Lee has welcomed Trump\u2019s offers of federal troops and thanked the president during today\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
Trump added that he is considering sending national guard troops to \u201cChicago probably next\u201d and floated cities such as St Louis may be next. \u201cWe want to save these places,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago is a great city,\u201d Trump added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make it great again very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Illinois\u2019 Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, has vehemently opposed the idea of federal troops deploying to Chicago.<\/p>\n
Memphis, Chicago and St Louis are among the cities with the largest percentage of Black residents in the United States.<\/p>\n
Trump said law enforcement agents from agencies including the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE and Homeland Security will join the national guard in Memphis.<\/p>\n
My colleauge George Chidi<\/a> conducted this helpful analysis of crime rates in cities Trump has named over the past month. Although Trump has called Chicago \u201cthe most dangerous city in the world\u201d, crime in large cities in the aggregate is lower in states with Democratic leadership. While the four cities of populations larger than 100,000 with the highest murder rates in 2024 are in Republican states.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.10 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Summary<\/p>\n Closing summary<\/p>\n Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here<\/a>. Here is a summary of the key developments from today:<\/p>\n Donald Trump announced he will deploy the national guard to Memphis during an Oval Office ceremony attended by the Tennessee governor Bill Lee. He added that he is considering sending national guard troops to \u201cChicago probably next\u201d and floated cities such as St Louis may follow.<\/p>\n A US appeals court ruled that Lisa Cook can remain on the Federal Reserve board, denying Trump\u2019s attempt to remove Cook from the body ahead of a policy meeting scheduled to begin tomorrow. Trump will likely appeal the ruling to the supreme court. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has \u201cno reason to believe\u201d that Cook broke any tax rules involving a home she declared her primary residence.<\/p>\n The Senate voted to approve Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve board in a narrow 48-47 vote largely along party lines. Miran, a Trump ally, currently serves as the White House\u2019s chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The vote comes just as the Fed is scheduled to gather for a two-day policy meeting where it is expected to vote on cutting interest rates.<\/p>\n JD Vance guest-hosted the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s podcast today live from his office in the White House complex. Vance was joined by key conservative voices, and members of the Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, Trump\u2019s deputy chief of policy and architect of the administration\u2019s hardline immigration policy<\/a>, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, chief of staff Susie Wiles and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. Earlier in the day, secretary of state Marco Rubio doubled down on the administration\u2019s pledge to deny and revoke visas for anyone perceived to be celebrating the killing of Charlie Kirk and FBI director Kash Patel has said that DNA evidence found by investigators links the man accused of killing Kirk<\/a> to the fatal attack despite his alleged refusal to cooperate with authorities after his arrest. Later, House Speaker Mike Johnson held a prayer vigil for Kirk, which was widely attended by Republican lawmakers.<\/p>\n With Congress facing an end-of-the-month deadline to prevent a government shutdown, Trump encouraged Republicans to pass spending legislation without Democratic votes after the minority party\u2019s leaders announced they would not support any bill<\/a> that does not address their healthcare priorities.<\/p>\n Marco Rubio met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today. Rubio will travel to Qatar tomorrow.<\/p>\n Trump announced that the US military had conducted a strike on a second Venezuelan boat which he said was transporting narcotics. Trump said three men had been killed in the strike and that no US forces were harmed. Democratic lawmakers called for investigations into the legality of the strikes.<\/p>\n Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said the commercial terms for a TikTok deal have been agreed upon between the US and China. The news comes just days before a deadline Donald Trump set for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer was set to expire. Trump is scheduled to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has threatened to call a national emergency and federalize Washington DC<\/a> after the city\u2019s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), whose agents have been taking suspects into custody and have been accused of racially profiling people in doing so.<\/p>\n Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who brought criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs, has sued the Trump administration<\/a> over her abrupt July firing, according to court records reviewed by Reuters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Democratic leaders are criticizing the Trump administration\u2019s strike on a second Venezuelan boat.