Qatar’s offer to giveDonald Trumpa $400m Boeing 747 airplane is a “normal thing that happens between allies,” prime ministerSheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thanihas said at an economic forum held inDoha.
Al Thani dismissed concerns aboutQatartrying to buy influence with its key ally, after the Senate Democratic leaderChuck Schumerintroduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating asAir Force Oneamid ethical and security concerns.
“I hope that the United States looks to Qatar as a reliable partner in diplomacy that is not trying to buy influence,” Al Thani said.
Trump has shrugged off worries, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the generous offer. He said the Boeing 747-8 would eventually be donated to his presidential library – a repository housing research materials from his administration, and that he had no plans to use it for personal reasons after leaving office.
White Housepress secretaryKaroline Leavittsaid on Monday that the aircraft “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”
“Retrofitting the Qatari plane would cost billions and could never even truly eliminate all catastrophic risks,” Schumersaid on X.The bill would prevent the US from spending taxpayer dollars to retrofit a foreign-owned plane for presidential use.“There’s absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure,” Schumer added.
In other developments:
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.
Donald Trumplashed out at celebrities who endorsedKamala Harrisin late night and early morning screeds on Monday, saying he would investigate them to see if they were paid for the endorsements– repeating a common refrain on the right about the star-studded list of Harris supporters.
At least 50 Venezuelan men sent by theTrump administrationto a prison in El Salvador had entered the US legally,according to a reviewby the Cato Institute.Published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, thereportanalyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador’snotorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found.
Donald Trump’s administration can end legal protections that have shielded about 350,000 Venezuelans from potential deportation, the supreme court ruled on Monday.America’s highest court granted a request byKristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans while an appeal proceeds in a lower court.
US representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with assaulting federal agents after a clash outside an immigration detention center inNew Jersey, the state’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday.
The former FBI director James Comey has brushed off criticism about a photo of seashells he posted on social media, saying it is “crazy” to think the messaged was intended as a threat against Donald Trump.“I posted it on my Instagram account and thought nothing more of it, until I heard … that people were saying it was some sort of a call for assassination, which is crazy,” Comey said in interview on MSNBC.
The Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was released only weeks ago from federal detention, has crossed the graduation stage to cheers from his fellow graduates.The Palestinian activist wasarrested by immigration authoritiesin Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview.
Donald Trump has signed into law the Take It Down Act, a measure that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitationthat Melania Trump helped usher through Congress.
PresidentDonald Trumphosted theKennedy Center’sleadership at theWhite Houseon Monday night, reinforcing how much attention he is devoting to remaking a premier cultural center as part of a larger effort to overhaul the social and ideological dynamics of the national arts scene.According to the Associated Press (AP), the meeting of the center’s board in the state dining room followed Trump firing its previous members and announcing in February that he would serve as the board’s chair. The new board, which unanimously approved Trump as its chair, is stocked with loyalists.
They include White House chief of staffSusie Wiles; attorney generalPam Bondi;Usha Vance, the wife of vice-presidentJD Vance; andLee Greenwood, whose song “God Bless the USA,” plays at Trump rallies as well as many official events, including during his trip to theMiddle Eastlast week. Trump called it a “hot board.”“We’re gonna turn it around,” Trump told dinner attendees of the center. He said of running the board, “When I said, ‘I’ll do this,’ I hadn’t been there” and joked, “That’s the last time I’ll take a job without looking at it”.Trump has called the center’s past programming “woke” and “terrible,” while more broadly seeking to slash federal funding for the arts – complaining that too much programming promotes leftist ideology and political correctness. In his view, molding the Kennedy Center to his own liking can go a long way toward creating a new arts and social culture nationwide, reports the AP.
US representativeLaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with assaulting federal agents after a clash outside an immigration detention center inNew Jersey, the state’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday.
Alina Habba, interim US attorney, said in a post on social media that McIver was facing charges “for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” when she visited the detention center along with two other Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation on 9 May.
“No one is above the law – politicians or otherwise,” Habbasaid in a statement. “It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work.”
McIver on Monday accused federal law enforcement of escalating the situation, saying that it was theImmigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice)agents who “created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation”.
