Pulte was unexpectedly appointed acting director of national intelligence just this week. The previous head of the housing finance authority has no significant experience in the area of national security. His appointment therefore also provoked criticism from Republicans. The ODNI coordinates 18 US intelligence agencies and intelligence units. According to Trump’s idea, the authority could shrink significantly. “Perhaps it should even be dissolved,” the president said. According to an ODNI representative, the agency had already been reduced in size by nearly half under Pulte’s predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard.
Trump brushes aside high ticket prices
Donald Trump wants to be the first sitting US president to attend an NBA Finals game next week. The fact that tickets for the New York Knicks’ home games are barely affordable for the average American doesn’t bother the Republican. When asked that the cheapest ticket for Madison Square Garden at the time of the question cost 8,000 US dollars (around 6,900 euros), Trump said: “They can watch it on TV. It’s pretty much free. That’s how it goes in life. If the team wasn’t a big success, it would be easier to go.”
Judge declares entry restrictions illegal
A US federal judge has declared entry restrictions for a total of 39 countries invalid. Judge John McConnell said on Friday that the requirements of President Donald Trump’s government were “unlawful.” After the death of a National Guard soldier in a gun attack in Washington in November, the government tightened entry rules for Afghanistan, Venezuela and numerous other countries.
Since then, people from these countries have no longer received final decisions on their asylum applications, work permits, green cards or naturalization, the judge emphasized. They would be “indefinitely in a legal limbo.”
He cited a statement from now-fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She wrote on the online service
Iranian soccer team allowed to enter the USA
The Iranian national soccer team has received their visas to enter the USA. A White House representative confirmed this to the Reuters news agency. Accordingly, the documents were issued just ten days before the team’s first World Cup game in Los Angeles.
