Trump continues Taylor Greene attacks despite his call to release Epstein files – US politics live

President repeats assertion that former ally is a ‘traitor’ even as he urges fellow Republicans to vote for release of documents relating to sex offenderHello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.We start with the news that president Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks against Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday, despite his reversal on resisting the release of the Epstein files.Republican congressman Thomas Massie had challenged Trump over whether the US president was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the White House.The United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media.Trump said the US may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a huge US military buildup in the Caribbean. “We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” the US president said on Sunday, in one of the first signs of a possible path to defusing the increasingly tense situation in the region.Trump on Sunday brushed aside concerns about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson‘s recent interview with a far-right activist known for his antisemitic views, which has caused a schism within the Republican party. Trump defended Carlson, saying the former Fox News host has “said good things about me over the years.” He said if Carlson wants to interview Nick Fuentes, whose followers see themselves as working to preserve America’s white, Christian identity, then “people have to decide.” Trump did not criticize Carlson or Fuentes.Trump indicated on Sunday that he plans to meet with New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and said they will “work something out”, in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have cast each other as political foils. Trump has for months slammed Mr Mamdani, falsely labelling him as a “communist” and predicting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the democratic socialist were elected.A group of 17 transgender US air force members has sued the Trump administration for denying them early retirement pensions and benefits. The complaint, submitted in federal court, describes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”. Continue reading...