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Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be providing you with all the latest news lines over the next few hours.

Trump Rejects Greene's Danger Concerns

We begin with the development that President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of GOP congresswoman Representative Greene on Sunday, despite his shift on opposing the release of the Epstein files.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his remarks were putting at risk her and stated he did not believe anyone was targeting her. Greene remarked on the previous day that the President's social media posts had unleashed a wave of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, referring to the lawmaker. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” the president informed reporters before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a House member from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a Trump loyalist, has recently adopted stances contrary to the commander-in-chief. She noted on Saturday she has been alerted by security companies expressing concern for her security and that harsh attacks against her have in the past led to death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Release Push

The public fallout occurred while Trump urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to support the publication of files concerning the deceased convicted sex offender Epstein, reversing his earlier opposition to such a move.

His message on his social media platform came after Speaker Johnson said earlier that he thought a vote on releasing DOJ documents in the Epstein case should help put to rest claims “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

He posted on his social media account on Sunday: “GOP lawmakers should support unsealing the Epstein documents, because we have nothing to hide.

“Now is the moment to put behind us this political stunt perpetrated by far-left activists in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he added.

While the President and Epstein were photographed together years back, the president has said the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions. Messages disclosed last week by a congressional panel showed the disgraced financier, 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 Developments

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had challenged the President over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “final attempt” to keep the complete records on the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from being disclosed by initiating a fresh investigation. The congressman and Democratic representative Representative Khanna, the two lawmakers spearheading the cross-party effort to make all the files in the possession of the authorities public both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the White House.
• The United States carried out another strike on an suspected drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on the weekend, resulting in the deaths of three people on board, the Pentagon said on the following day. “Information confirmed that the boat was engaged in illegal drug trafficking, traveling on a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on online platforms.
• The President said the US may begin discussions with Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who faces escalating pressure from the US government amid a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean. “We could initiate some talks with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll observe how that develops. Venezuela would like to talk,” the commander-in-chief remarked on Sunday, in one of the initial indications of a potential way to defusing the growingly strained situation in the region.
• Trump on Sunday brushed aside worries about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's recent discussion with a far-right activist known for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has created a schism within the Republican party. The President supported Carlson, saying the former Fox News host has “expressed positive remarks about me over the years.” He said if Carlson chooses to interview the activist, whose supporters consider themselves working to preserve America’s cultural heritage, then “individuals have to decide.” Trump did not criticize Carlson or the activist.
• The President indicated on Sunday that he intends to meet with NYC's incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani and said they will “work something out”, in what could be a truce for the GOP leader and Democratic rising star who have portrayed one another as political foils. He has for months criticized the mayor-elect, incorrectly describing him as a “communist” and forecasting the ruin of his city, New York, if the progressive were elected.
• A group of 17 transgender military personnel has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for denying them early retirement pensions and entitlements. The legal filing, filed in a US court, describes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.