What's happening today
- The White House said today that Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on goods entering America from Mexico, canada and china. The move could drive up prices on products coming from those countries.
- The executive orders impose a 10% tariff on chinese imports and a 25% tariff on Mexican and canadian imports, excluding canadian energy imports which will carry a 10% tariff.
- canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country is readying a "forceful and immediate response" if Trump moves forward with tariffs.
- Trump's administration continues its effort to purge federal DEI programs. The Office of Personnel Management yesterday ordered employees to remove all references to "gender ideology." The president's Defense Intelligence Agency also paused activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and other cultural observances.
canadian conservative Party leader urges 'canada First' plan, vows retaliation in response to tariffs
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of canada’s conservative Party and candidate for prime minister, blasted Trump’s imposition of tariffs, saying “there is no justification whatsoever for this treatment” and urging parliament to put aside partisan interests and pass a “canada First Plan.”
Poilievre’s six-part plan, laid out in an X post, included retaliating against the U.S. with “dollar-for-dollar tariffs,” pouring the money collected from the tariffs into affected workers and businesses, passing a “massive” tax cut, and rebuilding the canadian military.
It also included “taking back control of our borders to regain the confidence of our partners, assert our sovereignty, protect our people, and put canada First.”
“We will protect our economy, defend our sovereignty, bring home production and paycheques and never back down. We will put canada First—now and always,” Poilievre added.
Poilievre, canada’s opposition leader, has seemingly taken a page from Trump in his populist campaign messaging, painting canada as chaos-ridden and in need of change. He is leading the polls to become prime minister in an election that must happen by October of this year but could happen earlier if parliament is dissolved.
Trade industry pushes back against the enacted tariffs
Some of the largest industries that deal with imports from canada, Mexico and china are criticizing Trump’s newly enacted tariffs.
The United Steelworkers union called on Trump to reconsider the tariffs and referred to canada "one of our strongest partners."
“Lashing out at key allies like canada is not the way forward," the union said.
An industry group representing spirits makers said it was “deeply concerned that U.S. tariffs on imported spirits from canada and Mexico will significantly harm all three countries” and added that a slowdown in sales the industry saw in the wake of covid “will be exacerbated if a cycle of tariffs and matching retaliation begins.”
The U.S. chamber of commerce also argued that “tariffs are not the answer” and “will only raise prices for American families and upend supply chains.”
Before tariffs were officially signed, the National Homebuilders Association said it had “serious concerns” that the penalties would only worsen “a severe housing shortage” across the country.
Trump slaps tariffs on canada, Mexico, china, risking higher prices for U.S. consumers
Trump has signed tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from canada, Mexico and china, the White House said today, raising the risk of a trade war with America’s closest trading partners and threatening to drive up prices on everything from cars to avocados.
It is unclear when the tariffs will take effect or what specific actions the U.S. was looking for the three countries to take in order to lift the tariffs.
Trump has signed canada, Mexico & china tariffs into effect
The White House said that Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on three of the United States’ top trading partners.
The officials said there will be a tariff of 25% on all imports from Mexico, 25% on all imports from canada, excluding energy products. canadian energy imports will see a tariff of 10%.
The White House also said that Trump signed a 10% additional tariff on imports from china. The officials did not yet say when the tariffs would begin to be collected as goods cross the border.
Vance sidesteps question about whether air traffic controller in Wednesday's accident was a 'DEI hire'
In an interview with Fox News set to air on Sunday morning, Vice President JD Vance doubled down on Trump's rhetoric about DEI — or diversity, equity and inclusion — in the federal government.
Asked if there was any evidence that any of the air traffic controllers involved in Wednesday evening's airplane and helicopter collision in Washington, D.c., were DEI hires, Vance didn't give "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo a clear answer.
"This is not saying that the person at the controls is a DEI hire, but let's just say — first of all, we should investigate everything — but let's just say the person at the controls didn't have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons," Vance said.
He added, "The president made very clear that he wasn't blaming anybody but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controls to be short-staffed."
