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South Korea's governing party head supports suspending Yoon's powers, making impeachment more likely

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South Korea's governing party head supports suspending Yoon's powers, making impeachment more likely
News

News

South Korea's governing party head supports suspending Yoon's powers, making impeachment more likely

2024-12-07 07:35 Last Updated At:07:41

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely.

Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, calling his short-lived martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” But they need support from some members of the president’s People Power Party to get the two-thirds majority required to pass the impeachment motion.

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Vehicles are parked on the lawn of the National Assembly to prevent helicopters from landing due to concerns of any possible additional acts following the President's short-lived martial law declaration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Vehicles are parked on the lawn of the National Assembly to prevent helicopters from landing due to concerns of any possible additional acts following the President's short-lived martial law declaration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, center, is surrounded by the media at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, center, is surrounded by the media at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, shouts slogans during a joint press conference with members of civil society and the five opposition parties to condemn the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. The signs read "Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol." (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, shouts slogans during a joint press conference with members of civil society and the five opposition parties to condemn the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. The signs read "Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol." (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

A participant holds candle during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A participant holds candle during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People shout slogans during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The letters read "Resign Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People shout slogans during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The letters read "Resign Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters attend a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters attend a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Jo Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Jo Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporter's question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporter's question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A man holds two candles as he joins a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A man holds two candles as he joins a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s nighttime martial law decree has frozen South Korean politics and caused worry among neighbors, including fellow democracy Japan, and Seoul’s top ally, the United States, as one of the strongest democracies in Asia faces a political crisis that could unseat its leader.

During a party meeting, PPP leader Han Dong-hun stressed the need to suspend Yoon’s presidential duties and power swiftly, saying he poses a “significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law, which could potentially put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger.”

Han said he had received intelligence that Yoon had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities” when martial law was in force.

“It’s my judgment that an immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official duties is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han said.

Impeaching Yoon would require support from 200 of the National Assembly’s 300 members. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats combined. PPP has 108 lawmakers.

If Yoon is impeached, he would be suspended until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential power. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s No. 2 official, would take over presidential responsibilities.

The Defense Ministry said it suspended the defense counterintelligence commander, Yeo In-hyung, who Han alleged had received orders from Yoon to detain the politicians. The ministry also suspended Lee Jin-woo, commander of the capital defense command, and Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the special warfare command, over their involvement in enforcing martial law.

In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers, Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, said Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik, said Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. Kim said Hong told lawmakers he ignored Yoon’s orders.

The spy agency’s director, Cho Taeyong, questioned Hong’s account. Cho told reporters that such an order would have come to him, rather than Hong, and that he never received any orders from Yoon to detain politicians.

Han earlier said he would work to defeat the impeachment motion even though he criticized Yoon’s martial law declaration as “unconstitutional.” Han said there was a need to “prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos.”

Thousands of protesters have marched in the streets of Seoul since Wednesday, calling for Yoon to resign and be investigated. Thousands of autoworkers and other members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, one of the country’s biggest umbrella labor groups, have started hourly strikes since Thursday to protest Yoon. The union said its members will start on indefinite strikes beginning on Dec. 11 if Yoon was still in office then.

Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho promised the ministry’s “active cooperation” with an investigation by prosecutors into the military’s role in Yoon’s martial law enforcement. He said military prosecutors will also be involved in the investigation. He denied media speculation that Yoon and his military confidantes might consider imposing martial law a second time.

“Even if there’s a demand to enforce martial law, the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will absolutely not accept it,” Kim said.

Kim became the acting defense minister after Yoon’s office on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has also been banned from traveling while he is investigated over the imposition of martial law.

Opposition parties and Han allege that it was Kim Yong Hyun who recommended that Yoon declare martial law. During a parliamentary hearing on Thursday, Kim Seon Ho said Kim Yong Hyun also ordered troops to be deployed to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.

Han leads a minority faction within the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers in his faction voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree. Martial law ultimately lasted about six hours, after its quick overrule by the National Assembly forced Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said in a televised speech Friday that it was crucial to suspend Yoon as “quickly as possible.”

