The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is investigating former special counsel Jack Smith, the OSC has confirmed to Fox News.

Smith was tapped in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as special counsel regarding two probes pertaining to then-former President Donald Trump.

The OSC is investigating Smith for allegedly violating the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from partaking in political activities. It is not a criminal investigation. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Saturday, but did not receive a response.

The OSC is not the same as a special counsel appointed by an attorney general, as Smith was, but ‘is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency,’ according to its website. 

‘OSC’s statutory authority comes from four federal laws: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA),’ the website explains.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas recently asked the OSC to look into whether Smith illegally engaged in political activity to influence the 2024 election against Trump.

‘I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith, Special Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland, unlawfully took political actions to influence the 2024 election to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump,’ Cotton wrote in a July 30 letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer.

‘President Trump of course vanquished Joe Biden, Jack Smith, every Democrat who weaponized the law against him, but President Trump’s astounding victory doesn’t excuse Smith of responsibility for his unlawful election interference. I therefore ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith or any members of his team unlawfully acted for political purposes,’ Cotton wrote.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

The Senate on Saturday confirmed Jeanine Pirro, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as Washington D.C.’s top prosecutor, as lawmakers failed to reach a deal to ram through dozens of the president’s nominees.

The onetime New York judge and prosecutor and former Fox News host was one of the over 150 still outstanding nominees on the Senate’s calendar as Senate Republicans work to find a path forward to ram through Senate Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees, and part of a slew of picks to get a vote over the weekend. But just ahead of her confirmation vote, the path to a deal was derailed, and lawmakers opted to ram through just seven of Trump’s nominees before heading home until September.

Pirro, who was confirmed by a 50-45 vote, will serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a post she has held since May on an interim basis.

Pirro previously served as the District Attorney in Westchester County, New York, for over a decade. Prior to that, she was on the bench as a judge in Westchester County in the early 1990s.

‘Jeanine is incredibly well-qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York,’ Trump said when he nominated Pirro. ‘She is in a class by herself.’

She was not Trump’s first pick for the job, however. His first choice, Ed Martin, failed to gain enough support among Republicans earlier this year. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., effectively tanked Martin’s nomination over concerns about his views on the Jan. 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill.

And Pirro’s road to confirmation was not without its own hiccups and drama.

Senate Democrats have accused her of amplifying Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims and defending him after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot during her time as a Fox News host, and warned that she would do the president’s bidding in her role as Washington D.C.’s top prosecutor.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Democrats staged a walkout in protest of both her and U.S. District Judge Emil Bove, who was confirmed earlier this week in a tight, 50 to 49 vote. She later advanced out of committee on a party-line vote.

‘She’s an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trump’s Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in,’ Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said of Pirro. 

The path to a deal on confirming a slew of President Donald Trump’s nominees appeared shaky at best in the Senate Saturday, as Republicans and Democrats sparred over terms and conditions to find a way forward.

Senators were supposed to be long gone from Washington by now, but Trump’s demands to ram his nominees through Senate Democrats’ historic blockade have kept lawmakers in town. But by late afternoon, not much progress had been made.

When asked if any headway had been made, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital, ‘Unfortunately, not really, no.’

‘The Dems are dug in on a position that’s just not working,’ he said.

Negotiations have been ongoing among Republicans, Democrats and the White House. Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met last night to discuss an offer from Democrats. The two have not spoken directly since then, instead communicating through intermediaries, Thune said. However, he expected they would talk again later Saturday.

Senate Republicans want to strike a deal that would see nominees that made it through committee with bipartisan support get lightning-fast votes on the floor, but Schumer has not relented.

A source familiar with negotiations said Senate Democrats are looking for deals on the release of funding withheld by the White House and a guarantee that there will be no future rescissions packages — a particular sticking point for them heading into the looming deadline to fund the government. In exchange, they are offering a tranche of nominees to go ahead now, and another round later in the fall.

