The Trump administration is seeking to cool tensions between the U.S. and China, after Beijing unveiled plans to impose export controls on rare-earth magnets and after the U.S. threatened more stringent tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation. 

Rare-earth elements are used in products such as electric cars, household appliances, lithium batteries and camera lenses — and are critical to national security because the magnets are key components in many weapons systems.

The export controls directly affect the defense supply chain since the magnets are used in F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Tomahawk missiles and radar systems, among other platforms.

A Virginia-class submarine is outfitted with more than 9,200 pounds of rare-earth elements, while F-35 fighter jets contain more than 900 pounds, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

China plays a critical role in producing these elements. It is responsible for mining roughly 60% of the world’s rare earth minerals and processing nearly 90% as of 2024, according to CSIS.

China unveiled plans Thursday to expand export controls to include five additional rare-earth metals — holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium — adding to seven previously restricted in April.

Gracelin Baskaran, the director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at CSIS, said that the export controls will require all foreign companies to secure Chinese approval to export magnets that contain even small amounts of rare earth elements from China, or were made using Chinese technology. 

‘China’s new rules mark its toughest move yet against the defense sector. Beginning December 1, 2025, firms linked to foreign militaries – including the United States – will be largely denied export licenses,’ Baskaran said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. 

China said that it imposed the new restrictions due to national security concerns, claiming that the rare-earth elements have ‘dual-use properties for both civilian and military applications,’ according to a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 

China’s plans are testing relations between the U.S. and China, following a few months of relative calm between the two. But China’s announcement received pushback from Republicans and Democrats serving on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, who are pushing for action to penalize China.

Committee chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said in a Thursday statement that the new export controls amount to ‘an economic declaration of war,’ and that every American would suffer. 

‘China has fired a loaded gun at the American economy, seeking to cut off critical minerals used to make the semiconductors that power the American military, economy, and devices we use every day including cars, phones, computers, and TVs,’ Moolenaar said in a statement. 

Moolenaar sent a letter to Trump in September urging him to act against China’s dominance in rare-earth magnets and to consider limiting Chinese airline access to U.S. and allied airports until Beijing lifts the restrictions.

Ranking member of the committee, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., also said that the U.S. must find alternatives so the country doesn’t depend so much on China for the magnets. 

‘The United States and allies must redouble efforts to diversify supply sources, strengthen partnerships, and invest in domestic processing to reduce our reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for essential minerals,’ Krishnamoorthi said in a Friday statement. 

In response to China, the Trump administration threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese goods by 100% and warned he might cancel his meeting later in October with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Even so, Trump attempted to defuse the situation Sunday, and chalked up Beijing’s plans to impose new export controls to a ‘bad moment.’ 

‘Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment,’ Trump said in a Sunday social media post. ‘He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!’

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said Monday that it ‘firmly rejects’ new U.S. restrictions and sanctions against Beijing, and will ‘do what is necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests.’ 

‘Threatening high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China,’ the Chinese Embassy said in a Monday social media post. ‘The U.S. should correct its approach and act on the common understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls.’ 

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that the U.S. was not given a heads up on the increased export controls, and said that China ‘deferred’ a call from the U.S. on the matter after Washington learned about the move from public sources. 

However, China and the U.S. upping the ante in their trade war hasn’t totally derailed talks between the two countries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the U.S. and China engaged in ‘substantial communications’ over the weekend, and that Trump and Xi’s meeting in October is still expected. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and Alex Schemmel contributed to this report. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced a global effort to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize as phase one of the recent Middle East peace agreement goes into effect.

‘I’m proud to tell you that together with my friend, Speaker Ohana of the Israeli Knesset, the equivalent of our Congress, we’re going to embark upon a project together to rally speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world so that we will jointly nominate President Donald J. Trump for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize,’ Johnson said Tuesday. ‘No one has ever deserved that prize more, and that is an objective fact.’

He made the announcement during his daily government shutdown news conference on the 14th day of the ongoing fiscal standoff between Democrats and Republicans.

