Netanyahu arrives at White House
Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived at the White House for his scheduled talks with Donald Trump this evening.
The Israeli prime minister met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this afternoon, the Associated Press reports, citing the prime minister’s office.
The visit comes as indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza continued for a second day on Monday.
Trump has increased pressure for a deal in Gaza in recent weeks and raised the possibility that a ceasefire could be declared in a matter of hours or days.
Hamas demands an Israeli withdrawal, while Netanyahu insists on Hamas disarming. The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu could give new urgency to the US ceasefire proposal, but whether it leads to a deal that ends the war is unclear.
Key events
Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:
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Donald Trump hosted the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House today. The visit comes as indirect talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza continued for a second day on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Netanyahu said he has sent a letter to the Nobel committee nominating Trump for a Nobel peace prize. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu met with US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. He will meet House speaker Mike Johnson tomorrow.
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During his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump told reporters the United States will resume weapons shipments to Ukraine. Last week, the Pentagon halted shipments of US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons to Ukraine after concern that US stockpiles were running too low. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that Trump had ordered weapons shipments to Ukraine paused, instead saying the decision was made as part of a normal review of such shipments by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
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The White House published letters to 14 countries detailing new tariff rates on imported goods to the United States. He also signed an executive order on Monday extending a 90-day pause for a slate of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs first introduced in April – in effect pushing back the deadline of trade talks back to 1 August. The tariffs include:
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Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia: 25%
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Indonesia: 32%
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Bangladesh and Serbia: 35%
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Bosnia: 30%
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Cambodia and Thailand: 36%
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South Africa: 30%
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Laos and Myanmar: 40%
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Trump signed two other executive orders today: one directs his administration to “strictly enforce the termination of the clean electricity production and investment tax credits”, Biden-era subsidies for wind and solar projects. The other extends a federal hiring freeze through 15 October 15.
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Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, confronted immigration agents after US Customs and Border Patrol conducted a raid on the city’s MacArthur Park today, she said in a social media post.
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The Trump administration will deport Kilmar Ábrego García if he is released from custody, a justice department attorney said in court this morning, according to the New York Times.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs will no longer need to cut 80,000 jobs, as ordered by the Trump administration’s so-called “department of government efficiency”, because it has already cut staff by 30,000 through retirements, buyouts and hiring freezes, the agency said today.
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A judge has ordered the Trump administration to continue disbursing Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, despite a provision in the president’s recently signed tax and spending bill.
In a break from decades-old policy, the IRS said in a court filing today that churches and other religious groups should be allowed to endorse political candidates, the New York Times reports.
In a lawsuit, two Texas churches and an association of Christian broadcasters asked the IRS to exempt all nonprofits, which many churches are, from endorsing political candidates to their members. The IRS agreed to a narrower exemption, saying that it would view a church’s decision to endorse a candidate not as campaigning but as a private matter, like “a family discussion”.
A judge has ordered the Trump administration to continue disbursing Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, despite a provision in the president’s recently signed tax and spending bill.
US district judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed earlier today by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The lawsuit argues that the ban on Medicaid funding, which targets Planned Parenthood for providing abortion care, will see increased rates of untreated sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, as well as unplanned pregnancies, nationwide.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will no longer need to cut 80,000 jobs, as ordered by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, because it has already cut staff by 30,000 through retirements, buyouts and hiring freezes, the agency said today.
In a news release, veterans affairs secretary Doug Collins said: “Since March, we’ve been conducting a holistic review of the department centered on reducing bureaucracy and improving services to Veterans.”
“A department-wide RIF” or, reduction in force, “is off the table, but that doesn’t mean we’re done improving VA. Our review has resulted in a host of new ideas for better serving Veterans that we will continue to pursue,” he added.
Ahead of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington DC today, demonstrators gathered outside of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the 7 October attack hostages and urge a ceasefire.
Here are images from the rally:
Donald Trump said he lifted the United States’s sanctions on Syria at the request of Middle Eastern leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister added that Syria’s new leadership gives Israel a chance at a new relationship with Syria.
Donald Trump says the United States will resume weapons shipments to Ukraine.
“They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he said.
The president did not add any additional details.
Last wee, the Pentagon halted shipments of US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons to Ukraine after concern that US stockpiles were running too low.
Trump and Netanyahu are answering questions about Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.
In response to a question about Mamdani, who has said he would enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest order if Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited New York city, Netanyahu said “I’m not concerned about that”.
Trump, who has threatened to deport Mamdani, who is a US citizen, said “I’ll get him out.”
Later Trump called Mamdani a “communist and said “he’s said some really bad things about Jewish people.”
Donald Trump passed on a question about a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, asking Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to answer instead.
“I think Palestinians should have all of the power to govern themselves, but none of the power to threaten us,” he said.
Trump says Iran has approached the White House for talks following the United State’s strike on the country’s nuclear facilities. He also compared the US’s strikes to the country’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during World War II.
“I don’t want to say what it reminded me of but if you go back a long time ago, it reminded people of a certain other event. And Harry Truman’s picture is now in the lobby, in a nice location, not in the lobby where it should have been, but that stopped a lot of fighting, and this stopped a lot of fighting,” he said.
“I hope we’re not going to have to” strike Iran again, he added.
