Latest headlines
It’s 11.30pm in Washington DC and 5.30am in Davos, Switzerland, and we’re closing our live coverage of US politics and the World Economic Forum for the moment.
The latest news includes Donald Trump announcing a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland after weeks of escalating threats. Financial markets rebounded and European leaders welcomed a reprieve from further tariffs. But Danish lawmakers said the claim was “not real”, people in Greenland reacted to it with profound scepticism and Nato chief Mark Rutte cautioned that there remained “a lot of work to be done”.
Here are some of our key headlines – thanks for reading:
Trump declaration of Greenland framework deal met with scepticism as doubts persist
Trump walks back Greenland tariffs threat, citing vague ‘deal’ over territory
Analyis: Trump paints himself as great white hope in racism-drenched Davos speech
Newsom says Davos appearance was cancelled under pressure from Trump
Prosecutors barred from reviewing material seized from Washington Post reporter
US court allows ICE to arrest and pepper-spray peaceful protesters in Minnesota
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy as he came home, say school officials
Trump says Canada should be grateful for ‘freebies’ it gets from the US
Trump news at a glance: at Davos, president rambles, backs down and touts ‘future deal’ on Greenland
Updated
Trump says he assumes Denmark weighed in on Greenland deal
After Donald Tump’s announcement that a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland had been reached with Nato chief Mark Rutte, the US president said he assumed that Denmark had weighed in on the matter.
Speaking to business network CNBC and asked if it was a deal of ownership, Trump replied: “Well it’s a little bit complex but we’ll explain it down the line – but the secretary general of Nato and I and some other people were talking and it’s the kind of deal that I wanted to be able to make.”
Asked if Denmark had weighed in on what it wanted or would agree to, Trump said: “I assume they did because he [Rutte] very much represents – he’s a strong leader … and I assume he’s been speaking to them. He’s been speaking to all of them.”
Trump characterised the agreement as “pretty much a concept of a deal” and said when asked if it involved mineral rights or ownership: “I don’t want to say yet.”
But he said he thought it would be a “very good deal” for the US and Nato.
We’re going to work together on something having to do with the Arctic as a whole but also Greenland and it has to do with security, great security, strong security, and other things.
Updated
Donald Trump’s announcement of a “framework of a future deal” that would settle the issue of Greenland after weeks of escalating threats has been met with profound scepticism from people in the Arctic territory, even as financial markets rebounded and European leaders welcomed a reprieve from further tariffs.
As Jonathan Yerushalmy has just reported, only hours after the US president used his speech at the World Economic Forum to insist he wanted “ownership” of Greenland but backed away from threats of military intervention, Trump took to social media to announce “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” after talks with Nato chief Mark Rutte, and withdrew the threat of tariffs against eight European countries.
“The day ended better than it started,” said Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, while Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni also welcomed Trump’s decision.
But Rutte issued a note of caution, saying there remained “a lot of work to be done”.
When asked by Fox News if Greenland would remain a part of the Kingdom of Denmark under the deal, Rutte said the issue had not come up. A Nato spokesperson said talks on the framework Trump was referring to would focus on ensuring Arctic security “through the collective efforts of allies”.
But there was anger from some Danish MPs including Sascha Faxe, who took umbrage with Greenland’s exclusion from Wednesday’s negotiations, saying: “It’s not real negotiations; it’s two men who have had a conversation.”
You can see the full report here:
Updated
Russia, which is still attacking Ukraine, could accept Trump's invitation to join his 'Board of Peace'
Having spent Wednesday evening in Davos claiming to have struck a deal over Greenland at a meeting in which the subject of Greenland’s sovereignty was not discussed, Donald Trump will spend Thursday morning in the Swiss ski town announcing a charter for his “board of peace”.
The exact nature of the organization, which was originally understood to be a temporary working group to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, is now in doubt, after leaked drafts of its charter appeared to position it as a rival to the United Nations, with a $1bn admission fee for members states, to be led by Trump possibly even after his term as US president expires in 2029.
Asked on Tuesday if his Board of Peace might replace the UN, Trump said, “it might”.
Exactly who will be at the event is unclear. Bloomberg reports that the UK, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada do not plan to take part in the ceremony on Thursday.
Hungary and Morocco have accepted invitations to join the organization, their foreign ministries said.
While Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Russia had accepted his invitation to join his global peace-making organization, even as it continues to attack Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his government was still studying the proposal. Should he decide to accept, however, Putin said that Russia would be willing to pay the $1bn to a fund overseen by Trump out of Russian funds frozen in Europe over the Ukraine invasion.
Greenland's prime minister to hold press conference on Thursday
As speculation continues over what, if anything, was actually agreed in Davos on Wednesday, when Donald Trump claimed to have emerged from a meeting on the future of Greenland with the Nato secretary-general with “a concept of a deal”, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has scheduled a press conference for Thursday at 2pm local time in Nuuk.
Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but has its own parliament and government and Nielsen, who was elected to lead Greenland last year, leads a party that favors a gradual path to independence from Denmark.
At a news conference with Denmark’s prime minister last week, Nielsen was very clear that the territory has no interest in Trump’s desire to “acquire” it.
“One thing must be clear to everyone: Greenland does not want to be owned by the US; Greenland does not want to be governed by the US; Greenland does not want to be part of the US,” he said. “We choose the Greenland we know today, which is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
On Tuesday, Nielsen warned Greenlanders that a US military attack was unlikely but possible.
Thursday’s press conference will be held in the Naalakkersuisut press briefing room, which seats 45 people.
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Danish MP says deal Trump claims to have struck over Greenland is 'definitely not a deal'
In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, a member of Denmark’s parliament, Sascha Faxe, has suggested that the deal Donald Trump claims to have struck with Nato over Greenland is “not real”.
“The thing is, there can’t be a deal without having Greenland as part of the negotiations, first of all,” Faxe said.
She went on to reference earlier comments from Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, saying: “I have heard from the Greenlanders that I know - so we have a Greenlandic MP in Denmark – and she’s very clear that this is not a prerogative of Rutte and Nato; they can’t trade the underground in Greenland, or Greenlandic security without Greenlanders being part of it.”
“And they are very clear: Greenland is not for sale, they are not up for negotiations,” Faxe added. “So it’s not real negotiations, it’s two men who have had a conversation,” she said.
“It’s definitely not a deal.”
Greenlandic lawmaker says Nato has no mandate to negotiate nation's status or mineral rights
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, wrote on Facebook Wednesday night that, despite Donald Trump’s claim to have struck an agreement over her homeland with Nato, the military alliance has no mandate to negotiate anything about Greenland. “Nothing about us, without us,” she wrote.
Amid rumors that some sort of mineral deal might have been discussed by Trump and Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, in Davos, Chemnitz Larsen called the idea that Nato should have anything to say about Greenland’s sovereignty or minerals “completely out of the question.”
Chemnitz Larsen, who met last week in Copenhagen with a bipartisan delegation of US senators, led by Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, also called Trump’s recent statements about Greenland “absolutely crazy.”
Following the meeting with the visiting US lawmakers, the Danish newspaper Politiken reported that the Americans had privately “expressed how terrible they felt” about Trump’s threats.
Nato leader tells Fox issue of Greenland's sovereignty 'did not come up' in conversation with Trump
Despite Donald Trump’s claim that he struck ‘a deal’ with Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, on Wednesday, to resolve his demand for Greenland to become part of the United States, Rutte just told Fox News that they did not even discuss the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty.
Amid widespread speculation that Trump had simply backed down from his threats to seize the territory by force in reaction to panic in the stock and bond markets, Rutte was asked if the “framework deal” meant that Greenland would still be part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“That issue did not come up,” Rutte said, “in my conversation tonight with the president. We very much focused on what do we need to do to make sure that that huge Arctic region, where change is taking place at the moment, where the Chinese and Russians are more and more active, how we can protect it. That was really the focus of our discussions.”
White House accuses reporter of lying for accurately reporting that Trump called Greenland 'Iceland'
During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Donald Trump mistakenly referred to Greenland, the Arctic island he has threatened to seize, as “Iceland” four times.
Perhaps because it was exactly the kind of verbal slip that Trump, who turns 80 in June, would have seized on as evidence of dementia had it been made by Joe Biden in the recent past, his aides appeared to be incapable of admitting that it happened.
Even as video of the flubs circulated widely online, and can be viewed on the White House YouTube channel, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, accused a correspondent for NewsNation, Libbey Dean, of lying when she accurately reported on social media that “Trump appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland” in his remarks.
“No he didn’t, Libby. His written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is,” Leavitt posted in response from her official account. “You’re the only one mixing anything up here.”
By pointing not to what Trump said, but instead to the text he obviously misread, Leavitt appeared to be trying to tamp down the idea that he was mixed up.
Unfortunately for her, Trump made exactly the same mix-up just one day earlier, when he told reporters at the White House: “It’s because of tariffs and the proper use of tariffs … we’re also the most secure. As an example, Iceland, without tariffs, they wouldn’t even be talking to us about it.”
Updated
Al Gore suggests stock market drop pushed Trump to back down from threat to seize Greenland
Al Gore, who is two years younger than Donald Trump and a good deal more coherent even 26 years after he was denied the presidency by the US supreme court, told CNN at Davos that it was likely the sharp drop in stocks that had scared Trump into backing down from his threats to use force to seize Greenland.
