Donald Trump is coming under increasing pressure for accepting a$400m luxury planefrom Qatar as several senior Republicans join the chorus of criticism.
Leading Democratic Chris Murphy on Sunday called it the “definition of corruption”, while even some ofTrump’s close allies have been enraged, with some saying it was the opposite of Trump’s promise to drain the swamp and was “a stain on the administration”.
Trump lashed out at the critics on Saturday, claiming the gift was to the US and not for him personally. Murphy later told NBC that was not true.
Meanwhile, some lawyers are starting their own law firms and challenging the Trump administration’s effort to cut funding and punish civil servants as the president wages a broad attack on thejustice departmentandmajor law firms.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Donald Trump’s acceptance of a$400m Boeing jetfromQataris the “definition of corruption”, a top Democrat said on Sunday, as several senior Republicans joined in a bipartisan fusillade of criticism and concern over the luxury gift.
Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator forConnecticut, condemned the “flying grift” on NBC as he assailed the president’strip to several Gulf statesthis week that included a stop in Qatar.
Rand Paul, a Republican US senator for Kentucky and chair of his chamber’s homeland security committee, told the ABC that the gift of the jet “at least gives the appearance of a conflict of interest”.
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As Trump wages a blunt attack onmajor law firmsand thejustice department, some lawyers are starting their own law firms and challenging the administration’s effort to cut funding and punish civil servants.
The decision to start the firms come as the judiciary has emerged as a major bulwark against the Trump administration.More than 200 lawsuitshave been filed challenging various Trump administration policies and there have been more than 70 rulings blocking the administration from executing various policies.
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The US retail companyWalmartwill “eat some of the tariffs” in line with Trump’s demands, the president’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has insisted, claiming he received the assurance in a personal phone call with the company’s chief executive, Doug McMillon.
Walmart said last week it had no alternative toraising prices for consumersbeginning later this month because it could not absorb the cost of the president’s tariffs on international trade. The statement provoked anangry response from Trump, who said on Saturday the company should “eat the tariffs and not charge valued customers anything”.
According to Bessent, speaking on Sunday to NBC’s Meet the Press, Walmart is now promising exactly that.
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A proposed rule change making it easier to fire civil servants deemed to be “intentionally subverting presidential directives” could pave the way for the White House to fire statisticians employed to produce objective data on the economy but whose figures prove politically inconvenient, experts warn.
With Trump under pressure to explain shrinking gross domestic product (GDP) figures amid economists’ warnings that tariffs could trigger a recession, the administration could use new employment rules to pressure workers into “cooking the books”.
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Donald Trump is becoming impatient withVladimir Putin, Finland’s president has said after a lengthy conversation with his US counterpart.
Alexander Stubb said Trump and Putin, who arescheduled to speakby phone on Monday, must not decide the fate ofUkraineover the head of its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Stubb said: “If we were to pull it together, we could say that Zelenskyy is patient and President Trump is starting to be impatient, but in the right direction, that is, towards Russia.”
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Former US president Joe Biden has beendiagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancerthat has spread to his bones, his office announced on Sunday, and he and his family are considering options for treatment. Donald Trump expressed concern on behalf of himself and first lady Melania Trump.
US government debt maycome under more pressure this weekafter the credit rating agency Moody’s stripped the US of its top-notch triple-A rating.
Catching up?Here’s what happened17 May 2025.