Air Force One

GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct. 30 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump departed from South Korea on Thursday after a highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that lowered the temperature on a simmering trade war with agreements on rare earth minerals, fentanyl, soybeans and tariffs.

The two leaders met for the first time since 2019 at Gimhae Air Base in the southeastern city of Busan, shortly after Xi arrived in the country for a three-day state visit to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Speaking to reporters on his way back to Washington aboard Air Force One, Trump described the outlines of a trade deal that he said would be signed “pretty soon.”

According to the president, China agreed to take steps to stop the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl into the United States. In response, Trump said he halved the 20% fentanyl-linked tariffs he had imposed earlier this year.

“Based on [Xi’s] statements today, I reduced it by 10%. So, it’s 10% instead of 20%, effective immediately,” Trump said.

The reduction brings the overall tariff rate on goods from China from 57% to 47%, he said.

Beijing also agreed to resume purchases of American soybeans and set a one-year pause on its planned export controls of rare earth minerals. China dominates the production and processing of the metallic elements, which are crucial for manufacturing a vast array of high-tech products from smartphones to missiles.

“We have not too many stumbling blocks now,” Trump said. “We have a deal. We’ll negotiate at the end of a year, but all of the rare earth has been settled.”

No official announcement from either side has been released yet, but the U.S. president declared the meeting a “great success.”

“Overall, on the scale of from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said.

One topic the two leaders did not discuss was Taiwan, Trump noted. Some analysts had expected Xi to exert leverage in an attempt to soften U.S. support for the self-governing island of 23 million, which China sees as a breakaway province.

“I’m relieved Taiwan apparently didn’t come up in today’s meeting,” Sean King, senior vice president and East Asia expert at New York-based consulting firm Park Strategies, told UPI.

However, King said that the trade deal does not represent significant progress from when Trump kicked off his global tariff scheme in early April, on what the White House dubbed “Liberation Day.”

“We’re seemingly no further along than where we were on Liberation Day,” King said. “Unlike friendly leaders, Xi gave Trump no golden gifts … Right now, for better or worse, it seems like not too much of major trade substance happened in today’s meeting.”

At the start of the meeting, the two leaders had a brief introductory exchange that was open to the media.

“Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have friction now and then,” Xi said.

Xi called on Trump to join him and “ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations.”

“I always believe that China’s development goes hand in hand with your vision to make America great again,” Xi said. “Our two countries are fully able to help each other succeed and prosper together.”

After the meeting, Xi traveled to the nearby city of Gyeongju to take part in the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Trump attended the APEC summit on Wednesday, where he struck a trade deal with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and delivered a keynote address at a CEO luncheon.

TOKYO — President Trump opened his visit to Japan on Monday with greetings from the emperor a day before he meets new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S. leader to ease trade tensions.

One key to this strategy might lie in an idea floated by Japan’s government to buy a fleet of Ford F-150 trucks, a meaningful gesture that may also be impractical given the narrow streets in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

It’s an early diplomatic test for Takaichi, the first woman to lead Japan. She took office only last week, and has a tenuous coalition backing her.

Trump instantly bought into the idea of Ford trucks as he flew to Asia aboard Air Force One.

“She has good taste,” Trump told reporters. “That’s a hot truck.”

Japanese Emperor Naruhito welcomed Trump at the Imperial Palace after the president’s arrival, and the two spoke for about 30 minutes. Trump straightened his jacket as he stood next to Naruhito for photos before the two sat across a round table, with flowers in the middle, for their talks.

“A great man!” he said twice while pointing to the emperor. Trump last saw the emperor in 2019, soon after Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, becoming the first foreign dignitary invited to the palace.

Trump and Takaichi spoke over the phone while the president was mid-flight on Saturday. Takaichi stressed her status as a protege of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a favorite of Trump’s from his first term, and said she praised him for brokering the Gaza ceasefire that led to the return of hostages held by Hamas.

“I thought [Trump] is a very cheerful and fun person,” she said. “He well recognizes me and said he remembers me as a politician whom [former] Prime Minister Abe really cared about,” she said. “And I told the president that I extremely look forward to welcoming him in Tokyo.”

Trump spent Sunday in Malaysia, where he participated in a regional summit, and departed Monday morning for Japan. While on Air Force One on Monday, he said he planned to talk in Tokyo about the “great friendship” between the U.S. and Japan.

Resetting the trade relationship

Beneath the hospitality is the search for a strategy to navigate the increasingly complex trade relationship that Trump shook up earlier this year with tariffs.

Trump wants allies to buy more American goods and also make financial commitments to build factories and energy infrastructure in the U.S.

The meetings in Japan come before Trump’s sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea.

Both the U.S. and Japan have sought to limit China’s manufacturing ambitions, as the emergence of Chinese electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and advanced computer chips could undermine the American and Japanese economies.

“In light of the planned meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping shortly afterward, Trump may also be considering how he might strengthen his hand by demonstrating the robustness of the U.S.-Japan relationship,” said Kristi Govella, Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Japan’s previous administration agreed in September to invest $550 billion in the U.S., which led Trump to trim a threatened 25% tariff on Japanese goods to 15%. But Japan wants the investments to favor Japanese vendors and contractors.

Japan’s economy and trade minister, Ryosei Akazawa, has said his ministry is compiling a list of projects in computer chips and energy to try to meet the investment target.

“As far as I know, I’m hearing that there are a number of Japanese companies that are showing interest,” he told reporters Friday, though he did not give further details.

Ford trucks in Tokyo would be a powerful symbol

Japanese officials are looking at the possibility of buying more American soybeans, liquefied natural gas and autos. The U.S.-China trade conflict has shut American soybeans out of the Chinese market, leading China to seek more Brazilian supply. China reported no U.S. soybean imports in September, a first since November 2018.

