The Supreme Court supports the Trump administration for withholding USAID cash
The US Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration in a payment lawsuit by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), meaning that Supreme Court Jon Roberts could issue an “administrative stay” and delay payments worth $1.5 billion.
Donald Trump had ordered payments to be suspended, but federal judges had set deadlines by agencies announcing funds for work that had already been done. Roberts responded to the administration's emergency appeal by allowing payment freezes to continue.
Agency workers described Trump's proposed cuts as a “devastating blow” that would “save lives and close critical programs forever.”
The Associated Press reports that after USAID staffed 4,080 people working around the world on holiday on Monday, it was said to be given a short window to clear the workspace on Thursday and Friday. Each worker is given just 15 minutes at a previous workstation.
Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerald Connolly said in a statement that the attacks on USAID employees were “unfair and unprecedented.”
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With Trump aligning with Moscow even more explicitly than he did during his first administration, and threatening to wind down the Nato guarantees that have underpinned the security of western Europe since the second world war, the stakes could not be higher.
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Starmer, despite leading a party whose activists mostly loathe Trump and everything he represents, has managed to establish a warm relationship with the president and today will give some clues as to what extent he can sustain that, and protect the UK from the tariff warfare that Trump is threatening to unleash on the EU.
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But Starmer is one of three European leaders in Washington this week (Emmanuel Macron was there on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is there tomorrow) and today’s meeting is also part of a wider story about the fracturing of the US/Europe alliance. It is definitely in trouble; but what is not yet clear is whether after four years of Trump it will still be functioning effectively.
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Starmer spoke to reporters on his flight to the US on Wednesday. Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s UK political editor, was on the plane and, as she reports, Starmer said he wants Trump to agree that, in the event of a peace settlement in Ukraine, the US will offer security guarantees that will make it durable. He has already said that Britain would contribute troops to a European so-called “tripwire” peace-keeping force, there to defend Ukraine and deter Russia. But European soldiers would need US air and logistical support to be effective, and Starmer is looking for assurances on this topic.
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You can follow all the latest from Starmer’s DC visit in our dedicated live blog:
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Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of US politics and the second Donald Trump administration. Here are the headlines …
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Thousands of US Agency for International Development (USAid) workers who have been fired or placed on leave as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces.
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The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of USAid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world. The supreme court hasbriefly paused a lower court’s ruling ordering the administration to pay for $1.5bn of work already carried out.
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Trump used the first full cabinet meeting of his second term to emphasize his administration’s focus on drastically reducing the size of the federal government, and signed an executive order expanding the power of Elon Musk’s Doge “agency”.
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Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned.
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Transgender service members will be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday.
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UK prime minister Keir Starmer is due to visit the White House to discuss Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine directly with Russia.
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Diplomats from Russia and the US will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington.
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The US supreme court has backed the Trump administration in an action over payments due by the US Agency for International Development (USAid), with chief justice John Roberts issuing an “administrative stay” that means the $1.5bn worth of payments can still be delayed.
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Donald Trump had ordered the payments to be stopped, but a federal judge had set a deadline for the agencies to release funds for work already carried out. Roberts responded to an emergency appeal by the administration by allowing the payments freeze to continue.
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Workers at the agency have described Trump’s proposed cuts as a “catastrophic blow” which will lead to “shuttering life-saving and important programs forever.”
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Associated Press reports that after USAid placed 4,080 staffers who work across the globe on leave Monday some have been told they are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces. Each worker is being given just 15 minutes at their former workstation.
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Virginia Democratic Rep Gerald Connolly said in a statement that the attack on USAid employees was “unwarranted and unprecedented”.
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Important Events
Europe You need to respond firmly, but in proportion to that Donald Trump's The latest tariff threat, French Industry Minister Marc Ferracci added on Thursday that these threats were “worried, but not surprising.”
Ferracci was speaking at a press conference on the future of Paris' European steel industry.
Donald Trump threatened to slap the European Union with a 25% tariff at his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, saying he would release details soon.
“We'll make a decision and announce it right away. It'll be 25%,” he said.
Click here to learn more about Trump's tariff threats.
Poland Prime Minister Donald Tass Rejected on Thursday President Donald Trump The European Union said it was “formed to ruin the United States.”
