Closing summary
We are wrapping up our live coverage for the day, but we will be back on Thursday to keep tracking the second Trump administration. Here are some of the day’s developments:
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sayid Donald Trump had agreed to a request from the three Detroit automakers for tariff exemptions for vehicles crossing the US borders with Mexico and Canada. “We spoke with the big three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” Leavitt said, referring to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement governing trade between the nations.
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. The lower court will now determine when the aid agency must pay its bills, while four of the court’s conservatives signed a dissent complaining that the decision is overly broad.
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. The talks are being lead by Adam Boehler, Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, who is not a career diplomat but is a former college roommate of Jared Kushner.
Veterans affairs secretary Doug Collins confirmed plans to reduce staff by about 15%, or about 80,000 people, and argued the cuts were necessary to make the department more efficient. Collins posted a video statement on YouTube, with the comments turned off.
After Trump met with eight freed Israeli hostages in the Oval Office on Wednesday, he delivered an ultimatum to Hamas on multiple social media platforms, threatening the Palestinian militant group with annihilation if it does not immediately release all of the remaining captives held in Gaza.
Senate Democrats introduced a series of resolutions condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and daring Republicans to object. Republicans did object.
Twice in the past 24 hours, the White House has produced videos for social media platforms in which people effusively thank Donald Trump. The first video, “Thank you, President Trump”, featured 15 of Trump’s invited guests to his address to the joint session of Congress thanking him. The second video showed Trump’s Oval Office meeting with freed Israeli hostages, who also thanked him.
White House releases videos of Trump's guests and freed Israeli hostages thanking him
Twice in the past 24 hours, the White House has produced videos for social media platforms in which people effusively thank Donald Trump.
The first video, posted on YouTube on Tuesday evening under the headline, “Thank you, President Trump”, features 15 of the guests Trump invited to his address to the joint session of Congress thanking him for his leadership, one after the other.
The second video, posted on social networks on Wednesday, shows Trump’s Oval Office meeting with eight freed Israeli hostages, during which the former hostages stood and Trump remained seated behind his desk, beside a large illustration of the southeastern United States emblazoned with the words “Gulf of America”.
The White House video edit includes several of the former captives describing what they endured and expressing their thanks to Trump.
At one point, which was also captured in video posted on X by the Israeli journalist Yuna Leibzon, the former hostage Omer Shem Tov told Trump, of the hostages still in Gaza: “my family and I myself, we believe you’ve been sent by God to release them”.
Another former captive, Naama Levy, added: “You were our hope when we were there, and now you’re their hope”.
Trump replied: “So you didn’t think, until I came along, you didn’t think you were going to get out?”
“No” three of the freed hostages answered.
Two of the former hostages also thanked Trump again in messages recorded either before or after the meeting and included in the White House edit.
Near the end of the meeting, as the former hostages thanked him, the president said: “Wow… I’ve never had anything like this. I mean, I’ve saved a lot of people but I’ve never seen anything like this, where you lived under those conditions”.
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Appeals court allows removal of watchdog agency head fired by Trump
The US court of appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the Trump administration on Wednesday, in a ruling that allows the immediate removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel to proceed while the court battle continues. Dellinger is likely to appeal to the US supreme court.
Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office”. US district judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama nominee, had reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case.
The Office of Special Counsel is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. It investigates whistleblower claims of reprisal, can pursue disciplinary action against employees who punish whistleblowers and provides a channel for employees to disclose government wrongdoing.
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Senate Democrats introduce resolutions calling on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine
Senate Democrats are currently on the Senate floor introducing resolutions condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and daring Republicans to object.
A statement from the office of Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said: “The senators’ resolutions are statements of fact and principle, backed by evidence and long-standing American foreign policy”.
The six resolutions, Sanders’ office explained, would state the following facts:
Clarifying that Russia started the war against Ukraine.
Condemning Putin and Russian forces for their widespread war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Condemning Russia’s forcible abduction of at least 20,000 Ukrainian children and calls for their return to their families.
Reaffirming the support of the United States for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Restating a simple but fundamental principle of international law and global stability: that you do not take the territory of another country by force.