“I think perhaps because of the stock market’s reaction yesterday, he appeared to back down from his previous threat to use military force to acquire Greenland,” the former US vice-president said. “If I’m interpreting that correctly, I think that’s a good thing; It was of course crazy that he would do such a thing in the first place. But I think he backed down and that’s good.”
“I can only speculate, I don’t know what’s inside his mind,” Gore added, chuckling. “It would be quite something if I could see inside his mind.”
“But many people have speculated that the bond market and the stock market really have a lot of influence on him. And when it goes down almost 900 points, and people do interpret it as a Sell America trade, that may well have been the reason he backed down,” Gore said.
Robert Kelly, a political scientist in South Korea, expressed much the same sentiment in a social media comment on Trump’s retreat.
“Guessing that yesterday’s sharp market drop is responsible for the Greenland climb-down,” Kelly wrote. “The only genuine economic success Trump has is the market’s continuing strength”.
“I’m genuinely surprised his misgovernance hasn’t actually fed thru into market stagnation,” Kelly added. “But whatever. Politically he needs equities to stay up”.
Denmark's foreign minister welcomes news that Trump has 'paused the trade war' over Greenland
“The day is ending on a better note than it began,” Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, said a statement.
“We welcome that [the president of the United States] has ruled out to take Greenland by force and paused the trade war,” Rasmussen added. “Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the [Kingdom of Denmark].
“What is crucial for us is that we get to end this with respect for the integrity and sovereignty of the Kingdom [of Denmark] and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination,” Rasmussen told Denmark’s public broadcaster DR.
Rasmussen also said he had spoken with Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general Trump met with, but declined to provide details on what, if anything, had been agreed.
Unnamed sources told the New York Times that military officers from Nato member states have discussed a compromise in which Denmark would grant the US sovereignty over small pockets of Greenlandic land to build military bases.
The US already has at least 750 military bases in about 80 foreign countries, including a space force base in Greenland, over which it arguably exerts de facto sovereignty, in addition to foreign embassies that are considered sovereign territory.
Updated
Republican lawmakers praise Trump while Democrats mock him for cutting a Greenland 'deal' that changes nothing
While Republican lawmakers queued up to praise Donald Trump for apparently agreeing to not invade Greenland, Democrats noted that the president appears to have defused a crisis of his own making by agreeing to settle for a role in securing the Arctic island the US has already had for decades through Nato.
John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas hoping to hold on to his seat, praised the president as “the dealmaker-in-chief” in a social media post.
“The Art of the Deal is working in America’s best interest,” Cornyn said, in reference to a book that was ghostwritten for Trump, with little to no apparent input from the former real estate developer, that helped construct his public image as a successful negotiator.
Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, had a somewhat different take on Trump’s claim that “we have a concept of a deal.”
“Congrats to Donald Trump on ‘achieving’ the status quo,” Boyle posted. “He’s an amazing dealmaker.”
Nato statement says Trump and Rutte discussed 'collective security' in Arctic, with no mention of US acquiring Greenland
There are signs of a diplomatic effort to frame Donald Trump’s apparent retreat from his demand for the US to own Greenland as a win-win for everybody, likely to avoid angering the volatile US president.
That can be seen in the wording of a statement from a Nato spokesperson, Allison Hart, to the US broadcaster MS NOW, which was framed as a comment “following President Trump’s announcement of a ‘concept of a deal’ related to Greenland”.
The Nato statement, however, did not confirm that any deal or concept of a deal had been agreed on. Instead, the statement said that Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, had “a very productive meeting” with Trump “during which they discussed the critical significance of security in the Arctic region to all Allies, including the United States”.
Those discussion, the statement added, focused on the “collective security” of the Nato allies. “Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland.”
Updated
Trump says 'deal' over Greenland is 'really fantastic for the USA'
Video posted online by the Danish state broadcaster DR shows more of what Donald Trump told reporters about the “deal” over Greenland he says he made with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, who has no say over the sovereignty of the Danish territory. His vague remarks suggested that the proposed agreement might be closer to the “concepts of a plan” for a comprehensive US healthcare policy he promised in the 2024 campaign than a settled deal.
“It’s a deal that people jumped at, uh, really fantastic for the USA; gets everything we wanted, including especially real national security, and international security,” Trump said.
Asked “how so?”, the US president said: “Well, the deal is going to be put out pretty soon, and we will see. It’s right now a little bit in progress, but pretty far along. It gets us everything that we needed to get.”
Giving a sense of the confusion at the heart of the situation, Trump went on to say that Rutte “was representing the other side, which is really us too, because we’re you know a very important member of Nato … and it’s really nice, I mean it’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with.”
Pressed to say if the agreement gave the US ownership of Greenland, as he has demanded, Trump paused for a while before saying: “Um … it’s a long-term deal. It’’s the ultimate long-term deal.”
