The Latest: Mike Waltz tells lawmakers he plans to make UN ‘great again’

Mike Waltz notified lawmakers Tuesday at his confirmation hearing to be U S ambassador to the United Nations that he plans to make the world body great again echoing President Donald Trump s message for revamping America Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Waltz faced lawmakers for the first time since he was ousted as national measure adviser for mistakenly adding a journalist to a private Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans But it took more than an hour into the hearing for a lawmaker to bring it up Waltz has spent the last scarce months on the White House payroll despite being removed as national protection adviser The latest list of White House salaries current as of July includes Waltz earning an annual salary of Here s the latest Bondi dodges questions about Jeffrey Epstein and FBI deputy director The attorney general is seeking to press ahead with a business-as-usual approach in the face of right-wing outrage that has plunged the Justice Department into turmoil Pressed by reporters during an announcement about drug seizures Bondi sidestepped questions about the fallout of the administration s decision not to release more records related Epstein study Amid calls from selected members of Trump s base for her resignation Bondi made clear she has no plans to step down I m going to be here for as long as the president wants to be here Bondi disclosed And I believe he s made that crystal clear Bondi was also petitioned about Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino with whom she clashed last week over the Epstein files Bondi would not answer whether she believes he should remain in his role saying only that she would not discuss personnel matters China does have wind farms Trump declares otherwise Trump falsely claimed that China is lacking in wind farms despite its role in their production China makes windmills But how several wind farms do you see in China he questioned I haven t seen any lately Sort of crazy China is the world s largest manufacturer of wind turbines producing more than half of the supply However it is also installing them in China at a record pace In total China has terawatts of utility-scale wind and solar quota in expansion which could generate more electricity than neighboring Japan consumed in all of according to a assessment from the Global Resource Monitor issued last week Trump We are way ahead of China The president boasted during a summit on capacity and AI that the U S is far ahead of China when it comes to developments in artificial intelligence We believe America s destiny is to dominate every industry and be the first in device he commented Democrats say Trump s State Department cuts undermine US at home and abroad Congressional Democrats are criticizing the Trump administration s budget and personnel cuts at the State Department saying they rob the country of massive expertise and institutional knowledge and damage America s standing abroad in the world Top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee took issue with defenses of cuts offered by the deputy Secretary of State for Management Michael Rigas who argued that the budget and personnel reductions were needed to streamline diplomacy and make it more efficient Rigas testimony was the first from a senior department official since Friday when more than career civil servants and foreign provision officers were fired as part of the administration s broader revamp of the executive branch of executive This is a dark time for American diplomacy noted the top Democrat on the panel Rep Gregory Meeks of New York President Trump continues to isolate the United States alienate our allies and create space for our adversaries like Russia and China to fill the void Rigas declared a proposed roughly cut in the department s budget is intended not to punish diplomats but rather to make the State Department a more efficient and effective organizations better able to advance the core interests of the American people House Speaker breaks with Trump on Epstein saga House Speaker Mike Johnson appears to be emerging with Trump over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein criminal study and is calling for the Justice Department to put everything out there and let the people decide The Louisiana Republican announced Attorney General Pam Bondi requirements to come forward and explain what happened Bondi earlier this year had made declares that executives were reviewing a truckload of evidence but last week the Justice Department concluded that Epstein did not leave behind a client list and that inhabitants disclosure of more information would not be appropriate The lack of revelations has angered multiple MAGA loyalists particularly after certain had expected more transparency and accountability based on previous comments from Trump during the campaign The White House and the White House crew are privy to facts that I don t know This isn t my lane I haven t been involved in that but I agree with the sentiment to put it out there Johnson narrated conservative podcaster Benny Johnson Tens of billions for Pennsylvania Trump declared a billion financing from technical agricultural and potential companies in Pennsylvania He described it as the biggest private expenditure in Pennsylvania history calling it a triumphant day for the people of the commonwealth and the United States of America Trump participates in resource and AI summit The potency and innovation summit hosted by Sen Dave McCormick and featuring the president is now underway McCormick kicked off the event by welcoming Trump back to the city and the state The senator says billion in investments were spurred by Tuesday s summit Your presence and those commitments showcase Pennsylvania s story to the world McCormick mentioned as he introduced Trump Tuition Department resumes