Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of the day in US politics. We will return on Friday to resume our real-time chronicle of the second Trump administration.
Here are some of the day’s developments:
Donald Trump once again put a central part of his trade war on pause, temporarily exempting from tariffs Mexican and Canadian goods covered by the continental free trade agreement he negotiated in his first term. However, the president said he was still ready to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on both Canada and Mexico next month.
Trump told his cabinet secretaries that they are in charge of hiring and firings at their agencies, not Elon Musk.
The House has voted to censure Democratic congressman Al Green for disrupting Trump’s address to this week’s joint session of Congress. The motion was approved with 224 votes in favor and 198 opposed, with 10 Democrats in support.
In an escalation of his pressure campaign, Trump said the US will not fight for Nato allies who don’t spend enough on their own defense.
US district judge Beryl Howell ruled on Thursday that Donald Trump’s firing of a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board was illegal and ordered that she be reinstated to her post.
Axios reports that the state department is hunting for evidence that foreign students who express support for Palestinians under Israeli occupation while studying in the US are “pro-Hamas”, and can have their visas revoked, based on an AI review of their social media accounts.
Trump thanked a reporter for the partisan outlet Breitbart for asking him a friendly question in the Oval Office, which teed him up to attack Democrats. The White House excluded non-partisan reporters from Reuters and the Associated Press to make room for Breitbart and One America News, two pro-Trump outlets.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday evening to establish a “strategic bitcoin reserve”, a day before meeting with executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who reportedly endured a profanity-laced tirade from Trump, was asked about his foreign minister’s comment that dealing with the US was now “a psychodrama”. “How would you characterize it?” a reporter asked. “Thursday”, Trudeau replied.
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Trump signs executive order to create 'strategic reserve' of bitcoin
Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday evening to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, a day before meeting with executives from the cryptocurrency industry at the White House.
According to the White House crypto czar, billionaire David Sacks, who announced the order in a post on Elon Musk’s social media platform Twitter/X, the reserve “will be capitalized with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings”.
Reuters reports that attendees at Friday’s White House crypto summit expect the event to serve as a stage for Trump to formally announce his plans to build a strategic reserve containing bitcoin and four other cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week, Trump announced the names of five digital assets he expects to include in this reserve, spiking the market value of each.
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With AP banished, Trump thanks Breitbart reporter for easy question
Now that the White House has seized full control over which media outlets get to attend events such as today’s signing of executive orders by the president in the Oval Office, and reporters from two non-partisan wire services, the Associated Press and Reuters, have been excluded, there has been a noticeable decrease in challenging questions.
That dynamic was on full display on Thursday when Trump took a question from a reporter standing to his right, near the Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo.
“The other night, we saw Democrats’ behavior during your joint address to Congress,” the reporter said. “Do you think it shows just how out of touch they are with the American people, especially given that 79%, according to a CBS poll, approved of your speech?”
“I love this guy,” Trump said. “Who are you with?”
“My name’s Nick Gilbertson, with Breitbart News.”
“I see. I really liked your questions,” Trump said. “The answer is – just – Nick, and I know your name very well. Good job you do … the answer is, I thought it was very embarrassing for the Democrats what happened the other night.”
According to the White House, the non-partisan reporters allowed into the Oval Office on Thursday to ask Trump questions came from just one wire service, Bloomberg, and one print outlet, the New York Times.
In addition to the Breitbart reporter, the rest of the pool included correspondents from two pro-Trump broadcasters, Fox and One America News, a radio reporter from Fox and photographers from Reuters, the Times, Getty and AFP.
The One America News correspondent, Daniel Baldwin, also asked Trump a friendly question, which included praise for his administration triggering “the renaissance of domestic manufacturing”.
Trump had previously praised Baldwin for asking, during his contentious meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a question that included praise for what the reporter called the president’s “moral courage and conviction” to engage in talks with Russia. “Boy, I love this guy,” Trump said. “Who are you with?”
“One America News, sir,” Baldwin replied.
“One America News does a great job,” Trump said.
The fact that Reuters and the Associated Press have been excluded is no surprise to observers of Trump’s first term in office.
When Trump met Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018, the two most explosive questions of the news conference, which set Trump off, came from AP White House reporter Jonathan Lemire and Jeff Mason of Reuters. After Mason asked the Russian president why Americans should believe Russia did not intervene in the 2016 election, given the evidence that US intelligence agencies have provided, Lemire followed up by pressing Trump to say whether he believed Putin or his own intelligence agencies more.
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Police in Oregon are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership overnight in the latest instance of vandalism at one of the company’s retail stores.
No one was injured in the early morning shooting in Tigard outside Portland. Surveillance video indicated the shots were fired at around 1.46am when the building was not occupied.
Images from a local news broadcast showed shattered windows on the dealership and bullet holes in two cars.
Investigators believe at least seven shots were fired, damaging three cars and shattering windows, Tigard police said in a statement. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor.
As the Associated Press reports, the shooting comes a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado, including Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray painted on the building.
Earlier this month, police in Salem, Oregon, arrested a man in connection with two incidents after a report that someone threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership, the Salem Statesman-Journal reported.
