AFP USA

The US Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged Wednesday, resisting pressure from President Donald Trump to continue with cuts in the first rate decision since his return to office.Policymakers voted unanimously to keep the Fed’s benchmark lending rate at between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent, the Fed announced in a statement.The decision marked a pause following three consecutive rate reductions which lowered the Fed’s key lending rate by a full percentage point.”The unemployment rate has “stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid,” the Fed said. It added that inflation “remains somewhat elevated,” while removing a reference in earlier statements to inflation making progress towards the bank’s long-term target of two percent.The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle inflation and unemployment.It does so primarily by raising or lowering its key short-term lending rate, which influences borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.Most analysts agree that the US economy is going fairly well, with robust growth, a largely healthy labor market, and relatively low inflation which nevertheless remains stuck above the Fed’s target.  Futures traders see a probability of close to 80 percent that the Fed will extend its pause at the next rate meeting in March, according to data from CME Group.- ‘Definitely inflationary’ -Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has revived his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners as soon as this weekend and to deport millions of undocumented workers.He has also said he wants to extend expiring tax cuts and slash red tape on energy production.Last week, Trump also revived his criticism of the independent Fed and its chair Jerome Powell, whom he first appointed to run the US central bank.”I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” he said, later adding that he would “put in a strong statement” if the Fed did not take his views on board.Most — though not all — economists expect Trump’s tariff and immigration policies to be at least mildly inflationary, raising the cost of goods faced by consumers.”I think those policies are definitively inflationary, it’s just a question of what degree,” said Zandi from Moody’s Analytics.”A big part of (the Fed’s) job in calibrating monetary policy is responding to what lawmakers are doing, and if they can’t get a fix on what they’re doing, then that just argues for no change in policy, either higher or lower rates,” he added.- ‘Meaningful odds’ -At the Fed’s previous meeting, policymakers dialed back the number of rate cuts they expect this year to a median of just two, with some incorporating assumptions about Trump’s likely economic policies into their forecasts, according to minutes of the meeting.Given the uncertainty about the effect of Trump’s policies on the US economy, analysts are now divided over how many rate cuts they expect the Fed to make this year.In a recent investor note, economists at Goldman Sachs said their baseline forecast was for two quarter-point cuts, assuming a mild, one-time effect on inflation, “causing it to fall by less but not to rise and leaving the door open to rate cuts.””We retain our baseline that the FOMC will cut rates 25bp (basis points) this year, in June,” economists at Barclays wrote, pointing to the underlying strength of the economy.Zandi from Moody’s Analytics said he also expects two rate cuts later in the year. But, he added, “there are meaningful odds that the next move by the Fed may not be a rate cut, it might be a rate increase.”

US President Donald Trump’s bid to freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding was thrown into confusion Wednesday when the White House appeared to withdraw the controversial plan — then minutes later insisted that it had not.Rafts of government aid programs and the health care system for millions of low-income Americans were up in the air after Trump ordered a halt to potentially trillions of dollars in grants, loans and other aid late Monday.The move — made in an order from White House’s Office of Management and Budget — sparked instant alarm and confusion, as well as a flurry of lawsuits before a judge issued a temporary injunction.On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget issued a terse notification saying the freezing of aid order had been “rescinded.”However, soon after Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the spending freezes remained in place — and only the memo from the budget office was rescinded.”This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze” which remains in “full force,” she said on X.The White House has strongly defended the freeze as a blow against what Trump says is  waste and “woke” federal spending programs, and a tool to make sure that every government office supports the Republican’s right-wing political goals.Democrats accuse Trump of constitutional overreach by seeking to stop spending already approved by Congress, which has authority over the US budget.Vocal Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett pounced on the new bout of confusion, posting: “Incompetence on full display… It’s day 9 for a fool who had the job for 4 years and still has NO CLUE of how government, the law, nor the constitution works.” – White House on defense  -Trump was due to sign the Laken Riley Act, a bill cracking down on migrant criminal suspects. It is his first piece of legislation since he returned to power vowing a blitz on illegal immigration.But Trump’s victory lap risks being overshadowed by the confusion on his high-profile spending freeze.In her first press briefing on Tuesday, Leavitt had denied that the freeze had caused any “uncertainty” and defended it as part of Trump’s bid to make the government “good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”Trump unveiled another radical move on Tuesday, offering most federal workers the option to leave their jobs in exchange for eight months severance, plunging the lives of US civil servants into disarray.Leavitt had earlier Wednesday denied accusations of a purge of Trump’s opponents over the severance plan.”Absolutely false. This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work,” she told reporters, referring to Trump’s bid to make all federal employees return to full-time office work.”If they don’t then they have the option to resign and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months.”- Focus on immigration -The Laken Riley act — which orders the pre-trial detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft and violent crimes — is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan man who was wanted for shoplifting.Trump repeatedly spotlighted Riley’s case during his election campaign as he railed against undocumented migrants, blaming them for “poisoning the blood” of the country.Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a Venezuelan with no papers, was convicted of murdering the nursing student in 2024 after she went missing on her morning run near the University of Georgia in Athens.Ibarra had been arrested and released twice before, including when he crossed the Mexican border in 2022.Trump has launched what his second administration is casting as a major crackdown on illegal migration, trumpeting immigration raids and arrests and deportations on military aircraft.His administration said on Wednesday it had evoked an extension of the protected status for more than 600,000 Venezuelans that had allowed them to remain in the United States.Trump has made the issue a priority on the international stage too, threatening Colombia with sanctions and massive tariffs for turning back two planes of deportees, before Bogota backed down.