Lee said Yoon’s martial law enforcement amounted to “rebellion and also a self-coup.” He said Yoon’s move caused serious damage to the country’s image and paralyzed foreign policy, pointing to criticism from the Biden administration and foreign leaders canceling their visits to South Korea.

Yoon has made no immediate response to Han’s comments. He hasn’t made public appearances since he made a televised announcement that his martial law decree was lifted.

Prosecutor General Shim Woo Jung told reporters the prosecution plans to investigate rebellion charges against Yoon following complaints filed by the opposition. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. It wasn’t immediately clear how the prosecution plans to proceed with an investigation on Yoon.

The Democratic Party is also considering filing a complaint against PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, whom the opposition party accuse of attempting to facilitate Yoon’s martial law enforcement.

Choo, a Yoon loyalist, had asked party lawmakers to convene at the party’s headquarters rather than the National Assembly after martial law began. That meant fewer lawmakers were present for parliament’s vote on lifting martial law.

Vehicles are parked on the lawn of the National Assembly to prevent helicopters from landing due to concerns of any possible additional acts following the President's short-lived martial law declaration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Vehicles are parked on the lawn of the National Assembly to prevent helicopters from landing due to concerns of any possible additional acts following the President's short-lived martial law declaration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, center, is surrounded by the media at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, center, is surrounded by the media at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, shouts slogans during a joint press conference with members of civil society and the five opposition parties to condemn the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. The signs read "Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol." (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, shouts slogans during a joint press conference with members of civil society and the five opposition parties to condemn the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. The signs read "Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol." (Park Dong-ju/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

CORRECTS DATE - South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, third from left, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a meeting of the party's leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

A participant holds candle during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A participant holds candle during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People shout slogans during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The letters read "Resign Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People shout slogans during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The letters read "Resign Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters attend a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters attend a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Jo Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

South Korea's ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Jo Sung-bong/Newsis via AP)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporter's question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporter's question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A man holds two candles as he joins a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A man holds two candles as he joins a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters march to the presidential office after a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

President Donald Trump is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.

The visit is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by this weekend.

Here's the latest:

He said he examined the Social Security system “and we’ve got people in there that are 150 years old. Now do you know anyone that’s 150?”

“I think they’re probably dead,” Musk said.

Musk said he and Trump talk often and that he asks about what actions to take and where in the government he should focus his efforts.

Trump said last week that he wants Musk to look at spending in the Department of Education and the military.

The billionaire also joked that the broad scrutiny and criticism he's received for his work feels like a “daily proctology exam.”

The White House has barred an Associated Press reporter from covering Trump’s event in the Oval Office with Elon Musk.

That’s because it says AP’s style does not align with Trump’s executive order on renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

AP Executive Editor Julie Pace says, “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

▶ Read the full statement from AP Executive Editor Julie Pace, as well as AP’s guidance on the Gulf of Mexico and Trump’s executive order regarding the name.

Asked about personal conflicts, Musk said everything’s in the open and anyone who is interested can see if he’s benefiting from the work of cutting government.

“Transparency is what builds trust,” he said.

He also pushed back against critics who have accused him of mounting a hostile takeover of the government.

“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” he said. “That’s what democracy is all about.”

Musk says he wants to add “common-sense controls” to the federal spending. He says taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely and that to cut the waste is not “draconian.”

Trump put Musk in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency to help eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in spending and trim the more than 2 million-person federal workforce.

Musk appeared with Trump in the Oval Office as the president prepared to sign an executive order concerning the billionaire’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk said there are some good people in the federal bureaucracy, but that they need to be accountable. He called the bureaucracy an “unelected” fourth branch of government and said the budget deficit must be addressed.

These are among Musk’s first public comments about his work overseeing DOGE.

Vice President JD Vance is traveling in Europe on his first overseas trip since becoming vice president.

He brought along his wife, Usha, and their three young children.

Vance addressed an AI summit in Paris earlier Tuesday. He will speak at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth says he welcomes the scrutiny of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency into the massive military budget. And he singled out climate programs for likely cuts.

The Defense Department, he said, “is not in business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. We’re in the business of deterring and winning wars.”

