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Greetings and salutations to the American political live blog. I am Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the latest developments over the next few hours.

The President Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Safety Claims

We begin with the development that President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene on the weekend, despite his shift on resisting the disclosure of the Epstein files.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his criticism were putting at risk her and said he did not think anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman said on Saturday that the President's social media posts had triggered a surge of threats directed at her.

“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene,” he remarked, referring to the congresswoman. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” the president informed the press before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Greene, a House representative from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has recently taken positions at odds with the commander-in-chief. She said on Saturday she has been contacted by security companies expressing concern for her security and that harsh attacks against her have in the past led to death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Release Initiative

The public fallout came as the President urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to support the release of files concerning the deceased disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, changing his earlier resistance to such a move.

Trump’s post on his social media platform followed House speaker Mike Johnson previously stated that he believed a decision on making public DOJ files in the Epstein case should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on that day: “House Republicans should support unsealing the Epstein documents, because we have no secrets.

“Now is the moment to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to distract from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he added.

While Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the commander-in-chief has said the two men had a disagreement before Epstein's legal troubles. Emails disclosed recently by a congressional panel showed the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in prison in recent years, believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though it was uncertain what that statement meant.

Additional Updates

• Republican congressman Thomas Massie had challenged Trump over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “last-ditch effort” to prevent the complete records on the deceased sex offender Epstein from being disclosed by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two US representatives spearheading the cross-party effort to make all the files held by the authorities public both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the administration.
• The United States conducted another strike on an suspected drug trafficking boat in the Pacific region on the weekend, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon announced on the following day. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling, traveling on a established drug route, and carrying narcotics,” the US Southern Command announced in a message on online platforms.
• The President indicated the US may open talks with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who is under growing scrutiny from Washington amid a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean region. “We may be having some talks with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll observe how that develops. Venezuela would want to talk,” the commander-in-chief said on that day, in one of the first signs of a potential way to defusing the increasingly tense situation in the region.
• Trump on the weekend dismissed worries about conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's latest interview with a extremist figure recognized for his antisemitic views, which has caused a division within the Republican party. The President supported the host, saying the ex-media personality has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He said if Carlson wants to speak with Nick Fuentes, whose supporters consider themselves defending the nation's cultural heritage, then “people have to decide.” He did not criticize the commentator or Fuentes.
• Trump indicated on that day that he plans to have a discussion with NYC's incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani and stated they will “work something out”, in what could be a truce for the Republican president and Democratic rising star who have portrayed one another as opponents. He has for an extended period slammed Mr Mamdani, incorrectly labelling him as a “communist” and forecasting the ruin of his hometown, NYC, if the progressive were chosen.
• A group of seventeen trans US air force members has sued the federal government for denying them retirement benefits and benefits. The complaint, filed in a US court, characterizes the government’s move against them as “unlawful and invalid”.