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Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the most recent developments over the next few hours.

The President Rejects Greene's Safety Concerns

We start with the news that President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Republican lawmaker Representative Greene on the weekend, despite his reversal on opposing the release of the Epstein files.

He continued to dismiss her claim that his remarks were putting at risk her and said he did not think anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman remarked on Saturday that Trump’s social media posts had triggered a surge of threats aimed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he said, speaking of the lawmaker. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I doubt anybody cares about her,” the president told the press before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday night.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a House member from Georgia who was previously considered a Trump loyalist, has recently taken positions at odds with the president. She said on the weekend she has been alerted by private security firms expressing concern for her security and that strong criticisms against her have in the past resulted in death threats.

Epstein Files Disclosure Initiative

The public fallout occurred while the President encouraged his GOP colleagues in the legislature to vote for the release of files related to the deceased convicted sex offender Epstein, changing his earlier resistance to such a action.

Trump’s post on his social media platform followed House speaker Mike Johnson previously stated that he believed a vote on releasing DOJ files in the Epstein investigation should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

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

“And it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to distract from the Great Success of the GOP, including our latest win on the government funding issue,” he said.

While Trump and Epstein were seen together years back, the president has said the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions. Messages disclosed last week by a House committee indicated the convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in jail in 2019, believed Trump “was aware of the girls,” though it was not clear what that statement signified.

Additional Developments

• GOP representative Thomas Massie had questioned Trump over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the complete records on the late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a new probe. The congressman and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two lawmakers spearheading the cross-party effort to have all the files in the possession of the authorities public both raised fresh concerns about the steps by the White House.
• The United States conducted a further strike on an suspected drug trafficking vessel in the Pacific region on the weekend, resulting in the deaths of three people on board, the Department of Defense announced on the following day. “Information confirmed that the boat was involved in illegal drug trafficking, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and transporting drugs,” the US Southern Command announced in a message on social media.
• The President indicated the US may begin discussions with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from the US government during a huge military deployment in the Caribbean. “We may be having some talks with Maduro, and we’ll observe how that develops. Venezuela would like to talk,” the US president remarked on that day, in one of the initial indications of a potential way to defusing the growingly strained situation in the area.
• Trump on Sunday dismissed worries about right-wing pundit the commentator's recent interview with a extremist figure recognized for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has created a division within the GOP. Trump supported the host, noting the former Fox News host has “said positive remarks about me over the years.” He said if he chooses to interview the activist, whose supporters see themselves as defending America’s white, Christian identity, then “people have to make up their own minds.” Trump did not condemn the commentator or Fuentes.
• The President indicated on that day that he intends to have a discussion with NYC's mayor-elect Mamdani and stated they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a truce for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have portrayed one another as political foils. He has for months criticized Mr Mamdani, falsely describing him as a “communist” and forecasting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the democratic socialist were elected.
• A collective of seventeen transgender military personnel has sued the federal government for denying them retirement benefits and entitlements. The legal filing, filed in a US court, characterizes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.