https://www.scmp.com/rss/522548/feed The latest news and top stories on Republican Party. A prominent United States-based political party, the Republican Party, also known as the GOP, is headquartered in Washington DC. Founded in 1854 to combat the expansion of slavery, its primary mission has evolved to advocate for conservative principles. Key areas of focus include promoting reduced taxes, limited government, free markets and a strong national defence. The party is significant for its historical role in abolishing slavery under... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters The Republican candidate backed by US President Donald Trump will advance to a run-off against a Democrat in the Georgia race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the US House of Representatives, after a special election on Tuesday seen as a test of Trump’s sway over his party. Trump’s preferred candidate, former district attorney for four northwest Georgia counties Clay Fuller, will face Shawn Harris, a moderate Democrat who has sought to court disillusioned Trump voters, in ‌the April 7... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346176/us-special-election-replace-marjorie-taylor-greene-leads-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346176/us-special-election-replace-marjorie-taylor-greene-leads-run?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:41:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Political efforts to cripple Turkey’s main opposition and lock up its presidential candidate will never stifle the people’s frustration with the government and their growing demand for change, Istanbul’s jailed mayor has said in an interview. “An irreversible process for a change in power has begun in Turkey and it won’t stop until it is complete. I cannot stop it … nor can the ruling party nor the judiciary,” Ekrem Imamoglu said in a written response to Agence France-Presse questions conveyed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345864/demand-change-turkey-cannot-be-stopped-jailed-istanbul-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345864/demand-change-turkey-cannot-be-stopped-jailed-istanbul-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 07:30:51 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press James Talarico barely mentioned Donald Trump when he finally got to give his victory speech on Wednesday night as Democrats’ nominee for US Senate in Texas. But the 36-year-old state lawmaker is now a frontman for the left’s opposition to Trump, not just in his own state but around the country. With his victory over US congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the state lawmaker from Austin will test whether a smiling message of unity and change is enough to answer voters’ frustrations amid discord at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345517/texan-james-talarico-face-democrats-2026-us-midterm-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345517/texan-james-talarico-face-democrats-2026-us-midterm-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:48:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Five Republicans joined Democrats to support the subpoena proposed by Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace in a sign of continued frustration among conservatives with the department’s review and release of a tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier. The move... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:40:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will square off in a high-stakes run-off for ⁠the state’s Republican nomination for Senate, pitting a long-time member of the party’s establishment against an insurgent hardliner as the midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday. Neither man was able to exceed the 50 per cent threshold necessary to win outright in Tuesday’s voting, ensuring that the most expensive Senate primary in history will extend another 12 weeks into May. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345370/texas-tests-party-fault-lines-2026-us-midterms-begin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345370/texas-tests-party-fault-lines-2026-us-midterms-begin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 06:27:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters Bill Clinton told American lawmakers on Friday that he “saw nothing that gave me pause” when he spent time with Jeffrey Epstein, as the former US president gave closed-door testimony about his relationship with the late sex offender. In a prepared statement, Clinton told the House of Representatives Oversight Committee that he would not have flown on the late financier’s plane if ‌he had known about his alleged sex trafficking of underage girls, and would have reported him if he did. “We are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344938/bill-clinton-grilled-over-epstein-ties-us-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344938/bill-clinton-grilled-over-epstein-ties-us-lawmakers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:40:35 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hillary Clinton used her forced appearance Thursday before a Republican-led panel probing Jeffrey Epstein to go on the offensive and demand US President Donald Trump testify about his own links to the sex offender. Clinton said after her deposition when asked if she was confident that her husband did not know of Epstein’s crimes, Clinton said “I am”. “I don’t know how many times I had to say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein,” she added. “I never went to his island, I never went to his homes, I... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344784/hillary-clinton-calls-trump-testify-she-faces-us-house-epstein-panel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344784/hillary-clinton-calls-trump-testify-she-faces-us-house-epstein-panel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:39:02 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused on Monday to answer questions from US lawmakers but her lawyer said she was prepared to speak if granted clemency by US President Donald Trump. Maxwell, 64, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with Epstein. Rather than answer the committee’s questions, however, the former British socialite invoked her Fifth Amendment... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342976/epstein-accomplice-ghislaine-maxwell-seeks-trump-clemency-testimony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342976/epstein-accomplice-ghislaine-maxwell-seeks-trump-clemency-testimony?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:41:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favourable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration. No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court’s emergency docket. The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342436/california-can-use-new-map-midterms-despite-last-ditch-bid-trump-admin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342436/california-can-use-new-map-midterms-despite-last-ditch-bid-trump-admin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 23:53:48 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Bill and Hillary Clinton will testify in a US House investigation surrounding deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a spokesman for the ex-president said, heading off a potential vote to hold the couple in contempt. They had originally refused to appear before lawmakers examining how authorities handled earlier investigations into the disgraced financier, who had connections and correspondence with the world’s business and political elite. “The former President and former Secretary of State... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342167/clintons-testify-us-house-epstein-probe-ahead-contempt-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342167/clintons-testify-us-house-epstein-probe-ahead-contempt-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 01:59:31 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Republican National Committee has vastly outpaced Democrats in the crush for cash ahead of the midterm elections, holding a nearly US$100 million advantage at the close of 2025, according to year-end filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). As Democrats have struggled in the Trump era, the RNC tallied US$172 million raised in 2025, with US$95 million cash on hand at year’s end. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee posted US$145 million for the year, with US$14 million on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342028/fundraising-hauls-show-rnc-vastly-outpacing-democrats-ahead-midterm-elections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342028/fundraising-hauls-show-rnc-vastly-outpacing-democrats-ahead-midterm-elections?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:12:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump sent his top border enforcer to Minneapolis on Monday and struck a conciliatory note in a bid to tamp down nationwide outrage over the second killing of a US citizen protesting militarised immigration raids this month. The White House was scrambling as video of the latest shooting went viral, prompting street protests, criticism from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and, increasingly, from within Trump’s Republican Party. Trump said Tom Homan, his point... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341325/white-house-softens-tone-crackdown-after-minneapolis-killings-fury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341325/white-house-softens-tone-crackdown-after-minneapolis-killings-fury?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 02:52:40 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Former US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that they will refuse to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify in a House committee’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons, in a letter released on social media, slammed the House Oversight probe as “legally invalid” even as Republican lawmakers prepared contempt of Congress proceedings against them. The Clintons wrote that the chair of the House Oversight Committee, Republican... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339792/clintons-refuse-testify-epstein-probe-defying-republican-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339792/clintons-refuse-testify-epstein-probe-defying-republican-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 17:49:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US lawmakers voted on Thursday to revive health insurance subsidies that expired at the end of last year, offering hope to millions of Americans facing steep premium hikes – and pressuring the Senate to follow suit. The bill, which passed with Democratic support and backing from a small bloc of Republicans defying their own leadership, would extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act – widely known as Obamacare – for three years. Those subsidies lower monthly insurance costs for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339246/us-house-votes-extend-obamacare-subsidies-thanks-revolt-among-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339246/us-house-votes-extend-obamacare-subsidies-thanks-revolt-among-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 23:43:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Nicolas Maduro of imitating his dancing, among other crimes, as he celebrated the capture of the Venezuelan leader in a freewheeling speech to Republican lawmakers. Trump’s comments come after a New York Times report that Maduro’s regular public dancing in defiance of US threats convinced White House officials that it was time to act. “He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit,” Trump told lawmakers at the Kennedy Centre in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338972/venezuelas-maduro-copied-my-dance-melania-hates-it-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338972/venezuelas-maduro-copied-my-dance-melania-hates-it-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 18:19:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday ‌that Republicans must win the 2026 congressional midterm elections - or else he will get impeached by Democrats. “You gotta win the midterms ‘cause, if we don’t win the midterms, ‍it’s just gonna be - I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump told Republican lawmakers