AFP USA

US President Donald Trump accused the judges blocking his executive orders of committing a “serious violation” Tuesday as his administration veered towards a constitutional clash with the courts over his plans to radically downsize the government.With the Republican Party controlling Congress and completely loyal to Trump, the billionaire president has largely ignored the legislature as he carries out his unprecedented policies.But he has faced growing pushback from the courts since taking office three weeks ago, with around a dozen court orders issued against the administration from some 40 lawsuits.As the courts and Trump appeared increasingly to be on a collision course, the president pledged to stand by their rulings — but claimed that judges were preventing him from cleaning up the government.”We want to weed out the corruption. And it seems hard to believe that a judge could say we don’t want you to do that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.”So maybe we have to look at the judges, because that’s very serious. I think it’s a very serious violation.”Although the US Consitution designates the federal judiciary as an independent branch of government with as much authority as the White House, it is inherently politicized, as judges are selected by presidents for lifetime appointments. The judges who have ruled against Trump were appointed by six different Democratic and Republican presidents, however, including the current White House occupant himself.Trump fell afoul of the judiciary over an attempt to freeze $3 trillion in federal grants and loans, a deferred resignation program for government workers and a plan to transfer transgender women inmates to men’s prisons.He has also clashed with judges over his abolition of birthright citizenship, sending Venezuelan migrants to Guantanamo Bay, funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health, firing a government ethics watchdog and placing workers from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on leave.Injunctions have been placed on each of these actions and there was further bad news for Trump on Tuesday as a federal judge ordered him to restore a glut of public health web pages removed last month.Asked by reporters at the White House if he would honor the will of the courts, Trump told reporters: “I always abide by the courts, and then I’ll have to appeal it.”But concerns are mounting that Trump could ultimately defy the rulings, prompting a full-blown constitutional crisis.- ‘That’s tyranny’ -The Republican’s harshest critics say that horse has already bolted after a federal judge upbraided the White House on Monday for failing to comply with his order to end the federal funding freeze.Vice President JD Vance has fueled speculation over a coming clash, claiming in a social media post Sunday that judges lack authority to “control the executive’s legitimate power.”In fact, the US Constitution gives federal judges the right to rule on cases involving the president as part of their oversight role of the other branches of government.Vance’s comments — which came after a judge blocked tech billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from accessing Americans’ personal data — earned him a rebuke from legal scholars and political opponents. “If you believe any of the multiple federal courts that have ruled against you so far are exceeding their statutory or Constitutional authority, your recourse is to appeal,” Liz Cheney, a former Republican lawmaker and vocal Trump critic, replied.”You don’t get to rage-quit the Republic just because you are losing. That’s tyranny.” The DOGE injunction also came under attack from Musk, who has called for an annual mass firing of federal judges and claims that democracy is “being destroyed by judicial coup.”But critics characterize the deluge of criticism from the world’s richest man, the US president and the vice president as a coordinated assault on the rule of law.”This is not just a musing from a dude with some various ideas,” tech commentator and veteran Musk watcher Kara Swisher said of the SpaceX and Tesla CEO.”The next step is to hollow out the judiciary and also not follow their rulings, which have been against Musk’s efforts. This is a very obvious coup, for those not paying attention.”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tapped by President Donald Trump to lead federal cost-cutting efforts, said Tuesday that the United States would go “bankrupt” without budget cuts.Musk leads the efforts under the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and was speaking at the White House with Trump, who has in recent weeks issued a flurry of orders aimed at slashing federal spending.In particular, Musk pointed to the country’s budget deficit, which topped $1.8 trillion in the last fiscal year, and took aim at high interest payments on the public debt.”It’s not optional” for Washington to reduce federal expenses, he told reporters. “It’s essential.”The remarks, however, came as the Trump administration finds itself on a collision course with the US courts, as federal judges questioned the legality of White House cost-cutting measures.Trump’s sweeping plans, which have effectively shuttered some federal agencies and sent staff home, have sparked legal battles across the country.Multiple lawsuits seek to halt what opponents characterize as an illegal power grab.Meanwhile, Musk’s team has moved through federal agencies, freezing aid programs and pushing workforce reductions.Asked to respond to criticism, Musk said that Americans voted for “major government reform,” an issue that Trump spoke about at rallies.And Musk, who also heads SpaceX and Tesla, said he is seeking to be as transparent as possible when asked about potential conflicts of interest.Musk’s role faces criticism in part because his companies have had huge US government contracts.The DOGE reform team has triggered alarm among critics as well by gaining access through the US Treasury to sensitive data.

The feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has become one of the bitterest rivalries in business history, with the Tesla tycoon bidding to buy Altman’s OpenAI in an apparent attempt to derail the ChatGPT maker’s ascent to becoming one of the world’s most important companies.- What sparked the rivalry? -Musk and Altman were among the 11-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015. Created as a counterweight to Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence, the project got its initial funding from Musk, who invested $45 million to get it started.Three years later, Musk departed OpenAI. The company initially cited “a potential future conflict for Elon…as Tesla continues to become more focused on AI,” noting the electric vehicle company’s ambitions in autonomous driving. However, subsequent lawsuits revealed a more contentious story: OpenAI claimed Musk left after his attempts to become CEO or to merge the company with Tesla were rejected.The situation remained relatively quiet until November 2022, when OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT created a global technology sensation — one that didn’t feature Musk at its center and which made Altman a star.Musk quickly began criticizing the company, trolling it on social media for keeping its source code private and signing a widely publicized manifesto calling for a pause in AI development, even as he pursued his own AI projects.The conflict escalated in August 2024 when Musk refiled a lawsuit against OpenAI and its backer Microsoft, claiming the ChatGPT maker had betrayed its founding mission of benefiting the public good in favor of pursuing profits. Musk later updated the lawsuit to prevent OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit company — a change Altman considers crucial for the company’s development.- Buy OpenAI? -OpenAI’s unusual structure — a non-profit with a money-making subsidiary — reflected its idealistic origins as a counter to Google. However, the massive costs of designing, training, and deploying AI models have forced the company to seek a new corporate structure that would give investors equity and provide more stable governance.This need for stability became particularly evident after a 2023 boardroom coup briefly saw Altman fired, only to be reinstated days later following Microsoft’s intervention. The transition to a traditional for-profit company requires approval from California and Delaware authorities, who will scrutinize how the non-profit arm of OpenAI is valued when it becomes a shareholder in the new company.Current investors prefer a lower valuation to maximize their share of the new company. Musk’s bid, valuing the OpenAI non-profit at $97.4 billion — approximately $30 billion above current negotiations according to The Information — appears designed to disrupt the company’s fundraising efforts.”Overall this is Musk’s attempt to hurt OpenAI’s conversion into a non-profit to slow them down. I doubt Musk’s business rationale for the bid will play out in his favor,” said Lutz Finger , visiting senior lecturer at Cornell University.- Trump attention? -Musk’s latest move to undermine his former ally came shortly after Altman made an appearance at the White House, announcing his involvement in Stargate, a Donald Trump-sponsored AI infrastructure project partnering with Japan’s SoftBank.Musk, who plays a central role in the Trump White House, immediately criticized the $500 billion AI project claiming the funding wasn’t secured in an apparent dissension with the president.Facing the barrage of hostility from the Tesla billionaire, Altman has increasingly suggested that Musk’s actions stem from regret over leaving OpenAI in 2018, particularly as Musk’s competing venture, xAI, struggles to gain traction despite massive investments.”He’s just trying to slow us down. He obviously is a competitor,” Altman told Bloomberg TV. “I wish he would just compete by building a better product…. Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity. I don’t think he’s a happy person. I do feel for him.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his idea of exiling Palestinians and placing a rebuilt Gaza under “US authority” but faced pushback from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II.”I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.However, he told Trump that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on his shock proposal.The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.”One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.Abdullah urged patience and said that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.”Let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves,” Abdullah said.Trump retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”- ‘Tough guy’ – Trump, however, kept pushing his plan to “own” Gaza and place it under “US authority,” despite the fact that it is home to more than two million Palestinians who want their own sovereign state.”We don’t have to buy. We’re going to have Gaza,” Trump said. “We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it.”But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum — but played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.”It’s not going to take a long time,” Trump said. “A bully is the weakest person, and they’re bullies. Hamas is bullies.” The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz.King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.On social media after the Trump talks, Abdullah stressed that his “foremost commitment is to Jordan, to its stability and to the well-being of Jordanians.”

