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Trump’s ballroom is in danger of failure

An important Trump project is encountering resistance. A Maduro friend is extradited to the USA. All developments in the news blog.

US President Donald Trump’s plans for a new ballroom in the White House are at risk of financial setback. The Senate staff member responsible for interpreting the rules, Elizabeth MacDonough, removed funds earmarked for security measures from a comprehensive spending package over the weekend, the Democrats announced.

The decision complicates Republican efforts to use taxpayer money for the controversial project. Trump had a side wing of the White House demolished to build what he called “the most beautiful ballroom in the world.” The cost of up to a billion dollars should be raised through donations. Now it’s about $400 million in security reserves from the state budget, which the Senate is blocking.

The US President’s plan was also criticized by Trump’s own Republican Party. Before the midterm elections in November, many Republican representatives fear that the mega-construction project could be interpreted by the MAGA base as a symbol of the state’s wastefulness.

The US government of President Donald Trump has invited people to an all-day prayer event in Washington on Sunday (from 4:30 p.m. CEST). In addition to preachers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio are expected to speak. According to the media, Trump wants to send a video message. The motto is “Rededication 250: A Nationwide Anniversary of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving.”

The background is the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Thousands of participants are expected at the gathering between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Trump has recently drawn a lot of criticism for online images that show him as a pope or Christ-like figure. His government calls the United States a “Christian nation,” but according to the constitution, church and state are separate.

Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab, an ally of former President Nicolás Maduro, was extradited to the United States on Saturday. This was announced by the Venezuelan immigration authority SAIME. Saab was arrested in Caracas in February in a joint operation by US and Venezuelan authorities. The arrest and extradition indicate a new level of cooperation between U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement under incumbent President Delcy Rodríguez.

The United States has allowed an exemption to expire that had eased sanctions on Russian oil in recent weeks amid rising energy prices in the Iran war. Just over a month ago, a Treasury Department agency announced that the sale and delivery of Russian oil that had been loaded onto ships by a certain date would be exempt from US bans until Saturday night. Until the afternoon (local time), the authority published no indication of an extension of the measure on its website.