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Trump finds time to pursue social media feud with Marjorie Taylor Greene
Before Donald Trump stepped into his meeting with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, and as the ceasefire with Iran seemed to be falling apart on its first day, the president found time to continue a social-media feud with his former close ally Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Trump, whose pre-presidential career was animated by similar social-media spats with celebrities, gloated on his own platform over the success of his hand-picked candidate to replace Greene in Congress.
“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown’s (GREEN TURNS TO BROWN UNDER STRESS!) seat in Congress has been taken over by a wonderful and talented man, Clay Fuller, who won convincingly,” Trump wrote after Fuller won a special election to retain Greene’s seat for the Republicans in a conservative district of Georgia. “Congratulations to Clay Fuller, a very large improvement over his deranged predecessor!” the president added.
Trump also noted that he had won the heavily Republican district by almost 37 points in the 2024 presidential election, but that only served to underscore the size of the swing to the Democrats, whose candidate in Tuesday’s special election, came within 12 points of the Trump-endorsed Republican, Clay Fuller.
As voters went to the polls on Tuesday, Greene had replied to Trump’s threat to erase Iranian civilization by calling on the cabinet and Congress to remove the president through the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution. “25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” the recently resigned congresswoman wrote on X.
Greene’s replacement, Fuller, is a former judge advocate general in the US air force, who joins Congress in the wake of the president’s threat to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which is a clear war crime according to many of his former colleagues.
Minutes after Trump’s post on Wednesday, Greene responded by pointing out that, despite Trump’s boast about the value of his endorsement of Fuller, her former district “was never in danger of flipping” to the Democrats, and noted that while she had defeated the Democratic candidate Shawn Harris by nearly 29 points in 2024, Fuller only beat Harris on Tuesday by less than 12 points.
“Trump flipping MAGA from America First to America Last, covering up for the Epstein files, and betraying key campaign promises of no more foreign wars has been the best help for the Democrats,” Greene wrote. “Sad!”
Key events
FBI arrests former special forces employee for allegedly leaking classified information to a journalist
The US justice department announced on Wednesday that the FBI has arrested Courtney Williams, a military veteran who later worked in support of Delta Force, a covert US commando unit, after she was indicted for her “alleged transmission of classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist”.
The criminal complaint against Williams, filed in federal court in North Carolina, details communication between Williams and a journalist who is not named, but, as the legal journalist Chris Geidner notes, the reporter Seth Harp wrote about Williams in his book, The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, and in an excerpt from the book published by Politico last year.
According to complaint, investigators found that someone using Williams’s phone had spoken with a journalist for nearly five hours, and “exchanged approximately 180 text messages with the Journalist between 2022 and 2025.”
Harp provided the following statement on the charging of Williams to WRAL, a North Carolina news station:
“Courtney Williams is a brave whistleblower and truth-teller. Former Delta Force operators disclose ‘national defense information’ on podcasts and YouTube shows every day, but the government is going after Courtney for the sole reason that she exposed sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the unit. This is a vindictive act of retaliation, plain and simple.”
The arrest was celebrated on social media by the FBI director, Kash Patel.
“Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests,” Patel wrote. “This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way.”
Vance claims not to know Vatican ambassador reportedly reprimanded by Pentagon
Speaking to reporters in Hungary on Wednesday, the US vice-president, JD Vance, claimed not to recognize the name of the Vatican ambassador to the United States when he was asked about reports that a Pentagon official had reprimanded the Catholic diplomat, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, over the American-born pope’s opposition to US militarism.
Vance, whose new book is about his conversion to Catholicism, then acknowledged that he had met the cardinal, who has represented the church in Washington DC since 2016, and hosted a prayer breakfast that Vance spoke at last year, but the vice-president suggested that he had no idea if the reporting, that a senior Pentagon official, Elbridge Colby, had indeed summoned the cardinal in January.
According to reporting from the conservative Free Press, confirmed on Wednesday by the newsletter Letters From Leo, Colby and his aides were enraged by Pope Leo’s January declaration that “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force.”
“America,” Colby and his colleagues reportedly told the cardinal, “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side.”
According to Letters From Leo, “some Vatican officials were so alarmed by the Pentagon’s tactics that they shelved plans for Pope Leo XIV to visit the United States later this year.”
