The Latest: Trump urges GOP to approve his tax cut proposals

President Donald Trump is hoping that separate phone calls Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make progress toward a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

Trump expressed his hopes for a “productive day” Monday — and a ceasefire — in a social media post over the weekend. His effort will also include calls to NATO leaders.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the upcoming conversation would be “important, given the talks that took place in Istanbul” last week between Russian and Ukrainian officials, the first such negotiations since March 2022.

Trump has struggled to end a war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and that makes these conversations a serious test of his reputation as a dealmaker after having claimed he would quickly settle the conflict once he was back in the White House, if not even before he took office.

Here’s the latest:

Trump call with Putin underway as he hopes for ceasefire progress in Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump has grown “frustrated” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House said Monday ahead of separate calls Trump is holding in hopes of making progress toward a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

Trump expressed his hopes for a “productive day” Monday — and a ceasefire — in a social media post over the weekend. His effort will also include calls to NATO leaders. But ahead of the call, Vice President JD Vance said Trump is “more than open” to walking away from trying to end the war if he feels Putin isn’t serious about negotiation.

The call was underway shortly after 10 a.m., press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, promising additional details after it concludes.

Trump administration will accept Boeing 747 donation from Qatar

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the aircraft “will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations.”

The plane is a gift to the U.S. Air Force, she told reporters. It will be retrofitted to the “highest standards” by the Defense Department and the Air Force, she said.

“This plane is not a personal donation or a gift to the president of the United States,” Leavitt said.

Democrats and even some of Trump’s allies have been critical of Trump’s decision to accept the gift from Qatar for use as a future Air Force One.

Leavitt says U.S. will insist that Iran give up uranium enrichment

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not have details Monday on the next round of nuclear talks with Iran but said the U.S. is committed to insisting that Iran give up the enrichment of uranium, what Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday called a “red line.”

“We are 100% committed to that red line,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt said Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made that point “incredibly clear” in discussions with the Iranians.

White House urges Republicans to ‘unite’ behind his “big, beautiful” tax cuts

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s “absolutely essential” that Republicans unite and pass the bill so that Trump can deliver on the agenda he was elected to enact.

The bill narrowly cleared a key House committee during a rare vote Sunday night but it has a long journey through Congress to get to Trump’s desk for his signature in the face of opposition from some GOP lawmakers.

Leavitt said Americans gave Republicans a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to “course correct our country” and “there is no time to waste.”

Vance says U.S. open to ‘walking away’ from Ukraine war talks

Vice President JD Vance says the U.S. is open to walking away from trying to negotiate a ceasefire to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“I’d say we’re more than open to walking away,” Vance told reporters before leaving Rome after meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Vance said Trump has been clear that the U.S. “is not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes.”

“We’re gonna try to end it, but if we can end it, we’re eventually gonna say, You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore.”

Trump ‘frustrated’ by Russia and Ukraine ahead of critical calls

President Donald Trump is “frustrated” by both Russia and Ukraine ahead of separate calls Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“He’s grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday morning. “He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible.”

Trump’s call with Putin is set to take place around 10 a.m. to be followed by his conversation with Zelenskyy.

Trump takes steps to shield information from the public

Donald Trump’s administration says it’s the most transparent in history.

But his second administration has taken even more drastic steps than his first to shield key documents and information from the public.

It is scrubbing thousands of government websites of history, legal records and data it finds disagreeable.

Such secrecy suggests Trump’s second term will leave less for the nation’s historical record than any before it. It also suggests that what the administration does eventually authorize for release will be sanitized to reinforce a public image the president himself wants projected — no matter the facts.

Trump’s massive import taxes haven’t done much economic damage – yet

For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that Trump’s massive import taxes – tariffs – would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom:

Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April.

For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didn’t translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.

Still, Trump’s tariffs are huge – the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s

Libraries cut some services after Trump’s order to dismantle small agency

Libraries across the U.S. have cut back on some digital services weeks after the Trump administration’s move to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Maine has temporarily closed its state library and others across the country have paused their interlibrary loan programs. The reductions in services coincide with a lawsuit filed by more than 20 state attorneys general and the American Library Association to restore funding.

They argue only Congress has the authority to control federal spending. E-book and audiobook programs are especially vulnerable to budget cuts, even though those offerings have exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s new executive order targets barcodes on ballots

Trump’s executive order seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted.

Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include “a barcode or quick-response code.” Those few technical words could have a big impact.

Voting machines that give all voters a ballot with one of those codes are used in hundreds of counties across 19 states.

Trump, in justifying the move, said in the order that his intention was “to protect election integrity.”

Trump tax cut package advanced out of House committee

Trump’s big bill advances in rare weekend vote: House Republicans narrowly advanced Trump’s big tax cuts package out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote, but just barely, as conservative holdouts are demanding quicker cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs before giving their full support.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.

Democrats say they will fight what House party leader Hakeem Jeffries calls an “extreme and toxic bill.”

Former President Biden diagnosed with cancer

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday. Trump posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

The finding came after the 82-year-old reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to discover a nodule on his prostate. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

The Associated Press