Updated
'It's the ultimate long-term deal,' Trump says of Nato 'framework' on Greenland
In response to a question from CNN at Davos today, the president said that his newly announced “framework of a future deal” on Greenland is “the ultimate long term deal”.
“I think it puts everyone in a really good position,” Trump said. “Especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else.”
When asked how long the deal is expected to last, the president said: “Infinite.”
Updated
Sweden’s foreign minister, Maria Stenergard, said today that it was “good” that Donald Trump backed away from tariffs against Nato members “who have supported Denmark and Greenland”.
“The demands for relocated borders have received well-deserved harsh criticism,” she said in a statement. “That is also why we have repeatedly stated that we will not let ourselves be blackmailed. It seems that our work together with allies has had an effect.”
Trump says Greenland deal involves 'Golden Dome' and 'mineral rights' for US
The president hasn’t released any information about the “framework” of a future deal on Greenland that he announced on social media. However, in an interview with CNBC, he said that a deal would include Nato’s involvement on his sought-after missile defense system known as the “Golden Dome”, and well as “mineral rights” for the US.
When interviewer Joe Kernen asked how long the deal would last, Trump replied: “For ever.” But he reiterated that he doesn’t intend to use force to achieve his goal.
Updated
Markets rebound as Trump calls off tariffs on European allies over Greenland
Stocks jumped on Wednesday, soon after the president announced that he would scrap tariffs on European allies after establishing the “framework of a future deal” on Greenland.
The Dow Jones industrial average leapt by more than 700 points, or 1.6%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, and the Nasdaq surged 1.7%, by almost 400 points.
Updated
Trump says he has formed 'framework' of Greenland deal after meeting with Nato chief
Following a “very productive meeting” with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, Donald Trump said that the pair have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region”.
The president added that if the deal is accomplished he will not impose the tariffs that were set to take effect in February on several allied countries that opposed the administration’s demands to annex Greenland.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”
He noted that vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will all be part of ongoing negotiations, and will report to Trump.
Updated
Per my colleague Lauren Gambino’s earlier post, the White House has responded to the news that Gavin Newsom’s appearance at a “fireside chat” at Davos was cancelled by the event’s sponsor.
“No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly.
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Pregnant woman in medical distress being deported from US, attorney says
A 21-year-old woman who is eight months pregnant and in a state of medical distress is being deported from Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, a human rights attorney said, pleading for emergency assistance for his client.
“We are trying to get her the medical attention she needs immediately,” said Anthony Enriquez, vice-president of US advocacy and litigation at the Kennedy Human Rights Center, whose client, Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, is on the verge of being sent to Colombia.
“We are immediately moving to file a lawsuit just to preserve the status quo and to ensure that our client gets the medical care she needs,” he said.
When the Kennedy Human Rights Center contacted the Guardian, it said Buitrago Ortiz was currently at the Atlanta international airport, scheduled for an imminent removal flight to Colombia.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Atlanta verified that the deportation was imminent and the women was at the airport, and referred a request for comment to the agency’s El Paso office. The Guardian has reached out for details.
Ortiz and her mother crossed the border in Texas in November, seeking asylum, Enriquez said. They told an immigration judge in a “credible fear” hearing that is part of an official asylum application that Ortiz’s father had been killed after publicly confronting corruption.
“The mother was deemed to have a credible-fear interview and permitted to file an asylum application,” Enriquez said. “Our client was not and was given an order of expedited removal.”
Updated
The office of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday was canceled under pressure from the Trump administration, according to the governor’s office.
Newsom had initially been scheduled to sit down with Fortune on Wednesday at an event sponsored by USA House, the country’s official headquarters at the annual gathering in Switzerland. But before the fireside chat was due to begin, his team says USA House bowed to political pressure from the Trump administration and denied the governor entry.
“Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune – the official media partner – invited him to speak,” the governor’s office said in a statement shared on its official account.
Newsom shared the statement on social media, adding: “How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?”
According to Newsom’s office, the governor was invited by Fortune to participate in a “fireside chat” after the president’s address at USA House last week. On Monday, his office accepted the invitation. Then, shortly before the program was due to begin, the governor’s team said a USA House official informed his office that Newsom’s participation no longer “align[ed]” with their post-speech programming. As a substitute, he was invited to an off-the-record “nightcap reception” at the pavilion later that evening.
Updated
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, characterized his approach to international relations as “speak softly and carry a big stick”. It was an approach that won him a Nobel peace prize in 1906, for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war.
In recent days, Donald Trump’s own take on diplomacy has come into focus, one that might be characterized thusly: speak hysterically and threaten to use (and sometimes actually use) a big stick. This idiosyncratic approach to statecraft has yet to win Trump a Nobel peace prize, although that is something that the president has said – many, many times – does not bother him at all.