layoffs The Trump administration is moving ahead with mass layoffs at the Instruction Department After the Supreme Court cleared the way in a Monday decision the department began sending updated termination notices to hundreds of employees The notice tells workers they will formally be separated from the agency Aug It declared the department thanks them for their institution and recognizes the difficulty of the moment Training Secretary Linda McMahon in March declared she was laying off about employees as part of the president s plan to wind down the agency A lower court paused the layoffs but the Supreme Court halted that order Democrats see an opening in Epstein backlash A super PAC working to elect Democrats to the U S House in next year s midterm elections is naming and shaming Republicans who once demanded to see records from Jeffrey Epstein s sex trafficking inspection but on Monday voted against a Democratic effort to release them GOP Reps Nancy Mace of South Carolina Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Anna Paulina Luna and Cory Mills of Florida are complicit with a Trump administration that s trying to bury documents about the wealthy financier who abused underage girls the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC announced in an emailed memo Democrats had tried to force the release of information about Epstein s occurrence by attaching an amendment to cryptocurrency regulation Just one Republican on the House Rules Committee Rep Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted with them Democrats have been taking full advantage of fissures in the GOP over the federal regime s decision not to release the much-hyped records Several left-wing lawmakers have taken to social media in latest days calling for the files to be made general Pew survey Global views of China and Xi Jinping improve US and Trump decline Views of China and its President Xi Jinping have improved in plenty of countries around the world and those of the U S and President Donald Trump have deteriorated resulting in closer-than-ever international views of the two superpowers and their leaders according to the latest survey of about two dozen countries by Pew Research Center Across countries Pew identified that the U S was viewed more favorably than China in eight countries China was viewed more favorably in seven and the two were viewed about equally in the remainder Pew surveyed more than people across countries in total including the U S which was excluded from the comparison from January to April This year s results are a drastic departure from those in the past several years when the U S and its leader then President Joe Biden enjoyed more favorable international views than China and its president Pew provides no certain answer to what caused the shifting views but Laura Silver associate director of research mentioned it s doable that views of a country may change when those of another superpower shift Trump is on his way to a tech and capacity conference in Pittsburgh Trump will speak at the conference with dozens of top executives to promote his capacity and hardware agenda The event is organized by Republican U S Sen David McCormick of Pennsylvania a former hedge fund CEO who s using it to showcase Pennsylvania and highlight tens of billions of dollars in potency and tech investments in the region At the conference at Carnegie Mellon University Trump Cabinet leaders spoke of the need to produce as much ability as practicable especially from coal and natural gas to beat China in the artificial intelligence race for the sake of economic and national protection Trump stands by waiting period on Russian sanctions Trump pushed back on the idea that waiting days to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine is too long and suggested that an even more abbreviated timeframe would be sufficient I don t think days is very long and it could be shorter than that he explained Trump defends Bondi on handling of Epstein files The president declared the attorney general has handled it very well and noted it s up to Bondi whether to release any more records related to the sex traffic review of Epstein He noted Bondi gave him a very quick briefing about the matter When questioned by a reporter if the attorney general described Trump whether his name appeared in any of the records he announced No no Trump disclosed of Bondi whatever she thinks is credible she should release The president also mentioned he likes FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino who has reportedly clashed internally with Bondi over the issue Trump didn t say more about Bongino Teaching Department wind-down continues The Guidance Department is handing off the administration of its workforce growth programs to the Department of Labor part of the Trump administrations plan to wind down the federal learning agency Coaching Secretary Linda McMahon communicated the interagency agreement on Tuesday a day after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to move ahead with its plan to dismantle the department The Associated Press announced Monday that the department had in recent days struck a deal to outsource the management of several grant programs for workforce training and adult instruction to the Department of Labor The Guidance Department mentioned the shift streamlines federal workforce programs the majority of which are already administered by the Department of Labor The department on Tuesday called it a major step in shifting management of select ED programs to partner agencies Trump reported he thinks Cuomo can win NYC mayor s race The president informed reporters at the White House that he thinks Andrew Cuomo should stay in the race saying he would have a good shot at winning The Democratic former New York governor who clashed with Trump while in office re-launched his campaign for New York City mayor on Monday as an independent aiming