US updates: Judge halts Trump bid to change citizenship law
Published January 23, 2025last updated January 24, 2025What you need to know
- US President Donald Trump has said he is not sure US should be spending anything on NATO
- Trump plans to reach out to North Korea's Kim Jong Un and said he'd 'rather not' use tariffs against Beijing
- Trump has signed an order to declassify files on JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr.
- In a speech to the World Economic Forum, Trump promised to lower the corporate tax rate for companies manufacturing in the US and called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower the price of oil to end the war in Ukraine.
- A federal judge in Seattle has issued a temporary block on a Trump order to end birthright citizenship.
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Below, you can read about some of the events from the first few days of the new Trump administration.
WHO to reset priorities ahead of US exit
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it will cut costs and review which health programs to prioritize, after President Donald Trump announced he was withdrawing the US from the UN agency.
"This announcement has made our financial situation more acute; and we know it has created significant concern and uncertainty for the WHO workforce," the organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a memo to staff.
He said the WHO planned to significantly reduce travel expenses and halt recruitment, except in critical areas, as part of cost-cutting measures.
Ghebreyesus stressed that the UN health agency regretted the decision by the United States and hoped that "the new administration will reconsider it."
The United States is by far the largest financial supporter of the WHO, providing about 18% of its total funding.
Climate expert tells DW Paris Agreement 'definitely not dead'
After US President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders, including withdrawing his country from the 2015 Paris Agreement, DW spoke with climate scientist Bill Hare.
Hare said he was certain that the accord would not be fatally damaged as a result of Trump's decision to quit, even if the US's withdrawal was a cloud on the horizon.
Given that Trump has already withdrawn the US from the agreement before, during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Hare said there was a feeling that the accord would survive intact as other countries rallied around.
"Look, it's definitely not dead," said Hare, whose work contributed to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement.
"The Paris Agreement is quite resilient. Remember, this is the second time that Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement. And the first time, I think it's fair to say, we hardly noticed," he said.
"Now, obviously, this time is going to be more damaging. It's definitely going to be a major setback for at least the morale on climate policy globally."
"But if you think about the real issues going on in the economy, things have fundamentally changed in the last eight years that, right now, renewable energy, clean tech investment is way ahead of fossil fuel investment."
Kremlin says Putin ready to talk with Trump, waiting for 'signals'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to talk by phone with his US counterpart; Donald Trump, but is waiting for "signals" from Washington.
"Putin is ready. We are waiting for signals;" Peskov said.
Peskov rejected Trump's claim that the conflict in Ukraine could be ended by lowering the price of Russian oil, saying: "This conflict does not depend on the price of oil."
Peskov also said Putin made it clear that he wants to resume nuclear arms reduction talks as soon as possible.
Trump said Thursday that he wants to meet Putin to secure an end to the war with Ukraine and expressed a desire to work toward reducing nuclear weapons.
Japan's PM says he's preparing for tough negotiations with Trump
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would seek to maintain regional security and prepare for tough negotiations with US President Donald Trump.
Ishiba stressed the importance of close ties with the United States for stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
"As the balance of power in the region undergoes a historic change, we must deepen Japan-US cooperation further, in a concrete manner," the prime minister told parliament.
Therefore, Japan must "continue to secure the US commitment to the region, to avoid a power vacuum leading to regional instability," he added in a policy speech.
"At a forthcoming Japan-US summit, I want to share understanding with President Trump on these security and economic issues," he said.
Japan's fears of US disengagement in the region come as China's military grows more assertive and North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles as part of its nuclear and missile programs.
Hundreds of 'illegal' migrants arrested and deported, press secretary says
US authorities have arrested hundreds of "illegal" immigrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation, according to US President Donald Trump's press secretary.
"The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals," and "hundreds" were deported by military aircraft, Karoline Leavitt said in a post on social media platform X.
"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept," she added.
Meanwhile, in Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "raided a local establishment ... detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant."
Baraka said the raid had violated the citizens' rights under the US Constitution. "Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized," he said.
Trump campaigned on a promise to crack down on illegal immigration and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry into the United States.
Trump says plans to speak to North Korea's Kim
Donald Trump plans to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, emphasizing the rapport that they built during his first term.
"I'll reach out to him again," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity.
"I got along with him," Trump said of Kim. "He's not a religious zealot."
Trump also described his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping as friendly.
"It went fine. It was a good, friendly conversation," he said.
Trump also said he would rather not use tariffs against China.
"We have one very big power over China, and that's tariffs, and they don't want them, and I'd rather not have to use it, but it's a tremendous power over China," Trump added.
After taking office on Monday, the new US president said 10% of tariffs on all Chinese imports could come into force in February.
Trump also said he believes he can negotiate a trade deal with China.
Rubio, NATO's Rutte discuss 'real burden sharing'
Donald Trump's secretary of state, Marco Rubio, discussed the new president's "immediate foreign policy priorities" with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in a Wednesday phone call, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
"Secretary Rubio reinforced the US commitment to NATO and the continued importance of the alliance to international security," Bruce said. "The secretary and Secretary General Rutte discussed the importance of having capable defense allies and real burden sharing."
The pair also discussed the importance of ending Russia's war against Ukraine and the need for a peaceful solution. They agreed as well that "the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific are inextricably linked," stressing the need for greater cooperation.
The State Department statement comes after Trump said he was unsure whether the United States should contribute any funding to NATO adding that military alliances members were "not protecting us."