But Trump, who is at his Bedminster, N.J., golf course, has demanded that lawmakers stay in town and pass the entire slate of nominees on the Senate calendar, which has ballooned to over 150.

The president lauded Senate Republicans in a post to Truth Social on Saturday ‘for fighting, over the Weekend and far beyond, if necessary, in order to get my great Appointments approved, and on their way to helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’

‘The Radical Left Democrat Senators are doing everything possible to DELAY these wonderful and talented people from being approved,’ he said. ‘If George Washington or Abraham Lincoln were up for approval, the Dems would delay, as long as possible, then vote them out.’

While Republicans have confirmed well over 100 of the president’s nominees, the only pick to make it to the floor without objection was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

Not a single one of Trump’s nominees has gotten a voice vote or gone through unanimous consent, two floor actions that have been routinely used to advance nominees in the upper chamber throughout the years. At this point four years ago, 49 of former President Joe Biden’s picks had been confirmed by voice vote.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., explained that Republicans have three options that they have enough support among the conference to move forward with: reach a deal with Democrats; adjourn the Senate and give the president runway for recess appointments and finally, a rules-change package, which some Republicans consider the ‘nuclear option.’

On recess appointments, a move floated since before Trump took office, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., contended it would be up to Democrats whether Republicans actually went through with it.

‘The Democrats’ obstruction is leading to, in very short order, us taking the necessary actions to give the President power to make recess appointments,’ he said.

While it would be a touchy move that would set off a firestorm among Democrats, Republicans aren’t afraid to move ahead with a rules change. When asked if a rule change should be done before lawmakers leave town, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said ‘I think that’d be best.’

But the preference is to strike a deal, preferably on a potential package on over 60 nominees that were advanced out of committee in a bipartisan fashion.

‘The reason why we’re that way is because Schumer led us down this road,’ Mullin said. ‘He didn’t have to do it this way.’

Officials from the first Trump administration are alleging they received notices from Google shortly before they returned to office that they were being probed by the FBI under the Biden administration and the web giant was unable to tell them because of a court order. 

Dan Scavino, who is now White House Deputy Chief of Staff and assistant to the president, described the matter as ‘Biden lawfare’ kicking in after he ‘patriotically and proudly’ served during Trump’s first term. 

‘Google received and responded to a legal process issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation compelling the release of information related to your Google account. A court order previously prohibited Google from notifying you of the legal process…’ Scavino shared on X from an email he said he received from Google five weeks before Trump returned to the White House. 

‘I’ve never shared this — but this is a small taste of the INSANITY that many of us went through — right here in the United States of America. LAWFARE at its finest. A Complete and Total Disgrace!!!!!’ he added. 

Less than a half-hour after Scavino’s post, FBI Director Kash Patel responded to him saying ‘I got one of those too…’ 

Jeff Clark, the current acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, then chimed in Saturday morning, saying that he, too, received a similar message.

‘Indeed, a whole Jack Smith team was assigned to go through my emails after there was a privilege review,’ Clark wrote on X in reference to the former special counsel. 

‘But that group of lawyers ignored my religious pastor privilege, marital privilege, and other privileges and basically shipped all they could to Jack Smith. But it still cost me tens of thousands to try to protect my communications,’ he added. 

Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merrick Garland to probe allegations that Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election results, and later investigated the handling of classified documents that were uncovered during a raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound. 

‘My medical records and other private communications had nothing to do with the 2020 election. They were no one’s business. But it didn’t matter to these thugs with law degrees and the willingness to abuse government power,’ Clark said Saturday.  

‘They were trying to bait me to go to court to get them to destroy their secret copies of the emails, so they could try to break even my lawyer-client privilege with President Trump. But my team and I didn’t fall for it,’ Clark also said. ‘Moreover, the whole thing was a blatant attempt to intimidate me. It didn’t work and I didn’t fold under the pressure.’ 

The FBI did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump wrapped up his second term’s 28th week in office announcing he would reposition two nuclear submarines amid increased tension with Russia, after just adding new tariffs to a host of countries. 

