G7 finance leaders to seek US consensus on non-tariff issues at Canada meeting

G7 finance leaders to seek US consensus on non-tariff issues at Canada meeting

By David Lawder, Promit Mukherjee and Julia Payne WASHINGTON/BANFF, Alberta (Reuters) -Finance leaders from the Group of Seven democracies will strive for a show of unity when they meet this week on topics other than U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, including economic security, Ukraine and artificial intelligence cooperation. But mostly, they'll want to keep the powerful Western policy alliance from fracturing, even if it means less-specific language and agreed actions, according to G7 officials and economic diplomacy experts. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will join fellow G7 finance ministers and central bank governors for the Tuesday-to-Thursday meeting in the Canadian Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff, Alberta. That puts disagreements over steep new tariffs imposed by Trump at the center of the discussions. G7 members Japan, Germany, France and Italy all face a potential doubling of U.S. "reciprocal" duties to 20% or more in early July. Britain negotiated a limited trade deal that leaves it saddled with 10% U.S. tariffs on most goods, and host Canada is still struggling with Trump's separate 25% duty on many exports. "No one expects this to be a big moment where the U.S. declares that for G7 and other partners there will be a special regime that's more favorable," said Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center in Washington. But ministers from the other six countries will likely try to tactfully remind Bessent that they are the closest U.S. allies and that it's difficult for them to meet Washington's demands that they exert economic pressure on China when they are facing U.S. coercion themselves, Lichfield said. A Treasury spokesperson said on Sunday that Bessent would seek to get the G7 "back to basics and focused on addressing imbalances and non-market practices in both G7 and non-G7 countries." Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, has consistently called for pushback against China's state-led, export-driven economic model that has fueled excess production capacity and a flood of subsidized goods into market economies. In bilateral meetings with Bessent, some of the ministers are expected to further their own negotiations to lower Trump's tariffs. Bessent is leading the negotiations with Japan, which has been described by administration officials as being in advanced talks with the U.S. The Treasury secretary said on Sunday that countries that don't negotiate "in good faith" will again face the higher reciprocal tariff rates that Trump imposed on April 2 -- 24% in Japan's case. Bessent is widely seen as a moderating influence on Trump's trade agenda, so G7 ministers will "encourage him to push for more moderate administration policies on trade," said Mark Sobel, a former U.S. Treasury and International Monetary Fund official who is U.S. chairman of OMFIF, an independent financial policy think-tank. TRICKY LANGUAGE Despite disagreements over tariffs, G7 officials, especially from host Canada, appear determined to agree on a joint statement from the finance meeting, which will set the stage for a G7 leaders' summit in June in the nearby mountain resort area of Kananaskis. G7 government sources familiar with the finance negotiations said that a draft communique was already prepared and that Canada was pushing to achieve a consensus to show that the G7 countries were standing together on a range of issues. These are expected to include a broad statement of support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russia's full-scale invasion, with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko in attendance and the EU readying a new package of sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow. Any statement on Ukraine will be far less specific than the G7's last joint finance statement in October 2024, which announced terms for $50 billion in loans to Ukraine backed by earnings from frozen Russia's sovereign assets. The Atlantic Council's Lichfield said that after the failure of ceasefire talks in Istanbul on Friday that were spurned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bessent and fellow G7 ministers may be more likely to agree on some language supportive of increased sanctions pressure without actually committing to take specific action. Another area for common ground is likely to be on support for the IMF and World Bank after Bessent reaffirmed U.S. backing for the institutions in April. G7 sources said that cooperation to fight money laundering and other financial crimes are another topic where agreements are reachable, as well as on Bessent's call for stronger reliance on the private sector to drive growth. But given Trump's opposition to the previous U.S. green energy agenda, language on climate change is expected to be a source of discord. How the G7 will describe the economic uncertainty and stalled investment unleashed by Trump's tariffs without explicitly blaming his policies is another thorny issue in the negotiations. "My crystal ball is so murky now, I can't really see the future very well," said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a conference in Ottawa of business leaders from the G7 countries. "I think we have to advocate for the future ... (where the business community globally can share values of democracy and rule of law, enterprise and open market," she added. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Julia Payne, David Lawder and Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 19, 2025

G7 finance leaders to seek US consensus on non-tariff issues at Canada meeting

G7 finance leaders to seek US consensus on non-tariff issues at Canada meeting By David Lawder, Promit Mukherjee and Julia Payne WASHINGTON...

