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.
GOP senator calls for RFK Jr to testify in wake of mass layoffs at HHS
Republican senator Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor from Louisiana, summoned Robert F Kennedy Jr. to testify about his restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services before the Senate health committee next week.
Cassidy backed Kennedy for the health secretary job after obtaining “serious commitments” from the administration, including that the health secretary would regularly appear before Senate lawmakers.
Predawn firing spree at HHS leaves agencies gutted and Congress frustrated
Whole sub-agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services are gone, according to furious and despondent current and former employees who flooded Reddit boards with firsthand accounts.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
Watch: Rep Boebert delivers today’s most cringeworthy moment
Sen. Booker’s marathon speech in the Senate continues…
As Sen. Cory Booker’s speech rolled past 21 hours, it marked the fourth-longest in Senate history, and he’s now bypassed the record of Senator Ted Cruz, who spoke for 21 hours and 19 minutes in 2013 in opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
Cruz had this response:
Throughout his determined performance Tuesday, Booker has repeatedly invoked the civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.
The longest speech time in Senate records is that of Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Booker would need to hold the floor for almost three more hours to beat that record.
Fox News pundit accuses publisher of stealing book idea and handing it to another MAGA personality
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett has accused publisher Simon & Schuster of engaging in a “conspiracy” to steal his book proposal about the Democrats’ “lawfare” against Donald Trump and giving it to an editor for MAGA outlet Breitbart News, according to a new lawsuit.
Besides naming the publishing giant in the lawsuit, the pro-Trump Fox News personality specifically alleges that Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, executive editor Natasha Simons, and his literary agency Vigliano Associates were involved in the plot to steal his Trump tome.
Justin Baragona has the story.
Republicans ‘concerned’ over Trump tariffs
CNN’s Manu Raju spoke with Republican senators Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson, among other GOP lawmakers, about their concerns regarding the upcoming “Liberation Day” tariffs promised by President Donald Trump.
Said Tillis: “Anyone who says there may be a little bit of pain before we get things right needs to talk to my farmers who are one crop away from bankruptcy. So we’ve got to be crisp on this implementation. Otherwise, we could do damage that is irreparable to farmers.”
Johnson commented: “As the president has admitted, tariffs will create pain for some businesses, and I think Wisconsin will be particularly hard hit with all the manufacturing and agricultural interest … Right now, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but I’m concerned.”
Earlier on Fox News, host Harris Faulkner said Americans should “100% buy-in over this bumpy period” as people fret over their retirement savings and the cost of living.
Mike Johnson throws cold water on Trump’s musings about a third term
“There’s a constitutional path. You have to amend the constitution to do it,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “That’s a high bar.”
Josh Marcus reports.
Canada and Mexico leaders discuss boosting trade relationship ahead of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he had a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to discuss the “importance of building upon the strong trading and investment relationship between the two countries.”
The discussion occurred in the lead-up to President Donald Trump’s anticipated “Liberation Day” tariffs on U.S. trading partners. If enacted, the tariffs would inflict a significant economic blow to both nations, which are both in a free trade agreement with the U.S.
During the call, the two leaders discussed the “challenging times ahead,” preserving economic competitiveness in the region, and the calls from both nations for the U.S. to respect their sovereignty, according to the Canadian government.
The leaders indicated that they would remain in “close contact,” and that senior government officials would collaborate to enhance trade between the two countries.
Trump’s tariffs: U.K. businesses brace for impact amid uncertainty
Liberation Day – as the White House grandly calls the unveiling of its new trade policy – is finally upon us.
While Mr Trump has suggested all nations will be hit with additional levies – and Keir Starmer has admitted the UK is unlikely to escape the new measures – it’s still far from certain exactly which industries will bear the brunt this time, with steel, aluminium and auto parts already subject to additional import costs.
Karl Matchett looks at what’s already known, what could happen, and what investors are doing as uncertainty reigns.
NSA Waltz used Gmail for government communications, report says
The Washington Post reports that members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts, according to documents reviewed by the paper and interviews with three U.S. officials.
Gmail is much less secure than the encrypted messaging app Signal, used by Trump administration national security officials in the now infamous group chat that mistakenly included a journalist during a discussion about high-level planning for military operations in Yemen.
Per the Post:
A senior Waltz aide used the commercial email service for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict, according to emails reviewed by The Post. While the NSC official used his Gmail account, his interagency colleagues used government-issued accounts, headers from the email correspondence show.
Waltz has had less sensitive, but potentially exploitable information sent to his Gmail, such as his schedule and other work documents, said officials, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe what they viewed as problematic handling of information. The officials said Waltz would sometimes copy and paste from his schedule into Signal to coordinate meetings and discussions.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes told the Post that he has seen no evidence of Waltz using his personal email as described. He stated that on occasions when “legacy contacts” have emailed him work-related materials, he makes sure to “cc” his government email to comply with federal records laws requiring officials to archive official correspondence.
Source: independent.co.uk