Bessent’s Mar-a-Lago tariff message to Trump: zero in on the endgame
CNN
As President Donald Trump’s new tariffs shook global markets and sent foreign leaders scrambling this weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flew to Mar-a-Lago with a message.
As President Donald Trump’s new tariffs shook global markets and sent foreign leaders scrambling this weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flew to Mar-a-Lago with a message. It was imperative to get the administration’s tariff communications aligned, Bessent told Trump, and more focused on the endgame for Americans: better trade deals with foreign nations, according to people familiar with the conversation. The risk in not doing so would be further market turmoil, Bessent conveyed. The meeting was an example of the conflicting narratives swirling around Trump — with some corners pushing an effort to make deals and calm the markets. But five days after his splashy Rose Garden tariff announcement, foreign leaders and US investors alike are all still looking for clues of how willing the president is to negotiate down the duties. And as those outside observers pore over interviews and remarks from Trump’s constellation of economic advisers, it has not been clear what it will take to end the global trade war. Delegations from US trading partners large and small were preparing to seek out American officials or plan trips to Washington to try and ascertain exactly how to remove the new duties. Offers were already coming in from some of the world’s largest trading blocs. The European Union, for example, offered to drop tariffs to zero on automobiles and industrial goods. In all, 70 countries had approached the US administration to discuss trade issues in the wake of the new tariffs, administration officials said late Monday.
Air travelers across the US continue to face travel headaches as Transportation Security Administration workers go without full pay. Find the latest live updates here.
Veterans’ advocates are raising concerns that a new agreement between the departments of Veterans Affairs and Justice could take away veterans’ autonomy over their health care decisions and deter them from seeking care, particularly those facing homelessness.
Admirers of Cesar Chavez and public officials are scrambling to respond to claims about the man who has been honored with holidays, statues and school names in communities around the country.
The co-founder of Super Micro Computer and two others were charged with diverting $2.5 billion worth of servers with Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips to China, in violation of US laws barring exports to that country without a license.
The Treasury Department will begin to manage federal student loans in default, taking on a key function of the Education Department as the Trump administration further pushes to dismantle it.
The Justice Department on Thursday seized several websites it says were used by Iran as part of “psychological operations” targeting perceived advisories and spreading terrorist propaganda.
Sen. Thom Tillis on Thursday blasted talk of ending the Senate filibuster to pass the “SAVE America Act” as a “foolish and lazy idea” and warned his party that pushing the president’s priority through the so-called talking filibuster would hand control to Democrats.
On two major occasions, the Trump administration has gestured at Israel being mostly responsible for major inflection points in the Iran war — even though the evidence on both counts isn’t totally clear.
Conservative hardliners who supported subpoenaing Attorney General Pam Bondi in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe are now indicating that they are open to changing their position after Bondi met with the panel for a briefing that turned contentious with Democrats.
Cracks emerge in GOP over Iran war cost as administration floats more than $200B request to Congress
Cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy.
Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime employee and attorney Darren Indyke testified on Thursday that he “had no knowledge whatsoever” of the convicted sex offender’s wrongdoing and rejected “any suggestion” he assisted or facilitated his former boss’ crimes.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman cast the deciding vote Thursday to advance Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as US Department of Homeland Security secretary, crossing party lines to send President Donald Trump’s nominee to the full Senate for consideration.
A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter.