Latest news with #Transportation
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Not just $Trump: Several top administration officials have put their money into crypto
There's something that several top Trump administration officials have in common: They've poured thousands of dollars into cryptocurrency. While much has been made of President Donald Trump's own involvement with crypto, financial disclosures show that several of his top advisors and Cabinet officials also have substantial cryptocurrency investments. That includes Vice President JD Vance, who owns bitcoin worth between $250,000 and $500,000. Officials are generally only required to disclose the range of the value of their assets, so we don't know the exact amount. At the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas last month, Vance described himself as "one only people running for office who actually owned bitcoin" when he ran for Senate in Ohio in 2022. "I still own a fair amount of bitcoin today," he said. Among Cabinet officials, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be the largest holder of Bitcoin: he reported owning between $1 million and $5 million in the cryptocurrency in his December disclosure. Others hold at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported owning between $502,000 and $1.3 million in various cryptocurrencies, while Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz reported holding between $500,000 and $1 million in bitcoin. Todd Blanche, a former personal defense attorney for Trump who now serves as Deputy US Attorney General, reported owning between $158,000 and $470,000 in various cryptocurrencies, primarily bitcoin. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in bitcoin. Some Cabinet officials are invested in Bitcoin funds, which track the performance of Bitcoin without involving direct ownership. Among them is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who disclosed having between $250,000 and $500,000 in such a fund. Oz and Duffy also invested in bitcoin funds in addition to their direct crypto holdings. Other top officials used to own cryptocurrencies but agreed to sell them off. That includes Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who reported owning between $33,000 and $145,000 in various cryptocurrencies, primarily bitcoin, which she sold off on May 13. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought agreed to divest his holdings of up to $15,000 in bitcoin, while FBI Director Kash Patel agreed to sell off his investments in bitcoin ETFs, which were worth between $51,000 and $115,000. "President Trump, Vice President Vance, and senior White House staff have completed required ethics briefings and financial reporting obligations," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement for this story. "The Trump Administration is committed to transparency and accessibility for the American people." Ultimately, Trump remains the biggest cryptocurrency investor in his administration. His most recent financial disclosure shows he made more than $53 million from cryptocurrency sales last year in connection with World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm that's majority-owned by Trump and his family. Trump launched a meme-coin, $Trump, in the days before his second inauguration in January.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Judge blocks Trump plan to force immigration crackdown
A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip." A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip."
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Judge blocks Trump plan to force immigration crackdown
A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democrat-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transport funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell ruled the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to make the demand, and that the condition violated the US Constitution. McConnell said the administration provided no plausible connection between cooperating with immigration enforcement and the purposes Congress intended for the funding, which is to support highways, bridges and other transportation projects. "Congress did not authorise or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes," McConnell wrote. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction preventing such a condition from being enforced against the 20 states that sued along with their government subdivisions, like cities. The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. It has argued the policy was within the department's discretion. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. They sued after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notified states in April they could lose transportation funding if they didn't cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including efforts to enforce immigration law. Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement, hailed McConnell's ruling, saying Trump had been "treating these funds – funds that go toward improving our roads and keeping our planes in the air – as a bargaining chip."
New York Post
18 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Never-before-seen footage from Trump assassination attempt in Butler revealed in documentary
President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign took a deadly turn when an assassin made an attempt on his life during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now, Fox Nation subscribers can uncover new, previously unreleased footage from the shocking event. As shown on Wednesday's edition of 'Fox & Friends,' new drone footage featured in Fox Nation's 'Art of the Surge: The Donald Trump Comeback' captures the scene of the Butler rally, as well as close-up footage of the Secret Service protecting Trump after shots rang out. Advertisement Also shown are shocking videos of the crowd's reaction as everything unfolded, highlighting the fear of those who were there that day. In the episode, Trump reflects on the immense danger he was in at the rally. '130 yards is like sinking a one-foot putt,' the president said, referring to the distance from which the shots traveled toward him. 'It's considered really close.' 'Fox & Friends' co-host Lawrence Jones endorsed the Fox Nation show after seeing the striking new video from the harrowing shooting. 'This series is incredible,' he said. 'You get to see never-before-seen footage of that day.' Advertisement The final sixth and seventh episodes of 'The Art of the Surge' season two are also now available to stream. Episode six, titled 'The West Wing,' takes viewers behind-the-scenes of multiple Trump Cabinet member meetings. Extended footage of conversations is shown featuring Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and more as the administration seeks to address some of the most pressing issues facing the United States. Trump was hit with a bullet at a rally in Butler, Penn. on July 13, 2024. AP The seventh episode, titled 'Lost Tapes Uncovered,' is a compilation of assorted videos from the vault of the show. Viewers can peek at the Trump campaign team's real-time reactions to then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Elon Musk's musings on the 2024 presidential election results with his son X are also shown, giving the audience a new angle into how those on Trump's team were feeling as the contentious campaign came to a close. Advertisement The full first and second seasons of this dramatic docuseries are now streaming on Fox Nation. Viewers can watch Trump's historic return to the White House unfold in stunning fashion. Later episodes of the second season reveal Trump's Cabinet picks and handling of the first 100 days of his second term. Fox Nation subscribers can enjoy a wealth of other Trump-related content in addition to 'The Art of the Surge.' Several streaming specials highlight Trump's initiatives before or during his second term, including 'President Trump: Middle East Trip,' 'President Trump's Cabinet: Sworn In' and 'Trump Border Crackdown.'
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Burlington Skyway lane closures scheduled again this weekend
Burlington Skyway lane closures are scheduled again this weekend. By the end of the week, the City of Burlington expects a response from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation on outstanding requests to help deal with local traffic issues resulting from lane closures over several weekends this summer. The scheduled closure of two Skyway bridge QEW Niagara-bound lanes from 10 p.m. on Friday, June 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 23 is part of a project to rehabilitate the bridge. Work includes removal and replacement of asphalt and waterproofing, and concrete repairs. After a closure over Mother's Day weekend in May apparently contributed to severe traffic congestion in several of Burlington's major corridors, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward wrote a letter to Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria with four requests to help Burlington deal with effects of the work: Roman Drobot, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, said on Tuesday, June 17, the city expected a response by the end of the week to three requests that remained outstanding — public notice of all closures in advance, signage at on-ramps and funding traffic patrols as needed. 'Only one weekend at a time is currently listed on (Ministry of Transportation information website) 511,' Drobot said. He said city staff were working with ministry staff on mitigation methods and the ministry had taken some action, with additional signage on the QEW. 'We are grateful because that reduced traffic impact (the weekend of June 6-9) during the closures,' Drobot said. The city has previously confirmed its staff have been provided an unofficial list of the weekend closures, which included four additional ones after this weekend's closures. The lane closures involve two Niagara-bound lanes at a time, with two other lanes in the same direction remaining open. Ministry staff did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. Const. Jeff Dillon, Halton Regional Police Services spokesperson, confirmed local traffic units are aware of lane closures scheduled June 20-23. 'There aren't any special, or specific, traffic responses planned, however our officers will respond to any traffic concerns that may arise,' Dillon said. Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the Ontario Provincial Police's Highway Safety Division is aware of two previous weekends of lane closures and more planned for July and August, and resulting traffic delays. 'We ensure officers are nearby to respond to calls quickly, if and when they arise,' Schmidt said. According to a notice posted by the City of Burlington, the closure could impact Burlington Transit bus service and users should check MyRide for real time bus information. For more information and updates, go to the city's website and the province's 511 information page . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
