US Politics

Subterms

    More stories

    • 175 Shares63 Views

      in US Politics

      Australians are markedly more worried about the US, still wary about China: new poll

      by

      Australians remain supportive of the US alliance, but they are viewing it much more critically than before.

      And many are more concerned about American behaviour under the Trump administration, while softening their views somewhat on China.

      In a new poll of 2,045 people conducted by Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, 54% said they were concerned about US interference in Australia, a jump of nearly 20 points since 2021.

      This narrows the gap with the level of concern about interference from China and Russia, which has steadied around 64%.

      And for the first time in the five years we’ve been conducting this poll, more people think the United States (57%) rather than China (51%) would force Australia to pick sides in the rivalry between the two.

      This is a striking shift that shows Australians are aware pressure can come from allies, as well as rivals. Nearly two-thirds of respondents think the second Trump presidency would make conflict with China more likely.

      Even views of economic behaviour have flipped. For the first time, more Australians believe the US uses trade to punish countries politically (72%, up from 36% last year) than China (70%).

      Rising support for defence spending

      Broadly speaking, the poll shows Australians’ views of China have softened since 2021. Concern and mistrust remain widespread, but have eased.

      Two-thirds of Australians see China as a security concern, though this is the lowest level in five years. Mistrust of the Chinese government has also fallen, from 76% in 2021 to 64% today.

      And yet, regional flashpoints remain a focus. The South China Sea is seen as a major source of tension in the region, with 72% of respondents saying China’s actions there threaten Australia’s interests.

      Most back cooperation, including joint patrols, with partners like the Philippines, Japan and the US, to maintain stability.

      This heightened sense of risk continues to shape how people think about defence. Support for higher defence spending has reached 72% – the highest its ever been in our poll – though it drops considerably when trade-offs such as health or education spending are mentioned (55%).

      Half of Australians think the plan to buy nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, the defence pact with the US and the United Kingdom, will make the country safer, while only one in four disagrees.

      The USS Minnesota, a Virginia-class fast attack submarine, off the coast of Perth in March 2025.
      Collin Murty/AFP Pool/AAP

      Views on Taiwan have remained steady. Just 37% of Australians would support sending troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked, with most preferring neutrality or non-military engagement.

      In a scenario where the US was drawn into a conflict with China over Taiwan, opinions are evenly split: 50% would favour Australia staying neutral, while 47% would back supporting the US.

      China policy influencing more people’s votes

      Overall, though, the softening of Australian views towards China signals people are seeing the need to balance the country’s values and interests when it comes to its number one trading partner.

      Australians continue to see the economic relationship with China as both vital and risky.

      Seven in ten respondents now say Australia should continue building ties with China, up ten points from last year.

      And concern about over-dependence on China has dropped from 80% in 2021 to 66%, while those who see the relationship as representing “more risk than opportunity” has fallen from 53% to 39%.

      Yet, Australians continue to support certain guardrails to safeguard the economy and national security.

      Support for the federal government’s decision to end the Port of Darwin lease, held by the Chinese company Landbridge, is strong at 75%.

      And two-thirds of respondents favour limiting all foreign investment in critical minerals, with even higher agreement (74%) when the question refers specifically to China.

      An overwhelming majority (82%) draw a clear distinction between their views of the Chinese government and Australians of Chinese heritage. Yet, suspicion persists beneath the surface.

      Around four in ten (38%) believe Australians of Chinese background could be mobilised by Beijing to undermine Australia’s interests and social cohesion, while 28% disagree, a durable minority view over five years.

      Australians are clearly paying closer attention to how their leaders manage relations with China, too. Foreign policy has rarely shaped how Australians vote, yet 37% of respondents said China policy influenced their vote in the 2025 federal election, up ten points from the previous election in 2022.

      Taken together, the findings from our survey show Australians have become more comfortable managing a complex and often tense relationship with China, seeing it as both an economic partner and strategic competitor.

      And for the first time this year, this measured outlook extended to the United States, which is now seen as both ally and source of pressure.

