Trump press secretary denies president is weaponizing justice department and dodges question on autism announcement – live | US news

Key events

Edward Helmore

Earlier, we reported on Republican senator Rand Paul’s pushback on the Trump administration putting pressure on the justice department to investigate the president’s opponents.

In the same NBC News interview on Sunday, Kentucky’s junior senator broke with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr for seemingly putting his finger on the scale in the ongoing dispute between suspended talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, Disney-owned ABC.

Carr recently threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses if Disney did not take action against Kimmel over his comments suggesting that Republicans were trying to characterize the alleged killer of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk as “anything other” than part of the president’s “Maga gang”.

Paul told Meet the Press that Carr’s comments were “absolutely inappropriate” and the FCC chair “has got no business weighing in on this”.

“Any attempt by the government to get involved with speech – I will fight,” Paul added.

But Paul also qualified his comments, saying Disney and ABC had no obligation to employ Kimmel. On-air media contracts typically have a morals clause against behavior that is offensive or reflects unfavorably on the company.

“People have to also realize that despicable comments – you have the right to say them,” Paul said. “But you don’t have the right to employment. Virtually everybody employed, probably including yourself, has a code of conduct in your contact that you have to adhere.”

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On Truth Social, Donald Trump said that he wrapped a call a short while ago with the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, where he pledged to buy $4bn worth of locomotives and rail equipment from the US.

“We need to support our U.S. Rail Industry, which has been attacked by Fake Environmentalists for years. Congratulations to President Tokayev on his great purchase,” Trump wrote.

Kazakhstan will buy the infrastructure from Wabtec Corporation, the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer, in a deal that will support “thousands of jobs” in the US, according to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

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Following today’s White House briefing, here’s a recap of the day so far

In a wide ranging press conference, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, answered several questions from reporters. Most notably, she was resolute that Donald Trump wasn’t pressuring the justice department to target his political enemies. This, despite posts on social media this weekend where he implored attorney general Pam Bondi to investigate several of his adversaries. It comes after the president took credit for firing the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, Erik Seibert, after he said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute New York attorney general Leticia James for mortgage fraud. “We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media or from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it’s the president who is weaponizing the DoJ,” Leavitt said, repeating the party line that Trump’s predecessor was, in fact, the culprit. “Joe Biden used this sacred American institution to go after his political opponent in the middle of an election year.”

Leavitt also sidestepped questions about the president’s reported autism announcement today. Trump is expected to deliver remarks citing a link between the use of Tylenol by pregnant women and autism among children. Medical experts have said it’s perfectly safe for women to take over-the-counter pain medication while pregnant. “Before you jump to conclusions based on reports that the White House has not even confirmed, I would encourage everyone in this room to go into the four o’clock announcement with some critical thinking skills and with some open ears to actually listen to what the president and his team of outsiders have to say about this,” Leavitt said.

The White House also said that it supports congressional Republicans efforts for a “clean” short-term funding bill, to avoid a government shutdown. For context, funding is set to expire at the end of this month, and lawmakers are on recess this week. Leavitt said that the president wants “a straightforward, responsible solution to keep the government open to 21 November and allow the full year appropriations process to move forward.” She added that Democrats’ would ultimately be responsible for a shutdown.

The press secretary also noted that Trump plans to sign the US ownership deal of TikTok, which would allow the social media app to continue operating stateside. Of note, the tech company Oracle – owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison – will independently monitor all US user data on their servers, adding that it will be “stored securely in the United States without access from China”.

And as the president prepares to address the UN general assembly on Tuesday, the White House responded to several countries formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. “Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas,” the press secretary said today. “He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies. And I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the UN.”

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Trump to take part in several high-stakes meeting at UN general assembly, amid ally calls for Palestinian statehood

Lucy Campbell

Donald Trump is set to hold a series of high-stakes meetings at the United Nations this week, beginning with bilateral talks with UN secretary-general António Guterres and leaders from Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at today’s briefing.

In a separate multilateral summit, Trump will convene with leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan, Leavitt said.

You can follow the latest developments out of the Middle East at our dedicated liveblog.

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Updated at 14.53 EDT

Leavitt says Trump will sign TikTok ownership deal later this week

Of note in today’s briefing, Karoline Leavitt said that the president plans to sign the US ownership deal of TikTok, which would allow the social media app to continue operating stateside.

“TikTok will be owned by a majority of American investors and controlled by a board of directors with extensive national security and cybersecurity credentials,” Leavitt said.