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Trump claims he asked Saudi Arabia spend $1tn on US goods to secure his visit to country
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump dodged a question about whether he still plans to meet the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Saudi Arabia soon, but said that he will be visiting the country soon after his demand that the Saudis agree to spend $1tn on US military equipment and other goods was met.
“I’m going to Saudi Arabia,” Trump said. “I made a deal with Saudi Arabia.”
Normally, the president said, a first foreign visit would be to the UK, but “last time I went to Saudi Arabia, they put up $450bn … We had American companies that took in $450[bn]. I said: ‘Well, this time, they’ve gotten richer, we’ve all gotten older. So I said: ‘I’ll go if you pay a trillion dollars,’ $1tn to American companies, meaning the purchase over a four-year period of a trillion dollars, and they’ve agreed to do that, so I’m going to be going there”
Updated
In a public filing, Elon Musk’s America Pac reports spending $1m on voter turnout and canvassing operations in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, according to Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
As Bice notes on Musk’s social-media platform X, that brings the Pac’s spending to over $4.2m on the campaign of conservative judge Brad Schimel. Another Musk-funded group, Building America’s Future, has spent another $2 million on TV commercials to elect Schimel.
In addition to supporting the former Republican state attorney general, Building America’s Future has also quietly bankrolled a misleading campaign of attack ads placed on Instagram, Facebook that appear to be from his rival, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
The ads, which are presented as messages in support of Crawford, but falsely frame her as a left-wing extremist who will “stand up for immigrants” and promote a justice system that gives criminals “second chances” were in fact paid for by the Musk-funded group.
As the Associated Press explains, the ads are attributed to a fictional group, Progress 2028, which ran fake ads last October made to look as though they came from Democrats backing the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris. Those fake ads claimed, incorrectly, that Harris supported policies such as eliminating gas-powered vehicles and giving voting rights to undocumented immigrants living in the US.
Building America’s Future also paid to send misleading messages to Jewish voters in Michigan boasting that Harris was pro-Palestinian, and messages to Arab-American voters in the state calling her a champion of Israel.
The race has huge implications in swing state Wisconsin, with majority control of the state’s highest court on the line as it is expected to face issues that will affect abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.
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State department plans to revoke foreign students' visas over pro-Palestinian social media posts flagged by AI
Axios reports that the state department is hunting for evidence that foreign students who express support for Palestinians under Israeli occupation while studying in the US are “pro-Hamas”, and can have their visas revoked, based on an AI review of their social media accounts.
“The effort – which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts –marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government’s policing of foreign nationals’ conduct and speech” the Axios correspondent Marc Caputo wrote. “The reviews of social media accounts are particularly looking for evidence of alleged terrorist sympathies expressed after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, officials say.”
Among the more alarming aspects of the plan is the fact that the definition of support for Hamas could be so broad that it includes any support for “intifada”, which is an Arabic word used by Palestinians to describe uprisings against the 58-year-old Israeli occupations of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, including non-violent protests and armed resistance.
When he was a senator, Marco Rubio, the current secretary of state, repeatedly equated all calls for “intifada” with support for terrorism.
“We see people marching at our universities and in the streets of our country ... calling for ‘intifada’, celebrating what Hamas has done” Rubio told Fox News in October 2023: “Those people need to go.”
In a subsequent press release, Rubio wrote: “We cannot allow foreign nationals who support terrorist groups like Hamas and march in our streets calling for ‘intifada’ to enter or stay in our country.”
The same month, as Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza began, Rubio introduced a Senate resolution calling on the Biden administration to revoke the visas of foreign students who took part in protests in support of the Palestinians, labelling them all as supporters of Hamas.
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Elon Musk is telling Republican lawmakers in private meetings that he is not to blame for the mass firings of federal workers that are causing anger among their constituents, the Associated Press reports.
Following on reports from earlier on Thursday that Trump told cabinet secretaries are ultimately in charge of hiring and firings at their agencies, not Musk, the AP reports that, in private talks this week, the billionaire told lawmakers experiencing blowback for the firings of thousands of federal workers, including veterans, that those decisions are left to the various federal agencies.
Despite copious evidence that Musk has acted as if he has the authority to fire federal workers, Representative Richard Hudson, who leads the House Republicans’ campaign arm said on Thursday: “Elon doesn’t fire people.”
“He doesn’t have hiring and firing authority,” Hudson said after a meeting with Musk over pizza in the basement of the Capitol. “The president’s empowered him to go uncover this information, that’s it.”
Musk’s attempts to centralize management of the government workforce and usurp the power of Congress to appropriate federal dollars has lead to a slew of lawsuits, in which the government has claimed, confusingly, that Musk is not the head of the “department of government efficiency” initiative. In Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress this week, he contradicted that claim, and the president’s statement was quickly introduced as evidence in one suit.
A federal judge in San Francisco expressed concerns that layoffs violated the law, leading administration officials to insist that it was individual agencies – not Musk or the Office of Personnel Management – calling the shots.
Updated
Trump blames market sell-off on ‘globalists’, invoking antisemitic trope
As he signed executive orders in the Oval Office this afternoon, including his on-again, off-again tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump was asked by Peter Doocy of Fox News about the sharp decline in the stock market since he started his trade war.
Trump said that he blamed “globalists”, a term that is often used as code for Jewish people by antisemites.