Demanding that Putin immediately withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine, cease his attacks, and end this terrible war.
A resolution from Sanders, calling on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to withdraw Russian forces from Ukraine was objected to by Republican Senator James Risch.
As Igor Bobic of HuffPost reported, Risch claimed that Putin “does not have the ability to end this war” without the agreement of Ukraine, the US and its European allies.
“Who do you think started the war?” Sanders replied. “He can do it.”
The same Republican also objected to a resolution from Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who asked for unanimous consent on a resolution condemning the kidnapping of Ukrainian children by Russia.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen then introduced a resolution stating that Russia had committed war crimes in Ukraine. That resolution was objected to by Republican Senator Roger Wicker.
Wicker then also objected to a resolution affirming Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty introduced by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. Wicker’s objection was breifly interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone.
Democratic Senator Michael Bennet was next on the floor, loudly complaining about the US cutting off intelligence sharing with Ukraine. “Ronald Reagan is turning over in his grave,” Bennet said, over a US national security strategy apparently concocted on social media.
He then yielded the floor and was followed by Democratic Senator Peter Welch, who asked: “Which side are we on?” He introduced a resolution that the US remains committed to the principle that no nation should use force to violate the territorial integrity of another country. Republican Senator John Barrasso objected.
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The Trump administration is reportedly rethinking the Guantánamo immigrant detention plan the president announced with great fanfare, sources tell NBC News.
NBC reports:
President Donald Trump’s plan to use the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to detain 30,000 immigrants has been hitting major legal, logistical and financial hurdles ever since he surprised many in his own administration by announcing it. Now, as agencies spar over responsibility for operations there and over blame for what has gone wrong, there is a growing recognition within the administration that it was a political decision that is just not working.
Among the major issues, especially as the Trump administration works to slash spending throughout the government, is the cost. Taking detained immigrants to Guantánamo means flying them there, and the administration has sometimes chosen to use military planes that are expensive to operate.
The two defense officials and a congressional official told the news outlet that, because Trump still wants the plan to move forward, a scaled-down version of the effort is likely to proceed, despite the expense and other difficulties.
Trump meets freed Israeli hostages and threatens Hamas on social media
After Donald Trump met with eight freed Israeli hostages in the Oval Office on Wednesday, he delivered an ultimatum to Hamas on multiple social media platforms, threatening the Palestinian militant group with annihilation if it does not immediately release all of the remaining captives held in Gaza.
On Instagram, the message was accompanied by Trump’s scowling official portrait, and the words “This is your last warning!” highlighted in red.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that “President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza. The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”
The delegation included: Doron Steinbrecher, Eli Sharabi, Naama Levy, Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel and Noa Argamani.
The White House also posted images of the meeting on X, which show that Trump appears to remained seated as the freed hostages came to his desk to shake hands with him and pose for photographs next to a large illustration of the Gulf of Mexico emblazoned with the words “Gulf of America”.
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The largest federal employee union has denounced the Trump administration’s plan to cut over 80,000 employees from the veterans affairs department.
Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), issued a blistering response to the planned cuts, which were confirmed earlier today by the Veterans affairs secretary, Doug Collins.
Kelley drew attention to the impact the reduction in staffing would have on the large share of staff who are veterans, and in making it harder to implement the PACT Act, a 2022 law that expanded VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.
“Firing more than 80,000 workers, a third of whom are veteran themselves, will destroy the VA’s ability fulfill the PACT Act’s promises to veterans who either died or became ill as a result of exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. Most of these employees were hired explicitly to provide the benefits provided for in the PACT Act.
“The VA has been severely understaffed for many years, resulting in longer wait times for veterans in need. The DOGE plunder of career VA employees, adding to the illegal mass firings of thousands of probationary employees, can only make matter worse. Veterans and their families will suffer unnecessarily, and the will of Congress will be ignored.
“Until Elon Musk and Donald Trump came on the scene, America never turned its back on our veterans and their families. Their reckless plan to wipe out the VA’s ability to deliver on America’s promise to veterans will backfire on millions of veterans and their families who risked their lives in service for our country.
