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Greetings and salutations to the American political live blog. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the most recent news lines over the coming hours.

Trump Rejects Marjorie Taylor Greene's Danger Concerns

We start with the news that Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene on the weekend, despite his reversal on opposing the disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.

He continued to dismiss her assertion that his criticism were putting at risk her and stated he did not think anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman remarked on the previous day that Trump’s social media posts had unleashed a wave of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, speaking of the lawmaker. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I doubt anybody cares about her,” Trump informed reporters before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Greene, a House representative from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has recently adopted stances contrary to the commander-in-chief. She noted on Saturday she has been alerted by private security firms expressing concern for her safety and that harsh attacks against her have previously led to death threats.

Epstein Files Release Push

The public fallout occurred while the President encouraged his GOP colleagues in Congress to support the release of files concerning the late disgraced financier Epstein, reversing his earlier resistance to such a action.

Trump’s post on his Truth Social followed House speaker Mike Johnson previously stated that he thought a vote on releasing justice department documents in the Epstein case should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

He posted on his social media account on Sunday: “GOP lawmakers should support unsealing the Epstein documents, because we have no secrets.

“And it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to distract from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our latest win on the government funding issue,” he added.

Although the President and Epstein were photographed together years back, the commander-in-chief has said the two men had a disagreement before Epstein’s convictions. Messages disclosed last week by a House committee indicated the disgraced financier, who took his own life in prison in 2019, thought Trump “was aware of the girls,” though it was uncertain what that statement signified.

Other Updates

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had questioned the President over whether the US president was making a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the complete records on the late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by initiating a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two US representatives spearheading the cross-party effort to have all the documents held by the government public both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the administration.
• The United States carried out a further strike on an suspected drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday. “Information confirmed that the boat was engaged in illegal drug trafficking, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and transporting narcotics,” the military command announced in a post on social media.
• The President said the United States may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who is under escalating pressure from the US government amid a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean. “We may be having some discussions with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would want to talk,” the US president remarked on that day, in one of the first signs of a potential way to defusing the growingly strained circumstances in the area.
• Donald Trump on the weekend brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson's recent interview with a far-right activist known for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has created a schism within the Republican party. Trump supported Carlson, saying the ex-media personality has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He said if he wants to speak with Nick Fuentes, whose followers consider themselves defending the nation's white, Christian identity, then “people have to decide.” Trump did not condemn the commentator or the activist.
• The President indicated on that day that he plans to meet with NYC's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and stated they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a truce for the GOP leader and Democratic political star who have portrayed one another as political foils. He has for months slammed the mayor-elect, falsely describing him as a “socialist” and forecasting the ruin of his hometown, NYC, if the progressive were chosen.
• A group of 17 trans US air force members has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for refusing them retirement benefits and benefits. The complaint, filed in federal court, characterizes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.