Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day. Here are the latest developments:
Donald Trump scolded a Fox News reporter for asking him “a stupid question” about reports that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran to help target Americans.
Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, suggested that Trump was aware of the Russian role and had “a knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks”. He did not say whether Trump had confronted Vladimir Putin over aiding Iran.
Trump will be going to Dover air force base on Saturday to honor the six US service members killed in an Iranian retaliatory strike.
Dr Vinay Prasad, who leads the US Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines and biologics unit, is leaving the Trump administration for a second time.
Trump welcomed the former Bush administration official Condoleezza Rice to the White House after she spoke in favor of his war on Iran.
Hegseth suggests Trump is aware that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran to target Americans
Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, suggested in an interview with CBS News on Friday that Donald Trump is aware of intelligence indicating that Russia is helping Iran to target American troops in retaliatory strikes.
“Well, we’re tracking everything. Our commanders are aware of everything. We have the best intelligence in the world,” Hegseth said. “So we know what’s going on and the president has an incredible knack at knowing how to mitigate those risks. So the American people can rest assured, their commander-in-chief is well aware of who’s talking to who, and anything that shouldn’t be happening… is being confronted and confronted strongly.”
Asked if that meant that Trump would confront Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, Hegseth said only that “messages definitely can be delivered.”
“We’re not concerned about that, we mitigate it as we need to, Hegseth added. “The only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re going to live.”
