Senior Trump official says president hasn’t decided when to nominate replacement for Lisa Cook – US politics live | US politics

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Bowser also just said that when she spoke to the president earlier today they didn’t talk about his possible plan to try and extend the federal takeover of the DC police beyond 30 days. A reminder, Trump would need Congressional approval for an extension, per section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act.

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Reporters are now asking questions, and the mayor says the number of cited arrests (more than 1,500) represents a combined number – from both the Metropolitan police department (MPD) and federal law enforcement.

However, she says this number might not include all federal arrests.

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Updated at 14.02 EDT

Bowser says there is a ‘break in trust’ between DC police and locals

The DC mayor says that despite statistics that show a reduction in crime, the “break in trust” between police and the local community is “not working”. She says this is particularly apparent between federal law enforcement and DC locals.

“We know having masked Ice agents in the community has not worked, and national guard from other states has not been an efficient use of those resources,” she adds.

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Updated at 14.02 EDT

A short while ago, Muriel Bowser said that her office “will be supportive” of Donald Trump’s $2bn “beautification” request to Congress.

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Updated at 14.01 EDT

Bowser says she ‘greatly appreciates’ effect of surge of federal officers on DC crime rate

“We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,” Bowser says.

She cites police data which shows there has been an 87% reduction in carjackings in DC over the last 20 days, compared to the same period last year.

Boswer then says she spoke with Donald Trump today, and that she was “reminded” of their first meeting after his re-election.

“We discussed shared priorities for the district,” Bowser adds. “I was reminded that the president’s interest in cities predates his time in office, and his knowledge of DC had significantly increased from the first time he was in the White House.”

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Updated at 13.50 EDT

The deputy mayor for public safety and justice, Lindsey Appiah, is now talking about the hiring push for the DC police department. “We continue to do that work to stabilize, and to increase our for strength to what we believe is where we need to be – 3,800 to 4,000 officers,” she says.

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Updated at 13.46 EDT

Bowser is now speaking, and says she’s providing a “situational update” on the surge of federal law enforcement in DC.

“I always want to remind people give you a quick little primer of who we are in Washington, DC,” Bowser adds. “We function as a city, county and state…We pay federal taxes. In fact, we pay more per capita than most places, and we get back less.”

The pre-amble that Boswer is giving seems to be a pointed refresher on what the limited rights and representation of the district.

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The mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, is about to hold a press conference to give an update on the federal takeover of law enforcement in the nation’s capital.

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Updated at 13.33 EDT

Trump administration moves to tighten duration of visas for students and media

The Trump administration aims to tighten the duration of visas for students, cultural exchange visitors and members of the media, according to a proposed government regulation issued today, part of a broader crackdown on legal immigration.

This latest move would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists who would have to apply to extend their stay in the US rather than maintain a more flexible legal status.

The proposed regulation would create a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or US-based employment.

There were about 1.6 million international students on F visas in the US in 2024, according to US government data. The US granted visas to about 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on 1 October 2023. The student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years, the proposed regulation said. The visa for journalists – which currently can last years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days. The visa holders could apply for extensions, the proposal said.

The Trump administration said in the proposed regulation that the change was needed to better “monitor and oversee” the visa holders while they were in the United States.

The public will have 30 days to comment on the measure, which mirrors a proposal put forward in 2020 at the end of Trump’s first term in office.

The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards over ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

In a 22 August memo, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighborhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character and commitment to American ideals.

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Updated at 13.07 EDT

US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s announcement that Donald Trump is to chair a “large” White House meeting on Gaza later today to discuss the “comprehensive plan” the administration is putting together for the so-called day after is notable as it appears this is the first time that Witkoff has revealed the existence of such a plan, the Times of Israel writes.

He told Fox News yesterday: “Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives.”

You may remember that Trump made headlines last month when he said he’d be unveiling a new plan to get aid into Gaza, but never followed through.

With so much at stake for Palestinian people still in Gaza, we’ll bring you more on the meeting as we get it through the afternoon.

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Updated at 12.47 EDT

Former British prime minister Tony Blair and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will participate in the meeting on Gaza at the White House later today and present the president with ideas for a post-war plan, Axios is reporting, citing two sources with knowledge.

