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

Trump Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Safety Claims

We start with the development that President Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks against GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday, even as 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 the previous day that the President's online criticism had triggered a surge of menaces directed at her.

“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene,” he said, referring to the lawmaker. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” the president informed reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday night.

Greene, a US House of Representatives member from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has recently taken positions contrary to the commander-in-chief. She noted on Saturday she has been alerted by private security firms warning about her safety and that strong criticisms against her have in the past resulted in death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Disclosure Initiative

The public fallout came as the President urged his GOP colleagues in Congress to vote for the release of files concerning the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, changing his prior opposition to such a action.

Trump’s post on his Truth Social followed Speaker Johnson previously stated that he thought a decision on making public justice department documents in the Epstein case should help dispel claims “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

He posted on his Truth Social platform on that day: “GOP lawmakers should vote to release the Epstein documents, because we have nothing to hide.

“Now is the moment to put behind us this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by far-left activists in order to deflect from the Great Success of the GOP, including our recent Victory on the government funding issue,” he said.

Although the President and Epstein were seen together decades ago, the president has said the two men fell out before Epstein's legal troubles. Messages disclosed last week by a congressional panel indicated the disgraced financier, who took his own life in jail in recent years, thought the President “knew about the girls,” though it was not clear what that phrase signified.

Additional Developments

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had challenged Trump over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the full files on the late sex offender Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two lawmakers leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the authorities available both expressed new worries about the actions by the administration.
• US forces conducted a further strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific on the weekend, killing three individuals on board, the Pentagon said on Sunday. “Information verified that the boat was engaged in illegal drug trafficking, transiting along a established drug route, and carrying drugs,” the military command announced in a post on online platforms.
• Trump indicated the United States may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a huge US military buildup in the Caribbean region. “We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. Venezuela would like to talk,” the US president said on that day, in one of the initial indications of a potential way to easing the growingly strained situation in the region.
• Donald Trump on the weekend dismissed concerns about conservative commentator the commentator's latest discussion with a far-right activist known for his antisemitic views, which has created a division within the Republican party. Trump supported the host, saying the former Fox News host has “expressed good things about me in the past.” He added if Carlson wants to speak with the activist, whose followers see themselves as working to preserve America’s white, Christian identity, then “individuals have to decide.” Trump did not criticize the commentator or the activist.
• Trump indicated on that day that he intends to have a discussion with NYC's mayor-elect Mamdani and said they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a truce for the GOP leader and Democratic rising star who have cast each other as opponents. He has for months criticized Mr Mamdani, falsely describing him as a “communist” and forecasting the decline of his city, NYC, if the democratic socialist were chosen.
• A group of seventeen transgender military personnel has sued the Trump administration for denying them early retirement pensions and benefits. The legal filing, submitted in federal court, describes the administration's action against them as “unlawful and invalid”.