The US Federal Reserve is in a strong position to weather the “highly uncertain” economic outlook, but its inflation fight will take time to win, a senior US central bank official said Tuesday.”As we enter 2025, the economy is in a good place,” New York Fed President John Williams told a conference in New York, according to prepared remarks. “Growth has remained solid, supported by robust consumer spending.””From where we are now, a number of signs indicate that inflation will continue to move toward our two percent longer-run goal,” added Williams, a permanent voting member of the US central bank’s rate-setting committee, referring to the Fed’s long-term inflation target. But, he noted, “it will take time before we can achieve that target on a sustained basis,” adding he did not expect inflation to reach the Fed’s two percent target this year.Williams joined his colleagues last month to vote for a pause in cuts after three straight rate reductions, holding the Fed’s key lending rate between 4.25 and 4.50 percent. The Fed’s short-term federal funds rate influences borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, affecting the price of everything from mortgages to car loans. Williams warned that, despite the strong fundamentals, “the economic outlook remains highly uncertain, particularly around potential fiscal, trade, immigration, and regulatory policies,” a passing reference to some of US President Donald Trump’s policies. Since taking office last month, Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on US allies and top trading partners including Mexico, Canada, and the European Union, and imposed a sweeping 10 percent duty on goods from China — the world’s second-largest economy. He has also said he wants to carry out the largest program of mass deportation of illegal immigrants in American history, something many economists have said could hurt growth.People in Trump’s orbit insist that, properly implemented, any negative impact from his tariff and immigration plans should be more than offset by a deregulation and tax-cutting agenda, which they see as pro-growth and anti-inflation. 

Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding donors who gave money to a private scheme to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.Bannon, 71, entered a guilty plea to New York state charges in a Manhattan court in an agreement with prosecutors that spared him prison time.Bannon was indicted in 2022 for his role in a project called “We Build the Wall,” which involved private fundraising of more than $15 million to help build the southern border barrier championed by Trump.He had been scheduled to go on trial in March, facing five felony counts of money laundering, conspiracy and other charges.Bannon, one of the masterminds behind Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, also faced federal charges over the border wall scheme but received a pardon at the end of the Republican’s first term in the White House.The right-wing ideologue pleaded guilty to a single state charge on Tuesday of involvement in a “scheme to defraud in the first degree” and was given a three-year conditional discharge, which does not involve jail time or restitution.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Bannon is barred from acting as an officer or a director of a charitable or non-profit association in New York state.Speaking to reporters outside the court, Bannon lashed out at Bragg, who brought charges against Trump for paying hush money to a porn star, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.”The existential threat to President Trump’s administration is not in federal court,” Bannon said. “The existential threat is right here in this city. It is the queen of lawfare. It’s Letitia James.”Bannon urged the new US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to launch an “immediate criminal investigation” into James and Bragg.- ‘The War Room’ -Bannon served nearly four months in federal prison in Connecticut last year after being convicted of contempt of Congress.He was sent to jail for defying a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.Bannon served in the White House during Trump’s first term as his chief strategist, but he left after seven months, reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers.Though he no longer works officially for Trump, he has remained a vocal backer of the Republican president, mainly through his podcast “The War Room.”Bannon is one of several Trump associates who have received jail time.Former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro also served a four-month prison term last year for defying a congressional subpoena to testify about the events of January 6, 2021.Others include former Trump legal fixer turned whistleblower Michael Cohen and the CFO of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg.Trump was convicted in New York in May of last year of falsifying business records to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.Trump was also charged with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and with mishandling classified documents but the cases were dropped after he won November’s presidential election.

The website of Kanye West’s Yeezy fashion brand was offline Tuesday after it began selling plain white T-shirts with a swastika.The site displayed the message “Something went wrong” and “This store is unavailable.”West, who now calls himself Ye, appeared in a commercial for the site that aired in Southern California during the Super Bowl.In the low-budget ad, the rapper was sitting in what appeared to be a dentist’s chair, flashing a set of diamond-encrusted dentures, and saying he had spent all the money for the commercial on the new teeth.He told viewers he had filmed the ad on an iPhone and directed them to visit his yeezy.com website.Immediately after the ad aired, Variety reported, the website had a range of West’s fashionware available, but it changed a short time later and began displaying only a single item — a white T-shirt with a large black swastika on the front, with a $20 price tag.Variety, citing people familiar with the ad booking process, said the 30-second spot had gone through the usual approval channels, which included a look at the website. Nothing objectionable was flagged.But by Tuesday the site, which was underpinned by e-commerce firm Shopify, was offline.”All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify,” Shopify said in a statement.The fresh controversy came just days after West’s account on X — the platform formerly known as Twitter — went dark in the wake of a days-long rant that included vitriolic, anti-Semitic outbursts.It was not immediately clear if the artist and entrepreneur, who has spoken openly about struggles with bipolar disorder, had deactivated the account himself or if X took it down.”I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board,” he wrote in his final post, referring to the owner of X, Elon Musk.It is a familiar pattern for Ye, 47, who is now in the headlines as often for his provocative, often hate-filled rants as he is for his music.The rapper has been locked out of social media platforms in the past, notably when he was banned from X for nearly eight months for violating rules barring