On Thursday, in the aftermath of the incident that killed 67 people, Trump blamed the accident on the policies of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, who according to Trump lowered the standards of hiring in the Federal Aviation Administration.
"I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. You remember that. Only the highest aptitude they have to be the highest intellect and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers," Trump said, referring to his first term.
"When I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen, because this was the lowest level. Their policy was horrible, and their politics was even worse," the president added.
In a memo on Thursday, the president said the Obama and Biden-era hiring standards "minimized merit and competence" at the FAA.
He added in the memo that the Biden administration "egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous “diversity equity and inclusion” tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with “severe intellectual” disabilities in the FAA."
Ken Martin wins election as the next chair of the DNc
Ken Martin, the longtime leader of the state Democratic Party organization in Minnesota, will be the new Democratic National committee chair after winning Saturday’s election, as his party looks to turn the page and recover from a dismal 2024.
Martin had been the front-runner from the beginning of the race, leveraging his relationships with the more than 400 voting members of the DNc that he forged over more than a decade of work inside the institutional Democratic Party. And those relationships proved essential, as he clinched a majority of the voting members on the first ballot.
The race hinged more on the candidates’ organizing and fundraising resumes than on their postures regarding the ideological soul of the party, as it did in 2017, after President Donald Trump’s previous election win. Martin was the more experienced hand with deep party relationships, Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler had been at the center of some of Democrats’ highest-profile races in recent years, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley had unique electoral and government experience.
Addressing the DNc membership after his victory, Martin called for party unity after a relatively quiet race that got chippy at times, and for the party to focus on opposing President Trump.
Biden, Harris addressed DNc ahead of chair vote
In an pre-recorded video address to DNc members ahead of the chair vote, former President Joe Biden celebrated the "enormous progress" Democrats made during his administration, but warned that, "today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America."
He described it as "an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens the entire democracy: our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead in this moment, the strength of our institutions of our democracy, the presidency, congress, the courts."
Biden rallied Democrats, telling them that their task as a party is, "to organize, to mobilize folks to run, to empower more Americans who believe the America of our dream is closer than we think."
Just after his speech, former Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed the gathering in a pre-recorded video message, telling Democrats, "We have some hard work ahead of us. But you know what I like to say, hard work is good work. Hard work is joyful work."
She added, "As we continue to fight for our ideals and to realize the promise of America, I will be with you every step of the way."
DNc staff are counting ballots in chair vote
DNc staff are now counting ballots for the chair vote. Roughly 450 DNc members are choosing among six candidates, and the winning candidate needs to win a majority of the members who showed up to vote, though it’s not clear at this time how many that is.
If no one wins the majority on the first ballot, there will be subsequent ballots until one does, with the candidate finishing with the least support eliminated each round.
The front-runners are two state party chairs from the midwest: Minnesota’s Ken Martin and Wisconsin’s Ben Wikler, with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley looking to pull an upset.
cFPB director resigns one year short of completing five-year term
Rohit chopra, the director of the consumer Financial Protection Bureau, posted a letter on X stating that he is leaving his position, even though he has one year left on the five-year term former President Joe Biden appointed him to in 2021.
In the letter, chopra wrote, "It’s been an honor serving as your @cFPB Director. Every day, Americans from across the country shared their ideas and experiences with us. You helped us hold powerful companies & their executives accountable for breaking the law, and you made our work better."
He told The New York Times earlier this week, “I swore an oath to a five-year term, and I will keep serving that until I can pass the baton to someone else. I totally respect and understand that the president can choose a director of his choice.”
The cFPB has been a target of Trump ally and tech mogul Elon Musk. In a November post on X, Musk wrote, "Delete cFPB. There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies."
Ken Martin: It's time for Democrats to 'get off the mat' and fight Trump
Reporting from National Harbor, Md.
The third of the major candidates to address DNc members ahead of the chair vote, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chairman Ken Martin, told Democrats it was time to get up and fight after a disappointing 2024.