Disgraced Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein asked a court Wednesday to bring forward his retrial for sex offenses arguing that his “hellhole” prison conditions were unbearable, US media reported.Weinstein, 72, looked frail as he appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for a hearing ahead of his retrial for rape and sexual assault that follows last year’s overturn of his 2020 convictions on legal grounds.The judge has set the date of his retrial for April 15 and declined to move proceedings.The former movie mogul, who is in poor health and underwent emergency heart surgery last year, told the court he was unsure “how much longer I can hold on,” People magazine reported.Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted on separate rape charges in California.His New York conviction in 2020 was for the rape and sexual assault of an actress and of forcibly performing oral sex on a production assistant.He was sentenced to 23 years in prison in that case.The New York Court of Appeals, however, overturned that conviction.Allegations against Weinstein helped launch the #MeToo movement in 2017, a watershed moment for women fighting sexual misconduct.More than 80 women accused him of harassment, sexual assault or rape, including prominent actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.Weinstein claimed any sexual relations in question were consensual.Weinstein and his brother Bob co-founded Miramax Films.Their hits included 1994’s “Pulp Fiction” and 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” for which Weinstein shared a best picture Oscar.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced withering attacks from Democratic senators on Wednesday over his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and his newfound support for anti-abortion policies during a make-or-break confirmation hearing to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.The 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer is bidding to take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing risk of bird flu triggering a human pandemic.Critics argue he is dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking childhood vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, and accusations that he fueled anti-measles vaccine sentiment in Samoa during a 2019 visit, months before a deadly outbreak.They also say his lucrative consulting fees for law firms suing pharmaceutical companies revealed in disclosure forms pose a conflict of interest. “He has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines,” declared Democratic Senator Ron Wyden in his opening salvo.Kennedy fired back: “News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine and anti-industry — I am neither. I am pro-safety.”He also promoted his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda — a riff on Trump’s signature slogan — emphasizing the need to tackle the nation’s chronic disease crisis through healthier eating and environmental responsibility, drawing applause and cheers from supporters in attendances.”Why do five of my kids have allergies?” Kennedy asked. “Why are we seeing these explosions in diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological diseases, depression, all these things that are related to toxins in the environment?”- Abortion flip -Yet he notably shifted some of his stances to appease skeptical Republicans. Although he has championed greener farming practices, he assured rural-state senators that any policy changes would be made with farmers’ input — and pledged support for Trump’s anti-abortion agenda, including a review of the safety of abortion pills.”I have never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when President Trump tapped you to become HHS secretary,” Senator Bernie Sanders shot back, noting Kennedy had until recently supported abortion rights.Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or “RFK Jr” as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots — which he called the “deadliest ever made.”He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it “advances human health” — a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.- Brain worm, dead whale -Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of headline-grabbing revelations.His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during an old divorce deposition, resurfaced — as did a tale, told by his daughter, that he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.He also released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat. His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.”His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F. Kennedy.

