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Hello and welcome to the American political live blog. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the latest developments over the coming hours.

Trump Dismisses Greene's Safety Concerns

We start with the development that Donald Trump intensified his criticism of GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday, even as his reversal on resisting the release of the Epstein files.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his remarks were endangering her and stated he did not think anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman said on Saturday that the President's online criticism had triggered a wave of menaces aimed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, speaking of the congresswoman. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody is concerned for her,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday night.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US House of Representatives representative from the state of Georgia who was long known as a staunch Trump supporter, has recently taken positions contrary to the president. She noted on Saturday she has been contacted by security companies warning about her safety and that harsh attacks against her have in the past led to death threats.

Epstein Files Disclosure Push

This dispute came as the President encouraged his fellow Republicans in the legislature to vote for the release of records concerning the late disgraced financier Epstein, changing his prior opposition to such a move.

His message on his social media platform followed Speaker Johnson previously stated that he believed a decision on making public DOJ files in the Epstein case should help put to rest claims “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

He posted on his social media account on that day: “House Republicans should support unsealing the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.

“Now is the moment 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 added.

While the President and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the commander-in-chief has said the two men fell out before Epstein's legal troubles. Messages released last week by a House committee indicated the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in prison in recent years, believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though it was uncertain what that statement meant.

Other Developments

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had challenged Trump over whether the US president was making a “final attempt” to prevent the complete records on the late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by initiating a new probe. The congressman and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two lawmakers spearheading the bipartisan push to have all the files held by the authorities available both expressed new worries about the actions by the administration.
• US forces carried out another attack on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Pacific region on Saturday, killing three people on board, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. “Intelligence verified that the boat was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, traveling on a known narco-trafficking route, and transporting drugs,” the military command stated in a message on social media.
• The President said the US may begin discussions with President Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who faces escalating pressure from Washington amid a huge military deployment in the Caribbean. “We may be having some talks with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll see how that develops. Venezuela would like to talk,” the commander-in-chief said on Sunday, in one of the first signs of a potential way to easing the increasingly tense situation in the area.
• Donald Trump on the weekend dismissed concerns about right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson's latest discussion with a far-right activist recognized for his anti-Jewish sentiments, which has caused a division within the Republican party. Trump defended the host, saying the former Fox News host has “expressed positive remarks about me over the years.” He said if he chooses to speak with Nick Fuentes, whose supporters consider themselves defending the nation's white, Christian identity, then “individuals have to decide.” He did not criticize Carlson or the activist.
• Trump suggested on Sunday that he intends to have a discussion with NYC's mayor-elect Mamdani and said they will “work something out”, in what could be a truce for the GOP leader and Democratic political star who have cast each other as opponents. Trump has for months criticized the mayor-elect, falsely labelling him as a “communist” and predicting the decline of his city, NYC, if the democratic socialist were chosen.
• A collective of seventeen trans US air force members has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for denying them retirement benefits and benefits. The legal filing, filed in federal court, describes the government’s move against them as “illegal and unjustified”.