“What’s your thought about why the markets are so spooked? Do you think they don’t like the tariffs, or do they not like the uncertainty with some of the changes and the carve-outs?” Doocy asked.
“Well a lot of them are globalist countries and companies that won’t be doing as well because we’re taking back things that have been taken from us many years ago,” Trump replied. “We’ve been treated very unfairly as a country. We protect everybody; we do everything for all these countries,” he added: “we just weren’t treated right; we were ripped off.”
The term “globalist” is an entry in the Anti-Defamation League’s glossary of extremism and hate. According to the ADL:
White supremacists and other antisemites frequently use the term as an antisemitic dog whistle, wielding it as a codeword for Jews or as a pejorative term for people whose interests in international commerce or finance ostensibly make them disloyal to the country in which they live, or who are willing to undermine the financial security of their neighbors in order to benefit transnational interests …
Antigovernment extremists also use the term globalist, usually without the antisemitic connotations, in references to conspiracy theories about the “New World Order.”
Trump’s claim that the United States is foolish for providing military protection to allies is one of his oldest and most consistent beliefs. In 1987, as he reportedly weighed a run for the presidency, Trump paid to publish an open letter to the American people as a full-page ad in the New York Times in which he claim that US military allies and trade rivals were scamming the US and, as a result, “the world is laughing at America’s politicians.”
At the end of the press availability, Trump reiterated the comment when he was asked again about the plunging value of stocks that make up a large share of many Americans retirement plans.
“I think it’s globalists that see how rich our country is going to be, and they don’t like it,” he said. “They’ve been ripping off this country for years and now – and they’re going to do great, everyone’s going to do great, but we can’t let this continue to happen to America.”
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Federal judge rules Trump illegally fired labor board member, reinstates her
US district judge Beryl Howell ruled on Thursday that Donald Trump’s firing of a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board was illegal and ordered that she be reinstated to her post.
The decision restores a quorum of three members at the labor board, which had been paralyzed and unable to decide cases involving private-sector employers after Trump removed Gwynne Wilcox in January.
As our colleague Michael Sainato reports, Wilcox was the first member of the NLRN to be removed by a US president since the board’s inception in 1935.
The framers of the US constitution, the judge wrote in the ruling, “made clear that no one in our system of government was meant to be king – the President included – and not just in name only”.
Read the full story here:
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Trump says US will not defend Nato countries that don't spend enough on defense
In an escalation of his pressure campaign, Donald Trump said the US will not fight for Nato allies who don’t spend enough on their own defense.
“I think it’s common sense,” the president said. “They don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
He went on to accuse Nato allies of not being willing to defend the United States, if the roles were reversed:
If the United States was in trouble, and we called them, we said we got a problem, France, we got a problem, couple of others, I won’t mention –you think they’re going to come and protect us? They’re supposed to, I’m not so sure.
It’s worth noting that after the September 11 attacks, Nato allies rallied to the US’s defense and participated in the invasion of Afghanistan, remaining in the country for two decades.
All that said, Trump reiterated that he did not intend to leave Nato:
I view Nato as potentially good, but again … it’s very unfair what’s been happening.
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Trump says he'll 'probably' extend reprieve from TikTok ban if deal is not made
Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he will “probably” extend TikTok’s deadline to find a US buyer or face a ban.
On the day he took office, the president gave the popular social media app a 75-day exemption from a law Congress passed that was intended to force its China-based owned to divest. Speaking to reporters, Trump said that if necessary, he was willing to allow TikTok to continue operating while the search for a buyer continues.
“We have a lot of interest in TikTok. China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal,” Trump said.
He declined to say how long of an extension he would be willing to give.
Updated
Donald Trump also confirmed that cabinet secretaries and agency heads will take the lead in determining where to make cuts in the federal workforce, with Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” in a supporting role.
“I don’t want to see a big cut where a lot of good people are cut. I want the cabinet members to keep the good people and the people that aren’t doing a good job, that are unreliable, don’t show up to work, etc, those people can be cut,” Trump said.
“We’re going to be watching them, and Elon and the group are going to be watching them and if they can cut, it’s better,” Trump said. “And if they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting.”
It was confirmation that Trump was cutting back on the mandate he had given Musk to dramatically downsize the federal government.
Trump gives Canada tariff exemption for goods covered by free trade agreement
Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will temporarily exempt Canadian goods covered by a continental free trade agreement from his tariff plan.
Goods imported to the United States under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement will be exempted from Trump’s 25% tariffs for one month, according to the order Trump just signed in the Oval Office, which will also do the same for goods from Mexico.
However the president said he was still ready to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on both Canada and Mexico next month, which could further disrupt trade relations across the continent.
“During this interim period between now and April 2, this makes it much more favorable for our American car manufacturers,” Trump said.
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Democrats who voted to censure Al Green explain why they did it
Most Democrats opposed censuring congressman Al Green, who heckled Donald Trump during his speech to a joint session of Congress and was thrown out of the House chamber for it.
