What to know today
- President Donald Trump said he will nominate national security adviser Mike Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be his interim national security adviser.
- Sources told NBC News earlier in the day that Waltz, who was at the center of the Signal chat debacle, was expected to leave his position in the administration.
- A Trump-appointed judge rejected the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelans it alleges are members of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
Growing GOP fight over ‘SALT’ tax deduction complicates Trump agenda bill
Republicans are at loggerheads over the fate of a controversial tax deduction that is critical to winning enough votes in the House to pass Trump’s legislative agenda.
After a week of meetings and discussions, Republicans still haven’t settled on how to handle the state and local tax deduction, also known as “SALT,” which allows filers to deduct up to $10,000 in taxes paid to state and local governments. Before the House adjourned for the week today, GOP lawmakers on opposite ends of the spectrum continued to snipe over whether to raise that $10,000 maximum imposed by the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
Pro-SALT Republicans insist it’s not enough to lift the cap to $15,000 for individuals and $30,000 for married couples. Party leaders are looking at a higher cap, killing the “marriage penalty” and potentially an income threshold to limit the deduction to the middle class, according to lawmakers and sources with knowledge of the talks.
There is no consensus in the GOP’s narrow House majority. It is a sensitive topic after several Republicans in high-tax areas lost their re-election races in 2018 after they backed the 2017 tax law that imposed the $10,000 cap. A new crop of GOP lawmakers has since won re-election by promising to raise that cap, but doing so would be expensive, and it would complicate the rest of the bill, which also seeks to boost funding for immigration enforcement and the military, as well as raise the debt limit.
JD Vance says Mike Waltz has Trump's 'trust'
Vance heaped praise on former national security adviser Mike Waltz, who Trump announced today will instead be nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"He’s got the trust of both me and the president, but we also thought that he’d make a better U.N. ambassador as we get beyond this stage of the reforms that we’ve made to the National Security Council," Vance said in an interview with Fox News' Brett Baier. "Donald Trump has fired a lot of people. He doesn't give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards."
Waltz was removed from his post weeks after he was embroiled in controversy for mistakenly adding a journalist to a Signal chat alongside several Trump officials, including Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in which details about an impending military strike were shared.
Vance heavily disputed the notion that Waltz's reassignment stemmed from the Signal chat mishap.
"If the president wanted to fire him over the Signal thing, which, by the way, was a total nothing-burger of a story," Vance said. "He actually decided it’s better for Mike to be in this new role."
Vance said that, if anything, the Signal leak portrayed him, Waltz and Hegseth in a positive light.
"I thought it reflected well on me, I’m obviously biased about myself, but about Mike Waltz [and] Pete Hegseth, that we were deliberating how to implement the president’s agenda. I think that’s what a good national security team should do."
Appeals court denies Trump's effort to grant DOGE access to sensitive Social Security data
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to deny the Trump administration's request for it to lift restrictions barring DOGE from accessing sensitive data housed in the Social Security Administration.
The vote was 9-6.
The appeals court ruling, filed yesterday, preserves U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander's decision to stop "DOGE affiliates" from accessing the personal and private data of millions of people, including their Social Security numbers, medical records and tax information.
Hollander's opinion, the appeals court wrote, “emphasizes that all this highly sensitive personal information has long been handed over to SSA by the American people with every reason to believe that the information would be fiercely protected."
The appeals court said the government has not proven that DOGE requires access to its sensitive information to complete its work.
"The evidentiary record establishes no need for such access; rather, the evidence demonstrates that DOGE’s work could be accomplished largely with anonymized and redacted data, along with discrete pieces of non-anonymized data in limited, appropriate circumstances — as has long been typical at SSA for the type of technology upgrades and waste, abuse, and fraud detection that DOGE claims to be doing," the court wrote.
Former Trump NSA John Bolton not surprised by Waltz ouster
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton told "Meet the Press NOW" it was "only a matter of time" before Waltz was removed from his old job.
"I think most people in Washington believe that it was only a matter of time before Mike Waltz moved on, probably outside the administration," Bolton said, adding Waltz's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations was "more surprising."
"I’m surprised that they’ve nominated him for a job that would require Senate confirmation, because you can guarantee that the confirmation hearing will be dominated by the Signal chat group issue," Bolton said, adding that he thought Waltz did "a fine job" as national security adviser.
Bolton was former President George W. Bush's U.N. ambassador.
"I wish him well, but it’s not going to be fun going through confirmation," Bolton said.
Bolton parted ways with Trump during his first term after having served about a year and a half in the post. Bolton said he resigned, and Trump said he forced him to do so, which Bolton denied. Bolton said today that what happened to Waltz should be a warning to others thinking about joining the administration.
"I think Mike Waltz’s experience should tell anybody in the private sector or any, any other position outside the federal government if you’ve got a secure job, think long and hard about abandoning it to go and serve in the Trump administration," he said.
Losing the (eventual) Barbie vote?
