President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, on a phone call this week, talked negotiations for ending the nearly three-year war Russia waged in Ukraine, media reported.
Trump said Thursday that Ukraine would have a seat at the table in peace negotiations, after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv’s allies warned against a “dirty deal” leaving Ukraine out of negotiations.
The war has endangered nuclear power plants in Ukraine, notably the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it had to cancel one of its team rotations at the plant due to “intense military activity” in the region.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants to engage in denuclearization talks with Russia and China with the hope of cutting all three defense budgets, media reported.
“There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, predicting China’s stockpile would catch up with the U.S. and Russia’s in the next decade. “You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.”
Trump said he would engage in these talks once “we straighten it all out” in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Both the Senate and House advanced dueling budget resolution proposals out of committee Wednesday and Thursday respectively along party lines for both, giving both budget blueprints for reconciliation.
The House proposal would give a $100 billion increase toward defense spending, whereas the Senate bill would increase defense spending by $150 billion. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also favored an all-encompassing one-bill approach, whereas the Senate is favoring a two-bill approach.
Both proposals now go to the floor for consideration, with next steps including negotiations between both chambers on which proposal to support as the best path toward reconciliation.
Leidos is well positioned to pursue emerging opportunities in two key administration priorities, the Iron Dome of America homeland missile defense system, and border security, CEO of the company Tom Bell said.
The company’s Indirect Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 that is being purchased by the Army, initially as part of the Defense of Guam system, can be deployed to U.S. borders to protect against cruise missiles and drone threats, Bell said.
Bell also highlighted the company’s missile tracking sensors that are part of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Leidos is answering a new information request by the Missile Defense Agency for thoughts on the Iron Dome, he said.
Leidos offers a variety of security detection systems used in border and transportation security that Bell said fit with the administration’s demands.