“On behalf of the 311,000 VA employees AFGE represents, I call on Congress to intervene in these un-American tactics and put a stop to Elon Musk’s DOGE rampage through America’s most cherished agencies in a blatant attempt to justify privatizing government services.”
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The Anti-Defamation League has condemned a past social media post by Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson in a statement to the Guardian.
As our colleague Lauren Gamino reports, Wilson’s post on X last August denied the innocence of Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman whom most historians agree was wrongfully convicted of killing a 13-year-old factory worker and lynched in 1915 during a wave of antisemitism in the US.
“Leo Frank raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl. He also tried to frame a Black man for his crime,” Wilson wrote on X in response to a post by the ADL marking the 109th anniversary of Frank’s lynching. “The ADL turned off the comments because they want to gaslight you.”
Read Lauren’s report on the comment and the ADL’s response:
Who is Adam Boehler, the US official negotiating with Hamas to free a young Israeli-American captive still being held in Gaza?
Boehler, a health care executive who has been nominated but not yet confirmed as Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, is not a career diplomat but a former college roommate of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Boehler worked with Kushner on the Abraham Accords, to normalize relations between Israel and four nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
As chief executive of the US International Development Finance Corporation during the first Trump administration, Boehler was part of Kushner’s largely unsuccessful effort to ramp up the nation’s ability to manufacture supplies needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although any particular qualifications he brings to the task of engaging in direct talks with Hamas remain unclear, his social media activity makes it plain that he is a strong supporter of Israel. On Sunday, he reposted a message from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on X that read: “The war in Gaza ends today if Hamas surrenders and frees all 59 hostages.”
The same day he shared another message from the financier Joe Lonsdale that praised Israel’s military intervention in Syria which read, in part: “UN is a joke and EU lacks any moral clarity; there are few bold forces left in the world willing and able to stand against rampaging Islamists, and their rape and slaughter.”
The US citizen Boehler is trying to free is Edan Alexander, 21, who graduated from high school in New Jersey before moving to Israel. Alexander was serving in the Israel Defense Forces near Gaza when Hamas took him captive on October 7.
Speaking to CNN two weeks ago, Boehler said that his advice to Hamas would be to release Alexander, and the bodies of four other American captives believed to be dead, or “face total annihilation”.
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VA secretary defends 'extraordinarily difficult' layoff plans
Veterans affairs secretary Doug Collins confirmed plans to reduce staff by about 15%, or about 80,000 people, and argued the cuts were necessary to make the department more efficient.
“We regret anyone who loses their job, and it’s extraordinarily difficult for me, especially as a VA leader and your secretary, to make these types of decisions. But the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” Collins said.
“At the VA, we are focused on serving veterans better than ever before, and doing so requires changing and improving the organization.”
Collins promised the staffing reductions would be achieved “without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries. VA will always fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the health care and benefits they have earned. That’s a promise.”
He added: “VA will continue to hire for more than 300,000 mission critical positions to ensure healthcare and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted.”
The cuts come amid a broader push by the White House to reduce staffing across the federal government. Here’s the latest on that:
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Democrats are outraged at reports that the Trump administration wants to cut staffing at the department of veterans affairs by about 80,000 employees.
New York congressman Pat Ryan, one of the party’s more vulnerable lawmakers, said:
I don’t ever want to hear “thank you for your service” from that draft-dodging coward again. We already lost 20 inpatient beds for mental health and detox at my local VA. The real-world impacts of this on our nation’s heroes cannot be understated.
The sentiment was echoed by independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a leading progressive:
Trump wants to fire 83k VA workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, decimating the VA & making it harder for veterans to get health care & benefits. When Americans put their lives on the line to defend our country, we must keep our commitments to them — not betray them.
Georgia senator Jon Ossoff, who is expected to face a tough re-election battle next year, said:
The Administration must immediately and publicly withdraw any proposal to gut the VA and imperil veterans’ care and benefits.
Already, the chaos, incompetence, and disruption are unacceptable.
Veterans earned their benefits through selfless service. It’s a contract, not a gift.
Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from veterans affairs department
The Trump administration wants to cut as many as 80,000 employees from the department of veterans affairs, with an eye towards undoing an expansion in its healthcare services that was implemented by Joe Biden, the Associated Press reports.
Citing an internal memo, the AP reports that the VA’s chief of staff Christopher Syrek wants to lower staffing at the sprawling agency tasked with the care of US military veterans to less than 400,000 employees, its staffing level in 2019. He also instructed employees to collaborate with Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, which has been accused of taking a haphazard and illegal approach to reducing government spending.
Here’s more on the potential changes, from the AP:
That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.
The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals. Government Executive first reported on the internal memo.
Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA that so far had included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25% of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans.
The plans underway at the VA showed how the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is not holding back on an all-out effort to slash federal agencies, even for those that have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support. Michael Missal, who was the VA’s inspector general for nine years until he was fired last month as part of Trump’s sweeping dismissal of independent oversight officials at government agencies, told the AP that the VA is already suffering from a lack of “expertise” as top-level officials either leave or are shuffled around under the president’s plans.
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Macron warns Europe to be 'ready' for US not to stand by its side
The shock waves from Donald Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and decision to suspend aid to Ukraine continue to be felt in Europe, where French the president, Emmanuel Macron, has warned his country to be “ready” for the United States to no longer stand by its side.
“We are entering a new era,” Macron said in a recorded address in which he also insisted that Russia will remain a threat to France and Europe as a whole.
We have live blog covering all the latest news from the continent across the Atlantic, and you can read it here:
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White House confirms that US is negotiating directly with Hamas
The White House press secretary has confirmed a report 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.
Earlier today Axios reported that Adam Boehler, a special envoy for hostages held in Gaza, had been engaging Hamas officials in Doha, without mediation.
Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, confirmed the report and said that Boehler had the authority to talk to anyone “to do what’s in the best interest of the American people”, though US officials frequently say they don’t negotiate with terrorists.
Leavitt didn’t say what the US officials were discussing with Hamas but said that Israel had been informed prior to talks taking place.
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State department officials pen dissent cable urging Rubio to save USAid – report
Hundreds of state department employees have signed a dissent cable urging top diplomat Marco Rubio to stop the dismantling of USAid, the Bulwark reports.
“We dissent not out of opposition to the administration, but because we have dedicated our lives to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” read the message, which was signed by more than 700 foreign services officers, state department officials as well as employees of the hobbled aid agency.
“The current trajectory endangers American lives, weakens our global standing, cedes influence to authoritarian competitors, and undermines our economic dominance. We urge a course correction before irreparable damage is done to US leadership, security, and moral authority in the world.”
Rubio has supported Donald Trump’s efforts to destroy the longstanding organization tasked with implementing Washington’s foreign aid agenda. Earlier today, the supreme court upheld a federal judge’s ruling ordering USAid to pay bills totaling $1.5b to its partners.
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Press secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that while Donald Trump has approved a one-month tariff exemption for US automakers, he still plans to use the levies to encourage them and other manufacturers to bring their production back to the United States.
A key part of that campaign is his vow of “reciprocal tariffs”, which would equal those imposed by foreign countries on US goods, and from which there will be no escape, Leavitt said.
“The reciprocal tariffs will go into effect on April 2, and he feels strongly about that, no matter what, no … exemption,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt added that Trump told the big three automakers – Ford, Stellantis and General Motors – that “they should get on it, start investing … shift production here to the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff. That’s the ultimate goal.”
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White House announces tariff exemption for US automakers
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Donald Trump has agreed to a request from the three Detroit automakers for tariff exemptions for vehicles crossing the US borders with Mexico and Canada.
“We spoke with the big three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” Leavitt said, referring to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement governing trade between the nations.
“Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage.”
At her ongoing briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dodged a question about what more Canada would need to do to stop fentanyl flows, given that less than 1% of the seizures of the drug happen at the US northern border.
“Canada is allowing that fentanyl to come to the United States. The president sees these numbers. He thinks about the lives that are lost. And everybody in this room, I’m sure, everybody watching at home, everybody across the country, knows someone in our lives who has been killed at the hands of this deadly poison. There needs to be repercussions for that the president feels very strongly about,” Leavitt replied.
