Trump to sign more executive orders today; president launches fresh attacks on Zelensky: Live updates

Following the bromance between Donald Trump and “first buddy” Elon Musk on Trump confidant Sean Hannity’s present final night time, a “involved” Vice President JD Vance might be pushed to the purpose of “day consuming” over the chummy relationship, a CNN panel joked on Wednesday.

Justin Baragona has extra.

Right here’s a brand new assertion from the Senate Minority Chief:

“In a Fox Information interview launched final night time, President Trump spoke concerning the struggle in Ukraine and a few of his feedback sounded straight from a Russian propaganda playbook.

“Reasonably than communicate the reality, fairly than acknowledge Vladimir Putin’s position in beginning this struggle, President Trump, amazingly, blamed Ukraine for Putin’s invasion.

“To cite the president: ‘It is best to have by no means began it,’ he mentioned. He was saying that to President Zelensky.

“That is disgusting, after how this man has fought so onerous and so valiantly. And it intentionally distorts the reality.

“It’s simply terrible to see an American president flip in opposition to certainly one of our pals and brazenly aspect with a thug like Vladimir Putin.

“It’s shameful to listen to the president repeat Putin’s propaganda whereas laying the groundwork for negotiations that favor Russia at Ukraine’s expense.

“The individuals of Ukraine didn’t begin this struggle, Vladimir Putin did.

“Ukrainians have fought and died on the battlefield to defend their residence.

“The struggling and destruction the Ukrainian nation and the Ukrainian individuals have endured is staggering, all due to Vladimir Putin.

“And let’s not neglect, America: perhaps there are some who say sufficient already. But when we give into Putin now, America will inevitably pay the value later. That’s what historical past has proven. Whenever you give in to thugs, once you give in to dictators, you pay the value. Hasn’t Donald Trump and his allies discovered the teachings of historical past?

“This isn’t simply concerning the safety of one other nation – this wrestle is in each method concerning the final safety of the American individuals.

“Make no mistake, proper now the Kremlin is overjoyed by what Donald Trump is saying and what he’s doing.

“Each single Republican have to be placed on the file for President Trump’s harmful and false statements concerning the struggle in Ukraine. We’ve an obligation within the Senate to take a stand for the reality and to take a stand in opposition to autocrats, and we are going to do it shortly.

“The American individuals need to know: will Republicans take a stand for democracy and freedom around the globe, or will they cater to Putin and Russia, like President Trump is doing with in the end unhealthy penalties for all of us?”

Right here’s Andrew Feinberg’s report on the president’s wild assault on the Ukrainian chief a short time in the past.

The president’s Trump Media and Know-how Group (TMTG) has joined the video sharing platform Rumble in suing Brazilian Supreme Court docket Justice Alexandre de Moraes in a U.S. federal courtroom in Tampa, Florida, accusing the decide of illegally trying to censor a “well-known politically outspoken person” of Rumble with orders to droop that person’s U.S.-based accounts.

Moraes occurs to have clashed with Elon Musk final 12 months in a battle that led to the momentary shutdown of X in his nation.

TMTG is weighing into the matter, in keeping with the lawsuit, as a result of Fact Social “depends on Rumble’s cloud-based internet hosting and video streaming infrastructure to ship multimedia content material to its person base.”

“If Rumble have been to be shut down, that shut down would essentially intervene with Fact Social’s operations, as nicely,” it provides.

The swimsuit additionally comes a day after Brazil’s prosecutor-general charged the nation’s former president, Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, with orchestrating an tried coup as he tried to stay in workplace following his 2022 election loss.

The Division of Authorities Effectivity claimed they’d saved $8 billion by reducing a single contract – however the precise worth was $8 million.

Elon Musk’s cost-cutting group, tasked with gutting the federal authorities, claims it has saved a complete of $55 billion, however a not too long ago revealed record of contracts it has canceled to date solely accounts for $16.6 billion, Bloomberg reviews.

DOGE, upon additional inspection, seems to have overstated the worth of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement company contract, which has since been corrected.

Right here’s the president’s indignant Fact Social response to his Ukrainian counterpart after he accused him of being taken in by Russian “disinformation” earlier, during which he even goes as far as to check with him as a “dictator” and accuse him of presiding over a corrupt regime embezzling protection donations:

“Consider it, a modestly profitable comic, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the US of America into spending $350 Billion {Dollars}, to enter a Battle that couldn’t be received, that by no means needed to begin, however a Battle that he, with out the U.S. and “TRUMP,” won’t ever have the ability to settle. The US has spent $200 Billion {Dollars} greater than Europe, and Europe’s cash is assured, whereas the US will get nothing again. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this Battle is much extra vital to Europe than it’s to us — We’ve an enormous, lovely Ocean as separation. On high of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the cash we despatched him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, could be very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the one factor he was good at was taking part in Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator with out Elections, Zelenskyy higher transfer quick or he’s not going to have a Nation left. Within the meantime, we’re efficiently negotiating an finish to the Battle with Russia, one thing all admit solely “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden by no means tried, Europe has did not deliver Peace, and Zelenskyy in all probability needs to maintain the “gravy practice” going. I really like Ukraine, however Zelenskyy has carried out a horrible job, his Nation is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”

That rocket comes as particular envoy Keith Kellogg meets with Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Workplace, in Kyiv.

The president will attend a gathering hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in Miami, Florida, immediately earlier than making a belated return to Washington, D.C.

Trump will be part of world financiers and tech executives for a convention that can reportedly concentrate on U.S. investments and enterprise, in keeping with a White Home official.

The president is predicted to ship an tackle on the gathering following his name in January for Riyadh to take a position $1 trillion in the US but in addition follows the nation objecting to his proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza as a part of an American-led rebuilding plan.

This was Trump a short time in the past en path to the occasion:

Federal Choose Anthony J Trenga has briefly blocked the president’s transfer to pressure the dismissal of 11 CIA brokers briefly assigned to range, fairness and inclusion (DEI) packages inside the company.

The ruling comes after a bunch of nameless intelligence officers, who had been briefly reassigned to roles implementing DEI initiatives, filed a lawsuit in opposition to the U.S. Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence (ODNI) and the CIA – now occupied by Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe – to oppose their ousting.

The lawsuit, filed within the U.S. District Court docket for the Jap District of Virginia, names ODNI, the CIA, and their respective heads as defendants.

The plaintiffs, recognized solely as “John Does 1-6” and “Jane Does 1-5,” argue they’re being unfairly focused, with Choose Trenga agreeing and granting an administrative keep, that means these involved will stay on depart with full pay and advantages till the courtroom guidelines additional on the matter.

Right here’s the president utilizing his bully pulpit to hustle Congress into passing his most well-liked model of an upcoming reconciliation invoice combining all of his “America First” initiatives, issuing a really public smackdown to the South Carolina senator within the course of for daring to defy him.