<\/p>\n Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, said: \u201cNo president can secretly wage war or carry out unjustified killings \u2013 that is authoritarianism, not democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cThese reckless, unauthorized operations not only put American lives at risk, they threaten to ignite a war with Venezuela that would drag our nation into a conflict we did not choose. The American people deserve to know what is being done in their name and why,\u201d Reed said in a statement. \u201cCongress must demand answers, force transparency, and hold this administration accountable before it plunges us into another needless war.\u201d<\/p>\n Senator Adam Schiff of California, said in a social media post that he is drafting a war powers resolution in response to the military strike.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m drafting a resolution and forcing a vote to reclaim Congress\u2019s power to declare war,\u201d Schiff wrote. \u201cBefore Trump\u2019s actions provoke one.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more on the Trump administration\u2019s recent attacks on Venezuelan boats:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.12 EDT<\/p>\n Senate approves Trump ally Stephen Miran to Fed Board<\/p>\n The Senate voted to approve Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve board in a narrow 48-47 vote largely along party lines. Miran, a Trump ally, currently serves as the White House\u2019s chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The vote comes just as the Fed is scheduled to gather for a two-day policy meeting where it is expected to vote on cutting interest rates.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.52 EDT<\/p>\n Appeals court rules in favor of Fed governor Lisa Cook<\/p>\n A US appeals court ruled that Lisa Cook can remain on the Federal Reserve board, denying Donald Trump\u2019s attempt to remove Cook from the body ahead of a policy meeting scheduled to begin tomorrow. Trump will likely appeal the ruling to the supreme court.<\/p>\n The news comes just one day before the Fed is scheduled to meet for a two-day policy meeting where it will discuss cutting interest rates.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.51 EDT<\/p>\n The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has \u201cno reason to believe\u201d that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook broke any tax rules involving a home she declared her primary residence, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n The news comes after the outlet requested the city\u2019s property tax authority review records involving Cook\u2019s home. Donald Trump<\/a> is attempting to remove Cook from the Federal Reserve board by claiming that Cook committed mortgage fraud by declaring both her Ann Arbor home and a second Atlanta home as her primary residence.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more from my colleagues on the case:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.51 EDT<\/p>\n Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate armed services committee, said he intended to investigate the legality of the Trump administration\u2019s recent strike on a Venezuelan boat.<\/p>\n \u201cI need more information,\u201d Wicker told reporters, including the Associated Press. \u201cI\u2019m going to drill down and see what I can find out before I comment on that.\u201d<\/p>\n The committee\u2019s top Democratic senator, Jack Reed, said he was concerned the strike could have violated international law and that Congress needed more information from the Pentagon ahead of such strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re certainly not getting a definitive legal justification which would be necessary,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n Here are my colleagues Hugo Lowell<\/a> and Tom Phillips<\/a> with more on the strike:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.03 EDT<\/p>\n Following remarks by congresswoman Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, House speaker Mike Johnson led lawmakers in a moment of silence before concluding with a prayer, where he called Kirk a \u201cmartyr\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHeavenly Father, we come to you this afternoon with a mixture of emotions in our hearts,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019re so deeply saddened by the untimely loss of our dear friend Charlie Kirk.\u201d At the same time, he said, \u201cwe\u2019re encouraged as well\u201d knowing that \u201cCharlie\u2019s voice cannot be silenced\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAs he was martyred for the principles he believed in. The principles of free speech and brotherly love,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.33 EDT<\/p>\n House speaker Mike Johnson was joined by other lawmakers at a vigil for Charlie Kirk today, including House majority leader, Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise, and House majority whip, Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer.<\/p>\n \u201cCharlie\u2019s legacy will live on and endure,\u201d said Scalise. \u201cCharlie Kirk started a movement, a movement that\u2019s going to grow and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Emmer denounced growing political violence, including recent attacks on Minnesota representative Melissa Hortman, Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and Donald Trump<\/a>. \u201cLet us all be clear. There is no place in our country for political violence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.42 EDT<\/p>\n House speaker Mike Johnson holds prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson began a prayer vigil for far-right activist Charlie Kirk this evening saying that Americans across the country, including lawmakers gathered at the vigil, had been shaken by Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a very difficult week in America,\u201d Johnson said. He called Kirk\u2019s killing, \u201cheinous political violence, an assassination\u201d.