Closing summary
Our live coverage is coming to a close. We’ll be back on Tuesday. Here is a summary of today’s developments:
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank. Several Republican lawmakers have begun speaking out against the probe, with one senator going so far as to threaten all Fed nominations as a result. The responses come days after the justice department subpoenaed the Federal Reserve as part of an investigation rooted in Powell’s testimony before the Senate in June about the ballooning costs of the Fed’s headquarters renovation. More here and here.
Donald Trump is “unafraid to use military force on Iran” the White House said as the Iranian regime still faces widespread unrest across the country. Speaking to Fox News, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that although diplomacy remained Trump’s “first option”, he was “unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary.” More here.
Donald Trump said any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years. “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” the US president said in a post on Truth Social. Tariffs are paid by US importers of goods from those countries. Iran has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years. More here.
The Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, announced a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to end the surge of ICE agents in the state. The lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent fatally shooting resident Renee Nicole Good behind the wheel of her vehicle last week, leading to protests across the city, and country. More here.
Democratic US senator Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the “chilling” attempt by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to reduce the military veteran’s rank and pension as punishment for speaking out against the Trump administration. Hegseth had previously issued a formal censure to Kelly, a decorated retired navy captain and Nasa astronaut, for alleged “seditious statements” he made urging service members to resist unlawful orders. It began a process that could lead to Kelly, a senator for Arizona since 2021, being demoted and having his pension cut. More here.
A federal judge cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month. The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters. Ørsted’s Revolution Wind lawsuit is one of several filed by offshore wind companies and states seeking to reverse the interior department’s 22 December suspension of five offshore wind leases over what it said were national security concerns. More here.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth today continued what he has dubbed his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, with a stop in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production line in Fort Worth, Texas.
Hegseth addressed the thousands of workers at Lockheed Martin, the country’s largest military contractor, saying its production is just one part of President Donald Trump’s plan to increase the nation’s defense budget next year. He also said the company’s aircraft played a pivotal role in the US intervention in Venezuela.
“You are a core function of the arsenal of freedom,” Hegseth said.
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