Tusk said x:
The EU was not formed to screw anyone. It's exactly the opposite. It was formed to maintain peace, build respect among our nations, create free and fair trade, and strengthen our transatlantic friendship. It's just as easy.
Russia I believe I will talk to US You can move forward with political will on both sides, but there is no quick and easy solution. Kremlin I said Thursday.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov I said Kremlin He welcomed what he called President Donald Trump's willingness to listen, Reuters reported.
Peskov said Thursday:
What we see is that President Trump himself is ready to speak and listen to others.
No one expects the solution to come easily and quickly. The issues at hand are too complicated and ignored. However, I think that the political will of both countries will allow each other to get through this work process because they are willing to listen and listen.
Peskov also said one topic of its potential US Russia Cooperation is extracting resources for The North Pole.
British Prime Minister to meet Trump for talks about Ukraine
Andrew Sparrow
British Prime Minister Keyer priority I was in Washington later today, when I first met President Trump since taking office.
The interests were not high as Trump threatens to work with Moscow more explicitly than he did in his first administration and to round out NATO guarantees, which have supported Western Europe's security since World War II.
The priorities are able to establish a warm relationship with the president, despite activists leading Trump and all-loving parties he represents, and today gives some clues as to the extent he can maintain it, protecting Britain from the tariff war that Trump is threatening to unleash the EU.
However, the priority was one of three European leaders in Washington this week.Emmanuel Macron I was there on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Is there tomorrow?) And today's meeting is also part of a broader story about the destruction of the US/European alliance. That's definitely a problem. What's not yet clear, however, is whether it's still working effectively after four years of Trump.
Starmer spoke to reporters on a flight to the US on Wednesday. Pippa Kreler, the British political editor of the Guardian, was on the plane, and as she reports, priorities say Trump would agree that in the event of a peace settlement in Ukraine, the US would provide security assurances that would ensure durability. He has already said that Britain will contribute its troops to Europe's so-called “tripwire” peacekeeping forces to protect Ukraine and stop Russia. However, European soldiers need to effectively support US air and logistics, and their priorities are looking for guarantees on this topic.
You can stay up to date with all the latest news on Starmer's DC Visit with our dedicated live blog.
The Supreme Court supports the Trump administration for withholding USAID cash
The US Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration in a payment lawsuit by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), meaning that Supreme Court Jon Roberts could issue an “administrative stay” and delay payments worth $1.5 billion.
Donald Trump had ordered payments to be suspended, but federal judges had set deadlines by agencies announcing funds for work that had already been done. Roberts responded to the administration's emergency appeal by allowing payment freezes to continue.
Agency workers described Trump's proposed cuts as a “devastating blow” that would “save lives and close critical programs forever.”
The Associated Press reports that after USAID staffed 4,080 people working around the world on holiday on Monday, it was said to be given a short window to clear the workspace on Thursday and Friday. Each worker is given just 15 minutes at a previous workstation.
Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerald Connolly said in a statement that the attacks on USAID employees were “unfair and unprecedented.”
Welcome and opening summary…
Welcome to US politics and the rolling coverage of the Guardians of the second Donald Trump administration. This is the headline…
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Thousands US Organization for International Development (USAID) Workers who are fired or taken leave as part of the demolition of Trump administration agents will be given a short window on Thursday and Friday to clean up their workspace.
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The Trump administration said it has eliminated more than 90% of USAID contracts and $600 billion with support from the US-wide around the world. supreme court It suspended the lower court ruling to pay the administrative officers the $1.5 billion work that has already been made.
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Trump, using his first full cabinet meeting of his second term, emphasizes the administration's focus on significantly reducing the size of the federal government, signs executive orders and signs its power Elon Musk“doge “Agency”.
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Trump may be pursuing a mineral contract Vladimir Putin And not just Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy And Ukraine, the top Senate Democrat, warns.
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Transgender service members are separated from US military Unless they're exempt, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday.
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British Prime Minister Keyer priority To visit the White House, we will discuss Trump's efforts to negotiate directly with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
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Diplomats from Russia and the US gather together Istanbul On Thursday, we discussed the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington.
