logo
Evening Report — Trump team scolds allies on global stage

Evening Report — Trump team scolds allies on global stage

The Hill14-02-2025

TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS
Trump officials look for one-two punch in Europe
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM sent a warning shot to global allies Friday, bringing their disruptive and confrontational style to the world stage.
In a blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Vance scolded U.S. allies in the European Union while announcing that the status quo won't hold under Trump.
'There's a new sheriff in town,' Vance said to light applause.
Vance seethed at what he described as a crackdown on free speech in Europe, citing a man who was arrested for silently praying near an abortion clinic.
'In Britain and across Europe, I fear free speech is in retreat,' he said.
Vance took aim at what he described as a mass migration crisis in Europe.
'No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants,' he said.
And he blasted global concerns about the influence of Elon Musk, saying:
'If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.'
Earlier in the week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned NATO that the U.S. would be pulling back and Europe would be responsible for its own security.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rebuffed Vance back in a Friday speech at the Munich conference:
'This democracy that was just called into question by the U.S. vice president … he compares the condition of Europe with the condition that prevails in some authoritarian regimes,' Pistorius sad. 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is not acceptable. This is not the Europe, not the democracy where I live … this is not the democracy I witness every day.'
RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS OFF TO A MUDDY START
Trump's national security team is in Munich to begin deliberations on how to end the nearly three-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Vance met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
'We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,' Vance said.
Zelensky posted on social media after the meeting:
'We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace. We deeply value President Trump's determination, which can help stop the war and secure justice and security guarantees for Ukraine.'
It's been a bumpy ride so far, both literally and figuratively.
The Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Munich had to return to Washington when its cockpit windshield cracked. Rubio got on a different plane.
• Meanwhile, Hegseth elicited bipartisan outrage for announcing that Ukraine would not gain entrance to NATO or return to its 2014 borders as part of any peace deal with Russia.
Hegseth initially defended the remarks, saying he was only being realistic.
Many saw that as a concession to Russia before negotiations officially got underway.
'A rookie mistake,' Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Politico, adding that he was 'puzzled and disturbed' by the remarks.
Hegseth later walked back the remarks, saying 'everything is on the table.'
Zelensky later conceded:
'The United States never saw us in NATO, they just spoke about it, but they really didn't want us in NATO.'
• Trump has spoken warmly about the potential for a working relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, unnerving some Senate Republicans.
Vance on Friday took a harder line, warning the U.S. could hit Russia with more sanctions if they believe Putin isn't negotiating in good faith.
Trump has been shooting from the hip, injecting all manner of new concepts into the mix.
The president wants Russia back in the Group of Seven (G7) major economies, saying their exclusion may have led to the conflict with Ukraine.
Trump also mused about a potential trilateral deal between the U.S., Russia and China, wherein all three countries agree to cut their defense spending in half.
And Trump said he talked to Putin about both countries putting a halt on building new nuclear weapons.
'We were talking about de-nuking…President Putin and I agreed we are going to do it in a very big way,' Trump said.
💡 Perspectives:
• The Hill: How Trump can achieve lasting peace with Russia and Ukraine.
• The Atlantic: Listen closely to what Hegseth is saying.
• The Hill: Is there a foreign policy 'Trump Doctrine'?
• New York Post: Trump wants peace and an end to the war in Ukraine.
• Marco Rubio: The Americas' Golden Age begins now.
CATCH UP QUICK
President Trump signed an executive order stripping funds from schools requiring COVID-19 vaccines.
