Trump threatens to declare a national emergency in Washington DC over Ice dispute
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Donald Trump has threatened to call a national emergency and federalize Washington DC after the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), whose agents have been taking suspects into custody and have been accused of racially profiling people in doing so.
The US president took charge of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on 11 August for 30 days, activating the National Guard and deploying federal officers in what he framed as a crackdown on crime and homelessness but what was widely seen as another example of federal overreach.
It is true that Washington DC has struggled with the scourge of gun violence, but its violent crime rate is at a 30-year low, much lower than that of cities in many red states.
Students walk out of classes at George Washington University to protest the deployment of armed National Guard troops in Washington DC on 9 September 2025. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Trump’s 30-day emergency declaration has expired but over 2,000 national guard troops are patrolling the district – reportedly including several hundred sent from Republican-run states. It is unclear when their mission will end.
Bowser issued an executive order at the beginning of the month requiring ongoing coordination between local law enforcement and various federal partners, though Ice was notably excluded.
Trump blamed “Radical Left Democrats” for pressuring Bowser to inform the government about the non-cooperation with Ice, adding that if the police halted cooperation with Ice, “Crime would come roaring back.”
He said: “To the people and businesses of Washington, D.C., DON’T WORRY, I AM WITH YOU, AND WON’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. I’ll call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary!!!”
We will have more on this and other US politics stories throughout the day so stick with us.
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Updated at 12.15 BST
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Vance to host Charlie Kirk show
Vice-president JD Vance announced on X that he will host today’s episode of the Charlie Kirk Show.
“Please join me as I pay tribute to my friend,” Vance wrote. The vice-president last week brought Kirk’s casket to Phoenix on Air Force Two.
The episode is set to be posted at noon ET.
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China to review TikTok-related tech exports in accordance with law
The Chinese government will review and approve matters related to TikTok’s technology exports and the licensing of intellectual property rights in accordance with law, an official from China’s cyberspace regulator told Reuters in Madrid after trade talks with the US delegation.
China will not reach a deal with the US at the expense of its own principles and Chinese companies’ interests, said the country’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang.
The two sides had reached a basic framework consensus on resolving issues related to TikTok through cooperation, Li said.
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Senate to vote today on Trump’s nominee to Fed board
The Senate is set to vote this afternoon on the confirmation of Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Reserve board of governors.
Miran, a staunch Trump ally, is the chairman of the council of economic advisers, and has taken on a lead role in shaping Trump’s tariff policy.
He was nominated to fill the remainder of former governor Adriana Kugler’s term, which was set to expire in January but opened up after she announced her early resignation.
If confirmed, Miran would join the crucial two-day interest rate-setting Fed meeting, which gets under way tomorrow.
NBC News notes that Miran has also sparked controversy for saying that if confirmed, he does not plan to leave his White House role. Instead, he said he would take an unpaid leave of absence.
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Updated at 16.27 BST
In preparation for Trump’s state visit, the UK is planning for its biggest and most extensive security operation since King Charles’s coronation in 2023, British authorities have said.
With the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk last week, as well as the attempted assassination of Trump last year, the consideration of potential threats has intensified and, the New York Times reports, heightened security efforts will include deploying drones, snipers, mounted police and boat teams in the River Thames.
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Eleni Courea
Analysis: Trump’s UK state visit arrives at awkward moment after Mandelson exit
For Donald Trump, the priority was to avoid any distractions. But as he heads for his second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented honour for a US president – the crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s government threatens to overshadow the proceedings.
The circumstances of that crisis are especially awkward. Peter Mandelson was unceremoniously sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington on Thursday after emails were published in which he had urged his friend Jeffrey Epstein to fight for early release from prison in 2008.
For Trump, whose own friendship with Epstein has exposed him to damaging scrutiny, including from his own support base, there is no subject he wants to revisit less.
“Both sides will want to move on from Mandelson’s departure from Washington,” said Michael Martins, a former US official who worked at the embassy during Trump’s last state visit. “For President Trump, the most important thing will be the optics. He wants to look very presidential; he will make a big deal of meeting with the king and the monarchy more generally. First and foremost, he wants that element of imagery.”
