Here's a recap of the day so far:
-
Trump announces Aaron Lukas as acting director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard steps down as national intelligence director. Gabbard shared a statement on X, confirming that she is resigning from her post as national intelligence director, citing her husband’s illness. Gabbard told the president she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half”.
-
Trump swears in Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve as his administration struggles to shrug off mounting concerns over affordability. Warsh will confront a darkening economic outlook, with inflation hitting a three-year high of 3.8% in April.
-
Trump claims he selflessly gave up IRS settlement in return for $1.8bn fund ‘helping others’. Amid almost a week of reactions from Democrats and Republicans to Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund, Trump said: “I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”
-
Marco Rubio said Trump ‘disappointment’ with Nato will be discussed at summit. While meeting with foreign ministers of the military alliance, Rubio emphasized that he expected the rift would be discussed at the July meeting in Ankara, making the summit “one of the more important” in Nato’s 77-year history.
Updated
Bruce Blackman, currently a county executive of Nassau County, New York is vying to be the Governor of the state this November, challenging the incumbent Kathy Hochul. Seven of the 10 people to hold that county executive office since 1938 have been Republicans.
On the DNC’s autopsy report released Thursday, Trump said that it was riddled with typos.
Trump is hitting many of the talking points he has been hitting recently, that the GOP is against: illegal aliens all over the country, rigged elections, voters voting without voter ID, transgender people participating in sports and in support of eliminating mail-in ballots.
Companies and rich people are leaving New York, Trump said adding that the streets were dirty and riddled with crime. The Guardian has not verified his claims of companies and people in high tax brackets leaving the city or state of New York.
Mike Lawler and Bruce Blakeman, both running for seats in the upcoming election will turn this around for the GOP, Trump said.
Updated
Trump speaks at community college event in New York state
Trump has begun speaking at Hudson Valley, talking about how much New York means to him, and how the GOP must take it back.
“New Yorkers are people who built Wall Street into the world’s financial capital, who turned Broadway into the heart of American culture and entertainment, who dug the Erie Canal, and launched 1,000 innovations that built the middle class, the middle class of our country, who really built the country,” he said.
Updated
Trump will appear with incumbent Mike Lawler, representative from New York, and talk about affordability, tax cuts and upcoming midterm elections.
Updated
President Trump touched down in Suffern, New York, to speak at an event Rockland Community College Eugene Levy Fieldhouse a little after 3pm. The event is expected to begin shortly.
Updated
In her tenure as DNI, Tulsi Gabbard has been in the spotlight a number of times, including most recently in March when Gabbard testified that her office seized voting machines from Puerto Rico at the request of the office of the US attorney in Puerto Rico.
The prosecutor in question has been the center of a push by Trump supporters to revive a long-discredited conspiracy theory purporting to link Venezuela to Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat, the Guardian has previously reported. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, the conspiracy theory maintains, controlled electronic voting machines worldwide and remotely manipulated results in 2020 to deprive Trump of a presidential victory.
The Guardian reported, in February, Gabbard blocked NSA from sharing a report about foreign intelligence with the White House chief of staff, according to a whistleblower.
The highly sensitive communique, which has roiled Washington over the past week, was brought to her attention. But rather than allowing NSA officials to distribute the information further, Gabbard took a paper copy of the intelligence directly to the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, according to the whistleblower’s attorney, Andrew Bakaj. One day after meeting Wiles, Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the intelligence report.
In September the Guardian reported that Gabbard did not inform the White House that her office was revoking the security clearances of 37 people – including top deputies to the CIA director, John Ratcliffe – before it happened in August, according to three people familiar with matter.
The move caused consternation because it resulted in the White House not having an opportunity to closely vet the list before it became public and there appeared to be no paper trail from the president directing the effort, the people said.
Updated
After wishing Tulsi Gabbard’s husband a swift recovery, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said the departing DNI’s only advantageous contribution to US national security was her resignation, on a post on X:
While the circumstances around her departure are deserving of our sympathy, let’s be clear: Tulsi Gabbard’s only positive contribution to our nation’s national security is her resignation.
She politicized intelligence. She dismantled critical agencies keeping Americans safe. She weaponized the IC to pursue baseless election fraud claims. And more.
