What to know today
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., provided fresh details about his meeting yesterday with Kilmar Abrego Garcia and said the mistakenly deported man had been traumatized by his imprisonment in El Salvador.
- President Donald Trump said that the U.S. could move on from its involvement in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine if “one of the two parties makes it very difficult.” Trump’s answer comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. could “move on” from its involvement in negotiations to end the war if no progress is made “within a matter of days.”
- Acting IRS Commissioner Gary Shapley is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Trump that he was placed at the agency at Elon Musk’s direction without his knowledge, a source familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
White House replaces Covid resource page with lab leak website
Anyone who tried to access Covid.gov, a federal website once dedicated to Covid resources, found something drastically different in its place today.
The page now redirects to a White House website suggesting that Covid originated in a research laboratory in Wuhan, China, before infecting humans. This much-debated “lab leak theory” emerged in the early days of the pandemic and has since gained popularity among some right-wing media outlets and conservative politicians.
DOGE staffer's access to the IRS is revoked amid agency shakeup
Days after millions of Americans filed their taxes, the IRS is undergoing internal shakeups related to cuts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Gavin Kliger — a key DOGE engineering architect who previously informed USAID employees they had lost access to the agency’s headquarters — has had his entire access to the IRS revoked. Kliger is now locked out of the agency’s buildings and its computer and data systems, according to two sources familiar with IRS operations.
Kliger was overseeing the pending job cuts at the IRS, one source said. Those layoffs began last week, but amid pushback from the Treasury Department, further reductions in force were paused this week.
The pace of IRS job cuts was not approved of by Treasury leadership, sources familiar with the matter said. With the elimination of probationary employees and workers who took the deferred resignation buyout offers, the IRS could be facing — before the job cuts take effect — a reduction of its workforce by nearly one-third.
Kliger and Sam Corcos, another DOGE engineer, were working with the IRS on a “hackathon” event to streamline the agency’s systems, the Treasury Department previously told NBC News. The hackathon was intended to workshop how to more easily share taxpayer data across federal agencies.
The number of IRS officials overseeing the agency’s IT has been reduced from about 100 to three since the beginning of Trump's second term.
Chief Information Officer Rajiv Uppal resigned Monday, on the eve of Tax Day, to be replaced by Kaschit Pandya, who had been working with DOGE as the IRS chief technology officer. Pandya will serve as acting CIO “while leadership finalizes long-term plans for this role,” according to an email from Uppal to IRS staff.
NBC News reported earlier today that Trump is replacing the acting IRS commissioner — who had been appointed at the direction of Musk — at the request of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Legal fight raging over possible imminent deportations to El Salvador
The Department of Homeland Security appeared today to be preparing to send a new group of Venezuelan men from the U.S. to El Salvador and its notorious CECOT prison, even as lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union scrambled in the courts to stop the administration from moving forward.
This afternoon, at least one charter bus rolled up to the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, a town about 200 miles west of Dallas, where the men are being held. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has been hearing a case related to the flights to El Salvador, scheduled an emergency hearing for this evening, which will take place just hours after that bus arrived.
Not long before the emergency hearing was scheduled to begin, ACLU attorneys also asked the Supreme Court to step in. The justices ruled earlier this month that the Trump administration can go ahead with removals like this, but that the people being removed must first be given “reasonable time” to challenge their detentions.
Last night, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt wrote in an emergency overnight court filing that the men at Bluebonnet seemed not to have much time before they would be sent out of the country.
House Democrats condemn Trump's targeting of Smithsonian museums in letter to Vance
Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., sent a letter to Vice President JD Vance condemning a recent executive order by Trump to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian museums.
In a letter signed by other Democratic members of the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Smithsonian Institution, the lawmakers urged Vance to reject any effort to implement Trump's order and instead “preserve the 175-year tradition of curatorial independence that has come to define the Smithsonian Institution.”
