1 day Ago By Erik De La Garza
The Pentagon is reportedly reeling from the uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump’s head-spinning series of new executive orders – so much so that officials unsure of how to fulfill the directives paused new contracts, only to later reinstate them, according to a report in Politico . Pentagon officials were forced to clarify on Tuesday that it would not halt Army deals for new weapons after top brass misunderstood Trump’s order on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI , initiatives, the report stated. But the move already created mass confusion within the defense industry and sparked broad concerns over Trump’s extensive set of actions.
“The directives sent shock waves through the Army bureaucracy,” Politico reported. “It prompted officials to ‘put a hold on all of their contracts,’ according to a congressional aide, granted anonymity to speak about internal discussions.” A defense industry executive told Politico that a pause on Army contracts could carry damning affects for the industry.
“At a time when China is publicly announcing the acquisition of a million low-cost drones, for us to be essentially kneecapping ourselves at that moment, goodness gracious,” the defense industry executive told the publication. The executive added: "Many of the companies in new and innovative spaces, on the bleeding edge, it’s a huge gut punch to all of those." An email sent out by the Army , which operates off a budget of nearly $186 billion annually, informed recipients: “We are working with leadership to get additional direction as to the timeframe and may come back to you for impacts to your mission,” following Trump’s order last week on DEI programs .
ALSO READ: Top GOPer's 'most immediate' priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy “What kind of signal does this send to the defense industrial base, which is already plagued with a number of challenges?” former Army official Becca Wasser, now a current senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said to Politico. “A lot of that stems from a very unclear demand signal from the U.S.
government.” Unease surrounding the scope of Trump’s order, including around "big personnel changes” is adding to the chaotic situation, one defense official told Politico. The report added that the Air Force "also walked back decisions this week, including removing a training that mentioned the Tuskegee Airmen , a group of Black pilots who fought in World War II.
Some Pentagon officials worried actions explicitly mentioning race could run afoul of the White House’s stance denouncing ‘woke’ diversity initiatives.” “It was not communicated to us directly; it was leaked to us,” a defense industry executive , granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said. “We are interpolating based on memos that are government-to-government and attempting to turn that into useful information.
” A man was arrested in Washington, D.C. after authorities said he plotted to kill prominent Republican officials with Molotov cocktails, reported The New York Times on Tuesday evening.
According to the report, 24-year-old Ryan Michael English "told a Capitol Police officer near an entrance on the south side of the building that he wanted to kill Scott Bessent , President Trump’s newly appointed Treasury secretary, according to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the Capitol Police. Mr. English, who was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and with carrying a dangerous explosive on the grounds of the Capitol, had knives, a lighter and vodka bottles with rags in his pockets, according to the affidavit, which was filed in U.
S. District Court in the District of Columbia." English, who traveled from his home in Massachusetts to the nation's capital, also reportedly wanted to target House Speaker of Mike Johnson (R-LA), or Trump's new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom he considered a "Nazi.
" However, he switched targets to Bessent. English also planned to stab Bessent if he got within range, the affidavit said. ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy The report further says English expected he would have to kill at least three police officers to reach Bessent and expressed acceptance and contentment with the possibility of "suicide by cop.
” A similar incident occurred in 2022, when a man traveled to D.C. with the intent to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, only to turn himself in before going through with it.
This comes after multiple assassination attempts were made against President Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year, most notably a sniper attack in Pennsylvania that Trump escaped with minor injuries to his ear, although most of the perpetrators appear to have come from conservative backgrounds and their political motivations were unclear. by Yussel Gonzalez with Zina Desmazes in Tijuana After US President Donald Trump dashed her hopes of gaining asylum in the United States, Arianne Dominguez joined hundreds of other migrants seeking refuge in Mexico instead. The 24-year-old Cuban arrived in Mexico less than two weeks before Trump took office on January 20 and almost immediately halted access to an app introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden to help process claims for entering the United States.
ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy "I was in shock," Dominguez said. "I thought about my family in Cuba who were hoping I could get to the United States. Then I had to think about plan B," she told AFP.
The alternative she decided on was to stay in Mexico and obtain refuge status. She went to an office of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) in a Mexico City suburb that is busy dealing with migrants seeking asylum in the Latin American nation. Juan Carmona, a 50-year-old Venezuelan mechanic, decided to stay in Mexico with his wife because they were unable to reach the United States.