He has called on NATO countries to spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, up from the current 2% target.
NATO estimates that the United States spent about 3.38% of its GDP on defense in 2024 — well under 5%.
Trump to declassify JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination data, pardons anti-abortion protesters
US President Donald Trump signed another flurry of executive orders, pardons and presidential decrees in the Oval Office on Thursday.
He pardoned 23 anti-abortion protesters imprisoned under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which was enacted in 1994 in large part to protect people entering abortion clinics. The pardons came a day ahead of a major anti-abortion march in Washington, DC.
Trump signed a memorandum calling for a plan to recognize the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. While the tribe is recognized as a Native American tribe by the state of North Carolina, it has been denied full recognition by the US government.
An aide said Trump also signed an executive order that aimed to "make America the world capital in artificial intelligence."
Finally, he also signed an executive order for the director of national intelligence and attorney general to declassify records connected to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Everything will be revealed," Trump told reporters.
Trump questions whether US should contribute to NATO
US President Donald Trump said he was unsure whether the United States should contribute any funding to NATO. He said that the United States protected other alliance members but that NATO members were "not protecting us."
"I'm not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them," Trump told reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office. "We're protecting them. They're not protecting us."
Trump, like other US presidents, has long called on NATO members to spend more of the gross domestic product on defense. For years, the target has been 2% of GDP. Trump has said that percentage should be upped to 5% — a level none of the alliance members has reached, including the United States.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called such a target too costly.
Judge blocks Trump order to end birthright citizenship
A federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked Trump's order to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status.
US District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled that the president's attempt to deny US citizenship to children born in the United States was "blatantly unconstitutional."
"I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional," Coughenour told a Justice Department lawyer defending the order. "It just boggles my mind."
The case is one of five lawsuits brought by 22 states and several immigrant rights groups.
Those suing against the presidential order argue it violates the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which says that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.
The Justice Department has said the order represented an "integral part" of Trump's effort "to address this nation's broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at the southern border."
If allowed the stand, the order would mean children born after February 19 to mothers or fathers who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents could be deported and would not be allowed to receive Social Security numbers, government benefits or the right to work lawfully when they are older.
Trump said the government will appeal the ruling.
Trump says he wants to meet Putin over Ukraine war
Trump told political and business leaders gathered in Davos that he would like to have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
"I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended," Trump said. "And that’s not from the standpoint of economy or anything else. It’s from the standpoint of millions of lives are being wasted."
Trump also said he hoped China would contribute to bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine.
"They have a great deal of power over that situation," he said.
Trump fires at Europe over taxes, regulation
During his speech in Davos, Trump detailed his complaints about regulations put in place by the European Union. He said US countries faced restrictive regulation and high taxes on imports to the EU.
Trump said the 27-nation bloc treated the United States "very unfairly" and "very badly." He added that he would not longer accept the US trade deficit with the EU and accused EU countries of refusing to buy US agricultural products and cars.
"I'm trying to be constructive because I love Europe," he said. "I love the countries of Europe, but the process is a very cumbersome one, and they do treat the United States of America very, very unfairly."
Trump had said he would place tariffs on several countries on his first day in office, but so far he has not done so and instead called for US agencies to evaluate what tariffs or other trade measures should be enacted.
Trump says Ukraine peace efforts 'hopefully underway'
Also during his Davos speech, Trump said that "efforts to secure peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway."
Trump has tasked retired General Keith Kellogg with finding an end to the conflict in Ukraine in 100 days.
He also claimed that a drop in the price of oil would "immediately" end the Russian war in Ukraine.
"If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately," he said.
The new US president called on NATO countries to "increase defense spending to 5% of GDP."
Trump attacks Biden administration, vows tax cuts at Davos
US President Donald Trump began his bravado-filled and self-praising speech to Davos leaders with attacks on former President Joe Biden's administration.
He accused Biden of losing control with inflation and illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border and said he had "taken rapid action to reverse radical left policies." He also touted his executive order taking the US out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Trump claimed that "economic confidence" is soaring in the US after his election. He said his message to the business community is to "make your product in America."
Additionally, he promised the largest tax cut in US history and told international businesses moving to the US they would see the lowest taxes of nearly "any nation on earth."
"Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth," Trump said.
"But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars, and even trillions of dollars, into our Treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt."
Trump speaks to Saudi Crown Prince MBS in first foreign call
US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in the first call with a foreign leader during his presidency.
A readout of the call was provided by the Saudi Foreign Ministry. During the discussion, MBS congratulated Trump and discussed "ways for cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism."
MBS also said Saudi Arabia intends "to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years to the amount of $600 billion (€576.5 billion) and potentially beyond that."
Later, during his speech to business leaders in Davos, Trump said that he would ask Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion in the United States.
"I'll be asking the crown prince, who's a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion," Trump said in a speech carried by video at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "I think they'll do that because we've been very good to them."
During his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump emphasized a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. There were numerous reports that Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner would communicate frequently with MBS via WhatsApp, prompting cybersecurity concerns.
In 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered after he walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. During that time, questions swirled that MBS had ordered the killing, with the Trump administration shrugging off the assassination and working to protect the US-Saudi relationship from criticism.
After Trump left office, a golf series funded by Saudi Arabia held a tournament in 2022 at one of Trump's properties in New Jersey, known as LIV Golf Bedminster. LIV Golf will host another tournament at Trump's Doral Resort this year in April during his second term.