Germany's Scholz Slams Trump's Plan on Ukrainian Minerals
(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized President Donald Trump's suggestion of linking continued US military aid for Ukraine to guaranteed access to its raw materials, including rare earths.
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In an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) published on Saturday, Scholz said that with Ukraine under attack by Russia, Germany is standing by the nation without expectations of being paid back later. 'That should be everyone's attitude,' he added.
How to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia is likely to be one of the key topics at the upcoming Munich Security Conference starting Feb. 14, little more a week before the war hits the three-year mark.
While the European NATO countries hope for continued military support from the US, Trump's administration is expected to present a long-awaited plan to end the war, according to people familiar with the matter.
Scholz faces a likely stinging defeat in Germany's snap elections on Feb. 23. His Social Democrats held at 15% in the latest opinion poll, while Germany's conservative opposition under Friedrich Merz currently claims 30% of likely votes.
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Washington Post
4 minutes ago
- Washington Post
New German leader plans to discuss Ukraine and trade with Trump in Oval Office visit
WASHINGTON — Germany's new leader is meeting President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine , help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe's biggest economy and further bolster his country's long-criticized military spending. Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have spoken several times by phone, either bilaterally or with other European leaders, since Merz took office on May 6. German officials say the two leaders have started to build a 'decent' relationship, with Merz wanting to avoid the antagonism that defined Trump's relationship with one of his predecessors, Angela Merkel , in Trump's first term. The 69-year-old Merz is a conservative former rival of Merkel's who took over her party after she retired from politics. Merz also comes to office with an extensive business background — something that could align him with Trump. A White House official said topics that Trump is likely to raise with Merz include Germany's defense spending, trade, Ukraine and what the official called 'democratic backsliding,' saying the administration's view is that shared values such as freedom of speech have deteriorated in Germany and the country should reverse course. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the discussions. Merz will want to avoid an Oval Office showdown of the kind that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa experienced in recent months. Asked about the risk of a White House blow-up, Merz spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said on Monday that the chancellor is 'well-prepared' for the meeting and that he and Trump have 'built up a decent relationship, at least by phone' and via text messaging. Merz has thrown himself into diplomacy on Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv with fellow European leaders days after taking office and receiving Zelenskyy in Berlin last week. He has thanked Trump for his support for an unconditional ceasefire while rejecting the idea of 'dictated peace' or the 'subjugation' of Ukraine and advocating for more sanctions against Russia. The White House official said Trump on Thursday will stress that direct peace talks must continue. In their first phone call since Merz became chancellor, Trump said he would support the efforts of Germany and other European countries to achieve peace, according to a readout from the German government. Merz also said last month that 'it is of paramount importance that the political West not let itself be divided, so I will continue to make every effort to produce the greatest possible unity between the European and American partners.' Under Merz's immediate predecessor, Olaf Scholz, Germany became the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States. Merz has vowed to keep up the support and last week pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any range limits. At home, Merz's government is intensifying a drive that Scholz started to bolster the German military after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Trump's first term, Berlin was a target of his ire for failing to meet the current NATO target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and Trump is now demanding at least 5% from allies. The White House official said the upcoming NATO summit in the Netherlands later this month is a 'good opportunity' for Germany to commit to meeting that 5% mark. Scholz set up a 100 billion euro ($115 billion) special fund to modernize Germany's armed forces — called the Bundeswehr — which had suffered from years of neglect. 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Trump recently delayed a planned 50% tariff on goods coming from the European Union, which would have otherwise gone into effect this month. One source of strain in recent months is a speech Vice President JD Vance gave in Munich shortly before Germany's election in February, in which he lectured European leaders about the state of democracy on the continent and said there is no place for 'firewalls.' That term is frequently used to describe mainstream German parties' refusal to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany , which finished second in the election and is now the biggest opposition party. Merz criticized the comments. He told ARD television last month that it isn't the place of a U.S. vice president 'to say something like that to us in Germany; I wouldn't do it in America, either.' ___ Moulson reported from Berlin. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
Associated Press
5 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Thune's first big test as Senate leader has arrived with Trump's tax bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only six months into the job, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a massive challenge as he tries to quickly push President Donald Trump's sprawling tax and spending cuts package to passage with the support of a divided GOP conference. While most Republican senators are inclined to vote for the bill, Thune can stand to lose only four votes in the face of united Democratic opposition — and many more Republicans than that are critical of the version sent over by the House. To get it done by July 4 — Trump's deadline — Thune has to figure out how to balance the various, and sometimes conflicting, demands emerging from his members. And he has to do it in a way that doesn't endanger Republican support in the House, which passed the legislation by only one vote last month after weeks of contentious negotiations. It's a complicated and risky undertaking, one that is likely to define the first year of Thune's tenure and make or break his evolving relationship with Trump. 'This is when John's leadership is going to be desperately needed,' said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the Republican holdouts who is pushing back on the bill's quick phaseout of certain energy tax credits. 