Wholesale prices jumped 3.5 percent annually. Retail sales made their biggest drop in almost two years. Chris Stirewalt writes for Whole Hog Politics on how inflation clouds hang over the budget battle.
TikTok is back on the Apple and Google app stores after President Trump delayed a ban on the social media company.
NEWS THIS AFTERNOON
Adams controversy blows back on Trump's DOJ
The controversy surrounding the Department of Justice (DOJ) decision to end a corruption investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has blown up on the Trump administration.
At least a half-dozen federal prosecutors have resigned over the Justice Department's directive that the investigation into Adams be shut down. Some of those who resigned have strong conservative bona fides.
Danielle Sassoon, the former acting attorney overseeing Adams's case, alleged that attorneys for the mayor had pushed for a 'quid pro quo' before the DOJ ordered the case be dropped.
Adams called the quid pro quo allegations 'silly.'
Sassoon resigned her post instead of dropping the charges, writing in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi:
'I have always considered it my obligation to pursue justice impartially, without favor to the wealthy or those who occupy important public office, or harsher treatment for the less powerful. I cannot fulfill my obligations, effectively lead my office in carrying out the Department's priorities, or credibly represent the Government before the courts, if I seek to dismiss the Adams case on this record.'
Sassoon was appointed by Trump in January to be interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District in New York. She had previously clerked for conservative former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Read her full letter to Bondi here.
The top prosecutor on the Adams case, Hagan Scotten, also resigned in a blistering letter to DOJ official Emil Bove, stating:
'I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion [to dismiss charges]. But it was never going to be me.'
Scotten earned two Bronze stars over the course of three combat tours in Iraq.
Here's a rundown on all of the DOJ officials who have resigned so far.
➤ MEANWHILE…
The Trump administration is pressing Adams to implement its immigration policies, as Bondi sues Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and others for failing to enforce the Trump administration's immigration laws.
Adams agreed to allow federal immigration officials to use Rikers Island as a detention center.
Trump's border czar Tom Homan told Fox News:
'If he doesn't come through, I'll be back in New York City, and we will be sitting on the couch … I'll be in his office saying, 'Where the hell is the agreement we came to? We're going to deliver for the safety of the people of this city.''
Democrats believe Adams has been compromised and is in Trump's pocket after the order to end the investigation.
'Adams must be removed,' said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
💡 Perspectives:
• The Hill: Where's the outrage? 'Trump World Inc.'s' many conflicts of interest.
• MSNBC: Trump's 'lawfare' attack on the courts could backfire.
IN OTHER NEWS
© SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Washington roundup: White House escalates press battles
• The White House says it will ban The Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force 1 because the outlet continues to use the 'Gulf of Mexico' after President Trump renamed it the 'Gulf of America.'
The White House Correspondents Association slammed the retaliation against the AP after its reporters were banned from other recent events:
'The White House is seeking to curtail the press freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and has admitted publicly they are restricting access to events to punish a news outlet for not advancing the government's preferred language.'
• The Interior Department fired 2,300 employees after a directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM directed agencies to fire government workers who are still in their probationary period.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has a list of staffers who 'need to be moved.'
• A judge ordered the government to temporarily cease efforts to terminate foreign aid contracts and grants.
• Fourteen states are suing Trump and Elon Musk, calling the billionaire's role in gutting federal agencies unconstitutional.
• Government watchdogs launched audits into the new Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to a sensitive federal payment system located at the Treasury Department.
💡 Perspectives:
• Racket: The EPA's $20 billion caper.
• The Hill: Shouldn't everyone be against waste?
• USA Today: Trump is doing what Americans want.
• The Guardian: Resistance 2.0 is growing.
• The American Prospect: Laying off empiricists.
Sunday Shows