For Trump, the prospect of Ford trucks in the skyscrapered streets of Tokyo would be a win. The administration has long complained that American vehicles were being shut out of a market that is the home of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Subaru. In a September interview on CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Japan wouldn’t buy U.S.-branded vehicles because “Chevys” were popular with Japanese gangsters.

Takaichi may arrange for Ford F-150 trucks to be showcased in a place Trump gets to see them, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported. The government is considering importing the trucks for its transport ministry to use for inspecting roads and infrastructure, though there are concerns that the F-150 could cause congestion on narrow Japanese streets.

“We appreciate President Trump’s advocating for American made products,” Ford spokesperson Dave Tovar said. “We would be excited to introduce America’s best-selling truck to work and government customers in Japan.”

Japanese media have reported that Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda could announce plans to import his company’s American-made cars back to Japan during a dinner with Trump and other business leaders on Wednesday.

The gestures — combined with Takaichi’s connection to Abe — should help her deal with Trump, who seems predisposed to like her.

“I think she’s going to be great,” Trump said aboard Air Force One. “She’s a great friend of Mr. Abe, who was a great man.”

In 2016, Abe gave Trump a high-end golf club to celebrate his first election, and the leaders bonded over their love of golf. Trump often expresses sadness about Abe’s 2022 assassination.

But there are risks for Takaichi in emphasizing her ties to Abe, said Rintaro Nishimura, who specializes in Japan at the advisory firm The Asia Group.

“Because it’s Takaichi’s first diplomatic engagement I think she wants to start with sort of a bang,” Nishimura said. “Succeeding the Abe-line rhetoric is definitely going to be part of this engagement, although some also suggest that leaning too heavily on the Abe line might not exactly be good for her for creating her own kind of portfolio, her status as Japan’s leader.”

Following his meeting with Takaichi on Tuesday, Trump will give a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier anchored in Japan, then hold a dinner with business leaders. Trump plans to leave for South Korea on Wednesday.

But aboard Air Force One on Monday, he told reporters that he was also ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, should that be an option.

“If he wants to meet, I’ll be in South Korea,” Trump said.

Boak and Yamaguchi write for the Associated Press. AP writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oct. 27 (UPI) — President Donald Trump landed in Tokyo Monday morning as part of a three-nation Asia trip, meeting with Emperor Naruhito and new Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi

Trump and Naruhito met Monday morning at the emperor’s home, then retired to his hotel room. He has no more public events scheduled for the day.

The visit was Trump’s first trip to Japan since 2019. His goal for the trip is to reaffirm ties with Japan and encourage Japanese companies to invest in the United States.

He is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Takaishi, who became Japan’s first woman prime minister just last week. Trump and Takaishi spoke on the phone Saturday. Trump praised Takaishi to reporters for being “philosophically close” to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“It’s going to be very good. That really helps Japan. I think she’s going to be great,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, Kyodo News reported.

Trump’s next stop is Busan, South Korea, where he’ll meet with President Xi Jinping. On Air Force One, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump and Xi would work on the U.S.-China trade deal on Thursday. Other things they will discuss are fentanyl, rare earth minerals and agricultural purchases, Bessent said.

Trump also told reporters that he would be willing to meet with North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un this week. A reporter asked if a meeting were possible, would he extend his Asia trip, and Trump said he hadn’t thought of it, but it would “be easy to do.”

On Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Trump oversaw the signing of a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand.

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he “would love” to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while traveling in Asia this week, adding that he would be willing to extend his trip in South Korea if Kim agrees to talks.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Malaysia to Japan, Trump said he had not been in direct contact with Kim but remained open to another meeting.

“I haven’t said anything, but I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet,” Trump told reporters. “I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him. He liked me. If he wants to meet, I’ll be in South Korea.”

Trump is scheduled to travel from Japan to South Korea on Wednesday, where he will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The meeting with Xi is expected Thursday before Trump’s return to Washington.

When asked whether he would prolong his itinerary to allow time for a potential encounter with Kim, Trump left the possibility open.

“Well, I hadn’t thought of it, but I think the answer would be yeah, I would do that,” he said. “[South Korea]’s our last stop, so it would be pretty easy to do.”

Pressed on what Washington could offer Pyongyang in negotiations, Trump pointed to sanctions as the main bargaining chip. Since 2006, the U.N. Security Council, along with the United States and other nations, has sanctioned North Korea for its nuclear weapons development.

“We have sanctions — that’s pretty big to start off with,” Trump said. “I would say that’s about as big as you get.”

Last month, Kim signaled a willingness to resume diplomacy with Washington but warned that any discussion of giving up his regime’s nuclear arsenal would be off the table.

“If the United States abandons its vain obsession with denuclearization, acknowledges reality and desires genuine peaceful coexistence with us, there is no reason why we should not sit down with the United States,” Kim said in a speech before North Korea’s parliament.

“I personally still have fond memories of President Trump,” he added.

Trump met Kim three times during his first term — in Singapore in 2018, in Hanoi in 2019 and briefly at the Demilitarized Zone later that year. Their talks collapsed amid disagreements on sanctions relief and steps toward denuclearization.

While speculation about a meeting continues to swirl, a senior South Korean official said Monday that any encounter between Trump and Kim this week is “very unlikely.”

“There are talks the two could meet, but I believe that possibility is very unlikely,” Third Deputy National Security Adviser Oh Hyun-joo told foreign media in Seoul.

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Qatari officials are preparing peacekeeping troops for Gaza if needed to help maintain a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, President Donald Trump said during a refueling stop.

Air Force One stopped in Qatar on Saturday evening to refuel while the president is flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, amid a Southeast Asia trip that includes a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani joined Trump on Air Force One for a short meeting.

