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Tag: committed

  • Trump remains committed to US owning Gaza, says Middle East states could help rebuild war-torn area

    Trump remains committed to US owning Gaza, says Middle East states could help rebuild war-torn area

    U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he remains committed to the U.S. purchasing and owning Gaza, but that he may allow Middle Eastern countries to rebuild sections of the area ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

    Trump made the comment when speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

    “I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza,” Trump said. “As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”

    “There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished. Everything’s demolished,” he said.

    SAUDI ARABIA CONTRADICTS TRUMP, VOWS NO TIES WITH ISRAEL WITHOUT CREATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE

    President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)

    The president also said he was open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees into the U.S. but that those requests would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

    Trump said last week at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants the U.S. to take over Gaza after Palestinians are resettled in other countries.

    “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said at the time. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”

    “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he added. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”

    ‘LEVEL IT’: TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST

    Trump and Leavitt

    President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews on Jan. 27, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listens. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

    Several countries have criticized Trump’s comments about taking over Gaza, which was bombarded by Israeli forces in the conflict sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against the Jewish State.

    Trump also said on Jan. 25 that he wanted Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations to accept more Palestinian refugees from Gaza, potentially moving out enough people to “just clean out” the area.

    “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over,’” he said at the time.

    Palestinians feared during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which is now under a ceasefire, that they would suffer from another “Nakba,” meaning catastrophe in Arabic, which refers to the displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war at the birth of the State of Israel.

    Earlier on Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo when asked about Trump’s plan to take over Gaza that the U.S. president was slated to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and possibly Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    President-Trump-departs-White-House

    U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 31, 2025. (BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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    “President Trump is due to meet with major, major Arab leaders, first and foremost the king of Jordan and the president of Egypt and I think also the crown prince of Saudi Arabia as well,” Herzog said.

    “These are partners that must be listened to, they must be discussed with. We have to honor their feelings as well and see how we build a plan that is sustainable for the future,” he added.

    Saudi Arabia is among the many countries that have rejected Trump’s plan to take over Gaza. Jordan’s King Abdullah II reportedly plans to tell Trump during their scheduled meeting on Tuesday that the proposal is a recipe for radicalism that will spread chaos throughout the Middle East and put at risk the kingdom’s peace with Israel.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

  • White House still committed to freezing ‘woke’ funds despite rescinding OMB memo

    White House still committed to freezing ‘woke’ funds despite rescinding OMB memo

    The White House remains committed to freezing federal grants and loans aimed at “woke” programs, Fox News has learned, despite the administration’s move to rescind the original Office of Management and Budget memo — effectively ending the legal battle and any “confusion” for recipients. 

    A federal judge on Tuesday paused the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo, which aimed to freeze funding to various federal programs.

    ‘ANSWERED THIS QUESTION FOUR TIMES’: LEAVITT PUSHES BACK ON MEDIA’S ‘UNCERTAINTY’ ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE

    On Wednesday, the Trump administration rescinded the original memo. 

    “In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday. “The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments.” 

    Leavitt told Fox News that rescinding the memo “should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending.” 

    “In the coming weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the egregious waste of federal funding,” Leavitt said. 

    The memo, sent to federal agencies on Monday, issued a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. 

    “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital, reads. 

    The pause was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday.

    Democrats had criticized the Trump administration’s freeze of federal funds, arguing that President Trump is circumventing Congress and withholding congressionally appropriated funds, violating the Impoundment Control Act. 

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. At 27 years old, Leavitt is the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    FEDERAL JUDGE PAUSES TRUMP ADMIN’S TEMPORARY FEDERAL GRANTS, LOANS FREEZE

    U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan for the District of Columbia, appointed by former President Joe Biden, imposed an administrative stay on Tuesday afternoon, pausing the Trump administration’s action.

    The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.

    The White House stressed that despite the memo being rescinded, if money coming out of federal agencies is at odds with the president’s executive orders, for example, funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, those funds will still be frozen. 

    But programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals will not be impacted under the pause, according to Leavitt. 

    Leavitt, during the White House press briefing on Tuesday, described the pause as “temporary,” and noted that the Trump administration has executed other freezes throughout the government, including a regulatory and hiring pause. 

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    “It’s incumbent upon this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for honestly,” Leavitt said. 

    Additionally, Leavitt said that Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency that aims to eliminate government spending and waste identified $37 million that was about to go to the World Health Organization, along with $50 million to “fund condoms in Gaza.” 

    “That is a preposterous waste of money,” Leavitt said. 

    Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.