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US politics

Today

President Donald Trump, pictured here on Air Force One on Monday, has moved to ban transgender people from the US military.

US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s federal funding freeze

The Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans could total trillions of dollars; Katy Gallagher says there is a “real possibility” Australia’s economy will have a soft landing. Follow live updates.

  • 40 mins ago
  • Lucy Slade
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.

  • Jacqueline Alemany, Dan Diamond and Liz Goodwin

Yesterday

The Little Desert bushfire threatened Dimboola on Monday, January 28, 2025. Facebook video posted by Jamie Chandler.

‘Just exploded’: bushfire destroys wedding venue in national park

A Victorian bushfire is threatening holidaymakers at a national park; Donald Trump vows “near future” tariffs, calls DeepSeek progress “good”. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade

This Month

Grace Tame (right) greets Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, at the Lodge while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “F--- Murdoch”.

PM calls Grace Tame’s T-shirt stunt ‘disrespectful’

Anthony Albanese says he disagrees with the T-shirt Tame wore at the Australia Day event; Russian troops capture strategic town in eastern Ukraine. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office.

Rude discovery: Trump confronts limits to his power in the complex US

Supreme power appealed to Donald Trump’s supporters, but the reality is America’s complex and at times cumbersome democracy just won’t allow for it.

  • Matthew Cranston
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People in Davos following Mr Trump’s virtual speech.

Trump slams Europe, threatens ‘trillions’ in tariffs

The president lambasted Canada’s trade surplus with the US and also fired a verbal volley at the European Union’s restrictions on his country.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
Police investigate anti-semetic graffiti overnight at the Newtown Synagogue, in Newtown, Saturday 11th of January 2025. Photo: Dion Georgopoulos / The Sydney Morning Herald

Woolworths NZ supermarkets boss to exit

Woolworths’ new CEO has made her first major change; NSW Police arrest 10 people for antisemitic behaviour; wildfire breaks out in LA. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade

‘They don’t actually have the money’: Musk slams AI project

Tech bros have taken to X in an extraordinary public spat to question each other’s financial muscle over Donald Trump’s $800b AI joint venture. Elon Musk said, “they don’t have the money”.

  • Updated
  • Justin Sink
Rail unions have withdrawn all their partial work bans.

Unions withdraw strike action, to relief of Sydney commuters

Rail unions have withdrawn all their partial work bans against Sydney Trains; NSW Police arrest man over synagogue attack. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during the Democratic National Convention.

The curious case of missing Michelle Obama

The former first lady is keeping a low profile, opting not to attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral or Donald Trump’s inauguration.

  • Tony Diver
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio in 2020.

Proud Boys’ Enrique Tarrio released from prison

The high-profile defendant’s 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy in the attack on the US Capitol was wiped away by Donald Trump.

  • Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman
US President Donald Trump speaks while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House.

Trump White House promises ‘massive’ infrastructure announcement

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the news would “prove that the world knows that America is back”.

  • Nandita Bose and Doina Chiacu
Who’s who at the inauguration zoo: in attendance will be (from left) Jeff Bezos, Kevin Rudd, Mark Zuckerberg, Penny Wong, Gina Rinehart, J.D. Vance, Ivan Kanapathy, Elon Musk, Anthony Pratt, Donald Trump, Barron Trump, Donald Trump jnr, Eric Trump, Pete Hegseth, the Village People.

Trump’s ‘unwokening’ is a cautionary tale

The US experience raises questions about how corporate Australia should achieve sensible diversity goals without fuelling a populist backlash.

  • The AFR View
Donald Trump, the 47th US president who was inaugurated on Tuesday (AEDT), must now ask himself how bond markets will respond if he follows through on his promises.

Will the bond market intimidate Trumponomics?

Are recent alarm bells a sufficient warning, or will the new president still pursue large-scale stimulus in tax cuts, tariffs, and an immigration crackdown?

  • Jim O'Neill
Supporters watch the swearing-in ceremony from inside the Capital One Arena after the outdoor events were cancelled.

No big show, but Trump faithful just happy to be there

Arctic conditions meant inauguration day didn’t have the fanfare hoped for but his supporters on the streets of DC were not disappointed.

  • Matthew Cranston
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Donald Trump is sworn in as president, watched by Vice President D.J. Vance.

Can Trump deliver on his promises?

As he lays out his lofty ambitions, the president has learnt the lessons of his previous term and knows he has only a short window of time to act.

  • Ava Kalinauskas

President rejects ‘oligarchy’ tag despite billionaire line-up

Joe Biden warned as he left office that the US was becoming an oligarchy of tech billionaires wielding dangerous levels of power and influence on the nation.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston
President Joe Biden.

Biden pardons Fauci, Cheney and others to prevent Trump ‘revenge’

The outgoing president issued pre-emptive pardons to officials whom his successor has labelled as political enemies.

  • Gregory Korte
Elon Musk, Ivanka Trump and Jeff Bezos speak as they wait for President-elect Donald Trump’s arrival during a candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington.

This time it’s different: no one questions Trump 2.0

Democrats are resigned, billionaires are signing cheques, business is on-board and foreign leaders of every political hue are in town to be part of the Trump 2.0 moment.

  • Matthew Cranston
Then-president Donald Trump and Anthony Pratt during the official opening of Pratt Industries’ Wapakoneta recycling and paper plant in Ohio in 2019.

Pratt matches Rinehart with full-page ad for Trump

The Australian packaging magnate has taken out a full-page ad in the centre-left New York Times, leaving no doubt about his support for the president-elect.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/us-politics-1nlq