Yes, instead of winning him awards (made-up soccer prizes notwithstanding), Trump’s statecraft is rattling key US allies, through his increasingly pugnacious effort to conquer Greenland. It’s a topic that dominated the buildup to his speech at the World Economic Forum, in Davos on Wednesday, as Trump launched a specious argument as to why the US should be able to have Greenland, which is part of the Danish kingdom.
For the full story, click here:
The California Republican party has asked the US supreme court to block a redistricting measure voters approved in November that would flip up to five House seats in Democrats’ favor.
In an emergency filing, the party asked Justice Elena Kagan, who is assigned to the ninth circuit in a supervisory capacity to oversee emergency filings, to issue an injunction before 9 February, the beginning of California’s candidate filing period for the June 2026 primaries.
The new map was endorsed by voters as a counterweight to a similar redistricting effort in Texas aimed at boosting Republicans. A federal court on 14 January rejected the argument by the challengers that California illegally used race in redrawing the boundaries of the congressional districts.
“California cannot create districts by race, and the state should not be allowed to lock in districts that break federal law,” said Corrin Rankin, the chair of the California Republican party. “Our emergency application asks the supreme court to put the brakes on Prop 50 now, before the Democrats try to run out the clock and force candidates and voters to live with unconstitutional congressional districts.”
For the full story, click here:
Lisa Cook: 'For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence'
In a statement released following arguments at the supreme court, Lisa Cook said:
This case is about whether the Federal Reserve will set key interest rates guided by evidence and independent judgment or will succumb to political pressure.
Research and experience show that Federal Reserve independence is essential to fulfilling the congressional mandate of price stability and maximum employment. That is why Congress chose to insulate the Federal Reserve from political threats, while holding it accountable for delivering on that mandate.
For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence in service to the American people.
Updated
In his rebuttal, the solicitor general, John D Sauer, closed by saying that the standard of showing inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance (INM) normally required for the president to fire officials doesn’t apply in this case. He noted that the “for cause” standard “gives the president more discretion and provides less protection to the officer”.
It’s worth noting that Paul Clement routinely said these standards were one and the same during arguments when it comes to the removal of a Federal Reserve governor at the court today.
Sauer added that “there really isn’t support anywhere for this notion that pre-office misconduct can’t be considered when it comes to a cause standard” for assessing the accusations against Cook.
Updated
Justices appear concerned about Cook not receiving sufficient notice to respond to allegations
Once again, the justices seem concerned that Cook didn’t receive sufficient notice to respond to the allegations against her.
Justice Jackson pushed Clement on whether notice by social media post was an adequate example of due process.
Cook’s lawyer says that the Truth Social post saying that he was firing Lisa Cook was “fundamentally defective” because it’s “indisputable evidence that the president prejudged the matter”.
Updated
Answering a question from Justice Barrett today, Clement says that his “best argument” that the president is not suffering irreparable harm when it comes to Lisa Cook staying in her role is that “he’s not suffering the unique indignity of having sort of pure executive power exercised by people that are removable at will, outside of his control”.
He added that Cook’s removal could lead to “enormous irreparable harms” for everyday Americans.
“There’s a reason that monetary policy has been treated differently for below these many years, and there’s a reason that the markets watch the Fed a little more closely than they watch really any other agency of government,” Clement said.
Updated
Justice Samuel Alito just asked Clement whether he thinks the court should decide this case on the factual ground “shown by the materials that are before us”, which, he notes, would “show nothing more than gross negligence”.
Per Clement’s argument, this would be insufficient reasoning for Cook’s removal.
Justice Alito, half-joking, says that that he understands Clement’s answer to be: “You should do that if you’re going to find in favor of me.”
Updated
There was a brief flurry at the supreme court hearing earlier after the solicitor general, John Sauer, was talking over some of the justices – coincidentally, or not, all women – and was reprimanded by the chief justice, John Roberts.
Sauer interrupted Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and, although it was very brief, the chief intervened to tell Sauer, “Counsel, please allow the justice” to finish, Scotusblog reported.
The solicitor general is arguing the case in front of the court for the Trump administration, against Lisa Cook, while her case is being put by a former solicitor general, who is also a well-known conservative, Paul Clement.
Sauer was also heard talking over Sonia Sotomayor, one of the other liberal-leaning justices, and Amy Coney Barrett, the conservative justice appointed by Donald Trump at the end of his first term to replace the late arch liberal Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Updated
Cook's lawer, Paul Clement, answers questions from supreme court justices
Lisa Cook’s lawyer, Paul Clement, is now answering questions from the supreme court justices.
“The sum total of the solicitor general’s arguments would reduce the removal restriction in this unique institution to something that could only be recognized as at-will employment,” Clement said in his opening argument today. “No procedural due process before removal, no judicial review after removal, no preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo and a conception of ‘cause’ so capacious that apparent misconduct or gross negligence suffices, that makes no sense.”