      The result is a more assured national mood, one that is realistic about risk yet confident in Australia’s ability to steer its own course in a contested world. More

    • 175 Shares52 Views

      in US Politics

      Australians are markedly more worried about US interference, still wary about China: new poll

      by

      Australians remain supportive of the US alliance, but they are viewing it much more critically than before.

      And many are more concerned about American behaviour under the Trump administration, while softening their views somewhat on China.

      In a new poll of 2,045 people conducted by Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, 54% said they were concerned about US interference in Australia, a jump of nearly 20 points since 2021.

      This narrows the gap with the level of concern about interference from China and Russia, which has steadied around 64%.

      And for the first time in the five years we’ve been conducting this poll, more people think the United States (57%) rather than China (51%) would force Australia to pick sides in the rivalry between the two.

      This is a striking shift that shows Australians are aware pressure can come from allies, as well as rivals. Nearly two-thirds of respondents think the second Trump presidency would make conflict with China more likely.

      Even views of economic behaviour have flipped. For the first time, more Australians believe the US uses trade to punish countries politically (72%, up from 36% last year) than China (70%).

      Rising support for defence spending

      Broadly speaking, the poll shows Australians’ views of China have softened since 2021. Concern and mistrust remain widespread, but have eased.

      Two-thirds of Australians see China as a security concern, though this is the lowest level in five years. Mistrust of the Chinese government has also fallen, from 76% in 2021 to 64% today.

      And yet, regional flashpoints remain a focus. The South China Sea is seen as a major source of tension in the region, with 72% of respondents saying China’s actions there threaten Australia’s interests.

      Most back cooperation, including joint patrols, with partners like the Philippines, Japan and the US, to maintain stability.

      This heightened sense of risk continues to shape how people think about defence. Support for higher defence spending has reached 72% – the highest its ever been in our poll – though it drops considerably when trade-offs such as health or education spending are mentioned (55%).

      Half of Australians think the plan to buy nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, the defence pact with the US and the United Kingdom, will make the country safer, while only one in four disagrees.

      The USS Minnesota, a Virginia-class fast attack submarine, off the coast of Perth in March 2025.
      Collin Murty/AFP Pool/AAP

      Views on Taiwan have remained steady. Just 37% of Australians would support sending troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked, with most preferring neutrality or non-military engagement.

      In a scenario where the US was drawn into a conflict with China over Taiwan, opinions are evenly split: 50% would favour Australia staying neutral, while 47% would back supporting the US.

      China policy influencing more people’s votes

      Overall, though, the softening of Australian views towards China signals people are seeing the need to balance the country’s values and interests when it comes to its number one trading partner.

      Australians continue to see the economic relationship with China as both vital and risky.

      Seven in ten respondents now say Australia should continue building ties with China, up ten points from last year.

      And concern about over-dependence on China has dropped from 80% in 2021 to 66%, while those who see the relationship as representing “more risk than opportunity” has fallen from 53% to 39%.

      Yet, Australians continue to support certain guardrails to safeguard the economy and national security.

      Support for the federal government’s decision to end the Port of Darwin lease, held by the Chinese company Landbridge, is strong at 75%.

      And two-thirds of respondents favour limiting all foreign investment in critical minerals, with even higher agreement (74%) when the question refers specifically to China.

      An overwhelming majority (82%) draw a clear distinction between their views of the Chinese government and Australians of Chinese heritage. Yet, suspicion persists beneath the surface.

      Around four in ten (38%) believe Australians of Chinese background could be mobilised by Beijing to undermine Australia’s interests and social cohesion, while 28% disagree, a durable minority view over five years.

      Australians are clearly paying closer attention to how their leaders manage relations with China, too. Foreign policy has rarely shaped how Australians vote, yet 37% of respondents said China policy influenced their vote in the 2025 federal election, up ten points from the previous election in 2022.

      Taken together, the findings from our survey show Australians have become more comfortable managing a complex and often tense relationship with China, seeing it as both an economic partner and strategic competitor.

      And for the first time this year, this measured outlook extended to the United States, which is now seen as both ally and source of pressure.

