Adam Taylor

U.S. plans to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel, Russia Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other claims.

POST EXCLUSIVE (GIFT LINK) The Trump administration intends to dramatically limit U.S. government criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, all with extensive records of abusing human rights @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social report

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Inside Marco Rubio’s meteoric — and precarious — rise in Trumpworld Rubio, once a Trump rival, has scrapped his old foreign policy playbook and courted MAGA dignitaries while avoiding the missteps of other Cabinet members.

“Some of his former colleagues were hoping he would be the ‘adult in the room.’ That is a very warped view of our constitutional system."

Inside Marco Rubio’s meteoric — and precarious — rise in Trumpworld

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Trump team urged Ukraine to take U.S. deportees amid war, documents show The extraordinary request illustrates the administration’s aggressive bid to identify willing partners who will accept people expelled by the U.S.

Trump team wanted Ukraine to take U.S. deportees amid war, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post that indicate Trump made similar demands of other countries at same time. @mradamtaylor.bsky.social
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Trump team urged Ukraine to take U.S. deportees amid war, documents show The extraordinary request illustrates the administration’s aggressive bid to identify willing partners who will accept people expelled by the U.S.

SCOOP by @mradamtaylor.bsky.social: Trump team urged Ukraine to take U.S. deportees, documents show --an extraordinary request of a nation at war & dependent on U.S. military & financial support. w/ Sarah Blaskey and @siobhanogrady.bsky.social

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After 100 days, the toll of Trump’s foreign aid cuts has begun to sink in wapo.st/4d0fePB Includes USAID and PEPFAR
@sammywestfall.bsky.social

Rubio unveils sweeping reorganization of State Department The Trump administration’s proposed shake-up of the State Department targets human rights programs and others focused on war crimes and democracy.

BREAKING Rubio’s State Department shakeup targets programs that focus on human rights, war crimes and democracy @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social report

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

It did not — I think as a separate agency they would not be included in state budget

🚨I have a new beat at The Washington Post, covering the Trump administration's foreign policy with a focus on the State Department. If you have something to share, reach out to me at Adam.Taylor@washpost.com or mradamtaylor.01 on Signal 🚨

Trump plan would slash State Dept. funding by nearly half, memo says An internal document reviewed by The Post targets spending on humanitarian assistance, global health and international organizations such as the U.N. and NATO.

SCOOP w/ @johnphudson.bsky.social : We got a look at Trump OMB proposals for cuts to State/USAID budget. Among them:

- 48% total budget cut
- Humanitarian assistance cut by 54%, Global health 55 %
- Funding for UN, NATO cut
- Fulbright eliminated

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

2 questions.

1. Would Trump have gotten angry if Vance hadn't first? Listening to the full conversation, I'm not sure.
2. Some analysts had been surprised at draft framework for the U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal, finding better terms than expected for Kyiv. Was it sincere proposal?

Tears and shock in Ukraine and Europe after heated Zelensky-Trump meeting “I’m just crying because of what I hear,” one Ukrainian lawmaker said of the meeting, echoing the reactions of others on the continent.

"Just the word 'wow' is how Oleksandr, 40, a Ukrainian military officer fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, responded to the footage of the argument.

'We still have a lot of work to be done,' he wrote. 'Better war, than shameful peace.'"
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

What are Ukraine’s critical minerals actually worth? No one knows. Trump’s meeting with Zelensky comes as Washington and Kyiv hammer out a mineral deal, with war aid on the line. But the value of Ukraine’s minerals remains murky.

The Ukraine-U.S. deal hinges on huge deposits of critical minerals. But how much are these deposits actually worth? Experts aren’t so sure. wapo.st/4iilaoF

German election winner seeks ‘independence’ from U.S. What does that mean? Friedrich Merz said that Europe needed to “achieve independence from the U.S., step by step.” That won’t be easy, for Europe or for the United States.

Friedrich Merz, Germany's new conservative leader, says that Europe urgently needs "independence" from the United States. What would that actually mean?

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

German election winner seeks ‘independence’ from U.S. What does that mean? Friedrich Merz said that Europe needed to “achieve independence from the U.S., step by step.” That won’t be easy, for Europe or for the United States.

Friedrich Merz, Germany's new conservative leader, says that Europe urgently needs "independence" from the United States. What would that actually mean?

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Book Review: ‘All or Nothing,’ by Michael Wolff In “All or Nothing,” the Trump biographer shows that he is his favorite subject’s perfect twin.

