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US Senate

This Month

Senator Cory Booker speaks on the Senate floor.

US senator breaks record with 24-hour anti-Trump speech

Cory Booker’s marathon address was an attempt to show frustrated supporters that the Democrats are doing everything possible to contest Donald Trump’s agenda.

March

Pressure on Hegseth grows as strike texts revealed

The revelation that sensitive attack plans were shared on a commercial messaging app, possibly on personal mobile phones, has triggered outrage in Washington.

US President Donald Trump has been fortunate to start with an obedient Congress.

Trump’s attack on the judiciary: ‘speed and intent is remarkable’

The US president is testing constitutional limits and challenging the courts to stop him. Who will blink first?

US President Donald Trump and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts.

US chief justice scolds Trump over judges threat

Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement that described the president’s threat to impeach judges as not an appropriate response.

Elon Musk

Musk’s cuts fail to stop record US spending

US federal government spending rose to $953 billion in February despite DOGE’s hyperactive efficiency drive, data shows.

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Just look at America under Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is the political equivalent of a natural disaster

Trump’s tariffs on Australian aluminium will have a modest economic impact, but his assault on US allies is changing Australia’s place in the world.

February

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government is limping to the end of a first term.

Albanese hit hard by live fire from all sides

From Chinese warships, to Trump’s tariffs, to Australia’s sense of itself, Anthony Albanese is struggling to show he has convincing answers.

Robert F. Kennedy Junior was confirmed in a chamber where his father, and his famous uncles, all held office as Democrats.

RFK jnr secures top health job – and immediately targets vaccines

The Senate voted to put the long-time anti-vaccine activist, who was called a predator by Caroline Kennedy, in charge of the vast US health apparatus.

People protest against Elon Musk outside the Department of Labour in Washington.

Musk calls courts corrupt as Trump’s agenda faces legal pushback

The billionaire and Vice President J.D. Vance are openly questioning the judiciary’s authority as the president’s sweeping reforms face resistance.

Trump’s defence secretary pick Pete Hegseth made a strong rebuttal of the allegations against him at the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Pete Hegseth confirmed as US defence secretary after historic tie-break

Donald Trump-backed Pete Hegseth narrowly secured enough votes on Saturday to become the next US defence secretary in what was only the second time in history a cabinet nominee needed a tie-break to be confirmed.

The first jobs report of Donald Trump’s second presidency is in.

US economy adds 143,000 jobs, jobless rate at 4pc

US job growth moderated in January, bolstering the case that policymakers at the Federal Reserve need not rush further interest rate cuts.

Robert F. Kennedy jnr is President Donald Trump’s choice to be health secretary.

US Senate panel backs RFK jnr as Trump’s health secretary

The decision by the Republican-controlled committee paves the way for a full vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy jnr as soon as this week.

Elon Musk speaking at the presidential inauguration parade in Washington.

Trump hints at curbing Musk: ‘He does nothing without my approval’

The president said the billionaire could not dismantle government spending without his permission, as legislators accuse him of breaking the US Constitution.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House.

‘Trade war on steroids’: Trump launches markets gamble

The president bets he can achieve his aims through tariffs without igniting inflation or a sell-off in American stocks.

January

Protesters demonstrate against Donald Trump’s freeze of federal grants and loans worth $US3 trillion.

Judge blocks Trump’s spending freeze in day of chaos

The judge halted the president’s plan to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to federal programs just minutes before it was set to take effect.

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Former US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy and her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘Predator’: Caroline Kennedy warns America of RFK jnr

In a searing letter, the former ambassador to Australia said Robert F. Kennedy jnr had led family members to drug addiction, and was unfit to be health secretary.

Scott Bessent is sworn in as Secretary of the Treasury on 16 January 2025.

Trump’s team forms ‘gradual’ global tariff plan

New Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants universal levies to rise month by month in order to give businesses time to adjust.

Trump speaks while signing executive orders in the Oval Office.

Why nothing can stop Trump now

Very little stands in the way of the president’s goal of remaking America as he ploughs ahead with signing executive orders.

Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg says workplaces need more ‘masculine energy’. He’s wrong

The Meta chief executive wants to celebrate aggression, but his suggestion that office life has become less competitive is nonsense, even amid all the home-baked treats.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defence secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing.

Trump’s defence nominee Pete Hegseth weathers Democrats’ grilling

The former Fox News host and decorated veteran is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be Secretary of Defence.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/united-states-senate-64a