Rep. Steve Cohen pauses while speaking during a news conference in his office on Capitol Hill, May 15, 2026 in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Steve Cohen, a longtime Tennessee Democrat, announced Friday he will not seek reelection and instead retire at the end of his term, after his Memphis district was carved up in the state assembly’s redistricting effort.
“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Cohen said. his voice choked with emotion as he announced he sent a letter Friday to the state capital asking not to appear on the ballot.
“I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter, but these districts were drawn to beat me. They were drawn to defeat me,” Cohen said.
Cohen is the first Democratic representative to opt for retirement after the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which held that race-conscious redistricting under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is unconstitutional.
After the ruling, Tennessee state lawmakers passed a new congressional map that could allow Republicans to flip the state’s lone Democratic-held seat.
Cohen’s majority-minority district, Tennessee’s 9th congressional district, is being split in three. Cohen has sued over the new map in court, as have several civil rights groups.
“Butchered,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat whose district shares a border with Cohen, told ABC News about the Tennessee district.
“He’s represented a majority-minority district as a white person. He’s been well. He’s had a consistent vote on behalf of his constituents, and all of a sudden, the court says take that opportunity away,” Thompson said of Cohen. “But worse than that, Tennessee legislature split Memphis in three different ways. So now, as far as the Congress is concerned, there’s no real community of interest in Memphis, because they’re so divided.”
Cohen is the 22nd House Democrat to opt against reelection to the House this midterm election cycle.
“Memphis is my home, and that’s what I fight for, and I want to do it again. If I get the chance, I’ll do it, but otherwise I’ll be retiring from Congress, and from, I guess, from public life,” Cohen said.
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and US President Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — After a second day of high-stakes meetings with China’s Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump is not committing to approving the latest round of arms sales to Taiwan and brushed off previous U.S. assurances not to consult with Beijing about those sales.
“I’ll make a determination over the next fairly short period,” Trump said when asked about the arms sales by reporters aboard Air Force One.
The president’s remarks came after Xi’s stark warning that if the issue of Taiwan is handled “improperly,” then the two nations could “come into conflict,” according to China’s official state news source Xinhua. However, Xi did say that if the issue is handled “properly” then “bilateral relations can remain generally stable.”
Trump has been delaying the latest round of arms sales, for months refusing to sign off on the record $14 billion package that was approved in January 2025, despite urging from some lawmakers.
Trump also told reporters that Xi asked him if he would come to Taiwan’s defense if China were to attack, but Trump claims to have not revealed his thinking.
“That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, ‘I don’t talk about, I don’t talk about that,'” Trump said.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh said they are “paying close attention” to the Trump-Xi meeting.
Earlier Friday, Trump participated in a tea and working lunch with Xi.
On Iran, Trump said he and Xi feel “very similar” in wanting the war to end and prohibiting Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“We feel very similar in Iran. We want that to end. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the [Strait of Hormuz] opened. We’re closing it now. They closed it, and we closed it on top of them, but we want the straits open, and we want them to get it ended, because it’s a crazy thing,” Trump said at a photo opportunity earlier Friday.
Later, aboard Air Force One, Trump was pressed on whether Xi actually committed to pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return. We don’t need favors,” Trump said.
Trump was seeking to bolster international support amid a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. war with Iran stretches on. China is Iran’s principal oil consumer.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to inquiries to confirm whether Trump and Xi discussed Iran, sidestepped the question but reiterated China’s position that the ceasefire and negotiations should continue and that the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened.
“There is no need to continue this war that should not have happened,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said. “Finding a solution earlier is beneficial to the United States and Iran, as well as to the countries in the region and even the whole world.”
“Since the door of dialogue is open, it should not be closed again,” the spokesperson said.
Before Friday’s meeting, Trump met Xi to tour the gardens at Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party leadership compound.
Xi said he picked the location “especially to reciprocate the hospitality extended to me in 2017 at Mar-a-Lago.” Xi said Trump was interested to learn about the plants in the garden including the Chinese roses. Xi said he “agreed” to gift Trump seeds for those roses.
