17 h. ago US Senate passes budget resolution to fund Trump’s deportation plan

Bill approving $175bn for border security and extra $150bn for Pentagon faces tough challenge in HouseUS politics live – latest updatesThe US Senate has passed a budget resolution that paves the way for funding Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan after his “border czar” said there were insufficient funds for the operation.A 10-hour marathon session – dubbed a “vote-a-rama” – concluded in the early hours of Friday morning with a 52-48 vote almost entirely on party lines in favor of a spending structure that would see $175bn reserved for border security, including Trump’s prized border wall with Mexico, and a $150bn boost to the Pentagon budget. Continue reading...

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17 h. ago Senate passes budget funding Trump’s mass deportations; Pentagon reportedly delays firing civilians – US politics live

Republicans approve spending plan that will pay for hardline immigration policies; sackings on hold amid concerns they could hit military readinessMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsNational security adviser Mike Waltz told a crowd of Donald Trump loyalists that he believes the president will receive the Nobel peace prize.“This is the presidency of peace. He’s going to end the war in Europe. He is going to end the wars in the Middle East. He is going to reinvest the United States and our leadership in our own hemisphere, from the Arctic to the border to Panama all the way down to our good friends in Argentina,” Waltz told the Conservative Political Action Conference.The pause comes after CNN reported on Wednesday that the mass terminations, which could affect over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon, could run afoul of Title 10 section 129a of the US code. Following that report, Pentagon lawyers began reviewing the legality of the planned terminations m...

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18 h. ago Senate passes budget funding Trump’s mass deportations; federal workers brace for more firings – US politics live

Senate Republicans approve spending plan that will pay for hardline immigration policies; mass layoffs get all-clear after judge lifts blockMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsThe defense department will delay a plan to fire civilian employees on probation as it assess whether the move complies with the law and if it affects military readiness, CNN reports.The cuts were to be made as part of Donald Trump’s effort to dramatically downsize the federal government, which is being led by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”. Here’s more, from CNN:The pause comes after CNN reported on Wednesday that the mass terminations, which could affect over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon, could run afoul of Title 10 section 129a of the US code. Following that report, Pentagon lawyers began reviewing the legality of the planned terminations more closely, the officials said.That law says that the secretary of defense “may not reduce the civilian workforce ...

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35 h. ago ‘Interesting discussions’: Donald Trump and Tiger Woods hold talks on golf’s rift

Woods joins PGA delegation at White House on ThursdayLIV representatives also present in WashingtonDonald Trump’s involvement in professional golf’s peace talks has ramped up further, with Tiger Woods among those afforded an audience with the US president at the White House on Thursday afternoon.Woods joined the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, fellow board member Adam Scott and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a meeting hosted by Trump amid increasing hopes the fractured sport can unite over the coming months. Key sticking points were expected to surround the precise role for Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s governor, in golf’s new world and where the Saudi-established LIV Tour sits on the sport’s schedule. Continue reading...

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42 h. ago Donald Trump and Tiger Woods to meet at White House for talks on golf’s future

Woods to join PGA delegation on Thursday for meetingLIV representatives also set to be present in WashingtonDonald Trump’s involvement in professional golf’s peace talks has ramped up further, with Tiger Woods among those due to be afforded an audience with the US president at the White House on Thursday afternoon.Woods is expected to join the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, fellow board member Adam Scott and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a meeting hosted by Trump amid increasing hopes the fractured sport can unite over the coming months. Key sticking points surround the precise role for Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s governor, in golf’s new world and where the Saudi-established LIV Tour sits on the sport’s schedule. Continue reading...

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45 h. ago Trump singled me out for ruining women’s sport. This is my response to him | Austin Killips

The president talks about trans athletes ‘invading’ women’s sports, while doing nothing at all to elevate, fund or support women athletesEarlier this month, Donald Trump singled me out. In fact, I was the first example he gave of someone ruining women’s sport.“Last year”, he said while announcing his Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports executive order, “a male cyclist posing as a woman competed in the 800-mile Arizona Trail Race – a very big deal in cycling – and obliterated the women’s course record by nearly five and a half hours.” Continue reading...

Events

51 h. ago Trump stirs controversy in India after DOGE scraps funding for ‘voter turnout’

Trump defends US Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) move to scrap a $21m grant to boost voter turnout in India

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54 h. ago US politics briefing: Trump rails against Zelenskyy and derails Senate Republicans’ budget proposal

From the Trump administration’s latest moves to Donald Trump’s latest feuds – key US politics stories from Wednesday at a glanceThe Guardian is tracking Donald Trump and his administration’s latest moves with several stories, features and analyses each day. Here are some of the biggest stories in US politics that happened Wednesday, 19 February.***Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative, a global finance conference in Miami organized by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Trump said the United States is “back and open for business” and that the “dark days of high taxes, crushing regulations, rampant inflation, flagrant corruption, government weaponization and total incompetence will be gone for ever.”Illinois governor JB Pritzker delivered a searing state-of-the-state address, likening Trump’s stunning power grabs to the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany.In a blistering statement after asking a federal judge to dismiss the corruption case against New York mayor Eric Adams, the ...

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