Donald Trump’s commerce secretary nominee said Wednesday that he favors “across-the-board” tariffs targeting countries rather than products, while signaling a hawkish China stance as he addressed US lawmakers on the president’s punishing trade agenda.”We can use tariffs to create reciprocity, fairness and respect,” Wall Street billionaire Howard Lutnick told lawmakers at a confirmation hearing, denying such levies would cause broad inflation in the United States.Lutnick’s appearance comes as Washington threatens sweeping duties on imports from allies and adversaries alike — with levies on major trading partners Canada and Mexico potentially unveiled this weekend.On Wednesday, Lutnick said the president’s pledges were aimed at getting both neighbors to do more on illegal migration and fentanyl.But Lutnick stressed that tariffs on China — and other “adversaries” — should be higher than those on other countries.In announcing his nomination last year, Trump said Lutnick would lead the world’s biggest economy’s tariff and trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the US Trade Representative’s office.Asked about the impact of tariffs on prices, Lutnick conceded that certain products’ costs may rise. He charged that “it is nonsense” however that they would cause widespread inflation.Lutnick vowed to work to understand the impact of retaliatory tariffs on US agriculture and manufacturing.- ‘Strong’ export curbs -Lutnick also signaled he would take a firm stance on export controls involving China, after the recent emergence of the DeepSeek chatbot threatened US-based artificial intelligence leaders.”Let them compete, but stop using our tools to compete with us. I’m going to be very strong on that,” said Lutnick on rivalry with Beijing.If confirmed, Lutnick will helm a department overseeing export controls to competitors, aimed at ensuring the United States’ lead in sensitive technology with military uses.The chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald separately stressed the importance of American-driven leadership in artificial intelligence.Asked about the CHIPS and Science Act, a major law passed during former president Joe Biden’s term aimed at strengthening the US semiconductor industry, Lutnick called it “an excellent downpayment.”But he added that “we need to review them and get it right.”In introductory remarks, Vice President JD Vance said Lutnick would help convince businesses that America is thriving, bringing US commerce “back on track.”The commerce department nominee was co-chair of Trump’s 2024 transition team, identifying new hires for the president-elect’s administration.In the past, he has criticized electric vehicles and blamed China for being the source of the deadly drug fentanyl coming into the United States.He has also lamented previously the loss of manufacturing jobs in the world’s biggest economy, and offshoring to China.On Wednesday, he said: “Tariffs will encourage companies to come back and build in America.”He vowed in opening remarks that he would help make the US government “more responsive” and stressed the need for healthy businesses of all sizes to drive the economy.The Commerce Department under Biden ramped up export controls on critical technologies like quantum computing and semiconductor manufacturing goods, taking aim at access by countries such as China.Trump’s administration could harden this stance.

The Justice Department ended its prosecution on Wednesday of two former co-defendants of President Donald Trump who were accused of mishandling classified documents.Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the case against Trump after he won November’s election but charges were still  pending against Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, threw out the case in July but Smith had appealed the dismissal of the charges against Nauta and De Oliveira to the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.The Justice Department, which is now led by Trump appointees, said in a filing with the 11th Circuit Court that it was abandoning its appeal.No reason was given for the move, which the appeals court is likely to accept, bringing the case to an end.Nauta, Trump’s long-time valet, and De Oliveira had pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstructing justice.Trump was accused by the special counsel of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and stashing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving the White House at the end of his first term.Trump allegedly kept the top secret documents — which included records from the Pentagon and CIA — unsecured at Mar-a-Lago and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.Smith dropped both cases against Trump after the election citing a Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president.

