The executive order, which uses cold war era legislation, instructs government agencies, including the defence department, to prioritise mining projects as well as providing technical and financial support to boost critical mineral production.

It comes as a trade war escalates with China, which has overwhelming control over the supply chain of some critical minerals.

Last year, Beijing banned the sale of some critical minerals to the US, forcing American firms to look for other sources of the vital materials.

“Our national and economic security are now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers’ mineral production,” the executive order said.

“It is imperative for our national security that the United States take immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent.”

The order also calls for the speeding up of permits for mining and processing projects as well as instructing the US Department of the Interior to prioritise mineral production on federal land.

Despite having some critical mineral deposits, the US relies heavily on other countries for its supplies.

Trump’s tariffs on a wide range of imports have sparked trade tensions with some of its main suppliers like China and Canada.

Critical minerals are vital to the production of key technologies ranging from batteries to advanced weapons systems.

Trump has also been eager to gain access to Ukraine’s critical minerals.

He said on Thursday that a deal will be signed “very shortly”.

“We’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world, but in particular Ukraine”.

Aside from Ukraine, the US is negotiating a potential deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo over its mineral resources.

The US President Trump has also talked about taking over the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, which is rich on rare earths.

A US federal judge has questioned why the Trump administration failed to obey his order halting the deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.

James Boasberg, the top federal judge in Washington DC, ordered deportation flights to be turned around on Saturday night.

White House officials argued in a court filing that they did not defy the ruling. The argued in part that because Boasberg’s order was made orally rather than in written form, it was not enforceable – and that the planes had already left the US by the time it was issued.

Boasberg has ordered the administration to give further details about the deportations by noon (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

He has requested further details about the timing of the order under which the deportations occurred, as well as details about the flights themselves.

During a hearing on Monday, Boasberg said he clearly ordered the government to turn the planes around.

“You’re saying that you felt you could disregard it because it wasn’t in a written order?” he asked Department of Justice lawyers.

In the same hearing on Monday, the judge said he would not make another ruling in the case until a hearing scheduled for Friday.

In the meantime, government lawyers said that the deportations had been paused. The Trump administration also asked in a court motion that Boasberg be removed from the case.

The dispute began over the weekend when a group of 238 alleged Venezuelan gang members, plus 23 alleged members of the international MS-13 gang, were sent from the US to a prison in El Salvador.

Announcing the move on Saturday, Trump accused the gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) of “perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States”.

He cited the Alien Enemies Act – legislation dating to 1798 that allows non-citizens to be deported in wartime. The act was last used during World War Two, when it was invoked to arrest and deport citizens of Axis countries.

Campaign groups have questioned Trump’s justification.

The act was used as the basis to deport 137 of the total of 261 people who were deported, the White House said on Monday. The basis on which the other deportees were removed from the US is unclear.

On Saturday, during the hearing that took place as several of the deportation flights were in the air, Boasberg ordered a 14-day pause.

After lawyers told the judge that planes with deportees already had taken off, he reportedly gave a verbal order for the flights to turn back “immediately”, although that directive was not included in a written ruling published shortly thereafter.

Nonetheless, a timeline of events reported by US media suggests the Trump administration had the opportunity to stop at least some of the deportations.

Under the US system of checks and balances, government agencies are expected to comply with a federal judge’s ruling.

But Trump’s Department of Justice argued, citing case law in a filing on Monday, that “an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction”.

Administration officials also pointed out that the five named plaintiffs in the lawsuit that prompted the hearing were not among those deported, and also argued that once the flights left US airspace, the judge’s powers no longer applied.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.”

Neither the US government nor El Salvador has named those who have been deported, or provided details of their alleged criminality or gang membership.

Several relatives of men believed to be among the group told the New York Times that their loved ones did not have gang ties.

The White House, for its part, has insisted that authorities are “sure” that the detainees were gang members, based on intelligence.

Trump’s border tsar, Tom Homan, told reporters at the White House on Monday that Trump did “exactly the right thing”.