On Monday, Trump unveiled a new deadline for Russia to end its conflict with Ukraine, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the announcement is an additional ‘step towards war.’ 

In response, Trump made a rare announcement Friday that he would reposition two submarines to best respond to the escalated tension between the two countries. 

‘Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,’ Trump said in a Friday post on Truth Social. 

Trump did not disclose any additional details regarding the submarines, and defense officials rarely comment on submarine placement given the highly classified nature of their operations. 

Here’s what also happened this week:

New tariffs

Trump also signed several executive orders Thursday related to tariffs, including raising the tariffs on Canada from 25% to 35%. 

The president raised the tariff rate due to Canada’s contribution to the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S., according to the Trump administration. However, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney challenged that assessment. 

‘Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,’ Carney said in a Friday statement.  

Trump also modified reciprocal tariffs on a series of countries Thursday, bumping up the tariff rate on Brazil to 50%. 

Meanwhile, Trump reached a trade deal on Thursday with South Korea, driving down tariffs against South Korea from 25% as pitched in the spring to 15%. Additionally, Trump agreed Thursday to continue trade talks with Mexico for another 90 days. 

Veterans housing legislation

Trump also signed the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act into law Wednesday, which would make permanent a partial claims program that seeks to keep veterans from losing their homes to foreclosure. 

The new partial claims program under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ (VA) Home Loan Program permits veterans who are behind on mortgage payments to tack on those payments to the tail end of their loans, while also offering them an interest-free loan in the interim. 

‘This legislation provides desperately needed relief to veterans and their families who have fallen behind in their mortgages,’ Trump told reporters Wednesday. ‘It’s a really sort of an amazing situation, and it helps keep our promise to end veterans homelessness. And, we’re going to do that for America. We’re going to do that for our great veterans.’

Estimates suggest the partial claim program could assist up to 3.7 million veterans, according to Trump. 

‘It’s common sense legislation,’ Trump said. ‘My administration is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our veterans are treated with respect and treated as well as anybody in this country.’

The typical time that broadcast networks report on the advertising world is just before Super Bowl Sunday, to give viewers an advance peek at what companies will be shelling out millions to display. The clothing company American Eagle just scored a marketing coup with ad with White actress Sydney Sweeney making a sly joke about her ‘genes’ and her jeans. 

‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,’ cooed the actress. ‘My jeans are blue.’ This quickly spurred outrage from purple-haired TikTokers and leftist websites complaining about ‘centering Whiteness’ and ‘fascist propaganda.’ 

On Tuesday, July 29, ABC’s ‘Good Morning America First Look’ was already employing the word ‘backlash.’ Anchor Rhiannon Ally began: ‘Time to check the pulse, we begin with the backlash over a new ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.’ Co-anchor Andrew Dymburt added ‘in one ad, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress talks about genes as in DNA being passed down from her parents.’ 

Then Ally lowered the boom: ‘The play on words is being compared to Nazi propaganda with racial undertones.’ Robin Landa, a professor of advertising at Kean University in New Jersey, brought the leftist theme: ‘The pun ‘good genes’ activates a troubling historical association for this country. The American Eugenics Movement and its prime between 1900 and 1940 weaponized the idea of good genes just to justify White supremacism.’ 

In other interviews, Landa took the eugenics thing to its illogical conclusion, that one could suspect the American Eagle company was not just promoting ‘White genetic superiority,’ but a movement that ‘enabled the forced sterilization of marginalized groups.’ Most people just saw them selling their jeans as sexy. 

At least Dymburt suggested the backlash wasn’t economic: ‘Despite that backlash, American Eagle stock has been soaring.’ 

But was there any serious ‘backlash’ beyond the Left? TMZ.com cited anonymous sources inside American Eagle claiming ‘the ad campaign is creating tremendous buzz and their independent polling shows the vast majority of folks — around 70% — find the commercial appealing.’ 