at a retreat in Washington. “I’ll get impeached.” Ahead of the November elections, which could stall his agenda and expose him to congressional investigations, Trump teased and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338971/trump-warns-hell-be-impeached-if-republicans-dont-win-us-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338971/trump-warns-hell-be-impeached-if-republicans-dont-win-us-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:56:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Zohran Mamdani, the young upstart of the US left, was sworn in on Thursday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump. After the clocks struck midnight, bringing in 2026, Mamdani took his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop to begin managing the United States’ largest city. He is New York’s first Muslim mayor. His office said the understated venue beneath City Hall reflected his commitment to working people, after the 34-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338378/zohran-mamdani-takes-over-new-york-mayor-era-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338378/zohran-mamdani-takes-over-new-york-mayor-era-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:52:28 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term, killing two bills sponsored by Republicans in Congress, including one from a prominent lawmaker who bucked the administration over the release of files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump vetoed legislation late on Tuesday to help complete a water pipeline project, a measure backed by congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is close to the White House. Trump, in his veto message, said he rejected the bill to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338352/trump-issues-first-vetoes-ally-who-backed-epstein-vote-fears-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338352/trump-issues-first-vetoes-ally-who-backed-epstein-vote-fears-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:16:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a “few more weeks” to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline. The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:20:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect US President Donald Trump, as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily censored release of documents. Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the release by the Justice Department, telling NBC’s Meet the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 18:54:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein angered some Republicans and did little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of the 2026 midterm election. The Trump administration touted this week’s release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in ‍blasting Friday’s disclosures as inadequate and possibly in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 01:56:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored. The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other luminaries in Epstein’s wealthy social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. But blackouts across many of the documents – combined with tight control over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 21:12:34 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the fifth part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine how Trump’s strained relationship with farmers in America’s rural heartland may impact the 2026 midterm elections. As a bruising 2025 draws to a close for America’s Democratic Party, the caucus is spotlighting mounting challenges facing farmers in the country’s rural heartland. In a series of mini-documentaries released late this year, the lush green... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337193/democrats-bet-betrayal-rural-heartland-trumps-america-first-mantra-falls-short?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337193/democrats-bet-betrayal-rural-heartland-trumps-america-first-mantra-falls-short?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 16:01:09 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department on Friday released only a partial set of documents related to its investigation into convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has sparked the first major split between Trump’s Make America Great Again support base since he returned to office. The department was compelled by Congress to make the documents public after lawmakers passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19, a measure that required the disclosure... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:11:49 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans. The stunning move comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a healthcare bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that millions of people will soon endure when the tax credits for those who buy insurance... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336830/4-republicans-defy-house-speaker-force-vote-extending-obamacare-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336830/4-republicans-defy-house-speaker-force-vote-extending-obamacare-subsidies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 17:56:56 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Indiana Senate on Thursday rejected a new congressional map that would have boosted Republican chances of keeping control of the US House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s nationwide push to install more favourable maps. The vote represented a rare rebuke to Trump by members of his own party, which he has largely ruled with an iron fist as president. The tally was 31-19 against, with more than half of Republican senators joining... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336136/indiana-republicans-defy-trump-reject-new-electoral-map?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336136/indiana-republicans-defy-trump-reject-new-electoral-map?