The emergence of the DeepSeek chatbot has sent Silicon Valley into a frenzy, with calls to go faster on advancing artificial intelligence and beat communist-led China before it is too late. California tech investors have usually kept their involvement in politics low key, generally supporting centrist politicians who don’t get in the way of their innovations and business plans.But the AI revolution, and the potential ability of China to pose a direct threat to US dominance, has unnerved tech investors, who are now calling on the Donald Trump-led US government to help them take the battle to their Chinese rivals.”It’s a huge geopolitical competition, and China’s running at it super hard,” warned Facebook titan Mark Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast. He noted that DeepSeek is “a very advanced model” and that it censors historical events like Tiananmen Square, arguing that “we should want the American model to win.”Google, though not specifically mentioning DeepSeek, on Wednesday said the United States must take urgent action to maintain its narrow lead in artificial intelligence technology or risk losing its strategic advantage.”America holds the lead in the AI race — but our advantage may not last,” it warned, calling for government help in AI chip production, streamlining regulations and beefing up cybersecurity against national adversaries.The emergence of DeepSeek’s lower cost breakthrough particularly threatens US-based AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have invested billions in developing leading AI models.OpenAI raised alarms Tuesday about Chinese companies attempting to copy their advanced AI models through distillation techniques, announcing plans to deepen collaboration with US authorities.OpenAI investor Josh Kushner criticized so-called “pro-America technologists” who praise what he claims is Chinese AI built with misappropriated US technology. Palmer Luckey, a Trump-supporting tech entrepreneur, suggested DeepSeek’s success was being amplified to undermine Trump’s policies.- ‘Fall behind’ -Despite US government efforts to maintain AI supremacy through export controls on advanced chips, DeepSeek has found ways to achieve comparable results using authorized, less sophisticated Nvidia semiconductors.The app’s popularity has soared, topping Apple’s download charts, with US companies already incorporating its programming interface into their services. Perplexity, an AI-assisted search engine startup, has begun using the technology while claiming that it keeps user data within the US.The tech community can count on Washington, where concern about China has achieved rare bipartisan consensus.Last year, Republicans and Democrats passed a law ordering the divestment of TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese group ByteDance.”If America falls behind China on AI, we will fall behind everywhere: economically, militarily, scientifically, educationally, everywhere,” the US Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.”China’s innovation with DeepSeek is jarring, but it’s nothing compared to what will happen if China beats the US on the ultimate goal of AGI, artificial general intelligence. We cannot, we must not allow that to happen.”Representative Mark Green, a senior Republican said “let’s set the record straight — DeepSeek R1 is another digital arm of the Chinese Communist Party.”However, some argue this aggressive approach may backfire, given Silicon Valley’s reliance on Chinese talent. Nvidia researcher Zhiding Yu highlighted this concern on X, noting how a Chinese intern from his team joined DeepSeek in 2023.”If we keep cooking up geo-political agendas and creating hostile opinions to Chinese researchers, we will shoot ourselves in the foot and lose even more competitiveness.”

After three interest rate cuts in a row, the US Federal Reserve is expected to signal it will remain on pause until the data changes, resisting pressure to continue cuts in the first rate decision since Donald Trump returned to the White House.The second day of interest rate deliberations began at 9:00 am in Washington (1400 GMT) as scheduled, the Fed announced in a statement. The rate decision will be published at 2:00 pm local time. Analysts expect the Fed to sit tight and wait to see how the economy evolves, and what impact Trump’s tariff and immigration policies could have. “I think the Fed sits on its hands,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told AFP.”Until there’s more clarity — or any kind of clarity — around the economic policies of the Trump administration, the Fed is going to be reluctant to move,” he added. The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to tackle both inflation and unemployment, primarily by raising or lowering its benchmark short-term lending rate, influencing borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.The US economy is going fairly well with robust growth, a more-or-less healthy labor market, and relatively low inflation which nevertheless remains stuck above the Fed’s long-term target of two percent.The Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to lower its key lending rate by a full percentage point between September and December 2024 to between 4.25 and 4.50 percent.Futures traders overwhelmingly expect the Fed to remain on pause this month, and assign a probability of close to 70 percent that it will extend its hold at the next rate meeting in March, according to data from CME Group.- ‘Definitely inflationary’ -Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has revived his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners as soon as this weekend and to deport millions of undocumented workers. He has also said he wants to extend expiring tax cuts and slash red tape on energy production.Last week, Trump revived his criticism of the Fed and its chair Jerome Powell, whom he first appointed to run the US central bank.”I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” he said, later adding that he would “put in a strong statement” if the Fed did not take his views on board.”I think I know interest rates much better than they do,” he said. “And I think I know certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision.”Most — though not all — economists expect Trump’s tariff and immigration policies to be at least mildly inflationary, raising the cost of goods faced by consumers. “I think those policies are definitively inflationary, it’s just a question of what degree,” said Zandi from Moody’s Analytics.”A big part of (the Fed’s) job in calibrating monetary policy is responding to what lawmakers are doing, and if they can’t get a fix on what they’re doing, then that just argues for no change in policy, either higher or lower rates,” he added.- ‘Meaningful odds’ -At the Fed’s previous meeting, policymakers also dialed back the number of rate cuts they expect this year to a median of just two, with some incorporating assumptions about Trump’s likely economic policies into their forecasts, according to minutes of the meeting.Given the uncertainty, analysts are now divided over how many rate cuts they expect the Fed to make this year. In a recent investor note, economists at Goldman Sachs said their baseline forecast was for two quarter point cuts, assuming a mild, one-time effect on inflation, “causing it to fall by less but not to rise and leaving the door open to rate cuts.””We retain our baseline that the FOMC will cut rates 25bp (basis points) this year, in June,” economists at Barclays wrote, pointing to the underlying strength of the economy.Zandi from Moody’s Analytics said he also expects two rate cuts later in the year. But, he added, “there are meaningful odds that the next move by the Fed may not be a rate cut, it might be a rate increase.