Tech and trade have also been key themes during the talks. Trump said the two leaders “made some fantastic trade deals.”
CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, among others, traveled with the president to Beijing. Trump said the business leaders joined him to “pay respects” to Xi.
The White House said one of Trump’s goals going into the summit with Xi is to secure purchasing agreements with China in the aerospace, agriculture and energy sectors and the CEOs traveled with the president to help push for that.
Trump said Xi agreed to initially purchase 200 Boeing planes, which could go up to 750 planes if all goes well. Boeing has not confirmed this deal, referring inquiries to the White House.
Trump also said China has agreed to buy “billions of dollars” of soybeans, though he didn’t get into specifics.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had said on Friday that the U.S. expects China to buy tens of billions of dollars worth of American agricultural products in the next few years.
“We expect to also see an agreement for double-digit billion purchases … over the next three years, per year, coming out of this visit, and that’s more general, that’s aggregate, that’s not just soybeans, that’s everything else,” Greer told Bloomberg.
ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Mariam Khan, Michelle Stoddart and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and US President Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping feel “very similar on Iran” in wanting the war to end and prohibiting Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as the two started their second day of meetings in their high-stakes summit.
“We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar in Iran. We want that to end. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the [Strait of Hormuz] opened. We’re closing it now. They closed it, and we closed it on top of them, but we want the straits open, and we want them to get it ended, because it’s a crazy thing,” Trump said at a photo opportunity before the two leaders had tea and a working lunch.
Trump said they had discussed a number of issues, “and I think we’re very much in agreement.” Representatives from China did not offer further comment on what was discussed in the meetings.
He also said the two leaders “made some fantastic trade deals.”
Before Friday’s meeting Trump met Xi to tour the gardens at Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party leadership compound.
Xi said he picked the location “especially to reciprocate the hospitality extended to me in 2017 at Mar-a-Lago.” Xi said Trump was interested to learn about the plants in the garden including the Chinese roses. Xi said he “agreed” to gift Trump seeds for those roses.
The meetings come amid some tension on the issue of Taiwan — an issue about which Xi issued a stark warning to the U.S. during the leaders’ first sit-down — and questions about the role of China in ending the war with Iran.
Trump was seeking to bolster international support amid a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. war with Iran stretches on. China is Iran’s principal oil consumer.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, responding to inquiries to confirm whether Trump and Xi discussed Iran, sidestepped the question but reiterated China’s position that the ceasefire and negotiations should continue and that the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened.
“There is no need to continue this war that should not have happened,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said. “Finding a solution earlier is beneficial to the United States and Iran, as well as to the countries in the region and even the whole world.”
“Since the door of dialogue is open, it should not be closed again,” the spokesperson said.
Trump and Xi also attended a state banquet earlier during the visit.
On the first day of the summit, the U.S. president was greeted with pomp and pageantry upon his arrival in Beijing and again before his bilateral meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People that lasted for more than two hours.
Regarding the issue of Taiwan, Xi said that if the issue of Taiwan is handled “improperly,” the two nations could “come into conflict,” according to China’s official state broadcaster Xinhua. However, Xi did say that if the issue is handled “properly,” “bilateral relations can remain generally stable.”
Tech and trade have also been key themes during the talks.
Trump said before the trip that he planned to ask Xi to “open up” the Chinese economy. CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, among others, traveled with the president to Beijing.
Trump said the business leaders joined him to “pay respects” to Xi.
“We asked the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said ‘yes,’ and I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top. And they’re here today to pay respects to you and to China, and they look forward to trade and doing business, and it’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf,” Trump said.
The White House said one of Trump’s goals going into the summit with Xi is to secure purchasing agreements with China in the aerospace, agriculture and energy sectors and the CEOs traveled with the president to help push for that.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday that the U.S. expects China to buy tens of billions of dollars worth of American agricultural products in the next few years.