'You can say no all you want, as long as you don't say no to the wrong 51 people.' So far, the well-liked South Dakota Republican is in a good place, both with colleagues and the White House. Thune has worked closely with Trump, despite a rockier relationship at the end of Trump's first term. While acknowledging that the Senate will likely change the bill to address concerns about changes to Medicaid and other programs, Thune has repeatedly said that 'failure is not an option.' 'Individual pieces of it people don't like,' Thune said Tuesday. 'But in the end, we have to succeed.' To get there, Thune has been meeting in his office with senators to hear them out, bringing in his colleagues individually and in small groups to discuss portions of the bill. Republican senators say the outreach is a stark change from his predecessor, Mitch McConnell, who was more feared than loved and kept a tight circle of advisers. McConnell stepped down from the leadership post in January after almost two decades amid a series of health episodes and growing criticism from senators on the right flank, who felt that he consolidated power and ignored their concerns. 'It's very much a change,' said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer. Thune has 'already made a lot of people happier by the listening part,' he said. One happier senator is Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who sparred openly with McConnell and ran against Thune to replace him. Scott, who criticizes the bill as not doing enough to cut federal spending, has also met with the new leader. 'I'd be very surprised if anybody doesn't believe he's receptive to their ideas,' Scott said of Thune. And when people feel heard, Scott said, 'there's a greater chance they will go along with something.' Thune has also carefully navigated his relationship with the president, after sharply criticizing Trump in 2020 for trying to overturn his election defeat. Trump declined to endorse Thune's reelection bid two years later. Thune endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott over Trump in the presidential primary before eventually endorsing Trump. The two made amends in the final months of Trump's presidential campaign and have since forged a working relationship of mutual benefit. Thune has stayed in close touch with the White House, visiting Trump several times to discuss the bill, including on Wednesday. While the collaborative approach has won favor from Trump and colleagues who were agitating for a change, Thune has a long way to go in a short time. Passing the legislation will require hard choices, and not every demand can be met. Still, Thune's South Dakota colleague, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, says he has already proved himself a 'winner' with Trump and the conference by quickly moving the president's Cabinet nominations through the Senate mostly without controversy. The Senate also recently blocked California air regulations that Republicans have long opposed after Thune delayed the vote for weeks to assuage procedural concerns from GOP moderates like Maine Sen. Susan Collins. 'Everybody wants to work with John,' Rounds said. 'He's not making anybody mad right now.' Rounds says Thune has also learned how to crack down when he needs to. Since taking power, Thune has shortened Senate vote times that were sometimes stretching for hours to just 15 minutes, in most cases. It was a hard lesson for some senators, but it won him respect from Republicans and, privately, even some Democrats. But as they were adjusting to the change, some senators unexpectedly missed votes because of Thune's new policy, Rounds said. 'Did he get yelled at a little bit? Yeah,' he said. 'But once they got cut off once or twice, pretty soon they realized, if you want to vote, make it on time.'
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6 minutes ago
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U.S. Steel says it will remain "American" in Nippon partnership. What that means is uncertain.
With the final details of the ownership structure for the not-yet-finalized partnership between U.S. Steel and Japan-based Nippon Steel still up in the air, it's an open question of whether the company will be "American" in a technical sense. Some local leaders disagree on how to define what exactly an "American" company is. President Trump, who said he has final say on a deal, first announced the partnership by saying U.S. Steel would remain in America, with U.S. Steel then coming out with a statement saying the company would remain "American." Mr. Trump said months ago that he would allow Nippon to invest in U.S. Steel, but he opposed a purchase. "America to me is owning the company, having ownership," said Cheryl Freedman, a Pleasant Hills Borough Council member. "I feel that being an American-owned company is important." She attended Mr. Trump's rally last Friday at U.S. Steel's Irvin Works in West Mifflin, which is not far from Pleasant Hills, and said she initially felt excited as she heard about the investments that were announced. She said she started to feel less comfortable once she started hearing words around her that she didn't expect after the rally. Specifically, she spoke with one individual whom she thought should know the details. "That person said 'purchase.' And I said, 'What do you mean purchase?' And, 'Well, we're not real sure yet. We don't have the details,'" she recalled their conversation going. To make her feel comfortable, she wants to hear what the ownership structure will be. She hopes Americans will own at least 51% of the company. West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly, who has been a vocal proponent of a deal with Nippon Steel, said that while he's unsure if the new U.S. Steel would be American in a technical sense, it doesn't have to be for it to be an American company. KDKA asked him to address the concerns people have about the yet-to-be announced or finalized ownership structure. "The mining is going to be done by Americans. The melting is going to be done by Americans. The manufacturing is going to be done by Americans," Kelly said. "Is that how you see what it means to be an American company?" KDKA asked Mayor Kelly. "Absolutely," he responded. He believes a deal with Nippon Steel will save thousands of jobs, along with the steelmaking legacy in Pittsburgh. "Let me make this easy," Kelly said. "It's going to be called U.S. Steel. That's one. It's going to be located in the city of Pittsburgh, headquarters. ... The guaranteed no layoffs, no plant closings and the furnaces are going to operate at capacity for 10 years. We win on that." The known details come from Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick and state Senator Kim Ward. They have said Americans would have a majority on the U.S. Steel board and what McCormick called a "golden share." "The golden shares is the oversight of the United States government," Kelly said. "They're going to be part of the decision-making as far as national security." The details from McCormick and Ward echo what Mr. Trump said at last week's rally. "Most importantly, U.S. Steel will continue to be controlled by the USA. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done the deal," Mr. Trump said. Freedman is, however, looking for more than control; she wants ownership. "I would like to see our companies, our American companies, remain owned by America," Freedman said. United Steelworkers International leadership has said it also wants more details, saying that partnering with Nippon is risky. Most steelworkers and Mon Valley leaders KDKA-TV has spoken with don't care what the ownership structure is; they just want whatever will preserve jobs.