Trump announced Qatar likely will be among the nations providing troops to maintain peace in Gaza while seated between the Emir and the prime minister, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Emir Al Thani told Trump he wanted to visit him at the refueling stop when he learned of the brief refueling stop by Air Force One.

“The Emir is one of the great rulers of the world,” the president responded, adding that the “prime minister has been my friend.”

He said they were instrumental in accomplishing the “incredible” feat of bringing about “peace in the Middle East.”

Also traveling to Southeast Asia on a separate flight is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made a stop in Qatar.

While there, he and other U.S. officials on Sunday will discuss a potential United Nations resolution or an international agreement to authorize the use of a multinational peacekeeping force in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level, whether it be monetary or personnel or both, are going to need that because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio said of a resolution or an international agreement.

He said a team is working to outline a possible resolution or agreement.

Rubio also spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to discuss continuing efforts to end all conflict in Gaza, State Department principal deputy spokesman Tommy Piggot said in a news release.

“During the call, Sec. Rubio and Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel,” Piggot added.

Rubio is also bound for Busan, South Korea, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is scheduled from Monday through Nov.1.

Oct. 22 (UPI) — American cattle ranchers are calling on the Trump administration to abandon plans to buy Argentine beef, as the rift between the two sides deepens.

President Donald Trump has been arguing to buy beef from the South American country as an effort to lower beef prices at U.S. grocery stores, while U.S. cattle ranchers are criticizing his plan as misguided and harmful, stating it will have little effect on grocery bills.

“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said in a statement.

“It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”

The cost of beef in the United States has hit records this year, steadily rising since December. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the cost has increased 13.9% higher in August compared to a year earlier and is predicted to increase 11.6% percent this year.

The rift between Trump and cattle ranchers opened earlier this week when Trump told reporters on Air Force One that they are considering importing beef from Argentina to get those prices down.

Argentina, led by vocal Trump ally President Javier Milei, earlier this month entered a $20 billion financial bailout agreement with the United States.

The bailout has attracted criticism from American farmers, already hurting under the weight of Trump’s tariffs. In particular, soybean growers were upset with the bailout as the United States and Argentina directly compete in the crop for the Chinese market.

The comment about buying beef from Buenos Aires prompted swift criticism from American ranchers, already frustrated that Argentina sold more than $801 million worth of beef into the U.S. market, compared to the roughly $7 million worth of American beef sold in its market.

Trump on Wednesday said U.S. cattle ranchers “don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well” is because of his tariffs.

“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.

“It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”

Amid the controversy, the USDA on Wednesday announced a series of actions, including those to promote and protect American beef through the voluntary Country of Origin Labeling program.

However, ranchers are saying it’s not good enough.

Farm Action, a nonpartisan agricultural sector watchdog, is urging the Trump administration to make country of origin labeling mandatory and to launch investigations into the so-called Big Four meatpackers, saying they control the price of beef, not U.S. ranchers.

“Ranchers need support to rebuild their herds — that’s how we truly increase beef supply and lower prices long-term,” the watchdog said in a statement Wednesday.

“After years of drought, high input costs and selling into a rigged market, we deserve policies that strengthen rural America, not ones that reward foreign competitors and corporate monopolies.”

Wyoming’s Meriwether Farms called on Trump to immediately use his executive powers to institute mandatory country of origin labeling.

“This is not good enough,” it said of the USDA’s initiatives announced Wednesday.

Oct. 20 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas remained in place after Israel carried out a series of deadly strikes in the south of the Palestinian enclave and the sides traded blame for clashes.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening Trump said the agreement would hold and that “rebels” that he did not identify were responsible for alleged violations, not, Hamas.

“Either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,” Trump added.

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of targets through Sunday evening in retaliation for Hamas’ alleged “anti-tank missile and gunfire” that killed two soldiers in Rafah. Sources from hospitals in Gaza told the BBC that at least 44 people had been killed. Aid deliveries were suspended.

Hamas denied all knowledge of the attack in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to the cease-fire. It accused Israel of violations, warning that the attacks were jeopardizing the truce.

Israel Defense Forces announced late Sunday that the operation was over and that it was resuming “enforcement of the cease-fire” and would permit aid to begin to flow again Monday, but warned that any violation of it would be met with a “firm response.”

This was the worst setback since the deal came into force Oct. 10 came as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to arrive in Israel on Monday to shore up the cease-fire and move the process forward. They were due to be joined by Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

The three were expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.

Before departing the United States, Kushner told CBS News that while the truce was fragile, he believed Hamas was acting in good faith to stick to the agreement and was “seriously looking for the bodies” of the 16 Israeli hostages it had promised to return but had yet to do so.

Vance also sought to explain the violence, saying some turbulence was normal in the early stages of any cease-fire. His schedule also includes meetings with hostage families and a visit to a humanitarian facility in Gaza.

“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel’s going to have to respond, of course. There are going to be moments where you have people within Gaza that you’re [not] quite sure what they’re actually doing. But we think it has the best chance for sustainable peace,” he said.

Hamas, which has been struggling to recover the bodies of 28 hostages it agreed to hand back to Israel as part of the cease-fire deal, said Monday it had found the remains of a 13th hostage. Further details were as yet unavailable.

Oct. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he may supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.

Trump, on Air Force One, told reporters that he might issue an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I might say ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that,” NBC reported he said.

Trump was flying to the Middle East Monday, to Israel and Egypt for talks on the Gaza peace deal.

Supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks would allow the country to hit targets more than 1,000 miles away, striking deeper into Russian territory.

A Russian lawmaker last week said if Ukraine fires Tomahawks, Russia will shoot them down, bomb their sites and retaliate against the United States, The Hill reported.