We must ensure that her tenure — marked by a devotion to the person of the president and not to the security of the country — represents a terrible exception at DNI and not the new normal.
Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier, sells an herbal supplement that contains an ingredient prohibited by the US military and which health experts have warned can cause liver damage.
Dr Nicole Saphier’s record of selling dietary supplements, which are only loosely regulated in the US, has raised concern among doctors and consumer advocates, some of whom allege she sells “snake oil”.
Amazon said it had opened an investigation into the products after the Guardian inquired whether they were in compliance with the company’s policies on supplement sales.
“Nobody who prides themselves as rigorous about science is in the supplement business,” said Dr Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and health watchdog organization. Lurie has been an outspoken critic of what he called wellness industry “grifters” inside health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement, who he said sold consumers poorly regulated supplements with unsupported claims.
The surgeon general is considered America’s doctor, responsible for communicating the best scientific information to Americans about how to improve their health. Previous surgeons general have issued influential warnings on tobacco use and educated the public about Aids.
Saphier specializes in breast cancer as a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey and is a former contributor to Fox News. She is Trump’s third pick for the job after his first two failed to advance in the Senate.
Updated
Reacting to Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation, Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the vice-chairman of the Senate’s select committee on intelligence, said his thoughts were with Gabbard and her family as her husband battles cancer and he appreciated the different leadership roles she has undertaken in her career.
On the next DNI, Warner said:
The Director of National Intelligence is entrusted with one of the most serious responsibilities in government: providing objective, fact-based intelligence to policymakers and the American people, regardless of politics or pressure from the White House … The next DNI must be committed to restoring trust in the office, protecting the integrity of our intelligence, and ensuring our nation’s intelligence professionals can speak truth to power, without fear or interference.
Updated
Trump announces Aaron Lukas as acting director of national intelligence
In a post on Truth Social, the president announced Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, as the acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard, whose resignation will come into effect on 30 June.
Trump regretted Gabbard’s departure and wished good health to her husband, who is battling a rare form of bone cancer. He said:
Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.
Updated
Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation as director of national security has prompted some lawmakers to send in messages of solidarity.
“I thank Tulsi Gabbard for her service in this administration and in uniform, and I wish her the very best as she supports her husband Abe in his battle with cancer,” wrote Senator Tom Cotton on X. “Please join me in sending them prayers for a full and fast recovery.”
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley expressed regret at her departure, in a post on X:
I’m sorry 2see Tulsi Gabbard leave Pres Trump’s cabinet but she’s putting family 1st She did a lot of good work IMPORTANTLY Gabbard was most helpful 2me in document production/declassification for impt oversight+ TRANSPARENCY for the American ppl & pushing back on the DEEP STATE
Updated
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not be attending his son’s wedding in The Bahamas this weekend.
He wrote on Truth Social moments ago:
While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so. I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!
Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office yesterday whether he would be attending, Trump had said: “That’s one I can’t win on.”
“He’d like me to go,” he said of his son, “but it’s going to be just a small little private affair, and I’m going to try and make it.”
“You know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things,” the president added.
It comes as Trump has threatened in recent weeks carrying out fresh strikes on Iran if mediators don’t reach a deal in which Tehran’s commits to not revisiting its nuclear program.
This development will no doubt fuel speculation that Trump is close to a decision on that.
Tulsi Gabbard steps down as national intelligence director
Tulsi Gabbard has now shared a statement on X, confirming that she is resigning from her post as national intelligence director, citing her husband’s illness.
In a resignation letter first reported by Fox News, Gabbard tells the president she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”
“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
Her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months”, she wrote. “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
Updated
The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that Tulsi Gabbard is preparing to step down as director of national intelligence, citing people familiar with the matter.
Gabbard has told associates she is leaving because her husband has been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer, the people told the paper.
Per the WSJ, it caps “a tumultuous tenure in which she was largely sidelined from President Trump’s national-security operations, including in Venezuela and Iran”.
Indeed, her expected departure comes as Trump mulls renewing his military operation in Iran (more on that in my next post) as talks with Tehran have stalled.
Gabbard has fallen in and out of favor with the president, and the Journal previously reported that she wasn’t a major part of conversations about the war on Iran before Trump started it with Israel in February.