“We expect to also see an agreement for double-digit billion purchases … over the next three years, per year, coming out of this visit, and that’s more general, that’s aggregate, that’s not just soybeans, that’s everything else,” Greer told Bloomberg.
Greer didn’t provide any more specifics about the terms of the agreement he said the administration expects.
Before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, Trump called Xi a “great leader” and touted their relationship.
“Such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody. You’re a great leader,” Trump said. “Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true. I always say the truth.”
“We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along,” Trump said. “When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem — people don’t know — whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly, and we’re going to have a fantastic future together.”
Xi told Trump that China and the U.S. “both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”
“We should be partners, not rivals,” he continued.” We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”
ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Mariam Khan, Michelle Stoddart and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks at a press conference with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on April 29, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Almost a third of the membership of the Congressional Black Caucus — 19 of its 62 members — are at risk of losing their seats through the 2028 election cycle as Republicans in southern states where they control the legislature move swiftly to redraw congressional maps less than two weeks after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The mid-decade redistricting push is a continuation of an effort that began in 2025 and that President Donald Trump has encouraged in hopes of increasing the likelihood that the GOP will retain control of the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections.
Republicans have argued that they are redrawing congressional maps to comply with the Supreme Court and that the districts that could be changed may still elect Black representatives to Congress.
A spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus told ABC News that the group is coordinating with groups such as Elias Law Group and the Legal Defense Fund to challenge the GOP’s redistricting efforts.
The Supreme Court on Monday evening opened the door for Alabama to eliminate at least one of its majority-Black congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections, potentially handing Republicans an additional House seat in the fight for control of the closely divided chamber.
Following Republicans’ redistricting efforts in the South in states like Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed a strong response, listing specific states without sharing specific actions.
“Over the next year or so, what you’re going to see in state after state are Democrats making clear that we are not going to unilaterally disarm,” Jeffries said.
“And as a result of that, in places like New York, New Jersey, Oregon, as well as Washington, in Colorado and, of course, in Illinois and Maryland, we’re going to take the steps necessary to ensure that in advance of the 2028 election, we have a decisive and overwhelming response.”
Alabama Rep. Shomari Figures, whose seat is now in jeopardy as a result of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling, said in a statement to ABC News that the decision “sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and 60s in terms of Black political representation in the state.”
Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver of Missouri, whose seat was one of the first targeted by redistricting, said that the ongoing redistricting efforts are “trying to send us back to Reconstruction.”
Cleaver told ABC News that he is supportive of Jeffries’ stance of “maximum warfare” against GOP-led redistricting efforts, but he worries that “if we fight fire with fire, nothing would be left in the station but ash.”
Cleaver has held his seat for more than two decades and is running for reelection, but now says he has “no idea” what district he’s running in and that Democrats may need to redistrict in states like Illinois, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Colorado to fight back.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, who is also at risk of losing his seat if redistricting succeeds in South Carolina, took aim at a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that he said had enabled this sort of targeting of Black legislators, as well as actions by Trump that he said threaten American democracy.
“You know, this is whether or not you’re going to have a democracy. And that’s not a one-party thing, that’s not a one-person thing; that is, this country has come to grips with the fact that we are on the verge of a kleptocracy,” Clyburn said.
While CBC members have continued to push for the passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Cleaver said that in the current Congress, the legislation “could not get a hearing in the United States of America right now.”
Last Thursday, Tennessee became the first state after the Supreme Court’s Louisiana ruling to officially redraw and pass a new map at the urging of the president, who called the state’s governor about the topic just one day after the ruling. And in one week, a new congressional map was created, presented and passed. The new map will give Republicans a chance to flip the state’s lone current Democratic-held, majority-Black district, which is primarily made up of Memphis.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday evening that opened the door for Alabama to eliminate at least one of its majority-Black districts before this year’s midterms, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has set new special primary elections for the affected districts in the state: the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th.
Louisiana and South Carolina are also working through their own redistricting process in hopes of delivering more House seats to the GOP ahead of November’s elections. In South Carolina, Republicans on Friday formally unveiled a new proposed congressional map that would redraw the district held by Clyburn.
