Trump says he has formed ‘framework’ of Greenland deal after meeting with Nato chief
Following a “very productive meeting” with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, Donald Trump said that the pair have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region”.
The president added that if the deal is accomplished he will not impose the tariffs that were set to take effect in February on several allied countries that opposed the administration’s demands to annex Greenland.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”
He noted that vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will all be part of ongoing negotiations, and will report to Trump.
Updated at 14.48 EST
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Trump says Greenland deal involves ‘Golden Dome’ and ‘mineral rights’ for US
The president hasn’t released any information about the “framework” of a future deal on Greenland that he announced on social media. However, in an interview with CNBC, he said that a deal would include Nato’s involvement on his sought-after missile defense system known as the “Golden Dome”, and well as “mineral rights” for the US.
When interviewer Joe Kernen asked how long the deal would last, Trump replied: “Forever”. But reiterated that he doesn’t intend to use force to achieve his goal.
ShareMarkets rebound as Trump calls off tariffs on European allies over Greenland
Stocks jumped on Wednesday, soon after the president announced that he would scrap tariffs on European allies after establishing the “framework of a future deal” on Greenland.
The Dow Jones industrial average leapt by more than 700 points, or 1.6%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, and the Nasdaq surged 1.7%, by almost 400 points.
Updated at 15.14 EST
Trump says he has formed ‘framework’ of Greenland deal after meeting with Nato chief
Following a “very productive meeting” with Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, Donald Trump said that the pair have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region”.
The president added that if the deal is accomplished he will not impose the tariffs that were set to take effect in February on several allied countries that opposed the administration’s demands to annex Greenland.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”
He noted that vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will all be part of ongoing negotiations, and will report to Trump.
Updated at 14.48 EST
Per my colleague Lauren Gambino’s earlier post, the White House has responded to the news that Gavin Newsom’s appearance at a “fireside chat” at Davos was cancelled by the event’s sponsor.
“No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly.
Updated at 14.52 EST
Pregnant woman in medical distress being deported from US, attorney says
George Chidi
A 21-year-old woman who is eight months pregnant and in a state of medical distress is being deported from Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, a human rights attorney said, pleading for emergency assistance for his client.
“We are trying to get her the medical attention she needs immediately,” said Anthony Enriquez, vice-president of US advocacy and litigation at the Kennedy Human Rights Center, whose client, Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, is on the verge of being sent to Colombia.
“We are immediately moving to file a lawsuit just to preserve the status quo and to ensure that our client gets the medical care she needs,” he said.
When the Kennedy Human Rights Center contacted the Guardian, it said Buitrago Ortiz was currently at the Atlanta international airport, scheduled for an imminent removal flight to Colombia.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Atlanta verified that the deportation was imminent and the women was at the airport, and referred a request for comment to the agency’s El Paso office. The Guardian has reached out for details.
Ortiz and her mother crossed the border in Texas in November, seeking asylum, Enriquez said. They told an immigration judge in a “credible fear” hearing that is part of an official asylum application that Ortiz’s father had been killed after publicly confronting corruption.
“The mother was deemed to have a credible-fear interview and permitted to file an asylum application,” Enriquez said. “Our client was not and was given an order of expedited removal.”
Updated at 14.49 EST
Lauren Gambino
The office of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday was canceled under pressure from the Trump administration, according to the governor’s office.
Newsom had initially been scheduled to sit down with Fortune on Wednesday at an event sponsored by USA House, the country’s official headquarters at the annual gathering in Switzerland. But before the fireside chat was due to begin, his team says USA House bowed to political pressure from the Trump administration and denied the governor entry.
“Under pressure from the White House and State Department, USA House (a church acting as the official US pavilion) is now denying entry to @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom to speak with media after Fortune – the official media partner – invited him to speak,” the governor’s office said in a statement shared on its official account.
Newsom shared the statement on social media, adding: “How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?”
According to Newsom’s office, the governor was invited by Fortune to participate in a “fireside chat” after the president’s address at USA House last week. On Monday, his office accepted the invitation. Then, shortly before the program was due to begin, the governor’s team said a USA House official informed his office that Newsom’s participation no longer “align[ed]” with their post-speech programming. As a substitute, he was invited to an off-the-record “nightcap reception” at the pavilion later that evening.
Updated at 14.10 EST
Adam Gabbatt
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president, characterized his approach to international relations as “speak softly and carry a big stick”. It was an approach that won him a Nobel peace prize in 1906, for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war.
In recent days, Donald Trump’s own take on diplomacy has come into focus, one that might be characterized thusly: speak hysterically and threaten to use (and sometimes actually use) a big stick. This idiosyncratic approach to statecraft has yet to win Trump a Nobel peace prize, although that is something that the president has said – many, many times – does not bother him at all.
Yes, instead of winning him awards (made-up soccer prizes notwithstanding), Trump’s statecraft is rattling key US allies, through his increasingly pugnacious effort to conquer Greenland. It’s a topic that dominated the buildup to his speech at the World Economic Forum, in Davos on Wednesday, as Trump launched a specious argument as to why the US should be able to have Greenland, which is part of the Danish kingdom.
For the full story, click here:
Cecilia Nowell
The California Republican party has asked the US supreme court to block a redistricting measure voters approved in November that would flip up to five House seats in Democrats’ favor.
In an emergency filing, the party asked Justice Elena Kagan, who is assigned to the ninth circuit in a supervisory capacity to oversee emergency filings, to issue an injunction before 9 February, the beginning of California’s candidate filing period for the June 2026 primaries.
The new map was endorsed by voters as a counterweight to a similar redistricting effort in Texas aimed at boosting Republicans. A federal court on 14 January rejected the argument by the challengers that California illegally used race in redrawing the boundaries of the congressional districts.
“California cannot create districts by race, and the state should not be allowed to lock in districts that break federal law,” said Corrin Rankin, the chair of the California Republican party. “Our emergency application asks the supreme court to put the brakes on Prop 50 now, before the Democrats try to run out the clock and force candidates and voters to live with unconstitutional congressional districts.”
For the full story, click here:
ShareLisa Cook: ‘For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence’
In a statement released following arguments at the supreme court, Lisa Cook said:
This case is about whether the Federal Reserve will set key interest rates guided by evidence and independent judgment or will succumb to political pressure.
Research and experience show that Federal Reserve independence is essential to fulfilling the congressional mandate of price stability and maximum employment. That is why Congress chose to insulate the Federal Reserve from political threats, while holding it accountable for delivering on that mandate.
For as long as I serve at the Federal Reserve, I will uphold the principle of political independence in service to the American people.
Updated at 12.58 EST
In his rebuttal, the solicitor general, John D Sauer, closed by saying that the standard of showing inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance (INM) normally required for the president to fire officials doesn’t apply in this case. He noted that the “for cause” standard “gives the president more discretion and provides less protection to the officer”.
It’s worth noting that Paul Clement routinely said these standards were one and the same during arguments when it comes to the removal of a Federal Reserve governor at the court today.
Sauer added that “there really isn’t support anywhere for this notion that pre-office misconduct can’t be considered when it comes to a cause standard” for assessing the accusations against Cook.
Updated at 12.27 EST
Justices appear concerned about Cook not receiving sufficient notice to respond to allegations
Once again, the justices seem concerned that Cook didn’t receive sufficient notice to respond to the allegations against her.
Justice Jackson pushed Clement on whether notice by social media post was an adequate example of due process.
Cook’s lawyer says that the Truth Social post saying that he was firing Lisa Cook was “fundamentally defective” because it’s “indisputable evidence that the president prejudged the matter”.
Updated at 12.51 EST