She often diverged from administration talking points about the war, saying the US and Israel had differing objectives and that Tehran had made no efforts to rebuild its nuclear program since US-Israeli attacks on three nuclear sites in June last year.
Updated
And further to that, we’re now seeing a line come in from the Reuters news agency that the White House forced Tulsi Gabbard to resign.
I’ll bring you more on this as we get it.
Further to that last post, the report comes a month after my colleague Hugo Lowell reported that Trump had privately asked cabinet members in recent weeks whether he should replace Gabbard, venting frustration that she shielded a former deputy who undercut his rationale for war with Iran.
Trump’s discussions had marked an ominous development for Gabbard, given the president tends to poll his advisers when he starts to seriously consider whether a personnel change is necessary.
Trump’s doubts about Gabbard followed her testimony at the worldwide threats hearing on Capitol Hill where she declined to condemn Joe Kent, who had resigned days earlier after arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, Hugo reported.
Gabbard resigns as Trump's national intelligence director, Fox News reports
Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her role as Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence.
In a resignation letter first reported by Fox News, Gabbard tells the president she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”
“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
Her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months”, she wrote. “At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
Updated
A Democratic House candidate in Texas is facing bipartisan condemnation and accusations of antisemitism after she said she wanted to turn an immigration detention facility into a “prison for American Zionists” if elected – leaving Democrats scrambling to ostracize her from the party and alleging that conservative groups may be propping up her campaign.
Maureen Galindo is running against Johnny Garcia in next week’s Democratic primary for Texas’s 35th congressional district, which covers parts of San Antonio and portions of the surrounding counties. The district was once solid blue and is currently represented by a Democrat, but the race remains highly competitive after being made much more favorable to the GOP following Texas Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting efforts last summer.
Last week Galindo wrote on Instagram that if elected to Congress, she would write a bill to declare that Zionism is antisemitic, and would “turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking. (It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists)”.
The next day, Galindo told a local radio station that she is not antisemitic, but opposed to “Zionist Jews”. She also said Garcia and others supported by pro-Israel groups should be “tried for treason”.
Democrats allege that a mysterious political action committee (Pac), Lead Left Pac, which was founded less than a month ago and has spent more than $900,000 promoting Galindo, is a GOP attempt to ensure that their candidate in the district faces a weak opponent in November.
The group, which is the biggest single spender in the Democratic primary runoff and has yet to reveal its donors, has put more than $600,000 toward ads, according to tracking firm AdImpact. Federal campaign finance filings show it is also spending on mail.
Links to the GOP fundraising website WinRed were removed from its website’s metadata after Punchbowl News reported on it several weeks ago. The group also ran ads in Democratic primaries in Pennsylvania and Nebraska earlier this month.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and Suzan DelBene, a representative who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement that Galindo’s comments were “extremely dangerous” and “vile,” and have “no place in Democratic politics”.
“To embrace and uplift a fringe candidate with antisemitic – and extremely dangerous – rhetoric and views in order to win an election is beyond the pale,” they added. “House Republican leadership must immediately cease propping up this antisemitic candidacy, pull spending in the race and forcefully condemn these comments.”
More on this story here:
Updated
Trump’s pick for surgeon general sells supplement with ingredient banned by Pentagon
Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general sells an herbal supplement that contains an ingredient prohibited by the US military and which health experts have warned can cause liver damage.
Dr Nicole Saphier’s record of selling dietary supplements, which are only loosely regulated in the US, has raised concern among doctors and consumer advocates, some of whom allege she sells “snake oil”.
Amazon said it had opened an investigation into the products after the Guardian inquired whether they were in compliance with the company’s policies on supplement sales.
“Nobody who prides themselves as rigorous about science is in the supplement business,” said Dr Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and health watchdog organization. Lurie has been an outspoken critic of what he called wellness industry “grifters” inside health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement, who he said sold consumers poorly regulated supplements with unsupported claims.
The surgeon general is considered America’s doctor, responsible for communicating the best scientific information to Americans about how to improve their health. Previous surgeons general have issued influential warnings on tobacco use and educated the public about Aids.
Saphier specializes in breast cancer as a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey and is a former contributor to Fox News. She is Trump’s third pick for the job after his first two failed to advance in the Senate.
Saphier and her company, Drop RX, did not respond to several emails seeking comment.