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 23:40:41 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s characterisation of US-China relations as a “G2” partnership is “deeply problematic”, a Democratic lawmaker has warned in a letter to the Pentagon chief. Such a description sidelines Washington’s allies and partners in the region, House Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said in his letter sent on Monday. Krishnamoorthi, a ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, also expressed “profound concern” about such a label being used... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336018/hegseths-g2-description-us-china-relations-deeply-problematic-lawmaker-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3336018/hegseths-g2-description-us-china-relations-deeply-problematic-lawmaker-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:25:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump tried to reassure Americans that the US economy was healthy at a campaign-style rally on Tuesday as Republicans braced for a tough fight to hold control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. Speaking at a Mount Pocono casino in northeastern Pennsylvania, Trump argued that his economic policies, including his imposition of widespread tariffs on imports, were creating jobs, boosting the stock market and attracting increased investment into the United States. “I... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335841/trump-defends-economic-record-rally-vows-make-america-affordable-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335841/trump-defends-economic-record-rally-vows-make-america-affordable-again?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 03:42:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas to use redrawn congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections, boosting the hopes of President Donald Trump’s Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives. The push by Texas - which carves out five more Republican-friendly districts and came at the behest of Trump - kicked off a series of similar efforts in states around the country. The decision by the conservative-dominated high court stayed a lower ruling which had said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 03:53:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters The FBI arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man and charged him on Thursday with planting a pair of pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, capping a years-long investigation that gave rise to numerous conspiracy theories. The suspect, Brian Cole Jnr, of Woodbridge, was charged with use of an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials, Attorney General Pam Bondi and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335250/fbi-arrests-suspect-2021-capitol-riot-pipe-bomb-case-after-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335250/fbi-arrests-suspect-2021-capitol-riot-pipe-bomb-case-after-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:58:44 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon The “Mar-a-Lago face” has become the newest unofficial badge of power in Washington. The look typically features inflated lips, immobile brows and sharply sculpted contours. The hyper-polished, over-tightened, filler-heavy aesthetic leaves its bearers with a permanent glower. It is everywhere among right-wing luminaries and the conservative elite who have drifted into the US capital since Donald Trump’s second inauguration. British newspaper The Guardian hilariously observes that the “bee-sting... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3334343/trump-insiders-mar-lago-faces-echo-chinese-elites-unhealthy-efforts-please-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3334343/trump-insiders-mar-lago-faces-echo-chinese-elites-unhealthy-efforts-please-king?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:15:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump did not bring much holiday cheer Tuesday when bestowing ceremonial pardons on two Thanksgiving turkeys, dispensing more insults than goodwill at the traditional White House ritual. He joked about sending the turkeys to an infamous prison in El Salvador that has been used to house migrants deported from the United States. He said the birds should be named Chuck and Nancy – after Democratic stalwarts Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi – but “I would never pardon those... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334147/trump-pardons-turkeys-and-roasts-foes-thanksgiving-ceremony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334147/trump-pardons-turkeys-and-roasts-foes-thanksgiving-ceremony?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:17:54 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a once-loyal supporter of US President Donald Trump who later became a critic, has said she is resigning from Congress in January. Greene, in a more than 10-minute video posted online, explained her decision on Friday and said she was “always been despised in Washington, D.C., and just never fit in”. Greene’s resignation followed a public fallout with Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3333770/marjorie-taylor-greene-ex-trump-loyalist-says-resign-congress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3333770/marjorie-taylor-greene-ex-trump-loyalist-says-resign-congress?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 02:13:19 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Dick Cheney, celebrated as a master Republican strategist but defined by the darkest chapters of America’s “War on Terror”, was honoured on Thursday in a funeral attended by Washington’s elite that pointedly left out President Donald Trump. Cheney’s career reads like a catalogue of American statecraft, even as his long shadow over foreign policy - as defence secretary during the Gulf War and the 46th vice-president under George W. Bush - still divides the country. Bush and fellow former... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333603/us-honours-republican-titan-dick-cheney-trump-funeral-guest-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333603/us-honours-republican-titan-dick-cheney-trump-funeral-guest-list?