Ukraine President Volodymir Zelensky said on X that Russia “continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure. The immorality of these crimes is such that every day Russians kill our people. Yesterday in Kostiantynivka, a child was killed in a church by an aerial bomb. In total, just this week alone, more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs have been used against Ukraine.”

Zelensky and Trump spoke on Sunday for 40 minutes, discussing Ukraine’s weapons, supply status and the energy sector ahead of Ukraine’s harsh winter, Axios reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials were on the call.

“We agreed on a set of topics to discuss today, and we covered all the aspects of the situation: defense of life in our country, strengthening our capabilities — in air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities. We also discussed many details related to the energy sector. President Trump is well informed about everything that is happening,” Zelensky wrote on X.

Trump said he had “sort of made a decision” to sell Tomahawks to NATO countries, which would then be sent to Ukraine, Axios reported.

Putin said on Sunday that sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would be a “completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation,” Axios reported.

Tomahawk missiles are subsonic cruise missiles that can precisely hit targets 1,000 miles away, even in heavily defended airspace, according to manufacturer Raytheon. They can be fired from land or ships and can have conventional or nuclear warheads. They cost an average of $1.3 million each.

The latest version, called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk or TACTOM, has a data link that allows it to switch targets while in flight. It can loiter for hours and change course instantly on command, Raytheon said.

Aug. 4 (UPI) — Three Boeing defense plants face a strike as 3,200 hourly machinists walked off their jobs.

Members of the International Association of Machinists voted to strike at about 1 a.m. EDT Monday.

“3,200 highly-skilled IAM Union members at Boeing went on strike at midnight because enough is enough,” the union wrote on X.

IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli on Sunday urged a new contract for the workers.

“IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe. They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise,” Cicinelli said.

The striking members work at facilities in St. Louis and St. Charles, Mo., and Mascoutah, Ill., the union said.

On July 27, they voted to reject a four-year contract proposal by the company.

“We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” Boeing said in a statement on Sunday, titled “Last, best and final offer.” “We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.”

The workers on strike build and maintain fighter jets, including the F-15 and F/A-18 models. They also build the T-7A Red Hawk trainer and the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueler. The F-47 stealth fighter jet, the Pentagon’s next-generation fighter plane, is planned to be built at a Boeing plant in the St. Louis area, though the company hasn’t said which plant will build it or when production will begin. Boeing also operates some nonunion plants in the area.

Boeing Defense, Space and Security unit has recorded nearly $11 billion in losses from late 2021 through the end of 2024. Pentagon contracts that made the company responsible for cost overruns, including two new Air Force One jets, are the main cause. But this year, the unit has made profits.

In the Boeing earnings call last week, CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company can weather the costs of the strike. He said it would be far less than the cost of last year’s strike of 33,000 commercial plane unit workers.

“The order of magnitude of this is much, much less than what we saw last fall,” Ortberg said. “I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of the strike. We’ll manage our way through that.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied an appeal by the Associated Press for a hearing on its efforts to restore full access to cover presidential events, not ending its case but allowing the White House to continue its control over access to President Trump.

The news outlet wanted the court to overturn a three-judge panel’s June 6 ruling not to let AP back into the events until merits of the news organization’s lawsuit against Trump was decided. But the court on Tuesday declined to hear that appeal.

It all stems from Trump’s decision in February to keep AP journalists out of the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events too small for a full press corps, in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name.

The AP sued in response. In April, a district court ruled that the administration could not exclude journalists based on their opinions. The Trump administration immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals to successfully delay implementation of the ruling before the court could consider the full merits of the case.

Next up: This fall, the appeals court considers those full merits.

“We are disappointed by today’s procedural decision but remain focused on the strong district court opinion in support of free speech as we have our case heard,” said Patrick Maks, an AP spokesman. “As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation.”

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

Since the start of the case, the White House has instituted new rules for access to the limited-space events. AP photographers have been regularly permitted back, but its reporters only occasionally.

On Monday, the White House said it would not allow a reporter from the Wall Street Journal onto Air Force One to cover Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland because of the outlet’s “fake and defamatory conduct” in a story about the president and late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Bauder writes for the Associated Press.

July 11 (UPI) — The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Minnesota’s hiring practices, the third legal or administrative action the Trump administration has taken against the Democratic-led state in just over two weeks.

The Justice Department informed Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of the investigation into the state’s hiring practices in a letter dated Thursday.

“Our investigation is based on information that Minnesota may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants and training program participants based on race and sex in violation of Title VII,” Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

“Specifically, we have reason to believe the Minnesota Department of Human Services is engaging in unlawful action through, among other things, the adoption and forthcoming implementation of its ‘hiring justification’ policy.”

Early this month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced a new hiring policy set to take effect Aug. 12. It directs hiring supervisors to “provide a hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate when hiring for a vacancy in a job category with underrepresentation.”

The purpose of the directive is to ensure the department meets its affirmative action responsibilities, comply with state laws and increase the diversity of its workforce.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought to roll back so-called progressive practices, including diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In an executive order issued on his second day in office titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, he specifically ordered the federal government to cease demanding that contractors adopt affirmative action policies, describing it as illegal discrimination.

The Justice Department on Thursday described the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ new policy as part of a broader effort by the state to engage in race- and sex-based employment practices.

“Minnesotans deserve to have their state government employees hired based on merit, not based on illegal DEI,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been a critic of Trump and ran against his ticket as the vice presidential candidate with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Since then, the two have clashed.

After a man assassinated a state lawmaker and wounded another in Minnesota in mid-June, Trump declined to call Walz.

“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out — I’m not calling him. Why would I call? I could call him and say, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. So, I could be nice and call him, but why waste my time?” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Late last month, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota laws that provide some undocumented immigrants with higher-education tuition benefits not offered to all U.S. citizens.

