Trump aides tried to block appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to US, reports say – US politics live

<p>Senior figures said to have been skeptical over Keir Starmer’s appointment of ‘arrogant’ veteran politician, later sacked over connections to Jeffrey Epstein</p><p>Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.</p><p><strong>Donald Trump’s presidential transition team repeatedly intervened in UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, it has been reported.</strong></p><p>Trump’s aides were particularly exercised that Mandelson could be made ambassador after he had made<strong> </strong>disparaging public remarks about the president in the past, according to both officials.</p><p><strong>Donald Trump</strong> created an extremely awkward moment for Japan’s prime minister, <strong>Sanae Takaichi</strong>, in the Oval Office on Thursday when he responded to a question from a Japanese reporter about why the US attacked Iran without warning allies like Japan, by joking about Imperial Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.</p><p>Japan’s prime minister said later she explained to Trump that Japan’s ability to deploy military forces overseas, as he wants, is still limited by the constitution drafted for Japan by the United States after the second world war.</p><p>A federal arts commission approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing <strong>Donald Trump</strong>’s image to celebrate the US’s 250th birthday on 4 July.</p><p>The John F Kennedy Presidential Library foundation <a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/about-us/news-and-press/press-releases/2026-profile-in-courage-award-announcement-release">announced</a> on Thursday that it is awarding Profile in Courage awards to staunch opponents of Donald Trump: the Federal Reserve chair, <strong>Jerome Powell</strong> and <strong>the</strong> <strong>people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota.</strong></p><p>Senator <strong>Thom Tillis</strong>, the North Carolina Republican who has shown a willingness to cross Trump since he announced that he will not run for re-election, said he will not vote to eliminate the filibuster to force changes to US election law.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/mar/20/trump-mandelson-starmer-supreme-court-iran-us-politics-latest-news-updates">Continue reading...</a>

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