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How shoddy science is fueling a charge to restrict abortion pill access

How shoddy science is fueling a charge to restrict abortion pill access

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tasked the Food and Drug Administration with conducting a safety review of mifepristone, a pill used in most U.S. abortions. Kennedy said this week that the review was warranted due to an "alarming" new report on serious adverse events released last month. "Clearly it indicates that, at very least, the label should be changed," he told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at a Senate budget hearing on Wednesday. "I've asked Marty Makary, who's the director of FDA, to do a complete review and to report back." Thereport in question, which was neither peer-reviewed nor published in a medical journal, claims to find a 22-times higher rate of serious complications from mifepristone than reported by the FDA. It calls on the agency to "further investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women" and "reconsider its approval altogether." It was released online in April by the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank that says it promotes Judeo-Christian traditions. The center wason the advisory board of Project 2025, a right-wing policy initiative that appears to have informedmany of President Donald Trump's recent actions. Days before the report came out, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary saidhe had no plans to take action on mifepristoneunless new data suggested there was a safety concern. Hawley, who hasconsistently voted to limit abortion access,called on Makary last monthto "follow this new data" and reinstate certain restrictions that made mifepristone harder to obtain, such as requirements for the medication to be dispensed in person by a physician. Whereasa wealth of datahas shown that less than 0.5% of women who take mifepristone have serious adverse reactions, the report claims the true number is around 11%. Researchers who study reproductive health said it amounts to junk science and exaggerates the risks of the medication. "We should all be alarmed that the people in charge of our public health institutions are calling for a review of the science based on an unvetted and flawed report," Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a public health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, said Thursday on a call with members of the press. "Rigorous studies, including some of my own, have confirmed that this medication can be safely used at home following a consultation with a clinician," she added. The report said its analysis was based on 865,727 insurance claims corresponding to women who were prescribed abortion pills, but does not disclose which database it used, shirking a basic tenet of scientific research. Several outside researchers noted that the report's definition of "serious adverse event" is broad enough to include minor side effects like routine bleeding. But the report's authors said on the center's website that theyexcluded mild or moderate events. Abortion procedures after a medication abortion were nevertheless classified as "serious," contrary to medical consensus. Mifepristone's label already notes that the medication does not work in about 2.6% of cases, and doctors say the failure rate can be as high as 5%. The report also lists ectopic pregnancies, which do not result from taking mifepristone, as serious events. Alina Salganicoff, director of the Women's Health Policy Program at KFF, a health policy research and news organization, said the report "falls short of generally accepted research standards." Analyzing insurance claims is not an effective way to look at abortion outcomes, she added, since "many abortions, and particularly earlier abortions, are not paid for with insurance." Rachel Jones, a principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion access, said the report appears to be driven by ideology rather than science. "The FDA typically relies on clinical studies and clinical research, and that's not what this is. It shouldn't have any influence over the current policies," she said. The report's authors have pushed back on those criticisms, writingon the center's websitethat the peer-review process is biased against groups that oppose abortion and leaves "no opportunities to publish peer-reviewed analysis that offer major substantive critiques of the abortion pill or abortion." "Now that the largest-ever study of the abortion pill has revealed the truth that it is neither safe nor effective, the abortion industry has chosen to lie about our findings to protect its profits at a tremendous cost to women's health," Hunter Estes, communications director at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said in a statement. Dr. Christina Francis, CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, said the report is a signal that the FDA needs to look more closely at mifepristone's safety. "We have been asking the FDA now for years to do a more thorough review of what the actual complication rate is in the real world," she said. "To me, this report couldn't come soon enough." HHS, which is handling media inquiries on behalf of the FDA, did not respond to a request for comment. Reproductive health researchers said releasing flawed studies is one of many tactics used by anti-abortion groups to limit mifepristone access, in addition to filing lawsuits andlobbying federal officials. "People and organizations that want abortion to be outlawed are producing these types of papers more commonly," Jones said. Misleading studies played a role in a previous legal challenge to mifepristone access that was ultimatelythrown out by the Supreme Court. In a decision that brieflysuspended mifepristone's approvalin 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk cited studies from an anti-abortion group that were laterretracted by a medical publisher. The attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri attempted to revive the lawsuit in October, filing a case in the same federal court in Texas. But the Trump administration earlier this monthtold the judge to dismiss it. Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said on a press call that pursuing the case might have undermined the administration's legal defenses in other ongoing lawsuits. Other legal experts see it as an effort to avoid taking a firm stance on abortion, which Trump has said should be left up to individual states. In his confirmation hearings, Kennedy promised to align himself with Trump on the issue. He also suggested on Wednesday that Trump would have the final say on how mifepristone is regulated in the U.S. "I feel that the policy changes will ultimately go through the White House, through President Trump," he said.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 19, 2025

