🔗 Share this article

Hello and welcome to the American political live blog. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the most recent news lines over the coming hours.

Trump Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Safety Concerns

We begin with the news that President Donald Trump intensified his attacks against Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday, despite his shift on resisting the release of the Epstein files.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his criticism were endangering her and stated he did not believe anyone was focusing on her. Greene remarked on the previous day that the President's social media posts had triggered a surge of threats aimed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, referring to the lawmaker. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” Trump told reporters before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a House representative from Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has lately taken positions at odds with the president. She said on the weekend she has been contacted by security companies expressing concern for her security and that harsh attacks against her have in the past led to death threats.

Epstein Files Disclosure Initiative

This dispute occurred while the President encouraged his fellow Republicans in the legislature to vote for the release of files concerning the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, changing his prior opposition to such a action.

His message on his social media platform came after House speaker Mike Johnson said earlier that he believed a vote on making public justice department files in the Epstein case should help dispel claims “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on that day: “GOP lawmakers should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.

“And it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax orchestrated by far-left activists in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he added.

Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together years back, the president has said the two men had a disagreement before Epstein’s convictions. Emails disclosed last week by a congressional panel indicated the convicted sex offender, who took his own life in jail in 2019, thought Trump “knew about the girls,” though it was uncertain what that phrase signified.

Additional Updates

• GOP representative Thomas Massie had questioned the President over whether the US president was making a “final attempt” to keep the full files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from being disclosed by initiating a new probe. Massie and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two US representatives spearheading the bipartisan push to have all the files held by the authorities public both raised fresh concerns about the steps by the administration.
• US forces carried out a further strike on an suspected drug trafficking boat in the Pacific region on the weekend, killing three individuals on board, the Department of Defense announced on the following day. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illegal drug trafficking, transiting along a established drug route, and transporting drugs,” the military command announced in a post on online platforms.
• Trump said the United States may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who is under escalating pressure from the US government amid a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean region. “We could initiate some discussions with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll see how that develops. They would like to talk,” the US president remarked on Sunday, in one of the first signs of a possible path to easing the increasingly tense situation in the region.
• Trump on the weekend brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson's latest interview with a far-right activist known for his antisemitic views, which has caused a division within the GOP. The President supported Carlson, saying the former Fox News host has “said positive remarks about me in the past.” He said if Carlson wants to interview Nick Fuentes, whose supporters consider themselves working to preserve America’s cultural heritage, then “individuals have to make up their own minds.” Trump did not condemn Carlson or Fuentes.
• The President indicated on that day that he plans to have a discussion with NYC's mayor-elect Mamdani and said they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic rising star who have cast each other as opponents. He has for an extended period criticized Mr Mamdani, falsely describing him as a “socialist” and predicting the decline of his hometown, New York, if the democratic socialist were chosen.
• A group of seventeen transgender US air force members has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for refusing them early retirement pensions and benefits. The legal filing, filed in federal court, characterizes the administration's action against them as “unlawful and invalid”.