<\/p>\n Johnson said he\u2019d also encouraged young people to advance Kirk\u2019s principles and his approach. \u201cCharlie was a happy warrior,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe never hated anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cScripture reminds us that we should not be overcome by evil, but we should overcome evil with good. That is the legacy of Charlie Kirk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mike Johnson speaks during a memorial vigil for slain political activist Charlie Kirk at the Capitol. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.16 EDT<\/p>\n House speaker Mike Johnson is expected to host a prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk, the far-right political activist killed last week, shortly. We\u2019ll bring you updates from that once it begins.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.12 EDT<\/p>\n Donald Trump appeared unfamiliar with the name of Minnesota congresswoman Melissa Hortman, who was murdered in her home in J<\/a>une<\/a>, during an Oval Office press conference today.<\/p>\n When asked why he did not order flags to be flown at half mast after her assassination, as he did after far-right political activist Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing last week, Trump said no one had asked him to.<\/p>\n Trump said that if Democratic Minnesota governor Tim Walz had made such a request, he might have granted it: \u201cHad the governor asked me to do that, I would have done that gladly,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n In fact, Trump refused to speak to Walz in June, saying it would be a \u201cwaste of time\u201d and called Walz \u201cwhacked out\u201d and \u201ca mess\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.33 EDT<\/p>\n Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, denounced JD Vance\u2019s commentary while hosting the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s podcast today.<\/p>\n While hosting Kirk\u2019s podcast, Vance said: \u201cIt is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far-Left.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement responding to those comments, Casar wrote: \u201cThis is craven, cynical, and very dangerous. Political violence is a crisis in this country — which is why Americans deserve leaders who want to actually solve it, not weaponize it against their political opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n The murder of Charlie Kirk was a heinous crime. The murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman was a heinous crime. The attack on Paul Pelosi was a heinous crime. January 6th was a heinous crime. Any politician who\u2019s only concerned by one is playing politics with a genuine crisis.<\/p>\n For years, Donald Trump<\/a> has wanted to weaponize the government against his political opponents. And by pardoning January 6th offenders, he has shown he does not care about preventing political violence. He cannot be allowed to use the horrible murder of Charlie Kirk as pretext to go after peaceful political opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump answered other questions from reporters about various developing stories after announcing his decision to deploy the national guard to Memphis.<\/p>\n On Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassin: Trump told reporters he did not know if the suspect had acted alone but that he appeared to have been radicalized \u201cover the Internet\u201d.<\/p>\n On antifa: Trump said he would favor labeling the \u201canti-fascist\u201d movement as a domestic terrorist organization. \u201cI would do that, 100%,\u201d he said. \u201cAntifa is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n On US strikes on a Venezuelan boat: \u201cWe have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean \u2013 big bags of cocaine and and fentanyl all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n On congresswoman Ilhan Omar: \u201cI think she\u2019s a disgraceful person. A loser. It\u2019s amazing the way people vote. I know it\u2019s people from her area, maybe of the world. They got here and they vote her in. It\u2019s hard to believe. But I think she\u2019s a disgusting person.\u201d<\/p>\n On Charlie Kirk\u2019s funeral: \u201cI guess I\u2019ll say a few words, I don\u2019t know, but I guess I will,\u201d Trump said. He predicted the far-right political activist would draw a full stadium to his Arizona funeral on Sunday.<\/p>\n On Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota state representative assassinated on 14 January: \u201cI\u2019m not familiar. The who?\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.17 EDT<\/p>\n Trump announces he will send national guard to Memphis, with Chicago \u2018probably next\u2019<\/p>\n Donald Trump announced he will deploy the national guard to Memphis during an Oval Office ceremony attended by the Tennessee governor Bill Lee.<\/p>\n Last week, Trump said \u201cMemphis is deeply troubled\u201d and teased that he wanted to \u201cfix that just like we did Washington\u201d, referring to his decision to deploy national guard troops to Washington DC<\/a> last month in an effort to \u201ccrack down\u201d on crime in the nation\u2019s capitol. Violent crime was already at a 30-year low in the city.