Trump administration briefing: US backs Russia ahead of G7, Republican spending bill boosts defense

The US has reportedly rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers and pushed to soften language on Moscow ahead of a G7 foreign ministers meeting this week.

In negotiations to agree a joint statement on maritime issues, the US is pushing to strengthen language about China while watering down wording on Russia, the reports said.

The move comes amid growing fears in Europe that Washington is turning away from its western allies and towards Moscow; as Russia increased attacks on Ukraine last week Donald Trump said “anyone in [Vladimir] Putin’s position” would do the same.

US rejects Canadian attempt to tackle Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’

The US has reportedly rejected a Canadian proposal on tackling Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Quebec later this week. The “shadow fleet” refers to ageing oil tankers, the identities of which are hidden to help circumvent western economic sanctions imposed on Moscow since it launched its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As well as vetoing Canada’s proposal to establish a task force to monitor sanctions breaches, the draft G7 statement seen by Bloomberg News shows the US pushed to remove the word “sanctions” as well as wording citing Russia’s “ability to maintain its war” in Ukraine by replacing it with “earn revenue”.

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Republican push spending bill that cuts everything aside from defense

US House Republicans unveiled a spending bill on Saturday that would keep federal agencies funded through to 30 September, pushing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy that seems certain to spark a major confrontation with Democrats over the contours of government spending.

The 99-page bill would provide a slight boost to defense programs while trimming non-defense programs below 2024 budget year levels.

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We shouldn’t have played ‘so safe’, says Walz

Tim Walz has said that he and Kamala Harris were too “safe” during their 2024 election campaign, with the former vice-presidential candidate claiming they should have held more in-person events around the US.

“We shouldn’t have been playing this thing so safe,” Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said in an interview with Politico.

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Fort Bliss in Texas could become deportation hub under Trump plan

The huge US army base of Fort Bliss at the Texas-Mexico border is poised to become a deportation hub under plans proposed by the Trump administration – prompting an outcry from critics as it once again becomes a focal point in the immigration debate.

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Classes cancelled at National Fire Academy after funding freeze

The country’s pre-eminent federal fire training academy cancelled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by Donald Trump’s administration.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy (NFA) courses had been cancelled amid a “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with administration priorities”, according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments.

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Trump policies could make US more vulnerable to drug trafficking, ex-officials say

Donald Trump’s policies could leave the US more vulnerable to dangerous synthetic drug trafficking from abroad, even as the administration has vowed to stop fentanyl from entering the country, former government officials say. Jim Crotty, the former Drug Enforcement Administration deputy chief of staff, called the Trump approach of putting tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico “coercive” and said it had the potential to backfire.

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‘Jerk boss’: the Minnesota senator calling out Trump and Musk

The American people “can see in Elon Musk and in Donald Trump” the “kind of jerk boss who just doesn’t respect the work that anybody does”, the Democratic senator Tina Smith of Minnesota told the Guardian. Smith has been bluntly calling out Musk and Trump since she made a strikingly rare decision in February for someone elected to one of the country’s top positions: she will leave her job, by choice, without some kind of scandal, at the end of her term.

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Colleges and universities grapple with Trump funding cuts

Students, researchers, faculty and leadership at universities and colleges across the US are grappling with drastic short- and long-term impacts “for decades to come” caused by funding freezes, cuts and executive orders from the Trump administration.

“It’s sowing a lot of chaos on campuses,” said Sarah Spreitzer, the vice-president and chief of staff of government relations at the American Council for Education.

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What else happened today:

• An environmental nonprofit sued the US Environmental Protection Agency and Citibank on Saturday, seeking billions of dollars for solar and other projects frozen by the bank as the Trump administration slashes federal spending.

• The head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, Adam Cohen, was fired, another move by Trump’s administration to purge or sideline career officials.

Catching up? Here’s what happened on 7 March.