“The charges against me are purely political – they mischaracterise and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalise and deter legislative oversight,” she said.
At the same time, Habba announced her office was dismissing a misdemeanor trespassing charge againstRas Baraka, the Democratic mayor ofNewark, whose arrest instigated the clash with federal agents.
The left-learning advocacy groupDemand Justiceplans to undetake a six-figure advertising effort as part of a new campaign to highlightDonald Trump’s continued attacks on the rule of law.
The adverting campaign, which will include online and print ads in national publications is part of a multi-pronged effort called “Justice Under Siege” will include polling, research, and educational initiatives focused on how the Trump administration is attacking the rule of law, a fundamental pillar of American society
“Since his inauguration, President Trump has repeatedly defied lawful court orders on issues ranging from illegally firing thousands of public servants to deporting lawful US residents without due process,”Maggie Jo Buchanan, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
The grouphas previously targeted major law firmswho capitulated to Trump with posters aroundWashington DCnear the offices of the firms in the US capitol.
Since taking office in January, Trump’s attacks on the rule of law have beenbrazen and unrelenting.
He has openly defied court orders halting deportations, called for a federal judge who ruled against him to be impeached, issued executive orders punishing law firms connected to political rivals, and used the power of his office to revoke the security clearance and investigate officials who spoke out against him.
There have also been an alarming rise in threats and harassment against federal judges in recent months as the president has escalated his attacks.
There has been little pushback from Republicans to Trump’s actions.Chief Justice John Robertsspoke out in defense of judges in March,saying:
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the newest member of the court and one of its liberal members,said this monththat the attacks on judges “are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.”
Qatar’s offer to giveDonald Trumpa $400m Boeing 747 airplane is a “normal thing that happens between allies,” prime ministerSheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thanihas said at an economic forum held inDoha.
Al Thani dismissed concerns aboutQatartrying to buy influence with its key ally, after the Senate Democratic leaderChuck Schumerintroduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating asAir Force Oneamid ethical and security concerns.
“I hope that the United States looks to Qatar as a reliable partner in diplomacy that is not trying to buy influence,” Al Thani said.
Trump has shrugged off worries, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the generous offer. He said the Boeing 747-8 would eventually be donated to his presidential library – a repository housing research materials from his administration, and that he had no plans to use it for personal reasons after leaving office.
White Housepress secretaryKaroline Leavittsaid on Monday that the aircraft “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”
“Retrofitting the Qatari plane would cost billions and could never even truly eliminate all catastrophic risks,” Schumersaid on X.The bill would prevent the US from spending taxpayer dollars to retrofit a foreign-owned plane for presidential use.“There’s absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure,” Schumer added.
In other developments:
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.
Donald Trumplashed out at celebrities who endorsedKamala Harrisin late night and early morning screeds on Monday, saying he would investigate them to see if they were paid for the endorsements– repeating a common refrain on the right about the star-studded list of Harris supporters.
At least 50 Venezuelan men sent by theTrump administrationto a prison in El Salvador had entered the US legally,according to a reviewby the Cato Institute.Published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, thereportanalyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador’snotorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found.
Donald Trump’s administration can end legal protections that have shielded about 350,000 Venezuelans from potential deportation, the supreme court ruled on Monday.America’s highest court granted a request byKristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans while an appeal proceeds in a lower court.
US representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with assaulting federal agents after a clash outside an immigration detention center inNew Jersey, the state’s federal prosecutor announced on Monday.
The former FBI director James Comey has brushed off criticism about a photo of seashells he posted on social media, saying it is “crazy” to think the messaged was intended as a threat against Donald Trump.“I posted it on my Instagram account and thought nothing more of it, until I heard … that people were saying it was some sort of a call for assassination, which is crazy,” Comey said in interview on MSNBC.
The Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was released only weeks ago from federal detention, has crossed the graduation stage to cheers from his fellow graduates.The Palestinian activist wasarrested by immigration authoritiesin Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview.
Donald Trump has signed into law the Take It Down Act, a measure that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitationthat Melania Trump helped usher through Congress.