Trump signed an executive order last month that directed Vance to eliminate “improper, divisive, or anti-American” ideology from programs at the Smithsonian Institution, which receives federal funding. The president specifically named the National Museum of African American History and Culture, accusing it of of perpetuating “divisive” and “race-centered” ideas.
Morelle, in the letter, called Trump’s order a “flagrant attempt to erase Black history” and a “cowardly and unpatriotic” attempt to “paper over elements of American history.”
“Unfortunately, we now stand at the brink of seeing the Smithsonian at its worst: shaped solely by the views and ideology of one individual as a means of expanding his political power,” the letter reads.
The Smithsonian Institution was created by Congress in 1846 to serve as an “establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
It consists of 21 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo, all maintained by more than 6,500 employees and more than 3,800 onsite volunteers. More than 17 million people visit the collection of museums annually.
House Republicans deny Democrats' request to visit El Salvador as Congressional delegation
Two Republicans who chair House panels have denied Democrats’ requests to visit El Salvador as part of a Congressional delegation. Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., rejected a request made by Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., to visit the El Salvador prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, citing the “waste” of taxpayer funds the delegation would use.
“There is no excuse for Democrats to waste taxpayer dollars visiting and defending a transnational gang member and reported domestic abuser. If Democrats care so much about defending this individual, they can use their own personal credit cards—not taxpayers’ money—to virtue-signal to their radical base,” Green said in a statement.
Ramirez has not made a decision on whether she will travel to El Salvador without a delegation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In a letter to Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., requested authorization for a Congressional delegation to “conduct a welfare check” on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, among others who are being detained at the prison.
Comer denied the request, similarly citing the use of "taxpayer funds."
NBC News has reached out to Frost and Garcia about whether they plan to travel without a delegation.
Venezuelans ask Supreme Court and other judges to block imminent deportations
Lawyers for Venezuelan alleged gang members have asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene to prevent the Trump administration from deporting them to El Salvador using a wartime law call the Alien Enemies Act.
The request came as part of a multi-pronged approached as the lawyers have filed similar applications with district courts in Washington and Texas and at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The plaintiffs “ask only that this court preserve the status quo so that proposed class members will not be sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador before the American judicial system can afford them due process," the lawyers wrote in the Supreme Court filing.
Maryland senator says Kilmar Abrego Garcia was traumatized in El Salvador after mistaken deportation
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., revealed new details today about his meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported last month.
Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia yesterday after his previous efforts to meet with him were denied by Salvadoran officials.
“His conversation with me was the first communication he’d had with anybody outside of prison since he was abducted,” Van Hollen said at a news conference today. “He said he felt very sad about being in a prison because he had not committed any crimes.”
Van Hollen told reporters that Abrego Garcia has “experienced trauma,” and framed his deportation as an “illegal abduction.”
Federal judge halts reduction in force at CFPB
A federal judge in Washington has stopped a reduction in force at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, putting a halt to job cuts that employees received yesterday.
“The Reduction in Force announced by Acting Director Vought on or about April 17, 2025 is SUSPENDED and it may NOT be implemented, effectuated, or completed in any way until this Court has ruled on plaintiffs’ motion to enforce the preliminary injunction,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in an order today.
Berman said the CFPB was prohibited from discontinuing employees’ access to internal systems. The judge said during the hearing that she has “concerns about whether the agency is now in compliance with the preliminary injunction.”
“It is clear to me that until I have made the determination of whether this [reduction in force] is in compliance with an existing court order, that I have absolute authority to enforce, it’s not going to happen in the meantime. We’re not going to disburse 1,408 people into the universe and have them be unable to communicate with the agency anymore until we have determined whether that is lawful or not,” Berman said.
Berman allowed plaintiffs, which include the National Treasury Employees Union, to make five requests for the production of documents to understand whether the government is following court orders. She set a hearing for Monday, April 28.
Sen. Van Hollen denies that he drank margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Van Hollen denied that he drank margaritas with Kilmar Abrego Garcia while in El Salvador to meet with the man who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported to the Latin American nation.