“Dr Nicole Saphier is an accomplished physician who has practiced radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and has been an outspoken voice on breast cancer prevention, intrusive COVID-19 mandates, the politicization of science, and the federal government’s role in America’s chronic disease epidemic,” the White House spokesperson Kush Desai wrote in an email. “She will be a powerful asset for President Trump and work tirelessly to deliver on every facet of his Maha agenda.”
Updated
As Warsh’s swearing-in ceremony came to a close, he met government leaders and officials in the audience, before exiting the room.
“My goal now is to create an environment in which the best people can do their life’s best work and to face every challenge in the spirit of common purpose and motion to the national interest, in a word, to excellence,” said Warsh towards the end of his speech.
Updated
Warsh says he will make Fed 'reform-oriented'
Warsh said he will lead a “reform-oriented Federal Reserve”, describing his mandate promoting “price stability and maximum employment”.
He said: “inflation can be lower, growth stronger, real take-home pay higher, and America can be more prosperous, and no less important,” adding that “America’s place in the world [would be] more secure.”
Updated
“It is such an honor for Jane and me to have this ceremony here in the East Room with you, sir,” said Warsh as he started his speech. “I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful setting or more gracious welcome, and I am grateful.”
Warsh described Justice Clarence Thomas as “a joyful and collegial presence on our highest court” and his “esteemed friend”.
He also spoke about Justice Brett Kavanaugh:
As young staffers, a full generation ago in this building, and I shouldn’t be speaking for another justice, but I will tell you something that I always felt that Justice Kavanaugh and I felt the majesty of this place where we’re now sitting, and we counted ourselves blessed and grateful to serve the nation we love.
Updated
Justice Clarence Thomas was called up to stage by Trump, to help Warsh swear in as chair of the federal reserve.
Trump spoke about how under his leadership the medical and auto industries had moved their manufacturing to the US.
He quipped about not knowing if its easier to be the president of the US or a justice of the supreme court.
On Thursday Trump said the justices in the supreme court don’t listen to what he thinks, in regards to the upcoming birthright citizenship decision.
Updated
Trump said many of the regulations he has cut have led to the creation of more jobs and lowered costs and increased economic growth.
Jobless claims recently hit the lowest level since 1969. Five million people have been lifted off of the food stamps. In a short period of time, more Americans are working today than ever before. And very importantly, 100% of the net new jobs under this administration have been created in the private sector.
On the military, Trump said the GOP will be submitting a military budget for $1.5tn.
“We have the greatest military in the world,” he said. “I built it during my first term. I didn’t know we’d be using it so much in my second term.”
Updated
Trump said when he turned on the television to see how the stock market was doing, it was up by 600 points. “That means they like you,” he said.
Trump claims Federal Reserve lost its way before Warsh
Trump spoke about how he believed the US Federal Reserve had lost its way recently.
It became distracted by concerns far removed from its core mission and mandate, drifting into matters such as climate policy and DEI initiatives, with the Fed strength from its mandate, while the last administration blew out the deficit, Americans suffered the worst inflation that we had in history. It was the worst inflation we’ve ever had. As you know, there’s some people say you’re wrong about that.
The president was hopeful that Warsh would bring about positive economic growth.
It’s so important, and as we discussed, economic growth doesn’t mean inflation, it can be just the opposite, actually. But economic growth does not mean inflation. You don’t have to stop the world because you’re doing well. Kevin’s also said that he’ll bring much-needed reform and modernization transforming obsolete data collection methods, rolling back reliance on inaccurate models and curtailing the Fed’s practice of issuing so-called forward guidance.
Updated
Trump advised Warsh to be totally independent as the Fed chair.
“I want him to be independent and just do a great job,” said Trump. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody, just do your own thing and do a great job.”
Updated
Trump also gave a shout-out to the acting attorney general, even without being able to spot him in the audience.
He’s pretty busy. He’s kept very busy. I’ll just say he’s doing a very good job working together, right? He’s doing a great job, actually.
Updated
Trump swears in Kevin Warsh as Fed chair
“I expect you will go down as one of the best chairs the Fed has ever had,” said Trump at the swearing-in ceremony at the White House. “No one is better prepared to lead the federal reserve than Kevin Warsh.”
