Trump’s ‘lone ranger’: How Steve Witkoff became the defacto point man on America’s foreign policy challenges
CNN
Last month a private jet belonging to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff winged its way from Abu Dhabi to Doha to Moscow and Baku, before finally flying to Palm Beach, where Witkoff briefed President Donald Trump on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin— all within the span of a few days.
Last month a private jet belonging to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff winged its way from Abu Dhabi to Doha to Moscow and Baku, before finally flying to Florida, where Witkoff briefed President Donald Trump on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — all within the span of a few days. It was just another week for Witkoff, whose globetrotting is now taking him well beyond his original job as it becomes increasingly clear that he has what few others, if any, in the administration do: the absolute faith of President Trump. The pace in recent weeks has not abated. Witkoff met with Ukrainians and Europeans in Paris on Thursday to discuss driving an end to the Ukraine War, before he was scheduled to zip over to Rome for a second round of talks with Iran to pave the way for a possible nuclear deal. In three short months, Witkoff has become Trump’s defacto point-man on some of the most urgent foreign policy challenges facing the new administration. His expansive remit has at times verged into territory usually reserved for secretaries of state and CIA directors. For someone who’s never worked in government, that’s raised questions in Washington and abroad over how Trump views the other more traditional and experienced foreign policy hands on his team — and whether Witkoff is truly equipped to operate at such a high level on the world stage. “Very few people outside the White House inner circle have worked with him. He operates as quite the lone ranger,” said a longtime US official who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity in order to talk freely. “Doing this shuttle diplomacy without a single expert is definitely unusual. I really can’t explain that. It’s odd and it’s not ideal.”
President Donald Trump this week lashed out at congressional Republicans like he rarely has before.
A Border Patrol agent shot two people in Portland, Oregon, during a traffic stop after authorities said they were associated with a Venezuelan gang, another incident in a string of confrontations with federal authorities that have left Americans frustrated with immigration enforcement during the Trump administration.
The Bella 1 had been tailed by a US Coast Guard cutter across the Atlantic Ocean for almost two weeks when the ship’s crew employed a novel tactic to evade the US military: painting a Russian flag on its hull.
The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.
‘It’s uninvestible’: Trump’s Venezuela pitch met with skepticism from oil executives
FBI Director Kash Patel has named Christopher Raia, a seasoned career agent, to replace Dan Bongino as deputy director, according to people briefed on the matter.
President Donald Trump faced Republican defections on a series of split votes this week, but his willingness to call out members of his own party convinced some wavering lawmakers to stay in line.
Trump’s description of the Mexican trafficking world – one dominated by a few cartels that can be swiftly defeated – is at odds with how the crime organizations actually operate, experts say.
The Virginian man accused of planting two bombs in Washington, DC, five years ago pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of transporting and attempting to use explosives.
A US State Department team traveled to Venezuela on Friday for the first time since the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, according to a US official. CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon reports from Bogota.
Oregon authorities are investigating a shooting by a Border Patrol agent in Portland that wounded two people federal authorities say are tied to a violent international gang – an incident that renewed questions about the Trump administration’s handling of its immigration crackdown in the city and across the US.
A US State Department team traveled to Venezuela on Friday for the first time since the ouster of Nicolas Maduro, according to a US official.
Mutual distrust between federal and state authorities derailed plans for a joint FBI and state criminal investigation into Wednesday’s shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer, leading to the highly unusual move by the Justice Department to block state investigators from participating in the probe.