Johnson opened the press conference praising Trump for helping strike the deal that is aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hamas.

‘There will be more to share on this in the weeks ahead, but today marks the start of this effort that we’ll embark upon together, this joint parliamentary project,’ he said.

‘And I’m honored to do it alongside our ally and my counterpart in Israel in leading that effort.’

Trump was in Egypt on Monday for the signing of the historic peace deal alongside other world leaders from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Both Israel and Hamas also began taking the first steps of the peace process by releasing people held by their respective sides. All 20 living Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas were released, while Israel began releasing Palestinian prisoners it held within its own borders.

Trump has received praise from both sides of the aisle for his role in the U.S.-brokered agreement.

‘I thought it was remarkable. I saw a video last night of one of the released hostages who made the point that as soon as the election was held in November in the United States, Hamas began to treat him and his fellow hostages much better,’ Johnson said. 

‘They fed them better. They respected them more. They changed the tone of how they treated them. They no longer spit upon them. As he said in his own words, elections have consequences.’

Lawyers for James Comey told a federal judge in Alexandria on Tuesday that they plan to file a motion early next week to formally dismiss his criminal case, citing what they argued is President Donald Trump’s ‘unlawful’ appointment of former White House aide Lindsey Halligan as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia shortly before Comey’s indictment.

The filing is part of a broader effort by Comey’s legal team to have the criminal case tossed. His lawyers told the judge overseeing the case last week they planned a separate motion to dismiss the case on grounds of vindictive prosecution.

Tuesday’s filing is not a formal motion but a notice to the court that they plan to challenge Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District. Doing so will require an ‘out-of-district judge’ to hear the motion, as they noted in the filing.

The move is part of a broader salvo from Comey’s legal team to have his criminal case tossed, amid what they say is a politically motivated effort pursued by a lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, who formerly worked as Trump’s personal lawyer and White House aide.

Trump in September announced he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Comey’s lawyers previously suggested that Halligan’s appointment, three days before his indictment, could strengthen their motion to dismiss.

‘We think that’s an unlawful appointment,’ Comey’s lawyers said. 

Comey’s criminal case has emerged as a political lighting rod, punctuating years of public broadsides and quietly simmering tensions between Trump and his onetime FBI director, whom he fired in 2017, less than halfway through Comey’s ten-year tenure as FBI director.

Comey used his memoir, ‘A Higher Loyalty,’ and subsequent public appearances to take umbrage against Trump and publicly criticize the actions he took during his first term. Trump has continued to assail Comey and scrutinize his tenure at the FBI, including by reportedly pressing for the investigation and empaneling of a grand jury. 

Halligan ultimately secured the indictment from a grand jury in Alexandria just days before the statute of limitations ran out in bringing the case.

Halligan, a former insurance attorney in Florida, has said that the charges against Comey ‘represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.’  

‘No one is above the law,’ she told reporters last month.

While the indictment drew praise from some Trump officials and allies, it also prompted criticism from others, who said the case shows the lengths Trump is willing to go to punish perceived political foes.

The notice from Comey’s lawyers was not the only significant development in his case this week.

Hours earlier, the federal judge assigned to his case, Judge Michael Nachmanoff, rejected the Justice Department’s request to limit Comey’s access to ‘protected’ discovery materials being used by prosecutors in the criminal case. 

Nachmanoff said in an order that the government is obligated to share with Comey and his lawyers the discovery materials in the case, including those designated as ‘protected.’

Blocking Comey’s access to these materials would ‘unnecessarily hinder and delay’ his ability to prepare for his criminal case, he said.

‘Protective orders addressing the confidentiality and privacy interests of others should not override a defendant’s right to a fair trial,’ Nachmanoff added.

Further, he said, the government’s proposed order ‘does not sufficiently define the information constituting ‘Protected Material,’ thereby making it overbroad.’

The order resolves, for now, one of several public skirmishes that have emerged in the days since Comey was indicted last month in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, on one count of allegedly making a false statement to Congress during a Senate hearing in 2020, and one count of obstruction connected to the same event.