Updated
Justices appear skeptical as Trump's lawyers argue he 'provided adequate process' in attempt to fire Cook
Throughout the first half today’s arguments, the Trump administration’s lawyers argue that the president “provided adequate process” in his attempt to fire Lisa Cook via social media posts.
Several justices today appeared skeptical, and pushed the solicitor general about why Trump wouldn’t hold some type of hearing to sufficiently lay out the accusations levied against the governor.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked why the president didn’t “sit down across the table in the Roosevelt Room” with Cook to “to hear what her response is” to the allegations.
Updated
Kavanaugh says argument that Trump can fire governors without a hearing could 'shatter' Fed independence
In his questioning today, conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed the solicitor general about his argument that “for cause” is ultimately up to the president, without judicial review or a hearing.
“No process required, no remedy available, very low bar ‘for cause’ that the president alone determines,” Kavanaugh said. “That would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.”
Updated
When it comes to the possible harm to the public, Barrett noted that the court has received amicus briefs from economists who say that Cook’s removal “could trigger a recession”.
A reminder that a federal court blocked Cook’s removal from the board of governors, and she has been allowed to remain in her position while the case plays out.
Barrett and Jackson push Trump administration on how allegations against Cook could harm the public
During today’s arguments, both conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson of the liberal wing of the court pushed the solicitor general to explain how the administration’s allegations against Cook would harm the public if she were to remain in her position.
Jackson went on to press Sauer to provide “evidence that supports that allegation” of Cook’s mortgage fraud. “What is the evidence that has been presented and considered with respect to Ms Cook’s alleged misconduct?”
Updated
Questioning the solicitor general today, justice Sonia Sotomayor focused on the timeline of the allegations against Cook, namely that she is accused of committing fraud prior to her role on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
“It’s not as if she’s been incompetent, negligent or committed malfeasance while in office,” Sotomayor said. “This is something pre-office, so keeping her in office is not causing an immediate harm to the agency.”
Updated
Arguments begin at supreme court in case over Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor
The arguments in the case to decide whether the firing of Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, is legal have begun.
Arguing on behalf of the Trump administration, solicitor general John D Sauer said today that “the American people should not have their interest rates determined by someone who was at best, grossly negligent in obtaining favorable interest rates for herself”.
A reminder that the Trump administration attempted to fire Cook for over apparent discrepancies on her mortgage applications, that officials claim are evidence of fraud.
Trump continues to blast Fed chair Powell, teases replacement
In his winding speech the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump repeated his criticisms of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
“It’s amazing how people change once they have the job. It’s too bad, sort of disloyalty, but they got to do what they think is right,” Trump said. “We have a terrible chairman right now. Jerome ‘too late’ Powell. He’s always too late, and he’s very late with interest rates.”
The president noted that he plans to announce the nominee to replace Powell, whose term expires in May, soon. “Everyone that I interviewed is great. Everyone could do, I think, a fantastic job,” Trump said. “Problem is they change once they get the job.”
Trump repeats baseless claim that the US ‘gave back’ Greenland to Denmark
Throughout his speech today, Donald Trump has repeated a baseless claim that the US returned Greenland to Denmark after the second world war.
“We already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago,” the president said. It’s a common refrain from the president, but it’s worth noting that the United States has never owned the autonomous territory. It’s been a part of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries, a fact that is established under international law, and recognized by the US.
While the US did set up military bases in Greenland (via a wartime security agreement with Denmark) during the second world war, it didn’t confer any actual ownership.
In 1946, then-president Harry Truman secretly pitched to buy Greenland, but it was ultimately rejected by the Danish.
US seeks immediate negotiations to acquire Greenland, Trump confirms
And there it is.
Trump confirms that he is “seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have”.
Modesty is not high on the agenda for this speech.
Citing the new “100% expensing” rules brought in to support company investment, Trump declares “a miracle is taking place” in the US economy, which “no-one thought it would ever be done by any country”.
He added that his first term as president was the “most successful term ever” from a financial perspective.
The president is now touting the mass firings of hundreds of thousands of federal workers – a hallmark of his first year back in office.
“Nobody thought that was coming, but we had no choice to make a country great. You can’t have all federal jobs,” he said.
He claimed that civil servants left their jobs in the federal government and have started roles in the private sector with significant pay rises.
“So they started off hating me when we fired them, and now they love me,” Trump said.
“When America booms, the entire world booms,” Trump said today. “When it goes bad … you all follow us down, and you follow us up.”
Trump opens with a zinger that it’s good to be back in Davos to “address so many respected business leaders, so many friends, a few enemies.”
He gets a laugh from the audience.
He then goes on with a long list of what he claims to be the numerous successes of his presidency, one year on – from the economy and productivity to border security.