The next day, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services opened a civil rights investigation into the Minnesota Department of Education over a transgender teenager competing on a girls’ softball team.

June 25 (UPI) — Following a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in The Hague Wednesday, the alliance announced its member nations have agreed to each invest 5% of their Gross Domestic Product toward defense.

“This is a significant commitment in response to significant threats to our security,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a press conference.

Rutte said the 5% breaks down to 3.5% of each country’s GDP invested in “core defense requirements” such as tanks, drones, ammunition and troops, among other items. The 1.5% remainder is to go into investments that will strengthen defense.

“All to ensure we can effectively deter aggression and defend ourselves, and each other, should anyone make the mistake of attacking,” Rutte added.

The previous financial benchmark for NATO was 2%, which has either been met or is expected to be met this year by all members.

“It means that no matter the challenges we face — whether from Russia or terrorism, cyberattacks, sabotage or strategic competition — this Alliance is and will remain ready, willing and able to defend every inch of Allied territory, said Rutte. “And ensure that our one billion people can continue to live in freedom and security.”

Rutte’s statements followed the meeting Wednesday, during which U.S. President Donald Trump reassured NATO allies Wednesday that the United States was fully committed to the defense alliance’s so-called Article 5 under which members pledge to come to the military defense of any NATO country that is attacked.

“We’re with them all the way,” Trump told a joint briefing with Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO summit in The Hague, responding to a question on his commitment to NATO and the mutual defense pact at its heart.

Trump added that he was happy to commit because other members of the 32-country alliance had heeded his long-standing call to ramp up their defense budgets and would now meet his demand that they spend 5% of GDP on defense.

“If you look at the numbers, I’ve been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years and they’re going up to 5%. That’s a big jump from 2% and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2%, so I think it’s going to be very big news. NATO is going to become very strong with us and I appreciate doing it,” he said.

Earlier, Trump sparked consternation after comments made mid-Atlantic aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that his commitment to Article 5 “depends on your definition.”

The situation in the Middle East dominated most of the rest of the briefing, setting the tone for a gathering that alternated between shows of NATO unity and discussion of the U.S. strikes on Iran and how the situation would play out, despite not being on the agenda.

That left little room for the issue of Ukraine, which was relegated well down the agenda.

In his opening remarks to the leaders’ session Rutte did set out the challenges facing NATO, from Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s “massive” military build-up to conflict in the Middle East, but hailed what he said were the historic, transformative decisions that would be made at the meeting to “make our people safer through a stronger, fairer and more lethal NATO.”

He said the additional funds from the 5% spending commitment would go toward bolstering “core” hard defense expenditure, as well as defense and security-related investments, and ensure every country contributed their fair share to the security umbrella NATO provided.

“For too long, one Ally, the United States, carried too much of the burden of that commitment. And that changes today,” Rutte said.

“President Trump, dear Donald, you made this change possible. Your leadership on this has already produced $1 trillion in extra spending from European Allies since 2016. And the decisions today will produce trillions more for our common defenses, to make us stronger and fairer by equalising spending between America and America’s allies.”

Shortly after the meeting ended, the NATO heads of state and government issued a joint communique reaffirming their commitment to NATO, the transatlantic bond and “ironclad commitment to collective defense as enshrined in Article 5” of the 1947 Washington Treaty.

“An attack on one is an attack on all.”

It said the leaders were united in the face of “profound security threats and challenges”, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism allies had therefore committed to invest 5% of GDP in defense annually by 2035.

“Our investments will ensure we have the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure, warfighting readiness, and resilience needed to deter and defend in line with our three core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security,” the declaration stated.

Members also reaffirmed a joint pledge to accelerate efforts to ramp up transatlantic defense-industrial cooperation, harness new technology and embrace out-of-the-box thinking on defense, as well as working to remove defense trade barriers between allies.

June 24 (UPI) — Complications with the so-called “one big, beautiful” fiscal year 2026 budget bill might keep lawmakers at the Capitol until passing it instead of recessing for Independence Day.

President Donald Trump had announced a July 4th deadline for the budget bill, but Congress is slated for a week-long recess next week, which caused Trump to call on senators to stay at the capital until passing the budget bill.

“To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, [but] don’t go home,” Trump said Tuesday morning in a Truth Social post, as reported by Roll Call.

“Get the deal done this week,” Trump said. “Work with the House so they can pass it immediately. No one goes on vacation until it’s done.”

Trump posted his comments before boarding Air Force One for a trip to The Hague to attend the 2025 NATO Summit.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., conducted a closed-door meeting with GOP House members on Tuesday morning during which he suggested the Senate might pass the reconciliation budget bill later this week, Roll Call reported.

He told GOP members to keep their calendars flexible to pass the reconciliation bill as soon as possible.

The Senate is working on the reconciliation budget bill that would negate a potential filibuster and enable its passage.

“If the Senate does its work on the timeline we expect, we will do our work, as well,” Johnson said. “I think everyone’s ready for that.”

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined provisions in the bill regarding offshore oil and gas leases violate Senate rules and must be changed, The Hill reported.

Declaring offshore oil and gas projects as automatically complying with the National Environmental Policy Act usurps and nullifies the review of such projects, according to MacDonough.

She said a proposal allowing successful bidders of such leases to take possession within 90 days of respective lease sales is too soon.

MacDonough also rejected a provision requiring the Interior secretary to allow the construction of a 211-mile road to enable the development of four large and hundreds of small mines in northern Alaska.

Such provisions would require at least 60 votes for successful passage instead of a simple majority, she told the Senate.

MacDonough also nixed the proposed bill’s mandate requiring the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to sell millions of acres of public lands.

The measure would require the federal agencies to sell up to 3.3 million acres of public land, but MacDonough determined that they violate Senate rules and either must be removed from the reconciliation bill or be revised.