At issue most recently was whether Comey, the former FBI director who was fired by Trump during his first White House term in 2017, should be granted access to certain discovery materials in his criminal case. 

Halligan asked the judge to restrict his access to discovery materials, citing their sensitive nature and concern about them remaining in the hands of defendants.

She argued the action has long precedent in the Eastern District of Virginia — the Alexandria-based federal court where many national security and intelligence cases are tried — calling it a ‘common practice.’

Comey’s lawyers filed their objection almost immediately. 

They argued that Comey is a Virginia-licensed attorney who himself is ‘admitted to practice law in the Eastern District of Virginia,’ and who has already ‘been entrusted with some of the most sensitive and highly guarded information in the country,’  including during the Bush administration, when he served as the Deputy Attorney General  and as FBI director — a role he held for nearly four years before Trump fired him in his first White House term.

‘To assert now, that he cannot be trusted with receiving discovery in his case controverts his long career of distinguished government service at the highest levels,’ his lawyers said. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday to sit for an interview about what he said were Smith’s ‘partisan and politically motivated’ prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

Jordan told Smith in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to schedule the closed-door testimony with his committee by Oct. 28. The move comes at the same time congressional Republicans have been raising alarm over the recent revelation that Smith subpoenaed phone records of sitting senators.

‘As the Committee continues its oversight, your testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement,’ Jordan wrote.

Jordan’s request comes amid Republicans intensifying their focus on Smith, who brought criminal charges against Trump over the 2020 election and classified documents but later dropped them because of a Justice Department policy that advises against prosecuting sitting presidents.

The request to appear for an interview marks the first instance of Congress summoning Smith after the former special counsel spent more than two years investigating and prosecuting Trump. The president has repeatedly referred to Smith as ‘deranged,’ a ‘thug’ and a ‘sleazebag’ and said Smith is a ‘criminal’ who should be arrested.

Jordan also made a broad request for all records from Smith on his work related to Trump. If Smith were to resist the requests for an interview and documents, Jordan could subpoena him. Fox News Digital reached out to Smith’s lawyers for comment.

The Senate is also ramping up its scrutiny of Smith. Last week, 18 Senate Republicans, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded that the DOJ and FBI release documents on Smith’s decision to subpoena phone companies for toll records of eight Senate Republicans, material that could be protected by grand jury rules.

The senators said they had ‘serious constitutional concerns’ about the subpoenas and that the DOJ should ask courts to unseal the records if needed. Seeking toll records is a routine part of an investigation and sheds light on when calls were placed and to whom. They do not provide any details about the contents of phone calls or messages.

Jordan called the subpoenas and his recent discovery that the FBI monitored Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., before seizing his phone ‘abusive surveillance.’

The House GOP is releasing a report accusing Democrats of trying to undermine U.S. healthcare as the standoff over federal funding escalates.

The government shutdown is in its 14th day with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward for at least part of fiscal year (FY) 2026.

Republicans are pushing a relatively straightforward extension of FY2025 funding through Nov. 21, but Democrats have said they will not agree to any federal funding bill that is not paired with significant reforms on healthcare.

The new report led by the House GOP, however, accuses Democrats of trying to undermine the system with their counter-proposal for a federal funding bill — specifically its suggested rollback of healthcare measures in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The report said the bill, which was rebranded as the ‘Working Families Tax Cuts’ (WFTC), ‘advanced a vision of Medicaid that balances compassion with accountability, prioritizing care for the most vulnerable Americans while ensuring that federal resources are used responsibly.’

‘The legislation’s reforms to rural hospital funding, Medicaid financing practices, and federal reimbursements for non-citizen medical care collectively strengthen the long-term sustainability of the program,’ it said.

‘By contrast, the Democratic Continuing Resolution would dismantle these reforms, reversing progress toward a more efficient, transparent, and equitable Medicaid system. Such a repeal would undermine rural healthcare stability, reintroduce opportunities for funding misuse, and impose unnecessary costs on American taxpayers.’