As close observers of Vance’s career have pointed out, it was hard to believe that he had not heard about the reported meeting before being asked about it, given the central role Catholicism plays in his public persona, and given that he personally introduced his friend Colby at the Pentagon official’s Senate confirmation hearing last year.
Trump finds time to pursue social media feud with Marjorie Taylor Greene
Before Donald Trump stepped into his meeting with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, and as the ceasefire with Iran seemed to be falling apart on its first day, the president found time to continue a social-media feud with his former close ally Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Trump, whose pre-presidential career was animated by similar social-media spats with celebrities, gloated on his own platform over the success of his hand-picked candidate to replace Greene in Congress.
“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown’s (GREEN TURNS TO BROWN UNDER STRESS!) seat in Congress has been taken over by a wonderful and talented man, Clay Fuller, who won convincingly,” Trump wrote after Fuller won a special election to retain Greene’s seat for the Republicans in a conservative district of Georgia. “Congratulations to Clay Fuller, a very large improvement over his deranged predecessor!” the president added.
Trump also noted that he had won the heavily Republican district by almost 37 points in the 2024 presidential election, but that only served to underscore the size of the swing to the Democrats, whose candidate in Tuesday’s special election, came within 12 points of the Trump-endorsed Republican, Clay Fuller.
As voters went to the polls on Tuesday, Greene had replied to Trump’s threat to erase Iranian civilization by calling on the cabinet and Congress to remove the president through the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution. “25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” the recently resigned congresswoman wrote on X.
Greene’s replacement, Fuller, is a former judge advocate general in the US air force, who joins Congress in the wake of the president’s threat to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which is a clear war crime according to many of his former colleagues.
Minutes after Trump’s post on Wednesday, Greene responded by pointing out that, despite Trump’s boast about the value of his endorsement of Fuller, her former district “was never in danger of flipping” to the Democrats, and noted that while she had defeated the Democratic candidate Shawn Harris by nearly 29 points in 2024, Fuller only beat Harris on Tuesday by less than 12 points.
“Trump flipping MAGA from America First to America Last, covering up for the Epstein files, and betraying key campaign promises of no more foreign wars has been the best help for the Democrats,” Greene wrote. “Sad!”
Here’s a recap of the day so far
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Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said Democrats in the upper chamber would force a vote on a war powers resolution to limit the administration’s military campaign in Iran when Congress returns from recess next week. “This war has made us worse off today than before it started,” Schumer said at a press conference in New York, noting the cost of the war and the effect on gas prices. “This is one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken.”
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During a White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt chided the press for allegedly “misreporting” that Donald Trump is working from the original 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. She offered a muddled explanation about which proposal the administration agreed to, but said that Iran actually put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president”. Leavitt also confirmed that the ceasefire deal with Iran does not include Lebanon, noted that JD Vance would lead negotiating talks with the Iranian regime in Islamabad over the weekend, defended the president’s social media threats to eradicate a “whole civilization”, and warned that any further disruption to the strait of Hormuz is “completely unacceptable”.
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The House oversight committee has signaled it will continue to seek testimony from former attorney general Pam Bondi after she was ousted from her role last week. A committee spokesperson said the justice department informed the panel Bondi would no longer appear for a 14 April deposition, since she was subpoenaed as in her capacity as attorney general. The top oversight Democrat, Robert Garcia, said in a statement on Wednesday that Bondi was “trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify”. If Bondi defies the subpoena, Garcia added, “we will begin contempt charges in Congress”.
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At a Pentagon press conference, Pete Hegseth said that Iran “begged for this ceasefire”, and claimed that Operation Epic Fury “decimated” Iran’s military. He went on to extol that the two-week ceasefire signals a decisive victory, and listed several Iranian officials who have been killed since the war began at the end of February. “The new Iranian regime was out of options and out of time, so they cut a deal,” Hegseth said.
Despite the ongoing congressional recess, House Democrats will ask unanimous consent to pass a war powers resolution during tomorrow’s pro forma session, according to a source familiar.
Representative Glenn Ivey, of Maryland, will lead the effort, and invite all members who are in Washington tomorrow to join.
The motion is unlikely to succeed, since a single objection would block unanimous consent and require Democrats to pursue a formal vote on the resolution.
In a short while, Donald Trump will hold a meeting with Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general.
Rutte has arrived at the White House, but as of now sit-down is still closed to the press.
