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, 7:18 PM GMT

Collins maintains her opposition to Hegseth, says she's not lobbying colleagues

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of the two Republicans who voted on Thursday against Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as Secretary of Defense, said Friday that she was “very comfortable” with her vote but wasn’t trying to lobby her colleagues against supporting him.

“I've not tried to advocate against him. I think everybody knows the issues from the hearing, the personal interviews, and that each senator has to make his or her own decision,” Collins told reporters upon leaving a GOP caucus lunch at the Capitol.

Collins also said Trump did not reach out to her following her vote against his nominee and that she doesn’t expect to hear from him.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Jan 24, 2025, 7:16 PM GMT

Newsom pushes back against Trump's aid conditions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office pushed back against President Donald Trump's comments about California's provision of water and his calls to condition additional aid for disaster response over voter ID laws.

The office said in an X post that "conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong."

"FACT: 15 states do not generally require voter ID at polls, including Nevada and Pennsylvania (two states won by President Trump)," the office said.

Newsom's office also reiterated the state has not made any changes to the amount of water it pumps since the first Trump presidency.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Jan 24, 2025, 5:59 PM GMT

Trump says he will sign Laken Riley Act 'sometime very shortly'

President Donald Trump said he will sign the Laken Riley Act in a ceremony "sometime very shortly."

PHOTO: Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with homeowners affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, N.C., Jan. 24, 2025.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP

"You all know what that act represents, and it was a bipartisan bill, many Democrats signed on to it," Trump told reporters on Friday.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Jan 24, 2025, 5:17 PM GMT

Trump floats 'maybe getting rid' of FEMA

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he plans on signing an executive order "fundamentally reforming" the Federal Emergency Management Agency "or maybe getting rid of them."

"I think, frankly, FEMA is not good," he said.

President Donald Trump, sits with First Lady Melania Trump as he speaks at a Hurricane Helene recovery briefing in a hangar at the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, Jan. 24, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

When pressed by reporters about his comments, Trump said he thought the agency was a "big disappointment."

He once again floated the idea that the responsibility should be passed down to the states, and declined to give a timeline as to when he would end the agency.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

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