On the CBS News streaming channel, business reporter Jo Ling Kent relayed ‘American Eagle’s new ad campaign, featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, is coming under fire for what was supposed to be a clever play on words.’ It couldn’t be ‘clever’? 

Did this company know and expect that purple-haired leftists would cry Nazi and that would lead to an avalanche of social-media impressions and debates? It’s hard to argue they stumbled into this, not knowing what a blonde, White actress using wordplay about ‘genes’ could cause. 

On NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ on Wednesday, co-host Steve Inskeep discussed the Sweeney ads with Metaforce marketing guru Allen Adamson. Inskeep explained ‘There was some social media commentary. ‘Oh, there’s something racist about this.’ And I get that, I understand people raising that. But I think there’s also something real here — isn’t it? — in that advertisers do think about the race and ethnicity, the look of the people they choose to pitch their products to us.’ 

Adamson claimed: ‘For years, the tide was flowing in a different direction. There was a pressure on advertisers to diversify, to show people in ads that usually were not shown in ads because that was unusual. All the ads had a sort of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ old-fashioned look.’ 

The ‘Beaver’ line is overdoing it, but advertisers after the George Floyd riots absolutely worked hard to diversify the actors in their ads. It’s not offensively ‘woke’ to have minorities of all kinds selling you Eggo waffles or McDonald’s burgers. That’s all still too capitalist for the left-wingers. But having a White actress joke about race clearly grabbed attention. 

On the CBS News streaming channel, business reporter Jo Ling Kent relayed ‘American Eagle’s new ad campaign, featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, is coming under fire for what was supposed to be a clever play on words.’ It couldn’t be ‘clever’? 

The NPR anchor suggested Trump was part of the formula: ‘So if people were going for diversity in past years, are advertisers going for some other look now that the politics of the country are a little different?’ Adamson said yes, because ‘advertising needs to disrupt the norm.’ 

On Wednesday night’s ‘Late Show’ on CBS, Stephen Colbert actually hinted that the leftist backlash was a little strident. ‘Some people look at this and they’re seeing something sinister, saying that the genes-jeans denim wordplay in an ad featuring a White blond woman means American Eagle could be promoting eugenics, White supremacy and Nazi propaganda. That might be a bit of an overreaction — although Hitler did briefly model for Mein Kampfort Fit Jeans.’ Colbert added: ‘How do you say ‘badonk’ in German?’ 

The broadcast networks didn’t launch too heavily into this ad campaign, perhaps suspicious of being part of a sneaky advertising plot, as Brian Stelter tried to call it a ‘nontroversy.’ Sometimes, an ad for jeans is all about selling jeans. 

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is investigating whether former President Joe Biden’s closest aides worked to conceal evidence of mental decline in the octogenarian Democrat during his White House term, and whether an autopen was used for executive decisions without his knowledge.

Biden himself asserted to the New York Times that he ‘made every decision’ regarding autopen pardons specifically, and his allies have dismissed the GOP-led probe as a partisan show.

Several ex-senior White House officials are due in the coming weeks, including former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and ex-White House chief of staff Jeff Zeints.

But Comer’s staff have also met with a number of people so far – some who have said very little, while others have given no information at all.

Below are the eight people who have sat down with House investigators so far:

Neera Tanden

Former White House staff secretary Neera Tanden appeared for a voluntary interview on June 24.

A source familiar with Tanden’s interview said she described having ‘minimal interaction’ with Biden during her sit-down with investigators.

Tanden also said she would submit requests for autopen signatures to members of Biden’s team, but was not aware of what actions or approvals occurred between the time she sent the memo and the time she received it back with the president’s approval, the source said.

Tanden’s lawyer told Fox News at the time that she ‘consistently followed a protocol’ that was used by both Republican and Democratic administrations in the past.

‘That same protocol existed in the Clinton and Obama administrations, which Ms. Tanden learned in discussions with previous staff secretaries from those administrations. She further understood and believed that the same process was followed in the Trump 1 and Bush administrations,’ the lawyer said.