But as Republicans look to add House seats, Black representation in Congress is at risk of dropping substantially over the next couple of years.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement to ABC News, “We are witnessing a return to Jim Crow. And anybody who is alarmed by these developments — as everybody should be — better be making a plan to vote in November to put an end to this madness while we still can.”
“This Supreme Court did not dismiss the case, so the litigation will certainly continue. My hope is that this is a temporary setback and that three-Republican appointed judges will again find what they found the first time: that the State of Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black voters in drawing its congressional district lines,” Figures added.
ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim and Jeff Ballou contributed to this report
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event on advancing health care affordability in the Oval Office of the White House, April 23, 2026 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — One of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s top public affairs spokespeople resigned from his post over the FDA’s fruit-flavored e-cigarettes authorization and its potential impact on minors, according to a resignation letter to President Donald Trump reviewed by ABC News.
In the letter, Richard Danker, the former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, accuses senior agency officials in Kennedy’s immediate office of approving e-cigarette flavors that would allegedly expose children to “nicotine addiction, lung damage, and a higher risk of cancer.”
Danker also said the vape authorization “undermines” the department’s recent guidance document related to youth risks of flavored nicotine, according to the letter.
He thanked Trump for the “honor of a lifetime” to serve in both presidential administrations. Danker’s work portfolio includes economic regulatory roles, including a senior advisor position at the Department of Treasury during the first Trump administration. Danker hadn’t worked in healthcare prior to his time at HHS.
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again movement has touted its focus on combatting chronic disease and improving children’s health. In a statement to ABC News, an HHS spokesperson said Kennedy is advancing the MAHA agenda to confront the chronic disease epidemic head-on.
“Political appointees are here to execute that mission with urgency, discipline, and focus,” according to the spokesperson.
“Individuals who lose sight of the mission and the responsibility they were entrusted with are free to move on from the agency. HHS remains fully committed to delivering results for the American people,” the spokesperson said.
Danker provided ABC News with a copy of the resignation letter, but did not provide further comment.
The White House did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The news comes as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary left office after clashing with the White House over pressure from Trump to authorize the flavored vapes, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The issue has raised concerns with Makary, pediatrician groups and advocacy organizations about the potential impact on minors, ABC News reported.
The FDA approved four new devices made by Glas, including classic menthol, fresh menthol, gold, and sapphire pods. “Gold” is mango-flavored and “sapphire” is blueberry-flavored.
While the FDA said on its website last week that it continues to prioritize the removal of illicit vapes — including those that target minors — the approval of a flavored vape represents a significant shift for the agency.
Makary told ABC News’ Linsey Davis in July, “There is not an approved vaping product in the United States that has one of these cutie-fruity flavors.”
Michael Banks, chief of the US Border Patrol, speaks during a news conference in Nogales, Arizona, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Ash Ponders/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Michael Banks, the head of U.S. Border Patrol, is stepping down, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott confirmed on Thursday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The U.S. Capitol Building dome, on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Senators adopted a resolution by unanimous consent on Thursday to withhold their own pay during government shutdowns.
The legislation, which won’t take effect until after the November 2026 election, instructs the secretary of the Senate to place senators’ paychecks on hold during the duration of any future federal government shutdowns.
Those payments would be released to lawmakers only after the government reopens.
The Senate resolution does not need to be passed by the House or signed by President Donald Trump. While multiple similar House bills have been introduced, it’s unclear if legislation in the lower chamber will pass.
The measure in the Senate was introduced by Republican John Kennedy and advanced in a unanimous 99-0 vote on Wednesday.
“Take your brain with you, because this is about shared sacrifice. This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” Sen. Kennedy said on the Senate floor ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Kennedy’s resolution comes after federal workers faced a historic 43-day government shutdown late last year caused by a deadlock between parties over Affordable Care Act subsidies.
During that time, approximately 670,000 federal workers were furloughed, 60,000 workers outside the federal government lost their jobs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients lost out on benefits all while members of Congress continued to get paid — highlighting the disparity of financial pain endured by members of Congress and the people they serve.