      The result is a more assured national mood, one that is realistic about risk yet confident in Australia’s ability to steer its own course in a contested world. More

    • 163 Shares63 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump is turning the US military into a political prop | Jan-Werner Müller

      by

      Of all the reasons Americans have been losing sleep recently – hunger, canceled flights, Democrats betraying them – the most ominous has to do with an institution usually absent from discussions about the fate of our democracy: the military. No need to be starry-eyed about US imperialism and what has long been criticized as an ever-expanding “national security state”; one can still appreciate that it is a good thing if generals do not take sides in politics – just ask anyone from the many countries around the world where they do. But a pattern is becoming clear: Donald Trump is purging the higher ranks based on his prejudices and demands for loyalty; the military is being turned into a partisan instrument and a political prop; more dangerous still, the president is instilling the logic of impunity that has come to characterize his entire approach to governance.Figures deemed too close to Trump critics, such as Gen Mark Milley, have seen promotions delayed or canceled; those targeted by far-right influencers might face professional backlash. Trump used Maga-fied soldiers as background to a Fort Bragg speech, violating longstanding norms against instrumentalizing state institutions for partisan purposes. Every violation becomes a test of who will be loyal: critics – the potentially disloyal – will identify themselves.With every illegal order, such as attacking boats in the Caribbean, he manages to have those who carry them out compromise themselves morally and potentially render themselves liable for criminal prosecution, thereby generating an incentive for members of the military to make sure Trumpists stay in power. At the same time, prominent pardons – most recently of those trying to steal the 2020 election – establish the promise of impunity. As plenty of observers have pointed out, under Trump, law will protect the Maga faithful but will not bind them; those declared the president’s enemies will be bound by the law, but not be protected by it. It is not an accident that Pete Hegseth’s first 15 minutes of fame consisted of passionate pleas on Fox to let those accused of war crimes go unpunished.Hegseth has carried the primacy of the performative from TV into the Pentagon. Just think of his self-branding through dress and over-the-top speeches littered with alliterations – suggesting that words drive thinking, as opposed to thinking leading to choosing the right words (most prominently, there is “lethality” having to replace “legality”). The great 18th-century writer and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft drew a surprising parallel between stereotypes about women and a certain type of soldier in standing (and largely underemployed) armies. She observed that soldiers might acquire manners before morals: “Like the fair sex, the business of their life is gallantry. They were taught to please, and they only live to please.”The point is not that Hegseth’s ideal soldiers are effeminate; rather, it is that the song and dance about a “warrior ethos” is pure made-for-TV-affectation, as if hand-to-hand combat were the essence of 21st-century warfare. Central Command becomes subject to the logic of “central casting” (Trump’s own words when looking at the officers Hegseth assembled in Virginia in September). The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz’s memorable dictum that war is the continuation of politics by other means is replaced with something like “war is the continuation of fitness and fashion by other means” (as Hegseth made it a priority to remove personnel deemed fat).Yet sending soldiers into Democratic cities should not be dismissed as purely performative. It serves to normalize the image of soldiers on the street; it blurs the distinction between military and civilian life, and, as the Israeli scholar Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis has argued, it sends a message that citizens can be treated as enemies. In the process, it is also becoming increasingly unclear which uniformed personnel belong to which unit and who is really authorized to do what, since the Pentagon and homeland security are explicitly encouraged to be in “lockstep” as part of a shared “homeland mission”. Trump is merging everyone into something the political scientist Dan Moynihan terms the “omniforce”, the kind of omnipresent army, combined with what James Madison called an “overgrown executive”, which the American founders rightly dreaded.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe effect is twofold: impunity is made more likely, since those who cannot be identified will not be held accountable, and the omniforce will feel like Trump’s personal creation and loyal guard (as one investigation revealed, at least six of Trump’s political appointees now live in military housing). The image of Trump as padrone was reinforced by his trying to grab funds appropriated by Congress for other purposes in order to pay soldiers during the shutdown – not to speak of having a pro-regime oligarch fund the military with private wealth. Other aspiring autocrats have made similar moves, though at a much smaller scale: Viktor Orbán has instituted a special counter-terror unit, headed by his former bodyguard and aide, that is widely seen as primarily loyal to the Hungarian prime minister.Many remember the great democratization wave of the 1970s and 1980s, forgetting how easily things might have turned out differently. We are often oblivious to how critical the role of the military was in transitions to democracy. Not only because juntas were willing to relinquish power but also because individuals made the right moral choice. Augusto Pinochet, after losing a plebiscite in 1988, had been ready to declare an emergency and keep himself in power by force. One general, Fernando Matthei, rejected the plan and told journalists that Pinochet had lost the plebiscite. The US is not Chile, but the question of what those in uniform will do in pivotal moments for democracy is, alas, becoming more relevant by the day.

