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Greetings and salutations to the American political live blog. This is Tom Ambrose, and I will be providing you with all the most recent developments over the coming hours.

The President Rejects Greene's Danger Concerns

We begin with the news that Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Republican lawmaker Representative Greene on the weekend, even as his reversal on opposing the release of the Epstein files.

He continued to dismiss her claim that his criticism were endangering her and said he did not believe anyone was focusing on her. The congresswoman said on the previous day that the President's social media posts had unleashed a wave of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, speaking of the lawmaker. “I do not believe her life is in danger... I don’t think anybody cares about her,” Trump told the press before boarding Air Force One on Sunday evening.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US House of Representatives member from the state of Georgia who was long known as a staunch Trump supporter, has lately adopted stances contrary to the president. She noted on the weekend she has been contacted by security companies warning about her safety and that harsh attacks against her have previously resulted in threats on her life.

Epstein Files Release Initiative

This dispute occurred while Trump encouraged his GOP colleagues in Congress to vote for the publication of records concerning the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, changing his prior opposition to such a action.

His message on his social media platform came after House speaker Mike Johnson previously stated that he believed a decision on releasing DOJ files in the Epstein investigation should help put to rest claims “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.

Trump wrote on his social media account on Sunday: “GOP lawmakers should vote to release the Epstein documents, because we have nothing to hide.

“Now is the moment to put behind us this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our latest win on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he said.

Although the President and Epstein were seen together decades ago, the commander-in-chief has said the two men had a disagreement before Epstein's legal troubles. Emails released last week by a congressional panel indicated the convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in prison in recent years, believed the President “was aware of the girls,” though it was uncertain what that statement signified.

Other Developments

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had questioned Trump over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “final attempt” to prevent the full files on the deceased convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Representative Khanna, the two lawmakers spearheading the cross-party effort to have all the documents in the possession of the government public both raised fresh concerns about the steps by the White House.
• The United States conducted another strike on an suspected narcotics smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific on the weekend, resulting in the deaths of three people aboard, the Department of Defense announced on the following day. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying drugs,” the military command announced in a message on online platforms.
• The President said the US may begin discussions with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, who faces escalating pressure from the US government during a huge military deployment in the Caribbean. “We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. Venezuela would want to talk,” the commander-in-chief remarked on that day, in one of the first signs of a possible path to easing the increasingly tense situation in the region.
• Donald Trump on Sunday brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit the commentator's latest discussion with a far-right activist recognized for his antisemitic views, which has caused a division within the Republican party. The President defended Carlson, saying the ex-media personality has “expressed positive remarks about me in the past.” He added if he chooses to speak with Nick Fuentes, whose supporters consider themselves working to preserve the nation's white, Christian identity, then “individuals have to make up their own minds.” Trump did not criticize the commentator or Fuentes.
• The President indicated on Sunday that he plans to have a discussion with New York City’s mayor-elect Mamdani and said they will “work something out”, in what could be a detente for the GOP leader and Democratic political star who have cast each other as opponents. He has for months criticized the mayor-elect, falsely describing him as a “communist” and predicting the ruin of his city, New York, if the progressive were elected.
• A collective of seventeen trans US air force members has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for denying them early retirement pensions and entitlements. The complaint, submitted in federal court, describes the administration's action against them as “illegal and unjustified”.