Trump says Musk was at Pentagon for DOGE and reveals Boeing will build F-47 jets for Air Force: Live updates
President attacks New York Times over reporting as backlash over billonaire’s role in administration grows
Donald Trump has awarded the sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet program contract to Boeing, a much-needed win for the troubled aviation giant.
In an Oval Office announcement alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president also again denied claims in a report that Elon Musk was to receive a briefing about the U.S. military’s top-secret plans for combating aggression from China, saying he was at the Pentagon on Friday morning for DOGE.
Earlier on Truth Social, he raged: “The Fake News is at it again, this time the Failing New York Times. They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China,’” he said, adding: “How ridiculous?”
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “begin eliminating” the Department of Education in favor of leaving decision-making up to individual states.
Trump said on Friday that special needs and nutrition programs will now come under the health department and student loans will become the remit of the Small Business Administration.
Gen Z women quit social media in droves over online misogyny linked to Trump
Trump story about ‘surrounded’ Ukraine troops contradicted by his own intelligence, report reveals
Zelensky defies Trump, warning: Hands off my nuclear power stations
Trump administration is seeking to deport Indian academic at Georgetown as part of State Department crackdown
Trump moves critical functions out of Department of Education
As the dismantling of the Department of Education began President Donald Trump began his Oval Office remarks on the new fighter jet contracts by revealing the future of critical functions of the department.
The Small Business Administration, headed by Kelly Loeffler, will take over the handling of the student loan portfolio.
The Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr. will take over special needs and nutrition programs.
Watch LIVE: Trump and Hegseth announce sixth-generation fighter jet deal
'Sounds good!': Trump weighs in on report King Charles will offer U.S. membership to British Commonwealth
Nearly 250 years after America cast off the shackles of empire by declaring independence from Great Britain, President Donald Trump appears inclined to take a small step back towards the warm embrace of the British monarchy by accepting an invitation from King Charles III for the United States to join the Commonwealth of Nations.
The King is reportedly preparing to extend the offer of “associate membership” in the voluntary association of 56 nations, most of which have history as former British colonies. And Trump, it seems, is open to the idea.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
Trump weighs in on report King Charles will offer U.S. commonwealth membership
Trump awards Boeing fighter jet contract, throwing company much-needed lifeline
While we wait for President Donald Trump’s delayed Oval Office announcement to begin, here’s what it’s all about, courtesy of Reuters.
The president has awarded Boeing a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most advanced fighter jet, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, according to two sources familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters.
The NGAD program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft designed to enter combat alongside drones. While the plane's design remains a closely guarded secret, it is expected to feature stealth capabilities, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge engines.
The engineering and manufacturing development contract is valued at over $20 billion. The successful bidder will ultimately receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders throughout the contract's multi-decade term.
For Boeing, this victory represents a turnaround for a company that has faced challenges in both its commercial and defense sectors. It provides a significant boost to its fighter jet production operations in St. Louis, Missouri.
UAE commits to $1.4 trillion investment in U.S. after Trump meets Emirati officials
The United Arab Emirates has committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the U.S. following a meeting between top UAE officials and President Donald Trump this week, the White House said.
The new framework will “significantly increase the UAE's existing investments in the U.S. economy” in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and American manufacturing, a statement reads.
The official stated that the agreement came from a meeting Trump held on Tuesday with UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed in the Oval Office, as well as a dinner attended by Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet members with the UAE delegation, which included heads of major UAE sovereign wealth funds and corporations.
Under the framework's terms, the UAE investment fund ADQ, in partnership with U.S. firm Energy Capital Partners, announced a $25 billion initiative focused on the U.S. to invest in energy infrastructure and data centers.
XRG, the international investment arm of UAE state oil company ADNOC, also pledged to support U.S. natural gas production and exports by investing in the NextDecade liquefied natural gas export facility in Texas.
Emirates Global Aluminum plans to invest in the first new aluminum smelter in the U.S. in 35 years, which would nearly double US domestic aluminum production.
The companies have additional plans to invest significantly in U.S. assets in areas such as gas, chemicals, energy infrastructure, and low-carbon solutions.
Trump appears open to 'secret offer' from King Charles
The “secret offer” in question is reportedly some kind of membership of the British Commonwealth... President Trump seems amenable.
Watch: Musk departs Pentagon meeting with Hegseth
“It’s always a great meeting,” said Elon Musk, adding: “I’ve been here before you know.”
Trump admin tries again to block reversal on trans service members ban
The Trump administration is asking for another shot to block a judge’s order reversing President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members. The judge is holding a last-minute hearing at 11 a.m.
Government attorneys accuse Judge Ana Reys of having “misconstrued” Pentagon policy banning trans troops. If the judge doesn’t dissolve the injunction, they want her to extend a pause on the order taking effect so they can appeal. Attorney General Pam Bondi is prepared to appeal, they wrote.
Previously:
Judge blocks Trump’s ‘unabashedly demeaning’ ban on transgender service members
Recap: What is happening in court over Trump's El Salvador deportation flights?
Last night and this morning: The Trump administration told Judge James Boasberg that there are cabinet-level discussions about invoking a rarely used “state secrets” privilege to avoid answering the judge’s questions about the flights.
At 2:30 p.m. today, there is a hearing on the ACLU’s initial challenge to Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act that prompted the judge’s order to temporarily block the flights (and which the administration allegedly ignored).
On Monday, and appeals court will hear arguments to Trump’s challenge of the judge’s temporary restraining order.
U.S. to limit Canadian access to border library
The U.S. will limit Canadian access to the library on the border between Vermont and Quebe, where Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made a jibe about Canada becoming the “51st state.”
Almost two months after Noem’s comments at the Haskell Free Library & Opera House, which straddles the border of Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, the U.S. government has made the “unilateral decision” to block access to the building from the U.S. side without going through customs.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
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