Defense officials have long argued that climate change will have a broad and costly impact on the military and national security, and have worked to reduce those risks and the department’s energy use. Rising sea levels could swamp coastal bases and melting Arctic icecaps have opened sea lanes, escalating competition with China, Russia and others over valuable minerals in that region.

Speaking to reporters in Germany, Hegseth said they will search for billions of dollars in savings.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and new budget director Russ Vought told Republican senators that they need more money for the the president’s border wall and deportation operations.

“Tom Homan said, ‘I am begging you for money,’” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, the GOP Budget Committee chairman, after the closed party luncheon.

Vought told the senators the administration is “running out of money” to pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Graham said.

Graham is pushing ahead with a $350 billion budget bill that includes $175 billion to fund Trump’s border and deportation policies for the next four years.

The Palestinian militant group said the president’s comments were “racist” and “a call for ethnic cleansing.”

The group declared Tuesday that Gaza’s residents have endured relentless bombardment and aggression but remain steadfast in their homeland.

In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Hamas accused Trump of seeking to “liquidate the Palestinian cause and deny the national rights of the Palestinian people.”

Trump repeated his plan Tuesday for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and remove its population. Neighboring Arab governments and the Palestinians have roundly rejected the idea.

United Nations experts define ethnic cleansing as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas “by violent and terror-inspiring means.”

It comes as federal agencies work to comply with Trump’s executive order last month to release thousands of files.

The FBI said it’s working to transfer the records to the National Archives and Records Administration to be included in the declassification process.

The federal government in the early 1990s mandated that all documents related to the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination be housed in a single collection at the National Archives. And while the vast majority of the collection — over 5 million records — has been made public, researchers estimate 3,000 files haven’t been released, either in whole or in part.

The FBI did not say in its statement what kind of information the newly discovered files contain.

▶ Read more about the FBI’s JFK records

The moves align with the Trump administration’s aggressive global trade agenda and ambitions to strengthen U.S. industry, but they could have an inverse effect.

On March 12, all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%, the result of two orders the president signed Monday that also include a 25% tariff on aluminum. That could have a serious impact on domestic auto companies including Ford, GM and Stellantis — and make these companies’ vehicles more expensive for the nation’s car buyers.

Tariffs on crucial products coming from outside of the U.S. places pressure on domestic sourcing of the materials, experts say. The basic rules of supply and demand could drive up costs.

▶ Read more about the tariffs’ effects on the auto industry

Following Tuesday’s meeting with Trump at the White House, Abdullah called on the U.S. to take a leading role in creating peace and stability in the Middle East.

He said addressing the dire humanitarian situation in war-torn Gaza by rebuilding it, not displacing its population, should be the main focus of all parties.

“This requires US leadership. President Trump is a man of peace,” Abdullah said in post on the social media platform X. “He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to US and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds.”

A “just peace” would see an independent Palestinian state established alongside Israel, Abdullah said.

He plans to sign the executive order Tuesday that would also include strict limits on hiring.

The Associated Press reviewed a White House fact sheet on the order, which is intended to advance Elon Musk ’s work slashing spending with his Department of Government Efficiency.

It said “agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law.”

It also said agencies should “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service.” There are plans for exceptions when it comes to immigration, law enforcement and public safety.

▶ Read more about Trump’s order on the federal workforce

The more than 230 research groups and 2,600 data users on Tuesday implored U.S. lawmakers to order the restoration of any data sets that were removed from the websites over the past two weeks.

Federal agencies at the beginning of the month took down scores of government webpages as staffers hurried to comply with President Trump’s order rolling back protections for transgender people, which required the removal of “gender ideology” language from websites, contracts and emails.

A federal judge Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets they removed to comply with Trump’s executive order.

“Removing or curtailing access to these data, even temporarily, erodes the public trust that federal statistical and scientific agencies have earned,” the researchers said to congressional leaders in a letter which was organized by the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, the American Statistical Association, and the Population Association of America.

They say cuts to a federal research office that tracks students’ progress could leave the nation in the dark on schools’ effectiveness.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has terminated 89 contracts worth $881 million at the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences, officials said.

Education Department spokesperson Madison Biedermann declined to share the names of vendors whose contracts were cut.