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 18:51:40 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse New York’s incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, after an exchange of barbs that has seized national attention. Mamdani, a 34-year-old political insurgent who came from nowhere to win leadership of America’s biggest city, said Thursday he was “ready for whatever happens”. Sparks could fly when the self-declared Democratic Socialist comes face-to-face with the 79-year-old Republican. Trump brands Mamdani a “communist” and has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333599/trump-host-new-york-mayor-elect-zohran-mamdani-white-house-friday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333599/trump-host-new-york-mayor-elect-zohran-mamdani-white-house-friday?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:46:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A US district court, in a setback for President Donald Trump, struck down a congressional map on Tuesday redrawn by Republicans in Texas that was intended to give the party five more likely seats in the House of Representatives. The court ruled that the new map, which weakened five Democratic districts, could not be used in the 2026 midterm elections, where Republicans are seeking to safeguard their slim majority in the House. Democrats are eyeing a big win that would allow them to challenge the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333323/blow-trump-us-court-tosses-redrawn-texas-election-map?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333323/blow-trump-us-court-tosses-redrawn-texas-election-map?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 23:58:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Republican-controlled US Congress voted almost unanimously on Tuesday to force the release of Justice Department files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an outcome President Donald Trump had fought for months before ending his opposition. Two days after Trump’s abrupt about-face, the House of Representatives passed the measure with a vote of 427-1, sending a resolution requiring the release of all unclassified records on Epstein to the Republican-majority Senate, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333318/us-lawmakers-vote-overwhelmingly-force-release-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333318/us-lawmakers-vote-overwhelmingly-force-release-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 19:50:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump said House Republicans should vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a startling reversal after previously fighting the proposal as a growing number of those in his own party supported it. “We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on social media late Sunday after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333016/us-house-speaker-says-nothing-hide-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333016/us-house-speaker-says-nothing-hide-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 20:22:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters Chileans are voting in a presidential election on Sunday that is pitting the governing leftist coalition against an array of right-wing candidates and will also redefine the country’s legislature. Polls opened at 8am and are expected to close at 6pm, but will remain open if there are voting queues. Initial results are expected quickly with a full count within hours. There are eight candidates in the race and none are expected to get the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to win the election... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332991/chile-votes-pivotal-election-amid-crime-and-immigration-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332991/chile-votes-pivotal-election-amid-crime-and-immigration-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 11:53:35 +0000 Reuters Reuters President Donald Trump was eager to claim victory this week after the record-long US government shutdown ended on his terms. But almost immediately, the White House was forced to battle a familiar bogeyman: Jeffrey Epstein. A trove of emails released by Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday reignited questions about Trump’s relationship with the disgraced financier and how much the president knew about Epstein’s alleged abuse of girls. While the White House swiftly dismissed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332961/why-epstein-saga-could-haunt-trump-2026-midterm-election-hes-very-vulnerable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332961/why-epstein-saga-could-haunt-trump-2026-midterm-election-hes-very-vulnerable?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 03:39:59 +0000 Reuters Reuters Republican US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene accused President Donald Trump on Saturday of putting her life in danger, saying his online criticism has triggered a wave of threats against her. Greene, once a long-time Trump loyalist and Maga (Make America Great Again) stalwart who has more recently taken positions at odds with the US president, said she has been contacted by private security firms warning about her safety. “Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332954/maga-lawmaker-marjorie-taylor-greene-says-trump-putting-her-life-danger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332954/maga-lawmaker-marjorie-taylor-greene-says-trump-putting-her-life-danger?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 20:26:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration sued California on Thursday over its new redistricting maps after a ballot measure adopting new congressional districts passed in the state last week. The measure could give the Democratic-led state five more seats in the US House of Representatives and was intended as a counterweight to Republican efforts to give their party more congressional seats in Texas and elsewhere amid a push by Trump. The Justice Department intervened as a plaintiff in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332713/trump-administration-sues-california-over-new-electoral-maps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332713/trump-administration-sues-california-over-new-electoral-maps?