General U.S. NewsJul 12, 2026·3 min read

Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink

Fortune – Tech

1h ago

Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink

Summary

The world’s most-envied retirement plan has another high-profile booster: President Donald Trump. Riding high off public enthusiasm for the Trump Accounts for children , Trump last week renewed his focus on their parents and grandparents. And he said he’s looking to Australia’s private pensions, known as superannuation funds, for inspiration to reform the ailing US retirement system. The president has repeatedly praised the country’s employer-funded, privately run system in recent months. But last week, he said he ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to study the model as part of their discussions with Congress about how to expand the US retirement system. “They have a plan in Australia, which people really like. It’s really worked out very well,” Trump said on July 6, when he also met with BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, a vocal champion of Australia’s model for several years. “We’re going to be talking about that with Congress and see if we can implement it.” Asset managers and retirement policy experts alike often look with envy on Australia’s rapidly growing $3.1 trillion retirement system. In the early 1990s, that country passed legislation that required employers to supplement workers’ wages with contributions to privately managed pensions. The contribution rate has gradually risen to 12% of employee salaries, including for part-time workers. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has been a vocal critic of the US Social Security system, applauded Trump’s comments in a July 8 post on X on July 8, calling them “exactly right.” “I’m authoring legislation to ensure every American — from bartenders to gig workers — has the opportunity to build wealth, own a piece of the American Dream, and share in our nation’s prosperity,” Cruz said.

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US congressman says ‘IDF is lying’ about his detention by settlers and soldiers

Israeli ambassador to US accuses Ro Khanna of political stunt to distract from support for Graham Platner Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”. During an interview with NBC News ’ Meet the Press on Sunday, the California Democrat was asked about the Israeli military’s claim that its soldiers “quickly dispersed” the Israeli civilians and reopened the blocked road. “The IDF is lying,” Khanna said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4 [rifles], kicking the tires of our van, laughing at us, mocking at us, videotaping us. “We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives. Then the IDF comes, four soldiers. They tell our translator that they’re on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in.” Khanna was also asked about comments by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , who appeared before him on Meet the Press and called the armed settlers who stopped the congressman’s vehicle as a small band of “juvenile delinquents”. Netanyahu maintained they are not part of what he called the “law-abiding” community of Israeli settlers. That does excuse the IDF from detaining American citizens.” In an interview on Sunday on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Israel’s US-born ambassador to the US, Michael Leiter, accused Khanna of visiting the West Bank as a political stunt – both to distract from his past support of Graham Platner , the former Maine US Senate candidate accused of sexual assault, and to promote his potential run for the White House in 2028.

‘Mr President, you’re not far behind God’: Lindsey Graham in his own words

The South Carolina senator illustrated the changing face of the Republican party, from being an anti-Trump voice to a supporter of his war with Iran Lindsey Graham dies after sudden illness aged 71 L indsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who died on Saturday night , unexpectedly at the age of 71, was a politician who more than many illustrated the changing face of the Republican party in the age of Donald Trump. A former House member, Graham sat in the Senate from 2003 as a foreign policy hawk and a close friend and ally of John McCain, the relatively socially liberal Arizona senator who became the party’s presidential nominee in 2008. Mounting his own run in 2015, Graham presented himself as an anti-Trump voice, colorfully denouncing his rival as a far-right threat. Graham didn’t vote for Trump (backing independent Evan McMullin instead) but once Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and even after Trump abused McCain both before and after his death, Graham worked his way into Trump’s inner circle. Another estrangement, over January 6 and Trump’s attempted election subversion, lasted an even shorter time. Back onside and on the golf course with Trump, Graham became a vociferous supporter of Trump’s war with Iran. Here’s a taste of how Graham described his political journey. As good a man as God ever created.” “My friendship with Joe Biden, if it can’t withstand me doing my job, then it’s not the friendship I thought we had.” On Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman “This guy is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey, and to expect me to ignore it, I feel used and abused … The MBS figure is to me toxic. He would kill all the Jews, and we’re next,” Graham said Monday. “I’ll put my efforts to make sure the military has what they need to win the wars we’re in, ahead of anybody in the United States Senate.” “If Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them.

Anthony Zurcher: From Trump critic to ally, Lindsey Graham was a political survivor of the Maga era

Lindsey Graham, who has died aged 71, was a political survivor. While there were certain issues central to Graham's political identity – including a hawkish foreign policy that focused on containing Russian global ambitions, support for Israel and regime change in Iran – his 23-year career in the Senate was marked by a willingness to adapt to the gale-force change of political winds that accompanied Trump's rise to power. Shortly after being elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate in 2002, Graham became a close ally of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who, while a staunch conservative, developed a national reputation for political independence. When Trump picked Brett Kavanaugh to be his second Supreme Court appointment, Graham angrily condemned allegations of sexual assault made against the nominee, who denied wrongdoing. Graham broke with Trump, however, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden – a former Senate friend of Graham's who he once called "the nicest person I've ever met in politics". He voted to acquit Trump of impeachment charges in his February 2021 Senate trial. While he publicly called for greater US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, he tempered his criticism of Trump's overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin and declined to push new sanctions against the nation without the president's explicit approval. Despite Graham's close ties with the president, he continued to maintain friendships with his Democratic counterparts in the Senate, as evidenced the growing list of statements of condolences following his death – including from outspoken Trump critics like Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. "He was able to deal with Democrats," Trump said during a television interview on Sunday morning. While South Carolina is a reliably conservative state, if Trump's disapproval ratings remain high and Republicans continue to face strong political headwinds, they may have to commit more resources to defending what is now an open Senate seat.

Trump embraces Australian retirement system backed by Larry Fink

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US congressman says ‘IDF is lying’ about his detention by settlers and soldiers

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Anthony Zurcher: From Trump critic to ally, Lindsey Graham was a political survivor of the Maga era