“The plane was already over international waters with a plane full of terrorists and significant public safety threats,” he said.

“We removed terrorists. That should be celebrated in this country.

El Salvador has agreed to accept the deportees from the US.

The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, appeared to mock the judge’s ruling.

“Oopsie… Too late,” he posted on social media, along with a picture of a headline announcing the ruling and a ‘crying with laughter’ emoji.

His team also published footage of some of the detainees inside one of its mega-jails.

According to the White House, El Salvador’s government received $6m (£4.62m) to take the detainees, which Leavitt said “is pennies on the dollar” compared to the cost of holding inmates in US prisons.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which brought the lawsuit leading to the judge’s order, questioned Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping wartime authority that allows fast-track deportations.

“I think we’re in very dangerous territory here in the United States with the invocation of this law,” said the ACLU’s Lee Gelernt.

The Alien Enemies Act only allowed deportations when the US was in a declared war with that foreign government, or was being invaded, Mr Gelernt said.

“A gang is not invading,” he told BBC News.

Making matters worse was the fact “the administration is saying nobody can review what they’re doing”, Mr Gelernt added.

Amnesty International USA said the deportations were “yet another example of the Trump administration’s racist targeting” of Venezuelans “based on sweeping claims of gang affiliation”.

Venezuela itself criticised Trump, saying he “unjustly criminalises Venezuelan migration”.

The latest deportations under Trump’s second term are part of the president’s long-running campaign against illegal immigration.

The two gangs targeted with the weekend deportations were declared “foreign terrorist organisations” by Trump after returning to the White House in January.

Timeline of the 15 March deportations

• 17:25 EDT: A first flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to data from tracking site Flightradar24. Take off happens while a hearing held by Judge Boasberg is paused. Earlier that afternoon, the White House said Trump was invoking the Alien Enemies Act
• 17:44 EDT: A second flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to Flightradar24
• 18:05 EDT: Boasberg’s hearing resumes
• 18:46 EDT: During the hearing, Boasberg verbally orders the government to turn around the two planes if they are carrying non-citizens, saying: “Any plane containing these folks – because it’s going to take off or it’s in the air – needs to be returned to the United States… This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately”
• 19:26 EDT: Boasberg issues his written ruling which includes a temporary restraining order on any further flights
• 19:36 EDT: A third flight believed to be carrying deportees leaves Texas, according to Flightradar24

President Donald Trump’s administration pulled the nomination of Dave Weldon because “it was clear he did not have the votes in the Senate” to be confirmed, an official told CBS News, BBC’s news partner.

The Senate has so far confirmed every Trump nominee, including his more controversial choices.

Weldon was set to speak before the Senate’s health committee at 10:00 EST (14:00 GMT) on Thursday.

Trump named the 71-year-old, a doctor and former Republican member of the House of Representatives, to lead the health agency in November.

It is the first time a CDC director must be confirmed by the Senate, because of a law passed by Congress in 2022.

The BBC has contacted the White House and Weldon for comment.

The former Republican representative told the New York Times he had mixed feelings about the news.

“It is a shock, but, you know, in some ways, it’s relief,” Weldon said. “Government jobs demand a lot of you, and if God doesn’t want me in it, I’m fine with that.”

The CDC is in charge of vaccine recommendations as well as monitoring infectious disease outbreaks and preventing chronic diseases.

Weldon told the New York Times he had been excited to work with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr – whose agency oversees the CDC – to enact his so-called “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

Weldon said he and Kennedy had been friends for years.

The health secretary has faced criticism over his response to measles outbreaks across the country, which have sickened over 250 people.

Kennedy, who has been critical of measles vaccines and other childhood immunizations, has downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak, calling it “not unusual”, while also promoting treatments not supported by health experts.

Weldon also spread false claims about vaccines, including debunked theories about their ties to autism.

He served as a lawmaker for 14 years, leaving in 2009. For the past 13 years, he has worked as a clinical university professor of biomedical engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, according to his LinkedIn.

In nominating Weldon last year, Trump claimed Americans had lost faith in the CDC, and that Weldon “understands American family values, and views health as one of utmost importance”.

He made the comments during a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin as part of the Irish government’s traditional St Patrick’s Day engagements.

Earlier on Wednesday, the European Union announced it will impose counter tariffs on €26bn ($28bn) worth of US goods from next month.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “There’s a massive deficit that we have with Ireland… we want to sort of even that out as nicely as we can, and we’ll work together.”

Martin told President Trump that foreign investment is a two-way street, adding that Ireland is “investing a lot more in America now”.The EU’s move is in retaliation to President Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, which came into effect overnight.

Trump said it had caused “ill will”.

“The European Union’s been very tough, and it’s our turn too. We get a turn at that also,” he said.

“I’m not knocking it, they are doing what they are doing for the EU, but it does create ill will and you know we are going to do reciprocal tariffs,” he added.

Official figures from Ireland’s statistics agency suggest the country had a goods-trade surplus with the US of just over €50bn (£41.6bn) in 2024.

Ireland’s goods exports to the US were €72.6bn (£60.4bn) in 2024 while its imports from the US were €22.5bn (£18.7bn).

Trump said that the EU was “set up in order to take advantage of the United States”.

When asked if Ireland was also taking advantage of the US, Trump said: “Of course.”

“I have great respect for Ireland, for what they did and they should have done just what they did. But the United States shouldn’t have let that happen. We had stupid leaders, we had leaders who didn’t have a clue.”

He added: “All of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies, this beautiful island of five million people has got the entire US pharmaceutical industry in its grasps.

“The Irish are smart, smart people and you took our pharmaceutical companies – and other companies – but you know, through taxation, proper taxation, they made it very, very good for companies to move up there,” he added.

Trump also said that if he drained Ireland of all the US companies “maybe I’d lose the Irish vote”.

“We don’t want to do anything to hurt Ireland, but we do want fairness and [Martin] understands that,” he added.

However, Martin said the pharmaceutical companies “are doing very well in Ireland”, and that there was room to discuss a deal.

“I think there’s room for those companies to grow in America and many of them, by the way, have already announced fairly significant manufacturing investments now [in the US],” the taoiseach added.

Martin said Ireland had served the US companies well with a strong, educated workforce and access to the EU single market.

The president said Ireland’s housing crisis was caused by the country “doing so well”.

Housing availability and cost is a major political and social issue in Ireland, with reports stating thousands of new homes every year are needed to keep up with demand.

“You know why they have a housing crisis? Because they’re doing so well, they can’t produce houses fast enough,” Trump said.

Martin added it was a “good answer”.

However the remark has drawn criticism from opposition parties, with Sinn Féin stating that joking about the housing crisis is “never a good answer”.

Trump also praised Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy and MMA fighter Conor McGregor during the visit.

He called McIlroy “talented”, adding he had played a round with him three weeks ago.

The president also complimented McGregor’s tattoos: “He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen”.

Earlier, the US president said he was unaware that some political parties were boycotting St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House.

Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Alliance all ruled out attending events in Washington over the Trump administration’s stance on Gaza.

When asked about the boycotts, Trump replied: “I haven’t heard that, I really haven’t heard that.”

After the bilateral meeting, both Trump and Martin travelled to Capitol Hill to attend the Friends of Ireland luncheon hosted by the US House speaker, Mike Johnson.

Speaking at the event, Trump said the “Irish spirit is truly alive and thriving in America”.

The president met Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

Speaking to BBC Newsline after the meeting, Little-Pengelly said she had a good conversation with the president about the US and NI’s “long-standing relationship” and his keenness to work together.

However, she added, Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill “should have been here”.

“I’m sure Michelle O’Neill would say she doesn’t think that I should have been here but of course it’s a joint office and I’m here representing the Northern Ireland government,” she said.

“I believe that it’s incredibly important to show up, turn up and speak up and that’s the key thing that I will always do.”