Calls for withholding pay from members of Congress continued to grow this year during the record 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Transportation Security Administration agents, Coast Guard members and other department employees went without pay as a stalemate played out on Capitol Hill over immigration enforcement funding and oversight reforms.
Chinese youth hold American and Chinese flags as they join officials to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump at Beijing Capital International Airport, May 13, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(BEIJING, China) — Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a warning to President Donald Trump during their high-stakes summit in Beijing, saying that if the issue of Taiwan is handled “improperly,” the two nations could “come into conflict,” according to China’s official state broadcaster Xinhua.
The trip came at a crucial time for Trump as the war with Iran loomed and was leading to economic consequences for Americans at home. China is Iran’s principal oil consumer.
Particularly thorny for China is the issue of Taiwan and the U.S. position on the matter has long been delicate.
However, Xi did say that if the issue is handled “properly,” “bilateral relations can remain generally stable.”
After a dramatic welcoming ceremony, Trump sat down with Xi on the first day of a multi-day summit, during which Trump said he’d seek to deepen diplomatic and economic ties between the world’s two largest economic powers.
Trump and Xi had a “good meeting,” according to a White House official, but the official readout has no mention of Taiwan — which Xi earlier warned of a “conflict” if the issue was handled improperly.
Iran was also discussed between the leaders, with both sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open. This is a position China has already held.
“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
The meeting also covered investments, economic cooperation, fentanyl and increasing Chinese purchases of American farm products.
The bilateral meeting between the two leaders in the Great Hall of the People lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes, according to pool reporters traveling with the president.
Ahead of the meeting, after Trump and a slate of other U.S. officials had gathered around the negotiating table, Trump called Xi a “great leader” and touted their relationship.
“Such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody. You’re a great leader,” Trump said. “Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true. I always say the truth.”
“We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along,” Trump said. “When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem — people don’t know — whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly, and we’re going to have a fantastic future together.”
In his opening remarks, Xi told Trump that China and the U.S. “both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”
“We should be partners, not rivals, “he continued. “We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”
According to a bulletin from Xinhua, Xi emphasized that the issue of Taiwan is “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” saying if they are “if handled improperly, the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into a very dangerous situation.”
Ahead of the visit, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the U.S. will urge China to take a more assertive role in resolving the U.S.’s war with Iran during Trump’s meeting with Xi.
“It’s in their interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said during an interview taped on Air Force One Tuesday while Rubio and Trump were on their way to Beijing.
“We’ve made clear to them, you know, that any support for Iran would obviously be detrimental for our relationship. That obviously is going to come up in this conversation,” Rubio said.
Ahead of the state dinner, Trump was asked whether the pair would discuss diplomatic ways to end the war with Iran, which is in its third month. China is a key buyer of Iranian oil, which could give it considerable diplomatic leverage over Tehran, experts told ABC News. Trump said the U.S. had Iran “very much under control,” adding that it would be among the topics discussed.
“We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated, one way or the other. We win,” Trump said. “We’re going to be talking about, we’re going to be talking with President Xi.”
In remarks at the Great Hall this morning, President Trump delivered a history lesson of the “special” US-China relationship, while thanking his “friend” President Xi for a “magnificent welcome like none other.”
Trump called this a “historic visit” that resulted in “extremely positive and productive conversations,” even extending an invite for Xi to visit the U.S on Sept. 24.
The last time Xi visited the White House was in September 2015 when former President Obama hosted him for a State Visit. The visit will be one of four meetings that the leaders wanted to have this year as part of their agreement last fall that put a pause on the tit-for-tat tariff war last year.
Trump said on social media on Tuesday that he planned to ask Xi to “open up” the Chinese economy. The U.S. delegation includes Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA as well as the president’s son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump were also present.
Trump said the business leaders joined him to “pay respects” to Xi.
“We asked the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said ‘yes,’ and I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top. And they’re here today to pay respects to you and to China, and they look forward to trade and doing business, and it’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf,” Trump said.