"There’s no doubt, nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is," Van Hollen told reporters after he explained that he sat down with Abrego Garcia at the senator's hotel with only glasses of water and coffee.
"As we were talking, one of the government people came over and deposited two other glasses on the table with ice. And I don’t know if it was salt or sugar around the top, but they looked like margaritas," the senator explained before adding, "Let me just be very clear. Neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us."
His remarks come after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted photos on X of Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia, adding that the deported man was, "now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!"
At the White House on Friday, Trump called Van Hollen a "fake" after he was asked a question about the photo and Bukele's allegation that Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia drank margaritas.
"He’s a fake," the president said, adding that he believes Democrats are "all fake, and they have no interest in that prisoner."
Plaintiffs asking judge to halt imminent removals of undocumented immigrants
Plaintiffs in a case disputing the government's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport undocumented immigrants have filed an emergency motion to Chief Judge James E. Boasberg for an immediate ruling on whether individuals the government is seeking to remove under the act should receive 30-day notices.
They asked Boasberg to expedite his decision on the motion because late last night and early today, they, "learned that the government has begun giving notices of removal to class members, in English only, which do not say how much time individuals have to contest their removal or even how to do so," according to the filing.
"Officers last night told class members that they will be removed within 24 hours," the filing adds, and, "individuals have already been loaded on to buses.”
The filing alleged that the government has "refused to give any information about these notices and removals to class counsel despite multiple requests."
"Without this Court’s immediate intervention, dozens or hundreds of class members may be removed to CECOT [a prison in El Salvador] within hours—all without any real opportunity to seek judicial review," the filing adds.
Sen. Van Hollen slams Trump administration upon return to U.S.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., slammed the Trump administration for claiming Democratic lawmakers who are railing against the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia "don't want to fight gang violence," in his first news conference since returning from his trip to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
"The president, President Trump and the Trump administration, wants to say that those who are fighting to stand up for our Constitution don’t want to fight gang violence. That is an outright lie. That is a big, big lie," Van Hollen said, adding that the Trump administration has presented no evidence to back its claims that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member in the ongoing legal battle over his removal from the United States.
The Trump administration has said publicly it will not facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the United States, despite the Supreme Court ordering it to do so after a DOJ prosecutor said in federal court that the Maryland man was deported due to an "administrative error."
"I say the president, the Trump administration, if you want to make claims about Mr. Abrego Garcia and MS-13, you should present them in the court, not over social media, not at press conferences where you just rattle stuff off," Van Hollen said.
Bessent says ‘trust must be brought back to the IRS’ after leadership shake-up
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented on the recent leadership shake-up within the Internal Revenue Service, saying, “Trust must be brought back to the IRS.”
He thanked acting Commissioner Gary Shapley for his service and expressed confidence in Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender, who will be taking Shapley’s place.
NBC News reported earlier today that Bessent had complained to Trump about Shapley being installed at the agency without his knowledge and at Elon Musk’s direction, a source familiar with the discussions said. Bessent then received Trump’s approval to reverse the decision.
“Gary Shapley’s passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior advisors at the U.S. Treasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS,” Bessent said in a statement.
Bessent said both Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, another IRS whistleblower on the Hunter Biden tax investigation, will be appointed to senior roles at either the IRS or Treasury Department to “ensure the results of their investigation translate into meaningful policy changes.”
Trump calls Van Hollen a ‘fake’ for visiting a mistakenly deported man in El Salvador
Trump blasted Van Hollen as a “fake” for meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man the Justice Department said was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
“Look, he’s a fake. I know him. I know them all. They’re all fake, and they have no interest in that prisoner,” Trump claimed in the Oval Office, taking questions from the press after Oz’s swearing-in ceremony.
Van Hollen's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
“That prisoner’s record is unbelievably bad,” the president added.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration released documents with new details about how Maryland police officers determined Abrego Garcia was a possible member of MS-13, which his attorneys have denied, during an arrest in 2019. He had no criminal record at the time, the documents show.
