Donald Trump news live: US secretary of state Marco Rubio meets Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump is set to appear in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday in the Oval Office. The interview will be recorded and aired at 9:00 PM ET (2:00 AM GMT Thursday), covering topics such as Trump’s executive orders, plans for the first 100 days, and more, Axios reported.

Donald Trump news live: The Trump administration has reinstated the controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy, which mandates asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the policy, also known as Migrant Protection Protocols, would be reinstated “effective immediately.”

Originally implemented in 2019, the Remain in Mexico policy was ended by the Biden administration following a lengthy legal battle and a Supreme Court ruling.

President Joe Biden had referred to the program as “inhumane” and attempted to end it on his first day in office. However, his efforts were blocked by a federal judge.

Under the previous Trump administration, approximately 70,000 asylum seekers were sent back to Mexico to await their hearings, often for months, and were sometimes targeted by criminal gangs.

Human rights groups reported that by 2022, at least 1,500 asylum seekers had been kidnapped, raped, or abused after being returned to Mexico.

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump has directed his Justice Department to pause enforcement of the TikTok ban until early April, but a host of questions remain – including whether Trump has the authority to issue such an order and if TikTok’s China-based parent would be amenable to selling the popular social media platform.

In an executive order signed on Monday, Trump instructed the U.S. attorney general to not enforce the ban for 75 days while his administration determines “the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown” of TikTok.

Under a federal law that was upheld by the Supreme Court last week, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was required to sell the platform to an approved buyer by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. On Saturday evening, a few hours before the ban took effect, TikTok became unusable for U.S. users. But it came back online on Sunday, with TikTok crediting Trump for helping the platform after he vowed on social media to stall the ban.

The federal law, passed with bipartisan support in Congress last year, provides a 90-day extension if progress has been made toward a sale. But Trump’s executive order now complicates matters for companies who could be liable for delivering TikTok’s service to U.S. users. (AP)

Donald Trump news live: US President Donald Trump’s order said he would “eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles.” While there is no Biden mandate to force the purchase of EVs, the Democratic president’s policies were aimed at encouraging Americans to buy them and car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars.

Trump’s order, entitled “Unleashing American Energy,” revokes a non-binding goal set by Biden that EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030. The order also seeks to terminate a federal exemption that allows California to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. The federal waiver is important not only to California but also to more than a dozen other states that follow its nation-leading standards on vehicle emissions. (AP)

Donald Trump news live: On Trump’s first full day in office, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the foreign ministers of Australia, India, and Japan to begin formal discussions within the Indo-Pacific “Quad.” This coalition of four nations is widely seen as a strategic response to China’s growing influence in the region, an issue that has been a long-standing concern for both President Donald Trump and previous administrations.

The timing of the meeting shows the importance of this initiative, but none of the foreign ministers—Rubio, Australia’s Penny Wong, India’s S. Jaishankar, or Japan’s Iwaya Takeshi—spoke as they opened their session at the State Department.

Trump started his first full day in the Oval Office by attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. At the service, bishop Mariann Edgar Budde urged the newly inaugurated President to show mercy on the people who are scared of the consequences of his decisions. She particularly made a case for the illegal immigrants and the people of the LGBT+ community.

“In the name of the god, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” said Budde in a sincere appeal she made from the pulpit.

“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labour in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals.. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbours,” she said.

Donald Trump news live: US secretary of state Marco Rubio held a meeting with Indian external affairs minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, and Japanese foreign minister Iwaya Takeshi at the state department in Washington on January 21. The meeting was part of ongoing diplomatic discussions among the Quad countries, focusing on strengthening cooperation and addressing global challenges.

Donald Trump news live: Some Facebook and Instagram users were surprised to find themselves automatically following the accounts of President Donald Trump or Vice President JD Vance this week, following the presidential inauguration. This likely occurred because they had previously followed official U.S. government accounts. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone clarified in a Threads post that the official POTUS and White House accounts are managed by the White House and are updated when the president changes. The same applies to the accounts for the vice president and first lady.

Donald Trump news live: A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban resulted in the release of two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure serving a life sentence in California for drug trafficking and terrorism, officials announced Tuesday. The swap, which involved Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, was arranged before President Joe Biden’s departure from office on Monday, according to an anonymous Trump administration official. The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed that the two U.S. citizens were exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008.

Donald Trump news live: US President Donald Trump has dismissed Admiral Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead a US military service, from her role as Coast Guard chief, citing “leadership deficiencies.” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman acknowledged her “long and illustrious career” in a message to the Coast Guard on Tuesday, expressing gratitude for her service.

Donald Trump news live: Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes have been released from prison after their lengthy sentences for seditious conspiracy convictions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were wiped away by a sweeping order from President Donald Trump benefitting more than 1,500 defendants. By Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman. (AP)

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump is set to announce on Tuesday a major investment initiative worth up to $500 billion for infrastructure focused on artificial intelligence. This effort will be driven by a new partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The newly formed entity, Stargate, will spearhead projects essential for advancing AI technology, with initial developments planned in Texas, according to the White House. Trump will be joined at the announcement by key figures in the partnership, including Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Larry Ellison of Oracle, marking one of his administration’s first major initiatives following his inauguration. (AP)

Donald Trump news live: Canada vowed strong pushback while Mexico urged calm on Tuesday in the face of US President Donald Trump’s trade threats that risk throwing their economies into disarray. The US president has accused both neighbors of being lax in preventing migrants and illicit drugs from coming into the United States, and called for a tightening of the borders. Hours after taking his oath of office on Monday, he signaled that 25 percent punitive tariffs against the United States’ two major trading partners could come as early as February 1. He also said he would order troops to its border with Mexico to stem migrant flows. (AFP)

Donald Trump news live: Donald Trump’s nominee to represent the U.S. at the United Nations criticized the “anti-Semitic rot” within the global body during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik emphasized that the U.S. contributes more to the UN than any other nation and called for reforms to prevent American tax dollars from supporting entities that go against U.S. interests, or engage in anti-Semitic actions, fraud, corruption, or terrorism.

Donald Trump news live: US President Donald Trump’s broad pardons for Capitol rioters sparked sharply divided reactions on Tuesday, with Republican supporters largely welcoming the move and Democrats strongly condemning it. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s pardons of those involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the congressional session to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory “shameful.”

Donald Trump news live: Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the decades-old birthright citizenship policy, which guarantees U.S.-born children citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump is spending his first full day back in the White House meeting with congressional leaders, making an infrastructure announcement, and exercising one of his preferred expressions of power: firing individuals. On Tuesday morning, the new president shared on his Truth social media platform that he would dismiss over 1,000 presidential appointees “who are not aligned with our vision,” including several high-profile figures. (AP)

Donald Trump news live: Brazil warned on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement could significantly impact COP30 talks scheduled in the Amazon this November. The UN climate talks will be held for the first time in the Amazon as global temperatures soar and political trust in climate action wanes. On his first day in office, Trump announced the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris accord, signed by 195 parties to limit greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.

Donald Trump news live: US President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the State Department to prioritise core American interests and put America and its citizens first. This move came on Monday, shortly after the US Senate confirmed Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State.

Donald Trump news live: On Donald Trump’s decision to rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, Mexico’s president says that ‘for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico’.

“He says that he will call it the ‘Gulf of America’ on its continental shelf,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says, according to AP. “For us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico.”

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon to almost all those convicted of participating in the attack on the US Capitol.

In those pardons lies the story of January 6, America’s two radically different interpretation of what happened that day, and Trump’s success in ensuring that his narrative of what happened prevails, despite it being in stark contrast with visual evidence, multiple independent reports, journalistic reportage and court judgments. Read more.

Donald Trump news live: President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are attending an interfaith prayer service at the the Washington National Cathedral, reports CNN. They are joined by first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance.

Donald Trump news live: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington DC later today.

The meeting between the two top diplomats representing the world’s oldest and largest democracies would take place at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, soon after the first QUAD ministerial in the same building, according to PTI.

Donald Trump news live: Former US Senator Marco Rubio was the first of Trump’s cabinet nominees to be sworn into office today. He was sworn in by Vice President JD Vance.

Donald Trump news live: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that US President Donald Trump will make a “massive” infrastructure announcement today.

“It’s going to be a massive announcement and it’s going to prove that the world knows that America is back,” she tells Fox News.