<\/p>\n Lee has welcomed Trump\u2019s offers of federal troops and thanked the president during today\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n Trump added that he is considering sending national guard troops to \u201cChicago probably next\u201d and floated cities such as St Louis may be next. \u201cWe want to save these places,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cChicago is a great city,\u201d Trump added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make it great again very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Illinois\u2019 Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, has vehemently opposed the idea of federal troops deploying to Chicago.<\/p>\n Memphis, Chicago and St Louis are among the cities with the largest percentage of Black residents in the United States.<\/p>\n Trump said law enforcement agents from agencies including the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE and Homeland Security will join the national guard in Memphis.<\/p>\n My colleauge George Chidi<\/a> conducted this helpful analysis of crime rates in cities Trump has named over the past month. Although Trump has called Chicago \u201cthe most dangerous city in the world\u201d, crime in large cities in the aggregate is lower in states with Democratic leadership. While the four cities of populations larger than 100,000 with the highest murder rates in 2024 are in Republican states.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.10 EDT<\/p>\n The Senate\u2019s Republican leader John Thune indicated that he hoped an agreement could be reached to stop a shutdown as soon as this week, while criticizing Democrats\u2019 insistence on negotiating over healthcare cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be putting forward a clean resolution to ensure there is no reason for Democrats to oppose this bill and delay passage. My hope would be that we could get this done as soon as this week and then continue bipartisan work on appropriations bills,\u201d he said. The bill would likely extend funding through mid-November, to allow lawmakers time to reach agreement on 12 appropriations bills to, in theory, keep the government funded through 2026.<\/p>\n He went on to accuse the Democrats of behaving irresponsibly by threatening a shutdown if their demands are not met: \u201cDemocrats seem to be looking to shut down the government. That\u2019s right, at least a portion of their base seems eager to pick a fight with the Trump administration<\/a>, and congressional Democrats, or at least congressional Democrat leadership, seem to be following along. I can\u2019t imagine what Democrats think they\u2019re going to gain from this. Do they think that hard working Americans are going to thank Democrats for shutting down the government?\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking on the floor a few minutes later, the Senate\u2019s Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer accused Thune and the GOP of refusing to negotiate on issues that will impact millions of Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have a conversation with Donald Trump<\/a> and Republicans about things we\u2019ve been talking about for months, like healthcare, Medicaid and the cost of living,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cAnd the American people know this. They know that if Donald Trump refuses to talk, even to talk about democrats, it\u2019ll be him shutting things down. They know he needs to negotiate. They know he needs to compromise. He\u2019s not a dictator, as much as he thinks he\u2019d like to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.55 EDT<\/p>\n With Congress facing an end-of-the-month deadline to prevent a government shutdown, Donald Trump on Monday afternoon encouraged Republicans to pass spending legislation without Democratic votes after the minority party\u2019s leaders announced they would not support any bill<\/a> that does not address their healthcare priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cCongressional Republicans, including Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, are working on a short term \u2018CLEAN\u2019 extension of Government Funding to stop Cryin\u2019 Chuck Schumer from shutting down the Government,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats want the Government to shut down. Republicans want the Government to OPEN. Democrats love CRIME, Republicans make our Country SAFE \u2014 WE HATE CRIME. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.\u201d<\/p>\n He called on the GOP to pass a \u201cClean CR\u201d, or continuing resolution, which is a shortterm government funding bill that would prevent a shutdown without making major changes to appropriations: \u201cIn times like these, Republicans have to stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands, and vote \u201cYES!\u201d on both Votes needed to pass a Clean CR this week out of the House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Under pressure from their base to stand up to Trump using whatever leverage they have, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries last week vowed not to vote for any bill unless it includes some concessions on healthcare. They were vague on what exactly they wanted, but pointed to looming increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans and Medicaid cuts mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n While the GOP can get spending legislation through the House with a simple majority, Democrats can use the filibuster to block bills in the Senate, meaning the two sides almost certainly have to find a compromise to prevent a shutdown. Responding to Trump\u2019s insistence that Republicans should go it alone, Jeffries said: \u201cDonald Trump and House Republicans are destroying Medicaid and Medicare, healthcare premiums are skyrocketing, millions of Americans are losing coverage and hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing throughout the country. House Democrats will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. That\u2019s what this shutdown fight is all about, Mr. President.