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.

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.

Feb 02, 2025, 11:11 PM EST

McConnell slams Trump's tariffs, calls pardons for Jan. 6 rioters a 'mistake'

In an interview that aired on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, former Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was openly critical of recent decisions by President Donald Trump and said he planned to be more outspoken about their differences of opinion now that he was no longer in a leadership role in the Senate.

McConnell sharply criticized the president imposing tariffs, especially on allied countries.

PHOTO: Senate Luncheons
UNITED STATES - MARCH 7: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen after the senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol Building on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

"It'll drive the cost of everything up. In other words, it'll be paid for by American consumers. I mean why would you want to get in a fight with your allies over this?" McConnell questioned.

McConnell often found himself at odds with Trump during his first term in the White House, he said, but claimed their relationship was all but severed after Jan. 6, 2021.

The former Senate leader reacted to Trump's sweeping pardons for the convicted rioters, saying, "I think pardoning people who have been convicted is a mistake."

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Feb 02, 2025, 10:41 PM EST

Trump to speak with Canada, Mexico over tariffs

President Donald Trump plans to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday morning, he told to reporters during a stopover at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday evening.

The calls are scheduled two days after he imposed 25% tariffs on both of the United States' neighboring countries.

Sheinbaum is also expected to deliver Mexico’s response to the tariffs in the morning, according to sources familiar with the situation.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Feb 02, 2025, 9:58 PM EST

Elon Musk gains access to Treasury Dept.'s federal payment system: Sources

The Treasury Department has given Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team access to the vast federal payment system responsible for handling trillions of dollars in government expenditures, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

The payment system -- which is essentially a checkbook for the entire federal government -- is a closely held operation run by career officials, with a limited number of people authorized to access the information given it, contains sensitive information about hundreds of millions of Americans.

Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk arrives for the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Reuters

If Musk or his team were to attempt to block these payments, it would likely face legal challenges given the money is approved by Congress.

Sources tell ABC News that if Musk or his representatives were to request that changes be made to the system, such requests would be subject to an internal review process by Treasury Department officials.

Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that any "politically-motivated meddling" in the payment systems "risks severe damage to our country and the economy."

Feb 02, 2025, 9:21 PM EST

Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics' amid agency's uncertainty

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Sunday night and, among a roster of topics, mentioned that he believes his head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, is doing a "good job."

At the same time, he implied that there were some things that he and Musk did not always agree on.

“I do, I think Elon is doing a good job. He's a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won't agree with it. It will not go where he wants to go, but I think he's doing a great job. He's a smart guy, very smart, and he's very much into cutting our the budget of our federal government,” Trump said in a conversation that took place during a stopover at Joint Base Andrews.

When asked specifically about the ongoing turmoil at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where DOGE officials were reportedly taking offices as existing personnel were placed on leave, Trump said the organization has been run by “radical lunatics,” and they’re getting them out -- and that’s when he’ll make a decision about the organization.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

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