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Russia’s Lavrov expected to meet US counterpart Rubio in Riyadh to discuss ending Ukraine war

Russia’s Lavrov expected to meet US counterpart Rubio in Riyadh to discuss ending Ukraine war
By Joseph Stepansky and Brian Osgood
Published On 17 Feb 2025

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17 Feb 2025 - 22:55
 (22:55 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining our coverage of politics in the United States under President Donald Trump.

To learn more about the Trump administration’s plans to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia and discuss the war in Ukraine this week, you can read our coverage here.

You can also discover how US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is approaching the delicate ceasefire in Gaza, here.

And find out how aviation experts are reacting to Trump’s federal layoffs here.

Supporters of President Donald Trump ride with an effigy of him in their convertible outside the Trump International Golf Club on February 17 in West Palm Beach, Florida [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 22:50
 (22:50 GMT)

Here’s a recap of today’s headlines

  • Protesters have used the Presidents’ Day holiday to denounce President Donald Trump for exceeding his presidential mandate in a demonstration dubbed “No Kings Day”.
  • A bipartisan group of US senators, including Republican Lindsey Graham, have cast doubt on Trump’s bid to “take over” Gaza, with Senator Richard Blumenthal calling the proposal a “hot mess”.
  • US District Judge Tanya Chutkan expressed scepticism about an effort by 14 states to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from firing workers and gaining access to sensitive government data.
  • The Trump administration has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court asking it to uphold its decision to fire independent government watchdog Hampton Dellinger.
  • European leaders met in Paris for emergency talks in response to the prospect of high-level negotiations over the future of Ukraine between US and Russian officials.
A demonstrator holds a handmade poster at a protest for ‘No Kings Day’ in Los Angeles, California [Etienne Laurent/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 22:40
 (22:40 GMT)

Andrew Yang calls on New York mayor to go

Pressure continues to grow on New York Mayor Eric Adams following allegations that his increasingly warm relationship with Trump led the Justice Department to drop the corruption charges against him.

In September, federal prosecutors indicted Adams for wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to receive illicit campaign contributions, alleging that the mayor abused his power.

Adams, however, denounced the effort as politically motivated to dent his re-election efforts.

After Trump won his second term in the White House, Adams appeared to curry favour with the president, visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort and agreeing to work together on immigration.

A growing number of officials have resigned from his administration or called on him to step down, the latest being his former adversary in the 2021 mayoral race, Andrew Yang.

“Eric Adams needs to go,” Yang, an entrepreneur and former 2020 presidential candidate, said in a social media post.

Andrew Yang previously faced Eric Adams in the race to be New York City mayor [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

What is the significance of the US-Russia talks on Ukraine?

By Heidi Zhou-Castro

Reporting from Washington, DC

Neither the US nor the Russian sides have telegraphed any expectations, and these meetings are being described as preliminary.

But what we do know is they certainly will hold symbolic value. It’ll be the first time that we see US and Russian delegations at this high-level meeting face-to-face since the war began in Ukraine almost three years ago.

And this follows on from that conversation over the phone that President Trump had with Vladimir Putin of Russia, in which they talked for over an hour. So, certainly, having these high-level delegates talking in one place will hold symbolic value in reversing what had been the Biden administration’s policy of trying to isolate Russia diplomatically.

Now it’s Ukraine that finds itself isolated. It’s not being included in these talks, though there’s conflicting reporting on whether Ukraine was invited.

A spokesman for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has said on the social media platform Telegram that Ukraine wants to talk to the US first, before it opens its talks to Russia.

17 Feb 2025 - 22:21
 (22:21 GMT)

‘Unpredictable and scattershot’: Judge Chutkan weighs in on DOGE’s actions

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan has made comments that indicate she may be sceptical about issuing a temporary restraining order against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk.

In a court hearing on Monday, Chutkan heard arguments from lawyers representing 14 states that oppose what they consider DOGE’s “virtually unchecked power”.

The states seek to block DOGE from firing more federal employees and accessing government data.

But Judge Chutkan acknowledged hurdles in the states’ case, which is opposed by Trump’s Justice Department.

“One of the challenges in the plaintiff’s motion is that this is essentially a private citizen directing an organisation that’s not a federal agency to have access to the entire workings of the federal government: fire, hire, slash, contract, terminate programmes, all without apparently any congressional oversight,” the judge said.

Chutkan requested that the Justice Department submit information about federal employee terminations, so that she could better make a decision on whether to grant a restraining order.

“DOGE’s actions in this arena have been very unpredictable and scattershot, and I have no idea whether that is by design or simply by virtue of the scope of their remit,” Chutkan said.

17 Feb 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

Republican sheriff says he will run for California governor in 2026

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has become the first prominent Republican to declare he will run for governor of California in 2026, in a race that is sure to be competitive in the strongly Democratic state.

The current governor, Gavin Newsom, is unable to run again due to term limits. Bianco took aim at the incumbent’s track record in his campaign announcement.