A continuing resolution (CR) is meant to be a short-term extension of current federal funding levels aimed at giving negotiators more time to strike a deal for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Republicans’ CR would extend FY2025 funding levels through Nov. 21, while Democrats’ counter-proposal would run through Oct. 31.

In addition to the OBBBA repeal being pushed in Democrats’ CR, they are also calling for any deal to also extend Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic and which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Republicans have painted Democrats’ counter-proposal as a means to return healthcare to illegal immigrants after the OBBBA tightened certain measures that made it harder for non-citizens to access federal Medicaid dollars.

Democratic leaders have accused the GOP of lying about the situation.

But the GOP has also pointed out that repealing all of their healthcare reforms would also mean repealing $50 billion their bill adds to fund rural hospitals.

‘This targeted investment supports states in stabilizing critical healthcare infrastructure and ensures that rural Americans, often located far from major medical centers, can continue to access essential services,’ the report said.

The five-page memo appears to be a rebuttal to Democrats’ defense in the shutdown fight that they are fighting to preserve Americans’ healthcare access.

The GOP’s CR passed the House on Sept. 19 but has been stalled in the Senate, where at least five Democrats are needed under the current tally to reach a 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster.

Senate Democrats rejected the GOP CR seven times, however. The chamber is expected to vote on it again Tuesday evening.

Fox News Digital reached out to the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for a response to the GOP report but did not immediately hear back.

The House GOP is releasing a report accusing Democrats of trying to undermine U.S. healthcare as the standoff over federal funding escalates.

The government shutdown is in its 14th day with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward for at least part of fiscal year (FY) 2026.

Republicans are pushing a relatively straightforward extension of FY2025 funding through Nov. 21, but Democrats have said they will not agree to any federal funding bill that is not paired with significant reforms on healthcare.

The new report led by the House GOP, however, accuses Democrats of trying to undermine the system with their counter-proposal for a federal funding bill — specifically its suggested rollback of healthcare measures in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The report said the bill, which was rebranded as the ‘Working Families Tax Cuts’ (WFTC), ‘advanced a vision of Medicaid that balances compassion with accountability, prioritizing care for the most vulnerable Americans while ensuring that federal resources are used responsibly.’

‘The legislation’s reforms to rural hospital funding, Medicaid financing practices, and federal reimbursements for non-citizen medical care collectively strengthen the long-term sustainability of the program,’ it said.

‘By contrast, the Democratic Continuing Resolution would dismantle these reforms, reversing progress toward a more efficient, transparent, and equitable Medicaid system. Such a repeal would undermine rural healthcare stability, reintroduce opportunities for funding misuse, and impose unnecessary costs on American taxpayers.’

A continuing resolution (CR) is meant to be a short-term extension of current federal funding levels aimed at giving negotiators more time to strike a deal for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Republicans’ CR would extend FY2025 funding levels through Nov. 21, while Democrats’ counter-proposal would run through Oct. 31.

In addition to the OBBBA repeal being pushed in Democrats’ CR, they are also calling for any deal to also extend Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic and which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Republicans have painted Democrats’ counter-proposal as a means to return healthcare to illegal immigrants after the OBBBA tightened certain measures that made it harder for non-citizens to access federal Medicaid dollars.

Democratic leaders have accused the GOP of lying about the situation.

But the GOP has also pointed out that repealing all of their healthcare reforms would also mean repealing $50 billion their bill adds to fund rural hospitals.

‘This targeted investment supports states in stabilizing critical healthcare infrastructure and ensures that rural Americans, often located far from major medical centers, can continue to access essential services,’ the report said.

The five-page memo appears to be a rebuttal to Democrats’ defense in the shutdown fight that they are fighting to preserve Americans’ healthcare access.

The GOP’s CR passed the House on Sept. 19 but has been stalled in the Senate, where at least five Democrats are needed under the current tally to reach a 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster.

Senate Democrats rejected the GOP CR seven times, however. The chamber is expected to vote on it again Tuesday evening.

Fox News Digital reached out to the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for a response to the GOP report but did not immediately hear back.

The No. 3 House Republican is accusing Democrats of making a hypocritical argument in their resistance to the GOP’s federal funding bill.