"We got punched in the mouth in November, there’s no two ways about it. I'm running for DNc chair because its time to get off the mat," he said.
"A lot of people in this country right now are going to need us to walk and chew gum at the same time — meaning, we’re going to have to fight the extremes of Donald Trump while we make a sharp case to families in both red states and blue states about why they should trust us with their votes.”
Wikler hits 'Trumpian terror' and 'oligarchs' in DNc nominating speech
Reporting from National Harbor, Md.
Ben Wikler, who leads the Wisconsin Democratic Party, just finished his nominating speech at the DNc winter meeting where members are set to pick their party's next chair.
In his speech, Wikler hit much of the lines he's sought to highlight during his bid, framing his message around lifting up working Americans. But he also took aim at Trump and his allies.
"This country should not be rigged against you by people who already have everything," he said, before panning the "Trumpian terror" and the "group of would-be oligarchs who are shredding this country to hand off pieces to the people who already own everything in this nation.”
Running to lead the DNc, O'Malley criticizes Democrats being walked on 'short leashes' by donors
Reporting from National Harbor, Md.
During his nominating speech, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley argued he's the right fit to lead the Democratic National committee at this pivotal moment, with a swipe at some other Democrats.
"These are not ordinary times. This is not a normal DNc election. This is a time that cries out for new leadership and for change," O'Malley said to the room of DNc members as he looked for an upset victory in the upcoming chair's race.
"So the question for us as Democrats is this: Do we have the courage to change our party so we can save our country? I believe we do, and that is why I run. But the change that we need to win is not going to be achieved by tinkering around the edges, nor will it be achieved by turning the Democratic Party over to a handful of billionaires who pull strings from behind curtains and try to walk our elected officials on short leashes like dogs."
Not electing O’Malley as DNc chair is like rearranging chairs on the Titanic, former HUD secretary says
Reporting from National Harbor, Md.
Nominating speeches have started for the DNc chair's race and the O'Malley side is coming out hot.
Marcia Fudge, the former Department of Housing secretary, introduced O'Malley and told Democrats "step out of your comfort zone and vote for Governor O'Malley for chair, or we will just be moving the chairs on the deck of the Titanic."
O'Malley is among the notable faces running to lead the Democratic Party, along with Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chairman Ken Martin and Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler.
Hegseth says 'identity months' at Defense Department are 'dead'
In a memo to the Pentagon on Friday titled "Identity Months Dead at DoD," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote that military departments and Defense Department staff are no longer allowed to dedicate official resources and man-hours to celebrating events related to cultural awareness months.
The Friday memo initially listed certain months, like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, but was updated Saturday to include a ban on using official resources to celebrate Pride Month, too.
DNc to elect new leadership today
Democratic National committee members are gathering in National Harbor, Maryland, today to elect new leadership, including a new chair; a new vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation; three new vice chairs, a new treasurer, a new secretary and new national finance chair.
There are eight candidates for chair, including Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin, Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. The new chair will succeed outgoing chair Jaime Harrison.
Trump to impose tariffs on canada, Mexico and china on Saturday, White House says
The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump would impose a 25% tariff on goods coming to the U.S. from canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on those from china on Saturday, a move that could drive up prices for products coming into the U.S. from those countries.
Trump had said he would issue those tariffs on the first day of his presidency, then said on Inauguration Day that the tariffs would be put in place on Feb. 1. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that Trump would carry through on that Feb. 1 deadline.
Trump said Friday that there was nothing that the three countries could do to avoid the tariffs, which he said were in response to the import of fentanyl into the U.S. and because the U.S. has a trade deficit with the three countries. The U.S. is considered to have a trade deficit with those countries because it buys more goods and services from them than it sells to them.
The tariffs could increase how much U.S. consumers and businesses pay for goods coming from canada, Mexico and china — including electronics, toys, shoes, fresh produce, lumber and cars. Tariffs are paid by companies importing goods into the U.S., similar to a tax.