US politics live blog: Trump defends $625m jet gift

Donald Trump has defended his decision to accept a luxurious $625 million jet from Qatar, insisting it's a gift to the US’ defence department “not to me”.

Donald Trump has jetted off to Saudi Arabia – the first stop on his four-day trip to the Middle East.

The visit got off to an eventful start, with the US President meeting with the Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and the White House announcing a $142bn arms deal with the nation.

In a lengthy speech at a US-Saudi investment summit in the nation’s capital, Mr Trump slammed “western intervention” and praised Saudi Arabia for achieving “a modern miracle the Arabian way”.

The President also announced he would lift sweeping sanctions on Syria to offer it a chance for “greatness”.

Read on for more updates.

Originally published as US politics live blog: Trump defends $625m jet gift