There will be no shortage of the pomp and circumstance that Trump loves over his two-day visit. He and Melania will be greeted with a ceremonial welcome and a guard of honour at Windsor Castle, where they will be hosted by King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of Wales.
Trump will address a state banquet with tech bosses and senior cabinet ministers on Wednesday evening before travelling to Chequers on Thursday for a business reception, working lunch and press conference with the prime minister.
There will be military displays including a Red Arrows flypast, and fanfare over investment deals, including a US-UK technology partnership and civil nuclear agreement.
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Donald Trump will make an Oval Office announcement at 4pm ET today, but we don’t yet have an idea what it will be regarding. The president will then depart on his unprecedented second state visit to the UK tomorrow until the end of the week.
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Updated at 14.56 BST
Confirming an earlier report I brought you from Reuters, secretary of state Marco Rubio is set to travel to Qatar after his visit to Israel, a senior state department official said.
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Bessent says US and China ‘have a framework for TikTok deal’, days before ban deadline
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said the commercial terms for a TikTok deal have been agreed upon between the US and China.
“We have a framework for a TikTok deal,” Bessent told reporters in Madrid after talks between the two sides. He declined to comment on the details, saying they were private negotiations. He added that “getting to this framework was made possible by President Trump”.
Ahead of the call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Friday, Bessent said the deal was subject to the leaders’ approval: “They will have to confirm the deal,” he said.
Trump earlier this morning said that trade talks with China had gone very well and hinted that a deal has been reached to resolve issues the US has over TikTok ownership.
My colleagues on the business live blog are covering this in more detail:
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Updated at 14.20 BST
JD Vance to host edition of Charlie Kirk’s podcast to ‘pay tribute to my friend’
As the killing of Charlie Kirk continues to dominate political conversation in Washington, Politico notes that vice-president JD Vance will take the extraordinary step of guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, live on the Rumble platform at 12pm ET.
It is the latest in a string of unprecedented moves from the Trump administration in the wake of Kirk’s death, after Trump ordered flags across the nation to be hung at half-staff within hours of the shooting and later announced Kirk is to posthumously receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
A prayer vigil for Kirk last night at the Kennedy Center was attended by many of the most senior figures in the administration including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, DNI Tulsi Gabbard; and House speaker Mike Johnson.
There will be further memorial events in Congress. And Trump will fly on Air Force One to Kirk’s funeral at the State Farm stadium in Glendale, Arizona this coming weekend, Politico notes, in what will to be an enormous test for law enforcement, particularly the US Secret Service.
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Updated at 14.10 BST
Donald Trump has called for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to enact a “bigger” cut to benchmark interest rates and pointed to the housing market in a social media post ahead of the US central bank’s meeting this week.
“‘Too Late’ MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND. HOUSING WILL SOAR!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to Powell.
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It comes after Reuters reported this morning that the US would go ahead with a ban on TikTok if China doesn’t drop demands for reduced tariffs and technological restrictions as part of a divestiture deal, citing a senior US official with knowledge of negotiations.
US and Chinese delegations are discussing the divestment from TikTok by Chinese owner Bytedance as part of a round of broader talks on tariffs and economic policy taking place in Madrid. TikTok faces being shut down as early as 17 September (Wednesday) in the US unless it moves to US ownership.
The Chinese delegation came to the Madrid talks with a fundamental misunderstanding of the US position on TikTok, said the US official.
Speaking to reporters earlier, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer said China wanted concessions on trade and technology in exchange for agreeing to divest from the popular social media app.
“Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” Bessent said, adding: “We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app.”
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Updated at 13.35 BST
Trump hints TikTok deal reached and will speak to Xi Jinping on Friday
Donald Trump has said that trade talks with China had gone very well and hinted that a deal has been reached to resolve issues the US has over TikTok ownership.
Trump also said he would be speaking to Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday.
“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!”
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Updated at 13.34 BST