“It is only our Democrat elected officials who are responsible for the decline of California,” Bianco, a law-and-order figure, said in an announcement on Monday.

“What is it they have given us? Rampant crime, higher taxes, the highest cost of living in our nation, tent encampments in every major city, more fentanyl deaths, catastrophic fires, a broken home insurance market and people across our state are struggling to afford groceries and gas. Californians deserve better.”

17 Feb 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Pentagon chief posts image appearing to show large unpaid tax bill

In an image shared on social media, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that he was the subject of a “sham” audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which oversees tax collection in the US.

“Of course the outgoing Biden IRS rushed an ‘audit’ of the incoming SecDef,” he said, appearing to suggest that he had been targeted for his political affiliation.

The image appeared to show an unpaid tax bill of about $33,558, although it is unclear when the notification was sent to Hegseth, and if the toll remains unpaid.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [Nathan Howard/Reuters]
17 Feb 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Who is Hampton Dellinger?

On Sunday, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to sign off on its decision to fire Hampton Dellinger, the head of the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates claims of wrongdoing or protects government whistleblowers from reprisals.

But who is Dellinger, and why is his firing receiving so much attention?

The Senate confirmed Dellinger on February 27, 2024, to lead the OSC, citing his history of representing whistleblowers who called out perceived misconduct in the government.

Prior to his nomination to the OSC, Dellinger, a Yale-educated lawyer, worked as an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department. Before that, he served in the North Carolina state government, investigating Medicaid fraud, among other issues.

But Trump’s government reportedly told Dellinger earlier this month that he would be fired in a single-sentence email.

Dellinger decided to sue to keep his job, teeing up a test of constitutional powers.

He has argued that the president did not have the authority to terminate his position, citing federal law that states he may only be removed “in cases of neglect of duty, malfeasance or inefficiency”.

Trump has also fired other ethics officials without consulting Congress first, as is required by law.

The showdown is now being viewed by some as a test case for how far the conservative-majority Supreme Court will go in its support of Trump’s efforts to reshape the government and wield executive power.

Hampton Dellinger [US Office of Special Counsel/Reuters handout]
17 Feb 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

How did Trump spend his Presidents’ Day?

Trump has been largely out of the public eye on this federal holiday, instead hitting the links at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

During his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, The Washington Post estimated that Trump played 261 rounds of golf. It also found that Trump visited one of his eponymous properties on 428 days of his first term, which averages to a visit every 3.4 days.

President Donald Trump gestures to supporters gathered on February 17 in West Palm Beach, Florida [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

EU chief says Ukraine deserves ‘peace through strength’

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said that European countries agreed to maintain their defence capabilities to support Ukraine, after an emergency meeting in Paris.

The meeting was called after the Trump administration took a combative approach to the US’s traditional European allies, signalling a pivot away from the continent.

“Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength,” Von der Leyen posted on X.

“Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time we need a surge in defence in Europe.”

17 Feb 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

UK prime minister says US must provide ‘backstop’ in Ukraine

Keir Starmer has said that Europe should step up its commitments to Ukraine, but he added that a US security commitment will be key to ending the war.

“Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement,” Starmer told reporters.

“But there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”

17 Feb 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Photos: A protest for US Presidents’ Day

The third Monday of February is traditionally Presidents’ Day, when the US celebrates the births of its first president, George Washington, and the president that oversaw the abolition of slavery, Abraham Lincoln.

But across the US, some protesters are calling the holiday “No Kings Day”, in opposition to current President Donald Trump’s dramatic reshaping of the federal government.

Protesters in front of the US Capitol and elsewhere have accused Trump of executive overreach by seeking to freeze congressionally approved funds and dissolve agencies established by congressional mandates.

They have also denounced Trump’s embrace of billionaire Elon Musk, who has sought vast access to sensitive government systems. Check out images from the protest in Washington, DC, below.

Protesters in the ‘No Kings Day’ demonstration denounce the amount of power Elon Musk has been given in Trump’s government [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]
The protest took place on Presidents’ Day, a US federal holiday [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]
Many of the protesters accused Trump of being a fascist and seeking powers beyond his constitutional authority [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]
The presence of billionaires like Elon Musk in Trump’s government was a focal point of the protests [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]
The protest took its name from the allegation that Trump seeks to rule like a king, instead of governing like a president [Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo]

17 Feb 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Four senior aides to New York Mayor Adams to reportedly resign

Four deputies to New York Mayor Eric Adams plan to resign in the coming days after the Justice Department moved to drop criminal charges against Adams, according to the television channel WNBC and The New York Times.

Critics have called the Justice Department’s move a quid pro quo to assure Adams’s cooperation with Trump’s deportation crackdowns.

Both Adams and the Trump administration have rejected the claims.

The attempt to dismiss charges against Adams has already prompted mass resignations in the Justice Department by officials who refused to comply with the decision. Adams was indicted last year on charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy.