“Public lands belong in public hands, for current and future generations alike,” Wilderness Society President Tracy Stone-Manning said in a prepared statement on Tuesday, The Denver Post reported.

“We trust the next politician who wants to sell off public lands will remember that people of all stripes will stand against that idea,” Stone-Manning added. “Our public lands are not for sale.”

MacDonough is reviewing other parts of the budget bill, which further could complicate its potential passage.

June 17 (UPI) — Israel claimed Tuesday it had killed Iran’s highest-ranking military chief after just days in the job in an airstrike by Israeli warplanes.

“Ali Shadmani, Iran’s senior-most military official and Khamenei’s closest military adviser, was killed in an Israeli Air Force strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

Shadmani was appointed as the new head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard‘s Emergency Command to replace Gholam Ali Rashid in the hours after Rashid was among five of Iran’s most senior military commanders killed in the initial phase of Israel’s surprise attack early Friday.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.

The development came as both sides continued to trade deadly attacks into a fifth day — Israel leveraging its stranglehold on Iranian airspace to ramp up its airborne assault on key military and nuclear targets while Iran launched 30 ballistic missiles with blasts reported in northern Israel.

Israel’s health ministry said another 154 people had been injured overnight, with 149 admitted to hospital in a moderate condition or with only minor injuries.

However, Israel said there had been noticeably fewer missiles incoming than on previous days.

Two dozen people in Israel have been killed since Friday, mainly in missile strikes on residential districts in the center and north of the country, while Iran’s Health Ministry says Israel’s attacks have killed 224 people and injured more than 1,200, mostly in Tehran.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after cutting short his meeting with world leaders at a G7 summit in Canada to head back to Washington, President Donald Trump, in a somewhat cryptic comment, denied an Israel-Iran truce was afoot, saying “we’re looking at better than a cease-fire.”

Before departing Calgary, Trump had told Iranians they needed to evacuate Tehran immediately.

Analysts were trying to figure out whether Trump intends to try to go the diplomatic route and get Tehran to return to the negotiating table to deal on its nuclear development program or double down on his support for Israel.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued renewed but vague threats Tuesday, warning Iran “will have to show more painful responses,” unless the United States reined in Israeli aggression and repeated the claim that none of what was occurring could take place without Washington’s involvement.

“If the U.S. government does not prevent the spread of insecurity to the region by bridling that savage [Israeli] regime, Iran will be obliged to give heavier and more painful responses beyond what has occurred so far,” Pezeshkian warned in a call with Omani sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

Oman has been hosting talks on Iran’s nuclear program between top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials that began in April.

Pezeshkian insisted all regime officials, political factions of all persuasions and the people of Iran were willing the armed forces to succeed in their fight against Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, similarly, gave away no indication of wanting to end the conflict any time soon, saying Israeli air power was operating freely while the city of Tehran burned.

“The Israeli Air Force controls the skies over Tehran. We strike regime targets — not civilians. That’s the difference between us and Iran’s terrorist regime that aims to murder women and children,” he said in a post on X.

“I am proud of our security forces and our wonderful people. Together we will win.”

At least two European countries have already begun implementing plans to evacuate their citizens from the region.

A Czech government evacuation flight touched down Tuesday with 66 people on board, according to Defense Minister Jana Cernochova, with another 11 due to be brought out on a Slovakian government flight in the coming hours.

Another flight that landed in Bratislava from Jordan on Monday evening had 14 other Czech citizens aboard.

Poland is sending planes to collect up to 300 of its nationals who have asked to be repatriated from Israel, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Monday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said initial evacuations would be via Egypt and Jordan, with a government-chartered aircraft due to depart Sharm el-Sheikh early Wednesday, followed by a military flight out of Amman on Thursday.

June 6 (UPI) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, is back in the United States after being indicted in Tennessee on two federal charges involving migrant smuggling, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.

Bondi said Abrego Garcia, 29, is in the United States to “face justice.”

He made his first court appearance Friday afternoon in Nashville. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes set his arraignment for Wednesday and a hearing on whether he should be detained before the trial.

The Justice Department said in a court filing that he should be held in pretrial custody because “he poses a danger to the community and a serious risk of flight, and no condition or combination of conditions would ensure the safety of the community or his appearance in court.”

On May 21, a grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned an indictment, charging Abrego Garcia with criminal counts of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, Bondi said at a news conference.

Abrego Garcia is the only member of the alleged conspiracy indicted.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was presented with an arrest warrant for him and he agreed to return him to the United States, Bondi said.

“We’re grateful to President Bukele for agreeing to return him to our country to face these very serious charges,” Bondi said.

Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted of the charges and serves his sentence, he will be deported back to his home country of El Salvador.

“The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,” Bondi said. “They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country.”

President Donald Trump later told reporters that “I don’t want to say that” it was his call to bring him back to the United States.

“He should have never had to be returned. Take a look at what’s happened with it. Take a look at what they found in the grand jury,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Jersey. “I thought Pam Bondi did a great job.”

Ben Schrader, the chief of the criminal division in the office for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville, resigned the same week of the grand jury indictment last month, CNN reported. Schrader’s post on LinkedIn does not mention the Abrego Garcia case.

On April 17, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with his constituent in El Salvador.

“After months of ignoring our Constitution, it seems the Trump Admin has relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and due process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen posted on X Friday. “This has never been about the man — it’s about his constitutional rights & the rights of all.”

In the indictment unsealed Friday afternoon, Abrego Garcia and others are accused of participating in a conspiracy in which they “knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates.”

The allegations from 2016 to this year involve a half-dozen alleged unnamed co-conspirators. Abrego Garcia and others worked to move undocumented aliens between Texas and Maryland and other states more than 100 times, according to the indictment.