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 23:04:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Turkish prosecutor demanded on Tuesday a prison sentence of more than 2,000 years for Ekrem Imamoglu, the jailed opposition mayor of Istanbul, for allegedly leading a vast corruption network that cost the state billions of lira. Imamoglu, who is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, has previously denied all the accusations against him, saying they are politically motivated, and his party on Tuesday rejected the new indictment as “nonsense”. In a separate move that also... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332402/turkish-prosecutor-seeks-2000-year-jail-term-istanbul-mayor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332402/turkish-prosecutor-seeks-2000-year-jail-term-istanbul-mayor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 21:26:40 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a Justice Department official says. Ed Martin, the government’s pardon lawyer, posted on social media a signed proclamation of the “full, complete, and unconditional” pardon, which also names conservative lawyers Sidney Powell and John Eastman. The proclamation, posted online late on Sunday,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332230/trump-pardons-giuliani-meadows-other-allies-involved-2020-election-controversy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332230/trump-pardons-giuliani-meadows-other-allies-involved-2020-election-controversy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:31:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Senate on Sunday moved forward on a measure aimed at reopening the federal government and ending a now 40-day shutdown that has sidelined federal workers, delayed food aid and snarled air travel. In a procedural vote, senators advanced a House-passed bill that will be amended to fund the government until January 30 and include a package of three full-year appropriations bills. If the Senate eventually passes the amended measure, it still must be approved by the House of Representatives... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332129/us-shutdown-may-be-nearing-end-senators-support-funding-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332129/us-shutdown-may-be-nearing-end-senators-support-funding-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 01:07:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Indians lit up social media on Wednesday to celebrate Zohran Mamdani’s election win as New York mayor after he thanked his Indian-born parents, quoted a historic speech by India’s first prime minister and turned the victory rally into a Bollywood-style street party. “We are proud of him. He has done a great job,” Mamdani’s maternal uncle Vikram Nair said. He said he was flooded with requests from friends and family to throw celebratory parties. “We will plan it soon,” he said, adding that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3331694/india-celebration-zohran-mamdanis-new-york-mayoral-win-and-his-roots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3331694/india-celebration-zohran-mamdanis-new-york-mayoral-win-and-his-roots?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 20:12:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Fresh off winning New York’s mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday that a team including former city and federal officials – all women – would steer his transition to City Hall, and that he would “work every day to honour the trust that I now hold”. “I and my team will build a City Hall capable of delivering on the promises of this campaign,” the mayor-elect said at a news conference, vowing that his administration would be both compassionate and capable. He named political... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331693/ny-mayor-elect-mamdani-unveils-all-woman-team-he-prepares-take-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331693/ny-mayor-elect-mamdani-unveils-all-woman-team-he-prepares-take-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:39:00 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg California voters have approved a ballot measure intended to shift as many as five congressional seats to Democrats from Republicans, handing Governor Gavin Newsom a major political victory in his fight against President Donald Trump. The victory for Proposition 50 was called by the Associated Press within a minute of polls closing. Newsom championed the controversial ballot measure as a way to neutralise a Trump-backed initiative in Texas in which the state redrew congressional districts to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331585/california-votes-redraw-congressional-map-triumph-newsom-against-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331585/california-votes-redraw-congressional-map-triumph-newsom-against-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 05:05:03 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who was set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations. In a victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the unending demands of America’s biggest city and deliver on ambitious - sceptics say unrealistic - campaign promises. With the victory, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331564/zohran-mamdani-wins-new-york-city-mayors-race-capping-stunning-ascent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331564/zohran-mamdani-wins-new-york-city-mayors-race-capping-stunning-ascent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 02:49:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will choose their next governors on Tuesday in a pair of races that will serve as an early gauge of the American electorate’s mood after US President Donald Trump’s norm-shattering nine months in office. In New York’s mayoral race, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, faces 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat running as a more centrist independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary, four years after resigning as New York... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331548/trumps-shadow-looms-us-voters-pick-new-york-mayor-state-governors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331548/trumps-shadow-looms-us-voters-pick-new-york-mayor-state-governors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:52:25 +0000