A top U.S. State Department official waived nine mandatory counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards to rush a $30 million award last month to a Gaza aid group backed by the Trump administration and Israel,

Tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies have cooled off since most of the alliance's member states agreed to increase their defense spending from 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent by 2035, which many Trump supporters say is proof that his hard-charging negotiating tactics, even among friends, produces results.