While my colleagues and I across the Guardian will be keeping a close ear on all things Greenland and Nato in Trump’s speech today, a senior administration official tells the press pool that the president’s address will have “an America First feel” and is expected to also touch on Venezuela and tout the state of the US economy.
One quick note, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told reporters travelling with the president today, that on Tuesday 27 January he will travel to Iowa for an economic and energy focused speech. Wiles added that Trump will make weekly travel ahead of the midterm elections. Cabinet officials are also set to amp up increase domestic travel, she said.
Donald Trump arrives in Zurich ahead of Davos talk
Despite the technical delays on Air Force One on Tuesday evening, the president has now landed in Zurich, roughly two hours later than expected.
The press pool notes that as Trump touched down in Davos, via helicopter, a short while ago. As they descended, a message written on a hillside in snow read: “Stop wars now.”
The president was due to address the conference at 8:30am ET, it’s unclear if that will be pushed back.
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House Republicans are starting a push on Wednesday to hold former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, opening the prospect of the House using one of its most powerful punishments against a former president for the first time.
The contempt proceedings are an initial step toward a criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice that, if successful, could send the Clintons to prison.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that the Clintons, both Democrats, appeared to be searching for an off-ramp to testify, and passage of contempt charges through the full House was far from guaranteed, requiring a majority vote – something Republicans increasingly struggle to achieve.
The Republican chair of the oversight committee chair, James Comer of Kentucky, initiated the contempt proceedings after the Clintons refused for months to fulfill a House oversight committee subpoena for their testimony in the panel’s Epstein probe.
The clash was the latest turn in the unpredictable Epstein saga, as Congress investigates how he was able to sexually abuse dozens of teenage girls for years.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial. The public release of case files has shown details of the connections between Epstein and both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, among many other high-powered men.
Clinton, Trump and many others connected to Epstein have not been accused of wrongdoing. Yet lawmakers are wrestling over who receives the most scrutiny.
Comer told the AP on the eve of the contempt proceedings:
They’re not above the law. We’ve issued subpoenas in good faith.
For five months we’ve worked with them. And time’s up.
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US president Donald Trump will discuss his American First-based economic policies at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, and talk about foreign policy on Thursday, a senior White House official told reporters en route to Davos.
Retuers reports that Trump may touch on issues involving Greenland and Venezuela as well as his planned Board of Peace and hemispheric domination, the official said.
The US president landed in Zurich early Wednesday and will proceed to Davos, after a problem with Air Force One delayed him by about three hours.
A planned bilateral meeting between Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday is unlikely to take place due to the US president’s late arrival, a German source told Reuters.
We have a live blog bringing you all the business and economic news from Davos, you can follow that here as well as a live blog covering all the related international diplomatic news as it happens, including Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland, and you can follow that here.
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Bessent accuses Powell of 'politicizing' central bank
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent accused Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday of “politicizing” the institution as the Trump administration intensified its pressure campaign on the central bank.
President Donald Trump has railed against Powell for not moving faster to lower interest rates, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) this month launched a criminal investigation into Powell – a move former Fed chairs labeled an effort to undermine the central bank’s independence.
Bessent on Wednesday criticized Powell’s decision to attend a supreme court hearing on Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, calling his presence “a political statement.”
Bessent said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, citing allegations Cook has denied:
I am not sure why Chair Powell would go and support Governor Cook when the Fed has not undertaken an examination of whether she did in fact commit mortgage fraud.
The Fed should not be politicized. He is politicizing the Fed.
Trump has centered his attempt to remove Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board of governors, on mortgage fraud allegations.
Cook has challenged the removal attempt, and the supreme court has allowed her to remain in her post until it hears her case. She has not been charged with a crime.
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Adam Schiff, a US senator, is expressing alarm in a letter to the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Homeland Security (DHS), following a report from the Guardian that revealed the VA was gathering data on its “non-citizen” workforce.
The VA told the Guardian some of the information gathered could be shared with other agencies for immigration enforcement purposes.
“The request for non-citizen data,” Schiff said in a letter sent on Wednesday, “can be viewed only as a thinly veiled effort to instill fear within the VA community, which will likely be used to conduct immigration enforcement efforts.
“These intimidation tactics waste critical time and resources for VA personnel that are already stretched thin,” he added.
The Guardian reported last December on the VA’s plans, citing a leaked memo that outlined a massive data-gathering operation of all non-citizens who are “employed or affiliated with” the agency, which employs 450,000 people and enjoys affiliations with most major medical schools.
Veteran advocates and members of Congress say the sweeping language would likely also include people who work at VA contractors, medical students and even volunteers.
According to the memo, the report was to be presented to Douglas Collins, VA secretary, on 30 December. The current status of the report is unclear, according to congressional sources familiar with the VA’s internal operations.
The VA is the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system, serving 9 million veterans annually.