But 10 Democrats went along with the Republican-backed resolution, with several explaining that they felt they had no option if they want to hold their opponents to account in the future. Here’s Connecticut’s Jim Himes, encapsulating the sentiment:
Years ago, I voted to hold Joe Wilson accountable for yelling ‘you lie’ at Barack Obama. Today, I voted to censure Al Green for a larger disruption. Unlike Republicans, I believe that rules, accountability and civility should not be torched. And certainly not just because the other side does so. If we cannot act with the principle and seriousness our nation deserves, our government will continue to devolve into a MAGA cesspool.
Perennially endangered Washington congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said it was a matter of respect:
Today, I voted to censure a fellow member of Congress. When you knowingly break House rules, as Rep. Green did, it shouldn’t be surprising to face consequences. Congress should respect the co-equal office of the Presidency, regardless of who holds the job, do our constitutional duty, and stop with the theatrics at these events.
Pennsylvania’s Chrissy Houlahan says she thinks many more people in the chamber should be censured, and told House speaker Mike Johnson as much:
I did indeed have a heated conversation with Speaker Johnson on the House floor after I voted yes to censure my colleague. I called Speaker Johnson out on his and his party’s hypocrisy and reminded him of the many instances in which Republicans have blatantly broken the rules of conduct without consequence. He told me if he punished each instance, he’d have to censure half the House. I suggested he do just that. Rules are rules.
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Trump cabinet told they're in charge of hiring, not Musk - report
There appears to be more to Donald Trump’s meeting with cabinet secretaries than he let on. Politico reports that the president told them that they are in charge of hiring and firings at their agencies, not Elon Musk.
The president’s message came after signs of tensions between his secretaries and Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) flared. Doge was linked to an email sent to federal workers demanding details of their work that many agencies told their employees not to respond to, while some Republican lawmakers have said it should be up to agency heads to decide who to hire and fire.
Here’s more on the meeting, from Politico:
President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You’re in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk.
According to two administration officials, Trump told top members of his administration that Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk was also in the room.
The meeting followed a series of mass firings and threats to government workers from the billionaire Tesla founder, who helms the Department of Government Efficiency, that created broad uncertainty across the federal government and its workforce.
…
The president’s message represents the first significant move to narrow Musk’s mandate. According to Trump’s new guidance, DOGE and its staff should play an advisory role — but Cabinet secretaries should make final decisions on personnel, policy and the pacing of implementation.
Musk joined the conversation and indicated he was on board with Trump’s directive. According to one person familiar with the meeting, Musk acknowledged that DOGE had made some missteps — a message he shared earlier this week with members of Congress.
Trump stressed that he wants to keep good people in government and not eject capable federal workers en masse, according to one of the officials. It is unclear whether the new guidance will result in laid off workers getting rehired.
The timing of the meeting was influenced by recent comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who said on CNN Tuesday that Cabinet secretaries should retain the full power to hire and fire, according to one official. The official said Trump has been flooded with similar concerns from other lawmakers and Cabinet secretaries.
Trump praises Musk's 'Doge', vows to keep downsizing government
Donald Trump restated his support for Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, and vowed to continue helping him cut down federal agencies.
The president’s comments came as judges nationwide consider challenges to Trump and Musk’s moves, including their attempts to shutter USAid. Yesterday, the supreme court ruled that the Trump administration must abide by a judge’s order for the aid agency to pay $2b to its partners, a sign that the conservative-dominated court may not be entirely onboard with the unorthodox downsizing campaign.
“DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He continued:
We just had a meeting with most of the Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one. It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people. We’re going to have these meetings every two weeks until that aspect of this very necessary job is done. The relationships between everybody in that room are extraordinary. They all want to get to the exact same place, which is, simply, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Doge continues to face substantial, though not necessarily durable, pushback as it spreads its campaign across the federal government:
The Republican-majority US House Judiciary Committee has reportedly issued a subpoena to tech company Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google.
Reuters is reporting that the committee is seeking the company’s internal communications as well as those with third parties and government officials during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.
A day after the supreme court denied a request from the Trump administration to continue freezing nearly $2bn in foreign aid, US foreign aid contractors and grant recipients are set to go before a federal judge today to try to restore the halted funding.
The hearing is scheduled to take place in Washington today at 2 pm ET.
When Donald Trump took office on 20 January, he ordered a 90-day freeze on all US foreign assistance, while his administration reviewed whether aid was consistent with his “America first” foreign policy, temporarily ending thousands of programs worldwide.
Several aid organisations that had received grants or contracts with the US government sued the administration, and a US District judge ordered that the funding be temporarily restored.
But, the Trump administration then filed an emergency request with the supreme court and Chief Justice Roberts initially paused the deadline to allow the court more time to review the request and hear from both sides.
Until this week, when the supreme court rejected the administration’s bid to continue freezing nearly $2bn in foreign aid, leaving in place the ruling from the district judge, which ordered the administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid, for work already completed by the organizations and that had been approved by Congress.
Tim Walz, Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said in an announcement today that he wants fired federal workers to consider jobs in his state.
“In Minnesota, we value the experience and expertise of federal workers, even if Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE do not,” Walz said in a statement. “Government workers provide services each of us relies on — from park rangers to firefighters to medical personnel who care for our veterans. If the Trump administration turned you away, Minnesota wants you.”
Walz said that fired federal workers in his state can visit Minnesota’s careers website for resources to help with their job searches and to apply for unemployment benefits. He also said it will include resources for fired veterans.