A reporter pressed Leavitt further, prompting Leavitt to admonish them:
You’re asking me for what the president’s justification is for these tariffs. It’s not up to you. You’re not the president … and frankly, I think it’s a little bit disrespectful to the families in this country who have lost loved ones at the hands of this deadly poison. If you talk to them, and this president has, they are grateful that they finally have a president who is standing up to both Canada and Mexico and, most importantly, to China as well.
Trump says he spoke to Trudeau, but no change in tariff policy
Donald Trump announced in a mocking post on social media that he had spoken with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, but has not changed his mind about the 25% tariffs he imposed on the major US trading partner.
“Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that it’s gotten better, but I said, ‘That’s not good enough.’ The call ended in a ‘somewhat’ friendly manner!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president again inaccurately called Trudeau “governor”, and accused him of failing to secure his border with the United States:
For anyone who is interested, I also told Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada that he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States. These Policies are responsible for the death of many people!
The comments came after the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, signaled Trump may be willing to ease his tariffs on Canada, which businesses warn could drive prices higher in the US. Here’s the latest on that:
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“Since Donald Trump began his tariff threats against Canada and his ‘jokes’ about making Canada the 51st US state, I have not bought a single product originating in the US,” said Lynne Allardice, 78, a retired business owner from New Brunswick, Canada.
“Not a single lettuce leaf or piece of fruit. I have become an avid reader of labels and have adopted an ‘anywhere but the US’ policy when shopping. I will not visit the States while Trump remains in office, and most of the people I know have adopted the same policy.”
Acquaintances, Allardice added, were selling US holiday properties they had owned for many years.
Many Canadians have responded to Trump’s economic tariffs and political messaging with a consumer boycott of US products and services – no more California wines or American Bourbon; local shopping instead of Amazon Prime; analogue entertainment and cable TV instead of Netflix and Spotify; holidays in the Kootenays instead of Disney World.
Hundreds of people from across Canada shared with the Guardian their reactions to Washington’s political and economic gear change, and how they may be affected personally.
Here’s more on this story:
The Trump administration is preparing to overhaul a $42.5bn Biden-era program designed to connect tens of millions of rural Americans to reliable and affordable high-speed internet, in a move that is expected to benefit billionaire Elon Musk.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce department secretary who has oversight of the federal program, recently told senior officials inside the department that he wants to make significant changes to the federal program, sources with knowledge of the matter told the Guardian.
Instead of promoting an expensive buildout of fiber optic networks – as the Biden administration sought to do – Lutnick has said he wants states to choose the internet technology that would be low cost for taxpayers.
That, experts agree, would favor satellite companies such as Musk’s Starlink. Musk, whose company owns about 62% of all operating satellites, has not hidden his disdain for Biden-era program, telling voters last year that he believed it should be brought down to “zero”.
You can read more on this story here:
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Democratic congressman Robert Garcia from California turned his gaze towards New York’s mayor, Eric Adams – but not just for his sanctuary city policy: he dug into his court dealings and called for his resignation.
Garcia said that he is “confident that Adams committed the crimes with which he is charged”, which include bribery and campaign finance violations.
Adams was tight-lipped. “There is no deal, there is no quid pro quo. I did not do anything wrong.”
Garcia wrapped with a call for Adams to step down. “I personally agree with the majority of New Yorkers and think, Mr Mayor, you should resign.”
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What started out as a congressional grilling has instead morphed into a clear platform for pro-Democratic immigration city policies, but maybe that could have been assumed, all things considered.
The four Democratic mayors from Chicago, New York, Denver and Boston have had an outsized platform to speak, which has only benefited from friendly questions from congressional Democrats who insist that sanctuary cities are generally safer.
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The day so far
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. The lower court will now determine when the aid agency must pay its bills, while four of the court’s conservatives signed a dissent complaining that the decision is overly broad. Meanwhile, lawmakers are reacting to Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress last night. The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, condemned the remarks as excessively partisan, while the rightwing House Freedom caucus said it will propose censuring Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump’s speech.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
Sylvester Turner, a Democratic former Houston mayor who was just elected to the House, has died at the age of 70.
