Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive. Putin hailed the talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.
His comments came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials. Zelenskyy is expected to meet with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Here’s the latest:
Confirmation hearing for Trump’s Labor Department pick opens
The confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Labor Department has opened.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions is set to question former U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday.
Unions have described the Republican from Oregon as pro-labor because of her voting record during her one term as a congresswoman.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said there are concerns about Chavez-DeRemer’s support of the PRO Act, legislation that would allow more workers to conduct union organizing campaigns and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, asked if she would be “a rubber stamp” for anti-worker policies promoted by billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Rubio will skip a G20 meeting after calling host South Africa’s policies anti-American
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the leading rich and developing nations that starts on Thursday after criticizing host South Africa’s policies as anti-American.
Instead, Rubio was headed back to the United States on Wednesday from his first trip to the Middle East as America’s chief diplomat after leading a U.S. delegation in talks with Russia in Riyad over the war in Ukraine.
Top European diplomats, as well as Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are all expected at the Group of 20 meeting in Johannesburg while the U.S. will be represented by a lower-level delegation.
Putin says he would like to meet Trump but preparations are ongoing
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he would like to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive.
“I would like to have a meeting, but it needs to be prepared so that it brings results,” Putin said in televised remarks. He added that he would be “pleased” to meet Trump.
He hailed the talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.
Putin also said that Trump has acknowledged that the Ukrainian settlement could take longer than he had initially hoped.
Rubio visits with UAE leaders after landmark talks with Russia over Ukraine war
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday with the leader of the United Arab Emirates, wrapping up an overseas trip that saw the highest-level outreach between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Rubio’s talk with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, comes as the U.S. also tries to continue a shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militant Hamas group.
The UAE also has been key in mediating prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine.
Rubio offered his thanks in the meeting to the UAE “for the strength and enduring nature of the relationship,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The state-run WAM news agency reported Sheikh Mohammed had told Rubio “that the UAE strongly opposes any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from Gaza.”
Read more about Rubio’s discussions with the UAE
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Trump is living in a Russian-made ‘disinformation space’
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials.
Zelenskyy said he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful.”
He made the comments shortly before he was expected to meet with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday. Kellogg will meet Zelenskyy and military commanders as the U.S. shifts its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump suggested Tuesday that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, as talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.
DOGE is getting lists of the military’s probationary workers from the Pentagon
Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military’s probationary employees, U.S. officials said.
However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go — instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business Tuesday to identify their probationary employees.
The affected personnel would include defense civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The potential cuts at the Pentagon, first reported by The Washington Post, follow reductions at other federal agencies, where probationary employees who were conducting critical functions and had high-level clearances, including staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, were fired despite their role.
Read more about the federal worker firings
Judge questions motives for Trump’s order banning transgender troops
A federal judge questioned Trump’s motives for issuing an executive order that calls for banning transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military, describing a portion of the directive as “frankly ridiculous.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indicated that she won’t rule before early March on whether to temporarily block the Trump administration from enforcing the order, which plaintiffs’ attorneys have said illegally discriminates against transgender troops.
But her questions and remarks during Tuesday’s hearing suggest that she is deeply skeptical of the administration’s reasoning for ordering a policy change. Reyes also lauded the service of several active-duty troops who sued to block the order.
Trump’s Jan. 27 order claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness. It requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a revised policy.
Read more about Trump’s order banning transgender troops
Trump imposes his vision on America in departure from first-term stumbles
Instead of repeating his laissez-faire attitude toward his own administration, the Republican president is asserting control at every opportunity, backed up by loyalists at all levels of government. Despite occasional disorganization and confusion, there’s a headstrong determination to push through any obstacles.
Trump doesn’t just want to change course from Joe Biden’s presidency, his team is holding back congressionally authorized funding championed by his predecessor.
This time, Trump seems to be saying, his orders will not be ignored. This time, there will be follow through.
Read more about how Trump’s second term is different from his first
