WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned Thursday of the “devastating” consequences of a government shutdown even as he lobbed wrenches into intense Republican maneuvering to avoid a politically embarrassing funding debacle.
With the federal government set to run out of money at midnight Friday, the president added to the chaos with a burst of early morning tweets.
He second-guessed Republican leaders in Congress and slapped down his own chief of staff who had been leading a White House push on Capitol Hill for a budget compromise.
Arriving at the Pentagon for a visit, Trump told reporters the government “could very well” shut down Friday.
The House of Representatives was expected to vote as early as Thursday on a short-term funding measure, but it was unclear if Republicans had the votes to prevail.
In the event of a shutdown, federal employees for agencies considered non-essential are ordered to stay home until a budget deal is struck, at which point they are paid retroactively. The most recent shutdowns — in 1995, 1996 and 2013 — saw some 800,000 workers furloughed per day.
Key government bodies such as the White House, Congress, State Department and Pentagon would remain operational, but would likely furlough some staff. The military would still report for duty, but troops — including in combat — would potentially not be paid.
“A government shutdown will be devastating to our military... something the Dems care very little about!” Trump tweeted.
And yet in another tweet, Trump criticized the Republican short-term funding measure, opposing a sweetener intended to make it hard for Democrats to vote against it.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said later he had spoken to the president, and insisted: “He fully supports passing what we’re bringing to the floor today.”
The sweetener is a six-year extension of a popular children’s health insurance program, known as CHIP, a program Democrats have worked hard to protect.
But Trump insisted: “CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!“
Republican Senator John Cornyn quickly corrected Trump in a counter-tweet: “The current house Continuing Resolution package has a six-year extension of CHIP, not a 30 day extension.”
Up against a similar deadline last month, lawmakers had passed a short-term resolution to keep the federal government funded until January 20.
Many Democrats are already opposed to another short-term fix, leaving Republicans to rely on their own divided caucus to advance the measure.
If it fails, Democrats will gain greater leverage to insist on a funding compromise that includes protection from deportation for the so-called “Dreamers,” the estimated 700,000 immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
Negotiations on a bipartisan compromise that includes a fix on DACA, as the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program is known, collapsed in acrimony at a White House meeting last week.
Trump’s reported reference to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries” ignited a still smoldering political firestorm.
White House chief of staff John Kelly met Wednesday with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to make the case that Trump had “evolved” on his signature campaign promise to build a wall the length of the US border.
Funding for border security, but not a full-blown wall, was part of the bipartisan budget compromise presented at last week’s contentious White House talks.
Participants at the meeting with Kelly quoted the retired general and former head of the Department of Homeland Security as saying Trump was not “fully informed” when he made the wall promise.
But Trump hit back on Twitter Thursday, writing: “The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it.”
“If there is no Wall, there is no Deal!” Trump said in another tweet that described Mexico as “now rated the most dangerous country in the world.”
The president said some of the wall will be “see through” — a protection, he said last July, against people throwing “large sacks of drugs” over — and repeated that it will be paid for “directly or indirectly” by Mexico.
“The $20 billion dollar Wall is ‘peanuts’ compared to what Mexico makes from the US NAFTA is a bad joke!” he said, reasserting his position on the trade pact which is currently being renegotiated.
Mexico once again said it would not pay for the wall.
The mixed messages from the White House prompted a rebuke Wednesday from frustrated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I’m looking for something that President Trump supports, and he’s not yet indicated what measure he’s willing to sign,” McConnell told reporters.
“As soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels.”
Trump warns government shutdown would be ‘devastating’
Trump warns government shutdown would be ‘devastating’
Saudi previously sought extradition for Germany attack suspect: source close to government
- Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen
- He made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law,
“There was (an extradition) request,” said the source, without giving the reason for the request, adding that Riyadh had warned he “could be dangerous.” The attack on Friday evening killed five people.
Saudi Arabia had warned Germany “many times” about Taleb Jawad Al-Abdulmohsen, the source said. He did not explain in what way he was considered potentially dangerous.
The 50-year-old psychiatrist, who had made online death threats and previously had trouble with the law, also helped Saudi women flee their country.
On social media, Abdulmohsen portrayed himself as a victim of persecution who had renounced Islam and decried what he said was the Islamization of Germany.
He arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later, according to German media and a Saudi activist.
Retiring US Senator Cardin ‘very concerned’ about Trump and human rights
WASHINGTON: Days before he retires as chairman of the influential US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Ben Cardin acknowledged worries about human rights being less of a US priority during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.
“I don’t want to prejudge, but I am very concerned that protecting human rights may not be as important as other objectives he’s trying to get done,” Cardin told Reuters in an interview, when asked about Trump, a Republican, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Cardin, 81, is leaving Congress at the end of this month after nearly 60 years in public office, the last 18 as a US senator from Maryland. Cardin became chairman of the foreign relations panel unexpectedly in September 2023, after he had announced his retirement, replacing fellow Democrat Bob Menendez, who faced felony bribery charges and was later convicted.