Police said he was loitering at a parking lot wearing “a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents” on the bills, according to the documents. The officers said they identified the symbols as “indicative of the Hispanic gang culture.”
Abrego Garcia said in a court filing that he was there looking for day labor work.
“This is the man that the Democrats are wanting us to fly back from El Salvador to be a happily ensconced member of the USA family. Isn’t it a shame?” Trump said.
DNC vice chair defends push to primary Democrats: ‘We need a better democratic party’
Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg defended his plan to spend millions in primary challenges against House Democrats in safe blue seats, saying on X that “we need a better democratic party.”
The effort from Leaders We Deserve, a separate political organization he runs, to oust longtime Democratic lawmakers in solid blue districts drew some backlash from the party. The New York Times first reported on the organization's plan.
But Hogg argued this afternoon that the primary push is a necessary pain for the Democratic Party, which he said has been “asleep at the wheel” while the country falls into crisis.
Winning the House back is imperative, Hogg said in the post, “but we need a better democratic party and need to get rid of the democrats in safe seats who do not understand what is at stake right now, who are asleep at the wheel, not meeting the moment, and are a liability now and to the future of our party.”
Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland High School shooting, has long been an advocate for the value of young leaders in politics. Hogg said getting them elected to Congress is necessary for enacting change in the Democratic Party.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told NBC News, “Democrats are united on taking back the majority in the House of Representatives, and that’s the top focus of the DCC.”
“I would tell anyone who wants to be helpful, to donate, is to focus on the races where we can take back the majority,” DelBene added.
IRS head installed by Musk being replaced
Gary Shapley, acting commissioner of the IRS, is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approached Trump to say that Shapley was appointed without his knowledge and at Elon Musk’s direction, a source familiar with the discussions said.
Bessent received Trump’s approval to roll back the decision. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender is expected to become the next acting IRS head.
The New York Times was the first to report Shapley's removal.
Press abruptly escorted from Oval Office after guest faints
Members of the press were abruptly escorted from the Oval Office after a family member present for Dr. Mehmet Oz’s swearing-in ceremony fainted.
The girl, who is a minor, was seen walking out of the room with support and is doing OK, according to a White House spokesperson.
Trump says 'Marco is right' about wanting the Russia-Ukraine war to end
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Rubio was "right in saying" that the U.S. wants to see the Russia-Ukraine war come to an end.
The president's comments came in response to a question about Rubio saying earlier today that the administration will have to "move on" from peace talks if progress isn't made in the coming days.
Asked how to identify how many days that would be, Trump said, "No specific numbers of days, but quickly, we want to get it done."
"We're talking about here people dying," Trump said. "We're going to get it stopped, ideally. Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'You're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that, and Marco, and Marco is right in saying it, we're getting, we want to see it end."
Trump said that many people are being killed "as they play games," suggesting that one or both sides are not cooperating in negotiations.
"We're not going to take that," said Trump, who then expressed confidence that a peace agreement will be reached. "I think we have a good chance of solving the problem."
The president declined to say whether the U.S. would completely walk away from the talks, saying, "I don't want to say that, but we want to see it end." He also declined to say whether the U.S. would continue supporting Ukraine if the administration does walk away from the negotiating table.
Trump said he needs to see "enthusiasm" from Ukraine and Russia that they want the conflict to be over. He also rejected the idea that he's being "played" by Russia: "Nobody's playing me. I'm trying to help."
DOJ appealing judge's contempt ruling in Alien Enemies Act case
The Trump administration has filed an emergency motion with a federal appeals court seeking to block a judge's order finding probable cause to hold it in contempt over deportation flights it sent to El Salvador.
The filing to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals alleges U.S. District Judge James Boasberg was trying to punish the administration for a "nonexistent case of criminal contempt. Defendants fully complied with the TROs the district court issued, and certainly did not flout any clear, unambiguous command."