There are around 18,000 federal employees in Minnesota.
Fox News’ senior White House correspondent is reporting that a meeting between Ukraine and the US is scheduled to take place on Tuesday next week.
“Rubio, Witkoff, Waltz headed to Riyadh on Tuesday to meet with Ukrainians, including Yermak” Jacqui Heinrich posted on X today.
Follow along in our Ukraine live blog here:
Scheinbaum says 'virtually all' Mexico-US trade now exempt
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that “virtually all” of Mexico’s trade with the US is under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as USMCA, which will be exempt from tariffs until 2 April.
“Practically all the trade we have with the United States is within the Mexico, United States, Canada Agreement” Sheinbaum said at a news conference on Thursday, as reported by CNN. “There is a part that has to do with rules of origin, but everything is practically within the trade agreement.”
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Indivisible, a progressive group that emerged in 2016, has criticized the 10 Democrats who joined Republicans in censuring Representative Al Green this morning.
“Rep. Green had the spine to call out Trump’s blatant lies on Tuesday night” Indivisible’s co-executive director Ezra Levin said in a statement. “That’s the kind of Democratic leadership we need-not tone-policing, not pearl-clutching, and certainly not pretending this is a normal presidency.”
Levin added that if “Trump wants respect, he can start by respecting the laws of this country and ending his coup.”
“An unelected billionaire is handing teenagers the keys to Americans’ most sensitive data-yet 10 House Democrats just sided with Republicans to police criticism of Trump” Levin said. “These ten Democrats decided their priority was upholding ‘norms’ that the GOP has torched for years -- all while tens of millions of Americans brace for the devastating consequences of MAGA’s extreme cuts.”
The group also questioned why Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, did not take action to unify his caucus on this issue, stating, “Jeffries didn’t unify his own damn members to protect his own damn caucus. He could have prevented this Democratic fracture and presented a united front. He chose not to.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the US will exert a campaign of maximum pressure of sanctions on Iran to collapse its oil exports and put pressure on its currency.
Speaking to members at the Economic Club of New York, Bessent said, that “making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy” according to the Associated Press.
He also reportedly said that the US government would consider going “all in” on sanctions on Russian energy, if it helps lead to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, according to Bloomberg.
Sanctions on Russia, Bessent reportedly said, “will be used explicitly and aggressively for immediate maximum impact.”
Four Wisconsin voters whose ballots were not counted in the November 2024 presidential election initiated a class-action lawsuit Thursday seeking $175,000 in damages each.
The voters were among 193 in Madison, Wisconsin whose ballots were misplaced by the city clerk and not discovered until weeks after the election. The uncounted ballots reportedly did not affect the result of any races.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission investigated but did not determine whether Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl failed to comply with state law or abused her discretion.
In his post on Truth Social this morning, President Donald Trump said that “after speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement.”
But, Mexico was not required to pay tariffs in the first place.
Tariffs are not paid by countries, but importers who buy products from businesses in the targeted countries. In this case, US tariffs on products from Mexico are paid by the US companies importing those products.
Take Target – The retail giant’s CEO noted earlier this week that it relies heavily on Mexican produce during the winter months. Fruit and vegetable prices would likely rise swiftly on the shelves of its US stores, he warned after the tariffs were imposed.
What we know and don't know about Mexico tariff exemption
On tariffs, Donald Trump’s latest Truths raise more questions than they answer.
What we know:
Products exported from Mexico to the US will not face tariffs, for now.
What we don’t know:
What about products exported from Canada to the US?
What has changed since Tuesday, when tariffs were imposed?
What about products exported from Mexico after Tuesday, but before 11.29am on Thursday, when Trump announced they were shelved?
What happens after 2 April?
What has Mexico done that Canada hasn’t?
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Walmart has asked some Chinese suppliers for major price cuts, with attempts by the US retail giant to shift the burden of Trump’s tariffs meeting push back from firms in China, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
Certain suppliers, including makers of kitchenware and clothing, have been asked to lower their prices by as much as 10% per round of tariffs, essentially asking suppliers to shoulder the full cost of Trump’s duties, the report said.
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Mexico's president says call was 'excellent'
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum describes the phone call with President Donald Trump as “excellent and respectful” and says that the countries will continue to work together.
In a post on social media, Sheinbaum confirmed the agreement between Mexico and the US to pause tariffs on Mexico’s USCMA compliant goods until April 2.
She said that the two countries will continue to work together, particularly on migration and security issues.
The agreement between the US and Mexico is in place until 2 April, she said, which is when the United States plans to announce reciprocal tariffs for all countries.
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Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has taken to social media to criticise DOGE, after she met with some USAid employees in her state of Alaksa.
“This week, I met with some Alaskan USAID employees” the Senator wrote. “They not only informed me of the confusing and callous handling of personnel matters by OPM and DOGE, but they also painted an incredibly troubling picture of what the world looks like without humanitarian assistance from the United States.”
“Although I support measures to find inefficiencies within the agency, USAID’s mission to keep people healthy and safe in even the most remote corners of the world should not be eliminated” she added.
Judge extends block barring Trump administration from freezing grants and loans
A federal judge extended a block barring the Trump administration from freezing grants and loans, potentially totaling trillions of dollars.