The White House said one of Trump’s goals going into the summit with Xi is to secure purchasing agreements with China in the aerospace, agriculture and energy sectors and the CEOs traveled with the president to help push for that.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said that the scheduled diplomatic meetings were expected to play “an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations.”
“During the visit, the two heads of state will have an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning China-U.S. relations and world peace and development,” Guo added, according to a transcript published by the ministry. “China stands ready to work with the U.S. to expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, and provide more stability and certainty for a transforming and volatile world.”
ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
The U.S. Capitol Building dome, on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — In an unanimous 99-0 vote, the Senate on Wednesday advanced a resolution to withhold pay from senators during a government shutdown.
Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts did not vote on the resolution, which was introduced by Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.
The vote was a procedural one. The legislation now moves toward final passage, and is expected to pass with resounding support.
The legislation, which would take effect after the November 2026 election, would instruct the secretary of the Senate to place senators’ paychecks on hold during the duration of any future federal government shutdowns. Those payments would be released to lawmakers only after the government reopens.
While multiple similar House bills have been introduced, it’s unclear if legislation in the lower chamber will pass.
“Take your brain with you, because this is about shared sacrifice. This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” Sen. Kennedy said on the Senate floor ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Kennedy’s resolution comes after federal workers faced a historic 43-day government shutdown late last year caused by a deadlock between parties over Affordable Care Act subsidies.
During that time, approximately 670,000 federal workers were furloughed, 60,000 workers outside the federal government lost their jobs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients lost out on benefits all while members of Congress continued to get paid — highlighting the disparity of financial pain endured by members of Congress and the people they serve.
Calls for withholding pay from members of Congress continued to grow this year during the record 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Transportation Security Administration agents, Coast Guard members and other department employees went without pay as a stalemate played out on Capitol Hill over immigration enforcement funding and oversight reforms.
Cranes overlook the White House, as construction of the new ballroom extension continues, following demolition of the East Wing, on April 11, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — ABC News has obtained a one-page breakdown of how the White House says it intends to spend the $1 billion that some Republicans want to approve for President Donald Trump’s East Wing renovation to the White House, which includes the construction of Trump’s massive ballroom.
The document — which was provided without elaboration — was presented by U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran to Senate Republicans during a luncheon on Tuesday.
The price breakdown for each target area of the project area is:
$220 million for White House hardening $180 million for White House visitor security screening facility $175 million for Secret Service training $175 million for enhancements for Secret Service protectees $150 million for evolving threats and technology $100 million for events of national significance
Axios was first to report the news.
While the White House has insisted the funding is necessary in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Senate Republicans still appeared skeptical of the $1 billion request following Curran’s briefing.
“He gave us a list that breaks down the spending in a little more detail, but … there are still a lot of questions,” said Republican Sen. John Kennedy. “It’s not the only concern, but one of the biggest concerns on our side is adding to the deficit.”
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune remains adamant that the request could be tucked into the ongoing reconciliation process, it faces an uphill battle earning 50 Republican votes.
It’s also not clear whether the provision will make it through the Senate’s rigorous review process. Democrats are expected to argue before the Senate’s parliamentarian that the spending is extraneous and therefore should not be allowed to be included in a reconciliation bill. Since news of Republicans’ intention to include funding for the ballroom became public last week, Democrats have repeatedly hammered the proposal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the administration for focusing on the ballroom instead of lowering consumer costs during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning.
“At a time when 77% — that’s 77% — of Americans say that Donald Trump’s policies have increased their cost of living, Trump and the Senate GOP try to force through a bill that would spend a billion taxpayer dollars on a gilded ballroom and not one penny on bringing down costs,” Schumer said, referencing a CNN poll out earlier this week that found 77% say that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their own community.
“Trump may be trying to build a ballroom but clearly he is living in the theater of the absurd,” Schumer added.
The $1 billion request is in addition to the annual USSS budget, $3.2 billion in FY 2025.
