White House aides have drafted a proposal to impose 20 percent tariffs on most imports into the U.S. on the eve of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day,” three sources told the Washington Post.
Trump has repeatedly promised to roll out reciprocal dollar-for-dollar tariffs on nations that levy duties on U.S. goods as part of an aggressive attempt to fulfill his administration’s economic agenda.
Despite the president claiming he had “settled” on his tariff plans, the sources said that several options remain on the table, with no final decision made.
Another option could see import taxes raised on products from almost every country, per The Post. The White House is also weighing an order that would apply different tariff rates to individual countries, according to the sources.
Meanwhile, share prices fluctuated around the globe on Monday in another sign of uncertainty ahead of Liberation Day. Gold prices also soared to an all-time high Tuesday as traders bolted for stable assets.
The president will make his announcement at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at a “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the Rose Garden after the market closes. The tariffs will be effective immediately, according to the White House.
DNC chair congratulates Democrats who ran in Florida’s 1st and 6th districts
Congratulations to Gay Valimont on running a strong campaign that will make a difference for Florida’s 1st Congressional District for years to come.
Her massive overperformance in a Trump +37 district is the best performance for Democrats in the district this century and spells trouble for Republicans everywhere.
Valimont made critical inroads in this deeply red district and showed Republicans that, even in a place Trump won by nearly 40 points, this seat would not be handed to them.
I thank Gay Valimont for her leadership and for once again stepping up to run in a difficult district.
Make no mistake: The momentum is on our side.
Democrats have overperformed in 15 out of 16 special elections this year.
Democrats are going to keep winning races and – ultimately – take back the House next year.
Congratulations to Josh Weil for running a strong campaign.
In 2025, Democrats have overperformed the top of the ticket in nearly every election as voters turn out in blue, purple, and red districts to voice their anger at Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Tonight was no different. Trump promised to lower costs on Day One. Instead, he and his shadow president Elon Musk have taken a chainsaw to our economy and jeopardized programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
From a Pennsylvania Democrat winning in a deep-red district last week to Donald Trump being terrified of losing Elise Stefanik’s seat, Republicans everywhere know a reckoning is coming – Democrats are taking the majority in 2026.
Turkish student detained by ICE sues for immediate release
A University of Minnesota graduate business student who’s being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is suing for his immediate release, saying his arrest violated his rights and he’s been given little explanation for why he’s being held.
The lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Doğukan Günaydın, 28, a Turkish citizen, says two plainclothes federal officers arrested him on the street outside his St. Paul home while he was on his way to class Thursday.
Read on…
Polls close in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
The polls have closed in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race as of 9 p.m. E.T.
Voters have cast their ballots in the race that will determine whether liberals hold on to a 4-to-3 majority or if conservatives will take control of the judiciary.
The race is technically nonpartisan, but the Republicans and Democrats each have their preferred candidate, with the liberals backing Judge Susan Crawford and the conservatives supporting Judge Brad Schimel.
Those who are in line as of 8 p.m. C.T. (9 p.m. E.T.) will still get to vote.
As many as seven polling sites in Milwaukee ran out of ballots because of “historic turnout for a spring election,” according to the city’s election director. More ballots were being printed and sent out.
Republican Jimmy Patronis wins special election in Florida’s 1st Congressional District
Republican Jimmy Patronis won a special election Tuesday in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, bolstered by President Donald Trump’s endorsement to fill a vacant seat in reliably Republican northern Florida and despite national Democrats pouring millions into the race.
Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, fended off a challenge from Democrat Gay Valimont even though she far outraised and outspent him. He will fill the northwest Florida seat vacated by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was chosen to be Trump’s attorney general but withdrew from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.
Valimont benefited from the outrage of national donors alarmed by the early months of Trump’s second term, but was ultimately not able to pull off what would have been a massive upset in a district both Trump and Gaetz won by more than 30 points last year.
ICE agent held in contempt for detaining suspect mid-trial
Judge Mark Summerville held ICE agent Brian Sullivan in contempt on Monday night, The Boston Globe reports, after he arrested Wilson Martell-Lebron on the first day of a trial related to 2020 charges for filing a false application for a driver’s license.
Katie Hawkinson has the details.
Cory Booker breaks record for longest ever Senate speech as he calls for resistance to Trump
Richard Hall writes:
Cory Booker was recounting a story about the late civil rights leader John Lewis, and forgiveness, as he entered the 19th minute and 24th hour of a historic speech on Tuesday evening.
In that moment, the first Black Senator from New Jersey broke a record for the longest speech ever made in Congress, set 67 years ago by South Carolina segregationist Strom Thurmond, who spoke for a day and a night in opposition to the Civil Rights Act.
Overcome with emotion, he looked up to the ceiling and touched his heart.
“All right, I want to go a little bit past this and then I’m going to deal with some of the biological emergencies I’m feeling,” he said.
Booker, an avuncular 55-year-old senator who ran for president in 2020, drew from the lessons of civil rights leaders throughout a marathon speech against the policies of Donald Trump.
Read more:
Republican state Sen. Randy Fine wins special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District
Republican state Sen. Randy Fine won a special election Tuesday to represent Florida’s 6th Congressional District, defeating Democratic challenger Josh Weil and squashing efforts by national Democrats who spent millions of dollars on the race.
Fine had faced growing pressure during the race’s final days as some Republicans publicly criticized his campaign and fundraising efforts. His victory ends Democratic hopes to score a huge upset in a district that was heavily supportive of President Donald Trump in November.
The race to fill the seat vacated by Mike Waltz when he was tapped to become Trump’s national security adviser received national attention. Democrats poured money into Weil’s campaign to outraise Fine by nearly tenfold, attempting to flip a seat where the president won by more than 30 points.
Fine, a self-described “conservative firebrand,” ran with Trump’s endorsement.
Cory Booker sets a record with marathon Senate speech
In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.
Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 24 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was still going. It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history, though Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor.
It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist, to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.
Election guru Steve Kornacki is leaving MSNBC for a new role — but he isn’t going far
Data wizard Steve Kornacki is moving from MSNBC to join NBC News ahead of the liberal cable network’s split from its parent company.
Kornacki, the network’s data guru who has become a fixture of election nights, is leaving MSNBC and is expected to become a regular on Meet the Press, NBC Nightly News, and the Today show, an NBC spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Oliver Stone calls for Congress to reinvestigate JFK assassination
Stone, who directed the award-winning 1991 film JFK, made the comments on Tuesday while testifying before the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets in the House of Representatives.
Josh Marcus reports.
Source: independent.co.uk