They “ordinarily picked up the undocumented aliens in the Houston, Texas area after the aliens had unlawfully crossed the Southern border of the United States from Mexico,” the indictment said.

Abrego Garcia and someone referred to a CC-1 “then transported the undocumented aliens from Texas to other parts of the United States to further the aliens’ unlawful presence in the United States.”

To cover up the alleged conspiracy, prosecutors say Abrego Garcia and his co-conspirators “routinely devised and employed knowingly false cover stories to provide to law enforcement if they were stopped during a transport,” including claims that migrants being transported were headed to construction jobs.

In November 2022, Abrego Garcia is accused of driving a Chevrolet Suburban and was pulled over on a Tennessee interstate highway, with nine other Hispanic men without identification or luggage.

Prosecutors allege that Abrego Garcia transported narcotics to Maryland, though he wasn’t previously charged with any crimes.

“For the last 2 months, the media and Democrats have burnt to the ground any last shred of credibility they had left as they glorified Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a known MS13 gang member, human trafficker, and serial domestic abuser,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on X. “Justice awaits this Salvadoran man.”

Abrego Garcia and his family have denied allegations that he’s an MS-13 member, and he fled gang violence in El Salvador.

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, said his client should appear in immigration court, not criminal court.

“The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order,” Sandoval-Moshenberg Now told CNN. “Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they’re bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him. This shows that they were playing games with the court all along. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you’re punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice.”

Abrego Garcia deported in March

Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland since he arrived in the United States in 2011 unlawfully.

The government earlier, through a confidential informant, said his clothes had alleged gang markings when he was arrested in 2019.

Abrego Garcia was living with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and children when he was arrested in March and deported to El Salvador to the maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. He was with a group of more than 230 men, mostly Venezuelans, accused of being gang members.

In April, the State Department said Abrego Garcia was moved to a lower-security facility in Santa Ana.

The Trump administration has acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was a mistake because he had been granted a legal status in 2019. The Department of Homeland Security is banned from removing him to his home country of El Salvador because he was likely to face persecution by local gangs. He didn’t have a hearing before his deportation.

The government has utilized the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to quickly deport migrants from the United States.

In an April hearing, District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to comply with expedited discovery to determine whether they were complying with the directive to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, which was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. The high court and district judge said the Trump administration must “facilitate” his return for due process.

On Wednesday, Xinis ordered seven documents to be unsealed in the deportation.

Trump criticized judges for interfering in cases.

“Frankly, we have to do something, because the judges are trying to take the place of a president that won in a landslide,” Trump said Friday night. “And that’s not supposed to be the way it is. So I could see bringing him back … he’s a bad guy.”

The criminal charges could impact his immigration case, John Sandweg, a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told CNN.

“I think what we’re going to see is on the back end of this criminal prosecution — now that they’re prosecuting him for these immigration-related offenses — if they get a conviction, they will go back to the immigration court and argue that now there are those changed circumstances,” said Sandweg, who is now a partner at law firm Nixon Peabody.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a gifted Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar for President Trump to use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The Defense Department will “work to ensure proper security measures” on the aircraft to make it safe for use by the president, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. He added that the plane was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”

Trump has defended the gift, which came up during his recent Middle East trip, as a way to save tax dollars.

“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,” Trump posted on his social media site during the trip.

Others, however, have raised concerns about the aircraft being a violation of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts. They also have noted the need to retrofit the plane to meet security requirements, which would be costly and take time.

Trump was asked about the move Wednesday while he was meeting in the Oval Office with South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa. “They are giving the United States Air Force a jet,” Trump said.

The Republican president has presented no national security imperative for a swift upgrade rather than waiting for Boeing to finish new Air Force One jets that have been in the works for years.

Baldor writes for the Associated Press.

May 14 (UPI) — For a third straight day, the United States on Wednesday issued sanctions targeting Iran as the Trump administration attempts to negotiate a new nuclear arms deal with the Middle Eastern country.

The punitive measures imposed by the Treasury Department are secondary sanctions, meaning those aimed and punishing third parties for dealing with previously designated entities, individuals and countries.

The sanctions target six individuals and 12 entities in China and Iran accused of aiding Tehran source the manufacturing of critical materials used in the Islamic state’s ballistic missile program, specifically carbon fiber materials used in the construction of intercontinental rockets.

The State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce explained in a statement that Iran is “heavily reliant on China to conduct its malign activities in the Middle East.”

The targets work with the U.S.-sanctioned elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“The United States cannot allow Iran to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“The Iranian regime’s relentless and irresponsible pursuit of advanced ballistic missile capabilities, including its efforts to indigenize its production capacity, represents an unacceptable threat to the United States and the stability of the region.”

The sanctions are the third batch of Iran-targeted punitive measures that the Trump administration has imposed this week as it engages in negotiations with Iran on a new agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from securing a nuclear weapon — a goal long held by President Donald Trump.

In 2018, during his first term in the White House, Trump slapped sanctions on Iran and unilaterally pulled the United States from a landmark Obama-era multinational accord, calling it “defective at its core.”

He pursued a so-called maximum pressure campaign of sanctions and other punitive measures, but failed to coerce Iran back to the negotiating table, and it instead advanced its nuclear weapons capability to the point the U.S. government estimated in 2022 that it would need just a week to produce enough weapons-grade highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon.

In February, Trump reinstated his maximum pressure policy, which includes the recent batches of further sanctions.

The United States and Iran have had four recent negotiations on a new deal, but there does not appear to be a fifth round scheduled yet.

Trump administration officials have said a deal would see Iran dismantle its three enrichment facilities, but Iranian officials have said it will not stop enriching uranium but would be open to restrictions.

Trump is in the Middle East this week for a four-day trip, and has repeatedly voiced optimism that a deal can be made.

