John Bolton says Trump removed his Secret Service detail
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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has terminated Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton, Bolton said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon.
“Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021. The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hit man to target me. That threat remains today,” Bolton wrote. “The American people can judge for themselves which President made the right call.”
The White House has not commented on Bolton’s claims.
Bolton worked as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 and was frequently at odds with the president. After he left office, Bolton was vocal about his criticisms of Trump’s policies, including in a 2020 memoir in which he claimed the president was “stunningly uninformed,” ignorant of basic facts and easily manipulated by foreign adversaries.
At the time of the book’s release, Bolton told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that Trump was “not fit for office” and didn’t have “the competence to carry out the job.”
Trump has lashed out at Bolton since leaving office in social media posts and interviews.
On Monday, he signed an executive order that called for Bolton to lose any security clearance he might still hold.
The executive order accused Bolton of publishing a memoir that “was rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government,” with the order adding that the book’s publication “created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed.”
Bolton has denied disclosing any classified information in the book, and though a federal judge was skeptical of that, no charges were ever filed.
(WASHINGTON) — While Friday’s explosive meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended with a shouting match, the start of the Oval Office meeting was full of optimism about signing the minerals deal.
Trump, who called the Ukrainian president a dictator last week, started the Oval Office spray in a smoother fashion, saying, “We’ve actually known each other for a long time. We’ve been dealing with each other for a long time and very well there. We had a little negotiation spat, but that worked out great, I think, for both countries.”
Zelenskyy was also optimistic about an agreement that would have given the United States access to critical minerals from Ukraine.
“I hope that this document will be the first step to real security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. “Our people, our children really count on it. And, of course, we count that America will not stop support. Really, for us, it’s very important to support and to continue it. I want to discuss it with details further.”
Zelenskyy urged the U.S. to take a strong position in stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he is a “killer” and “terrorist.”
“I hope that together we can stop him. But for us, it’s very important to to save our country, our values, our freedom and democracy,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of having the U.S. backing up European security contingencies.
“I think that France and U.K. already spoke to you, and we know that Europe is ready, but without the United States, they will not be ready to be as strong as we need,” he said.
Still, Trump argued that Russia will not go back on its word once a peace deal is reached, and he declined to get into security guarantees that Zelenskyy said he views as critical to any peace agreement.
“We’ll make a deal,” he said. “I have to make the deal first. I don’t worry about security right now.”
Other cracks started to show just over 10 minutes into the spray, including one notable moment when Zelenskyy and Trump disagreed over the amount of support Europe has given Ukraine.
“They really gave a lot, Mr. President,” Zelenskyy said.
“They gave a lot — but they gave much less,” Trump replied, without providing details.
“No,” Zelenskyy shot back with a look of skepticism, though they continued to keep the tone light.
Trump and Zelenskyy also disagreed over Putin’s reliability once a deal is struck, with Zelenskyy saying Putin will never accept just a ceasefire.
“It will not work without security guarantees,” the Ukrainian president added.
The president also defended his talks with Putin, saying it is the only way to get a deal across the finish line when he was pressed about concerns he’s too aligned with Putin.
“I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America. And for the good of the world,” Trump said.
Vice President J.D. Vance then chimed in and continued to push Trump’s point, claiming President Joe Biden did not do enough to deter the war.
At that point, Zelenskyy interjected, bringing up the struggles his country has faced over the last decade, prompting Vance and Trump to shout at the Ukrainian president.
The Republican-led effort passed 224-198 with two members voting present, one of them being Green. Ten Democrats voted on the resolution to censure Green.
The Texas Democrat was immediately called to the well for a public reading of the resolution by Speaker Mike Johnson. Green and other Democrats surrounding him there began singing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome,” which prompted the Republican side to yell “order.”
A screaming match between House Democrats and Republicans broke out. At one point, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley yelled back, “Shame on you!” Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib also shouted at Republicans.
In a brief appearance on Fox News after the vote, Johnson called it “a really sad day for out institution.”
Moments before the vote, Johnson had told ABC News he took “no pleasure in making history like this” and hoped Green would “acknowledge his mistake.”
“I want us to have proper decorum. I want us to maintain really the great tradition of this institution,” Johnson said. “And these things do damage to it and I’m sorry that it happened.”
Green was ejected from the joint session on Tuesday after interrupting the president’s speech and refusing to sit down despite warnings from Johnson.