In a March 15 hearing, Boasberg issued an order temporarily halting any deportations under Trump's invocation of the rarely used Alien Enemies Act, and directed that any flights taking such deportees out of the country be turned back. In its filing today, the government said that the directive wasn't included in his subsequent written order and other language Boasberg used was vague.
"[C]ontempt cannot lie based on a supposedly wrong reading of a facially ambiguous order," DOJ lawyers argued.
In a ruling Wednesday, Boasberg found the administration's actions showed "a willful disregard" for his order, and said he'd given "Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses has been satisfactory."
He said the administration could purge his contempt finding by taking custody of the people it deported despite his order and giving them hearings so they can challenge the allegations against them. The judge said if administration officials choose not to do so, he would "proceed to identify the individual(s) responsible" for disregarding his order for prosecution.
The administration countered that both options are "unconstitutional" and should be blocked.
“Relief is warranted now, before the district court’s proceedings escalate the constitutional confrontation any further,” the filing said.
Trump promises again no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
During the swearing-in ceremony for Mehmet Oz, Trump once again promised not to cut any funding for Medicare and Medicaid, saying, “We’re not going to have any cuts, only help.”
Trump stated that Oz would focus on combating fraud, ensuring “criminals, fraudsters and illegal aliens” do not exploit American older adults. He added, “They’re trying, but they won’t get away with it.”
Oz sworn in as head of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Trump swore in Dr. Mehmet Oz as the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at a ceremony in the Oval Office this afternoon.
The Senate voted to confirm Oz, a former surgeon and TV personality, along party lines earlier this month. Before his confirmation, he had come under fire from Senate Democrats, who raised concerns after he evaded questions on Medicaid cuts during his confirmation hearing and, according to a memo, “significantly” underpaid Medicare and Social Security taxes in recent years.
Judge pauses Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
A federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ruled that the bureau can’t go forward immediately with plans to mass fire hundreds of employees.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she is “deeply concerned” that Trump administration officials aren’t complying with her earlier order that maintains the bureau’s existence until she rules on the merits of a lawsuit seeking to preserve it.
During a hearing, Jackson said she will bar officials from carrying out any mass firings or cutting off employees’ access to bureau computer systems on Friday.Jackson scheduled a hearing on April 28 to hear testimony from officials who were working on the reduction-in-force, or RIF, procedures.
“I’m willing to resolve it quickly, but I’m not going to let this RIF go forward until I have,” she said.
Roughly 1,500 employees are slated to be cut, leaving around 200 people.
Trump, a Republican, has sought to reshape the federal government, saying it’s rife with fraud, waste and abuse. Conservatives and businesses have often chafed at the bureau’s oversight and investigations, and Trump adviser Elon Musk made it a top target of his Department of Government Efficiency.
White House says Abrego Garcia is ‘NOT coming back’
The White House criticized Van Hollen and said Kilmar Abrego Garcia is “NOT coming back."
In a post on X this morning, the White House included an image of a New York Times headline scribbled over in red, changing it to “Senator Meets With Deported MS-13 Illegal Alien in El Salvador Who’s Never Coming Back.”
“Fixed it for you, @NYTimes,” the White House wrote.
The federal judge overseeing the case tore into the government's evidence for why it believes Abrego Garcia is a gang member — an accusation his legal team has denied.
The "‘evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13’s ‘Western’ clique in New York — a place he has never lived," U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote.
Xinis has ordered the Trump administration to help "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
Trump administration rushing to deport more 'Alien Enemies': Suit
The Trump administration appears to be hurrying to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act, despite a Supreme Court order that detainees must be given "reasonable time" to combat the allegations against them, according to a court filing obtained by NBC News.
“Petitioners have learned that officers at Bluebonnet have distributed notices under the Alien Enemies Act, in English only, that designate Venezuelan men for removal under the AEA, and have told the men that the removals are imminent and will happen tonight or tomorrow,” ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt wrote in the overnight filing.
The filing does not say how many people are facing deportation, but says that "dozens of Venezuelan men" have been brought to the Bluebonnet ICE facility in Texas in the last few days.
