Trump signs bill to keep tough sentences for fentanyl traffickers
The law also makes permanent mandatory minimum penalties of five years in prison for trafficking 10 grams of fentanyl and 10 years for 100 grams.
"It doesn't sound like much, but it's a big deal," Trump said.
The Department of Homeland Security seized 27,000 pounds of fentanyl and arrested 3,600 criminal suspects in 2024.
More than 105,000 people nationwide died of drug overdoses in 2023, including nearly 73,000 from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The crackdown on fentanyl distribution is also at the heart of current U.S. trade disputes with China, Mexico and Canada. Trump imposed tariffs on those countries, citing the threat of cross-border fentanyl trafficking.
"We are delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels," Trump said.
Parents of several people who died after overdosing on fentanyl spoke at the event.
Anne Fundner, whose 15-year-old son Weston died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2022, previously spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year.
"It is a lifeline for families across America for keeping our families safe," Fundner said of the legislation. "This is what we voted for, Mr. President."
Gregory Swan, whose 24-year-old son Drew died of fentanyl poisoning, started a group known as Fentanyl Fathers, in which parents tell their story to high schools across America.
"His passing ruined, I thought, my life," Swan said. "There's despair and there's hopelessness. But we've been able to find some repose in going out and advocating."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt at RNC in support of Trump in resurfaced clip after WWE star's sudden death
Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan famously ripped off his shirt in support of Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention last summer, in a resurfaced clip following his death. Hogan spoke at the RNC on behalf of Trump as part of his re-election campaign. The WWE legend's death was announced by TMZ on Thursday (24 July). He was 71. Medics were reportedly called to Hogan's Clearwater, Florida, home Thursday morning. In May, a spokesperson for the retired wrestling legend, 71, told TMZ that he had undergone 'a little fusion procedure' on his neck.
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
Justice department official expected to speak to Epstein accomplice Maxwell
Jeffrey Epstein's long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell is meeting justice department officials as pressure grows to release files linked to the financier's sex trafficking network, US media comes after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he planned to speak to Maxwell about any information she had on other people whom Epstein may have helped sexually abuse girls. Maxwell is being interviewed on Thursday at the US attorney's office in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, ABC News lawyer told the BBC that Maxwell was looking "forward to her meeting", which could help determine whether she will testify before Congress. The latest developments come as interest has switched back to Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex-trafficker in prison for helping Epstein abuse young have grown from the public - including President Donald Trump's loyal supporters - and lawmakers for the justice department to release files related to the Epstein case. "If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche wrote in a post on X earlier this week. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump during a May briefing that his name appeared in DOJ documents related to the Epstein case. The White House has pushed back dismissing the story as "fake news". Being named in the documents is not evidence of any criminal activity, nor has Trump ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein campaigning for the presidency last year, Trump had promised to release such files about the well-connected sex his supporters have since grown frustrated with the administration's handling of the issue, including its failure to deliver a rumoured "client list" of Epstein. In a memo earlier this month, the justice department and FBI said there was no such died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, following an earlier conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. His death was ruled a suicide. In the years since, conspiracy theories about the nature of his crimes and his death itself have proliferated. On Wednesday, a sub-committee of the US House of Representatives voted to subpoena the justice department for the files, which must be signed off by the committee chairman. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify before the panel remotely from prison on 11 August. House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned that Maxwell - who for years helped Epstein groom and sexually abuse girls - cannot be trusted to provide accurate attorney, David Oscar Markus, told the BBC the concerns were "unfounded" and that if she chooses to testify, rather than invoke her constitutional right to remain silent, "she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would".Last week, the justice department asked a federal judge to release years-old grand jury testimony related to a 2006 Florida investigation into Epstein, but a federal judge in the state on Wednesday declined to make the documents public.
Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
Live Updates: Trump visits Fed as DOJ eyes Epstein ally Maxwell
Fed renovations have drawn Trump's scrutiny 27 minutes ago 11:43 EDT Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir The spiraling cost of the Federal Reserve's years-long renovation of two historic buildings in Washington, D.C., has become the latest flashpoint in the Trump administration's escalating pressure campaign on Powell. Here are five things to know about the renovations: 1. What are the buildings the Fed is renovating? They are the Eccles Building, constructed between 1935 and 1937 as the Fed's headquarters, and the 1951 Constitution Avenue Building, completed in 1932 for the U.S. Public Health Service. 2. How much are they over budget? Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, says the cost overrun is "$700 million and counting." The Fed's budget shows the project's current estimated cost at $2.46 billion up from $1.88 billion in 2024, a difference of about $580 million. The document also shows that the Fed eliminated the planned renovation of a third building, cutting about $510 million in costs. 3. Why are they over budget? Higher-than-estimated labor and materials costs, design changes to preserve the historic buildings and their appearance, and unforeseen problems including lead contamination in the ground and higher-than-anticipated amounts of asbestos. 4. What needs to be done? The buildings required new plumbing, electrical, heating, water, and other infrastructure, as well as updating to allow access for people with disabilities, a basement for one of the buildings and an addition for the other to make enough room for existing staff currently occupying other leased offices. 5. Who has oversight of the project? The Fed by law has authority to determine its spending on capital projects. Its Office of Inspector General receives monthly reports on the project, conducted a review in 2021, and is now charged with conducting a fresh review. Who was Jeffrey Epstein? 32 minutes ago 11:38 EDT Epstein was a well-connected and wealthy U.S. financier and convicted sex offender. Known for socializing with politicians, celebrities and royalty, he once counted Trump and former President Bill Clinton as friends. But the former hedge fund manager faced years of allegations that he sexually abused girls and young women. He first came under investigation in 2005. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex. He was arrested on July 6, 2019 at a New Jersey airport after taking a private plane from Paris and pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14, from at least 2002 to 2005. Epstein was found dead on August 10, 2019 in a New York jail cell where he was being held without bail. He was 66. The cause of death was ruled as suicide by hanging. Prosecutors said a search of his townhouse, conducted under a warrant, uncovered evidence of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of nude photographs of 'what appeared to be underage girls,' including some photos catalogued on compact discs and kept in a locked safe. The case was dismissed after his death. One of the most high-profile people associated with Epstein was Britain's Prince Andrew who was forced to step aside from public duties in 2019 over his association with the financier. Andrew has always denied any accusations of wrongdoing. Sarah N. Lynch, Karen Freifeld and Brendan Pierson. US DOJ to meet with Epstein associate Maxwell 11:31 EDT Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he expected to meet with in Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's long-time associate, in coming days. Maxwell, a British socialite and Epstein's longtime girlfriend, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. Epstein, a disgraced financier and sex offender, killed himself in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Several media outlets have reported that Maxwell is speaking with U.S. prosecutors on Thursday. Blanche has said if Maxwell "has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say." The possible meeting comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced mounting pressure from Trump's supporters to release additional materials related to Epstein. Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During Mazwell's 2021 trial, the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied being on the plane. Trump to visit the Federal Reserve Thursday an hour ago 11:23 EDT U.S. President Donald Trump, a robust critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, will visit the central bank on Thursday, the White House said. It's a surprise move that escalates tension between the administration and the Fed. Trump has lambasted Powell repeatedly for not cutting U.S. interest rates more aggressively, calling him a "numbskull" on Tuesday and musing publicly about firing him. Adding fuel to Trump's ire, White House officials have accused the Fed of mismanaging the renovation of two historic buildings in Washington, D.C., suggesting poor oversight and potential fraud. In a schedule released to the media on Wednesday night, the White House said Trump would visit the Fed at 4 p.m. (2000 GMT). It did not say whether Trump would meet with Powell. Trump's public criticism of Powell and flirtation with firing him have previously upset financial markets and threatened a key underpinning of the global financial system - that central banks are independent and free from political meddling. We'll have the latest updates on all things Fed and Trump live on this page, stay with us.
