President Donald Trump begins a weeklong trip to the Middle East on Monday. Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks are leaping in early trading after China and the United States announced a 90-day truce in their trade war. Also Monday, Trump signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. or face new limits over what the government will pay.
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White South Africans have arrived in the US
A group of 49 white South Africans arrived Monday in the United States as the Trump administration welcomes them as refugees.
The decision to admit the Afrikaners has faced pushback by a South African government that disputes that description and by refugee advocates who question why the group is being admitted when the administration has suspended refugee resettlement from other countries.
They arrived at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington on a private charter plane and are expected to be met by a U.S. government delegation.
Trump told reporters Monday that he鈥檚 accepting them because of a 鈥済enocide that鈥檚 taking place.鈥 That鈥檚 strongly denied by the South African government and has been disputed by experts in South Africa and even an Afrikaner group.
Trump en route to the Middle East on the first major foreign trip of 2nd term
Air Force One took off from a military base outside of Washington at 11:39 a.m. ET.
It will refuel at a military base in the United Kingdom before arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday morning local time. Trump is also stopping in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates before landing back in the United States at the end of the week.
The president made a quick trip to Rome at the end of April to attend the funeral for Pope Francis, but the Middle East swing was always meant to be the first major foreign trip of his return to office.
Trump signs sweeping executive order for lower Rx drug costs
Trump has signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. or face new limits over what the government will pay.
The order the Republican president signed Monday calls on the health department to broker new price tags for drugs.
If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in tying the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to lower prices paid by other countries.
Public health agency leaders will start meeting with drug companies to offer new prices over the next month. Drugmakers argue threats to their profits could impact research to develop new drugs.
Trump floats the idea of Turkey detour for Ukraine-Russia talks during Mideast trip
The president said he鈥檚 optimistic about Thursday鈥檚 expected talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul on finding an endgame to Russia鈥檚 war on Ukraine.
Trump, who is expected to be in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, suggested that he could make a detour to Turkey, if he thinks his presence might be helpful.
鈥淚 was thinking about flying over. I don鈥檛 know where I am going be on Thursday,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淚鈥檝e got so many meetings 鈥 There鈥檚 a possibility there I guess if I think things can happen.鈥
Trump added there is 鈥渢he potential for a good meeting鈥 between Putin and Zelenskyy.
鈥淒on鈥檛 underestimate Thursday in Turkey, President Erdogan is the great host,鈥 Trump said.
Trump says he's weighing the removal of sanctions from Syria
鈥淲e may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,鈥 said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.
The comments were striking change in tone from the president on Syria sanctions and the government of . Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled in December.
The Trump administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, and HTS remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.
Hawks in the White House and the Republican Party have been skeptical of al-Sharaa鈥檚 transformation and insist Syria remains a counterterrorism issue.
Trump defends Qatar鈥檚 gift of a plane as a 鈥榞esture of good faith鈥
Trump says the leadership of Qatar knew that Boeing has encountered delays building the next generation of the Air Force One aircraft and wanted to help by giving a plane to the U.S. government.
He said, 鈥淚 could be a stupid person and say we don鈥檛 want a free plane鈥 but that the gift from Qatar 鈥渉elps us out鈥 because the models he currently flies on are decades old.
鈥淭his was just a gesture of good faith,鈥 Trump said.
News of the $400 million gift prompted criticism from some Democrats and Trump allies.
Trump said the plane would ultimately be decommissioned and go to his future presidential library. He said he would not fly on it after he leaves office.
Trump says he鈥檚 allowing white South Africans to come to US to avoid persecution
Trump said that in a post-apartheid South Africa that white farmers are 鈥渂eing killed鈥 and he plans to address the issue with South African leadership next week.
Trump said he doesn鈥檛 care whether the South African farmers are 鈥渨hite or Black鈥 or 鈥渁bout their height, their weight.鈥
But at a time when the administration has sought to halt refugee admissions from many other countries undergoing political upheaval, Trump said the U.S. has 鈥渆ssentially extended citizenship鈥 to South African farmers to escape from the violence.
The South African government has said U.S. allegations that white South Africans are being persecuted are 鈥渃ompletely false鈥 and the result of misinformation.
Drug price negotiations to begin, Oz says
Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, says he and other top health officials will begin talks with drugmakers to discuss lowering prices over the next 30 days.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e patriotic Americans,鈥 Oz said. 鈥淭hey want what鈥檚 right.鈥
The executive order being signed by Trump on Monday gives the administration 30 days to negotiate lower drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. If there is no deal, the U.S. will tie domestic drug prices to the lower rates paid abroad, which is the so-called 鈥渕ost favored nation鈥 policy.
Senate Democrats denounce Trump accepting luxury Qatari plane
Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Brian Schatz issued a joint statement contending that President Donald Trump would engage in 鈥渁 clear conflict of interest鈥 if he accepted a $400 million luxury plane from Qatar.
Multiple news outlets on Sunday reported that Trump was set to be gifted the plane, which would be used as Air Force One during his term and then transferred to a personal foundation.
The senators called on their colleagues to reassert that lawmakers cannot take gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval.
鈥淎ir Force One is more than just a plane 鈥 it鈥檚 a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself,鈥 the lawmakers wrote.
鈥淎ny president who accepts this kind of gift, valued at $400 million, from a foreign government creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government. No one 鈥 not even the president 鈥 is above the law.鈥
Trump promotes executive order meant to reduce drug costs
Trump says he鈥檚 directing his administration officials to investigate foreign countries that 鈥渆xtort鈥 drug companies
The order, according to a White House official, also sets a 30-day deadline for the U.S. Health Department to broker new price tags for drugs. If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to the lowest price paid by other countries.
