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White House says tax bill meeting 'moved ball in right direction'
The White House described today’s meeting with Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and several holdouts on the GOP’s tax bill as “productive”.
“The meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction. The President reiterated how critical it is for the country to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill as quickly as possible,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
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Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here’s a summary of the key developments from today:
The White House described today’s meeting with Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and several holdouts on the GOP’s tax bill as “productive”. “The meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction. The President reiterated how critical it is for the country to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill as quickly as possible,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Donald Trump ambushed the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, by playing him a video that he falsely claimed proved genocide was being committed against white people under “the opposite of apartheid”. Ramaphosa – who earlier said that he had come to Washington to “reset” the relationship between the two countries – refused to take the bait and suggested that they “talk about it very calmly”.
South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, expects Trump to visit South Africa during G2o meeting. His spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told South African TV station Newzroom Afrika that the Oval Office meeting was “an orchestrated show for the cameras” and that the “real business” of the trip was the bilateral closed-door meeting.
Donald Trump said he will make a decision in the near future about taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public, a move which he said he is giving “very serious consideration”. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he will speak with treasury secretary Scott Bessent; commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick; and federal housing finance director, William Pulte, about doing so.
The Trump administration formally accepted the controversial gift of a Boeing 747 jetliner from the government of Qatar, and directed the air force to assess how quickly the plane can be upgraded for possible use as a new Air Force One. The offer of the jet has set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump, particularly following the president’s visit to the country last week to arrange US business deals.
A federal judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to deport migrants to South Sudan was “unquestionably violative” of an injunction he had issued earlier. US district judge Brian E Murphy made the remark at an emergency hearing he had ordered in Boston following the Trump administration’s apparent deportation of eight people to South Sudan, despite most of them being from other countries. On Tuesday, Murphy ruled that the administration could not let a group of migrants being deported to South Sudan leave the custody of US immigration authorities.
The justice department moved to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, after the death of Breonna Taylor, saying it does not want to pursue the cases. The move shows how the civil rights division of the justice department is changing rapidly under Donald Trump, dismantling Biden-era work and investigating diversity programs. It also comes amid pressure on the right to recast Floyd’s murder, undermine diversity efforts and define liberal-run cities like Minneapolis as crime-ridden.
The US army said it has no plans to recognize Donald Trump’s birthday on 14 June when he presides over part of the army’s celebrations of its 250th anniversary. Trump, who is turning 79 on the same day, will play a big role in the celebrations, which will cost between $25m and $45m, will see the army hold a parade down Washington’s Constitution Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares that cuts through the capital. The parade was not part of the original planning for the 14 June celebrations and was added this year, stoking criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others that Trump has hijacked the event.
Trump nominated Darryl Nirenberg, a lawyer and former Senate staffer, to serve as the next US ambassador to Romania. Nirenberg, a longtime Washington lawyer currently at Steptoe LLP law firm, was chief of staff for late Republican senator Jesse Helms and was a counsel for the Senate foreign relations committee. The nomination will require Senate approval.
A federal judge rejected a bid by the US treasury department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, in an early blow to Trump’s efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.
Democratic US representative Gerry Connolly died aged 75, his family said in a statement posted to his account on X this morning following the Virginia lawmaker’s cancer diagnosis last year. At the end of last month, Connolly announced he would be retiring from Congress at the end of this term and stepping back from his role as ranking member on the House oversight committee after finding out his cancer had returned. He died peacefully at home surrounded by family, their statement said.
Trump adviser Elon Musk paid a visit to Capitol Hill earlier today to discuss energy issues, artificial intelligence, and enhancing competitiveness against the Chinese government with senators, Politico reports.
Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, met for more than an hour with a group of Republicans on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Musk was “seen entering a meeting room on the Senate side of the Capitol complex in something of a surprise appearance to most lawmakers and aides,” the news outlet reports.
The group did not discuss the Department of Government Efficiency and that Musk spoke only about AI, Texas senator Ted Cruz told NBC News.
“This was for Republican members of the Commerce Committee to ask questions, and he brought his X AI team to answer technical questions about what they’re doing and what the challenges are they’re facing,” Cruz said.
“I think it was very productive. We try to — I try to periodically bring together experts who can help inform members of the committee of what the challenges are that we’re facing as a country and what potential solutions are to help us overcome those challenges,” he added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also met Musk at the Pentagon on Wednesday, officials said, the second known time the Doge head has visited the department’s headquarters.
Musk has recently begun to step back in his official White House activities after months of overseeing a rapid, unprecedented dismantling of the federal bureaucracy.
Nearly all of the 400 books that the US Naval Academy removed from its library after being told by the office of the defense secretary to review and get rid of any that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, have been returned to the shelves after a new Pentagon-ordered review.
Defense officials told the Associated Press that about 20 books are still under review at the Naval Academy, including some that weren’t part of the original purge of 381 titles. At the Air Force Academy and other Air Force libraries, a few dozen books have also been pulled for review, the officials said.
Pulling books off shelves part of a broader campaign to eliminate so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools.
Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from defense department websites and social media pages.
Donald Trump said he will make a decision in the near future about taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public, a move which he said he is giving “very serious consideration”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he will speak with treasury secretary Scott Bessent; commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick; and federal housing finance director, William Pulte, about doing so.
He added: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right. Stay tuned!”
These two companies are the backbone of the US housing market. Together they support about 70% of US mortgages.
