Trump 2nd term updates: Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics'

The comments came amid turmoil as DOGE took over USAID offices last week.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Emily Chang, Andrea Pineda-Salgado, Meredith Deliso, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: February 3, 2025, 4:11 AM GMT

President Donald Trump made good on his threats to impose tariffs on some of the U.S.'s trading partners, announcing Saturday that he will levy 25% tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% on Chinese goods.

Experts have warned that tariffs of this magnitude will likely increase prices paid by U.S. and Trump appeared to acknowledge that “some pain” might be possible in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee announced it will meet Tuesday, when it is expected to vote on the controversial nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing:
Jan 24, 2025, 4:50 PM GMT

Trump says he wants states in control of emergency response, slams FEMA

President Donald Trump blasted the Biden Administration's response to Hurricane Helene while touring the storm-ravaged areas of North Carolina.

"We're going to fix it out," he said. "FEMA has really let us down, let the country down, and I don't know if that's Biden's fault or whose fault it is. But we're going to take over, and we're going to do a good job."

President Donald Trump greets supporters upon arrival at Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, Jan. 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Trump said the response should be determined on the state level, saying that this is the "best example" of the federal response not working.

Trump added that if states managed disaster response, it would be "a lot less expensive" and also there would be "a lot quicker response."

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Jan 24, 2025, 3:46 PM GMT

Judge bars Stewart Rhodes, other Oath Keepers from entering Capitol

The federal judge who formerly oversaw the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and several of his associates has ordered Rhodes and his co-defendants, whose sentences were commuted by President Donald Trump, to not enter the U.S. Capitol or Washington, D.C. without first getting permission.

The order follows Rhodes' surprise visit to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, which caused alarm among many Democrats and others who had to seek shelter from the pro-Trump mob during the Jan. 6 attack.

-ABC News' Alexander Mallin

Jan 24, 2025, 3:11 PM GMT

2nd military flight with immigrants departs Tucson

A second military flight left Tucson, Arizona, overnight, according to a DHS official repatriating about 80 Guatemalans back to the country.

The official said military deportation flights and the speed at which they have been mobilized is "unprecedented."

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Jan 24, 2025, 3:00 PM GMT

Trump on Hegseth vote: ‘You’ll never know what’s going to happen’

Trump was asked about Friday's pending Senate floor vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, and although he expressed confidence in his pick, he noted, "you'll never know what's going to happen."

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have both said they will vote against Hegseth.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for North Carolina, where he is expected to tour hurricane damage, followed by a visit to tour fire damage in Los Angeles, in Washington, Jan. 24, 2025.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Although Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voted for Hegseth in a test vote Thursday on whether to advance his nomination, Trump questioned whether he would do the same today.

"Is Mitch a no vote?" he asked.

Even if he did, Vice President JD Vance could break a 50-50 tie to get Hegseth confirmed.

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