Prior to the meeting, Martin attended a breakfast hosted by Vice-President JD Vance.

Speaking at the breakfast he said that the US “has been a steadfast friend of Ireland for centuries”.

He said the peace process was a “signature achievement of US foreign policy”, adding that Ireland is “ready to play our part in supporting work to end conflict and to secure peace in the Ukraine or in the Middle East or wherever”.

Martin welcomed the “progress that has clearly been made” as a result of the Trump administration’s “unrelenting focus and effort” to secure peace.

Vance described the US-Ireland relationship as “one of the great alliances and great friendships between nations”.

He added that Ireland is a country with “incredible community… beautiful landscape and also a lot of interesting technological growth”.

“One of the more robust areas for us to work on with our Irish friends in the years to come is going to be technology and particularly artificial intelligence,” he said.

The taoiseach was the first EU leader to return to the Oval Office since the president’s bust-up with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The bilateral meeting came amid heightened concern over the future of Ireland’s economy, which is heavily reliant on US multinationals.

Trump sees this as a trade imbalance and is keen to entice those companies back to the US.

However, Martin said he would use his visit to the Oval Office to highlight an “increasingly two-way” trade and investment relationship.

Speaking ahead of Martin’s visit to the Oval Office, Democrat member of the House of Representatives Brendan Boyle told BBC News NI’s The View that “what the Trump administration is doing with respect to tariffs makes no economic sense, and it makes no sense in terms of our national security”.

Boyle said that imposing tariffs on Canada suggests that no country is “safe fully from this sort of madness”, including Ireland.

He added that Martin should “remind President Trump that Ireland, despite its small size, is one of the largest investors in the United States and one of the largest job creators in the United States”.

“On the one hand, [Trump] likes to say, you know, we’re the best, he’s the best, He’s the greatest. Everything is a superlative.

“But then in the next breath, he says, we’re suckers, we’re losers, we’re being taken advantage of by every other country.”

Trump sat in the driver’s seat of a brand new red Tesla that he said he planned to buy, with Musk in the passenger seat, but did not test drive it.

Demonstrators have targeted Tesla showrooms in recent weeks in protest against Musk’s cost-cutting role in Trump’s administration.

Trump said they were “harming a great American company”, and anyone using violence against the electric carmaker would “go through hell”.

The president described the shiny red Model-S, one of a number of Teslas lined up on the White House drive, as “beautiful” but said he was no longer allowed to drive and so would keep the car for the use of White House staff. Current and former presidents are not allowed to drive for security reasons.

He also said he would not want to buy a self-driving model, which Musk said would reach the market next year.

The showcase for Tesla’s cars outside the White House came after Tesla’s market value halved since its all-time peak in December, sliding 15% in a single day on Monday, before recovering slightly on Tuesday.

Trump said he had told Musk, “You know, Elon, I don’t like what’s happening to you, and Tesla’s a great company.”

Musk, Trump’s top donor in the election campaign, has been tasked with radically cutting government spending through his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

He has instigated sweeping cuts to federal workforce, cancelled international aid programmes, and has voiced support for far-right politics.

That has prompted a backlash among Tesla owners.

“Tesla takedown” protests have seen demonstrators gather outside dealerships, in Portland, Oregon, last week, and New York City earlier in March, with the aim of undermining the Tesla brand.

Organisers behind the protests said on social media that the demonstrations were peaceful, but a few have been destructive with fires intentionally set at Tesla showrooms and charging stations in Colorado and Massachusetts last week.

Asked in front of the White House whether such protesters should be labelled “domestic terrorists”, the president said “I will do that”, a position later confirmed by a White House spokesperson.

“You do it to Tesla and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you and you’re going to go through hell,” Trump said.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump blamed Tesla’s share price falls on “radical left lunatics”, who he said were trying to “illegally and collusively boycott” the firm.

However, stock analysts said the main reason for the poor performance of the shares was fear about Tesla meeting production targets and a drop in sales over the past year.