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Judge says Columbia University activist facing deportation should be freed
Judge says Columbia University activist facing deportation should be freed

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Judge says Columbia University activist facing deportation should be freed

Supporters of Mahmoud Khalil rally outside the federal courthouse in Newark on March 28, 2025. (Reena Rose Sibayan for New Jersey Monitor) A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Columbia University activist detained for partaking in pro-Palestinian protests cannot be held by the federal government over allegations that his presence in the United States undermines the nation's foreign policy interests. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz issued the order Wednesday but gave federal prosecutors until Friday at 9:30 a.m. to ask the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals to step in. It's unclear if the activist, Mahmoud Khalil, will be released Friday if the government does indeed appeal. 'This is the news we've been waiting over three months for. Mahmoud must be released immediately and safely returned home to New York to be with me and our newborn baby, Deen,' Noor Abdalla, Khalil's wife, said in a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of New York. 'True justice would mean Mahmoud was never taken away from us in the first place, that no Palestinian father, from New York to Gaza, would have to endure the painful separation of prison walls like Mahmoud has.' If it stands, Farbiarz's ruling, which comes on the heels of a previous decision that said the government's push to deport Khalil was likely unconstitutional, could deal a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to deport dissidents. Khalil was arrested by immigration authorities in March and has been held in Louisiana since. He's fighting two cases to fend off his deportation — one in Louisiana and one in New Jersey, because he was being transferred through Elizabeth Detention Center when his attorneys first filed a petition for his release. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Khalil supports terrorist group Hamas and called his presence in the country a national security risk. Rubio has cited a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil's deportation. Farbiarz noted in his Wednesday ruling that the government could argue that Khalil would have been detained anyway because he inaccurately filled out his lawful permanent resident application, which can be a basis for removal under very rare circumstances. But that argument won't work, he said. 'Lawful permanent residents are virtually never detained pending removal for the sort of alleged omission' Khalil is accused of, the judge wrote in the 14-page filing. Khalil, whose wife and newborn son are American citizens, has not been charged with any crime. He was among the first university students who were picked up by immigration authorities targeting pro-Palestine activists. Some students who were detained under similar circumstances have been released but still face deportation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Trump's DOGE efficiency agency says it slashes $25B in federal spending as rehiring begins
Trump's DOGE efficiency agency says it slashes $25B in federal spending as rehiring begins

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump's DOGE efficiency agency says it slashes $25B in federal spending as rehiring begins

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on Wednesday it has decreased its annual non-defense federal obligations by an additional ~1.9% since last month. As of June 8th, annual non-defense federal obligations are down 22.4%, or ~$25B, as compared to 2024, DOGE announced on X. The cut marks an additional ~1.9% reduction from last month's figures, which were announced on May 8. Doge's Greatest Hits: Look Back At The Department's Most High-profile Cuts During Trump's First 100 Days "Cash outlays will follow as obligations come due," DOGE wrote in the post. "Our initiative to reduce wasteful spend, consistent with the DOGE Cost Efficiency Executive Order, continues to bear fruit." On May 14, DOGE announced the current year's non-defense federal obligations were down 20.5% as compared to 2024. Read On The Fox News App The announcement came minutes before Fox News Digital was first to report the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is rehiring more than 450 previously fired employees belonging to multiple divisions within the agency's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rehired CDC employees came from the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention; the National Center for Environmental Health; the Immediate Office of the Director, and the Global Health Center, according to an HHS official familiar with the matter. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told CBS News in April some personnel who were cut shouldn't have been. Doge Ends 108 'Wasteful' Contracts, Including For An 'Executive Transformational Leadership Training Program' "We're reinstating them, and that was always the plan," Kennedy said. "Part of the—at DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning, is we're going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we'll make mistakes." In addition to the HHS rehires, the Internal Revenue Service, Food and Drug Administration, State Department, and Department of Housing and Urban Development started rehiring employees let go during DOGE cuts, the Washington Post reported. Doge Takes A Chainsaw To Federal Spending With 7 Major Victories This Week: 'Got To Be Done' Another roadblock this week was a ruling from U.S. District Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York, who ruled to restrict the agency's access to federal databases. The Trump administration previously said DOGE could not work effectively with the limitations, noting DOGE needed to access Social Security information to root out fraud. Fox News Digital's Alec Schemmel and Danielle Wallace contributed to this article source: Trump's DOGE efficiency agency says it slashes $25B in federal spending as rehiring begins

Hegseth defends $961.6B Defense Department budget request
Hegseth defends $961.6B Defense Department budget request

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Hegseth defends $961.6B Defense Department budget request

