another. I still don't see any European plans despite all this talk about or the formation of the coalition of the willing, the formation, or the idea that the U.S. may not be in the game for long despite all this holds. I still do not see any European plan that is premised on the idea that Europe and the U.S. might be completely out of the picture. So the idea that I see is still gaining currency at the European capital. If the US even withdraw in presence, can we can we have like the U.S. backstops for the Europeans? So that's the first thing. The second thing that I see beyond offering the financial commitment, beyond offering further military equipment to Ukraine and further financial financial help to Ukraine, also buy more from the Americans. What for markets? I still don't see a workable European plan if the U.S. exit, if the U.S. is not in endgame. So therefore, this is like a drastic moment where, as in true for the European security, but probably one of the most significant days that we are passing through since the end of the Cold War and the tragedy for Europe. The Europe is not ready for the game. Europe is not ready for the challenge. If the U.S. is not in the game.
an hour ago
South Korean and US militaries begin summertime drills
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to 'any provocation' against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear program. In a statement last week, North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of 'military confrontation' with the North and declared that its forces would be ready to counteract 'any provocation going beyond the boundary line.' Ulchi Freedom Shield comes at a pivotal moment for South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who is preparing for an Aug. 25 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump has raised concerns in Seoul that he may shake up the decades-old alliance by demanding higher payments for the American troop presence in South Korea and possibly reducing it as Washington shifts its focus more toward China. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high as North Korea has brushed aside Lee's calls to resume diplomacy with its war-divided rival, with relations having soured in recent years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerated his weapons program and deepened alignment with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'What's needed now is the courage to steadily take steps toward easing tensions, grounded in a firmly maintained state of ironclad security readiness,' Lee said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday. South Korea also on Monday began a four-day civil defense drill involving thousands of public workers, often scheduled alongside the allies' summertime military exercises. Seoul's previous conservative government responded to North Korean threats by expanding military exercises with the United States and seeking stronger U.S. assurances for nuclear deterrence, drawing an angry reaction from Kim, who last year renounced long-term reconciliation goals and rewrote the North's constitution to label the South a permanent enemy. In his latest message to Pyongyang on Friday, Lee, who took office in June, said he would seek to restore a 2018-inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce border tensions and called for North Korea to respond to the South's efforts to rebuild trust and revive talks. The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between the Koreas, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes. But South Korea suspended the deal in 2024, citing tensions over North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons toward the South, and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea had already declared it would no longer abide by the agreement. When asked whether the Lee government's steps to restore the agreement would affect the allies' drills, the South's Defense Ministry said Monday that there are no immediate plans to suspend live-fire training near the Koreas' disputed western maritime border. While the allies have postponed half of Ulchi Freedom Shield's originally planned 44 field training programs to September, U.S. military officials denied South Korean media speculation that the scaled-back drills were meant to make room for diplomacy with the North, citing heat concerns and flood damage to some training fields. Dating back to his first term, Trump has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the 28,500 American troops stationed on its soil. Public comments by senior Trump administration officials, including Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, have suggested a push to restructure the alliance, which some experts say could potentially affect the size and role of U.S. forces in South Korea. Under this approach, South Korea would take a greater role in countering North Korean threats while U.S. forces focus more on China, possibly leaving Seoul to face reduced benefits but increased costs and risks, experts say. In a recent meeting with reporters, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, stressed the need to 'modernize' the alliance to address the evolving security environment, including North Korea's nuclear ambitions, its deepening alignment with Russia, and what he called Chinese threats to a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.'
an hour ago
Zelenskyy brings Europe's top leaders with him to meet Trump on ending Russia's war
WASHINGTON -- Ukraine's future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they look to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy's February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid. The meeting also is a test of America's relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and United Kingdom accepted Trump's tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine. Monday's showing is a sign both of the progress and the possible distress coming out of the Alaska meeting as many of Europe's leaders are descending on Washington with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine's interests, a rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force. 'It's important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe,' Zelenskyy said on X. The night before the meeting, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions and suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," he wrote Sunday night on social media. 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post late Sunday, saying, 'We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.' He went on to say that 'peace must be lasting,' not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and 'Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.' The sitdown in Alaska yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Zelenskyy or Putin. Planning to join Zelenskyy in America's capital are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees that Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump's team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack. Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting, and details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the U.S. president, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with Putin. 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,' Trump posted Sunday on social media. The president also bemoaned media coverage of his summit with Putin and said on Truth Social: "I had a great meeting in Alaska." Following the Alaska summit, Trump declared that a ceasefire was not necessary for peace talks to proceed, a sudden shift to a position favored by Putin. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that a ceasefire was still possible but that 'the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal." European officials confirmed that Trump told them Putin is still seeking control of the entire Donbas region, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it. And Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the U.S. and its allies could offer Ukraine a NATO-like commitment to defend the country if it came under attack as the possible security guarantee. "How that's constructed, what we call it, how it's built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that's what we'll be talking about over the next few days with our partners who are coming in from overseas,' Rubio told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Rubio said on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' that such a commitment 'would be a very big move" by Trump. He expects the delegations will 'spend six, seven hours talking about these things, maybe more, and try to get to a point where we have something more concrete.' Monday's meeting will likely be very tough for Zelenskyy, an official close to the ongoing talks said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about thinking within Ukraine and between allies. Zelenskyy needs to prevent a scenario in which he gets blamed for blocking peace talks by rejecting Putin's maximalist demand on the Donbas, the official said. It is a demand Zelenskyy has said many times he will never accept because it is unconstitutional and could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks. If confronted with pressure to accept Putin's demands, Zelenskyy would likely have to revert to a skill he has demonstrated time and again: diplomatic tact. Ukrainian leadership is seeking a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin to discuss sensitive matters, including territorial issues. After enduring a public tirade by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, Zelenskyy worked to repair relations with the U.S. Constant diplomatic communication and a 15-minute meeting at the Vatican in April on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral helped turn the tide. Trump appeared at the time to be swayed by Zelenskyy's conditions for peace. But Trump says he cares primarily about ending the war, an ambition that led him after his meeting with Putin to discard the need for a ceasefire. European allies also have worked with Trump, reaching a deal in July for NATO allies to buy weapons from the U.S. for Ukraine. Ahead of Monday's meeting, France's Macron stressed the importance of building up Ukraine's military and the need to show Putin that Europe interprets his moves as a threat to other nations. 'If we are weak with Russia today, we'll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and — make no mistake — they can impact us, too,' Macron said.
