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Hello and welcome to the US politics ongoing coverage. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be providing you with all the most recent developments over the next few hours.

The President Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Danger Claims

We start with the news that President Donald Trump intensified his attacks against Republican lawmaker Representative Greene on the weekend, even as his shift on resisting the release of the Epstein files.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his criticism were endangering her and stated he did not believe anyone was focusing on her. The congresswoman remarked on Saturday that the President's online criticism had unleashed a surge of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, speaking of the congresswoman. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I doubt anybody is concerned for her,” the president informed reporters before entering his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US House of Representatives member from the state of Georgia who was long known as a Trump loyalist, has recently taken positions at odds with the commander-in-chief. She said on Saturday she has been alerted by private security firms warning about her safety and that harsh attacks against her have previously led to threats on her life.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Release Push

The public fallout occurred while the President encouraged his fellow Republicans in Congress to support the release of records related to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, changing his earlier resistance to such a move.

His message on his social media platform came after Speaker Johnson previously stated that he thought a decision on making public justice department files in the Epstein investigation should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: “GOP lawmakers should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.

“Now is the moment to put behind us this political stunt perpetrated by far-left activists in order to distract from the significant achievements of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the government funding issue,” he added.

While the President and Epstein were photographed together years back, the commander-in-chief has said the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions. Messages released recently by a congressional panel showed the convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in jail in 2019, thought the President “was aware of the girls,” though it was uncertain what that phrase signified.

Additional Updates

• GOP representative Thomas Massie had questioned Trump over whether the US president was making a “final attempt” to keep the complete records on the late sex offender Epstein from being disclosed by initiating a fresh investigation. The congressman and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two US representatives leading the cross-party effort to have all the documents in the possession of the government public both raised fresh concerns about the steps by the administration.
• The United States conducted another strike on an suspected narcotics smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of three people on board, the Department of Defense said on the following day. “Information confirmed that the boat was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a established drug route, and transporting drugs,” the military command stated in a message on online platforms.
• Trump said the US may open talks with President Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who faces growing scrutiny from the US government amid a significant military deployment in the Caribbean. “We may be having some talks with Maduro, and we’ll see how that develops. Venezuela would want to talk,” the commander-in-chief remarked on that day, in one of the first signs of a possible path to easing the growingly strained circumstances in the area.
• Donald Trump on the weekend brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit the commentator's latest interview with a extremist figure known for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has created a division within the Republican party. The President defended the host, saying the ex-media personality has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He added if Carlson chooses to speak with the activist, whose supporters consider themselves working to preserve America’s cultural heritage, then “people have to decide.” He did not criticize the commentator or the activist.
• The President suggested on that day that he plans to meet with NYC's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and stated they will “work something out”, in what could be a truce for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have cast each other as opponents. He has for months slammed Mr Mamdani, falsely describing him as a “socialist” and predicting the ruin of his city, NYC, if the progressive were elected.
• A group of 17 trans US air force members has sued the federal government for denying them early retirement pensions and benefits. The legal filing, filed in a US court, describes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.