Republicans have blocked a vote on legislation by Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, that would ban the US from using a foreign plane as Air Force One.
Schumer went to the floor to ask for a vote on his bill the same day that the defense department accepted a $400m plane from Qatar for Trump to use as Air Force One. Schumer said it is “outrageous” that the Trump administration accepted the plane.
“This gift screams national security risk,” Schumer said.
Republican senator Roger Marshall, of Kansas, objected, blocking a vote. He did not offer an explanation for his objection.
White House says tax bill meeting 'moved ball in right direction'
The White House described today’s meeting with Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and several holdouts on the GOP’s tax bill as “productive”.
“The meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction. The President reiterated how critical it is for the country to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill as quickly as possible,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Tensions rose during EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday as he clashed with Democratic senators over the Trump administration’s push to cut the agency’s budget and roll back environmental regulations.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island questioned Zeldin about the abrupt termination of nearly 800 EPA grants. Whitehouse cited a court statement claiming the reviews were done in a single day by one official. Zeldin insisted multiple staff conducted the reviews over time. The exchange quickly escalated into both men shouting over each other.
“We’re not going to waste taxpayer dollars just because you want us to,” Zeldin snapped. Whitehouse countered by accusing Zeldin of contradicting official court testimony.
Senator Adam Schiff of California told Zeldin that a plan to cut EPA spending by 55% means that, to Zeldin and Trump, “more than half of the environmental efforts of the EPA ... to make sure Americans have clean air and clean water are just a waste.”
If approved by Congress, the budget cuts “will mean there’s more diesel and more other particulate matter in the air” and that “water that Americans drink is going to have more chemicals,” Schiff said.
A federal court has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a detained Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist, must be allowed to meet with his wife.
The order comes after Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied her request to visit him at the detention center in Jena, Louisiana, where he has been held for more than two months.
Abdalla, a dentist who gave birth to their first child last month, said she wants Khalil to have the chance to hold his newborn son.
The ruling comes after a graduation ceremony at Columbia University in New York City was filled with boos and chants of “Free Mahmoud” as students voiced their displeasure that the activist remains in detention and was unable to join the rest of the class of 2025 in graduating.
His wife accepted a diploma for Khalil on his behalf at an alternative graduation ceremony on Sunday.
The Trump administration arrested Khalil, 30, on 8 March and is seeking to deport him over his participation in protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.
The judge said in a written ruling that Khalil must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and his wife before 10.30am CDT (1530 GMT) on Thursday.
Trump administration halts $365m solar project in Puerto Rico, prioritizes fossil fuels
The Trump administration will halt $365m in federal funding originally allocated for rooftop solar power in Puerto Rico and instead redirect it toward fossil fuel power plants and infrastructure repairs.
Puerto Rico has long struggled with frequent blackouts caused by aging infrastructure, the 2017 bankruptcy of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, and repeated hurricanes. Just last month, the island experienced a major blackout, followed by another that affected 134,000 customers.
According to the Department of Energy, the redirected funds will go toward immediate fixes, such as “dispatching baseload generation units, supporting vegetation control to protect transmission lines and upgrading aging infrastructure”. Baseload generation in this case refers to power plants that run on oil products and potentially natural gas.
Last week, energy secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order that directed Puerto Rico’s state-owned utility to tackle electricity shortfalls with power generated by oil-burning power plants, which emit pollution, including the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and global warming.
The administration of Donald Trump has supported maximizing the output of fossil fuels and dismantling policies by Joe Biden’s administration designed to spur use of renewable power.
“The redirection of these funds will expand access to reliable power for millions of people rather than thousands and generate a higher return on investment for taxpayers while advancing grid resiliency for Puerto Rico,” the department said in a statement.
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s “Make America Healthy Again” report about childhood diseases is raising questions among farmers and some Republican lawmakers.
President Donald Trump promised a review within 100 days that would analyze the ramifications that US lifestyle — from the medications prescribed for children to the food served on their school lunch trays — has on childhood diseases like obesity, depression or attention deficit disorder.
Farmers and Republicans are nervous about what the report might say about glyphosate, the ingredient commonly used in pesticides sprayed on crops. Kennedy has denied the report will be unfavorable to farmers.
The report, led by a so-called “MAHA Commission,” is expected to be released on Thursday.
Here’s what some lawmakers had to say:
“I hope there is nothing in the MAHA report that jeopardizes the food supply or the livelihood of farmers,” Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said.
“There’s a reason why we still use: It works,” said Blake Hurst, a Missouri farmer who is past president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, said about glyphosate.
Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed speculation of a falling out with the US administration following a visit to the Gulf by Donald Trump that left out Israel.
With the coupling of the US president’s Gulf visit – excluding Israel – and his decision to end US airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis despite their continued attacks on Israel, media speculation grew over a possible rift with Washington.
The Israeli prime minister, who had previously made no public comment on the issue, told reporters at a news conference that he had spoken to Trump about 10 days ago and Trump had told him: “‘Bibi I want you to know, I have a complete commitment to you and I have a complete commitment to the state of Israel.’”
Amid growing international pressure on Israel, Trump has acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and the US would have the situation in the territory “taken care of” as it suffered a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes.
In a separate conversation a few days ago, Netanyahu said JD Vance had told him: “Don’t pay attention to all these fake news stories about this rupture between us.”.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said yesterday that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time.
