President Donald Trump is issuing a new warning to terrorist group Hamas, citing his “numerous great allies” in the Middle East and saying those allies have told him they’d welcome the opportunity to go into Gaza and “straighten out Hamas.” Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance met with officials in Israel on Tuesday, saying the Gaza peace plan is going better than expected.
Amid high tensions with China over rare earth exports, Trump has warned that his trade talks with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in South Korea may not happen. He also confirmed he’s holding off on a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin for now, saying he doesn’t want to have “a wasted meeting.” This follows a call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s foreign minister.
Senate Republicans met with Trump on Day 21 of the government shutdown—which is on track to become one of the longest in U.S. history. One Democratic senator says he supports the GOP using a so-called nuclear option to reopen the government.