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Trump & Co Watch December 2025

Trump on seized Venezuelan oil: "We're gonna keep it" (LINK) 22 December 2025

Trump announces plans for new 'Trump-class' Navy 'battleship', USS Defiant, as part of a 'Golden Fleet': "the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built" (LINK) 22 December 2025

Epstein's alleged victims accuse DOJ of legal violations over state of files released (LINK) 22 December 2025

— "The public received a fraction of the files, and what we received was riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation," a group of 19 women, including two Jane Does, said in a statement released on Monday. "At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm."

U.S. House Democrat sues the Trump administration over move to rename the Kennedy Center: Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the center's board, argued renaming the center would require an act of Congress (LINK) 22 December 2025

Outrage and legal threats: Trump justice department slammed after limited Epstein files release: lawmakers voice frustration over heavy redactions and the apparent removal of files from government website (LINK) 19 December 2025

Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into U.S. The diversity visa program makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year (LINK) 19 December 2025

Trump's name added to Kennedy Center building a day after board votes to rename DC theater (LINK) 19 December 2025

Trump signs executive order to reclassify marijuana as a lower-graded Schedule III drug instead of Schedule I. CBS: "one of the most significant changes to drug policy in decades" (LINK) 18 December 2025

Pope's naming of New York archbishop signals continues challenge to Trump on immigration: Ronald Hicks, who endorsed message condemning ICE raids, to lead one of biggest US archdioceses (LINK) 18 December 2025

Trump touts economic record in primetime address as U.S. unemployment ticks higher (LINK) 17 December 2025

NBC: Fact-checking Trump: economy, wages, immigration and more: some claims were true, some were misleading, and others were false. (LINK) 17 December 2025

Trump doubles number of countries facing travel bans or restrictions, bringing list to 39 nations (LINK) 16 December 2025

— The first iteration of the travel ban Mr. Trump issued in June included 19 countries, fully barring the entry of immigrants and travellers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also partially suspended the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.< The proclamation signed by Mr. Trump on Tuesday added seven countries to the list of states facing full entry restrictions: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Laos, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria. It imposed partial entry limits on immigrants and travelers from another 15 countries, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Mr. Trump's proclamation also enacted an entry ban for those traveling with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank. The restrictions on travelers from Turkmenistan were eased, after Mr. Trump said that country had improved its information-sharing with the U.S. The immigration and travel restrictions include some exceptions, including for permanent U.S. residents from the countries on the list and athletes and staff participating in major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup next year. But Tuesday's proclamation also eliminated an exception, included in the June travel ban, that exempted the children, spouses and parents of U.S. citizens who had requested visas on their behalf.

Trump's 'historic' peace deal for DR Congo shattered after M23 rebels seize key city of Uvira (LINK) 13 December 2025

The Contrarian: Trump & cronies' top 10 worst presidential profiteering scandals (LINK) 13 December 2025

"Trump AI regulation order hallucinates more fake law than any AI" (LINK) 12 December 2025

— "Can a president unilaterally invent new laws and then assert that this counts as occupying the field to then preempt state laws? No, of course not. But he issued the order anyway because this administration is itself a hallucination engine stochastically vomiting out orders."

US sanctions six more ships after seizing oil tanker off Venezuela (LINK) 11 December 2025

— Sanctions have also been placed on some of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's relatives and businesses associated with what Washington calls his illegitimate regime.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado says U.S. 'support' helped her escape Venezuela to go to Oslo for Nobel Peace Prize (LINK) 11 December 2025

Commander overseeing U.S. forces in Caribbean relinquishes command early amid U.S. buildup near Venezuela (LINK) 11 December 2025

— Adm. Alvin Holsey relinquished command Friday in a ceremony at U.S. Southern Command headquarters after announcing early retirement amid U.S. buildup off of Venezuela.

Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions (LINK) 11 December 2025

US jobless benefit applications jump to 236,000 last week as concerns about labor market persist (LINK) 11 December 2025

Trump says he's pardoned Tina Peters, sentenced to 8.5 years in prison and six months in county jail in 2024 for her role in tampering with county voting and records equipment after the 2020 election, but that may not save her from prison: no power to pardon a person for state convictions. (LINK) 11 December 2025

Trump says U.S. seized oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela (LINK) 10 December 2025

Venezuela decries 'act of piracy' — (LINK)

Trump's new chair of CDC vaccine panel fired from pediatric practice because of his position on the committee, wife says (LINK) 11 December 2025

Navy delivers report to Hegseth on potential of punishment for Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly over video that reminded US troops they have a duty to refuse illegal orders (LINK) 11 December 2025

Trump warns Colombian President Gustavo Petro he will ‘be next’ amid drug trafficking rift (LINK) 10 December 2025

Trump launches $1m 'gold card' immigration visas (LINK) 10 December 2025

Jared Kushner and three Arab monarchies are at the heart of the Paramount-WBD bid that will require administration approval (LINK) 11 December 2025

Canada's DC envoy to exit as US trade talks stall (LINK) 10 December 2025

First of 30 oil lease sales planned for Gulf of Mexico draws $300 million from companies (LINK) 10 December 2025

US lawmakers in House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a sweeping defence bill bolstering European security — a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump's mounting threats to downgrade Washington's ties to traditional allies and NATO (LINK) 10 December 2025

Judge blocks Trump's National Guard deployment in LA with sharp rebuke (LINK) 10 December 2025

Trump talks Ukraine peace deal with Macron, Merz and Starmer (LINK) 10 December 2025

Al Jazeera: Fact-checking Trump's Pennsylvania speech and his Politico interview (LINK) 10 December 2025

• Trump did not, in fact, inherit the "worst inflation" in history. The annualized inflation rate was below 3 percent during the six months before Trump took office in his second term.
• He claimed that Ilhan Omar, the Democrat who has served as a Minnesota representative in Congress since 2019, is in the US illegally. Trump also claimed that Somalia has no military, parliament or police. Somalia does have a military, a parliament and a police force. Omar became eligible for citizenship five years after she entered the US, and finally became a citizen in 2000, when she was 17 years old. Trump: "She married her brother in order to get in, right … she married her brother to get in, therefore she's here illegally." There is no verifiable evidence to back up allegations that either Hirsi or Elmi, her previous husbands, is Omar's brother.
• During the Pennsylvania rally, Trump claimed the Democrats want “transgender for every member in your family”. There is certainly no evidence that the Democratic Party believes all families should have a transgender member.
• Trump also said: "Black people love Trump. I got the biggest vote with Black people." Overall, he secured 20 percent of the Black vote in November 2024 — a big rise from the 12 percent he won in 2020. However, this means that his opponent for the presidency, Democrat Kamala Harris, in fact won the majority of the Black vote.

Foreign tourists could be required to disclose 5 years of social media histories under Trump administration plan (LINK) 10 December 2025

3 separate US strikes on alleged drug boats have initially left survivors. Each time they’ve been treated differently (LINK) 10 December 2025

The US solicitor general, who represents the federal government before the US Supreme Court, has weighed in on the side of Bayer subsidiary Monsanto in the company's efforts to protect itself from a barrage of lawsuits claiming that its glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup causes cancer (LINK) 9 December 2025

Snopes: DOD gave $620M loan to startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.'s venture capital firm: Pentagon told Snopes he was "not involved in any aspect" of the deal (LINK) 9 December 2025

Federal judge expands criminal contempt probe over deportation flights, saying Kristi Noem failed to provide answers (LINK) 8 December 2025

One of Trump's most consequential decisions — a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — just got more complicated: investors have concerns (LINK) 8 December 2025

Trump says Zelenskyy 'isn't ready' to sign US-backed peace deal (LINK) 7 December 2025

X axes European Commission’s ad account after €120M EU fine (LINK) 7 December 2025

US Border Czar says 62,000 illegally smuggled children rescued so far in Minnesota (LINK) — ground.news: 25 media reports (LINK) 7 December 2025

Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees including Sylvester Stallone, George Strait and more (LINK) 6 December 2025

Judge temporarily blocks Justice Department's use of "unreasonable" seizure of evidence in dismissed Comey case as the Trump administration prepares to seek a new indictment after the dismissal of previous charges early last week (LINK) 6 December 2025

Pressure grows on 'reckless' Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief (LINK) 6 December 2025

How ProPublica reports the truth in an era of false claims: each drug smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela could cause 25,000 deaths, and people arressted in immigration raids face only brief inconvenience (LINK) 6 December 2025

— Claim 1: not remotely accurate; the annual estimated death toll from all overdoses last year totaled 80,391. Claim 2: Our separate reporting identified more than 170 citizens who had been detained at raids and protests. More than 20 of these people reported being detained by immigration agents for at least a day during which they were not allowed to call their loved ones or a lawyer. We found about 130 people who were arrested for allegedly assaulting or impeding the work of agents, many of whom were ultimately not charged with any crime or whose cases were quickly dismissed.