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.02 EDT<\/p>\n Summary<\/p>\n Today So Far<\/p>\n Thank you for joining our US politics<\/a> coverage today so far. Here are the top headlines we\u2019ve followed and are continuing to watch:<\/p>\n JD Vance guest-hosted the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s podcast today live from his office in the White House complex. Vance was joined by key conservative voices, and members of the Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, Trump\u2019s deputy chief of policy and architect of the administration\u2019s hardline immigration policy<\/a>, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, chief of staff Susie Wiles and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n In an interview on Fox News, the secretary of state Marco Rubio doubled down on the administration\u2019s pledge to deny and revoke visas for anyone perceived to be celebrating the killing of Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n FBI director Kash Patel has said that DNA evidence found by investigators links the man accused of killing Kirk<\/a> to the fatal attack despite his alleged refusal to cooperate with authorities after his arrest.<\/p>\n Marco Rubio met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem today. Rubio will travel to Qatar tomorrow.<\/p>\n Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said the commercial terms for a TikTok deal have been agreed upon between the US and China. The news comes just days before a deadline Donald Trump set for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer was set to expire. Trump is scheduled to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has threatened to call a national emergency and federalize Washington DC<\/a> after the city\u2019s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), whose agents have been taking suspects into custody and have been accused of racially profiling people in doing so.<\/p>\n Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who brought criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs, has sued the Trump administration<\/a> over her abrupt July firing, according to court records reviewed by Reuters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.00 EDT<\/p>\n In a post on his social media platform, Donald Trump<\/a> said that the United States military struck a second Venezuelan boat early Monday morning.<\/p>\n Trump identified the ship as belonging to \u201cpositively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility\u201d and said the strike \u201coccurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said three men had been killed in the strike and that no US forces were harmed.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, my colleague Tom Phillips<\/a> reported on a similar strike that killed 11 people. Here\u2019s more on that first strike:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.35 EDT<\/p>\n Rubio says Netanyahu has full support of US over plans to destroy Hamas in Jerusalem<\/p>\n The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has put the Trump administration\u2019s full support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem<\/a>, saying Washington\u2019s priorities were the liberation of Israeli hostages and the destruction of Hamas.<\/p>\n In public remarks standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio did not mention the possibility of a ceasefire and did not repeat his earlier criticism of Israel for carrying out an <\/a>airstrike last week<\/a> in Doha, aimed at Hamas leaders the capital of another close US ally, Qatar.<\/p>\n The state department announced that Rubio would make a stop in Doha on Tuesday on his way to London, as the Trump administration<\/a> seeks to limit the damage to US relations in the Gulf caused by the Israeli strike last Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, no matter what has happened or happens, the objective remains the same, and that is all 48 of those hostages, both living and deceased, need to be home. They need to be returned,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n \u201cHamas needs to cease to exist as an armed element that can threaten the peace and security of the region. And the people of Gaza deserve a better future. But that better future cannot begin until Hamas is eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu and Marco Rubio meeting at the prime minister\u2019s office in Jerusalem. Photograph: Haim Tzach\/GPO\/EPA<\/p>\n Rubio warned that the intended recognition of Palestine<\/a> by several US allies, including the UK, France, Canada, Belgium and Australia, would make peace less likely.<\/p>\n \u201cIt actually makes it harder to negotiate \u2026 because it emboldens these groups,\u201d he said, referring to Hamas and other Palestinian militants. He added that the Trump administration had warned states preparing to recognize Palestine \u201cthere will be an Israeli counter reaction to those moves\u201d \u2013 in what may have been a reference to a possible Israeli move to annex occupied areas of the West Bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rubio refrained from commenting on the planned Israeli ground offensive on Gaza City. Before that offensive, the Israel Defense Forces have been destroying buildings across the city, and ordering its inhabitants to evacuate<\/a>, drawing international condemnation.<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chris_Stein.png\")
Chris Stein<\/p>\nChris Stein<\/p>\n![\"Julian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Julian_Borger.png\")
Julian Borger<\/p>\n