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Hello and welcome to the American political live blog. I am Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the most recent developments over the coming hours.

Trump Dismisses Greene's Danger Concerns

We start with the news that President Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks against Republican lawmaker Representative Greene on Sunday, despite his reversal on opposing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.

He continued to dismiss her assertion that his criticism were endangering her and said he did not believe anyone was targeting her. Greene remarked on the previous day that the President's social media posts had unleashed a surge of menaces aimed at her.

“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene,” he said, referring to the congresswoman. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I doubt anybody is concerned for her,” Trump informed reporters before entering his presidential plane on Sunday night.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US House of Representatives representative from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a Trump loyalist, has recently adopted stances at odds with the president. She noted on Saturday she has been contacted by security companies expressing concern for her security and that harsh attacks against her have previously resulted in death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Release Initiative

This dispute occurred while Trump encouraged his GOP colleagues in Congress to vote for the publication of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, changing his prior opposition to such a move.

His message on his social media platform came after House speaker Mike Johnson said earlier that he believed a decision on making public justice department files in the Epstein investigation should help dispel claims “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on that day: “GOP lawmakers should support unsealing the Epstein files, because we have no secrets.

“Now is the moment to move on from this Democrat Hoax orchestrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the significant achievements of the GOP, including our latest win on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he said.

While Trump and Epstein were seen together decades ago, the commander-in-chief has claimed the two men had a disagreement before Epstein's legal troubles. Emails released recently by a House committee showed the convicted sex offender, who took his own life in jail in 2019, thought Trump “knew about the girls,” though it was not clear what that phrase signified.

Other Updates

• Republican congressman Thomas Massie had questioned the President over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the complete records on the deceased sex offender Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two lawmakers spearheading the bipartisan push to have all the documents held by the authorities available both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the administration.
• US forces conducted a further strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Pacific region on the weekend, resulting in the deaths of three individuals aboard, the Pentagon announced on the following day. “Intelligence confirmed that the boat was involved in illegal drug trafficking, transiting along a established drug route, and transporting drugs,” the military command stated in a post on social media.
• The President said the US may open talks with President Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from the US government during a huge military deployment in the Caribbean region. “We may be having some talks with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. Venezuela would like to talk,” the US president remarked on that day, in one of the first signs of a possible path to defusing the growingly strained circumstances in the region.
• Trump on Sunday dismissed concerns about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's latest interview with a extremist figure recognized for his antisemitic views, which has created a schism within the Republican party. Trump defended Carlson, saying the ex-media personality has “expressed good things about me over the years.” He said if Carlson wants to interview Nick Fuentes, whose followers consider themselves working to preserve the nation's white, Christian identity, then “individuals have to decide.” Trump did not criticize Carlson or the activist.
• The President indicated on that day that he intends to have a discussion with New York City’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani and said they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a truce for the GOP leader and Democratic rising star who have cast each other as political foils. He has for months slammed the mayor-elect, incorrectly describing him as a “communist” and predicting the decline of his city, NYC, if the progressive were chosen.
• A collective of seventeen trans US air force members has sued the Trump administration for refusing them early retirement pensions and benefits. The complaint, submitted in federal court, describes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.