A previous Supreme Court ruling on Trump's use of the AEA said that "detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs."
The plaintiffs in the case are seeking an order temporarily blocking the removals, and suggested they're concerned their clients could face the same fate as the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
"If the individuals are removed before the Court can act and the putative class members are removed from the country, this Court would be permanently divested of jurisdiction under the government’s position that it need not return individuals, even those mistakenly erroneously removed," the filing said.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement, “We are not going to reveal the details of counter terrorism operations, but we are complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling.”
Federal judges warn about security threats
Federal judges are again warning members of Congress that they need increased funding for security in light of rising threats to their safety.
The U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security for lower court judges, has been forced to take "extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of judges," according to a letter sent this month by representatives of the U.S. Judicial Conference, the policy arm of the judiciary.
In addition, 67 judges are receiving enhanced online security screening services due to their "involvement in high profile cases or rulings," the letter said. It was written by Robert Conrad, secretary of the Judicial Conference, and Judge Amy St. Eve, an appeals court judge.
Judges in recent months have faced harsh criticism from Trump and his allies over rulings that have blocked his administration's policies.
Despite increasing threat levels, funding from Congress for security has remained frozen at $750 million a year for the last two years, the letter said. The judiciary is also concerned about the level of funding for the Marshals Service.
"We have significant concerns about our ability to properly secure federal courthouses given current resource levels," Conrad and St. Eve wrote.
They noted that 50 people have been criminally charged over threats to judges.
Trump faces imposing timeline to broker 75 trade deals in less than 90 days
The clock is ticking on a race of Trump’s own making: a sprint to negotiate dozens of trade deals before his 90-day pause on some tariffs expires — talks that negotiators of past trade deals say come with a range of strategic and logistical hurdles due to Trump’s compressed timeline.
Trump announced last week that he was pausing some of his sweeping global tariffs to give his administration time to work out trade deals with 75 countries he said had reached out to the White House to offer concessions. While Trump later said the pause was also driven by volatility in the stock and bond markets, top administration officials sought to spin the move as an example of Trump’s deal-making prowess.
But translating that initial outreach from countries into actual trade deals, especially in such a short period of time, won’t come easy, said former trade negotiators. And that will likely limit the potential gains Trump hopes to make from these talks, they added.
Trump looks to impose levies on Chinese vessels docking at U.S. ports
The Trump administration is taking steps to impose levies on Chinese vessels docking at U.S. ports, a move that would likely raise costs across the U.S.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced yesterday that all Chinese-built and-owned ships seeking to dock in the U.S. would now be subject to a tonnage-based fee per trip. Ships made by non-U.S. builders carrying vehicles would also be affected.
The proposal has its roots in a Biden-era effort to determine whether Chinese shipbuilding threatens national security.
The new measure would go into effect in six months; ship operators will have the fee waived for up to three years if they can show that they’ve ordered a new U.S.-built vessel.
Critics of the plan say it would raise costs for U.S. consumers and producers alike, including farmers who rely on Chinese vessels for their exports.
Mack Trucks blames tariffs as it lays off hundreds
Mack Trucks has announced it will lay off between 250 and 350 workers at a plant in Pennsylvania in part as a result of the impact of Trump's tariffs.
The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported the trucking giant had experienced a slowdown in demand amid the uncertainty generated by Trump's policies.
“Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs,” spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo said.
Trucking nationwide was already experiencing a slump as the economy has slowed down from its post-Covid boom; now, there are too many trucks for too few orders. Earlier this week, trucking and logistics group JB Hunt reported an 8% decrease in operating income from the year prior, causing a significant decline in its share price.
A union official confirmed the layoffs at the Lehigh Valley facility, which employs more than 3,000 total workers.
“Due to the market being in decline, there will be a rate and line reduction. I have heard all the same rumors you guys have heard. This is the first time I have an official word from the company that there will be a layoff,” United Auto Workers Local 677 shop chair Tim Hertzog said in a letter posted on the union’s Facebook page yesterday.