incitement to violence.Ye’s most recent missives included comments in support of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is imprisoned on sex trafficking charges. He repeatedly referred to himself as a “Nazi.”He also referred to the stunt he pulled at the Grammys last week with wife Bianca Censori, who appeared virtually nude on the red carpet ahead of the awards gala.On Tuesday, a Jewish former employee of West’s filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging he had told her he was a “Nazi” and compared himself to Adolf Hitler, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Trump administration’s tariff threats and animosity towards electronic vehicles are producing a “lot of cost and a lot of chaos” for Ford, the automaker’s chief executive said Tuesday.While Trump has spoken about the priority of strengthening manufacturing in the United States, the administration thus far has been the source of tremendous “policy uncertainty” with constantly evolving tariff plans and a lack of clarity whether tax credits favoring EVs will be rolled back, he said.Appearing at a financial conference, Jim Farley described Trump’s initial plan to enact 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada as a disaster for US companies that operate across the region, while providing an unfair advantage to European and Asian automakers that also import to the United States.Trump last week suspended the tariffs for 30 days following concessions from Mexico and Canada. But they have not been removed as a possibility by the Trump administration, which yesterday announced plans to enact 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum.Farley said Ford buys most of those two metals from US firms, but that the company’s suppliers have international sources.”So that price will come through, and there may be a speculative part of the market where prices come up because tariffs are even rumored,” Farley said.”President Trump has talked a lot about making our US auto industry stronger, bringing more production here, more innovation,” Farley said, adding that these would be “signature accomplishments.”But “so far what we’re seeing is a lot of cost and a lot of chaos,” he said.Farley pointed to lingering questions about the Trump administration’s intentions on the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax incentives for consumer EV purchases and for the building of EV factories.An executive order on Trump’s first day signaled the potential elimination of tax credits favoring EVs.Farley said Ford had already “sunk capital” in major investments in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.”Many of those jobs will be at risk if the IRA is repealed or if big parts of it is repealed,” Farley said.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday told Donald Trump that his country would take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza, as the US president pushed his plan to take over the territory and push out Palestinians.Speaking at the White House, Abdullah added that Egypt would present a proposal on how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on the plan, despite Arab nations and the Palestinians having rejected it outright. “I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.Trump called it a “beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.The US president meanwhile backed down on a suggestion that he could withhold aid for Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more than two million Palestinians from Gaza.”I think we’ll do something. I don’t have to threaten that, I do believe we’re above that,” Trump said.Trump stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.Jordan’s Abdullah was repeatedly pressed by reporters on whether he supported the plan, but said only that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.”The president is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan… (then) we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States,” Abdullah said.”The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody.”- ‘Tough guy’ -The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not meet the deadline.Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum.”I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally. I think they want to play a tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are,” Trump said.But he played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.”It’s not going to take a long time when you know bullies,” he added, referring to Hamas.The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people after Trump stunned the world with his proposal for Gaza.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the US central bank was in no hurry to adjust its interest rate-cut policy, as the country’s economy maintains resilient growth and a relatively strong labor market.With economic indices in a steady position, and only a slight uptick in inflation, the Fed recently voted to pause rate cuts, holding its key short-term lending rate at between 4.25 and 4.50 percent — still above its long-term target of two percent.”With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance,” Powell told senators at a congressional hearing.”We know that reducing policy restraint too fast or too much could hinder progress on inflation,” he said. “At the same time, reducing policy restraint too slowly or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”The Fed’s short-term federal funds rate influences borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, affecting the cost of everything from mortgages to car loans. At the end of last year, Fed policymakers pared back the number of rate cuts they expect this year, with some citing concerns about trade uncertainty following President Donald Trump’s election victory. In light of that, some analysts now expect only one or two rate cuts this year. Futures traders currently place a probability of just over 55 percent that the Fed will make no more than one quarter-point cut this year, according to data from CME Group.Financial markets overwhelmingly expect no change to interest rates at the Fed’s next rate decision in March. – Consumer protection void -Meanwhile, Powell also warned that no federal regulator has stepped in to protect consumers from financial misconduct following the White House’s recent decision to pause all non-essential work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.He told the Senate Banking Committee that there was currently “no other federal agency” doing the CFPB’s regulatory job following the recent decision by Trump’s administration to pause operations at the agency.The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, and serves as a watchdog over a variety of US consumer issues ranging from mortgages to credit cards and debt collection. On Monday, Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told staff the CFPB was temporarily shuttering its headquarters and pausing all work, adding that employees should not show up.”Please do not perform any work tasks,” Vought wrote in an email to staff, adding that employees would need to seek written permission from him before doing any urgent work going forward, and should otherwise “stand down from performing any work task.”