Defense

At a high‑profile White House summit, President Trump hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, designated Saudi Arabia a Major Non‑NATO Ally and announced a package of deals including a U.S. defense pact, planned F‑35 sales, commitments on tanks, AI, civil nuclear cooperation and Saudi investment pledges that were boosted from about $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion. Trump signaled a de‑prioritization of human‑rights pressure—downplaying the Khashoggi case and emphasizing personal rapport—while pushing Saudi‑Israel normalization amid tense talks; Israeli officials sought conditions on any F‑35 transfer to protect Israel’s qualitative military edge and U.S. officials say safeguards and downgraded variants would factor into any sale.

Gov. Greg Abbott says roughly 200 Texas National Guard troops serving in Illinois will be ordered home before Thanksgiving after a federal court ruled the forces could not be activated for operations and could only secure their base, and the administration has appealed to the Supreme Court. The withdrawal is part of broader retrenchment — including hundreds of Guard members sent back from Portland and Chicago — as judges have issued temporary and permanent orders limiting deployments while the Ninth Circuit (now set for en banc review) and other courts consider the administration’s emergency appeals.