Shaheen, Jeanne

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    Senators Visit Canada, Seeking a Reset Amid Trump’s Provocations

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    Democrats and one Republican made the trip, seeking to stabilize the U.S.-Canada relationship after President Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and suggested it should become the 51st state.A bipartisan group of senators on Friday arrived in Ottawa seeking to stabilize the United States’ relationship with Canada, determined to mend a once-tight alliance that President Trump has tested in recent months with tariffs and tough talk.Sporting lapel pins of the American and Canadian flags and red and white friendship bracelets, the group — four Democrats and a lone Republican — met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and senior Canadian officials in a bid to defuse the tension that has built up in recent months after economic pressure and political rhetoric from Mr. Trump that many Canadians have viewed as both destabilizing and deeply insulting.“We know how important Canada is to our states and how important the United States and the Canadian relationship is to both countries,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, after a day of meetings with government officials and business leaders.She was part of a delegation that included fellow Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Peter Welch of Vermont, as well as Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, the sole Republican.“We hope that this meeting will continue very positive discussions toward ensuring that some of the cracks that have appeared in the relationship in recent months are healed, and we move forward together,” Ms. Shaheen said.Those cracks include Mr. Trump’s tariffs, which disrupted regional economies dependent on trade with Canada, as well as rhetoric that many Canadians found demeaning. The president’s repeated remarks suggesting that Canada should become America’s “51st state” and that the United States was being exploited by the relationship were initially dismissed as misunderstood humor or unorthodox negotiation tactics. Now, they are widely viewed in the country as disrespectful and damaging to Canadian sovereignty.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump Administration Memo Proposes Cutting State Department Funding by Nearly Half

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      The Trump administration could cut nearly 50 percent of the State Department’s funding next fiscal year, according to an internal memo laying out a downsizing plan being given serious consideration by department leaders, said two U.S. officials. The plan was drawn up as the White House pressures agencies to make significant budget cuts.The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, proposes eliminating almost all funding for international organizations like the United Nations and NATO, ending the budget for supporting international peacekeeping operations and curtailing all of the department’s educational and cultural exchanges, like the Fulbright Program.It also proposes cutting funding for humanitarian assistance and global health programs by more than 50 percent despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pledges that lifesaving assistance would be preserved.It was not clear if Mr. Rubio had endorsed the cuts outlined in the memo, which was dated April 10. Pete Marocco, who oversaw the gutting of government foreign aid programs before abruptly leaving the department, and Douglas Pitkin, who is in charge of the department’s budget planning, prepared the document. It was also not clear how seriously the proposed cuts would be entertained in Congress, which appropriates federal dollars.But, according to a U.S. official familiar with the department’s review, it is likely that the White House will send Congress a budget proposal this spring that is substantially similar to what the memo outlines in an effort to press lawmakers to formalize downsizing efforts that are already underway.Agencies are facing a deadline this week to submit detailed reorganization plans to the White House explaining what cuts they will make to help further shrink the federal government. While many departments have already announced or begun carrying out their planned cuts, the State Department has yet to publicly detail complete plans for downsizing. The memo is part of a process involving the White House budget office and the State Department trading proposals and suggestions.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, Won’t Run Again in 2026

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      Ms. Shaheen’s retirement will set off a high-stakes fight for an open seat in a state where she has been a leading political figure for decades.Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire will not run for re-election in 2026, bringing an end to a long and singular political career and further complicating Democrats’ efforts to regain a majority in the Senate.Her decision not to seek a fourth term will immediately set off a high-stakes race in a state whose voters are famously fickle. Last fall, New Hampshire voters supported former Vice President Kamala Harris for president and elected Democrats to Congress, but they also voted for a Republican governor and expanded Republican majorities in the state legislature.“It was a difficult decision, made more difficult by the current environment in the country — by President Trump and what he’s doing right now,” Ms. Shaheen, 78, said in an interview with The New York Times. She specifically criticized the president’s focus on political retribution, his drastic cuts to the federal budget and his antagonism toward Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion.She announced her decision in a video released on Wednesday morning.Ms. Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was the first woman to be elected governor of New Hampshire and the first woman in the country to serve as both a governor and a U.S. senator. She noted in the interview that she will have served for 30 years in elected office and spent 50 years in politics.“It’s important for New Hampshire and the country to have a new generation of leadership,” she said.Ms. Shaheen, speaking in January with Senators Chris Murphy, left, and James Risch, second from right, is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Eric Lee/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Hungary Snubs U.S. Senators Pushing for Sweden’s Entry Into NATO

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      Officials in Budapest declined to meet with a bipartisan group of American lawmakers who favor expanding the military alliance.Hungary, the last holdout blocking Sweden’s entry into NATO, thumbed its nose over the weekend at the United States, declining to meet with a bipartisan delegation of senators who had come to press the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to swiftly approve the Nordic nation’s entry into the military alliance.The snub, which Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, described on Sunday as “strange and concerning,” represented the latest effort by Mr. Orban, a stalwart champion of national sovereignty, to show he will not submit to outside pressure over NATO’s long-stalled expansion.Despite having only 10 million people and accounting for only 1 percent of the European Union’s economic output, Hungary under Mr. Orban has made defiance of more powerful countries its guiding philosophy. “Hungary before all else,” Mr. Orban said on Saturday at the end of a state of the nation address in which he said Europe’s policy of supporting Ukraine had “failed spectacularly.”Legislators from Mr. Orban’s governing Fidesz party and government ministers all declined to meet with the visiting American senators, all of whom are robust supporters of Ukraine.“I’m disappointed to say that nobody from the government would meet with us while we were here,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat and co-chair of the Senate’s NATO Observer Group, said Sunday at a news conference.Speaking a day earlier in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, Mr. Orban restated his previous commitment — so far reneged on — to let Sweden into the alliance as soon as possible. “We are on course to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO at the beginning of Parliament’s spring session,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More