All AmeriCorps volunteers sent home from service amid DOGE cuts
All AmeriCorps volunteers have been sent home and pulled from projects across the country, per a notice sent to an AmeriCorps volunteer obtained by NBC News.
The email cites Trump’s executive order implementing DOGE’s ‘Cost Efficiency Initiative’ which has resulted in AmeriCorps “working within new operational parameters that impact the program’s ability to sustain program operations.”
“As a result, AmeriCorps is sending all NCCC members to their homes of record as soon as possible," the email said.
All volunteers were instructed to return to their region campus “immediately— as soon as is safely practicable” and were told they would be on administrative hold with pay through April 30, after which they will be exited from the program.
The National Civilian Community Corps, known as AmeriCorps, was founded in 1993 for young adults ages 18 to 26 to engage in community projects across the U.S. in areas including disaster response, environmental conservation, and education.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said on X last night that his state would be suing to stop the termination of the AmeriCorps program: “DOGE’s actions to dismantle AmeriCorps threaten vulnerable Californians, disaster response and recovery, and economic opportunities. California will be suing to stop this.”
A spokesperson for AmeriCorps or DOGE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump says Sen. Chris Van Hollen 'looked like a fool' in El Salvador
Trump lashed out at Van Hollen in a post on Truth Social this morning after the Democratic senator revealed last night that he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
"Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone. GRANDSTANDER!!!" Trump wrote.
Clyburn expresses that he hopes U.S. will not 'go the way of Germany in the 1930s when people stood by'
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said at a town hall last night that he hopes the U.S. doesn't transform into Germany during the rise of the Nazi party.
The congressman was discussing the current climate under the Trump administration and explaining what Democrats can and can't do to fight back.
"All we can do is share with you what we’re doing and ask for your prayers for this country will not allow itself to go the way of Germany in the 1930s when people stood by," said Clyburn at the town hall in Summerton, South Carolina.
He then read to the audience Pastor Martin Niemöller's famous poem, "First they came" which reflects on the inaction of Germans as the Nazis targeted vulnerable groups including Jews.
"And we remember what happened to the Jews," Clyburn said after reading the poem.
The longtime congressman who previously served in Democratic leadership said that people will have to speak out because Democrats lack the votes in the House and Senate to pass their agenda.
Vance says he is 'optimistic' about Ukraine-Russia peace talks
Vice President JD Vance spoke briefly about the negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi in Rome this morning. Meloni met with Trump at the White House yesterday.
“I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened, even in the past 24 hours. I think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private,” Vance said. “Some of those negotiations — I won’t prejudge them — but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close.”
Abrego Garcia’s deportation case exposes a rift among Democrats over how to take on Trump
A controversial deportation case has opened up a rift within the Democratic Party over how aggressively to go after Trump on an issue that has been one of his biggest political strengths.
Some members of the party are leaning heavily into Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador without due process, accusing Trump of defying a court order. But others, while still objecting to Trump’s actions, have sought to shift the focus to economic concerns amid the whiplash of the president’s tariff policies and persistently high prices.
Trump officials initially conceded that Abrego Garcia, who was subject to a withholding order preventing his expulsion to El Salvador and wasn’t convicted of a crime, was removed to his home country due to an “administrative error.” The administration has alleged he was a gang member and deserved deportation.
Mehmet Oz swearing-in ceremony to be held this afternoon
Mehmet Oz is set to be sworn in today as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees health care coverage programs for roughly half of the U.S. population.
Trump is set to participate in the ceremony, scheduled for noon ET in the Oval Office.
The Senate confirmed Oz earlier this month in a 53-45 vote along party lines.
Rubio says U.S. 'will move on' from Ukraine peace efforts if no progress within days
The U.S. may be ready to “move on” from its efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there is no clear progress in the coming days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
“We’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end,” Rubio told reporters in Paris after a grueling day of talks among U.S., Ukrainian and European officials in Paris.