Trump thanked conservative supreme court chief justice John Roberts at the conclusion of yesterday’s speech, and said: “Won’t forget it.” For what, the president did not say.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, told Bloomberg Television that Trump may announce changes to his tariffs on Canada and Mexico this afternoon.
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Democratic mayors from major American cities are not backing down from a tense, GOP-led House oversight committee hearing as they defend their approach to protecting undocumented people in their city limits.
New York’s Eric Adams, Denver’s Mike Johnston, Boston’s Michelle Wu (who is in attendance with her one-month-old daughter) and Chicago’s Brandon Johnson are fielding questions about the national security implications of so-called sanctuary cities. But the mayors are biting back.
“If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms,” Wu said. “Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe.”
The room is filled to the brim, and the Republican committee chair, James Comer from Kentucky, indicated it would be a long hearing, with 60 members of Congress apparently interested in asking questions.
This post has been corrected to note that Boston’s mayor is Michelle Wu.
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Trump told supreme court chief justice Roberts: 'Thank you again, won't forget it'
Donald Trump said many things during his speech to a joint session of Congress last night, but one of the most eyebrow-raising utterances came after he had wrapped up, and was leaving the House chamber.
The president walked past the supreme court justices who had attended the speech, and shook their hands. When he got to the chief justice, John Roberts, camera footage captured the president saying: “Thank you again. Thank you again, won’t forget it.”
Won’t forget what? Roberts attending the speech? Perhaps. Or maybe it was a reference to the ways in which Roberts’s actions have helped the president out recently.
Last year, the chief justice joined with the court’s five other conservative justices to find that presidents have immunity for official acts, a decision that delayed then special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump long enough for him to win re-election and render the prosecution moot. Some legal observers now worry that Trump will use the protections created by that decision to push the boundaries of presidential power without fear of repercussions. In addition, Roberts and the conservatives handed down rulings against Joe Biden’s policies, such as his attempt to cancel some student loan debt.
The White House has not yet commented on Trump’s praise of the chief justice. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a briefing at 1pm ET today, and perhaps she will be asked about it.
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The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has released a statement paying tribute to congressman Sylvester Turner, whose death at the age of 70 was reported this morning.
“The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner. Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston,” Jeffries said.
He noted Turner’s advocacy to preserve Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for lower-income and disabled Americans that Republicans have proposed cutting:
Like those before him, Rep Turner was a fighter until the end – he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard. In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us ‘don’t mess with Medicaid.’
The entire House Democratic Caucus family is praying for the Turner family and staff, as well as the City of Houston. May he forever rest in power.
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Top House Democrat says Trump gave 'one of the most partisan and divisive speeches ever'
The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, dinged Donald Trump for giving what he described as a “partisan and divisive” speech that failed to provide concrete steps to deal with Americans’ concerns about the cost of living.
In an interview with ABC News, Jeffries said:
I was struggling to hear anything relative to what the president had to say in terms of bringing the country together. That was one of the most partisan and divisive speeches ever delivered by an American president. And that’s unfortunate. We will continue to try to solve problems for everyday Americans.
He also stayed mum on whether he agreed with congressman Al Green’s heckling of the president:
The vast majority of Democrats showed restraint, listened to what the president had to say and, of course, we strongly disagree. The biggest problem that I had with the speech is that there was nothing said, nothing laid out, nothing articulated by Donald Trump to meet the needs of the American people, particularly as it relates to the economy.
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Freshman Democratic congressman Sylvester Turner dies, aged 70 – report
Sylvester Turner, a Democratic former Houston mayor who was elected to the House of Representatives last year, has died, aged 70, local broadcaster ABC13 reports.
Turner replaced longtime congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who died of pancreatic cancer in July 2024. Details of Turner’s death were not immediately available.