He also gave shout-outs to other senior government officials, including Brett Kavanaugh, Scott Bessent, Brooke Rollins, Sean Duffy, John Ratcliffe and Keith Sonderling among others.
Updated
Trump is set to swear in Kevin Warsh as the new chair of the Federal Reserve as he struggles to shrug off mounting concerns over affordability.
Warsh is replacing Jerome Powell, who Trump has vehemently attacked for his refusal to cut interest rates. Powell has repeatedly warned over inflationary risks, and broader economic uncertainty, since Trump’s return to office.
Warsh will confront a darkening economic outlook, with inflation hitting a three-year high of 3.8% in April.
New polling shows rising frustration with Trump’s agenda days after president said “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation” amid Iran peace talks.
Two-thirds of Americans believe Trump is prioritizing his controversial immigration crackdown at the expense of their economic wellbeing, according to a new poll, in a stark warning for the US president about the unpopularity of his agenda.
Amid growing discontent about the economic costs of his decision to go to war with Iran, 68% of respondents said Trump’s administration is too focused on mass deportations and not enough on affordability issues.
The poll, from Morris Predictive Insights, illustrates the strength of the political backlash facing Trump following criticism of his admission that financial pressures on Americans from the Iran war “not even a little bit” driving him to reach a peace deal with Iran’s Islamic regime.
Evidence that the Morris survey was no outlier was provided by a separate poll from Gallup, which showed confidence in the economy at a four-year low.
US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say
A previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa, and the US appears to be doing little to help stop it, after massive cuts to global and domestic public health efforts.
There is no cure and no vaccine for the rare Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, which has caused two outbreaks in recent decades. Health leaders and scientists are now racing to understand where the virus is spreading and attempting to stop it – but the US is notably absent in these efforts.
In the past year, the US Agency for International Development has been dismantled, thousands of staff at US health agencies were laid off, communications stalled and key scientific research canceled.
There are 482 suspected cases and about 116 deaths reported since April in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with two cases and one death in Uganda and potential spread to neighboring South Sudan. The outbreak “might have been going on for a few months”, said Kristian Andersen, a professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research.
The outbreak was immediately declared a public health emergency of international concern by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, before even convening the committee that usually makes that determination. Officials say it may last for months.
Trump to swear in Kevin Warsh as Fed chair
Donald Trump is expected to swear in Kevin Warsh as the chair of the Federal Reserve around 11:30 am Friday morning.
We’ll keep you up to date with the swearing-in ceremony.
Updated
Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, delivers the commencement address at the US Naval Academy Friday morning.
“It is an incredible honor for me to stand with you guys today. I bring greetings from the President and from the Secretary of War, who both extend their heartfelt congratulations,” he said. “In fact, they’re in the Oval right now, and I know that they’re talking about each and every one of you.”
Elizabeth Warren says Kevin Warsh starts Fed tenure with 'credibility in tatters'
Ahead of Trump swearing in Kevin Warsh as the chair of the Federal Reserve, Senator Elizabeth Warren issued a statement about Warsh’s appointment:
Kevin Warsh starts his tenure with his credibility in tatters. Having proven himself to be Donald Trump’s sock puppet, I worry Mr Warsh will prioritize the President’s political interests over the economic well-being of American families.
Warren added that as Warsh begins to lead the institution, “every decision he makes will be tainted because of his refusal to answer who cut him a $100 million check for his secret investments – and what they may want from him as the new Fed Chair.”
Updated
Trump also posted about Senator Thom Tillis, who has been openly criticizing Trump’s slush fund this week:
People don’t remember that Thom Tillis, the weak and ineffective Senator from the Great State of North Carolina, a State I won, including primaries, 6 consecutive times, didn’t have the courage to fight it out in the Senate, remain in place, and run again for office, a thing he desperately wanted to do. I called him a “Nitpicker,” always fighting against the Republican Party, and ME, mostly on things that didn’t matter. When I told him that I would not, under any circumstances, endorse him for another run, too much work and drama (he couldn’t have won, anyway!), he immediately quit the race and publicly announced that he was going to “retire.”
Tillis is not alone in raising concerns about the fund. On Thursday the US Senate refused to push through ICE funding amid row over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create the $1.8bn fund.