Earlier, Karoline Leavitt told reporter that withdrawing from Nato is something the president “has discussed” and will likely discuss further with the secretary general. This comes after Trump has routinely criticized the alliance for the reluctance of member countries to offer support for the US military campaign in Iran.
During her press briefing today, the press secretary confirmed that the ceasefire deal with Iran does not include Lebanon, where Israel continues to launch strikes, and that has “been relayed to all parties”.
In a concurrent address, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, echoed the news from Washington, as his country continues its attacks against Hezbollah. According to Lebanon’s civil defence, Israeli attacks have killed at least 254 people across the country today.
Leavitt also noted that Trump is dispatching his negotiating team, led by JD Vance, and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Islamabad for talks this weekend.
“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” she said.
White House defends Trump’s comments threatening to wipe out a ‘whole civilization’
During today’s press briefing, Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s comments on Truth Social that a “whole civilization” would die if a deal with Iran was not reached.
“[Trump’s] very tough rhetoric and his tough negotiating style is what has led to the result that you are all witnessing today,” Leavitt said. “It was the Iranians who backed down, not President Trump.”
The press secretary went on to say that Trump “absolutely has the moral high ground over the Iranian terrorist regime”.
Leavitt responded to lines from Iranian state media that the regime has closed the strait of Hormuz.
She noted that Trump was made aware of those reports, and that any disruption to the waterway is “completely unacceptable”.
Leavitt said there is a disconnect between what Tehran is saying publicly, versus what is happening privately. “We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today,” she said. However, the Guardian reported earlier that the ceasefire is unlikely to lead to a swift exit for the hundreds of oil and gas tankers trapped in the Gulf, according to shipping experts.
Leavitt evaded a reporter’s question about who exactly controls the strait of Hormuz.
Leavitt offers muddled explanation over 10-point plan as basis for ceasefire agreement
The press secretary chided the press for allegedly “misreporting” that Donald Trump is working from the original 10-point plan put forward by Tehran.
“It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team,” she said, despite the fact that Trump said on Truth Social that the US received a 10-point proposal from Iran that is believed to be a “workable basis on which to negotiate”.
Leavitt claimed that Iran actually put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president”.
She noted that Trump’s red lines, namely the end of uranium enrichment in Iran, “have not changed”.
“The idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wishlist,” she says, “is completely absurd.”
After Trump announced the ceasefire, Iranian state media published a proposal that included continued Iranian control over the strategic strait of Hormuz, an end to international sanctions on the country and “acceptance” of uranium enrichment.
However, on Wednesday, the president implied that the ceasefire was based on an entirely different proposal from the US, claiming that “there is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations,” in a post on Truth Social.
Notably, Leavitt characterized the president’s threats to eradicate a “whole civilization” as “maximum pressure”.
“Iran can no longer tolerate being bombed or taking the gamble of what was to come following President Trump’s 8pm deadline last night,” she added.
In her opening remarks, Leavitt called the two-week ceasefire a “victory” for the US that Donald Trump and the military made happen.
She’s listing the accomplishments of Operation Epic Fury, noting that Iran’s ability to build and stockpile ballistic missiles and long-range drones has been “set back by years”.
We’re about to hear from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and we’ll bring you the latest lines as the media briefing starts.
Even though Trump has declared victory, after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire in the war on Iran, more Democrats are calling for his ouster via the 25th amendment. This is the constitutional provision which requires a majority of the president’s cabinet to remove him from office.
“I’m relieved Trump did not destroy an entire civilization last night, but his unhinged threat and illegal war make it clear he is unfit to serve as president,” said Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic representative from Washington state.
The congresswoman also said that Congress must reject the latest $1.5tn Pentagon budget request from Trump that he unveiled last week, and will be at the forefront of appropriation bill negotiations throughout the year.
Schumer says that Senate Democrats will force vote on war powers resolution
In a press conference in New York today, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said Democrats in the upper chamber would force a vote on a war powers resolution to limit the administration’s military campaign in Iran when Congress returns from recess next week.
Earlier, the Senate’s top Democrat called Donald Trump a “military moron” on social media.
Schumer noted that, despite the two-week ceasefire, the cost of the war, and the effect on gas prices, has made the US “worse off today than we were when [Trump] started it”.
“If he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape. We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good,” Schumer wrote.