The meeting will also include a discussion of how to increase aid flows into Gaza, according to Axios. The devastated territory is experiencing a widespread, man-made famine, with a quarter of all Palestinian people there starving as a result of Israel’s obstruction of aid.

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Updated at 12.38 EDT

My colleague, Tom Ambrose, is covering the developments in the Middle East today, as Israel carries out a raid in the in the old city of Nablus, and ten Palestinians have died from starvation in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Today, Donald Trump is also expected to chair a meeting on Gaza at the White House, according to special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Tom will bring you the latest as it happens.

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Updated at 12.10 EDT

Senior Trump official says president hasn’t decided when to nominate replacement for Lisa Cook

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on CNN today that Donald Trump hasn’t “made a final call” on when he plans to nominate a replacement for Lisa Cook – the Federal Reserve governor he moved to fire this week.

Hassett’s comment came after Trump suggested at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he had a candidate in mind. Asked about possible replacements for Cook during his marathon televised cabinet meeting, Trump said: “We have some very good people for that position.”

“I think, maybe in my own mind, I have somebody that I like,” Trump added, before saying that he would also consult Scott Bessant, the treasury secretary, and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.

A reminder that Cook has not been charged with a crime, and her lawyer has said the president has “no authority” to remove her from her position. Trump has claimed that Cook has engaged in mortgage fraud, and noted that he has “some very good people” in mind to replace her while taking questions during his three-hour long cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

In his CNN interview, Hassett said that the president would “respect judgment of the legal system”, possibly referring to the lawsuit that Cook is expected to file to challenge her attempted firing.

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Updated at 12.22 EDT

Department of Transportation to take back control of DC’s Union Station

The US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said that his department is taking back control of Union Station from Amtrak –the railroad company that receives federal subsidies and has managed the daily operations of the DC transportation hub for over a year.

At a launch event for a new fleet of high-speed trains, Duffy said that the station has been “neglected for decades” and is “showing its age”.

“By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost,” Duffy added.

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Updated at 11.32 EDT

Trump briefed on Minneapolis school shooting

Donald Trump said that he has been “fully briefed” on the school shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, today. “The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Local authorities said a shooting occurred during at Annunciation Catholic school in south Minneapolis. At least five children have been injured.

The shooter has been “contained” and there is no “active threat” to residents, according to Minneapolis city officials.

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Updated at 11.55 EDT

Kilmar Ábrego García’s lawyers reopen immigration proceedings to seek asylum

Earlier today, Kilmar Ábrego García’s lawyers said their client wants to seek asylum in the US, for fear of torture and persecution if deported to Uganda. The district federal judge presiding, Paula Xinis, said that this would be operate on a “separate track” from the habeas corpus lawsuit Ábrego’s lawyer filed this week.

Judge Xinis has set a hearing for 6 October on the administration’s plans to deport Ábrego.

The judge added that Ábrego cannot be deported until then, extending the temporary restraining order which stipulates that Ábrego must remain at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility where he is currently detained.

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Updated at 12.08 EDT

Attorney general says 84 arrested on Tuesday in DC

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said that federal law enforcement made 84 arrests on Tuesday in the nation’s capital. She added that there have been 1,178 total arrests since the beginning of the surge in DC earlier this month.

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Updated at 10.08 EDT

Maanvi Singh

Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago had already made it past the security line at the El Paso airport when two border patrol agents called her in for questioning and whisked her away to an immigration detention center.

Nearly a month after her arrest, she and her family still aren’t clear why she is detained. Santiago is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program – which has allowed her to legally live and work in the US.

“They have no legal basis for why they detained her or why they’re holding her or why they’re trying to deport her,” said her spouse, Desiree Miller. And immigration officials have yet to provide her or her family any clear answers, she added.

Since her arrest on 3 August, Santiago’s case has alarmed immigration advocates across the US, as it illustrates the increasing vulnerability of hundreds of thousands of young people who arrived in the US as children and were granted temporary protections from deportation through the Obama-era Daca program.

Although there have been no regulatory changes to the program, the administration has tried to strip 525,000 Daca recipients, also known as Dreamers, of benefits. In July, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security assistant press secretary, claimed, falsely, that “Daca does not confer any form of legal status in this country” and urged recipients to self-deport.

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Updated at 09.41 EDT