How shoddy science is fueling a charge to restrict abortion pill access

How shoddy science is fueling a charge to restrict abortion pill access Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tasked...

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Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They've long been a source of misinformation

Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They've long been a source of misinformation

ATLANTA (AP) — PresidentDonald Trump'sexecutive orderseeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted. Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include "a barcode or quick-response code." Those few technical words could have a big impact. Voting machines that give all voters a ballot with one of those codes are used in hundreds of counties across 19 states. Three of them -- Georgia, South Carolina and Delaware -- use the machines statewide. Some computer scientists, Democrats and left-leaning election activists have raised concerns about their use, but those pushing conspiracy theories about the2020 presidential electionhave been the loudest, claiming without evidence that manipulation has already occurred. Trump, in justifying the move, said inthe orderthat his intention was "to protect election integrity." Even some election officials who have vouched for the accuracy of systems that use coded ballots have said it's time to move on because too many voters don't trust them. Colorado's secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, decided in 2019 to stop using ballots with QR codes, saying at the time that voters "should have the utmost confidence that their vote will count." Amanda Gonzalez, the elections clerk in Colorado's Jefferson County, doesn't support Trump's order but believes Colorado's decision was a worthwhile step. "We can just eliminate confusion," Gonzalez said. "At the end of the day, that's what I want -- elections that are free, fair, transparent." Target for misinformation Whether voting by mail or in person, millions of voters across the country mark their selections by using a pen to fill in ovals on paper ballots. Those ballots are then fed through a tabulating machine to tally the votes and can be retrieved later if a recount is needed. In other places, people voting in person use a touch-screen machine to mark their choices and then get a paper record of their votes that includes a barcode or QR code. A tabulator scans the code to tally the vote. Election officials who use that equipment say it's secure and that they routinely perform tests to ensure the results match the votes on the paper records, which they retain. The coded ballots have nevertheless become a target of election conspiracy theories. "I think the problem is super exaggerated," said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice. "I understand why it can appeal to certain parts of the public who don't understand the way this works, but I think it's being used to try to question certain election results in the past." Those pushing conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election have latched onto along-running legal battleover Georgia's voting system. In that case, a University of Michigan computer scientist testified thatan attacker could tamper withthe QR codes to change voter selections and install malware on the machines. The testimony from J. Alex Halderman has been used to amplify Trump'sfalse claimsthat the2020 electionwas stolen, even though there is no evidence that any of the weaknesses he found were exploited. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has defended the state's voting system as secure. In March, the judge who presided over Halderman's testimonydeclined to blockthe use of Georgia's voting equipment but said the case had "identified substantial concerns about the administration, maintenance and security of Georgia's electronic in-person voting system." Can the executive order ban coded ballots? Trump's election executive order is being challenged in multiple lawsuits. One has resulted in apreliminary injunctionagainst a provision that sought to require proof of citizenship when people register to vote. The section banning ballots that use QR or barcodes relies on a Trump directive to a federal agency, theU.S. Election Assistance Commission, which sets voluntary guidelines for voting systems. Not all states follow them. Some of the lawsuits say Trump doesn't have the authority to direct the commission because it was established by Congress as an independent agency. While the courts sort that out, the commission's guidelines say ballots using barcodes or QR codes should include a printed list of the voters' selections so they can be checked. Trump's order exempts voting equipment used by voters with disabilities, but it promises no federal money to help states and counties shift away from systems using QR or barcodes. "In the long run, it would be nice if vendors moved away from encoding, but there's already evidence of them doing that," said Pamela Smith, president of the group Verified Voting. Counties in limbo Kim Dennison, election coordinator of Benton County, Arkansas, estimated that updating the county's voting system would cost around $400,000 and take up to a year. Dennison said she has used equipment that relies on coded ballots since she started her job 15 years ago and has never found an inaccurate result during postelection testing. "I fully and completely trust the equipment is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing and not falsifying reports," she said. "You cannot change a vote once it's been cast." In Pennsylvania's Luzerne County, voting machines that produce a QR code will be used in this year's primary. But officials expect a manufacturer's update later this year to remove the code before the November elections. County Manager Romilda Crocamo said officials had not received any complaints from voters about QR codes but decided to make the change when Dominion Voting Systems offered the update. The nation's most populous county, Los Angeles, uses a system with a QR code that it developed over a decade and deployed in 2020 after passing a state testing and certification program. The county's chief election official, Dean Logan, said the system exceeded federal guidelines at the time and meets many of the standards outlined in the most recent ones approved in 2021. He said postelection audits have consistently confirmed its accuracy. Modifying or replacing it would be costly and take years, he said. The county's current voting equipment is valued at $140 million. 'Train Wreck' in Georgia? Perhaps nowhere has the issue been more contentious than Georgia, a presidential battleground. It uses the same QR code voting system across the state. Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, a lead plaintiff in the litigation over the system, said her group has not taken a position on Trump's executive order but said the federal Election Assistance Commission should stop certifying machines that use barcodes. The secretary of state said the voting system follows Georgia law, which requires federal certification at the time the system is bought. Nevertheless, the Republican-controlled legislature has voted to ban the use of QR codes but did not allocate any money to make the change — a cost estimated at $66 million. Republicans said they want to replace the system when the current contract expires in 2028, but their law is still scheduled to take effect next year. GOP state Rep. Victor Anderson said there is no realistic way to "prevent the train wreck that's coming." ___ Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy contributed to this report. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Report for Americais a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X:@charlottekramon.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 19, 2025

Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They've long been a source of misinformation

Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They've long been a source of misinformation ATLANTA (AP) — PresidentDonald Trump'sexecutiv...

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Joe Biden has cancer

Joe Biden has cancer

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'mNicole Fallert, President Donald Trump wished his predecessor Joe Biden"a fast and successful recovery"from prostate cancer diagnosis. Storms and severe weatherkilledat least 19 people in Kentucky. Trump's sweeping tax-cut billwon approvalfrom a key congressional committee. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, a spokesperson said in a statement Sunday. While the diagnosis indicates the former president has one of the worst forms of the disease, it "appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," the spokesperson said.The newscomes amid renewed questionsabout Biden's physical and mental fitness when he ran in 2024 to serve a second term. Kamala Harrisalso had well-wishesfor Biden. Prostate canceristhe second most common cancerin men. Kentucky's governor announced the state would look into emergency housing options after storms and severe weather killed at least 19 people in Kentucky. Buildings and cars were destroyed, homes are missing entire walls and upper levels of houses and buildings are gone. Tornadoes also downed trees and power lines.Photos of the disaster showthe aftermath of the barrage of severe weather that hit the Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia over the weekend. Israel airstrikes killed at least 100 in Gazaas negotiators seek a ceasefire. ICE adopts a new tactic:Deport before court. Reward increasesas the search for escaped New Orleans inmatesintensifies. A Palm Springs fertility clinic bombingsuspecthad "nihilistic" ideas, the FBI said. Read about a young mom'srelentlessbattle for lifeafter colorectal cancer. What's the weather today?Check your local forecast here. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill is set to advance toward possible passage in the House of Representatives later this week. Movement on the bill is a big win for Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson,after hardline Republican conservatives blocked the bill from clearing the House Budget Committee last week over a dispute involving spending cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans and the repeal of green energy tax credits. Lawmakers held a rare Sunday session:Four hardline members of the committee's 21 Republicans allowed the legislation to advance by voting "present" Sunday. All Democrats voted against it. How Trump swayed hold-outs: The White House pivoted over the weekend to sell the bill as a key part of Trump's immigration enforcement efforts. What it would mean for Americans:Families of four making as little as $35,365 would see new costs for going to the doctor, some unemployed people would become ineligible for Medicaid, some seniors would lose access to long-term care coverage, and states would lose a portion of federal dollars that help them cover those just above the poverty line. Officials are investigating what caused a Mexican navy tall ship to veer off course and strike the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, killing two sailors and injuring more than a dozen others on board. Videos shared online captured the training vessel Cuauhtémoc sailing toward the iconic bridge, which connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. The ship's 147-foot masts, which were shining bright with decorative lights, couldn't clear the arched bridge and were sheared off upon impact. Naval cadets dressed in white uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams.Meanwhile,bystanders fled in terror. Despite a shaky start,Scottie Scheffler wonthe PGA Championship. The Who's drummer Zak Starkeyclaims he was fireda second time. Who won"American Idol"? Beyoncé's robotfinally understoodthe assignment. Liberty is first teamto knock off the national No. 1 seedin the history of the NCAA softball tournament. Emergency savings are crucial in a recession.Here's the dollar figure to aim for. U.S. car buyers are rushing to get in front of tariffs— pushing new vehicleprices even higher. These are the best waysforAmericans to access home equity. Here's the benefitsome workers are job hopping foras employers are try to keep up. Here are 13 jobs that don't require a college degree— andwon't be replaced by AI. Pope Leo XIV formally assumed his role as the first American-born leader of the global Catholic Church with a Mass in St. Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday that drew tens of thousands of people.Leosaid the church must confront modern challengeswhile maintaining its traditions, and rejected what he called "religious propaganda" and the misuse of power. Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY,sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Daily Briefing: Joe Biden has cancer

