Trump’s South Korea visit met with protests amid trade talks
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with the news that progressive civic groups and opposition politicians held anti-US protests in Gyeongju on Wednesday as Donald Trump arrived for events related to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The protesters accused Trump of imposing unfair tariffs and pressuring South Korea to increase defense spending. Some staged a performance depicting the US president bound with rope, while others waved red cards and chanted slogans such as ‘No kings, Trump not welcome’ and ‘No to APEC’.
Kwon Young-kook, leader of the Justice Party, criticized APEC for “catering to powerful nations instead of promoting genuine economic growth”.
It came as Trump and South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, finalised details of their fraught trade deal at a summit in South Korea on Wednesday, and the US president also sounded an optimistic note about a looming summit with China’s Xi Jinping.
“We made our deal, pretty much finalized it,” Trump said at a dinner with Lee and other regional leaders on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific forum.
Trump also said his meeting with Xi on Thursday was likely to be three to four hours long and he expected the talks to go well. The meeting is expected to focus on trying to strike a trade war truce.
In other developments:
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The Republican-led US Senate has passed a measure that would terminate Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Brazilian imports, including coffee, beef and other products, in a rare bipartisan show of opposition to the president’s trade war. The vote passed 52-48. The resolution was led by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia, and seeks to overturn the national emergency that Trump has declared to justify the levies.
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A federal judge has ordered Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, to appear in federal court each weekday to report on the day’s incidents in an exceptional bid to impose oversight over the government’s militarized raids in the city. The order came after a terse hearing on Tuesday morning.
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A federal judge disqualified acting US attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law. US district judge J Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli from supervising the criminal prosecutions in three cases, siding with defense lawyers who argued that his authority expired in July.
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The US government shutdown stretched into its 28th day with no resolution in sight on Tuesday, as the Senate remained deadlocked over spending legislation even as a crucial food aid program teeters on the brink of exhausting its funding.
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The Trump administration is planning to revamp the leadership of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to reports, as the government seeks to intensify its mass deportation efforts. Multiple news outlets have reported that the government intends to reassign multiple directors of ICE field offices in the coming days, potentially replacing them with border patrol officials.
Key events
No end in sight as US government shutdown hits day 29
The US government shutdown has dragged into its 29th day, with no sign that lawmakers in Congress are anywhere near approving a measure to get federal agencies working again.
The Senate yesterday held its 13th vote on a bill that would fund the government through 21 November, but Democrats blocked its advancement because it does not include funding for their healthcare priorities. The House of Representatives remains out of session on Republican speaker Mike Johnson’s orders, as it has since 19 September. The prolonged recess is seen as a gambit to force Senate Democrats to get on board with the funding proposals, which Republicans passed through the House with almost no Democratic votes before leaving Washington DC.
All signs point to no resolution of this crisis today. While the Senate will take votes, majority leader John Thune has not announced plans to bring the funding bill back up.
On X, Adam Schiff, one of California’s Democratic senators, criticized acting US attorney Bill Essayli, after a judge found that he was in the Los Angeles-based position illegally.
Schiff wrote:
“Unlawfully serving” in his role. Acting illegally. But left in place? While this Administration continues to replace career professionals with illegitimate political allies eager to do Trump’s bidding, Californians need better relief than this.
Essayli, who is active on X, used the platform to shoot back at the senator:
I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works. Try reading and abiding by it sometime.
It wasn’t too dissimilar from the tone taken by Essayli’s boss, attorney general Pam Bondi, when she encountered Schiff at a recent congressional hearing.
Back in the United States (since it is well into the night in South Korea), yet another Trump-appointed federal prosecutor has been found to be holding the office illegally. Here’s more, from the Associated Press:
A federal judge disqualified acting US attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.
US district judge J Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli from supervising the criminal prosecutions in three cases, siding with defense lawyers who argued that his authority expired in July.
“Simply stated: Essayli unlawfully assumed the role of Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California,” Seabright wrote in his decision. “He has been unlawfully serving in that capacity since his resignation from the interim role on July 29, 2025. Essayli may not perform the functions and duties of the United States Attorney as Acting United States Attorney. He is disqualified from serving in that role.”
The decision represents another setback to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting US attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. A judge ruled in September that acting US attorney of Nevada, Sigal Chattah, was serving in her position illegally. Another judge disqualified acting US attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, in August.
White House confirms Trump-Xi meeting on Thursday
Donald Trump will meet with Chinese president Xi Xinping on Thursday in South Korea, the White House has confirmed.
The meeting will take place at 11am local in Gyeongju, South Korea – which is 10pm in Washington DC.
It’ll be their first encounter since Trump returned to the White House to begin his second term, and there’s much to discuss – trade being among the top issues. Here’s more on that:
Here are some photos coming through on the wires of Donald Trump at the APEC meeting in South Korea.
Donald Trump fires all six members of independent federal agency responsible for reviewing White House ballroom, say reports
Adam Gabbatt
Donald Trump has fired all six members of an independent federal agency responsible for reviewing his controversial White House ballroom and planned ‘Arc de Trump’ in Washington DC, according to reports.
The Washington Post reported that all members of the Commission of Fine Arts were dismissed on Tuesday.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts is terminated, effective immediately,” read an email sent to one of the commissioners, which was obtained by the Post.
