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.
Key Headlines
- Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics' amid agency's uncertainty
- Trump says he will cut 'all future funding' to South Africa
- 500 Marines arrive at Guantanamo to set up migrant facilities: DOD
- FBI employees asked to explain their role in Jan. 6 cases: Sources
- Trump acknowledges ‘some pain’ possible from tariffs
Elise Stefanik's confirmation hearing for UN ambassador begins
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee began its confirmation hearing for Trump's United Nations Ambassador nominee, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Stefanik, a Republican member of Congress from New York's 21st District, joined House leadership in May 2021, when she was elected as chair of the House Republican Conference.
She replaced former Rep. Liz Cheney in the role after Cheney was denounced by her party for her criticism of Trump in the wake of Jan. 6.
Confirmation hearing begins for Trump’s VA pick
Doug Collins, Trump’s choice to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, will face questions from lawmakers as his confirmation hearing gets underway.
Collins, a former congressman, is a Navy veteran who currently serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command.
He was the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment, and had defended the president.
Rubio is sworn in by JD Vance as secretary of state
After being unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was officially sworn in by Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday morning.
Rubio joined ABC’s “Good Morning America” ahead of the ceremony, where he discussed Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, TikTok and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Rubio sidestepped directly weighing on the pardons, saying his “focus needs to be 100% on how I interact with our counterparts, our adversaries, our potential enemies around the world to keep this country safe, to make it prosperous.”
When asked about Trump’s campaign pledge to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Day 1, Rubio contended the matter is more complex and that negotiations would not be played out in public.
“Look this is a complex, tragic conflict, one that was started by Vladimir Putin that’s inflicted a tremendous amount of damage on Ukraine and also on Russia, I would argue, but also on the stability of Europe,” Rubio said. “So the only way to solve these things, we got to get back to pragmatism, but we also get back to seriousness here, and that is the hard work of diplomacy. The U.S. has a role to play here. We’ve been supportive of Ukraine, but this conflict has to end.”
White House signals Trump will make announcement on infrastructure
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said this morning that Trump will be making a a major announcement on infrastructure at 4 p.m. ET.
"I can confirm that the American people won't be hearing from me today," she wrote, indicating she would not hold a press briefing. "They'll be hearing from the leader of the free world," Leavitt said during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."
"Once again, President Trump will be speaking to the press later this afternoon at the White House, and we will have a big infrastructure announcement," she added.