      Jan-Werner Müller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University More

    • 200 Shares67 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump tells Republicans to vote to release Epstein files, in a reversal of his previous stance

      by

      US president Donald Trump has urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to vote for the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his earlier resistance to such a move.Trump’s post on his Truth Social came after House speaker Mike Johnson said earlier that he believed a vote on releasing justice department documents in the Epstein case should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.“And it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he said.Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the president has said the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions. Emails released last week by a House committee showed the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in jail in 2019, believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though it was not clear what that phrase meant.Trump, who has recently dismissed the Epstein files as a Democratic smear campaign, has since instructed the justice department to investigate prominent Democrats’ ties to Epstein.Some critics have accused Trump of trying to conceal details – something the president denies – by looking to block the vote, which has divided his typically loyal Republican party.“The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy, “Affordability”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.On Sunday Republican congressman Thomas Massie challenged Trump over whether the president was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation.Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public both raised concerns about the latest actions by the White House.Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Massie criticised Trump for ordering attorney general Pam Bondi on Friday to examine Democrats with ties to Epstein.Trump late on Friday withdrew his support for US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, long one of his staunchest supporters in Congress, following her criticism of Republicans on certain issues, including the handling of the Epstein files.Khanna, an original sponsor of the petition calling for a vote on the files’ release, said on Sunday that he expected more than 40 Republicans to vote in favor.Republicans hold the majority in the House, with 219 seats, versus 214 for Democrats.With Agence France-Presse More

    • 213 Shares45 Views

      in US Politics

      US attacks another alleged drug boat in Pacific, killing three, as Trump signals possible talks with Maduro

      by

      The United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday.“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media.It came as Donald Trump said the US may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a huge US military buildup in the Caribbean.“We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” the US president said on Sunday, in one of the first signs of a possible path to defusing the increasingly tense situation in the region.The US has accused Maduro of ties to the illegal drug trade, which Maduro denies.The US Southern Command’s post on Sunday said the boat was in international waters when it was struck by the Southern Spear joint taskforce. It did not give details on where the vessel was traveling from or what organization it was associated with.The latest operation was the 21st known attack on drug boats by the US military since early September in what it has called a justified effort to disrupt the flow of narcotics into the US.The strikes have killed more than 80 people, according to Pentagon figures. Lawmakers in Congress, human rights groups and US allies have raised questions about the legality of the attacks.The Trump administration has said it has the legal authority to carry out the strikes, with the justice department providing a legal opinion that justifies them and argues that US military personnel who carry out the operations are immune from prosecution. The administration also has not publicly explained the legal justification for the decision to attack the boats rather than stop them and arrest those on board.The latest deadly strike came as the US navy announced its most advanced aircraft carrier had arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday in a display of power that raised questions about what the new influx of troops and weaponry could signal for the Trump administration’s intentions in South America.The arrival of the USS Gerald R Ford and other warships rounds off the largest buildup of US firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the “Operation Southern Spear mission includes nearly a dozen navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and marines.The carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the navy said.Rear Adm Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it would bolster an already large force of American warships to “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the western hemisphere”.Adm Alvin Holsey, the commander who oversees the Caribbean and Latin America, said in a statement that the American forces “stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region”.Holsey, who will retire next month after just a year on the job, said the strike group’s deployment was “a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the western hemisphere and the safety of the American homeland”.In Trinidad and Tobago, which is only 7 miles (11km) from Venezuela at its closest point, government officials said troops had begun “training exercises” with the US military that would run through much of the week.Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of foreign affairs, Sean Sobers, described the joint exercises as the second in less than a month and said they were aimed at tackling violent crime on the island nation, which has become a stopover point for drug shipments headed to Europe and North America. The prime minister has been a vocal supporter of the US military strikes.The exercises will include marines from the 22nd expeditionary unit, who have been stationed onboard the navy ships that have been looming off Venezuela’s coast for months.Venezuela’s government has described the training exercises as an act of aggression. It had no immediate comment on Sunday on the arrival of the aircraft carrier. More