UBS warned that new Tesla deliveries could be much lower than expected this year.

Lindsay James, an investment strategist at Quilter Investors, said that although there was “an element” of Elon Musk’s politics having a “brand impact”, there were other reasons for the share price fall.

Ultimately the drop came down to “hard numbers”, she said.

“When we look at new orders, for example in Europe and China, you can see that they’ve effectively halved over the last year,” she said.

Sales in Europe have fallen sharply this year. Across the continent, they were down 45% in January compared to the same month in 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

There has also been a steep decline in China – a key market – and Australia.

Other experts have said Tesla is over-valued, so the fall is seen as a correction, while others have pointed to rising competition from some of China’s electric vehicle companies.

Investors are “certainly getting more worried about an economic slowdown too, so the richest-valued companies like Tesla have been hit hardest in recent days”, Ms James said.

There have also been concerns that Musk has not been focusing enough of his attention on his firms.

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, he said he was combining the Doge role with running his businesses “with great difficulty”.

Alongside Tesla, his businesses include Space X, which has experienced serious failures in the last two launches of its giant Starship rocket, and the social media network X, which suffered an outage on Monday.

Despite his supportive comments, President Trump’s policies so far have been designed to limit electric car sales in the US, including revoking a 2021 order by former president Joe Biden that half of all car sales should be electric by 2030, and halting unspent government funds for charging stations.

Trump’s tariffs could also hurt the manufacturer. Tesla chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja said in January Tesla parts sourced from Canada and Mexico would be subject to the levies and that this could hit profitability.

Tesla’s share price fall came against a broader US market slump on Monday as investors, concerned about the economic effects of Trump tariffs and weakening confidence in the economy, sold shares.

Trump’s own economic policies on tariffs are also making investors nervous, analysts said.

It had earlier received a tip-off from local police about a “suicidal individual who may be travelling to Washington DC from Indiana”, it said.

Its officers approached a man matching that description, “who brandished a firearm”, adding that shots were fired. The man is now in hospital in an “unknown” condition, it said.

President Donald Trump was not in the White House at the time, as he is spending the weekend at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the statement said.

The incident is now under investigation by Washington’s Metropolitan Police, which investigates all law-enforcement shootings in the District of Columbia.

Zelensky was welcomed to the White House by Trump, but the cordial talks ended in a shouting match in front of the media in the Oval Office as Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to be more thankful for US aid and accused him of “gambling with World War Three”.

A statement from No 10 on Friday night confirmed the prime minister had spoken with the US and Ukrainian presidents and that he retained “unwavering support for Ukraine”.

On Sunday, Sir Keir will host a summit of European leaders to discuss an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia. Zelensky arrives in the UK on Saturday ahead of the meeting.

Speaking on Friday, a No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister has tonight spoken to both President Trump and President Zelensky.

“He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine.”

The Oval Office spat prompted words of support for Zelensky from key European allies including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Friedrich Merz, who is expected to become Germany’s next chancellor, wrote that he stood with Ukraine “in good and testing times”, adding: “We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.”

Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC there remains a “sliver of hope”.

“Trump wants a sustainable peace in Ukraine because he sees this as a very big part in his legacy and he wants that to last for many years,” Hunt told the Today programme.

“He doesn’t want to withdraw from Ukraine and abandon it to the Russians in the way that the United States abandoned Afghanistan to the Taliban, he knows that would be very bad for his reputation, for America’s reputation, so in the end he needs a ceasefire that both Zelensky and Putin are part of.”

Mr Hunt stressed that what was needed for negotiations to restart was “a little bit of time” for “tempers to cool down”.

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In the heated clash at the White House, both Trump and Zelensky interrupted each other repeatedly during what was supposed to be a prelude to the two leaders signing a minerals deal.

US Vice President JD Vance, sat alongside others in the room, was also involved.

A press conference scheduled to take place later in the day was cancelled, and Zelensky was asked to leave the White House before the minerals agreement could be signed.