She confirmed earlier reports that tech company Oracle – owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison – will independently monitor all US user data on their servers, adding that it will be “stored securely in the United States without access from China”.

Leavitt also said that the TikTok algorithm will be secured, retrained and operated in the United States and “outside ByteDance’s control”.

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Updated at 14.31 EDT

White House reaffirms belief that recognizing Palestinian statehood is a ‘reward to Hamas’, in break from allies

As we noted earlier, several American allies have joined the global chorus formally recognizing a Palestinian state. Today, Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed that Donald Trump disagrees with this decision.

“Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas,” the press secretary said. “He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies. And I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the UN.”

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Leavitt says administration supports a ‘clean’ short-term funding bill to avoid government shutdown

The press secretary said that she didn’t have any updates on a possible meeting, following a letter that top Congressional Democrats sent to the president to discuss the short-term funding bill that has stalled in the Senate.

A reminder that government funding expires at the end of September, and lawmakers from both chambers are back in their districts on recess.

“This White House wants and what Republicans want, we want a clean funding extension to keep the government open,” Leavitt said. “A straightforward, responsible solution to keep the government open to November 21 and allow the full year appropriations process to move forward.”

GOP lawmakers have labelled Democrats’ version of a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown as “unserious” as it contains a number of health care provisions to offset the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Leavitt, however, shirked any possible blame: “If the government is shut down, it’s only going to it will be the fault of the Democrats, and it will only hurt the most vulnerable in our country.”

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Updated at 14.00 EDT

White House says it won’t ‘tolerate gaslighting’ from media following Trump’s pressure campaign on justice department

Karoline Leavitt was resolute today when fielding questions from reporters on the pressure campaign from the president on the Department of Justice to investigate several of his political opponents.

“We are not going to tolerate gaslighting from anyone in the media or from anyone on the other side who is trying to say that it’s the president who is weaponizing the DoJ,” Leavitt said. “Joe Biden used this sacred American institution to go after his political opponent in the middle of an election year.”

When pressed further about why Donald Trump is unwilling to accept findings from Erik Siebert, the now fired US attorney of eastern district of Virginia, Leavitt said: “The president has every right to express how he feels about these people who literally campaigned on trying to put him in jail, who literally tried to ruin his life and ruin his businesses. And he wants to see accountability for those who abuse their office and abuse their power.”

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Updated at 14.51 EDT

Leavitt sidesteps question about reported autism announcement

Notably, Karoline Leavitt said that she doesn’t “want to scoop” the president or health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr ahead of their 4pm announcement today.

There have been multiple reports that Trump plans to deliver remarks citing a link between the use of Tylenol – namely its active ingredient acetaminophen – by pregnant women and autism among children. Medical experts have said it’s perfectly safe for women to take over-the-counter pain medication while pregnant.

Leavitt did not confirm the details of today’s announcement:

Before you jump to conclusions based on reports that the White House has not even confirmed, I would encourage everyone in this room to go into the four o’clock announcement with some critical thinking skills and with some open ears to actually listen to what the president and his team of outsiders have to say about this.

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Updated at 14.06 EDT

Following the public memorial for far-right activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk on Sunday, Leavitt characterized Erika Kirk’s remarks, where she said that she forgives her husband’s killer, as “one of the greatest acts of grace this world has ever seen”.

Notably, Leavitt incorrectly claimed that 96 Democrats voted “against a basic resolution condemning political violence” in Congress, following his murder.

On Friday, the House ultimately passed a resolution that praised Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who sought to “elevate truth, foster understanding, and strengthen the Republic”.

Ninety-five Democrats voted to pass the measure, but 58 voted to oppose it, with several saying that they condemned his murder, but could not support Kirk’s speech. Thirty-eight Democrats voted present and 22 did not vote on the resolution.

In a statement, New York Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that while “condemning the depravity of Kirk’s brutal murder is a straightforward matter” Kirk’s rhetoric and beliefs “were ignorant and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans – far from ‘working tirelessly to promote unity’ as asserted by the majority in this resolution”.

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Updated at 13.31 EDT

Leavitt begins White House press briefing, teasing Trump’s address at UN general assembly

Karoline Leavitt just started the White House press briefing. She noted that the president will address the United Nations general assembly tomorrow in a “a major speech touting the renewal of American strength around the world his historic accomplishments in just eight months”.

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Updated at 13.16 EDT