Latest news with #TrumpAdministration
CNN
22 minutes ago
- Politics
- CNN
Waltz defends use of Signal as he says he can make ‘UN great again' if confirmed to ambassador role
Former national security adviser Mike Waltz defended his use of the messaging app Signal during a Tuesday confirmation hearing where lawmakers largely avoided the topic. The 'Signalgate' scandal, in which top Trump administration officials discussed sensitive details of a US military strike in a chat to which Waltz had inadvertently added a journalist, dominated headlines and led to his ouster as national security adviser in May. Waltz was instead nominated as US ambassador to the United Nations. However, during Waltz's confirmation hearing for the ambassador role Tuesday, only a few Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee raised the matter, and only one explicitly said he would not support Waltz's nomination. Instead, the hearing was largely dominated by questions about how Waltz plans to approach the international organization. The Trump administration has vilified the UN as ineffective, accused it of being anti-Israel and proposed cutting billions of dollars in US funding for its operations, including for peacekeeping. On the matter of Signalgate, Waltz maintained that none of the sensitive details shared in the chat were classified. 'We followed the recommendation, almost the demand, to use end-to-end encryption, but there was no classified information shared,' Waltz said during an exchange with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. Waltz, a former Florida lawmaker, said the White House had investigated the matter and there was no resulting disciplinary action. The Pentagon's probes are ongoing, he said. Asked by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine whether the Pentagon investigations had concluded the information was not classified, Waltz said he couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation. 'I can echo Secretary Hegseth's testimony that no names, targets, locations, units, routes, sources, methods, classified information was shared,' he said, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker told Waltz that he was 'really disappointed' and troubled by 'your failure to just stand up and take accountability for mistakes that you made and that all Americans know that you've made.' 'I cannot support your nomination. I think you've shown failure of leadership at a time that America especially needs people of honor to stand up and show what leadership actually is,' Booker said. Waltz is the administration's second nominee for the UN role, after New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination was pulled by the White House amid concerns over slim GOP margins in the House. Waltz told lawmakers he believes the UN is in need of reform but also has potential. 'We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk, and where China, Russia, Europe, the developing world, can come together and resolve conflicts, but after 80 years, it's drifted from its core mission of peacemaking,' he said. 'I'm confident we can make the UN great again,' he said.
Fox News
27 minutes ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Democrat accuses Trump administration of diverting 'critical resources' from fighting organized retail theft
A top Senate Democrat is accusing the Trump administration of diverting "critical resources" away from fighting crimes such as organized retail theft so the president can carry out a "mass deportation agenda." Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the remark during a hearing on Tuesday in which he warned lawmakers about the "large scale theft of retail products that are then sold to unsuspecting consumers, often on online marketplaces." "Federal law enforcement also has an important role to play, but we must acknowledge this administration has announced different priorities. Instead of combating crimes like I described, the Trump administration has diverted critical resources toward the president's mass deportation agenda," Durbin said. "Homeland Security Investigations, better known as HSI, plays a leading role in combating criminal networks and organized crime, including organized retail theft. But under this administration, HSI has been diverted toward rounding up immigrants, many of whom pose no threat whatsoever to this country," Durbin added. Durbin cited a recent report saying "HSI supervisors have waived agents off new cases so they have more time to make immigration enforcement arrests." "One veteran agent said 'no drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation.' It's infuriating. Instead, he said, HSI is 'arresting gardeners.' These are not the actions of an administration serious about combating crime," Durbin concluded. "Diverting federal resources endangers Americans and leaves us less equipped to target and disrupt criminals like those in organized retail theft." The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. During the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, titled "Beyond the Smash and Grab: Criminal Networks and Organized Theft," chairman and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he has seen a "continued rise in organized retail and supply chain crime and the criminal networks that are involved in that criminal activity. "We've all seen videos of mobs ransacking stores of thousands of dollars of goods and doing it in a very short period of time," Grassley said. "The reality is, some of the worst criminal organizations -- including cartels, terrorists and human traffickers -- use this type of crime, funding their misdeeds or launder[ing] ill-gotten proceeds," Grassley added, noting that "Homeland Security investigators estimate that the average American family will pay more than $500 annually in additional costs, due to the impact of organized retail crime." Donna Lemm, the chief strategy officer at IMC Logistics, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that "Cargo theft is robbing our supply chain to the tune of $35 billion per year." "A few years ago, cargo theft was barely on my company's radar. In 2021, we had five cargo thefts reported. In 2024, we had 876 cargo thefts reported. That's a 17,520% increase," Lemm said. "Our partner railroads share with us drone footage of thieves cutting air brakes, containers strewn across the desert, and criminals emptying these containers in minutes," she added.