Continuing on Tillis, Trump wrote: “The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite - HE WAS A QUITTER! Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party. In the end it will only get bigger, and better, and stronger, than ever before!!!”
Trump claims he selflessly gave up IRS settlement in return for $1.8bn fund 'helping others'
Amid almost a week of reactions from Democrats and Republicans to Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund, Trump has posted about it on Truth Social Friday morning:
I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!
Earlier Trump wrote: “Stop playing games and PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!”
Updated
On Ukraine, Rubio says the peace talks with Russia and Ukraine were so far “not fruitful, unfortunately”, but the US “stands ready to continue to play that role”.
“If we see an opportunity to pull together talks that are productive, not counterproductive, and that have the chance to be fruitful, we’re prepared to play that role.”
He says the war “will not end with a military victory by one side or the other,” how traditional victories were defined, and he hopes that a solution can be found one day.
Rubio also says there was a separate meeting of the seven Arctic nations on the sidelines of today’s meeting, although it did not cover Greenland.
He says there will be a joint statement coming soon.
Updated
“There’s broad recognition there are going to be eventually less US troops in Europe than historically,” Rubio says
Rubio said he didn’t set the timeline for reducing the number of US troops in Europe, but “it has been an ongoing process that started from the first day of this administration.”
He insists “none of this is surprising”, although adds that he “understands why it creates some nervousness”.
“But I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less US troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he says.
But he points out that “the Germans did not freak out” after the plans to pull out 5,000 troops were announced, “because they knew it just took us back to the 2022 numbers, and it was … a reduction of less than 11 or 12% of our total presence there.”
Updated
Rubio hints at changes to US involvement in Nato’s force model
Rubio also gets pressed on the US involvement in the Nato Force Model, which is essentially the alliance’s framework for making forces available in case of a crisis.
He heavily suggests there will be adjustment and changes there, but declines to reveal what they will be.
He says “it ties back to the same conversation,” and “I think there’s going to be some announcements on it later today, if it hasn’t come out already.”
But he says it’s not really new, and it’s just part of the broader process of the US re-evaluating its commitments around the world and the best structure to respond to that.
“I will let the folks in the Department of War and over at Nato make those announcements, but this is not a decision that was made on the back of a napkin,” he says.
He insists “this is all technical work that’s being done by military people.”
“These are not political decisions.”
Updated
US adjusting presence in Europe ‘shouldn’t be surprise to anybody,’ Rubio says
Asked about the potental future US adjustments to their military presence in Europe, Rubio says:
“I think what’s happening now is that any decision that’s announced or made is viewed through the broader context of some of the frictions that we’ve had in recent months, but at the end of the day, I think it’s well understood in the alliance that the United States troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted, that that work was already ongoing, and it’s been done in coordination with our allies.
I’m not saying they’re going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it. You know, we have obligations in the Indo-Pacific, we have obligations in the Middle East, we have obligations in the western hemisphere, so this has been an ongoing process, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.”
Updated
Trump’s ‘disappointment’ with Nato will be discussed at ‘one of the most important summits in history of Nato’ in Ankara, Rubio says
Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, begins with thanks to Sweden for hosting the ministerial meeting.
But that’s where the niceties end as he says the upcoming Ankara summit will be “one of the more important leaders’ summit in the history of Nato.” The leaders will have to respond to Trump’s “disappointment” with the alliance’s “response to our operations in the Middle East”.
“That will have to be addressed, that won’t be solved or addressed today. That’s something for the leaders level to discuss.”
He notes the US announcement on Poland, but adds “the United States continues to have global commitments that it needs to meet in terms of our force deployment, and that constantly requires us to reexamine where we put troops.”
“This is not a punitive thing, it’s just something that’s ongoing, and it was pre-existing,” he says.
He says there’s plenty of scope to work with Nato on defence industrial base.
Updated
Pressure mounts on Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin
Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee’s party chair, delayed releasing the DNC autopsy report, a 192-page analysis on the party’s 2024 election loss, for months – now that he has released the controversial report, he is facing mounting questions and a lack of confidence in his leadership.
