Senate Democrats condemn Russia over Ukraine war and dare Republicans to object – as it happened
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**6 Mar 2025** 20.41 EST

### Closing summary

We are wrapping up our live coverage for the day, but we will be back on Thursday to keep tracking the second . Here are some of the day’s developments:

- White House press secretary **Karoline Leavitt** sayid **Donald Trump** had agreed to a request from the three Detroit automakers for tariff exemptions for vehicles crossing the US borders with Mexico and Canada. “We spoke with the big three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” Leavitt said, referring to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement governing trade between the nations.
- The supreme court has  that USAid disburse $1.5b in payments to its partners, a setback in the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the agency. The lower court will now determine when the aid agency must pay its bills, while four of the court’s conservatives signed a dissent complaining that the decision .
- The White House confirmed that the US is in direct negotiations with Hamas for the first time since the group was formed, despite it being  since 1997. The talks are being lead by **Adam Boehler**, Trump’s son-in-law. Boehler worked with Kushner on the Abraham Accords, to normalize relations between Israel and four nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
- As chief executive of the US International Development Finance Corporation during the first Trump administration, Boehler was part of Kushner’s  to ramp up the nation’s ability to manufacture supplies needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Although any particular qualifications he brings to the task of engaging in direct talks with Hamas remain unclear, his social media activity makes it plain that he is a strong supporter of Israel. On Sunday, he reposted a message from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on X that read: “The war in Gaza ends today if Hamas surrenders and frees all 59 hostages.”
- The same day he shared another message from the financier Joe Lonsdale that praised Israel’s military intervention in Syria which read, in part: “UN is a joke and EU lacks any moral clarity; there are few bold forces left in the world willing and able to stand against rampaging Islamists, and their rape and slaughter.”

**5 Mar 2025** 15.29 EST

### White House plans to expand mass layoffs to IRS and Veterans Affairs

**5 Mar 2025** 15.10 EST

**Democrats are outraged at reports that the  wants to cut staffing at the department of veterans affairs by about 80,000 employees.**

New York congressman **Pat Ryan**, one of the party’s more vulnerable lawmakers, said:

> “I don’t ever want to hear “thank you for your service” from that draft-dodging coward again. We already lost 20 inpatient beds for mental health and detox at my local VA. The real-world impacts of this on our nation’s heroes cannot be understated.”

The sentiment was echoed by independent Vermont senator **Bernie Sanders**, a leading progressive:

> Trump wants to fire 83k VA workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, decimating the VA & making it harder for veterans to get health care & benefits. When Americans put their lives on the line to defend our country, we must keep our commitments to them — not betray them.

**Georgia** senator **Jon Ossoff**, who is expected to face a tough re-election battle next year, said:

> The Administration must immediately and publicly withdraw any proposal to gut the VA and imperil veterans’ care and benefits.
>
> Already, the chaos, incompetence, and disruption are unacceptable.
>
> Veterans and their families will suffer unnecessarily, and the will of Congress will be ignored.
>
> Until Elon Musk and Donald Trump came on the scene, America never turned its back on our veterans and their families. Their reckless plan to wipe out the VA’s ability to deliver on America’s promise to veterans will backfire on millions of veterans and their families who risked their lives in service for our country.

**5 Mar 2025** 14.51 EST

### Macron warns Europe to be 'ready' for US not to stand by its side

**5 Mar 2025** 14.33 EST

The shock waves from **Donald Trump**’s tense meeting with **Volodymyr Zelenskyy** and decision to suspend aid to Ukraine continue to be felt in Europe, where French the president, **Emmanuel Macron**, has warned his country to be “ready” for the United States to no longer stand by its side.

“We are entering a new era,” Macron said in a recorded address in which he also insisted that Russia will remain a threat to France and Europe as a whole.

We have live blog covering all the latest news from the continent across the Atlantic, and you can read it here:

[](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2ffd5f372f2f9419efb7d70577d59d6c50a00e6a/2093_629_4927_2772/4927.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)

Updated at 14.34 EST

**5 Mar 2025** 14.10 EST

### White House confirms that US is negotiating directly with Hamas

**5 Mar 2025** 14.10 EST

The White House press secretary has confirmed a report that the US is in direct negotiations with Hamas for the first time since the group was formed, despite it being  since 1997.

Earlier today Axios reported that **Adam Boehler**, a special envoy for hostages held in Gaza, had been engaging Hamas officials in Doha, without mediation.

**Karoline Leavitt**, the press secretary, confirmed the report and said that Boehler had the authority to talk to anyone “to do what’s in the best interest of the American people”, though US officials frequently say they don’t negotiate with terrorists.

Leavitt didn’t say what the US officials were discussing with Hamas but said that Israel had been informed prior to talks taking place.

**5 Mar 2025** 14.33 EST

### State department officials pen dissent cable urging Rubio to save USAid – report

**5 Mar 2025** 14.15 EST

Hundreds of state department employees have signed a dissent cable urging top diplomat **Marco Rubio** to stop the dismantling of USAid, .

“We dissent not out of opposition to the administration, but because we have dedicated our lives to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” read the message, which was signed by more than 700 foreign services officers, state department officials as well as employees of the hobbled aid agency.

“The current trajectory endangers American lives, weakens our global standing, cedes influence to authoritarian competitors, and undermines our economic dominance. We urge a course correction before irreparable damage is done to US leadership, security, and moral authority in the world.”

Rubio has supported **Donald Trump**’s efforts to destroy the longstanding organization tasked with implementing Washington’s foreign aid agenda. Earlier today, the supreme court upheld a federal judge’s ruling ordering USAid to pay bills totaling $1.5b to its partners.

**5 Mar 2025** 14.34 EST
```