Washington DC

Trump: US does not need oil from Middle East

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump said yesterday that America has become such a big oil producer that it no longer needs petrol from the Middle East.

Writing on Twitter, Trump said: “Because we have done so well with Energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr. President!), we are a net Energy Exporter, & now the Number One Energy Producer in the World.

Trump to join Modi in Houston to address 50K Indian-Americans, says White House

Washington, Sep 16 (PTI) US President Donald Trump will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Houston's mega "Howdy, Modi!" event on September 22, the White House said on Sunday.

Reflecting on the new bonhomie in the India-US ties under the Trump administration, this is for the first time in recent history that the leaders of the two largest democracies would be addressing a joint rally anywhere in the world.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Greenblatt resigns

6 Sep 2019; MEMO: Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, will leave office in a couple weeks, numerous sources in the US administration have said.

Greenblatt, who had intended to stay only two years when he began working at the White House in early 2017, is eager to return to his wife and six children who stayed behind at their home in New Jersey, the officials said.

Kudlow does not expect China to retaliate against latest U.S. tariffs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Sunday that he does not expect China to retaliate against additional tariffs on Chinese goods that U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday.

Asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation” program if he expected retaliation, Kudlow said: “I do not. I think his was an action to respond to their action. So I doubt whether they’re going to take another step. I have not heard their official response yet. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Red flag laws’ offer tool for preventing some gun violence

WASHINGTON (AP) - After a white supremacist discussed plans on Facebook for a mass shooting at a synagogue, police in Washington used a new law to quickly seize his 12 firearms, long before he was convicted of any crime.

But when a Tennessee father became alarmed about his son after receiving a suicidal text message, he said the police determined they could not take his son’s guns away. A few months later, the man showed up at a church and shot seven worshippers one Sunday morning, killing one.

Trump says he wouldn't stop Fed Chair Powell if he offered to resign

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday and said he wouldn’t try to stop the chief U.S. central banker if he offered to resign.

Trump, departing the White House to travel to the G7 summit in France, told reporters, “I’m not happy with Jay Powell.”

His comments continued a war of words against Powell that, along with retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. goods by China, helped trigger a sharp drop on Friday in the U.S. stock market.

Trump picks new acting national intelligence director

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday named Joseph Maguire, the nation’s top counterterrorism official, as acting national intelligence director, part of a leadership shake-up at the agency that oversees 17 U.S. spy agencies.

Maguire will become acting director on Aug. 15, the same day that National Intelligence Director Dan Coats’ resignation takes effect. It’s also the same day that deputy national intelligence director Sue Gordon will be walking out the door. Democrats accused Trump of pushing out two dedicated intelligence professionals.

Tight-lipped Mueller faces Congress grilling on Russia probe

24 July 2019; AFP: Robert Mueller arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a marathon day of testimony on the two-year Russian meddling investigation, under pressure to spell out whether he believes President Donald Trump committed a crime.

Three months after releasing the final report on his probe into the 2016 election, much of the American public remains unclear about the former special counsel's findings on whether Trump criminally obstructed justice and whether his campaign colluded with Russians.

Subscribe to Washington DC