to offer a more middle-road choice than Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani Mamdani is a democratic socialist state lawmaker whom Trump has harshly criticized including on Tuesday when he called him a communist Trump says he ll meet with UK prime minister in Scotland Trump says he ll be meeting with Britain s prime minister during an upcoming trip to Scotland The president advised reporters at the White House we re going to be meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer maybe in Aberdeen He suggested they d discuss refining a previously declared exchange deal Trump mentioned the meeting would take place at apparently one of my properties His family business has a golf program near Aberdeen in northeast Scotland while a second program is set to open in the area soon There is also a Trump class near Turnberry in the country s southwest US functionaries say they are still reviewing Ukraine s weaponry wish list U S executives say they are still sorting through Ukraine s wish list of weaponry that it would like to receive from NATO members to determine what can be preponderance fast replaced after President Donald Trump released an agreement for Europe to supply Ukraine with defensive munitions from existing stocks The leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss arms transfers that have not yet been approved or completed stated Ukraine s requests for materiel are roughly the same as they have been since the start of Russia s invasion more than three years ago Those include air defenses like Patriot missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems long range missile known as ATACMS and short- to medium-range ground-to-air missiles known as NASAMs and assorted artillery according to the executives Under the terms of the very rough agreement sketched out by Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday NATO members would ship billions of dollars of these weapons to Ukraine and then purchase replacements for them from the United States One official mentioned selected of the larger items such as Patriots could take up to five years to produce to deliver to the European donors while smaller munitions like mm artillery shells can be produced on a much shorter timeline Trump says he wants new Republican congressional districts in Texas The president declared he wants Texas state lawmakers to create five new Republican congressional districts when they meet in a special session starting next week to discuss redistricting Inquired as he departed the White House for Pittsburgh about the possibility of adding GOP-friendly districts around the country Trump responded Texas will be the biggest one And that ll be five Texas still reeling from deadly flooding will hold a special legislative session starting July Republican Gov Greg Abbott had previously referenced a letter from the Department of Justice raising concerns about the legalities of four of Texas congressional districts But Trump now says he d like to see five now made more GOP-friendly Trump downplays possibility of sending long-range weapons to Ukraine We re not looking to do that Trump notified reporters ahead of departing the White House for an resource resources event in Pittsburgh Trump made the comments after he threatened Russia a day earlier with steep tariffs if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn t soon end the three-year conflict and released a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine It s the majority substantive pressure he s placed on Putin since returning to office nearly six months ago Trump who has repeatedly disclosed his only priority is fast ending the war deflected when appealed by a reporter if he s now on Ukraine s side in the bloody conflict The president responded that he on the side of humanity Trump says goods from Indonesia will be taxed at President Donald Trump announced he plans to tariff imports from Indonesia at while American goods sent to the southeast Asian country will face no tariffs Trump spelled out chosen of the details of the agreement he released Tuesday on Truth Social before boarding the presidential helicopter They are going to pay and we are going to pay nothing revealed Trump implying that foreign countries pay the entirety of tariffs even though importers in the U S technically must pay the tax Trump declared Indonesia is very strong on copper But it was unclear what role copper played in any agreement as he has separately taxed the commodity at starting on Aug The U S president disclosed on Truth Social he had reached an agreement after speaking with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto Senators say Trump s -day sanction plan against Russia is too long A bipartisan pair of senators is speaking out to say Trump is giving Russia too much time by waiting days to impose sanctions Sens Thom Tillis a Republican of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen a Democrat of New Hampshire both stated that the -day waiting period would only give Russian President Vladimir Putin more time to gain an advantage in the war The -day delay worries me Tillis notified reporters That Putin would try to use the days to win the war or to be better positioned to negotiate a peace agreement after having murdered and potentially collected more ground Tillis and Shaheen lead the Senate NATO Observer Group which facilitates work between Congress and NATO and were hosting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Capitol Hill Tuesday At a news conference alongside the senators Rutte praised the American president and disclosed Trump s sanctions plan would without delay start putting pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal Sen Jacky Rosen questions Waltz s continued White House salary after departure as national shield advisor Surprisingly you ve been on the White House payroll for the last limited months noted Rosen