The cuts are counterproductive and destructive, said Rachel Dinkes, president and CEO of the Knowledge Alliance, a coalition of education research firms.

“Cutting out at the knees the one independent agency that helps improve student outcomes is ridiculous,” she said.

▶ Read more about DOGE’s education cuts

It’s the first step in what could be a wholesale reversal of the Biden administration effort in 2023 to remove names that honored Confederate leaders, including nine Army bases.

It sets up a potentially costly, complicated and delicate process that could run afoul of the law.

“As the president has said, and I’ve said as well, we’re not done there,” Defense Secretary Hegseth said Tuesday when asked about the decision to go back to the Fort Bragg name but change the service member it commemorates.

The move signals the potential for the Pentagon to do the same for the other renamed bases — skirting the law prohibiting the military from naming a base after a Confederate leader by finding another service member with the same name.

▶ Read more about Fort Bragg’s renaming

Terry Cole, Trump’s candidate, is Virginia’s secretary of public safety and homeland security. Cole’s law enforcement background includes more than 20 years at the Drug Enforcement Administration, including assignments in Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico and the Middle East.

Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Florida’s Hillsborough County, was Trump’s first choice to be DEA administrator, but he later withdrew from consideration. Chronister had faced backlash from some conservatives about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ban was put in place last week by another federal New York jurist in response to a lawsuit 19 Democratic attorneys general brought against Trump.

Justice Department attorneys told Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in a filing Sunday that the ban was unconstitutional and needed to be immediately reversed.

Vargas made changes to the ban to clarify its reach. For instance, she said Treasury Department officers nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate can access the records, making it clear Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn’t subject to the ban.

The lawsuit contended Musk’s ‘DOGE’ team was composed of “political appointees” who shouldn’t have access to Treasury records handled by “civil servants” specially trained in protecting such sensitive information as Social Security and bank account numbers.

▶ Read more about the DOGE lawsuit

But he said it wouldn’t require committing funds and insisted he personally would not be involved in development.

“We’re not going to buy anything. We’re going to have it,” Trump said of U.S. control in Gaza, which he said would be possible “under the U.S. authority,” without elaborating what that actually was. Trump has suggested Palestinians in the war-torn territory would be pushed into neighboring nations with no right of return.

The president spoke after meeting Tuesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who was asked repeatedly by reporters about Trump’s plan to remake the Middle East, but didn’t make substantive comments on it nor the idea that his country could accept large numbers of new refugees from Gaza.

▶ Read more about Trump’s meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II

They might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade.

On Monday, President Trump waded into the issue when he signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Trump said he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws, although they’ve been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.

In 2015, video of a marine biologist pulling a plastic straw out of a turtle’s nose sparked outrage worldwide and countries and cities started banning them, starting with the Pacific Island nation Vanuatu and Seattle in 2018.

▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on plastic straws

Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for President Donald Trump, left Russian airspace with Fogel, who’s from Pennsylvania, and he’s expected to be reunited with his family by the end of the day.

Fogel was arrested in August 2021, and was serving a 14-year prison sentence. His family and supporters said he was traveling with medically prescribed marijuana.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said the U.S. and Russia “negotiated an exchange” to ensure Fogel’s release. He did not say what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed. Previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of Russians by the U.S. or its allies.

Waltz described the development as “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” Trump, a Republican, has promised to find a way to end the conflict.

▶ Read more about the American teacher being released

The Federal Emergency Management Agency workers are accused of circumventing leadership to make the transactions, which have been standard for years through a program helping with costs to care for migrants. Officials didn’t give details on how the workers violated policies.

On Monday, Elon Musk had posted on X that his team discovered payments used to house migrants in “luxury hotels.”

The employees terminated Tuesday were FEMA’s chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist, according to a statement.

They made “egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels,” the statement said.

Officials didn’t reply to emails seeking further comment.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington agreed Tuesday to issue a temporary restraining order requested by the Doctors for America advocacy group. The judge instructed the government to restore access to several webpages and datasets the group identified as missing from websites and to identify others that also were taken down “without adequate notice or reasoned explanation.”

On Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an order for agencies to use the term “sex” and not “gender” in federal policies and documents. In response, the Office of Personnel Management’s acting director required agency heads to eliminate any programs and take down any websites that promote “gender ideology.”

Doctors for America, represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, sued OPM, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.

▶ Read more about access to the websites

Trump welcomed Abdullah and Crown Prince Hussein at the entrance to the West Wing.

The president escalated tensions in the Middle East by saying Monday that the ceasefire in Gaza would end Saturday unless Hamas returned all the hostages taken in its October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.

Trump affirmed on Tuesday while greeting the king that the Saturday deadline was still in place.

“He’s a great man,” Trump said, gesturing to the king, before they stepped into the White House.

Murray, a Washington state Democrat, and the union leaders said federal workers are suffering panic attacks and losing sleep due to the “staggering and unprecedented assault” by the Trump administration and the country will suffer without them.

“They’re worried about their jobs. They’re worried about their families. They’re also worried about their work and the communities they serve,” Helen Bottcher, a former Environmental Protection Agency employee and current union leader in Seattle said during a news conference hosted by Murray.

The people being targeted inspect meat, make sure baby formula is safe, protect consumers from fraud, provide veterans with health care, send weather forecasts to wildland firefighters and ensure the Hanford nuclear waste cleanup is done properly, Murray said.

“They deserve better than to be threatened, intimidated and pushed out the door by Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” Murray said. “But make no mistake, we actually need these people to stay in their jobs or things are going to start breaking.”

“This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website.

Most recently, Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with Trump for continued U.S. military support in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry, which would be a valuable source of rare earth elements needed to develop technology products.

Trump has said Europe should repay the U.S. what Washington has spent helping Kyiv.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s the first time all 13 have traveled together to the U.S.

The visit comes after Trump announced tariffs planned for Canada and Mexico that have since been suspended for a month — until March 1.

Doug Ford of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, and chair of the Council of the Federation, will lead the envoy for a series of meetings and events at the U.S. Capitol.

Ford recently said Canada will pause all retaliatory measures against the U.S. after news broke that the threat of tariffs has been put on hold for a month.

Trump wants Canada and Mexico, America’s two largest trading partners, to take steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

The administration’s abrupt funding freeze also is forcing mass layoffs by the U.S. suppliers and contractors for USAID, including 750 furloughs at one U.S. company alone, Washington-based Chemonics International, the lawsuit filed Tuesday charges.

Trump administration appointee Pete Marocco is defending the USAID shutdown, claiming without evidence that “noncompliance” and “insubordination” by USAID staffers made it necessary.

It comes after after Hamas said it would call off a scheduled hostage release this weekend.

An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered officials “to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn’t release our hostages this Saturday.” The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting, was not clear if Netanyahu’s order referred to all hostages, or the three scheduled for release on Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages aren’t freed by Saturday.

— Josef Federman

That’s the level President Trump has said other NATO members should meet.

Speaking to reporters in Germany, Hegseth said he believes the U.S. should spend more than it did under the Biden administration and “should not go below 3%.”

He said any final decision would be up to Trump, but said “we live in fiscally constrained times” and need to be responsible with taxpayer money.

The U.S. spends about 3.3% of GDP on defense. About two-thirds of all NATO members are spending at least 2% of GDP on defense, which is the current requested level.

Vance will visit the former concentration camp Thursday after he arrives in Munich.

On Friday, he’ll hold talks with Zelensky, says a person familiar with Vance’s schedule who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about events not yet announced.

Vance is set to address the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday.

Dachau was the first concentration camp set up by the Nazis in 1933. More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held there and more than 40,000 prisoners died. U.S. forces liberated the camp during World War II. It’s now a memorial.

— Aamer Madhani

Johnson said he “wholeheartedly” agrees with Vice President JD Vance that courts shouldn’t try to control the president’s power as DOGE slashes through the federal government.

“The courts should take a step back and allow these processes to play out,” Johnson said at the Capitol.

Johnson said he met with Musk as the billionaire’s Department of Government Efficiency is upturning the government — doing what the speaker said Republicans in Congress have been unable to accomplish alone as they try to cut waste.