“He chose to deliberately violate House rules in a manner that we think is probably unprecedented in history — interrupting a message of a president of the United States, who is an honored guest,” Johnson explained ahead of the vote.
Several members of the GOP conference were circulating different resolutions to censure Green the morning after Trump’s speech. Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse was the first to formally introduce a resolution on the House floor on Wednesday.
“Decorum and order are the institutional grounds for the way we do business in the United States Congress, and the sheer disregard for that standard during President Trump’s address by the gentleman from Texas is unacceptable,” Newhouse said in a statement. “A Member’s refusal to adhere to the Speaker’s direction to cease such behavior, regardless of their party, has and will continue to be reprimanded in the people’s House.”
Democrats tried and failed on Wednesday evening to block the censure measure.
A censure resolution is a formal reprimand by the House for violations of the chamber’s code of conduct. A vote to censure a member of the House does not hold any power beyond a public condemnation of the member’s behavior and it does not deny the member privileges.
Censuring House members has been historically rare, but in the last few years we’ve seen members from both political parties use this as a political tool. Green is the fifth member of Congress to be censured in this decade.
Green on Wednesday defended his actions, saying, “I would do it again.”
“I am not angry with the speaker. I am not angry with the officers. I am not upset with the members who are going to bring the motions or resolutions to sanction. I will suffer the consequences,” he said.
Green’s outburst happened within minutes of Trump’s address, when the president called his electoral victory a “mandate.” Green, an 11-term Democrat representing the Houston area, stood up and pointed his cane as he shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
Johnson slammed his gavel and gave a warning to lawmakers assembled to maintain decorum, telling Green several times to take his seat. As Green continued to protest, Johnson called for him to be removed.
Green is not the only lawmaker to interrupt a presidential address to Congress. In 2022, Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert repeatedly interrupted then-President Joe Biden’s speech. Greene did it again during Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address.
On “Good Morning America” the next day, Johnson defended his decision to have Green removed.
“Al Green was trying to interrupt the entire proceeding. But look, I’ll just say this. If the Democrats want a 77-year-old congressman to be the face of their resistance, heckling the president, then bring it on,” he said.
Green told ABC News late Tuesday night he was “following the wishes of conscience.”
“There are times when it it better to stand alone than not stand at all,” Green said. He added, “At some point, we’re all going to have to stand up.”
Ten Democrats voted to censure Green: Reps. Ami Bera of California, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Costa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Wahsingont and Tom Suozzi of New York.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is hosting French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday, with Russia and Ukraine set to be atop the agenda as the world marks three years since Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Trump and Macron participated in a call with other G7 leaders before a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office. After they will hold a news conference in the East Room, where they can expect to be peppered with questions about the status of peace talks.
Macron convened European leaders for emergency meetings on Ukraine in Paris last week, as top U.S. officials held talks with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine and Europe.
Following those meetings, Macron said France and its partners agreed Ukraine must always be involved and its rights respected in negotiations and that security concerns of Europeans must be taken into account.
“Following discussions over the past few days with European colleagues and allies, we are committed to ensuring that peace returns to Ukraine in a just, solid, and lasting manner, and that the security of Europeans is strengthened through all upcoming negotiations,” Macron posted on X on Sunday ahead of his trip to Washington.
The Trump administration’s increased pressure on Ukraine to resolve the conflict, with Trump calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and falsely blaming Ukraine for Russia’s ongoing assault. Trump escalated his criticism last week, when he said Ukraine has “no cards” to play as negotiations unfold.
Meanwhile, Trump said he’s had “good talks” with Putin. Trump has not appeared to make any demands of Russia as negotiations unfold, while he’s ruled out NATO membership and a return to Ukraine’s 2014 borders.
The posture marks a seismic shift in U.S. foreign policy, and comes as the Trump administration brandishes an “America First” agenda that could upend traditional transatlantic alliances.
Vice President JD Vance caused a stir when he took an aggressive tone toward Europe’s leadership on immigration, free speech and more as he spoke at the Munich Security Conference. Vance told U.S. allies the greatest threat to Europe was “within” and not Russia or China.
Vance doubled down on those themes in his speech at CPAC last week. Asked there about the future of U.S. alliances on the continent, Vance said they would continue to have “important” partnerships with Europe.
“But I really do think the strength of those alliances is going to depend on whether we take our societies in the right direction … That friendship is based on shared values,” he said.
