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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 latest news lines over the coming hours.

Trump Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Safety Claims

We begin with the development that President Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks against Republican lawmaker Representative Greene on Sunday, despite his reversal on opposing the disclosure of the Epstein files.

He continued to dismiss her assertion that his remarks were endangering her and said he did not believe anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman remarked on Saturday that Trump’s online criticism had unleashed a surge of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, referring to the congresswoman. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I doubt anybody cares about her,” Trump told the press before boarding Air Force One on Sunday night.

Greene, a House representative from Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has recently adopted stances at odds with the commander-in-chief. She noted on Saturday she has been alerted by security companies expressing concern for her safety and that strong criticisms against her have in the past led to death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Disclosure Push

This dispute came as the President urged his fellow Republicans in the legislature to vote for the publication of files concerning the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his prior opposition to such a move.

Trump’s post on his Truth Social followed Speaker Johnson previously stated that he thought a decision on releasing justice department documents in the Epstein case should help dispel allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

He posted on his social media account on Sunday: “House Republicans should support unsealing the Epstein files, because we have no secrets.

“Now is the moment to move on from this political stunt orchestrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to distract from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the government funding issue,” he said.

Although Trump and Epstein were seen together years back, the president has claimed the two men fell out before Epstein's legal troubles. Emails released last week by a congressional panel indicated the convicted sex offender, who took his own life in jail in 2019, believed the President “knew about the girls,” though it was not clear what that statement meant.

Additional Developments

• GOP representative Congressman Massie had challenged the President over whether the US president was making a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the full files on the late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein from being disclosed by ordering a new probe. Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives spearheading the cross-party effort to make all the documents held by the authorities public both expressed new worries about the steps by the administration.
• The United States conducted another strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Pacific region on Saturday, killing three individuals aboard, the Department of Defense said on the following day. “Intelligence verified that the boat was engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and transporting narcotics,” the military command announced in a post on online platforms.
• The President indicated the United States may open talks with President Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who is under growing scrutiny from Washington during a significant military deployment in the Caribbean region. “We may be having some talks with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. Venezuela would want to talk,” the US president remarked on Sunday, in one of the initial indications of a potential way to defusing the increasingly tense circumstances in the region.
• Donald Trump on the weekend brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson's latest discussion with a far-right activist recognized for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has caused a division within the GOP. The President defended Carlson, saying the former Fox News host has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He added if he chooses to speak with the activist, whose followers consider themselves defending America’s cultural heritage, then “individuals have to decide.” Trump did not criticize the commentator or Fuentes.
• The President indicated on Sunday that he intends to have a discussion with New York City’s incoming mayor Mamdani and said they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic rising star who have portrayed one another as political foils. Trump has for an extended period slammed the mayor-elect, incorrectly describing him as a “socialist” and forecasting the ruin of his city, NYC, if the progressive were elected.
• A collective of 17 transgender US air force members has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for denying them retirement benefits and entitlements. The complaint, filed in a US court, describes the government’s move against them as “illegal and unjustified”.