Read the full story here:
Lauren Gambino
The US Senate on Tuesday approved a measure that would terminate Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Brazilian imports, including coffee, beef and other products, in a rare bipartisan show of opposition to the president’s trade war.
The legislation passed in a 52-48 vote, with five Republicans – senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and the former Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky – joining all Democrats in favor. The vote took place on day 28 of the federal government shutdown with both sides at loggerheads over spending legislation.
The resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia, would overturn the national emergency that Trump has declared to justify the levies, though it is all but certain to stall in the US House, where the Republican-controlled chamber acted to pre-emptively shut down any attempt to block the president’s tariffs. In the unlikely event the measure were to reach the president’s desk, it would meet Trump’s veto.
“Tariffs are a tax on American consumers. Tariffs are a tax on American businesses. And they are a tax that is imposed by a single person: Donald J Trump,” Kaine said in a floor speech.
While Congressional Republicans have largely declined to rein in the president, Tuesday’s vote revealed an underlying discontent with Trump’s tariffs.
“Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive. The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule,” Republican Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Tuesday. “And no cross-eyed reading of Reagan will reveal otherwise.”
Maanvi Singh
The Trump administration remains barred from deploying the national guard in Portland, Oregon, following a federal appeals court ruling.
The ninth circuit court of appeals agreed on Tuesday that it would rehear a case over the president’s authority with a broader court of 11 judges. The appeals court also vacated a ruling from a three-judge panel last week that sided with the Trump administration.
The order is the latest development in a long legal saga over whether Donald Trump has the authority and justification to deploy national guard forces in Portland. The Oregon city has had about 200 federalized guard members in limbo since late September when Trump attempted to mobilize in response to months of protests there.
The federal government has argued that federal officials working at the ICE facility in south Portland were under attack, while city and state officials argue that local officers have control of the situation.
In defiance of Trump’s characterization of Portland as “war ravaged”, locals have been sharing videos of the city’s lush hiking trails and thriving food scene, and drawing up plans for Emergency Naked Bike Ride against “the militarization of our city”.
Trump presented with golden crown in South Korea
South Korea welcomed US president Donald Trump on Wednesday with a replica gold crown and awarded him with the ‘Grand Order of Mugunghwa’, the country’s highest decoration, the presidential office said.
US and South Korean warplanes escorted Air Force One on approach, and on the tarmac a South Korean military band greeted Trump with a rendition of ‘YMCA’ and guns fired a salute.
Lee is hoping to win concessions from Trump in drawn-out negotiations aimed at lowering US tariffs on South Korea, and has wooed the US president by praising his outreach to North Korea.
Lee’s office said that in recognition of Trump’s role as a “peacemaker” on the Korean peninsula, he was awarded the ‘Grand Order of Mugunghwa’, which is named after South Korea’s national flower, a pink hibiscus also known as the Rose of Sharon in English.
“I’d like to wear it right now,” Trump said when presented with the glittering award. A South Korean official said he was the first US president to receive the honour.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believed the North Korea situation will improve.
Trump made the comment at a dinner hosted by the South Korean president Lee Jae Myung.
The US president was visiting South Korea to join other heads of state and business leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Trump’s South Korea visit met with protests amid trade talks
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with the news that progressive civic groups and opposition politicians held anti-US protests in Gyeongju on Wednesday as Donald Trump arrived for events related to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The protesters accused Trump of imposing unfair tariffs and pressuring South Korea to increase defense spending. Some staged a performance depicting the US president bound with rope, while others waved red cards and chanted slogans such as ‘No kings, Trump not welcome’ and ‘No to APEC’.
Kwon Young-kook, leader of the Justice Party, criticized APEC for “catering to powerful nations instead of promoting genuine economic growth”.
It came as Trump and South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, finalised details of their fraught trade deal at a summit in South Korea on Wednesday, and the US president also sounded an optimistic note about a looming summit with China’s Xi Jinping.
“We made our deal, pretty much finalized it,” Trump said at a dinner with Lee and other regional leaders on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific forum.
Trump also said his meeting with Xi on Thursday was likely to be three to four hours long and he expected the talks to go well. The meeting is expected to focus on trying to strike a trade war truce.
In other developments:
-
The Republican-led US Senate has passed a measure that would terminate Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Brazilian imports, including coffee, beef and other products, in a rare bipartisan show of opposition to the president’s trade war. The vote passed 52-48. The resolution was led by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia, and seeks to overturn the national emergency that Trump has declared to justify the levies.
-
A federal judge has ordered Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, to appear in federal court each weekday to report on the day’s incidents in an exceptional bid to impose oversight over the government’s militarized raids in the city. The order came after a terse hearing on Tuesday morning.
-
A federal judge disqualified acting US attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law. US district judge J Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli from supervising the criminal prosecutions in three cases, siding with defense lawyers who argued that his authority expired in July.
-
The US government shutdown stretched into its 28th day with no resolution in sight on Tuesday, as the Senate remained deadlocked over spending legislation even as a crucial food aid program teeters on the brink of exhausting its funding.
-
The Trump administration is planning to revamp the leadership of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to reports, as the government seeks to intensify its mass deportation efforts. Multiple news outlets have reported that the government intends to reassign multiple directors of ICE field offices in the coming days, potentially replacing them with border patrol officials.