As he signed the order, he called it 鈥渙ne of the most consequential executive orders in our country鈥檚 history.鈥
鈥淪tarting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the health care of foreign countries, which is what we were doing,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淲e were subsidizing others鈥 health care.鈥
鈥 By Seung Min Kim
Homeland Security says it鈥檚 targeting California over benefits to immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security says it is opening an investigation into a California program that pays money to some immigrants.
The Department said Monday that it had issued a subpoena to California鈥檚 Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants to obtain records about the program.
That California program was created when Congress in 1996 took away federal Supplemental Security Income assistance for legal immigrants in a welfare reform law.
According to the program鈥檚 website, it pays money to elderly, blind and disabled people in California who are not citizens. The website says the program is entirely paid for by California.
The Trump administration has targeted states and communities that it considers to be lax when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Trump says EU 鈥渘astier鈥 on trade than China
Fresh off a 90-day tariff rollback to hold talks with China, President Donald Trump said that on trade issues, the 鈥淓uropean Union is in many ways nastier than China.鈥
Trump said while speaking on Monday at the White House that the EU would 鈥渃ome down a lot鈥 on trade restrictions regarding the U.S., tearing into the longstanding ally. The U.S. president insisted that America has 鈥渁ll the cards鈥 in trade talks with Europe because of the vehicles it buys from the continent鈥檚 automakers.
Trump said his executive order on pharmaceutical drug prices would mean that Europeans will have 鈥渢o pay more for health care, and we鈥檙e going to have to pay less.鈥
The U.S. has a separate negotiating period on trade in which goods from the EU are being charged 10% import taxes.
Trump cheers special envoy for hostage Edan Alexander鈥檚 expected release from Gaza
Trump said that the U.S.-Israeli citizen was expected to be released by Hamas in the 鈥渘ext two hours鈥 or 鈥渟ometime today.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 coming home to his parents, which is really great news,鈥 Trump told reporters at the White House shortly before he was scheduled to depart for a whirlwind visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Trump credited his special envoy Steve Witkoff in helping win the release of Alexander, 21.
The president said that Witkoff, a New York real estate developer turned diplomat, knew 鈥渧ery little about the subject matter鈥 but learned quickly.
鈥淗e has a special way about him,鈥 Trump said of Witkoff.
Trump plans to speak with Xi after agreeing to tariff reduction for 90 days
President Donald Trump says he will likely speak with China鈥檚 leader Xi Jinping 鈥渕aybe at the end of the week.鈥
That鈥檚 after negotiators from the U.S. and China meeting in Switzerland this weekend agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days of talks. The import taxes on China imposed by the U.S. would still remain higher than when Trump took office at 30%.
Trump told reporters on Monday that the reduced tariff rates didn鈥檛 include tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum as well as the potentially upcoming import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs.
Trump said he also spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday and he expected the tech company to make additional commitments to invest in domestic production.
Trump said the talks would be great for 鈥渦nification and peace.鈥
Trump suggests promise of trade with US was factor in India-Pakistan ceasefire
Trump says the countries ended hostilities for a lot of reasons 鈥渂ut trade is a big one.鈥
Speaking at the White House on Monday, the president said the U.S. is already negotiating a trade deal with India and will soon start negotiating with Pakistan.
India and Pakistan to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea Saturday in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to stop the escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals that threatened regional peace.
Bessent expects next U.S.-China meeting in a few weeks
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised the progress made in in trade talks with Chinese officials over the weekend and said he expects another meeting in a few weeks.
U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on tariffs after the weekend talks in Geneva.
鈥淲e had a plan, we had a process and now what we have with the Chinese is a mechanism to avoid an upward tariff pressure like we did last time,鈥 Bessent said on CNBC.
Trump administration looking to expand legal power on deportation
White House deputy chief of staff says the administration is looking for ways to expand its legal power to deport migrants who are in the United States illegally.
To achieve that, he says the administration is 鈥渁ctively looking at鈥 suspending , the for people to legally challenge their detention by the government.
Such a move would be aimed at migrants as part of the Republican president鈥檚 at the U.S.-Mexico border.
鈥淭he Constitution is clear, and that of course is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion,鈥 Miller told reporters outside the White House on Friday.
鈥淪o, I would say that鈥檚 an option we鈥檙e actively looking at,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淟ook, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.鈥
Trump's plan to change pricing model for some medications faces opposition
plan to change the pricing model for some medications is already facing fierce criticism from the pharmaceutical industry before he鈥檚 even signed the executive order set for Monday that, if implemented, could lower the cost of some drugs.
Trump has promised that his plan 鈥 which is likely to tie the price of medications covered by Medicare and administered in a doctor鈥檚 office to the lowest price paid by other countries 鈥 will significantly lower drug costs.
But the nation鈥檚 leading pharmaceutical lobby on Sunday pushed back, calling it a 鈥渂ad deal鈥 for American patients. Drugmakers have long argued that any threats to their profits could impact the research they do to develop new drugs.
White House releases Trump schedule for Monday
The White House has released President Donald Trump's schedule for Monday. Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the White House at 9:30 a.m. Trump says that, if implemented, could bring down the costs of some medications 鈥 reviving a failed effort from his first term on an issue he鈥檚 talked up since even before becoming president.
Shortly after, Trump will begin his weeklong trip to the Middle East. , though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran.
Trump ready to accept gift of luxury jet from Qatar
President is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft.
The Qatari government said a final decision hadn鈥檛 been made. Still, Trump defended the idea 鈥 what would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government 鈥 as a fiscally smart move for the country.