Throughout this year you ve made assertions that if endorsed you would root out waste and unnecessary overhead at the UN So can you confirm for us whether you ve been receiving a salary from the White House since being let go as the NSA Waltz resented the claim that he was fired I was not fired The president never announced that nor did the vice president I was kept on as an advisor transitioning a number of essential a number of key initiatives stated Waltz It s also been publicly broadcasted that you ve been receiving almost of the taxpayer money since you were dismissed from being the national safeguard advisor announced Rosen Waltz was listed as a White House advisor as of July for which he receives an annual salary of Rosen s questions were the last round before the hearing was adjourned Waltz tells Senate hearing UN agency helping Palestinian refugees must be dismantled Mike Waltz stated his confirmation hearing to be U S ambassador to the United Nations that staff members from the agency known as UNRWA were involved in Hamas Oct attacks in southern Israel that its schools teach hatred of Jews It entirely not only necessities to be defunded which the president has put in place with his executive order but it should be dismantled Waltz commented stressing that UNRWA cannot again have a humanitarian role in Gaza U N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a British human rights activist on Tuesday to carry out a strategic review of UNRWA to assess its impact under the present political financial safeguard and other constraints Israel has banned UNRWA from operating in its territory It alleged that out of UNRWA s approximately staff in Gaza participated in the Oct attacks UNRWA noted it fired nine staffers after an internal U N analysis Israel later alleged that about other Palestinians in Gaza were Hamas members but never provided any evidence to the United Nations Waltz accuses UN of antisemitism and being a bloated bureaucracy that doesn t get things done Mike Waltz stated his confirmation hearing to be the U S ambassador to the United Nations that the U N General Assembly and U N schools in Gaza have promoted antisemitic hate He announced U N revenue has quadrupled in the last years but hasn t been commensurate with an increase in world peace a key U S goal for the U N He called for reforms saying The U N has ballooned over agencies with overlapping missions and waste materials U N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly decried the resurgence of antisemitism and the U N holds an annual commemoration of the Nazi Holocaust during World War II Like all his latest predecessors as U N chief Guterres has sought to adjustment the United Nations which was born on the ashes of World War II and at age is struggling to tackle st century challenges Last September the General Assembly adopted a Pact for the Future with a blueprint for reforms but whether they will be implemented remains to be seen A quiet stoic mood in the hearing room Unlike past nomination hearings attendees in the Senate chamber did not wear t-shirts veteran attire biological scrubs or other clothing outside of business attire Multiple seated attendees were family of the nominees and featured multiple generations Majority of attendees faces were generally stone-faced throughout the hearing with mild chuckles and grimaces during more tense moments of the proceedings The proceedings have not been interrupted by any protestors Protection was tight outside the doors onto the chamber Sen Cory Booker I have no questions for you sir I have nothing but deep disappoint for you sir I ve watched this hearing and I ve been really disappointed revealed the New Jersey Democrat What s been troubling to me about your nomination from the beginning is your failure to just stand up and take accountability for mistakes that you made and that all Americans know that you ve made Booker explained that every one of us has made mistakes but that Americans expect from leaders is for people to stand up and just take responsibility take accountability I just watched with great disappointment that even after weeks if not months of reflection you couldn t sit before this committee and take chosen responsibility and talk constructively about what s learned announced Booker Instead you do what seems to be yet another creative tool that people are doing which is Hey let me just blame Biden Waltz did not directly respond to Booker s comments but in a comment in response to a question from Sen Rick Scott Waltz stated I appreciate the men and women that I ve had to lead in combat And I think the last thing that would call me is a coward Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says US has capacity to win AI race China doesn t Lutnick speaking at an resource and tech summit in Pittsburgh noted the number one investor in the environmental narrative is China and that the U S has the vigor maximum to drive the artificial intelligence revolution but China doesn t China is opening a coal plant every week and wants the U S to close theirs in an effort to hamstring the U S ability to win the AI race Lutnick reported the crowd during a panel discussion The AI revloultion is upon us Lutnick declared The Trump administration will not let us lose We need to do clean beautiful coal We need to do natural gas We need to embrace nuclear we need to embrace it all because we have the power to do it and if we don t do it we re fools Waltz denounces UN global reports that examined US domestic program Waltz stressed that the Trump administration s diplomatic strategy would be focused on cutting costs to what he called waste fraud and abuse that are endemic to the U N system It s worth remembering despite the cuts the U S is by far the the greater part generous nation in the world commented Waltz responding to concerns that the administration s cuts to global programs hurt U S influence Waltz added that