"We decided on Mexico. We liked it a lot and for now we want to do this in the best way possible, completely legally, not to become undocumented," he said. In 2024, Mexico granted refuge to more than 26,800 foreigners, according to official figures.
Migrants seeking assistance from the Mexican refugee agency have been waiting for days, some outdoors or sleeping in tents. Others are on waiting lists operated by the migrants themselves. - 'Things are not good' - In the southern city of Tapachula, long queues have also formed outside the COMAR offices as migrants wait under the gaze of soldiers guarding the building.
Many of the migrants had -- or were requesting -- appointments with US authorities through the CBP One app. But now they see seeking asylum in Mexico as their best option for the moment. "We're here to see if we can work while we're here or to make a life here.
Things are not good," says Jose Ricardo Moreno, a 60-year-old Cuban who is traveling with his wife and 22-year-old daughter. Before Trump took office, Moreno was given an asylum appointment in the United States for February 2, but he lost it when CBP One was axed. "Mexico has welcomed us, opened the door to us and we have the possibility of working," said Martin, who left his wife and 12-year-old daughter in Cuba.
On his first day back in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border and vowed to deport "millions and millions" of migrants. His administration said it would also reinstate a "Remain in Mexico" policy that prevailed during Trump's first term, under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided. The White House has also halted an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands of people stranded on the Mexican side of the border.
Trump's office additionally said he had ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border. Shakira Chaparro, a 29-year-old Venezuelan waiting in the border city of Tijuana, said that crossing over illegally was now too risky. "The best option is to stay here, find a way to get a permit to stay for a while or return to our country," she said.
by Glenn CHAPMAN Here's a look at who could save the app before the April 5 deadline. ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy - Elon Musk - While Musk hasn't publicly expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter (now X) in 2022 demonstrates his appetite for social media investments. Musk has criticized the potential ban, arguing that "it is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control!" His close relationship with the Trump administration and the US president's explicit openness to Musk as a buyer have fueled speculation the Tesla titan could sweep in and buy it.
A report that Chinese officials were considering selling the company's US operations to Musk X was met with a firm denial from TikTok. - Larry Ellison - With Ellison's personal fortune of $207 billion -- ranking behind only Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, according to Forbes -- Oracle is frequently mentioned as a front-runner. Ellison is also a longtime Donald Trump ally.
Currently, Oracle is key to keeping TikTok available to US users at the request of Trump. - Microsoft - US tech colossus Microsoft stands out as a compelling potential buyer, armed with deep pockets and significant technological capabilities in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Asked late Monday if Microsoft was in discussion for acquiring TikTok, Trump told reporters: "I would say yes.
" While the company founded by Bill Gates has historically dominated in productivity and enterprise software, it has struggled to establish a strong presence in social media and search-based advertising. According to CFRA Research senior vice president Angelo Zino, Microsoft's interest stems from a desire to strengthen its position beyond LinkedIn, which it owns, in the digital advertising space. - MrBeast - "Okay fine, I'll buy TikTok so it doesn't get banned," Donaldson said in a mid-January post on X.
Donaldson's casual tweet reportedly attracted serious attention from numerous billionaires. The group has made an all-cash offer that they claim addresses US national security concerns while preserving the platform's essence. - Project Liberty - Real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt's Project Liberty initiative has launched "The People's Bid for TikTok," in a campaign joined by investor Kevin O'Leary, known from the "Shark Tank" television show in which entrepreneurs pitch ideas in bids for venture capital.
This unique approach includes a crowdfunding element aimed at giving individuals and small businesses a stake in TikTok's future. McCourt emphasizes their "clean, American-made tech stack" as a key differentiator that could enable a seamless transition. - Perplexity AI - The AI-powered search engine has proposed a unique merger structure that would allow ByteDance's investors to retain much of their equity while integrating more TikTok video content into Perplexity's platform, according to a CNBC report.
- Steven Mnuchin - Steven Mnuchin, who served as US Treasury Secretary during Trump's first term as president, announced last year that he was amassing investors to bid for TikTok. When asked about the effort recently on CNBC's Squawk Box program, Mnuchin said it was put on hold because ByteDance would not negotiate but that they were going to be following developments closely. - No deal? - "The real question though is will TikTok sell to any of them," independent tech analyst Rob Enderle said of the situation.
TikTok does not appear overly motivated regarding the sale of the app, and Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI chatbot has grabbed the tech community's attention -- potentially taking the spotlight off TikTok..
