‘No US soldiers needed’ for Gaza plan, says Trump
Donald Trump has said no US soldiers would be needed to enforce his plan for the US to take control of Gaza.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He said the Palestinians in Gaza would have “already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region” and would “actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free”.
“The U.S., working with great development teams from all over the World, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth,” he said.
“No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”
Key events
Here’s some more detail on that executive order President Trump signed on Wednesday banning transgender athletes from taking part in women’s sports.
The order said it was intended to “protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports”.
“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” it read.
“This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
It called for “immediate enforcement” nationwide and threatened to cut off federal funding for any school that allows trans women or girls to compete in female competitions.
The order is likely to face legal challenges and has already drawn opposition from trans right groups.
Athlete Ally, a non-profit athletic advocacy group, said in a statement: “We’ve known this day was likely to occur for a long time, as this administration continues to pursue simple solutions to complex issues, often resulting in animus towards the most marginalized communities in our country.”
Trump order bans trans athletes from women’s sports as officials walk back from Gaza comments
Good morning and welcome to our US politics blog, where still much of the focus is on Donald Trump’s comments on Tuesday that the US could “take over” Gaza.
The suggestion has been met with anger and blunt rejection from regional allies and a warning against “ethnic cleansing” from the head of the UN.
Trump officials, meanwhile, appeared intent to walk back his position and you can follow developments in our Middle East live blog here
Of course, there are still many other foreign and domestic developments as Trump’s second term gets under way.
On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports and threatening to cut off federal funding for any school that allows trans women or girls to compete in female-designated sporting competitions
Meanwhile, a federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments today over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country.
US District Judge John Coughenour’s case in Seattle comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case.
On tariffs, the first of 10,000 troops Mexico promised to send to its northern border after Trump agreed to delay the imposition of tariffs have arrived. Trump has said he wants the country to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migration into the US. He has also delayed measures against Canada but is continuing with his China tariffs.
And Trump’s nominee for US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, will appear before a Senate confirmation hearing today. Greer, who served as chief of staff to the trade representative in Trump’s first term, has previously backed trade deal with a number of other countries, including the UK, and is expected to say he would focus on securing jobs that pay American workers well.
We’ll be bringing you more on these issues and all other US politics news through the day.
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