On Thursday, US District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island indefinitely prohibited the federal government from freezing or otherwise impeding the disbursement of appropriated federal funds to state governments.
The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states following the Trump administration’s plan for a sweeping pause on federal spending caused great concern across the US.
McConnell said in his ruling that the executive branch was trying to put itself above Congress and by doing so “undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”
Trump says he is suspending tariffs on many Mexican goods for one month
President Donald Trump has announced that after speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum he has agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay tariffs on anything that falls under the US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement until 2 April.
His post reads:
After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement. This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!
But, Mexico was not required to pay tariffs in the first place.
Tariffs are not paid by countries, but importers who buy products from businesses in the targeted countries. In this case, US tariffs on products from Mexico are paid by the US companies importing those products.
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said today that one-month exemptions from tariffs are likely for more than just carmakers.
In an interview with CNBC this morning, Lutnick said that all goods and services compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) will likely be exempt from Donald Trump’s tariffs for one month, similar to the one-month exemption given to carmakers on Wednesday.
“It’s likely that it will cover all USMCA compliant goods and services, so that which is part of President Trump’s deal with Canada and Mexico are likely to get an exemption from these tariffs” Lutnick said. “The reprieve is for one month.”
On Wednesday, the Trump administration temporarily spared carmakers from sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.
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White House denies Trump executive order concerns education department
Donald Trump is set to sign unspecified executive orders at 2pm ET today, and reports have emerged that one will order the closing of the department of education.
But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that is not the case. On X, she referred to the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the matter, and said:
More Fake News! President Trump is NOT signing an Executive Order on the Department of Education today.
That said, all signs point to the education department being in the Trump administration’s crosshairs:
In social media posts, Democratic congressman Al Green has kept up the defiant tone he exhibited at Donald Trump’s joint session on Congress on Tuesday.
Writing on X after the speech he was booted out of, Green said:
Last night I stood up for those who need Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Democrats will never abandon the fight to make sure every American has a safe, healthy, and financially secure life. #ISaidWhatISaid
And as it became clear the House was ready to censure him, he wrote:
During the 10:00 hour ET, Congressman Al Green will be censured this morning for standing up to President Trump.
A censure is the House’s formal mechanism to express its disapproval of a member’s conduct, and was once a rare occurence.
But lately it has become more common. In 2021, the Democratic-led chamber voted to censure rightwing Republican Paul Gosar for sharing videos of violence directed at Joe Biden and progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That was the first censure in 11 years, but when the GOP took back the majority in 2023, they censured three Democrats, for different reasons. Adam Schiff was targeted for his involvement in investigating allegations that Donald Trump’s campaign had colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, Jamaal Bowman got it for pulling a fire alarm and Rashia Tlaib was reprimanded for criticizing Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
In retrospect, 2023 was a particularly rancorous year for the House, with fabulist George Santos booted out of his seat and Kevin McCarthy axed as the chamber’s speaker, the first time that has ever happened. Last year was more quiet, at least on the censure front, but as we now see with Al Green, the peace was not to last.
House censures Democratic congressman Al Green for disrupting Trump's speech
The House has voted to censure Democratic congressman Al Green for disrupting Donald Trump’s joint session of Congress.
The motion was approved with 224 votes in favor and 198 opposed, with 10 Democrats crossing party lines to support reprimanding their colleague for shouting at Trump as he delivered the first speech to Congress of his new term.
After the vote, Green and allied lawmakers gathered in the well of the House, and appeared to chant and sing in his support.
White House denies plans to revoke deportation protections for Ukrainians
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has denied Reuters’s report that the Trump administration plans to end a program that protected Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion from deportation.
“This is more fake news from Reuters based on anonymous sources who have no idea what they are talking about,” Leavitt said on X. “The truth: no decision has been made at this time.”
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House to vote on censuring Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump's speech
The House of Representatives will today vote on censuring Democratic congressman Al Green for disrupting Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson ordered Green removed from the chamber after he repeatedly yelled at the president.
The censure motion appears to have the votes to pass. Yesterday, the House narrowly voted to reject an attempt by Democrats to prevent its consideration.
Responding to reports that Donald Trump plans to order the education department closed, Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren said such a directive was probably illegal.
“I don’t think he has the legal authority to do this,” Warren said at an event hosted by Semafor. “Many of these programs at the Department of Education are about student loans. They’re about help for children with disabilities, that are all funneled through the department of education. Congress created those, and Congress funded them, and the president of the United States does not have a magic wand to wave over it and make them go away. So there’ll be litigation in the courts over much of this to protect the rights of Congress.”
Trump administration plans to revoke deportation protections for Ukrainians fleeing war - report
Donald Trump is planning to revoke deportation protections for Ukrainians who fled to the United States after Russia’s invasion, Reuters reports, citing a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter.
The move, expected as soon as next month, comes as his administration moves to end programs implemented under Joe Biden that protected a range of nationalities from deportation. Here’s more on the decision, from Reuters:
The planned rollback of protections for Ukrainians was underway before Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. It is part of a broader Trump administration effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole programs launched under the Biden administration, the sources said.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the department had no announcements at this time. The White House and Ukrainian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
A Trump executive order issued on January 20 called for DHS to “terminate all categorical parole programs.”