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr faced a make-or-break Senate hearing Wednesday where he was grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies as he bids to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.If confirmed, the 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer would take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing risk of bird flu triggering a human pandemic.Critics argue he is dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking childhood vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, and accusations that he fueled anti-measles vaccine sentiment in Samoa during a 2019 visit, months before a deadly outbreak.They also say his lucrative consulting fees for law firms suing pharmaceutical companies revealed in disclosure forms pose a conflict of interest. “Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, he has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life saving vaccines,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said in his opening remarks.Kennedy hit back, saying: “News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine and anti-industry — I am neither. I am pro-safety.”At the same time, the former Democrat has garnered praise for his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda, which riffs on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and emphasizes combating the nation’s chronic disease epidemic through healthier eating and promoting sustainable farming.Complicating his path to confirmation, a conservative group founded by former vice president Mike Pence has raised concerns about Kennedy’s past donations to organizations supporting abortion access — an issue that could alienate some Republicans and hurt his chances of securing a majority of Senate votes.- Vaccine opposition -Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or “RFK Jr” as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots — which he called the “deadliest ever made.”He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it “advances human health” — a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.Another frequent target of his ire is the presence of fluoride in the nation’s public water supplies, introduced in the mid-20th century to reduce dental cavities.While his criticism of this practice has generated controversy, he also has the support of some in the scientific community who question whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh potential neurotoxic risks, particularly as fluoride is now readily available through toothpaste.- Brain worm, dead whale -Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of headline-grabbing revelations.His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during an old divorce deposition, resurfaced — as did a tale, told by his daughter, that he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.He even released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat. His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.”His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F. Kennedy.

US President Donald Trump will take a victory lap Wednesday as he signs a bill cracking down on migrant criminal suspects — his first piece of legislation since he returned to power vowing a blitz on illegal immigration.The ceremony at the White House comes as Trump faces pushback over his broader plans to overhaul the government, including a funding freeze that caused chaos and an offer of a severance package to federal workers.The Laken Riley act — which orders the pre-trial detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft and violent crimes — is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan man who was wanted for shoplifting.The Republican-led US Congress passed the law just two days after Trump’s inauguration on January 20, with some Democrats also joining in after hardening US attitudes on migration proved crucial in Trump’s election win.”President Trump has used every lever of his executive power to ensure that we can secure the border,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday.Trump repeatedly spotlighted Laken Riley’s case during his election campaign as he railed against undocumented migrants, blaming them for “poisoning the blood” of the country.Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a Venezuelan with no papers, was convicted of murdering the nursing student in 2024 after she went missing on her morning run near the University of Georgia in Athens.Ibarra had been arrested and released twice before, including when he crossed the Mexican border in 2022.Trump has since launched what his second administration is casting as a major crackdown on illegal migration, trumpeting immigration raids and arrests and deportations on military aircraft.His administration said on Wednesday it had evoked an extension of the protected status for more than 600,000 Venezuelans that had allowed them to remain in the United States.Trump has made the issue a priority on the international stage too, threatening Colombia with sanctions and massive tariffs for turning back two planeloads of deportees, before Bogota backed down.- ‘Option to resign’ -The Republican president has meanwhile launched a fully fledged bid to overhaul the US government, vowing to force federal employees to back his right-wing political goals or face retribution.Potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other aid faced possible suspension by the White House, although a federal judge suspended the order shortly before it was to take effect Tuesday afternoon.Trump hours later unveiled an even more radical move, offering most federal workers the option to leave their jobs in exchange for eight months severance, plunging the lives of US civil servants into disarray.The White House denied accusations of a purge of Trump’s opponents.”Absolutely false. This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work,” Leavitt told reporters, referring to Trump’s bid to make all federal employees return to full-time office work.”If they don’t then they have the option to resign and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months.”Despite the denials, Trump’s administration continues to strip security for his opponents.Former top US military officer Mark Milley became the latest, having his security detail and security clearance stripped by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon said.Trump has also been pursuing a radical right-wing agenda on everything from gender — signing an order on Tuesday to restrict gender surgery for minors — to health.His pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced a pivotal Senate hearing Wednesday where he was being grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies.