ORBÁN AT WHITE HOUSE: Trump will meet with his ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, at the White House Friday as the president presses him to increase his distance from President Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Orbán's priority at the meeting will be to convince Trump to permit Hungary to continue importing Russian oil without U.S. sanctions, The Hill's Laura Kelly reports. Trump has made pushing the U.S.'s European allies and other countries to cut off their purchases of Russian oil a priority as the war between Russia and Ukraine has continued.
Orbán had been a strong opponent of Russia's influence on Hungary during the Cold War, but he has shifted over the past decade to become Russia's strongest advocate within the European Union, The Associated Press reported. He's been facing pressure from Hungary's allies to end his country's reliance on Russian oil, which is viewed as contributing funding for the war.
At the same time, Orbán is an ideological ally to Trump, to such an extent that critics and supporters alike often compare each leader to the other. The Hungarian prime minister is hoping that his closeness to the president could help him during the Friday meeting, the first one between Trump and Orbán since the president returned to office.
Orbán is just the latest in a string of world leaders whom Trump has greeted at the White House recently. In the past few months, he's hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among others.
He's also set to meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Monday, the first ever visit between a U.S. and Syrian president at the White House.
▪ Bloomberg: Senators press Hungary over Russian oil ahead of Orbán meeting.
▪ Time: "How Russian oil could undo the Trump-Orbán bromance."
PELOSI RETIREMENT: Members of both parties are recognizing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former Speaker, following her announcement that she will retire from office at the end of her current term after nearly 40 years serving in Congress.
Pelosi, the first female Speaker in the House's history, revealed her decision in a video posted on social media Thursday, emphasizing her affection for her constituents in San Francisco. She said "to stand on the House floor and say I speak for the people of San Francisco" has been her greatest honor.
"I will not be seeking reelection to Congress. With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative," she said. "As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history, we have made progress, we have always led the way."
Pelosi has been one of the most influential Democrats in Washington for decades, including during her time as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, as minority leader, as Speaker and as Speaker emerita. She's considered one of the most powerful and effective Speakers in the House's history, and Democrats called her the greatest ever.
"Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi is an iconic, heroic, trailblazing, legendary and transformational leader. She is the greatest Speaker of all time," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Pelosi's successor leading the Democratic caucus, said in a statement.
Former President Obama, whom Pelosi worked with on his key initiatives like the Affordable Care Act, said the congresswoman "made us proud to be Democrats."
Pelosi also received praise from some members on the other side of the aisle. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she's "very impressed" with Pelosi's ability to "get things done."
"I will praise Nancy Pelosi. She had an incredible career for her party," Greene said on CNN's "The Situation Room."
But she received no kind words from Trump, with whom she had a contentious relationship and often clashed, particularly after the 2020 presidential election and Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
"I think she's an evil woman. I'm glad she's retiring. I think she did the country a great service by retiring," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked for his reaction to Pelosi's retirement, calling her a "tremendous liability" for the country.
That comment came days after Pelosi told CNN that she believes Trump is "the worst thing on the face of the earth."
Pelosi had said she would wait to announce her decision on whether to seek another term until after Tuesday's elections, which included a vote on California's Proposition 50. Voters in the state overwhelmingly approved the measure to allow the state Legislature to redraw its congressional lines and potentially help Democrats pick up five additional House seats.
▪ The Hill: 5 memorable moments from Pelosi's career.
▪ The Hill: "Who's most likely to succeed Pelosi in the House?"
VENEZUELA VOTE FAILS: A joint resolution directing the Trump administration to withdraw armed forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela failed in the Senate by a 51-49 vote.
The vote was mostly symbolic and unlikely to go into effect even if it passed the chamber. But it's still notable as members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have expressed frustration with a lack of answers surrounding the administration's repeated strikes on boats in the Caribbean and East Pacific.
The administration has said the boats were attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S., but members of Congress have raised questions about the evidence the administration has to prove it and the legal basis for the strikes lacking congressional authorization.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth conducted another briefing with lawmakers on the strikes on Wednesday, but it didn't mitigate the concerns of at least some of the Democrats in attendance as they demand more information.
The strikes have come as tensions have risen with Venezuela and its leader, Nicolás Maduro, as the administration has accused him of being involved in smuggling drugs into the U.S. The administration has sent its largest aircraft carrier into the region.
People who attended the Wednesday meeting told The Washington Post that Rubio and Hegseth didn't indicate the administration plans to strike Venezuela or that it had a legal backing to do so.
But the resolution would have declared that the administration must receive congressional authorization before conducting any strikes. All Democrats and two Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — voted for the resolution, which fell just short of passing.
▪ CNN: Top Democrat calls for more transparency on boat strikes.
▪ The New York Times: "Tracking U.S. military killings in boat attacks."
'SANDWICH GUY' ACQUITTED: The man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent following Trump's deployment of the National Guard into Washington, D.C., has been found not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of assault Thursday.
Becoming known as "sandwich guy," Sean Dunn is a former Justice Department employee who threw a hoagie at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent after confronting a group of officers patrolling the city. Dunn's acquittal is an embarrassing blow for federal prosecutors, who sought the misdemeanor charge after a grand jury refused to indict Dunn on a felony assault charge.
The case took three days, and the jury deliberated on Wednesday and Thursday before delivering their verdict.
"I'm relieved, and I'm looking forward to moving on with my life," Dunn said after the verdict was announced, according to The Associated Press.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the charge, Dunn has become a folk hero of sorts, with tokens of appreciation appearing such as art depicting the sandwich throw, protest signs with sandwich imagery and merchandise from T-shirts to stickers on the online marketplace Etsy.
TESLA APPROVES MUSK PACKAGE: Tesla shareholders have approved a pay package for Elon Musk that could make him the world's first trillionaire.
More than 75 percent of shareholders agreed to the package that grants Musk about 423 million shares in Tesla, which would be worth almost $1 trillion if the company reaches certain milestones set out by the agreement. Musk is already the richest person in the world.
The package's approval is a big win for Musk, who had threatened to leave Tesla if it wasn't approved. He has faced some criticism for his management of the company, but most shareholders ultimately backed him, and the board of directors argued the package was necessary to incentivize Musk to focus on Tesla.
UZBEK TRADE DEAL: Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. has reached a trade deal with Uzbekistan following a visit from its leader and other Central Asian leaders to the U.S.
"Over the next three years, Uzbekistan will be purchasing and investing almost $35 Billion Dollars and, in the next 10 years, over $100 Billion Dollars, in key American Sectors, including Critical Minerals, Aviation, Automotive Parts, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Energy & Chemicals, Information Technology, and others," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump thanked Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and said he looks forward to a "long and productive relationship" for the two countries.
The president's meeting with the Central Asian countries focused on rare earth metals needed for high-tech devices. Trump has prioritized ensuring U.S. access to these materials in response to restrictions that China had placed on their export.
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