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 19, 2025

Joe Biden has cancer

Joe Biden has cancer Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'mNicole Fallert, President Donald Trump wished his predecessor Joe Biden"a fast and suc...

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Trump taps his most trusted officials to do as many as four jobs — at the same time

Trump taps his most trusted officials to do as many as four jobs — at the same time

WASHINGTON — Jamieson Greer has a big job — three of them, actually. As U.S. trade representative, Greer has been flying around the world at Donald Trump's behest, negotiating with countries over the tariffs that the president imposed. On top of that, he is the government's official watchdog. The White House has appointed Greer both acting director of the Office of Government Ethics and acting head of the Office of Special Counsel. Cutting trade deals to Trump's liking is one thing. Holding the Trump administration accountable for ethical lapses is something different. The missions would seem incompatible. Yet Greer's hybrid role isn't so much an anomaly in Trump's second term as a norm. Trump has taken some Cabinet members and senior administration officials and layered on additional work that calls for wholly different sets of skills. Daniel Driscoll is secretary of the Army, but also the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The first job is about keeping soldiers in fighting trim; the second includes cracking down on contraband cigarettes. Marco Rubio is secretary of state, national security adviser and, for good measure, acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration, with its collection of rare documents that include Thomas Edison's patent application for the light bulb. He is also the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development — or what's left of it, anyway, after the Trump administration effectively dismantled it. Trump recently named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche the acting head of the Library of Congress. The Justice Department upholds the nation's laws and advances Trump's agenda; the library is supposed to give lawmakers independent research they request. The dual postings give rise to a tangle of managerial challenges, constitutional questions and potential conflicts of interest, critics contend. If a whistleblower comes forward and alleges wrongdoing at Greer's trade office, can he give the complaint a fair hearing? Is Rubio equipped to forge a peace deal in Ukraine while also ensuring that visitors have a rewarding experience at the Herbert Hoover library in West Branch, Iowa, and the 15 other presidential libraries the Archives runs? "It is the model of a confused startup operation," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at Yale University's school of management. Congressional Democrats have taken note of the appointments and objected to what they describe as an end-run around the Senate's right to confirm or reject presidential appointments. Greer was confirmed by the Senate as trade representative, but not as head of the special counsel or ethics offices. Rubio was confirmed as secretary of state, but not as the archivist. Blanche was confirmed for his Justice Department post, but not as acting librarian. Beyond that, the library's own rules state that the acting librarian must come from within the institution — a provision that would seem to rule out Blanche. (Indeed, the library disputes that Blanche is now in charge; a library official, Robert Newlen, sent an email to employees last week identifying himself as the acting librarian.) "It's the Library ofCongress;not the Library of the Attorney General or the Library of the President," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. "This is a really offensive defiance of the constitutional role that the Senate has to play," Blumenthal added. "Putting someone in that role who's been approved for a different job is a thumb in the eye of the Senate." Then there's the matter of workload. Any one of these jobs can fill 24 hours in a day. Stacking one atop another would appear to strain the limits of human endurance. In an interview last week withCNBC, Greer was asked how much sleep he gets a night. Four or five hours, he said. He had just returned from Switzerland where he took part in trade talks with China. Once he was done with his TV interviews for the day, he said he would get on the phone and talk trade with India's commerce minister. Later in the week, he flew to South Korea for a summit meeting with his overseas trade counterparts. Asked