In a later interview with Fox News, Zelensky said the public spat “was not good” – but the relationship between him and Trump could be salvaged.

Writing on messenger app Telegram on Saturday, Zelensky said: “It is very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after.

“It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world.”

Sir Keir had met with Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, and the pair agreed to begin work on a new US-UK trade deal.

The prime minister also came bearing a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump for a second state visit.

There had been speculation that Sir Keir had also gone into the meeting to seek a US Security “backstop” in a European peace plan for the war in Ukraine. However, the US president stopped short of confirming such a commitment.

Trump had previously criticised Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he met on Monday, of having “done nothing” to seek an end to the war in Ukraine.

Reaction to Friday’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky appeared to largely fall along partisan lines among US politicians, with Republicans praising Trump and Democrats criticising him.

Meanwhile in the UK,Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said in a statement “respectable diplomacy is essential for peace”, adding that a “divided West only benefits Russia”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey suggested Trump and Vance were “bullying the brave true patriot Zelensky into accepting a deal that effectively hands victory to Russia”.

The leader of the SNP at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, said the offer to Trump of a second state visit should be revoked.

In Ukraine, there was broad appreciation for Zelensky holding his ground over what many Ukrainians see as an existential war.

“Trump’s administration was so arrogant,” one man in Kyiv told the BBC. “When you look at Zelensky’s face, you understand that the discussion behind closed doors was not so polite.”

Russia, meanwhile, said Trump and Vance had acted with restraint. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was a miracle the pair had not hit Zelensky.

The order, which takes effect immediately, reverses a measure signed by former President Joe Biden, who had called plastic pollution a “crisis”.

Last week, Trump – who sold branded plastic straws during his 2020 election campaign – said paper straws “don’t work” and “disgustingly” dissolve in the mouths of consumers.

In 2024, Biden ordered a gradual end to US government purchases of plastic straws, as well as plastic cutlery and packaging.

Trump’s directive orders government agencies to stop buying paper straws and calls for a strategy to eliminate them nationwide.

“We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

“These things don’t work, I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode. If something’s hot, they don’t last very long, like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds. It’s a ridiculous situation,” Trump said.

As part of a wider effort to target plastic pollution, the Biden administration last year announced that it would gradually phase out single-use plastics from food packaging, operations and events by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

Trump has been a long-standing critic of paper straws.

During his campaign to be re-elected president in 2020, which he ultimately lost, “Trump” branded plastic straws were sold – at $15 for a pack of 10 – as a replacement for what he called “liberal” paper straws.

In total, the campaign reportedly nearly $500,000 from straw sales in the first few weeks alone.

Some statistics place the number of disposable drinking straws used in the US at 500 million a day – although that figure is hotly disputed and the true total could be about half that.

A number of US cities and states – including Seattle, Washington; California; Oregon; and New Jersey – have adopted rules that limit the use of plastic straws or require that businesses provide them only after being asked by customers.

UN Environment Program statistics show that 460 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced every year, contributing to waste in the ocean and microplastics which can affect human health.

Some studies have shown that paper straws, however, contain significant amounts of “forever chemicals” such as polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

PFAS can stay in the environment for decades, contaminate water supplies and cause a variety of health issues.

The ruling was the latest challenge to sweeping White House plans to cut costs and remake the US government.

US District Judge John McConnell Jr previously ruled that the government should continue to fund programmes authorised by Congress.

On Monday, he said the White House had defied a preliminary injunction that the judge issued after 23 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop the funding freeze. The Trump administration said it would appeal the ruling.

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On 28 January, President Trump signed an order that initially froze hundreds of billions of federal funds, a move that the president said was a short-term measure to hunt for waste and fraud.

It was unclear which government programmes were affected and the move caused widespread panic among millions of people who rely on government funds for health care, pension and veterans’ benefits, and food aid.

The White House rescinded a memo that outlined more detail on what would be frozen but said it was still planning to halt funding.

Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the executive order remained in effect and the White House would continue to pursue a broad funding freeze and cut funds for gender issues and diversity programmes.

The group of attorneys general from Democratic-run states filed a lawsuit and Judge McConnell issued a temporary injunction to halt the plans just days later.

On Monday, the judge said the White House had not complied with his order, although he did not announce a penalty or find administration officials in contempt of court.

McConnell wrote that administration officials argue “that they are just trying to root out fraud. But the freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud.”

The broad freeze, the judge said, was “likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country.”

The Trump administration made a court filing later on Monday, saying it intended to appeal the decision and asked for the court’s orders to be paused.

The ruling is the first to find that the second Trump administration violated a court order. Democrats and their allies have lodged dozens of lawsuits in an attempt to slow or halt Trump’s policies, which he’s enacted with sweeping executive orders at a rapid pace since taking office about three weeks ago.

The Trump administration has taken action to expand the power of the president to control US government funds, and his administration is undertaking a broad set of unilateral cuts through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

The lawsuits could result in one or more Supreme Court rulings on the scope of presidential power.

The funding pause, revealed in a memo sent to government agencies, was due to come into force on Tuesday evening but was stopped by a federal judge at the eleventh hour.

Also on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order targeting transgender medical care for under 19s.

He has signed a number of orders since taking office, aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and reshaping the federal government. He has also issued a number of controversial pardons.

His use of executive orders – both swift and broad – carry the weight of law but can be more easily overturned. Some face legal challenges.

Government spending

Halt to federal aid

A two-page memo from the Office of Management and Budget and sent to government agencies ordered a pause to all grants and loans until mid-February, to ensure all programmes match the administration’s agenda. The action is now on hold.

Doge and Elon Musk

Trump has signed a directive creating the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – a new advisory body on cutting government costs. It is expected to be led by Elon Musk – who Trump separately said would get an office for about 20 employees.

Freeze on federal hiring

Another order halts any new federal hiring – except within the US military and several other categories – until the Trump administration has full control over the government.

Federal employees returning to the office

Trump has also signed a memorandum mandating that federal workers must work in the office and are not allowed to work from home.

Defence

Trump signed an order mandating a process to build a missile defence shield called an Iron Dome to protect the US.

He also enacted moves to reshape the US military by eliminating DEI programmes and reviewing the US of transgender troops.

Immigration

‘National emergency’

Trump has proclaimed that “America’s sovereignty is under attack”, declaring this to be a national emergency that allows him to free up more funding to reinforce the border with Mexico.

Border wall

The same directive tells officials to relaunch efforts to build a border wall with Mexico that was started under his first presidency. This is not an executive order and it is unclear how such an effort might be funded.

Birthright citizenship

Trump has ordered that officials deny the right to citizenship to the children of migrants either in the US illegally or on temporary visas. This faces legal challenges.

Terrorism designation for gangs and cartels

Trump has designated drug cartels and international gangs as foreign terrorist organisations – adding the likes of Salvadoran gang MS-13 to a list that includes the so-called Islamic State.

Shutting down legal routes

The order also shut down a major Biden-era immigration pipeline: a sponsorship initiative that allowed up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the US. It had been designed to cut illegal crossings.

Refugee resettlement

Trump has suspended the US refugee resettlement programme, although details remain unclear.

Tariffs

Trump has said blanket tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could come on 1 February.

He has ordered federal officials to review US trade relationships for unfair practices, including those with Canada, Mexico and China.

A spat with Colombia over deportations sparked a threat by Trump to implement 25% tariffs but a deal was reached to avert a trade war.

Climate and energy

Pull out of the Paris agreement (again)

Trump has signed off on withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement – the landmark international deal to limit rising global temperatures. He will have to wait a year before it happens. He previously withdrew in 2017, before Biden re-entered.

‘Energy emergency’

Trump has declared a “national energy emergency”, promising to fill up oil reserves. In his inaugural address, he vowed to “drill, baby, drill” for more fossil fuels.