Tanden had been tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) early in Biden’s term, but she withdrew after bipartisan pushback in the Senate.

Kevin O’Connor

Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor was the second ex-Biden administration official to appear when he came in on July 9, and the first to appear under subpoena.

Before serving as White House doctor, however, O’Connor was known to be a close associate of the Biden family for years. 

Investigators were hoping to learn whether O’Connor knowingly obscured signs of advanced aging or loss of mental acuity in Biden. He notably met with a Parkinson’s Disease expert at the White House at one point, according to the New York Times – though the revelations were downplayed by the White House at the time.

O’Connor’s lawyers had attempted to delay his scheduled deposition date over concerns that the scope of the committee’s investigation would violate doctor-patient confidentiality.

He ultimately did appear when Comer rejected his delay request, but O’Connor was in and out of the committee room in less than an hour after pleading the Fifth Amendment to all questions, save for his name.

Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams is a longtime Biden advisor who still works for the former president, according to her LinkedIn. She appeared for a voluntary transcribed interview on July 11.

The close Biden ally’s time with him goes back to assisting then-second lady Jill Biden during the Obama administration, according to a 2019 profile of Biden staffers.

She served as his trip director for the 2020 campaign before being hired to the White House as deputy director of Oval Office Operations and a special assistant to the president.

Williams repeatedly told committee staff during her sit-down that she did not ‘recall’ various things ‘an untold number of times,’ but that she believed Biden was fit to be president today, a source told Fox News Digital.

‘Examples include she could not recall if she spoke with President Biden in the last week, if teleprompters were used for Cabinet meetings, if there were discussions about President Biden using a wheelchair, if there were discussions about a cognitive test, if she discussed a mental or physical decline of President Biden, if she ever had to wake President Biden up and how she got involved with his 2020 campaign,’ the source said.

Anthony Bernal

Anthony Bernal, who was nicknamed Jill Biden’s ‘work husband’ for their close relationship, was the second person subpoenaed to appear. 

Like O’Connor, Bernal’s July 16 deposition lasted less than an hour after he pleaded the Fifth Amendment to investigators.

Bernal served as former Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady. He also still appears to work for the Bidens, according to LinkedIn, which says he works for Jill Biden specifically.

‘During his deposition today, Mr. Bernal pleaded the Fifth when asked if any unelected official or family members executed the duties of the President and if Joe Biden ever instructed him to lie about his health,’ Comer said in a statement after Bernal’s deposition.

Annie Tomasini

Former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Annie Tomasini had been scheduled to appear for a transcribed interview, before her counsel requested a subpoena from Comer shortly before her July 18 appearance.

Tomasini followed O’Connor and Bernal’s lead in pleading the Fifth Amendment, which people coming in voluntarily cannot do.

‘During her deposition today, Ms. Tomasini pleaded the Fifth when asked if Joe Biden, a member of his family, or anyone at the White House instructed her to lie regarding his health at any time,’ Comer said in a statement after her deposition.

‘She also pleaded the Fifth when asked if she ever advised President Biden on the handling of classified documents found in his garage, if President Biden or anyone in the White House instructed her to conceal or destroy classified material found at President Biden’s home or office, and if she ever conspired with anyone in the White House to hide information regarding the Biden family’s ‘business’ dealings.’

She first worked for Biden as a press secretary when he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a U.S. senator from Delaware.

Ron Klain

Ron Klain served as Biden’s chief of staff for the first two years of his White House term and played a key role in preparing him for his disastrous 2024 presidential debate against former President Donald Trump.

Klain told investigators that he believed Biden’s memory got worse over time, but he still had the ability to govern, a source familiar with his interview told Fox News Digital.

The source said Klain also claimed to have heard concerns about Biden’s political viability from both former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden’s own national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, by 2024, though it’s not clear if those concerns are tied to his mental acuity nor that they spoke to Klain together.

A spokesperson for Sullivan vehemently denied the account.