The administration plans to revoke parole for about 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans as soon as this month, the Trump official and one of the sources familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The plan to revoke parole for those nationalities was first reported, opens new tab by CBS News.
Migrants stripped of their parole status could face fast-track deportation proceedings, according to an internal ICE email seen by Reuters.
Immigrants who cross the border illegally can be put into the fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal, for two years after they enter. But for those who entered through legal ports of entry without being officially “admitted” to the U.S. - as with those on parole - there is no time limit on their rapid removal, the email said.
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Judge to hear arguments over USAid funding after supreme court ruling
The battle over USAid will continue in federal court today, as a judge weighs a request to unfreeze future funding for the agency that Donald Trump wants to dismantle, Reuters reports.
The hearing before judge Amir Ali comes after the supreme court yesterday rejected a request by the Trump administration to stop his order that USAid pay $1.5b in contracts to its partners. Reuters reports that Ali has ordered the government to detail how they will comply with his ruling in light of the supreme court decision. Here’s more, from Reuters:
Despite the Supreme Court’s action, the future of the funding remains unclear. The administration said last week it has made final decisions to terminate more than 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts and more than $58 billion in overall U.S. assistance worldwide, meaning that in its view the original freeze that Ali had blocked was no longer in effect.
The Supreme Court’s ruling acknowledged that the administration said it was unable to comply with Ali’s deadline and asked the judge to clarify what the government must do with “due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.” Ali asked both sides to submit a report on the government’s compliance with his order in advance of Thursday’s hearing.
The plaintiffs have accused Trump of exceeding his authority under federal law and the U.S. Constitution by effectively dismantling an independent federal agency and canceling spending authorized by Congress.
They also have said the administration did not conduct a genuine review before canceling contracts. They are asking Ali, who was appointed by the Republican president’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, for an order called a preliminary injunction directing the administration to restore funding while their lawsuit proceeds.
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The White House announced that Donald Trump will sign executive orders at 2pm ET.
While they did not specify what he may sign, the president is reported to be ready to order the closure of the department of education. Expect a court battle to ensue, since the department was created by Congress in 1980, but Trump is attempting to use his executive authority to shut it down.
Donald Trump’s pressure to make Canada the 51st state has prompted the return of a famous patriotic beer ad on the country’s airwaves, the Guardian’s Leyland Cecco reports:
For the second time in 25 years, a lone figure takes to the stage, an oversized maple leaf flag rippling on a screen behind him as he approaches the microphone.
His hair is perhaps a little greyer but the message remains the same: Canada will not cower to the United States.
“They mistake our modesty for meekness, our kindness for consent, our nation for another star on their flag and our love of a hot cheesy poutine with their love of a hot cheesy Putin,” says the man.
“This is the birthplace of peanut butter and ketchup chips and yoga pants. It is the land of Universal Health Care and the bench-clearing brawl, of innovation and optimism and gettin’ er done….
“Are we perfect? No. But we are not the 51st anything.”
Replete with orchestral swells and chest-thumping patriotism, is a remake of the famous 2000 advert for Molson Canadian beer.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and 10 Democratic Senators have called on the government accountability office (GAO) to investigate the effects of the recent firing of federal probationary employees on the health and safety of the American public.
The letter noted at least 25,000 probationary employees at the federal government appear to have been indiscriminately fired under the claims of poor performance, regardless of their performance. The firings put American people “at risk”, Warren warned.
The letter was also signed by Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Warren and the other US Senators cite firings at the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Agriculture, as a few examples, noting the Trump administration has scrambled to rehire some terminated workers that include employees focused on nuclear security, bird flu outbreaks, veterans’ health and health services in tribal communities.
EU leaders meet to increase military budgets as Trump stalls aid to Ukraine
European Union leaders are holding emergency talks today on ways to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signaled that Europe must take care of its own security and also suspended assistance to Ukraine.
In just over a month, president Donald Trump has overturned old certainties about US reliability as a security partner, as he embraces Russia and withdraws American support for Ukraine, AP reported.
On Monday, Trump ordered a pause to US military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia, bringing fresh urgency to the EU summit in Brussels.
To follow the summit, see our Europe live blog here.
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Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.
In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel”, which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s 20 January freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance.
More than 700 people have signed on to the letter, a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.
“The decision to freeze and terminate foreign aid contracts and assistance awards without any meaningful review jeopardizes our partnerships with key allies, erodes trust, and creates openings for adversaries to expand their influence,” said the cable, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
The Republican president, pursuing what he has called an “America first” agenda, ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his 20 January return to office. The order halted USAid operations around the world, jeopardizing delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.
This post has been corrected to note that the dissent channel does not guarantee anonymity.
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Curbing global warming at risk from 'triple negative' effect of Trump in power, Brazil says
Action to curb global warming is at risk from a “triple negative” effect triggered by the return of US president Donald Trump to the White House, Brazil said on Thursday, as it prepares to host UN climate talks later this year.
Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, launched a trade war with Canada, China and Mexico, and upended US policy on the war in Ukraine.
Brazil’s environment and climate change minister Marina Silva told reporters in Delhi, speaking through a translator, the “increasingly complex geopolitical context”, characterised by turmoil and trade tariffs, risked disrupting progress on curbing climate change.
