logo
White House budget office rebukes watchdog over ‘invasive' probes

White House budget office rebukes watchdog over ‘invasive' probes

Washington Post3 days ago

The top attorney for the White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday sharply rebuked a congressional watchdog, escalating an ongoing battle over the administration's expansion of unilateral spending powers.
The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog that's part of the legislative branch, found this month that the administration broke federal law in canceling spending for a $5 billion electric vehicle program without congressional approval. Gene L. Dodaro, the comptroller general of GAO, has also said during congressional testimony that his office had opened nearly 40 separate investigations into the administration, apparently focused on spending cuts.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China Rejects Trump's Accusation That It Violated Trade Truce
China Rejects Trump's Accusation That It Violated Trade Truce

New York Times

time3 minutes ago

  • New York Times

China Rejects Trump's Accusation That It Violated Trade Truce

China said on Monday that the United States had 'severely undermined' the trade truce the two countries reached last month, striking back against President Trump's accusations that it was violating the terms of their agreement. In a statement, China's Ministry of Commerce called Mr. Trump's attacks on social media last week 'baseless.' He had accused Beijing of failing to live up to its end of their trade deal, a 90-day rollback of tariffs and other trade barriers to give the two countries more time to negotiate and prevent an all-out trade war. China's commerce ministry said it had continued to honor its agreement responsibly and accused the United States of 'erroneous practices' by introducing a series of 'discriminatory restrictive measures.' These included restrictions on the sale of chip design software to China and barring American companies from using or financing artificial intelligence chips from the Chinese technology giant Huawei. It also criticized the Trump administration's announcement that it planned to 'aggressively revoke' the visas of Chinese students and that it would enhance scrutiny of all future applications from China, including Hong Kong. 'The U.S. side has unilaterally escalated new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,' the ministry wrote in its statement. 'Instead of reflecting on its own actions, it has turned the blame onto China.' China said it would take measures to 'safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' if the United States continued to harm Chinese interests. The growing confrontation over the fragile trade truce between the world's two largest economies has raised questions about whether they can strike a permanent accord within the 90-day deadline. The United States has grown increasingly concerned about access to rare earth magnets, which are crucial for producing cars, semiconductors, aircraft and other vital items. China maintains a near monopoly on the production of rare earth metals. American companies' ability to keep factories running could be in jeopardy without a sufficient supply of those magnets. Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative who negotiated the deal along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said during a Friday appearance on CNBC that China was 'slow-rolling their compliance' and that the flow of some critical minerals has not returned to levels that American officials were expecting. The agreement, announced on May 12, offered a temporary reprieve to the escalating trade tensions between the two largest economies. The United States had pushed tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent and China responded by raising import duties on American products to 125 percent. Under the truce, the United States agreed to lower its tariffs to 30 percent, while China cut its import tax to 10 percent for 90 days. Amy Chang Chien contributed reporting from Taipei.

Pacers beat Knicks for Eastern Conference title, will face Thunder in 2025 NBA Finals: Live reaction and analysis
Pacers beat Knicks for Eastern Conference title, will face Thunder in 2025 NBA Finals: Live reaction and analysis

New York Times

time7 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Pacers beat Knicks for Eastern Conference title, will face Thunder in 2025 NBA Finals: Live reaction and analysis

The Indiana Pacers, led by 31 points from Pascal Siakam, beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 to close out the Eastern Conference finals at home and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. The Knicks kept the game close until the third quarter, when the Pacers' pressure on both ends began to swing the game. Indiana forced 18 New York turnovers, resulting in 34 points, and scored 25 points in transition. Tyrese Haliburton was quiet until the fourth quarter but scored 11 points late, finishing with 21 points and 14 assists. Indiana's role players stepped up as well. Thomas Bryant scored 11 points on 3-5 shooting, including 2-2 from 3, in 12 minutes while Obi Toppin scored 18 points off the bench, shooting 7-11 from the field. The Pacers did an excellent job on Jalen Brunson, holding him to 19 points on 8-18 shooting with five turnovers. Karl-Anthony Towns, battling through a knee injury, finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. OG Anunoby helped New York hang around, scoring 24 points on 10-18 shooting. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday, June 5th at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City. GO FURTHER Pacers head to NBA Finals for first time since 2000, besting Knicks in Game 6

Microsoft's Bad News—500 Million Windows Users Must Now Decide
Microsoft's Bad News—500 Million Windows Users Must Now Decide

Forbes

time17 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Microsoft's Bad News—500 Million Windows Users Must Now Decide

Surprising bad news suddenly hits Microsoft. A new warning has been issued for Windows users, whose PCs have been described as 'magnets for security threats,' just as new data gives Microsoft a surprising bad news story ahead of the critical next few months. You can expect many more such warnings as 500-million Windows users face an increasingly urgent decision. The latest advice comes courtesy of PC maker Asus, pointing out that 'if you're still using Windows 10 or, dare we say it, something even older — your computer's days of regular updates and support are numbered.' As for upgrades, 'what makes Windows 11 different?," Asus says. "one word: Copilot," as it pushes the latest range of AI PCs. Clearly, you don't need to decide on a premium Copilot PC to benefit from Windows 11's future-proofing, ensuring your PC receives critical security updates after Windows 10's demise in October. AI PCs remain a niche, despite projections they will eventually dominate new PC sales. Right now, there's a more fundamental decision to make. Windows 10 versus Windows 11 globally. The latest Windows market data presents a painfully bleak picture with just over five months to run until free Windows 10 security updates end for all users. Paid extensions are available, but they're expensive for enterprises and restricted to just 12-months for home users who also must pay. Microsoft is pushing free upgrades not paid extensions. A month ago, it seemed Windows 11 had turned the tide against Windows 10. The newer OS already outanks its older sibling in the U.S. but not globally. Come the end of April, though, Windows 11 was within 10% of Windows 11 for the first time. 'Just over half (53%) of all users are still on Windows 10, but that's inching down month by month.' Not any more, it seems. While more directional than exact, Statcounter's data at the end of May shows a slight month-over-month increase for Windows 10, while Windows 11 dips. This after four months of steady progress the other way. Windows 10 is holding stubbornly above 50% while Windows 11 remains 10% behind. Windows 10 versus Windows 11 in U.S. This means there are around 750 million users are yet to upgrade to Windows 11, of which at least 240 million don't have an eligible PC. That still leaves around 500 million users who can take up Microsoft's offer for a free Windows 11 upgrade but have not. Even in the U.S., where Windows 11 has overtaken Windows 10, May's data suggests Windows 10 has grown its share from 41% in April to more than 43%, while Windows 11 drops a more worrying 3.5%, from 56.5% down to below 53%. All this makes June's data critical. Come the end of this month, there will be just three months until Windows 10 is shuttered. If Microsoft is to avoid a cybersecurity nightmare hitting mid-October, something need to change. For all those Windows 10 users with PCs eligible for a free upgrade, do not run out of time.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store