Klain also told investigators that Biden appeared tired and ill before the 2024 debate, the source said.

In a letter requesting his appearance, Comer quoted Klain as cutting Biden’s debate prep short last year, ‘due to the president’s fatigue and lack of familiarity with the subject matter,’ adding that Biden ‘didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation,’ citing a POLITICO report from earlier this year. 

Steve Ricchetti

Former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti sat down with House investigators earlier this week on voluntary terms.

Unlike the vast majority of others before him, who did not acknowledge media gathered outside the committee room, Ricchetti told Fox News’ Chad Pergram that ‘of course’ Biden was up to the job of president.

Ricchetti’s interview was also the longest by far – running roughly eight hours on Wednesday.

A source familiar with Ricchetti’s sitdown described him as ‘combative and defensive’ during exchanges with House Oversight staff.

Ricchetti asserted he had personal relationships with Jill Biden and Hunter Biden in addition to the former president, the source said.

His own family had relationships with the Biden administration as well – three of his four children worked in the Treasury, State Department and in the White House.

The longtime Democratic operative and lobbyist was one of two longtime trusted aides reportedly with Biden in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, when he drafted his bombshell letter announcing he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

Mike Donilon

Former senior advisor to the president Mike Donilon is the latest member of Biden’s inner circle to appear before House investigators, sitting down with them voluntarily on Thursday for roughly five hours.

Donilon first began working for Biden in 1981 as a pollster when Biden was the junior U.S. senator from Delaware.

Alongside Ricchetti, he was one of two Biden aides who were present when he drafted his announcement dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

Donilon told investigators he received $4 million to work for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and would have gotten $4 million more if Biden had won, a source told Fox News Digital.

He staunchly defended Biden during his interview, the source said, accusing Democrats of overreacting in the wake of Biden’s debate.

Donilon told investigators Biden is ‘a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues,’ according to his opening statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

‘Every president ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any president has ever faced,’ Donilon said.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

Cambodia will nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after he helped the country reach a ceasefire agreement to end its border conflict with Thailand.

Sun Chanthol, Cambodia’s deputy prime minister, thanked Trump for bringing peace to the region while speaking to reporters earlier Friday in the country’s capital of Phnom Penh.

Chanthol said the American president deserved to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the highest-profile international award given to a person or organization for doing the most to ‘advance fellowship between nations.’

‘We acknowledge his great efforts for peace,’ Chanthol said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and Pakistani officials said in June they would recommend him for the award for his role in helping to end its conflict with India.

Trump urged a ceasefire last week when he spoke to the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand and threatened that the U.S. would not get back to the ‘trading table’ with the Southeast Asian countries until the fighting stops.

A ceasefire was negotiated in Malaysia on Monday, ending the heaviest conflict between the two countries in over a decade.

‘Numerous people were killed and I was dealing with two countries that we get along with very well, very different countries from certain standpoints. They’ve been fighting for 500 years intermittently. And, we solved that war … we solved it through trade,’ Trump told reporters during his recent trip to Scotland.

Following news of the ceasefire, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that Trump’s direct involvement led to the truce.

‘President Trump made this happen. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!,’ she said.

The fighting began last week after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Each side blamed the other for starting the clashes, which lasted five days.

At least 43 people were killed and more than 300,000 people were displaced on both sides of the border.

‘I said, ‘I don’t want to trade with anybody that’s killing each other,” Trump continued while in Scotland. ‘So we just got that one solved. And I’m going to call the two prime ministers who I got along with very, very well and speak to them right after this meeting and congratulate them. But it was an honor to be involved in that. That was going to be a very nasty war. Those wars have been very, very nasty.’

Chanthol, who also serves as Cambodia’s top trade negotiator, said his country was also grateful to Trump for a reduced tariff rate of 19%.

The Trump administration had initially threatened a tariff of 49% before later reducing it to 36%, a level that would have decimated Cambodia’s vital garment and footwear sector, Chanthol told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.