“I didn’t expect that, and I was looking forward to my last two years for many different reasons,” Cardin said.
Cardin is best known as a human rights advocate, notably for co-authoring the Global Magnitsky Act, named for a lawyer who exposed corruption in Russia before dying in prison after being beaten and denied medical care.
Cardin said the Senate, which is about to shift from a thin Democratic majority to Republican control, will have to push back against Trump, as it has in the past, and noted Trump’s willingness to impose Magnitsky sanctions during his first term.
Enacted in 2012, the Magnitsky Act mandated that the US government restrict travel and freeze assets of individuals who committed gross violations of human rights in Russia. In 2016 it became the Global act, extended to rights violators worldwide.
“It’s hard to predict. But Donald Trump, in his first presidency, he used the Magnitsky sanctions quite frequently and that was helpful,” Cardin said.
DEALS OR VALUES?
Cardin said Trump could be too eager to establish relations with autocratic leaders or cede too much in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. During his successful campaign for re-election this year, Trump vowed to swiftly end the conflict, without giving details on how he might do so.
“So I recognize that Donald Trump likes to think of himself as a deal maker,” Cardin said. “And to me, I want to make sure that we don’t try to get an immediate deal that doesn’t represent our values. So I am concerned that he will look for a shortcut to foreign policy that could compromise some of our values.”
Cardin said he hoped the Senate, where Republicans will have a narrow 53-47 seat majority starting next month, could act as a balance to the incoming president. Trump, in his first term, had sought to slash foreign aid by 50 percent, but dropped the idea after both Republicans and Democrats pushed back.
A staunch supporter of Israel who has faced protests himself during the 14-month-long war in Gaza, Cardin acknowledged that Trump’s second presidency could complicate efforts toward Middle East peace and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
But he said the desire of the US and its partners for an alliance to isolate Iran and recent changes in Syria were causes for optimism. “There’s a lot of things happening in the region to give us optimism that we can move past Gaza,” he said.
Trump in his first term, from 2017-2021, pulled the United States out of the UN Human Rights Council, praised autocrats such as Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and spoke out against funding humanitarian aid in major conflicts.
Cardin said he was confident Global Magnitsky would continue long after his retirement, noting that 30 countries are using it and it is the only major sanctions regime targeting individuals.
“It really puts the fear in the hearts of oligarchs. They don’t want to get on these lists,” Cardin said.
“It’s here to stay, and it’s solid,” he said.
Kabul hails Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume activities at Afghanistan embassy
- In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan
- The Kingdom also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSrelief charity
Kabul: The Afghan foreign ministry on Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume its diplomatic operations in Kabul, more than three years after Riyadh withdrew its staff during the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
“We are optimistic about the possibility of strengthening relations and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan through the resumption of these activities,” said Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Zia Ahmad in a statement.
“We will also be able to respond to the problems of Afghans residing in Saudi Arabia.”
Riyadh had posted its decision to resume diplomatic operations in Kabul on social media platform X.
“Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22,” it said.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the level of Saudi representation in Kabul.
Riyadh on August 15, 2021 said it had withdrawn its diplomats from the Afghan capital because of the “unstable situation” created by the Taliban’s return to power following the United States’ withdrawal from the country.
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organization.
The Taliban government remains unrecognized by any country.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognized the first Taliban government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the US invasion of 2001.
Kremlin rejects media reports about Asma, Assad’s wife, seeking divorce and wanting to leave Russia
- Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Asma Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, wanted a divorce and to leave Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Assad had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.
Asked on a conference call if the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after militants took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.
Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Sheikh Hasina’s family
- Sheikh Hasina fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August
- Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant
DHAKA: Bangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said Monday.
Along with Hasina, the now-former prime minister who fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August, those subject to the inquiry include her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece, Tulip Siddiq, a British lawmaker and government minister.
The allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party.
“We seek justice through our court,” Hajjaj said on Monday.
Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the South Asian country’s first, which is bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 percent loan.
A statement Monday from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had “embezzled $5 billion” from the Rooppur plant via “various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia.”
It said its investigations were examining “questionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction” of the plant.
“The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering, and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds,” the commission said.
Graft allegations also include theft from a government building scheme for the homeless.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter on August 5 into exile in India, infuriating many Bangladeshis determined that she face trial for alleged “mass murder.”
It was not possible to contact Hasina for comment.
Siddiq has “denied any involvement in the claims” accusing her of involvement in embezzlement, according to a statement from the British prime minister’s office.
Joy, who is understood to be based in the United States, was also unavailable for comment.
