President Donald Trump has resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions.
Meanwhile, Germany’s new leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is meeting Trump in Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe’s biggest economy and further bolster his country’s long-criticized military spending.
Here’s the latest:
Thune’s first big test as Senate leader has arrived with Trump’s tax bill
Only six months into the job, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a massive challenge as he tries to quickly push President Trump’s sprawling tax and spending cuts package to passage with the support of a divided GOP conference.
While most Republican senators are inclined to vote for the bill, Thune can stand to lose only four votes in the face of united Democratic opposition — and many more Republicans than that are critical of the version sent over by the House.
To get it done by July 4 — Trump’s deadline — Thune has to figure out how to balance the various, and sometimes conflicting, demands emerging from his members. And he has to do it in a way that doesn’t endanger Republican support in the House, which passed the legislation by only one vote last month after weeks of contentious negotiations.
▶ Read more about Thune and the tax bill
New German leader plans to discuss Ukraine and trade with Trump in Oval Office visit
Germany’s new leader is meeting with Trump Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe’s biggest economy and further bolster his country’s long-criticized military spending.
Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have spoken several times by phone, either bilaterally or with other European leaders, since Merz took office on May 6. German officials say the two leaders have started to build a “decent” relationship, with Merz wanting to avoid the antagonism that defined Trump’s relationship with one of his predecessors, Angela Merkel, in the Republican president’s first term.
The 69-year-old Merz is a conservative former rival of Merkel’s who took over her party after she retired from politics. Merz also comes to office with an extensive business background — something that could align him with Trump.
▶ Read more about their upcoming meeting
Trump moves to block US entry for foreign students planning to study at Harvard University
Trump is moving to block nearly all foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University, his latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body.
In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump declared that it would jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students on its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It’s a further escalation in the White House’s fight with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university. A federal court in Boston blocked the Department of Homeland Security from barring international students at Harvard last week. Trump’s order invokes a different legal authority.
In a statement Wednesday night, Harvard said it will “continue to protect its international students.”
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” university officials said.
▶ Read more about the executive order
Trump announces travel ban and restrictions on 19 countries set to go into effect Monday
Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions.
The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., a cushion that may avoid the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice in 2017. Trump, who signaled plans for a new ban upon taking office in January, appears to be on firmer ground this time after the Supreme Court sided with him.
Some, but not all, 12 countries also appeared on the list of banned countries in Trump’s first term. The new ban includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
There will be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
▶ Read more about the ban
The Associated Press