several U N -funded research and projects were anti-American and received input from specific U N members who the administration considers adversaries The U N s radical politicization such reports as Stolen Native American Land reports and investigations called the George Floyd mechanism labeling American police and America systemically racist with input from countries like Cuba and Venezuela is unacceptable disclosed Waltz Senate committee chair says US pays of UN regular budget but doesn t get its agenda adopted Sen Jim Risch was critical of the United States being the biggest provider to the U N s billion budget and the separate budget for its far-flung peacekeeping operations yet according to him Washington is not getting the commensurate promotion at the -nation world body Assessments paid by all U N member nations to the regular budget are based on their economies The U S with the world s biggest financial market is expected to pay of the regular budget while China with the second-largest market lately had its share raised to Last year of the U N s member nations paid their dues in full including China but countries did not including the United States A top Democrat warns against US withdrawal from international organizations I don t think that majority of Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda mentioned Sen Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee If we walk away from international bodies like the U N the end won t be reforms that advance American interests she added Shaheen commented she hoped that if approved Waltz would work with the Senate to preserve America s ability to lead Put entirely we cannot shape these organizations or even push for the reforms that we want unless we re at the table Shaheen announced Senate committee s top Republican says Waltz nomination comes at critical time for geopolitics Sen Jim Risch of Idaho noted Waltz will help return the U N to its core and founding mandate of maintaining international peace and defense and restrain mission creep at the international body The U N is inevitably a challenge and desperately demands modification which we ve been unable to accomplish so far commented Risch adding There s a lot of anti-American sentiment at the U N Risch warned that China is working with our adversaries to undermine America and our allies and explained that Waltz s time as U N ambassador comes at a critical time for geopolitical tensions between countries like China and Russia Sen Mike Lee introduces Waltz and issues a warning to the U N The Republican from Utah a friend of Waltz called him one of the majority of well-qualified U S ambassador nominees to the United Nations ever before listing off his military arrangement as a Green Beret in the Army and praising his work on national assurance issues during his time in Congress Lee lambasted the efficacy of the U N and declared the Trump administration has particular legitimate concerns about the international body which Lee called a calamity and a detriment to U S interests With Waltz at the helm the U N will have what I regard as what should be its last chance to demonstrate its actual value to the United States Lee continued Instead of progressive political virtue signaling the Defense Council has the chance to prove its value and settling disputes and brokering deals The stakes of Waltz s UN hearing If authenticated Waltz would head to the U N at a moment of great change The world body is reeling from Trump s decision to slash foreign assistance affecting its humanitarian aid agencies and it anticipates U S funding cuts to the U N annual budget Under an America First foreign approach realignment the White House has asserted that various of the U N s agencies and bodies have drifted from their founding mission and act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism Facing financial instability the U N has spent months shedding jobs and consolidating projects while beginning to tackle long-delayed reforms The U N is also facing growing frustration over what critics describe as a lack of efficiency and power in delivering on its mandate to end conflict and prevent wars Sen Mike Lee introduces Waltz and issues a warning to the U N The Republican from Utah a friend of Waltz called him one of the most of well-qualified U S ambassador nominees to the United Nations ever before listing off his military arrangement as a Green Beret in the Army and praising his work on national measure issues during his time in Congress Lee lambasted the efficacy of the U N and explained the Trump administration has various legitimate concerns about the international body which Lee called a calamity and a detriment to U S interests Instead of progressive political virtue signaling the Shield Council has the chance to prove its value and settling disputes and brokering deals Lee continued Waltz enters Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Trump s pick for U N ambassador entered the chamber alone and sat alongside the administration s ambassadorial nominees to Portugal and Sweden Senators from both parties are also coming in Members of Waltz s family sat behind him alongside kin of the other nominees Trump responds to inflation assessment showing price pressures by calling for Fed rate cuts The monthly inflation summary indicated signs that tariffs are pushing up prices but Trump is declaring supremacy over inflation anyway Consumer Prices LOW Trump posted on Truth Social Bring down the Fed Rate NOW The consumer price index account for June proved a annual inflation rate meaningfully higher than the Fed s inflation target based on a separate measure of prices However Trump has brushed aside concerns about tariffs and pressured Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to instead cut the short-term interest rates a move that could accelerate inflationary pressures Trump further posted that the Fed should cut Rates by