June 11 (UPI) -- The proposed Department of Defense budget puts "America first" while addressing Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine fielded questions during a more than 2-hour hearing regarding the proposed $961.6 billion DOD budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The Defense Department is improving pay, housing, healthcare and other services to improve the quality of life for military members and their families, Hegseth told committee members. "This budget puts America first and gives our warriors what they need," he said during his opening statement. The proposed budget request also would "end four years of chronic underinvestment in our military by the Biden administration," Hegseth added. Russia and the Ukraine war Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opened the hearing with questions about the Ukraine War, including who is the aggressor and preferred outcomes. Hegseth said Russia is the aggressor and China would prefer to keep the conflict going as long as possible to distract from its moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Europe needs to do more to defend its territory against Russian aggression, Hegseth said, and the United States must remain strategic in its handling of the war while addressing matters in the Indo-Pacific region. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., cited ongoing Russian aggression against civilian targets in Ukraine as evidence that Russia has no intention of ending the war there. The 2026 budget request eliminates aid to Ukraine, while senators are working to impose more sanctions on Russia, Coons said. "What message do you think it sends" when Russia "attacks civilian centers in Ukraine and the United States does not send additional air defense and interceptors to Ukraine?" Coons asked. Hegseth said arms are still flowing to Ukraine, but other NATO allies are not doing enough to end the war. "You're not a real coalition, you're not a real defense alliance, unless you have real defense capability and real armies that can bring those to bear," Hegseth said. "That's a reality that Europe is waking up to quickly," he added, "and we're glad." Coons said the United States should not negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine "at any cost" and instead should continue supporting Ukraine to achieve an enduring peace. "Putin will only stop when we stop him," Coons said. "The best way to stop him is through a stronger NATO." Chinese military threats and Hegseth's DOD leadership Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said China has more than 400 warships and is rapidly expanding its fleet versus 293 ships for the United States. She asked why the Defense Department only seeks funding to build two submarines and an ocean surveillance ship, plus some destroyers. Hegseth said the 2026 budget request reflects a 13% increase for investing in national defense over the current fiscal year. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., then questioned Hegseth's leadership. "I am repeatedly hearing that your policy and personnel changes at the Pentagon are only undermining [and] not strengthening our military's preparedness to protect our country," Murray said. She accused Hegseth of using the military to police areas in the United States, including sending the National Guard and Marines to California to use against "peaceful protesters." Murray then asked Hegseth if the Defense Department would continue to fire shipbuilders, which he denied it has done. "We are investing historically in our shipbuilding defense industrial base and workforce and ships in this budget," Hegseth said. Murray said the Navy is firing shipbuilder staff in the state of Washington and accused it of asking welders if they ever donated to the Democratic Party. Hegseth said no welders are subject to litmus tests to work on naval projects and denied that political questions are asked. Iranian, Russian, Chinese and North Korean coalition Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Hegseth and Caine if the world is underestimating Iran's intent to "kill all the Jews," including using a nuclear weapon against Israel if Iran had one. Caine said Iran would use one to pressure Israel but doesn't know if Iran would use it to "wipe out Israel." Hegseth said a radical cleric in Iran would use one to wipe out Israel. "They're going to use a nuclear weapon if they get it," Graham said. He also asked if China intends to "take Taiwan by force if necessary." Hegseth said the DOD doesn't know that China has made the decision to do so. Caine suggested China might use military force against Taiwan, and the United States needs to prepare for it. Coons said China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are aligned and pose the greatest threat to world peace since the Cold War. He cited Ukraine as an example of the future of warfare, but said the Department of Defense is "internally divided" and operating on a continuing resolution for the first time. The current state within the Defense Department "cannot continue," Coons added. Next-generation fighter and collaborative drones are planned The Defense Department also wants to spend $4 billion during the 2026 fiscal year to develop the F-47 fighter and "collaborative combat" drone aircraft, according to DefenseScoop. The $4 billion request is just part of the 2026 budget request, but the amount of the entire proposed budget has not been released. The Air Force wants to spend $3.5 billion on the F-47 fighter project, which would give it a fighter capable of exceeding Mach 2 with a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles. The current F-22 and F-35A fighter jets have top speeds of greater than Mach 2 and Mach 1.6 and ranges of 590 and 670 nautical miles, respectively. The Air Force wants to buy up to 185 F-47 fighters during the program's duration. The Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program would promote the development of next-generation drone aircraft that are capable of flying with the manned F-47 and other next-generation fighters.

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