Trump aides tried to block appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to US, reports say – US politics live | US politics
Trump’s team tried to block Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to US, reports say
Hello, welcome to the US politics live blog.
Donald Trump’s presidential transition team reportedly repeatedly intervened in British prime minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
The president’s aides have told Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s national security adviser and former chief of staff, on more than one occasion that they want Mandelson’s predecessor, Karen Pierce, to remain in office. Politico reported this morning.
The message was delivered at a meeting in Palm Beach in December 2024, according to a source close to the president.
Later that month, the transition team called Powell to tell him they were unhappy with Pierce’s treatment and did not support Mandelson’s appointment.
Politico’s news is as follows:
Trump’s aides made special efforts to have Mandelson become ambassador. Derogatory remarks made publicly about the president in the past, according to both officials.
Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is understood to be among those unhappy with Mandelson’s appointment; A source says Mandelson saw him as “arrogant” and rude to staff.
Mandelson was fired just nine months after new details emerged about his ties to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In February, more files were released revealing that the peer had passed information to the convicted sex offender while he was business secretary, including market-sensitive information that sparked the criminal investigation.
In other developments:
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Donald Trump It created an extremely awkward moment for Japan’s prime minister, Sanae TakaichiHe responded to a Japanese reporter’s question in the Oval Office on Thursday about why the United States attacked Iran without warning allies like Japan by joking about the Empire of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
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Japan’s prime minister said he later explained to Trump that Japan’s ability to deploy military forces overseas as it wished was still limited by the constitution the United States drafted for Japan after World War II.
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Federal arts commission approves final design for 24-karat gold commemorative coin deposit Donald TrumpPhotograph taken on July 4th to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States.
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John F Kennedy Presidential Library foundation announced On Thursday, Donald Trump announced he would be giving Profile in Courage awards to his staunch rivals: The Federal Reserve chairman announced Jerome Powell And the People of Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
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Senator Thom TillisThe North Carolina Republican, who has shown a willingness to oppose Trump since announcing he would not run for reelection, said he would not vote to eliminate fraud that would force changes to U.S. election law.
important events
Trump weighs Iran’s plans to invade or blockade Kharg Island – report
Yohannes Lowe
According to a report in AxiosThe Trump administration is considering occupying or blockading Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify, cites four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“He wants Hormuz opened. If he has to take Kharg Island to make that happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides on a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen. But that decision hasn’t been made yet,” a senior administration official told Axios.
A second senior official said, “We are always prepared for conflicts under any president, including Trump. I know it’s an obsession in the media and I understand the politics, but the president will do the right thing.” The official said no decision has been made yet.
Kharg, a five-mile-long coral island in the Persian Gulf about 26 miles from the mainland, is a major processing center for Iran, with 90% of the country’s oil exports flowing through it. The island was largely unaffected by US-Israeli attacks during the first two weeks of the war.
However, the US bombed the island’s military facilities last week, although it did not touch the oil export facilities. US President Donald Trump has warned that he will reconsider his decision not to target oil facilities if Iran or other countries “do anything to interfere” with the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The vital waterway has been effectively blocked since Iran began attacking ships in response to US and Israeli attacks, resulting in a huge spike in oil prices.
IRS glitch masked $51 million in political donations, watchdog says
Lauren Aratani
A technical glitch at the understaffed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) masked millions of dollars in campaign contributions to state-level constituencies, including key governor and attorney general races, a campaign finance watchdog told the Guardian.
According to the report, a total of $51 million for the second half of 2025 was not taken into account due to this technical error. Political Responsibility Center (CPA) is a nonprofit organization that tracks corporate spending.
Researchers at CPA noticed this discrepancy in February, when donor and spending lists from the previous year are typically made public after Jan. 31. But so far the explanations remain empty.
The gaps come as these organizations face another deadline in just a few weeks, and there’s no sign the bug will be fixed by then.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs establishes new humanitarian aid office following foreign aid overhaul
The U.S. State Department on Friday created a new office to oversee responses to natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the world, capping the Trump administration’s dramatic overhaul of foreign aid, a senior department official told The Associated Press.
Trump officials and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency disbanded the U.S. Agency for International Development after taking office in January 2025, firing thousands of officials and rescinding most of its grants before it was incorporated into the state department, Reuters reported.
The new Office of Disaster and Humanitarian Response will staff about 200 officials, operate from 12 centers around the world and receive about $5.4 billion in annual funding, the official told the AP.
It will focus narrowly on “life-saving” aid rather than climate projects and what the official calls “social causes.”
The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity before the announcement, said the agency will also monitor global food security.
Lauren Aratani
A technical glitch at the understaffed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) masked millions of dollars in campaign contributions to state-level constituencies, including key governor and attorney general races, a campaign finance watchdog told the Guardian.
According to the report, a total of $51 million for the second half of 2025 was not taken into account due to this technical error. Political Responsibility Center (CPA) is a nonprofit organization that tracks corporate spending.
Researchers at CPA noticed this discrepancy in February, when donor and spending lists from the previous year are typically made public after Jan. 31. But so far the explanations remain empty.
The gaps come as these organizations face another deadline in just a few weeks, and there’s no sign the bug will be fixed by then.
“This is a major change in the norms of what has been a fairly routine process for large political organizations,” said Jeanne Hanna, CPA’s vice president of research. “This is a gap year we’re going into. There’s going to be a lot of spending on state races, and these are the groups that are coordinating a lot of the spending.”
The glitch affects the financial disclosures of 527 organizations, which are tax-exempt political campaign groups regulated by the IRS.
Trump’s team tried to block Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to US, reports say
Hello, welcome to the US politics live blog.
Donald Trump’s presidential transition team reportedly repeatedly intervened in British prime minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
The president’s aides have told Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s national security adviser and former chief of staff, on more than one occasion that they want Mandelson’s predecessor, Karen Pierce, to remain in office. Politico reported this morning.
The message was delivered at a meeting in Palm Beach in December 2024, according to a source close to the president.
Later that month, the transition team called Powell to tell him they were unhappy with Pierce’s treatment and did not support Mandelson’s appointment.
Politico’s news is as follows:
Trump’s aides made special efforts to have Mandelson become ambassador. Derogatory remarks made publicly about the president in the past, according to both officials.
Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is understood to be among those unhappy with Mandelson’s appointment; A source says Mandelson saw him as “arrogant” and rude to staff.
Mandelson was fired just nine months after new details emerged about his ties to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In February, more files were released revealing that the peer had passed information to the convicted sex offender while he was business secretary, including market-sensitive information that sparked the criminal investigation.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump It created an extremely awkward moment for Japan’s prime minister, Sanae TakaichiHe responded to a Japanese reporter’s question in the Oval Office on Thursday about why the United States attacked Iran without warning allies like Japan by joking about the Empire of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
-
Japan’s prime minister said he later explained to Trump that Japan’s ability to deploy military forces overseas as it wished was still limited by the constitution the United States drafted for Japan after World War II.
-
Federal arts commission approves final design for 24-karat gold commemorative coin deposit Donald TrumpPhotograph taken on July 4th to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States.
-
John F Kennedy Presidential Library foundation announced Donald Trump will give Profile in Courage awards to his staunch rivals, the Federal Reserve chairman announced Thursday. Jerome Powell And the People of Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
-
Senator Thom TillisThe North Carolina Republican, who has shown a willingness to oppose Trump since announcing he would not run for reelection, said he would not vote to eliminate fraud that would force changes to U.S. election law.