“They may drain resources, and they also may hamper the environment of confidence and trust among parties. We have a triple negative effect because the less action we see, the less money we see, resulting in less cooperation across countries,” Silva said.
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The Republican party’s seizure of the Senate and House of Representatives has ended a congressional investigation into big oil just when it is needed most, according to the leader of the inquiry.
“The fossil fuel industry is running perhaps the biggest campaign of disinformation and political interference in American history and they’re backing it up with immense amounts of political spending,” said the Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “The consequences in the White House are enormous and having a huge effect … but people aren’t aware.”
Fossil fuel interests poured a historic $96m into the re-election campaign of Donald Trump and affiliated political action committees in 2023 and 2024, and spent another $243m lobbying Congress. During his first weeks in office, Trump rolled out a spate of pro-fossil fuel policies, while congressional Republicans attacked regulations on the oil and gas industry.
It’s the kind of potential industry influence that demands more scrutiny on Capitol Hill but is unlikely to receive it anytime soon, Whitehouse said.
Until Republicans took control of the Senate in January, the Democratic senator chaired the budget committee, devoting more than a dozen hearings over two years to the climate crisis. Under his leadership, the committee also helmed an investigation into the oil and gas industry’s history of disinformation alongside the House oversight committee, which launched the inquiry in 2021.
Congressional Budget Office says Republicans can't meet budget without cutting Medicare or Medicaid
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said that Republicans cannot meet their own budget target to pass Donald Trump’s legislative priorities without imposing cuts on Medicare or Medicaid.
The House Republican budget blueprint envisions the House Energy and Commerce Committee will cut spending by $880bn, however, when its spending on Medicare and Medicaid are excluded from its spend, it only has $581bn of expenditure with which to make the savings.
Rep Frank Pollone of New Jersey is quoted by NBC News saying:
This letter from CBO confirms what we’ve been saying all along: the math doesn’t work without devastating Medicaid cuts. Republicans know their spin is a lie, and the truth is they have no problem taking health care away from millions of Americans so that the rich can get richer.
Police in New York have cleared a pro-Palestinian protest by students at Barnard College’s library after a fake bomb threat.
The New York police department said the threat was reported at the upper Manhattan college’s Milstein Center, which serves as the hub for academic life on campus. The department said anyone refusing to leave during the evacuation would be subject to arrest.
Barnard’s president denounced the protest, Associated Press reports. Student organizers say they launched the protest in response to the expulsions of student activists and other recent actions taken by school officials.
In a separate development, Columbia University is reported to have launched a flurry of investigations, led by a new disciplinary committee to identify students who have expressed criticism of Israel.
In a chilling infringement on the right to protest and free speech, in recent weeks it has sent notices to dozens of students for activities ranging from sharing social media posts in support of Palestinian people to joining so-called “unauthorized” protests. One student activist is under investigation for putting up stickers off campus, another faces sanction for co-hosting an art exhibition off campus that focused on last spring’s occupation of a campus building.
Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan has been accused of harassment, having wirtten an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel. “It just felt so dystopian to have something go through rigorous edits, only to be labeled discriminatory because it’s about Palestine,” said Alwan, a Palestinian-American comparative studies major. “It made me not want to write or say anything on the subject anymore.”
Associated Press reports that Jewish students are among those under investigation for criticizing Israel.
Trump expected to sign executive order to dissolve education department, reports say
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with the news that president Donald Trump is expected this week to direct the secretary of education to dissolve the US Department of Education by executive order, according to reports.
ABC News reports that sources familiar with a draft of the executive order say it instructs Linda McMahon to close the department by taking all the available steps “permitted by law”.
McMahon herself has previously suggested it would require congressional approval to shutter the department, which has over 4,000 employees and an annual budget of about $240bn.
ABC News reports the draft order says “The federal bureaucratic hold on education must end. The department of education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the states.”
The order is then reported to describe the agency as an “experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars.”
Education has been a cabinet level department in the federal government since the 1860s, with the department taking its present form in 1980 after a reorganisation by the late president Jimmy Carter.
Trump’s order is expected to say that this has “failed our children, our teachers, and our families”. McMahon is a former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
In other developments:
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said that Republicans cannot meet their own budget target to pass Trump’s legislative priorities without imposing cuts on Medicare or Medicaid
Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development USAid have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill
The supreme court has upheld a federal judge’s order that USAid disburse $1.5b in payments to its partners, a setback in the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the agency
US president Donald Trump has temporarily spared carmakers from sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked warnings of widespread price increases and disruption
An independent federal board has ordered the US Department of Agriculture to temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 employees who were fired as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce
A congressional hearing designed to criticize sanctuary city policies unexpectedly shifted yesterday, as a planned attack by Republican lawmakers instead dissolved into a platform that amplified Democratic mayors’ arguments about immigration and urban safety
Trump has posted a fresh ultimatum to Hamas, bypassing the Israeli-Hamas negotiating teams, demanding the release of all hostages held in Gaza. The White House confirmed that the US is in direct negotiations with Hamas for the first time since the group was formed, despite it being a designated foreign terrorist organization since 1997
Senate Democrats introduced a series of resolutions condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and daring Republicans to object. Republicans did object
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