"Wolff’s reportorial style has caused consternation in the past — his narrative can sometimes veer into the improbably telepathic — but what could be more appropriate for a president who exists in an alternate reality?" www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/b...

Conservatives heading to victory in German election; far right surges The Christian Democratic Union has won a plurality in the Bundestag, preliminary exit polls suggested Sunday, while the far-right AfD has come in second.

The far-right AfD, backed by JD Vance and Elon Musk, took nearly 20 percent for second in the German federal elections Sunday, exit polls suggest. Mainstream parties plan to form a coalition without them // Kate Brady Bill Booth @mradamtaylor.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

NEW: Data analysis by @dfrlab.bsky.social and @algorithmwatch.bsky.social shows how Elon Musk's promotion of AfD on X ahead of Sunday's German election brought the far right party a massive new online audience.

Read more here:

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NEW: Data analysis by @dfrlab.bsky.social and @algorithmwatch.bsky.social shows how Elon Musk's promotion of AfD on X ahead of Sunday's German election brought the far right party a massive new online audience.

Read more here:

wapo.st/3XyyZrh

Sweden to tighten gun laws, restrict AR-15-style rifles, after mass shooting Sweden is set to tighten its gun laws, including a ban on certain semiautomatic weapons, after a mass shooting that left 11 people dead.

Sweden to tighten gun laws, restrict AR-15-style rifles, after mass shooting that left 11 people dead, by @mradamtaylor.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0... via @washingtonpost.com #GunViolence #GunControl

What is making Gaza ‘uninhabitable’? Unexploded bombs and more. Trump says the destruction in Gaza means “no one can live there.” But experts say the enclave can be rebuilt without the mass displacement of all Palestinians.

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Bomb the area, gas the tunnels: Israel’s war on Gaza’s underground The Israeli army decimated entire residential blocks with bunker-buster bombs to crush the passages below and flood them with lethal fumes.

"When targeting senior commanders in the group, the Israeli military authorized the killing of 'triple-digit numbers' of Palestinian civilians as 'collateral damage,' and maintained close real-time coordination with US officials regarding the expected casualty figures"
www.972mag.com/tunnels-hama...

Records undercut Tulsi Gabbard’s claim of ignorance on cleric’s views Trump’s nominee for director of intelligence said, under oath, that she was not aware “until today” that a prominent cleric she met in Syria threatened to unleash suicide bombers in the United States....

POST EXCLUSIVE Tulsi Gabbard said under oath she didn’t know “until today” that a cleric she met in Syria threatened to unleash suicide bombers in the U.S. Documents from 2017 indicate she was told then @jonswaine.bsky.social and @ellenwapo.bsky.social report
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Anti-HIV program in crisis as Trump aid pause sows confusion The State Department issued a waiver for lifesaving aid, but HIV clinics remain shut and uncertainty lingers over the future of PEPFAR, which saved 25 million lives.

PEPFAR-funded HIV clinics in Africa are still closed, despite a humanitarian waiver from Secretary Rubio to an all encompassing aid pause under the Trump admin.

“Complete disruption,” says one advocate.

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Funds for fight against HIV/AIDS paused in Trump aid freeze The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, is credited with saving 25 million lives worldwide and has long enjoyed bipartisan support.

Many sudden and shocking health care developments this week. But this was a big one: The Trump administration on Friday paused funding for PEPFAR, the famed program to fight HIV/AIDS around the world.

@mradamtaylor.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social Missy Ryan + a little help from me

Accidental Wes Anderson

For our latest cover, a harrowing piece by @lilashapiro.bsky.social on the sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman www.vulture.com/article/neil...

Account of Trump Jnrs visit to Greenland, from a local who filmed them for intentional news agencies washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/…

Israel moves to make heavy bombs, but U.S. reliance hard to shake, experts say Israel said last week it would move to produce heavy bombs and raw materials for defense domestically, after learning “a central lesson from the war” in Gaza.

"Building production capabilities takes time & lots of funds—just look at the US struggles to increase capacity for globally needed munitions," MEDC's @sethbinder.bsky.social tells @mradamtaylor.bsky.social on Israel's push to produce heavy bombs domestically.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

My @washingtonpost.com colleague Brianna Sacks, who's been reporting from the L.A. fires, says, "I just had to call and tell my dad his house is gone." www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...