The government shutdown is in its thirteenth day with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward. The Trump administration is taking steps to prevent the military from missing paychecks this week, while also beginning to lay off scores of federal workers amid the standoff.

Democrats have said they will not agree to any solution that does not include serious concessions on healthcare from the GOP — but House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., argued that they are themselves harming healthcare access by allowing the shutdown to continue.

‘They are [jeopardizing healthcare],’ Emmer told Fox News Digital, pointing out that certain telehealth services, for example, are going without funding during the shutdown.

‘We had a huge advance during the pandemic when it came to remote care. You’ve got all kinds of constituents that don’t live in a condensed or a dense urban area right next to a hospital, right next to a provider, they may be a distance away. And the telehealth option actually made a big difference,’ Emmer said. ‘I know it did for our veterans.’

‘I don’t know if the VA — [House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill.] made it sound like they’re going to protect that under his jurisdiction, not sure how — but I do worry about it for the private providers, hospitals. How are they going to do it if they’re not getting reimbursed?’

He was referring to the Acute Hospital Care At Home program, originally created during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows healthcare providers to bill Medicare for telehealth appointments and at-home aid that previously was only reserved for hospital care.

It’s become a popular program for elderly or otherwise vulnerable Medicaid recipients, but the ongoing shutdown has prevented Congress from being able to extend it.

The government entered into a shutdown nearly two weeks ago on Oct. 1 after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s federal funding plan. They have since blocked consideration of the same bill six more times. 

Republicans proposed a seven-week bill extending fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Nov. 21 called a continuing resolution (CR). It’s aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term agreement on FY2026, which began on Oct. 1.

It passed the House along mostly partisan lines on Sept. 19. But Democrats in the House and Senate were largely infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks and are now demanding any spending deal that also include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

Democrats also introduced a separate counter-proposal that would completely eliminate healthcare reforms made in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and restore funding to NPR and PBS that the Trump administration revoked earlier this year.

Democrats have said that proposal is aimed at rolling back Republicans’ Medicaid cuts. But Republicans have positioned it as the left’s effort at restoring federal funding for illegal immigrants’ healthcare — though Democratic leaders panned that as a lie.

Emmer also pointed out that it would revoke $50 billion for a rural hospital fund that OBBBA put in place.

‘The Rural Health Care Fund is a great example. I mean, right now, it’s our job, it’s the representatives’ job back in their districts, to try and work with our hospitals to make sure that they can access the funds,’ he said.

‘Because you don’t know exactly how deep the shutdown is going to impact hospitals, providers, ultimately consumers and patients.’

The No. 3 House Republican is accusing Democrats of making a hypocritical argument in their resistance to the GOP’s federal funding bill.

The government shutdown is in its thirteenth day with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward. The Trump administration is taking steps to prevent the military from missing paychecks this week, while also beginning to lay off scores of federal workers amid the standoff.

Democrats have said they will not agree to any solution that does not include serious concessions on healthcare from the GOP — but House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., argued that they are themselves harming healthcare access by allowing the shutdown to continue.

‘They are [jeopardizing healthcare],’ Emmer told Fox News Digital, pointing out that certain telehealth services, for example, are going without funding during the shutdown.

‘We had a huge advance during the pandemic when it came to remote care. You’ve got all kinds of constituents that don’t live in a condensed or a dense urban area right next to a hospital, right next to a provider, they may be a distance away. And the telehealth option actually made a big difference,’ Emmer said. ‘I know it did for our veterans.’

‘I don’t know if the VA — [House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill.] made it sound like they’re going to protect that under his jurisdiction, not sure how — but I do worry about it for the private providers, hospitals. How are they going to do it if they’re not getting reimbursed?’

He was referring to the Acute Hospital Care At Home program, originally created during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows healthcare providers to bill Medicare for telehealth appointments and at-home aid that previously was only reserved for hospital care.

It’s become a popular program for elderly or otherwise vulnerable Medicaid recipients, but the ongoing shutdown has prevented Congress from being able to extend it.