“I have a feeling it’s going to work out. I think it’s going to work. It’s got to work out, one way or the other we know it’s going to work out,” Trump said during a press conference Wednesday in Doha, Qatar.

Later to reporters aboard Air Force One, he was more direct with his threats against Iran.

“One way or the other. It’s very simple. It’s going to happen one way or the other. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. So, we will either do it friendly, or we will do it very unfriendly, and that won’t be pleasant,” he said.

The Trump administration has said it has sanctioned more than 250 people, entities and vessels related to Iran and its proxies since February.

May 13 (UPI) — Justice Department nominees won’t be confirmed until the Trump administration provides full transparency on “Qatari influence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Tuesday.

The recently announced donation of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force 1, which Trump has said will be donated to his presidential library after he leaves office, spurred opposition from Senate Democrats.

“This has the appearance of naked corruption” and “is a grave national security risk,” Schumer said Tuesday in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“Given reports that you played a central role in approving his proposal, I request answers to the following questions,” Schumer told Bondi.

Schumer wants to know if the aircraft will include secure communications, self-defense systems, shielding and other security requirements that “are ready on day one.”

If so, he wants to know who installed them and how the Trump administration knows the aircraft is not a national security threat.

If not, Schumer wants to know “what modifications would be needed to ensure a foreign-sourced Air Force One is safe to use and free of security threats.”

He also wants to know if taxpayers would have to pay to retrofit the aircraft, if the gift would negate a $3.9 billion 2018 contract with Boeing for two new presidential aircraft, and how much such a cancellation might cost.

If the $3.9 billion contract is not cancelled, Schumer asked Bondi how the Trump administration justifies allocating resources to a foreign-sourced aircraft that only would be used while Trump is president, who negotiated the agreement and its parameters.

“What is Qatar being offered in return?” Schumer asked.

He also wants to know why Bondi in February “deprioritized enforcement” of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and other foreign-influence laws.

“Please explain this decision to weaken FARA, which requires agents of foreign governments, like Qatar, to register and disclose their activities,” Schumer said.

“Until the administration provides a detailed justification of this new program, including complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions posed by oversight committees, I will place a hold on all political nominees of the Department of Justice,” Schumer said.

Senate rules enable a senator to place a blanket hold on political nominations for matters that are unrelated to the respective nominees.

A White House spokesperson accused Schumer of politicizing the aircraft donation.

“Sen. Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trump’s Make America Safe Again agenda,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to UPI.

“Cryin’ Chuck must end the antics, stop Senate stonewalling and prioritize the safety and civil rights of Americans,” Fields added.

A DOJ spokesperson in an emailed statement to UPI said Schumer and Senate Democrats should stop blocking DOJ nominees.

“The American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump to nominate highly qualified candidates at the Department of Justice who will Make America Safe Again,” the spokesperson said. “The Senate should do its part by confirming these nominees.”

May 11 (UPI) — The Qatari Royal Family has planned to gift a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to President Donald Trump to be used for Air Force One and for his own private use when his presidency ends, reports said Sunday.

News of the major gift was first reported by ABC News, citing anonymous sources, and later confirmed by The New York Times and NBC News. United Press International has reached out to Qatar’s Government Communications Office for confirmation.

The gift is expected to be formally announced when Trump visits Qatar next week, according to the reports. Trump toured the plane when it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

A Qatari representative, however, told Axios that while reports of Trump being gifted a jet were “inaccurate,” Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense are discussing the possible temporary use of an aircraft as Air Force One.

If it is gifted, the jet could become the most valuable gift ever from a foreign government to the United States, ABC News reported. Its $400 million estimated price tag surpasses the estimated $250,000 cost of constructing the Statue of Liberty — which was gifted to the United States from France.

But the expected acceptance of the gift by Trump raises questions of its legality, raising the possibility that the president could face scrutiny for bribery or violating the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Emoluments Clause prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, payments or other benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress but there is debate as to whether it applies to elected officials. According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, the interpretation of the clause has never been litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyers for the White House reportedly expect accepting the gift to draw scrutiny and have drafted an analysis for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which concludes that it is legal for the U.S. Defense Department to accept the gift and then to later hand it over to Trump’s presidential library for his private use when he leaves office.

The Trump administration is looking to the precedent set by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in handling the ethical considerations of accepting a retired presidential aircraft.

The Reagan Library boasts a 90,000-square-foot exhibit hangar that permanently displays a Boeing VC-137C aircraft with the tail letters SAM 27000, which entered service as Air Force One under President Richard Nixon.

Though the plane was used by each president until George W. Bush, it is best known in relation to Reagan and was gifted to his library when it was decommissioned in 2001. Reagan died in 2004.

The difference between the use of the two gifts that could pose a challenge for Trump is that the Reagan Library immediately installed it for permanent display while Trump is reported to be planning to continue using it for personal travel.

Trump currently owns a Boeing 757 that dates to the early 1990s. The jet was originally operated by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen before Trump purchased it in 2011.

Two new Air Force One planes have been in the works since at least 2018 when the Air Force awarded a $3.9 billion contract for two modified Boeing 747-8 planes that were expected for delivery by 2024.

Trump told ABC News in 2019 that he wanted to change up the traditional baby blue and white pattern chosen by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1960s to a new color scheme that resembled that of his private jet.

Boeing started modifying the first of the two aircraft in February 2020 and the second in June 2020. According to a 2022 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the company had completed major structural modifications on the first aircraft and is now preparing it for wiring installations.

However, at the time, Boeing struggled to find workers to complete the modifications because of a “competitive labor market” and “lower-than-planned security clearance approval rates.” The Air Force later lowered security clearance standards to make it easier to find workers.

Last week, Defense One reported that Boeing has told the Air Force it can deliver the new jets by 2027 if the government loosens some requirements.