New York Times
28 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Waltz, in U.N. Ambassador Hearing, Defends Signal Group Chat
President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Waltz, was pressed by Democrats on Capitol Hill on Tuesday but did not acknowledge any wrongdoing related to a sensitive group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal in March. Mr. Waltz, during a hearing on his nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, repeated the Trump administration's defenses of the group chat where senior officials discussed sensitive details of a military operation in Yemen. He was ousted from his national security position following the revelation that he added a journalist to the group chat that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials. Mr. Waltz told lawmakers that 'there was no classified information on that chat,' and did not address why he added the journalist to the discussion on Signal. It was the first time Mr. Waltz had appeared before Congress since he was removed from his post. Mr. Trump passed the national security adviser role to Mr. Rubio and nominated Mr. Waltz for the U.N. role in May. Mr. Waltz echoed the Trump administration's defense over the use of Signal, saying that the app was recommended by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Biden administration. In December, the agency directed 'highly targeted individuals' in senior positions to use messaging apps with 'end-to-end encryption, such as Signal' as a safer alternative to SMS text messaging. But Democrats told Mr. Waltz that he and other top officials should have known better than to share war plans over a commercial messaging app, and pressed him to take responsibility for what Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, called an 'amateur move.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
42 minutes ago
- Health
- New York Times
H.H.S. Finalizes Thousands of Layoffs After Supreme Court Decision
The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the layoffs of thousands of employees after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed with mass firings across the government. Employees received notice of their termination late Monday, marking a turning point in the reshaping of the nation's health care work force. Those let go included people who coordinated travel for overseas drug facility inspectors, communications staff members, public records officials and employees who oversaw contracts related to medical research. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 10,000 layoffs late in March, cutting workers across the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal health agencies. Some workers who received the initial layoff notices on April 1 found out only when their badge to enter a building did not work. Still, many of them remained on the federal payroll until Monday at 5 p.m., when a message went out citing last week's Supreme Court decision that allowed Trump officials to significantly slash the size of the federal payroll even as court challenges to the administration's plans play out. 'Thank you for your service to the American people,' the email said. While many of the workers were described by the Trump administration as redundant or duplicative, critics have compared the cuts to leaving only doctors — and no support staff — to operate a hospital. The result is a hobbled work force, said Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and a former Biden administration health official. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fed's Collins urges patience on rates, says tariff hit may be more modest
By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK (Reuters) -Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said on Tuesday she's in no rush to change the U.S. central bank's benchmark interest rate amid current economic uncertainty, as data suggest that while import tariffs will drive up inflation, it's possible the overall impact may not be as bad as once feared. "Calibrating appropriate policy in this context is challenging," but "continued overall solid economic conditions enable the Fed to take the time to carefully assess the wide range of incoming data," Collins said in the text of a speech to be delivered at a National Association for Business Economics event in Washington. "An 'actively patient' approach to monetary policy remains appropriate at this time," she added. Collins said the trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will leave a mark on the economy, and there's some evidence it's already happening based on the movement of some goods prices. But she also said the full impact may not be as extreme as once thought because both households and firms are in a good place to weather higher prices. Higher import prices will push up inflation - core inflation will rise to around 3% by the end of this year - while depressing economic growth and employment, Collins said. "Financial data point to the possibility that the impact of tariffs may be lessened somewhat by an ability for firms to decrease profit margins and for consumers to continue spending, despite higher prices," Collins said. "As a result, the adverse impact of tariffs on labor market conditions and economic growth may be more limited," she said. The Fed's benchmark interest rate is currently set in the 4.25%-4.50% range. Financial markets as well as most Fed officials do not expect the central bank to cut rates at its July 29-30 policy meeting. Fed officials are in a wait-and-see mode as they seek data to see how President Donald Trump's volatile trade policy will affect the economy, and they are unsure how big and how persistent the impact of tariffs will be. But Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman have signaled an openness to cutting rates at this month's meeting, believing the tariffs will create a one-time rise in inflation that central bankers can ignore. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