Dozens of lawsuits are being filed against the Trump administration and several judges are halting its actions.

A memo from the OPM recommends federal employees “consider departure by 2 p.m.” on Tuesday.

Forecasters predict between 4 and 7 inches of snow starting Tuesday afternoon.

It’s the first snow event of President Trump’s second administration, which has prioritized bringing all federal workers back to the office five days a week. And it comes in the midst of a harsher-than-usual winter in the D.C. area. In January, prior to Trump’s inauguration, several inches of snow blanketed the area, closing down schools across the region.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson, Dave Pares, said it’s “important we take a considered approach.”

“We’re working with industry and our U.S. counterparts to work through the detail,” he said. “We are already engaging with the U.S. system on this issue.”

Asked if Britain would impose retaliatory tariffs, he said he wasn’t going to “get ahead of those conversations with industry.”

The U.S. accounted for about 5% of U.K. steel exports in 2023 and 6% of U.K. aluminum exports, according to British government figures.

The charge related to duping donors who gave money to a private effort to build a wall along the U.S. southern border. It’s a case the conservative strategist has decried as a “political persecution.”

Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to one scheme to defraud count as part of a plea agreement that spares him from jail time in the “We Build the Wall” scheme. He received a three-year conditional discharge, which requires he stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment.

Asked how he was feeling as he left the courtroom, Bannon said, “Like a million bucks.”

Bannon spoke to reporters afterward and called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Leticia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Defense attorney Arthur Aidala called the case against Bannon flimsy, saying it was never about his client.

The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

▶ Read more about Steve Bannon and the border wall case

The resignations are in protest of President Trump’s efforts to bring the agency to a standstill.

Eric Halperin, the director of enforcement, and Lorelei Salas, the director of supervision, sent emails this morning announcing their departures.

“As you know we have been ordered to cease all work,” Halperin wrote in an email. “I don’t believe in these conditions I can effectively serve in my role, which is protecting American consumers.”

Salas also said she could not continue to serve in her role.

“I do not believe it is appropriate, nor lawful, to stop all supervisory activities and examinations,” she wrote.

Both emails were viewed by The Associated Press.

It comes the day after Trump announced new 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum that have been decried by Europe.

Von der Leyen earlier Tuesday in a statement said the U.S. tariffs “will not go unanswered” and will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc.

Neither Vice President Vance nor von der Leyen directly address the tariffs in their brief comments to reporters.

Vance said he expected they would discuss trade and economic issues as well as security. Trump has been pressing for NATO members to dramatically increase domestic spending.

“We also want to make sure that we’re actually engaged in a security partnership that’s good for both Europe and the United States,” Vance said.

Von der Leyen said she hoped Europe and the United States could work together with “optimism.”

As of Friday, 65,000 workers had accepted the offer to quit while still getting paid until Sept. 30. An administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal figures, said the number has been growing since then.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. heard arguments over the deferred resignation program Monday in his Boston courtroom. Labor unions said the plan is illegal, while administration lawyers described it as a fair offer to workers.

— Chris Megerian

In a social media post, he says he’s directing EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate less energy efficient water standards issued in his first term. Trump incorrectly described Zeldin as “Secretary” and many of the standards he cited are regulated by the Energy Department.

Trump on his first day back in office pledged to “empower consumer choice” in vehicles, showerheads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs and dishwashers. He repeatedly pushed changes in his first term to increase water flow for showers and continue production of incandescent lightbulbs that are being phased out.

Most U.S. manufacturers comply with energy efficient standards imposed by Joe Biden and other presidents.

Ebrard pointed out that Mexico imports more steel from the United States than it exports to the U.S. And while steel imports from the U.S. have risen over the past two years, steel exports to the U.S. have fallen.

Furthermore, the U.S. has a trade surplus with Mexico when it comes to the value of steel and aluminum crossing the border.

“It’s unjust taking into account President Trump’s own statements,” he said.

Ebrard said Mexico will take this information to the Trump administration urging “common sense.”

“Don’t destroy what we have built over the last 40 years,” he said.

FILE - President Donald Trump stands with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, June 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump stands with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, June 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

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