    • 150 Shares84 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: Another Republican challenges Trump over Epstein files

      by

      Republican congressman Thomas Massie has challenged Donald Trump over whether the US president is making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation.Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public both raised fresh concerns about the latest actions by the White House.Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Massie criticized Trump for ordering attorney general Pam Bondi on Friday to examine Democrats with ties to Epstein.Massie’s comments come after Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded the release of all the Epstein documents, despite it causing a rift with Trump.Here are today’s top stories:Trump’s investigation into Epstein ties to political foes might be ‘smokescreen’, Republican says“The president’s been saying this is a hoax,” Republican congressman Thomas Massie has told ABC’s This Week, referring to several claims Trump has made in reaction to repeated calls for full disclosure of the files. “He’s been saying that for months. Well, he’s just now decided to investigate a hoax, if it’s a hoax. And I have another concern about these investigations that he’s announced. If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released.“So, this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files,” he added.Read the full storyMarjorie Taylor Greene says Trump’s remarks hurtful Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday called Donald Trump’s remarks labeling her a traitor and a lunatic “hurtful” but said she hopes she and the US president can “make up”, despite stark differences over policy and the release of documents about Jeffrey Epstein.Greene, a longtime ally and fierce defender of Trump and the “Make America great again” (Maga) base, pushed back against his name-calling in her first interview since Trump withdrew his support for her on Friday.She told CNN’s State of the Union show: “His remarks, of course, have been hurtful … the most hurtful thing he said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor and that is so extremely wrong.”Read the full storyTrans air force members sue Trump administration over denied pensionA group of 17 transgender US air force members has sued the Trump administration for denying them early retirement pensions and benefits.The complaint, submitted in federal court, describes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.The legal action follows the air force’s confirmation it would deny early retirement benefits to all transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of military experience, a decision that effectively pushes them out of the military with no retirement support at all.Read the full storyUS military attacks another alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing threeThe United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday.“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media.The announcement said the boat was in international waters when it was struck by the Southern Spear joint taskforce. It did not give details on where the vessel was traveling from or what organization it was associated with.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      A top border patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported a surge of encounters with federal immigration agents near churches and apartment complexes.

      The BBC should not pay any money to Donald Trump, the former BBC director general Tony Hall has said.

      The White House has made it a top priority to return the rare-earth industry to US shores. But is it really feasible?
      Catching up? Here’s what happened 15 November, 2025. More

    • 163 Shares67 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump’s investigation into Epstein ties to political foes might be ‘smokescreen’, Republican says