if Greer has shown up yet at the Office of Special Counsel in Washington, D.C., a spokesman for the office said: "No comment." One sign of the enormity of Greer's portfolio is that he's off-loaded part of it to an underling. He has tapped another Office of Special Counsel official, Charles Baldis, to act as his designee. Greer consults with Baldis, who is running the office on his behalf, an Office of Special Counsel aide told NBC News. A spokesperson for the U.S. trade representative did not respond to questions or make Greer available for comment. "These jobs are difficult for people to do singly," said Max Stier, founding president of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group devoted to improving government performance. "They require absolute and overwhelming commitment to do only one of them, and there's no way on God's green Earth someone can do multiples effectively. That has deep problems for decision-making and the capacity of these organizations to do their own work and for the morale of the workforce." A White House spokesman defended the president's managerial practices. "The president understands that he's built a team of extremely qualified people that can be dual-hatted and get the job done," said Harrison Fields, the White House's principal deputy press secretary. He added that "the president has incredible amounts of trust and confidence in those that are holding multiple roles, and he appreciates their commitment to his administration and the country." "Show me a situation where a ball was dropped," Fields said. "Show me a situation where the president's agenda failed. No one can do that. The president has a team of people who are able to walk and chew gum at the same time." President Joe Biden's administration, by contrast, was staffed by "so-called experts that ran our country into the ground," Fields continued. An emerging pattern is that Trump wants his most trusted officials in roles that are important to his interests. Consider Rubio. Earlier this month, Trump took the unusual step oftouting Rubioas a potential successor. "He trusts Marco," a Trump adviser told NBC News. The Archives job handed to Rubio would seem a governmental backwater, but it played an important role in the events leading to Trump's indictment in 2023 over his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after he left office. The Archives notified Trump's attorneys four months after he left office in 2021 that it wasmissing some of his presidential records, including his correspondence with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The following year, the Archives' inspector general sent a referral letter to the Justice Department noting that Trump had retained "highly classified records" after leaving office. Trump repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannondismissed the caselast year. "When he [Trump] returned to the White House in January 2025, he wasted little time in purging NARA's top leadership to make room for loyal officials more likely to do his bidding — or even to turn a blind eye to future legal violations, including of the Presidential Records Act," American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group,said in a statement. Another advantage for Trump in keeping a small circle of the same decision-makers is that it suppresses any challenges to his authority, former officials and good-government groups contend. "If you give 20 jobs to one person, they're not going to have time to think independently," said John Bolton, a former national security adviser who served in Trump's first term. "They'll just do what he [Trump] tells them to do." Upset as some lawmakers may be, there doesn't seem to be much they can do to stop Trump from concentrating key jobs in the hands of a few people. Last month, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and three other Democratic members of Congress sent Greera letterasking him to resign from his ethics jobs, arguing that he can't carry them out impartially. "Dear Ambassador, Acting Special Counsel and Acting Director Greer," the letter began. Greer sent a reply, but it didn't include an agreement to resign or much detail, a Democratic congressional aide told NBC News. "We're thinking about next steps," the aide added.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 19, 2025

Trump taps his most trusted officials to do as many as four jobs — at the same time

Trump taps his most trusted officials to do as many as four jobs — at the same time WASHINGTON — Jamieson Greer has a big job — three of the...

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