Alaskan fuel

He signed an executive order titled “unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential”, pledging to “unlock” oil, gas and other natural resources from the state.

End Green New Deal

Trump has halted the Green New Deal, a series of Biden measures that were aimed at boosting green jobs, regulating the fossil fuel industry and limiting pollution.

World Health Organization

Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the UN’s health body, the World Health Organization (WHO).

This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO, after Biden re-entered it. He was critical of how the Geneva-based institution handled Covid-19.

Transgender people

Trump has declared that the US will only recognise “two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality”. It will affect official documents like passports and visas.

An executive order called “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” will restrict access to gender-affirming medical care such as hormone therapy and surgery for minors9.

DEI

A memo, followed by an executive order, has shut down all the offices of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes within the federal government.

TikTok

Trump has signed a directive postponing by 75 days the implementation of a law that would ban Chinese-owned app TikTok in the US unless a new American owner was found.

Trump formerly backed a TikTok ban, but indicated he reversed course after his campaign videos attracted billions of views.

Pardoning hundreds who stormed US Capitol

Trump has issued pardons for nearly 1,600 of his supporters who were arrested in the riot at the US Capitol in 2021.

He has repeatedly referred to those arrested in the riot as “hostages”. At least 600 were charged with assaulting or impeding federal officers.

Commuting sentences of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys

Trump also commuted sentences for members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, far-right groups who were convicted of seditious conspiracy in relation to the riot.

Anti-abortion activists

Twenty-three people described by the White House as “peaceful pro-life protesters” were pardoned by Trump. Ten of them were prosecuted under the Biden administration for blocking an abortion clinic in Washington DC in 2020.

Silk Road

Trump said he signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, a dark web marketplace where illegal drugs were sold. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 on a narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy but Trump said this was government overreach.

‘American-First’

Trump has announced he is pausing foreign aid, outlining that he wants a review of foreign assistance programs.

Israeli settler sanctions

Trump rescinded sanctions that Biden began imposing on extremist Israeli settlers and settler groups in the occupied West Bank nearly one year ago. The last administration’s executive order was in response to a surge in attacks on Palestinians and their property in the territory.

Regulatory freeze

Another order directs federal agencies to refrain from issuing any new regulations until the Trump administration has full control of the government.

Unvaccinated federal workers

As part of a directive reversing Biden-era policies, Trump revoked a mandate that federal workers must be vaccinated with the Covid vaccine. He has promised to reinstate the 8,000 military service members who were discharged over this.

Tackling inflation

Trump has signed a directive asking every US federal department and agency to address the cost of living. The directive, which is not an executive order, asks agencies to look at lowering the costs of housing, healthcare and key household items, groceries and fuel.

It asks for a report in 30 days. It not clear how the Trump administration intends to lower these costs – and this is not detailed in the directive.

Artificial Intelligence

Trump has signed a directive called the Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, looking to make the US “the global leader in AI”.

It aligns with Trump’s recent announcement of Stargate, a proposed $500bn (£404bn) project aimed at creating massive AI data centres in the US.

Science and technology

This directive establishes what the White House calls the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

The group will consist of no more than 24 members, including an assistant to the president for science and technology and a special adviser for AI and crypto.

The group will be tasked with advising Trump on science and tech matters to inform policy decisions and “harness the full power of American innovation”.

Digital financial technology

Trump has signed an executive order to regulate and promote the crypto industry, and to explore the creation of digital-assets.

Declassification of records on JFK shooting

Trump has signed a directive ordering the release of classified documents related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963, as well as the 1968 killings of Senator Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

‘Gulf of America’ and Alaska’s Mount Denali

Trump has directed the secretary of the interior to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.

The same order also directs the secretary to rename Alaska’s Mount Denali to Mount McKinley – in honour of America’s 25th president admired by Trump.

Federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Trump has signed a directive supporting full federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe, a group of about 55,000 Native Americans who mostly live in one North Carolina county. This brings with it legal rights and government benefits.