US President Donald Trump said that he expects Kiev to act quickly on the issue of resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
“They are making progress, but I hope the Ukrainians act quickly because Russia is ready“, Trump said during a meeting with reporters at the White House. "Every time they delay, Russia changes its mind," he added.
Trump believes agreements to resolve the Ukraine crisis can be reached soon.
"I have said many times that I have resolved eight wars," Trump said, adding that he had mistakenly thought that resolving Ukraine was "one of the easy" questions.
“Because of the hostility and the hatred, it's been a little harder than we thought, but there's a chance we'll do it, maybe soon“, the American leader said.
Trump said his administration is not required to seek congressional approval for possible strikes on ground targets in Venezuela that are allegedly linked to drug cartels.
“I don't have to tell them. It's proven“, he said, without specifying what evidence he had in mind. “But I have no problem doing it“, the president stressed, referring to the possibility of seeking such approval from Congress.
Trump announced that he was considering three or four candidates for the post of chairman of the Federal Reserve, the country's central bank.
“We're talking to three or four. I think all of them would be good choices. We will make a decision soon“, added the American leader.
Current officials in the Washington administration have repeatedly stated that the Federal Reserve is guided by political interests and that its board of governors contains many people who oppose the president.
Trump has repeatedly sharply criticized the current Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and hinted that he may seek his dismissal. He has emphasized that the Federal Reserve should consistently lower its key interest rate. The president claims that the financial regulator deliberately did not do this in order to keep the borrowing costs of the US government high.
Powell has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to resign. His term expires in May next year.
The Federal Reserve was created by the US Congress in 1913 as an independent organization within the federal government. Officially, the Federal Reserve reports directly to Congress, not the president.
The US president has signed an executive order to ensure US supremacy in space. The document was released by the White House.
It notes the need to “return Americans to the Moon by 2028“ and establish a permanent base there by 2030. The Trump administration has also outlined a goal of attracting $50 billion in investment in the US space sector by 2028 and “replace the ISS by 2030“
Other priorities include developing a nuclear reactor for deployment on the lunar surface; these technologies should be ready for launch by 2030.
The order also mentions the goal of developing and testing prototypes by 2028 as part of defense programs to create next-generation missiles.
Trump signed an executive order to ease current federal restrictions on the use of marijuana in the United States.
“I am pleased to announce that today I will sign an executive order that reclassifies marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III controlled substance with medical uses,“ the president said in the Oval Office of the White House before signing the document. He said the measures have been "demanded for decades by patients in the United States suffering from severe pain and incurable diseases."
"This does not legalize marijuana in any way, shape, or form, and it does not in any way sanction its use as a recreational drug," the US leader stressed. Schedule III includes drugs that may be less physically or psychologically addictive than Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances.
At the federal level, United States law prohibits the sale, possession, or use of marijuana, which is classified as a drug. Recreational use of marijuana is legal in some states, as well as the District of Columbia. More than 30 other states do not consider it a crime to sell marijuana for medical purposes. In most cases, cannabis use is permitted for people suffering from cancer, glaucoma, and other diseases, as well as during recovery processes after stroke, certain injuries, and depression.