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Hello and welcome to the American political ongoing coverage. I am Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.

The President Dismisses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Danger Concerns

We start with the development that Donald Trump intensified his attacks against GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on the weekend, despite his reversal on opposing the disclosure of the Epstein files.

He continued to dismiss her assertion that his criticism were endangering her and said he did not think anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman remarked on Saturday that Trump’s online criticism had unleashed a wave of menaces aimed at her.

“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene,” he said, speaking of the lawmaker. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” the president informed reporters before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday evening.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US House of Representatives representative from Georgia who was long known as a staunch Trump supporter, has lately adopted stances at odds with the commander-in-chief. She noted on Saturday she has been contacted by security companies warning about her security and that strong criticisms against her have in the past resulted in death threats.

Jeffrey Epstein Documents Release Push

This dispute came as Trump urged his GOP colleagues in Congress to support the publication of records concerning the deceased convicted sex offender Epstein, reversing his earlier resistance to such a move.

His message on his Truth Social came after House speaker Mike Johnson said earlier that he thought a decision on making public DOJ documents in the Epstein case should help dispel claims “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: “House Republicans should support unsealing the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.

“And it’s time to put behind us this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by far-left activists in order to deflect from the Great Success of the GOP, including our recent Victory on the government funding issue,” he said.

Although the President and Epstein were seen together decades ago, the president has claimed the two men had a disagreement before Epstein's legal troubles. Messages disclosed last week by a House committee indicated the disgraced financier, who took his own life in jail in recent years, believed Trump “was aware of the girls,” though it was not clear what that statement meant.

Other Updates

• GOP representative Thomas Massie had questioned Trump over whether the US president was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the complete records on the late sex offender Epstein from being disclosed by initiating a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives spearheading the cross-party effort to make all the files in the possession of the government public both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the White House.
• US forces conducted a further strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Pacific region on the weekend, killing three individuals aboard, the Department of Defense said on the following day. “Intelligence confirmed that the boat was engaged in illegal drug trafficking, traveling on a established drug route, and carrying drugs,” the military command stated in a message on social media.
• The President said the United States may open talks with President Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who is under growing scrutiny from Washington during a significant military deployment in the Caribbean. “We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. Venezuela would like to talk,” the commander-in-chief said on that day, in one of the initial indications of a potential way to easing the growingly strained circumstances in the region.
• Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed worries about right-wing pundit the commentator's recent interview with a extremist figure recognized for his antisemitic views, which has created a division within the Republican party. Trump defended the host, noting the ex-media personality has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He added if Carlson wants to interview the activist, whose supporters see themselves as working to preserve America’s white, Christian identity, then “individuals have to make up their own minds.” Trump did not condemn the commentator or Fuentes.
• Trump indicated on that day that he intends to have a discussion with NYC's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and stated they will “reach an agreement”, in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have portrayed one another as opponents. He has for an extended period slammed Mr Mamdani, incorrectly describing him as a “socialist” and forecasting the ruin of his city, NYC, if the progressive were elected.
• A collective of seventeen transgender military personnel has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for refusing them early retirement pensions and benefits. The complaint, filed in federal court, describes the administration's action against them as “illegal and unjustified”.