The government entered into a shutdown nearly two weeks ago on Oct. 1 after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s federal funding plan. They have since blocked consideration of the same bill six more times. 

Republicans proposed a seven-week bill extending fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Nov. 21 called a continuing resolution (CR). It’s aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term agreement on FY2026, which began on Oct. 1.

It passed the House along mostly partisan lines on Sept. 19. But Democrats in the House and Senate were largely infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks and are now demanding any spending deal that also include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

Democrats also introduced a separate counter-proposal that would completely eliminate healthcare reforms made in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and restore funding to NPR and PBS that the Trump administration revoked earlier this year.

Democrats have said that proposal is aimed at rolling back Republicans’ Medicaid cuts. But Republicans have positioned it as the left’s effort at restoring federal funding for illegal immigrants’ healthcare — though Democratic leaders panned that as a lie.

Emmer also pointed out that it would revoke $50 billion for a rural hospital fund that OBBBA put in place.

‘The Rural Health Care Fund is a great example. I mean, right now, it’s our job, it’s the representatives’ job back in their districts, to try and work with our hospitals to make sure that they can access the funds,’ he said.

‘Because you don’t know exactly how deep the shutdown is going to impact hospitals, providers, ultimately consumers and patients.’

Former Vice President Kamala Harris commended President Donald Trump and his team for helping to secure the deal that led to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas — but she only referred to ‘the President,’ and did not identify Trump by name in the statement.

‘I am thankful and deeply encouraged that this ceasefire has brought long-awaited moments of joy and reunion — as 20 Israeli hostages are finally reunited with their loved ones and Palestinian families and the people of Gaza begin to receive desperately needed relief from unimaginable suffering,’ Harris said in the statement.

Israel launched a war effort in the wake of the horrific October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack, which included mass murder and kidnapping. 

‘Through diplomacy and persistence, today is an important first step toward a more hopeful future. I commend the leaders and partners whose efforts made this agreement possible, including the President and his team,’ Harris continued.

‘There is still much more work to do to secure a lasting peace, ensure the safety and dignity of every innocent life, and build a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in freedom and security,’ she concluded.

Last year, Trump won both the Electoral College and the popular vote, trouncing Harris in the White House contest.

The 2024 Democratic presidential candidate mounted a whirlwind campaign after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed her.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas took a jab at President Trump on Monday, tweeting, ‘Raising hell at home & then pretending to be the President of Peace is diabolical.’

But Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania gave, ‘Credit to @POTUS for a breakthrough ceasefire of this awful war.’

President Donald Trump, when asked about the prospect of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, declined to commit, telling reporters, ‘We’ll have to see.’ 

The comments came during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One as Trump returned home after signing a historic peace agreement that ended two years of fighting in Gaza. 

When the topic came up, Trump said he was focused on rebuilding Gaza after two years of Israeli bombardment, following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas. 

‘I’m not talking about a single state or double state or two state,’ Trump said, adding: ‘A lot of people like the one-state solution, some people like the two-state solution. We’ll have to see.’ 

Trump said any decision on the matter would be made in coordination with regional and international partners. 

The president concluded a whirlwind trip Monday that included a global peace summit in Egypt and a speech before the Knesset in Jerusalem earlier in the day, where he celebrated a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas.

Speaking to leaders gathered in Egypt, Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East, seeking to advance broader peace in the region.

‘We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,’ Trump said, urging leaders ‘to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.’

Leaders from dozens of countries, including from Europe and the Middle East, attended the summit. 

Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed a document outlining a broad vision for Gaza’s future.

Twenty hostages were released Monday as part of an agreement intended to end the war in Gaza. Trump met with some of their families during his visit to the Knesset.

The moment remains fragile, however, as Israel and Hamas are still in the early stages of implementing the first phase of Trump’s peace plan.

The sides have not agreed on Gaza’s postwar governance, its reconstruction, or Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm. Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble, and the territory’s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in dire conditions. Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings to ease the flow of food and supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

Roughly 200 U.S. troops will also help monitor and support the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector groups.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.