      by

      Republican congressman Thomas Massie challenged Donald Trump on Sunday over whether the US president is making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation.Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public both raised fresh concerns about the latest actions by the White House.Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Massie criticized Trump for ordering attorney general Pam Bondi on Friday to examine Democrats with ties to Epstein.This despite emails released last week by the House of Representatives’ oversight committee that suggest Trump was aware of Epstein’s conduct and that Epstein had also advised Steve Bannon, a key figure in Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) base.“The president’s been saying this is a hoax,” Massie said, referring to several claims Trump has made in reaction to repeated calls for full disclosure of the files. “He’s been saying that for months. Well, he’s just now decided to investigate a hoax, if it’s a hoax. And I have another concern about these investigations that he’s announced. If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released.“So, this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files,” he added.ABC anchor Jonathan Karl asked Massie about what the Epstein records might contain and why Trump appears afraid of what they might reveal.“You know, I’ve never said that these files will implicate Donald Trump,” Massie replied. “And I really don’t think that they will. I think he’s trying to protect a bunch of rich and powerful friends, billionaires, donors to his campaign, friends in his social circles. That’s my operating theory on why he’s trying so hard to keep these files closed.”Massie also said it was possible that more than 100 House Republicans may vote in favor of releasing the Epstein files, documents currently held by the justice department related to the alleged crimes and alleged clientele of the late financier and sex offender, when the measure reaches the House floor for a vote this week. He urged skeptics to rethink their position.“I would remind my Republican colleagues who are deciding how to vote: Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement. But in 2030, he’s not going to be the president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files, and the president can’t protect you then. This vote, the record of this vote, will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency,” Massie said.Meanwhile, Khanna of California said moments later on NBC News’ Meet the Press that the effort was “not about Donald Trump” and encouraged the president to meet with the victims who have survived Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring and have since spoken out.“What we’re asking for is justice for the survivors,” Khanna said. “So, it’s not about Donald Trump. I don’t even know how involved Trump was. There are a lot of other people who are involved who have to be held accountable.”He also noted that many survivors who have spoken publicly about their abuse will be in Washington on Tuesday, where they plan to request a meeting with Trump.Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting federal trial in New York on sex crimes, having previously served time in Florida for sex offenses after negotiating a plea deal there in 2008. His associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently in prison.Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, said on Sunday he believed the approaching vote would help put an end to allegations that the president had any ties to Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of underage girls.“They’re doing this to go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not,” Johnson said of critics, on the Fox News Sunday program.“Epstein is their [Democrats] entire game plan, so we’re going to take that weapon out of their hands,” Johnson said. “Let’s just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide.”The Senate is thought unlikely to produce the necessary support to advance the legislation, however, and Senate majority whip John Barrasso, speaking on NBC on Sunday, declined to commit to holding a vote even if the pending bill passes in the House.Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has also demanded the release of all the Epstein documents, despite it causing a rift with Trump. More

    • 125 Shares79 Views

      in US Politics

      Dozens reportedly arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, amid immigration crackdown

      by

      A top border patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported a surge of encounters with federal immigration agents near churches and apartment complexes.The Trump administration has made the Democratic-led city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement crackdown it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and the fact that crime rates in the city are steadily declining.Some businesses in Charlotte chose to stay closed at the weekend and many areas that would often be bustling on a Saturday afternoon were quiet as people stayed home in fear of anti-immigration raids and sweeps.Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on a similar operation in Chicago, took to social media to document some of the arrests he said had reached more than 80. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs “criminal illegal aliens” as a damning characterization for people living in the US without legal permission who have alleged criminal records. That included one of a man with an alleged history of drunk driving convictions.“We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte so he can’t continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,” Bovino wrote on X.The latest effort by federal law enforcement has been labeled “Operation Charlotte’s Web” as a play on the title of the children’s book but conjuring an image of people caught in a trap.At Camino, a nonprofit group that offers services to Latino communities, some said they were too afraid to leave their homes to attend school, medical appointments or work. A dental clinic the group runs had nine cancellations on Friday, spokesperson Paola Garcia said.“Latinos love this country. They came here to escape socialism and communism, and they’re hard workers and people of faith,” Garcia said. “They love their family, and it’s just so sad to see that this community now has this target on their back.”Recent operations led by Bovino in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered a flurry of lawsuits and investigations over questions about use of force, including wide deployment of chemical agents against protesters.Democratic party leaders in both cities said that agents’ presence inflamed community tensions and actually led to violence.Bovino and other Trump administration officials have called the use of force appropriate, citing a growing threats on agents’ lives.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees CBP, did not respond to inquiries about the Charlotte arrests. Bovino’s spokesman did not return a request for comment on Sunday.DHS has not offered many details about who it has been arresting. For instance in Chicago, the agency only provided names and details on a handful of its more than 3,000 arrests in the metro region from September to last week.By Sunday, reports of CBP activity in Charlotte were “overwhelming” and difficult to quantify, Greg Asciutto, executive director of the community development group CharlotteEast, said in an email.“The past two hours we’ve received countless reports of CBP activity at churches, apartment complexes and a hardware store,” he said.City council member-elect JD Mazuera Arias said targeting houses of worship was “just awful”.“These are sanctuaries for people who are looking for hope and faith in dark times like these and who no longer can feel safe because of the gross violation of people’s right to worship,” he said.

      The Associated Press contributed reporting More