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Beyond Al Green’s heckling, Democrats tried a variety of tactics to signal their displeasure with Donald Trump’s governance. Here’s a video looking at what they did:
Rightwing lawmakers propose censure of Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump's speech
The rightwing House Freedom caucus said its lawmakers will propose censuring Democratic congressman Al Green for heckling Donald Trump during his joint speech to Congress last night.
The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, ordered Green removed from the chamber for shouting at the president: “He has no mandate.” Here’s a look back at that:
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Samuel Alito wrote for the four conservative justices who dissented from the court’s order upholding a judge’s demand that USAid resume payments to its foreign aid partners.
He made a number of arguments against the decision, including that it was hasty and overbroad. He sums them up in his conclusion:
Today, the Court makes a most unfortunate misstep that rewards an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers. The District Court has made plain its frustration with the Government, and respondents raise serious concerns about nonpayment for completed work. But the relief ordered is, quite simply, too extreme a response. A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance. Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them. I would chart a different path than the Court does today, so I must respectfully dissent.
It’s unclear if the supreme court’s order will require USAid to immediately pay money owed to partners that were implementing its foreign aid agenda.
In his majority opinion, the court said the federal judge handling the case should specify what he wants the government to do now, given that his original deadline for USAid to pay out the $1.5b to foreign aid partners has passed:
Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.
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Supreme court upholds order requiring USAid to pay foreign aid groups
The supreme court has upheld a federal judge’s order that USAid pay $1.5bn to foreign assistance groups, despite Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle the organization.
The decision saw the three liberal justices join with conservatives John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. The four remaining conservatives, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented.
Roberts had earlier stopped a deadline for USAid to disburse the funds while the court considered the matter. Here’s more on that:
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As part of his pressure campaign on Canada, Donald Trump has taken to referring to the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, as “governor”, and publicly mulled making the vast country America’s 51st state.
At least one of his allies has taken up the inaccurate title for Trudeau, with Senator Markwayne Mullin using it in an interview with CNN yesterday.
“What we would love to do is have Governor Trudeau work with us on the northern border, and help solve that issue,” the Oklahoma lawmaker said, parroting a common argument from the Trump administration.
Asked if he meant to use that title, Mullin replied: “It was intentional, 100%.”
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Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau will speak today, Reuters reports, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
The Canadian prime minister condemned Trump’s imposition of levies on his country yesterday, saying he was looking to make its economy collapse as part of a plan to incorporate it into the United States. Trump responded with insults, and a warning that he may tighten levies further next month.
Commerce secretary says Trump will make decision on tariffs this afternoon
A day after Donald Trump imposed economically disruptive tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told Bloomberg Television the president will make a decision about the levies this afternoon.
Lutnick’s comments were unclear, but seemed to imply the president may offer some relief to products affected by the duties, which many economists fear will disrupt trade and raise prices for American consumers.
“The president is thinking about it. He’s thinking about autos. He’s thinking about USMCA,” Lutnick said, referring to the free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada negotiated during his first term. “He’s going to come up with a plan this afternoon. We’re going to announce that plan.”
Here’s more on the potential impacts of the tariffs:
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Democrats slam Trump's lengthy speech to Congress
Democrats panned Donald Trump’s first prime-time speech to Congress since returning to the White House as reaction to the address revealed a country still deeply split on political lines and an opposition party unsure of how to deal with his radical agenda.
The Democrats’ exclusion from the corridors of powers – Democrats are in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives – has left them with limited options on how to effectively respond to Trump’s hardline 1hr 40min oration that amounted to a celebration of his purported achievements during his six weeks back in office.
Some of the party’s rising stars, including Chris Murphy, a vocal senator from Connecticut, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive representative from New York, protested by staying away.
Those who attended showed their displeasure by turning their backs on Trump as he spoke and holding up placards with messages like “No kings”, “Save Medicaid” and “Musk steals” in reference to the leading government cost-cutting role being played by the billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The protest was disparagingly compared to bingo signs by one normally sympathetic commentator, Symne Sanders-Townsend, a host on the MSNBC channel.
“Why are democrats just sitting there? The signs are not landing. It is giving bingo! Sigh,” she posted on X.