Since the Guardian’s first report, the VA has vehemently defended its practice.
You can read the full story from José Olivares and Aaron Glantz here: US senator calls veterans affairs’ data collection of non-citizen workers ‘thinly veiled effort to instill fear’
Trump lands in Switzerland for Davos summit
US president Donald Trump has landed in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF), according to Agence-France Presse (AFP).
An airplane with “United States of America” plastered down the fuselage has touched down at Zurich airport in the last few minutes.
Trump flew towards Davos behind schedule, after a problem with Air Force One delayed the president by about three hours.
He is due to address WEF on Wednesday afternoon, but his treasury secretary Scott Bessent previously suggested the president was “likely to be three hours late”.
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The Kremlin said on Wednesday that more clarity was needed on what Donald Trump meant when he spoke of the US possessing a “secret sonic” weapon it had used during its capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said in an interview with NewsNation that “nobody else” had the weapon, which he said was used when Washington seized Maduro earlier this month.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia has special services tasked with collecting and analysing information and that those services were doing their job.
Trump treasury secretary brands Denmark ‘irrelevant’
Graeme Wearden tracks the latest world business, economic and financial news in our daily liveblog
Donald Trump’s treasury secretary has dismissed Denmark as “irrelevant” in his administration’s latest attack on a traditional US ally, as world leaders in Davos prepare for the president’s arrival in the Swiss ski resort.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Scott Bessent brushed aside claims that European investors, such as Denmark’s pension funds, might pull out of the market for US government debt in retaliation for Trump’s attempt to annex Greenland.
The size of Denmark’s investment in US Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant.
It is less than $100m[£75m]. They’ve been selling treasuries for years. I’m not concerned at all.
He blamed the “fake news media led by the Financial Times” for amplifying a Deutsche Bank report that suggested Europe might be less willing to keep buying US government debt, amid the crisis over ownership of the Arctic island.
Bessent told reporters that the CEO of the German bank had called to say it does not stand by the findings of the report.
You can read the full report from Graeme Wearden here: Trump treasury secretary brands Denmark ‘irrelevant’ as Greenland row deepens
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US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he would meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Witkoff told CNBC in an interview, referring to Putin:
Well, look, we have to go meet him on Thursday.
But it’s the Russians who are asking for that meeting. I think that’s a significant statement on their part.
The Kremlin said last week it was preparing to welcome Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow for peace talks on Ukraine, but that no dates had been set.
Lauren Aratani is a reporter for Guardian US
Trump’s bid to remove Cook last summer marked the first time in US history that a president fired a sitting Fed governor. She was appointed by Joe Biden in 2022, becoming the first woman of color to serve on the Fed’s board. Her term is set to be completed in 2038, as Fed governors serve at 14-year terms.
The administration has alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud by misrepresenting multiple properties as her primary residence to get a better mortgage rate – an accusation which initially came from Bill Pulte, a close Trump ally and head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who has instigated similar investigations against others, including New York attorney general Letitia James and Democrat senator Adam Schiff.
Cook’s lawyers have accused the administration of “cherry-picking” information, and argued that Cook accurately listed her property on other loan documents. The discrepancy the administration is focused on is an “isolated notation”, they have said.
Beyond the accused mortgage fraud, Cook’s lawyers are arguing that Fed governors can only be fired “for cause”, and that the Fed governor was denied due process in violation of the US constitution’s fifth amendment.
You can read the full report from Lauren Aratani here: US supreme court to consider Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from Fed board
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US supreme court to consider Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from Fed board
Hello and thank you for joining us on the US politics live blog.
The US supreme court will hear oral arguments over Donald Trump’s bid to fire a Federal Reserve governor on Wednesday morning, as his administration continues its extraordinary campaign for control over the central bank.
Trump tried to fire Lisa Cook in August over apparent discrepancies on mortgage applications his officials claim are evidence of fraud.
It was the first time in 112 years that a president had sought to remove a Fed governor.
A federal court blocked Cook’s removal, and she remains on the Fed’s rate-setting board. The Trump administration is waging an unprecedented battle with the Fed over interest rates, after policymakers defied the president’s repeated calls for drastic cuts.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has been widely criticized this month for launching a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the US central bank’s chair. While it is pursuing Powell over renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC, he has argued he is being targeted for not “following the preferences of the president”.
Powell plans to attend Wednesday’s hearing at the supreme court in person, according to reports.
Trump as president has enjoyed wielding seemingly unlimited power from the executive branch, including allowing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to fire tens of thousands of federal workers and defund programs across the government.
But this case is set to test his limits. Last spring, supreme court justices briefly mentioned the supreme court in an unrelated ruling around two labor officials Trump had fired. “The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,” they wrote.
Legal experts believe that the note suggests, softly, that the court may give special protections to the Fed, and its officials, that are not granted to other government agencies.
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