CDC advisers vote to overturn decades-long policy on hepatitis B vaccine for infants (LINK) 5 December 2025

Trump unveils 2025 US National Security Strategy: shifts U.S. focus to Latin America to combat migration and drug trafficking while criticizing European policies and aligning with far-right European parties (LINK) — ground.news: 388 media reports (LINK) 5 December 2025

US Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging birthright citizenship (LINK) 5 December 2025

US: Appeals court hands Trump a victory, OK'ing firings of two independent agency heads (LINK) 5 December 2025

Trump awarded first FIFA peace prize (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to "promote peace and unity around the world".

Elon Musk's X fined $140m over transparency rule violations (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The penalty cites deceptive design of the blue checkmark, lack of transparency in its ad repository, and failure to provide public data access for researchers. X has 60 days to explain how it will address the blue checkmark issue and 90 days to present a plan for fixing ad transparency and public data access.

Tesla sales drop 19% in UK, while BYD sales more than triple: from 4,680 to 3,784 — from 11.9% of the market in November 2024 to 9.4% in November 2025. BYD went from 2.4% of the UK EV market to 7.8% (LINK) 5 December 2025

Coast Guard seizes 3,800 lbs. of cocaine worth $28m in Miami's largest small boat bust since 1995 (LINK) 5 December 2025

US: Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed (LINK) 4 December 2025

New York Times sues Pentagon over Trump team’s limits on press reporting (LINK) 4 December 2025

Trump hires new architect for White House ballroom project (LINK) 4 December 2025

— But two White House officials strongly denied McCrery was fired; they said he instead will remain on the ballroom project as a consultant.

Trump warns land strikes in Venezuela could come 'very soon' (LINK) — ground.news: 13 media reports (LINK) 3 December 2025

Trump signs Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, prompting praise from Taipei, objection from Beijing: (LINK) — ground.news: 18 media reports (LINK) 2 December 2025

— Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law, requiring the U.S. State Department to review and update its guidelines for U.S. engagements with Taiwan at least once every five years. The measure is designed to deepen the U.S.–Taiwan relationship in the absence of formal diplomatic relations

Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee: The Associated Press called the race at 9.47 EST with Van Epps holding a 52% to 46% lead. Van Epps argued that his victory served as a sign that conservative voters remained supportive of Donald Trump's leadership (LINK) 2 December 2025

DHS recommends travel ban list include at least 10 more countries following DC shooting (LINK) 2 December 2025

— Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is recommending that the Trump administration’s travel ban list include between 30 to 32 countries, marking an increase from the current list of 19 countries. It is unclear which countries are being added to the list — and when they'll be announced. The current list of 19 countries with full or partial restrictions include Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Michael and Susan Dell to donate $6.25 billion to fund ‘Trump accounts’ for 25 million U.S. kids (LINK) 2 December 2025

— The pledge will seed tax-advantaged "Trump accounts" for children too old to qualify for grants that are set to come from the U.S. Treasury.

Billionaire-funded 'Trump Accounts' for Kids slammed as 'another tax shelter' for the rich (LINK) 2 December 2025

— Amy Matsui, the vice president of income security and child care at National Women's Law Center (NWLC). “As currently structured, these accounts will just become another tax shelter for the wealthiest, while the overwhelming majority of American families, who are struggling to cover basic costs like food, childcare, and housing, will be hard pressed to find the extra money that could turn the seed money into a meaningful investment."

Trump reportedly gave President Maduro ultimatum to relinquish power in Venezuela on 30 November phone call (LINK) 1 December 2025

White House defends Hegseth and second strike on boat near Venezuela: insists the strike followed the laws of armed conflict (LINK) 1 December 2025

White House confirms Hegseth authorized Sept. 2 strikes on drug boat (LINK) 1 December 2025

US Court disqualifies ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey prosecutor (LINK) 1 December 2025

— The US appeals court struck down the attempt by President Donald Trump to bypass the customary Senate confirmation process and appoint his former personal lawyer to a post as a top federal prosecutor.