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Greetings and salutations to the US politics live blog. I am Tom Ambrose, and I will be bringing you all the latest developments over the coming hours.

Trump Rejects Marjorie Taylor Greene's Danger Concerns

We start with the news that Donald Trump intensified his criticism of GOP congresswoman Representative Greene on the weekend, despite his reversal on opposing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.

He persisted in rejecting her assertion that his remarks were putting at risk her and said he did not believe anyone was targeting her. The congresswoman remarked on the previous day that Trump’s social media posts had unleashed a surge of menaces directed at her.

“Greene the ‘Traitor’,” he remarked, speaking of the congresswoman. “I don’t think her life is in danger... I doubt anybody cares about her,” the president told reporters before boarding his presidential plane on Sunday night.

Greene, a US House of Representatives representative from the state of Georgia who was previously considered a staunch Trump supporter, has recently adopted stances at odds with the president. She said on Saturday she has been alerted by private security firms expressing concern for her safety and that strong criticisms against her have previously led to threats on her life.

Epstein Files Release Initiative

This dispute occurred while Trump encouraged his fellow Republicans in the legislature to support the release of records concerning the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his prior opposition to such a move.

His message on his Truth Social came after Speaker Johnson said earlier that he thought a vote on making public justice department files in the Epstein investigation should help dispel allegations “that he [Trump] has any involvement”.

He posted on his social media account on Sunday: “GOP lawmakers 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 Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the significant achievements of the GOP, including our latest win on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he said.

While the President and Epstein were seen together decades ago, the commander-in-chief has claimed the two men fell out before Epstein’s convictions. Messages released recently by a House committee showed the convicted sex offender, who took his own life in jail in recent years, thought the President “knew about the girls,” though it was not clear what that phrase signified.

Additional Developments

• Republican congressman Congressman Massie had challenged the President over whether the commander-in-chief was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the complete records on the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from being disclosed by initiating a fresh investigation. The congressman and Democratic representative Representative Khanna, the two US representatives leading the cross-party effort to make all the documents held by the authorities available both raised fresh concerns about the actions by the White House.
• The United States conducted a further strike on an suspected drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on the weekend, resulting in the deaths of three individuals aboard, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. “Information confirmed that the vessel was engaged in illegal drug trafficking, traveling on a established drug route, and transporting drugs,” the US Southern Command announced in a post on social media.
• Trump indicated the US may begin discussions with Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, who faces growing scrutiny from Washington during a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean region. “We could initiate some discussions with the Venezuelan leader, and we’ll observe how that develops. They would like to talk,” the US president remarked on Sunday, in one of the first signs of a potential way to defusing the increasingly tense circumstances in the region.
• Donald Trump on the weekend brushed aside worries about right-wing pundit the commentator's latest discussion with a far-right activist known for his antisemitic views, which has caused a schism within the Republican party. The President supported Carlson, noting the former Fox News host has “said positive remarks about me over the years.” He added if he chooses to interview the activist, whose supporters see themselves as working to preserve the nation's cultural heritage, then “individuals have to decide.” Trump did not condemn the commentator or Fuentes.
• Trump indicated on that day that he plans to have a discussion with NYC's incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani and stated they will “work something out”, in what could be a detente for the GOP leader and Democratic rising star who have portrayed one another as opponents. He has for months criticized Mr Mamdani, falsely labelling him as a “socialist” and forecasting the ruin of his city, NYC, if the progressive were elected.
• A group of seventeen trans military personnel has sued the Trump administration for denying them early retirement pensions and entitlements. The legal filing, filed in a US court, describes the administration's action against them as “illegal and unjustified”.