David Hogg, the former DNC vice-chair, called on Martin to resign on Thursday. In a statement, Hogg wrote:
“This autopsy and the months-long debate about even releasing the report, is a demoralizing joke … Ken Martin should resign, and the DNC should select a new leader who demonstrates competence, creativity, moral clarity, and a relentless commitment to actually changing the broken Democratic Party brand.”
Some on Capitol Hill, including Seth Moulton, a representative from Massachusetts, have also called for Martin’s resignation.
“He should resign,” Moulton told Axios, adding that it’s “Utterly nuts it took us this long to release the autopsy.”
Updated
Host Stephen Colbert and the CBS Late Show bid farewell to the small screen on Thursday night after a controversial cancellation.
The CBS Late Show leaves the air as the No 1 show in network TV late night, with that 11.35pm real estate immediately and ignominiously rented out to Byron Allen’s longtime syndication seat-filler Comics Unleashed. It’s a stunning streaming-era abdication that will for ever be tied with Trump, even as the network has insisted (as echoed by a dolphin in a finale gag) that the decision was purely financial, not political.
With plenty of strong choices for last guests already sorted – David Letterman, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Stewart had already dropped by – the supersized 80-minute finale made a running gag out of a delayed reveal. Throughout the first half-hour, Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, Tig Notaro and Ryan Reynolds interrupted various usual Colbert bits. Finally, Colbert welcomed Paul McCartney, highlighting the show’s occupation (and CBS’s impending abandonment) of the refurbished Ed Sullivan Theater, where McCartney famously performed back in 1964 with the Beatles.
Trump commented on Colbert’s departure early Friday morning on Truth Social:
“Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”
Updated
Advocacy group sues Trump administration over decision to reinstate near-ban on abortions for veterans
An advocacy group has filed suit against the Trump administration over its decision to reinstate a near-ban on abortions for veterans and their family members who depend on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for healthcare, AP reports.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday says the rule finalized by the VA on 31 December takes away limited abortion access that was “crucial for the health, autonomy, and equality of veterans and their family members.”
Attorneys for the group Minority Veterans of America want the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to throw out the rule. They say the VA adopted the change without citing medical evidence or other justifications, violating the Administrative Procedures Act that governs federal rulemaking.
Updated
Cubans gather before US embassy in Havana to protest Raul Castro indictment
Thousands of Cubans gathered on Friday before the U.S. embassy in Havana to protest a U.S. decision to indict former leader Raul Castro in the downing of two civilian airplanes 30 years ago, Reuters reports.
The pro-government demonstration, which began shortly after sunrise on Havana’s waterfront, comes as Cuban officials rallied this week around the island’s former president and revolutionary hero.
Cuba says Castro’s indictment on murder charges on Wednesday was based on “spurious” allegations designed to serve as a pretext to invade the nation amid a Trump administration push to upend the island’s government.
Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero attended the rally, the 94-year old Castro did not.
Updated
Opening summary
-
House Republicans canceled a scheduled Thursday vote on a war powers resolution aimed at ending the US war with Iran, a measure that likely would have advanced had the vote been held.
-
Donald Trump has announced he will deploy an “additional” 5,000 US troops to Poland, just days after the Pentagon controversially halted a long-planned deployment of forces to the country – the largest on Nato’s eastern flank.
-
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte struck somewhat more cautious note, saying the bloc’s trajectory was one that was prioritising a stronger Europe, “less reliant on the US”.
-
On Thursday, the US president admitted that he might skip Donald Trump Jr’s wedding, reportedly taking place in the Bahamas over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, citing that he has “this thing called Iran”.
-
US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary.
-
The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.
Trump postpones executive order on AI, citing need to keep 'lead' over China
The US president Donald Trump postponed signing an executive order on AI because he did not like certain aspects of it and did not want to take any steps that might undermine the US position in its AI competition with China.
The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to engage with the U.S. government before the public release of advanced AI models, two sources familiar with the order told Reuters.
“I think it gets in the way of, you know, we’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump did not specify which parts of the executive order he objected to.
It comes after the Trump became the first US president in nearly a decade to visit China, and described his meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping as “very successful”.
The administration’s plans were reportedly put on hold after a push from xAI founder Elon Musk and other big tech figures.
Replying to a post on X about the reporting, Musk said, “this is false,” adding: “I still don’t know what was in that EO and the president only spoke to me after declining to sign.”
