Trump halts enforcement of US law banning bribery of foreign officials

President directs DoJ to pause prosecutions under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and issues pardon to Rod Blagojevich Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the US justice department to halt prosecuting Americans accused of bribing foreign government officials to win business. The order instructs the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to pause prosecutions … Read more

Trump names loyalist Ric Grenell as interim Kennedy Center leader

President says America First ally will oversee operations amid concern about politicization of top US cultural center Donald Trump has named longtime foreign policy adviser Ric Grenell as interim executive director of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, a move likely to raise concerns about the politicisation of the arts … Read more

Trump administration appeals federal judge’s order to unfreeze federal funds

The Trump administration is appealing a federal judge’s order to unfreeze federal funding in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.  The motion comes hours after a federal judge from Rhode Island ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to unfreeze federal funds once again, claiming the administration did not adhere to his previous … Read more

GOP rebels mutiny against House leaders as Trump budget bill talks hit impasse

The hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus has released its own proposal to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. The plan would pair a debt ceiling increase and increased border security funding with deep spending cuts through welfare work requirements and rollbacks on progressive Biden administration initiatives. It’s a sign that House … Read more

Australian tariffs exemption ‘under consideration’ after ‘positive’ call between PM and Trump

Albanese said the relationship was off to a ‘tremendous start’ minutes before Trump signed an executive order to implement the tariffs on steel and aluminium Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Australian prime minister says that an exemption for his country’s steel and aluminium to US trade tariffs is … Read more