The audience of silent, grim-faced Democrats – some of them holding Ukrainian flags or wearing garments in the country’s colours – provided Trump with the perfect prop to troll them in real time.
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Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin followed Donald Trump’s record-long joint congressional address on Tuesday by focusing on the risk of a declining democracy, directly challenging citizens to take an active role in holding elected officials accountable – herself included.
The first-term Democratic senator, who represents a state won by the president, explained how preserving democracy requires constant, active participation from voters.
“Our democracy, our very system of government, has been the aspiration of the world, and right now it’s at risk,” Slotkin said in the official Democratic response. “It’s at risk when the president decides you can pick and choose what rules you want to follow, when he ignores court orders and the constitution itself, or when elected leaders stand by and just let it happen.”
The first-term senator outlined a three-step approach for citizens: staying informed, monitoring elected representatives’ voting records, and actively organizing around issues that matter to any given person. She framed citizen oversight as “American as apple pie”.
Donald Trump’s marathon address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday was littered with false claims, many of them falsehoods he has previously stated, been corrected on, and continued to repeat regardless.
Here are some of the main statements he made that are just not true:
Trump administration lists over 300 federal government buildings for sale
The Trump administration has listed over 300 buildings for sale in a further move to gut the federal government. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”.
In a posting to US general services administration website, the administration says the 320 properties across multiple states are “designated for disposal”.
It says:
We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces. Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.
There has been some early reaction on Wednesday morning from Denmark to the portion of Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday which addressed his desire to expand the US to include Greenland.
The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, speaking in Helsinki, said that “the most important part of that speech” was when the US president said his country will “respect the right to Greenlandic self-determination”.
Acknowledging that Denmark and the US have a common interest with the United States with regards to security in the Arctic, he said: “We are ready to work with our American friends on achieving that, but of course it would be based on the fact that we have a kingdom of Denmark.”
Denmark has said Greenland is not for sale. Opinion polls suggest that most Greenlanders oppose joining the US, but also wish ultimately to gain independence from Denmark.
In his address to Congress, Trump said:
I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the US.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it – one way or the other, we’re going to get it.
We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It’s a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.
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Macron considering a second trip to see Trump with Zelenskyy and Starmer
French president Emmanuel Macron is considering travelling again to Washington along with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK prime minister Keir Starmer to meet US president Donald Trump, government spokesperson Sophie Primas said on Wednesday.
Primas was speaking to reporters after the weekly meeting of the French cabinet.
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Our video team has put together this set of clips from Donald Trump’s address to Congress.
IRS staffing could halve – reports
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of US politics and the Donald Trump administration. I’m Tom Ambrose.
We start with news that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering reducing its workforce by as much as 50%, according to reports. The agency has already laid off about 7,000 of its 90,000 employees since Donald Trump came to power.
Federal agencies have been given until 13 March to formulate cost and staff reduction plans and submit them to the White House.
Associated Press reports that, according to two anonymous sources familiar with IRS plans, it is proposing “a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts” will deliver the huge cut in headcount.
John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, has said that cuts on this scale would render the IRS “dysfunctional”.
In his marathon address to Congress last night, a jocular Donald Trump touted his administration’s “swift and unrelenting action” and praised the work of his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who has led his administration’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government through his so-called “department of government efficiency”. Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read “lies” and “false” through the speech, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes.
You can read our story here
The president’s speech was littered with false claims he has previously been corrected on but continues to repeat – here are some of those “facts” checked
He doubled down on his expansionist rhetoric, saying the administration was in the process of “reclaiming the Panama canal” and repeating his threat to take control of Greenland: “One way or the other, we’re going to get it”. The president has also recently stated that the US will “own” the Gaza Strip
The dollar has fallen to the lowest level since November, after Trump said his new tariffs will cause “a little disturbance” in his Congress speech
Responding to Trump’s speech, Sen Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said that Ronald Reagan “must be rolling in his grave” after last week’s Oval Office spat with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump “cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin”, and asserted that Trump would have “lost” the cold war
Democratic Rep Al Green of Texas was ejected for an outburst during Trump’s speech. He later told the media “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president”
The Trump administration has listed over 300 federal buildings for sale. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”
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