Points Very Low Inflation One Trillion Dollars a year would be saved It was unclear whether Trump wished a -percentage point cut to the rate which is effectively right now The Fed usually cuts rates in -percentage point increments Inflation rose last month to its highest level in months Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump who promised during last year s presidential campaign to directly lower costs Higher inflation will also likely heighten the Federal Reserve s reluctance to cut its short-term interest rate as Trump is loudly demanding The Labor Department explained Tuesday that consumer prices for things like gas food and groceries rose in June from a year earlier up from an annual increase of in May On a monthly basis prices climbed from May to June after rising just the previous month Trump s sweeping tariffs are also pushing up the cost of a range of goods including furniture clothing and large appliances Trump urged supporters to see conspiracies everywhere With Epstein that s coming back to haunt him As his supporters erupt over the Justice Department s failure to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein s sex trafficking study President Trump s strategy has been to downplay the issue His trouble That nothing-to-see-here approach doesn t work for those who have learned from him that they must not give up until the governing body s deepest darkest secrets are exposed On Saturday Trump used his Truth Social platform to again attempt to call supporters off the Epstein trail amid reports of infighting between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the issue He suggested the turmoil was undermining his administration but that did little to mollify Trump s supporters who urged him to release the files or danger losing his base The political emergency is especially challenging for Trump because it s one of his own making The president has spent years stoking dark theories and embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts him as the only savior who can demolish the deep state Now that he s running the federal cabinet the locality he helped build is coming back to haunt him It s demanding answers he either isn t able to or does not want to provide Read more about Trump s response to the Epstein conspiracy Trump sounds more positive about NATO Trump hailed as amazing the news from the NATO summit last month that member countries will increase defense spending to of their gross domestic product Nobody thought that that was viable Trump explained the BBC He has complained for a long time that the U S shoulders too much of the NATO burden and has demanded that countries devote more of their budgets to defense Reminded that he previously had called NATO obsolete Trump declared I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that I do think it was past Trump says he wants to have a good time on his upcoming UK state visit Speaking about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Trump noted in the BBC interview I really like the prime minister even though he s a liberal Trump and Starmer have met several times including in the Oval Office and the prime minister was quick to negotiate a agreement framework with the United States to avoid the steep tariffs Trump is imposing on other countries Trump is due to visit Britain in mid-September for an unprecedented second state visit Required about his goals for the trip Trump explained I want to have a good time and respect King Charles because he s a great gentleman Trump and his wife first lady Melania Trump are set to visit the U K between Sept and and will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle No U S president has been invited for a second state visit Trump previously enjoyed state visit pomp and pageantry in during his first term when he was hosted by Charles late mother Queen Elizabeth II Trump says he s disappointed but not done with Putin dodges on whether he trusts Russia s leader Questioned about Putin in a telephone interview with the BBC that aired on Tuesday Trump announced I m disappointed in him But I m not done with him but I m disappointed in him Trump disclosed he thought he and Putin had reached a deal several times to end Russia s invasion of neighboring Ukraine only to find out that Russia had just attacked Kyiv again The president dodged when requested if he trusts Putin I trust almost nobody to be honest with you Trump commented The Kremlin says more US weapons for Ukraine will extend the war The Kremlin commented Tuesday that new supplies of U S weapons to Ukraine communicated by President Trump will extend the conflict Required about comments by Trump who threatened Russia with steep tariffs if it fails to agree to a peace deal in days and publicized a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned that such decisions made in Washington in NATO members and in Brussels are perceived by the Ukrainian side as a signal for continuing the war not a signal for peace He reaffirmed that Russia is open to continuing the talks with Ukraine in Istanbul but is still waiting for Kyiv to offer a date for their new round We are ready to continue the dialogue he explained adding that we haven t yet received signals about the third round and it s hard to say what s the reason Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly Schooling Department employees The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Development Department back on track and go through with laying off nearly employees With the three liberal justices in dissent the court on Monday paused an order from U S District Judge Myong Joun in Boston who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan The layoffs will likely cripple the department Joun wrote A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department one of Trump s biggest campaign promises Read more about dismantling the Instruction Department Source