New York Mayor Eric Adams attends a news conference in New York City [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]
17 Feb 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Trump posts fewer ‘market-moving’ social media messages: Study

The investment bank JPMorgan has released a study that shows that President Trump’s social media posts have had a more muted effect on financial markets during his second term than during his first.

Only 10 percent of the 126 Trump posts JPMorgan examined during the first weeks of his second term corresponded with market or currency fluctuations.

But, the study points out, Trump has been increasingly posting about financial issues. Just last week, he posted 20 times about issues like tariffs and foreign relations.

“Among the different topics, the posts on tariffs have been the biggest market movers,” JPMorgan wrote.

It pointed out that there were decreases in the value of Mexico’s and Canada’s currencies as the result of Trump’s tariff threats at the start of February, though Trump has since postponed the use of tariffs on those two countries.

United States President Donald Trump waves from his vehicle in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 17 [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

UK, Polish and Danish leaders call for European unity

The trio have been speaking during an emergency meeting in Paris.

  • Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has described Europe-US relations as entering a “new stage” as he called for increased European defence spending.
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the future of Ukraine represented an existential question to Europe. He added that he was prepared to consider deploying British forces to Ukraine as part of a peace deal, but there must be a “US backstop”.
  • Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she did not believe Russia was interested in peace and added that “Russia is threatening all of Europe”.
17 Feb 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

Kamala Harris to receive NAACP award

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the largest civil rights groups in the US, has announced it plans to give a major award to Trump’s election-season rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

“A trailblazer in every sense, former Vice President Kamala Harris will be honored with the prestigious Chairman’s Award at the 56th NAACP Image Awards,” the NAACP announced on social media.

“As the first woman, Black American, and South Asian American U.S. Vice President, she continues to champion justice, equity, and opportunity for all. Her impact will resonate for generations to come.”

Harris took over for President Joe Biden as the Democratic contender for the presidency in July 2024.

But with less than four months to campaign, Harris faced an uphill battle. She ultimately lost to Trump in a tight race, receiving only 226 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 312. The popular vote proved to be a tighter race: Harris claimed 48.3 percent of the vote to Trump’s 49.8 percent.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech on November 6, 2024 [Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo]
17 Feb 2025 - 19:35
 (19:35 GMT)

Rubio to MBS: Gaza arrangement must contribute to ‘regional security’

The State Department has released its account of Rubio’s meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), saying the top US diplomat “underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security”.

The statement did not offer further information on how Rubio and MBS addressed their opposing views on the future of Gaza. Speaking in Israel yesterday, Rubio praised Trump’s plan to “take over” the enclave and permanently displace Palestinians. Riyadh has firmly rejected the plan.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio and MBS reaffirmed their commitment to the Gaza ceasefire agreement and discussed Syria, Lebanon and security in the Red Sea.

17 Feb 2025 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

Saudi crown prince discussed regional security with Rubio: State TV

The Saudi state news agency SPA has said MBS and Rubio discussed regional and global developments and efforts to achieve regional stability during their meeting in Riyadh.

The SPA report offered few specifics and did not directly reference the war in Gaza or Trump’s plan to “take over” the enclave.

It also did not specifically mention the planned meeting tomorrow between a US and Russian delegation about the war in Ukraine.

17 Feb 2025 - 19:20
 (19:20 GMT)

Russian delegation arrives in Riyadh ahead of US talks

Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov have arrived in the Gulf kingdom ahead of their planned talks with US counterparts on Tuesday, according to the state-run news channel RIA.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Lavrov and Ushakov would discuss issues related to US-Russia relations, preparations for a Trump-Putin meeting and possible negotiations for an end to the fighting in Ukraine.

The meeting is set to be the most significant between the US and Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, but its bilateral nature has caused disquiet among European allies and Ukraine.

17 Feb 2025 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)

Senator Graham threatens sanctions for countries who enforce ICC warrants

At a press conference in Tel Aviv, US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has offered his support for President Trump’s decision to sanction officials with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last year, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, based on accusations of war crimes in Gaza.

While Israel is not a party to the ICC’s founding document, the Rome Statute, prosecutors have argued that the alleged crimes took place in Palestine, which is a member of the court and therefore falls under its jurisdiction.

But Graham, a fellow Republican, said he backs the president’s decision.

“Look at all the threats that the nation of Israel faces.  He believed that the International Criminal Court claiming jurisdiction over the state of Israel, a non-member, to be prosecuted at The Hague is an existential threat to Israel — and I agree with that,” Graham said.

The senator added that he hopes the US Senate can “take another shot” at legislation to sanction the ICC.

He added that he believes “any state that tries to implement the arrest warrant, any nation-state, should be sanctioned heavily by the United States”.

“Why? To deter. We’re next,” Graham said.

The US is also not a party to the ICC, in part over fears its leaders could come under the court’s investigation.

“The Rome Statute wasn’t written to deal with Israel, the United States. It was written to deal with ungoverned areas, lawless places in the world,” Graham argued.

US Senator Lindsey Graham [Matthias Schrader/AP Photo]