Growing calls among Democrats for 25th amendment to be invoked to remove Trump from office over Iran threats
A growing number of Democrats are calling for the 25th amendment to be invoked to remove Donald Trump from office, following the president’s genuinely shocking post yesterday morning in which he threatened to wipe out an entire civilization if Iran didn’t capitulate to his demands.
The extraordinary, violent outburst has raised questions about the president’s mental health, as well as spurring grave concerns about whether he would follow through on his threats to bomb Iran’s critical infrastructure – which would amount to war crimes under international law.
More than 70 lawmakers – mostly in the House but also a handful in the Senate – have made the demand. Some have called for his cabinet to invoke the amendment to declare him unfit for office, others have called for his impeachment and conviction – and some have called for both.
Senator Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, told CNN on Tuesday that “no president in control of his senses would publicly promise to eradicate an entire civilization”.
That’s why I agree with Republicans who have put the 25th amendment on the table. Trump seems to be taking us on a path to mass war crimes. That’s a path we cannot accept.
Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, wrote on X:
The House and Senate must return to session. The House must pass articles of impeachment, and then the Senate must vote to convict and remove the President. Or, the cabinet and Vice President, with congressional concurrence, must invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump.
“We need to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump,” representative Ro Khanna, of California, wrote on Tuesday morning on X. “Threatening war crimes is a blatant violation of our constitution and the Geneva Conventions.”
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said on X:
Donald Trump’s instability is more clear and dangerous than ever. If the Cabinet is not willing to invoke the 25th Amendment and restore sanity, Republicans must reconvene the Congress to end this war.
Representative Pramila Jayapal also said on X after the ceasefire announcement:
I’m relieved Trump did not destroy an entire civilization last night, but his unhinged threat and illegal war make it clear he is unfit to serve as president.
Trump needs to be removed from office. And we must oppose his new $1.5 trillion budget proposal for more war.
Illinois’s governor, JB Pritzker, a potential future presidential hopeful, also called for the 25th amendment to be invoked. He said on X of Trump’s post:
This is not foreign policy, it’s a deranged mad man threatening to wipe out an entire country. It’s past time. The 25th Amendment must be invoked.
Trump’s threat outraged even those who formerly made up his core Maga base, including former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, and rightwing commentators and conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and Candace Owens.
“25TH AMENDMENT!!!” Greene, formerly a staunch Trump ally turned critic, posted on X yesterday. “Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
A handful of Republican lawmakers also expressed unease with threats to strike civilian targets, but by and large the party has remained silent.
House oversight committee to still pursue Pam Bondi testimony over justice department’s handling of Epstein case
The House oversight committee has signaled it will continue to seek testimony from former attorney general Pam Bondi after she was ousted last week.
She was subpoenaed for a 14 April deposition on the justice department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, but the date was never confirmed by her. A committee spokesperson said in a statement that the panel would continue to pursue scheduling a date for her testimony.
The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General. The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.
Bondi was subpoenaed last month after five Republicans on the committee joined forces with Democrats to seek her testimony.
The top Democrat on the panel, Robert Garcia, said in a statement on Wednesday that Bondi was “trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify”.
Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in Congress. The survivors deserve justices.
Zeldin touts rollbacks at climate-skeptical conference: ‘What we are doing is no surprise’
Dharna Noor
Under Lee Zeldin – the US environment secretary who spoke at the climate-skeptical Heartland Institute’s conference on Wednesday morning – the EPA has exempted polluting facilities from regulations, shuttered climate and environmental research offices, and shrunk its workforce. It has also rolled back dozens of environmental and climate protections.
“What we are doing in the last 14 months is no surprise,” he said. “It is what I pledged during my confirmation hearing, and it is what the American public voted for when they put Donald J Trump back in office. And thank God they did.”
Zeldin spoke about his most controversial environmental rollback: the shredding of the legal finding underpinning virtually all US climate regulations, known as the “endangerment finding”.
Scientists and other experts widely condemned the repeal, but Heartland Institute has celebrated it; references to its rollback were met with cheers at the conference in Washington DC on Wednesday. Zeldin expressed “admiration” for the Heartland Institute’s advocacy against the endangerment finding in his speech.
He also criticized previous administrations for ignoring “what’s good and necessary about carbon dioxide for the life of the planet”.
There is scientific consensus that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are warming the planet, resulting in dangerous increases in temperatures and in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Scientists have long warned that the world must quickly phase out fossil fuels in order to preserve a livable climate.
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