Trump's comments yesterday during a Cabinet meeting about a possible rise in doll prices could have disillusioned some future voters.
Speaking to NBC News at a Trump campaign event in September, two young girls, named Stella and Maeve, opened up about what they were hoping to hear from him.
"I want him to lower prices and lower the taxes and make Barbies cheaper,” Maeve said. “And Polly Pockets. All my favorite toys are so expensive.”
Trump acknowledged at the Cabinet meeting yesterday that the tariff war with China could have an impact on toy prices.
"Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally," he said. "We have to make a fair deal."
20 former federal judges pledge to 'protect the independence of the judiciary' in new letter
Twenty former federal judges signed a letter released today emphasizing the importance of maintaining three separate, co-equal branches of government and pledging to protect the independence of the judiciary.
"We, as former members of the federal judiciary, care deeply about our Constitution and our Country. While the debate over the metes and bounds of each branch is older than the Republic itself, the need for an independent judiciary, free from coercion, has never been questioned," the letter reads.
The letter points to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence as both a "time for reflection" and a "time for action."
“Although we come from different corners of America and have been appointed by Presidents of both parties, we former members of the third branch are ready for our third act,” the letter read. “We pledge not only to keep our Republic, but to strengthen it. To defend the rule of law. To protect the independence of the judiciary.”
The signers include former federal judges appointed by Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris similarly warned of the importance of safeguarding the Constitution.
"We are living in a moment when the checks and balances upon which we have historically relied have begun to buckle," she said in San Francisco last night. "If Congress fails to do its part, or if the courts fail to do their part, or if both do their part but the president defies them anyway, well, friends, that is called a constitutional crisis."
Trump asks Supreme Court to allow revocation of protected status for Venezuelans
The Trump administration has filed its latest emergency application at the Supreme Court, this time asking to revoke special legal protections for thousands of Venezuelan immigrants.
At issue is whether the administration can revoke a decision made at the tail end of the Biden administration to extend protections for more than 300,000 Venezuelans under the federal Temporary Protected Status program.
A judge in the Northern District of California blocked the move, citing concerns that the decision was based in part on racial animus.
In the new court filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi's decision Noem is not reviewable by courts.
"The court's order contravenes fundamental executive branch prerogatives and indefinitely delays sensitive policy decisions in an area of immigration police that Congress recognized must be flexible, fast-paced and discretionary," he said.
The court has asked the National TPS Alliance and individual Venezuelans who challenged the decision to file a response next week.
Mike Waltz checks Signal during a Cabinet meeting
National security adviser Mike Waltz checked his mobile phone during a Cabinet meeting yesterday with Trump and other Cabinet members.
Waltz was at the center of a Signal group chat controversy when he inadvertently added a journalist to a group chat of administration officials in which sensitive military plans were shared.
Elections expert says DOGE's 57 potential voter registration fraud referrals are 'a drop in the ocean'
Reporting from Washington
Election law expert Rick Hasen told NBC News today that the 57 referrals DOGE reportedly made to the Justice Department involving resident aliens who were allegedly registered to vote are a “drop in the ocean” and noted that potential unlawful voter registrations were different from ballots’ being cast.
NBC News reported this morning that longtime Elon Musk adviser Antonio Gracias told reporters that DOGE has referred 57 cases of voter fraud to the Justice Department, saying the people referred were “resident aliens who were registered to vote and may or may not have voted in elections.”
“We’re not sure,” Gracias said. “We referred the cases.”
More than 155 million votes were cast in the 2024 election, and Hasen said people sometimes inadvertently get registered to vote who are not eligible, sometimes during visits to the Department of Motor Vehicles, since some states give voters registration opportunities when they sign up for or renew their driver’s licenses.
“Sometimes either a worker at the motor vehicles department or the person looking at one of those little screens hits the wrong button, makes a mistake and inadvertently gets registered to vote. So those things happen,” he said.
Hasen said that there are “very rare cases” of noncitizens’ trying to vote and that it makes sense that so few noncitizens would knowingly try to cast unlawful ballots because there’s no concrete benefit to casting a single vote and the penalties are so dire.
“Very few cases are found, and the reason for that is unsurprising. If you’re not a citizen and you register to vote and you vote intentionally, that could affect your immigration status; you could go to jail,” he said. “People sign under penalty of perjury when they do these things that they are eligible to vote, and given that one vote is very unlikely to change the outcome of an election, there’s very little incentive to risk breaking the law.
“So, you know, this is like a drop in the ocean, and it would not surprise me if, after we look at these 57 cases, that there are none or few people who are ineligible who intentionally and affirmatively try to register to vote, right? And even so, 57 people out of how many, how many, tens of millions of people in this database?”
Hasen said that states check eligibility when voters register and check citizenship when people get Real IDs.
“When new registrations come in, there are checks on these things. One thing that happens is someone is listed as a noncitizen, and then they get their citizenship and they register to vote, and then they’re still flagged in a database of not being citizens,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that can happen. I’m not saying that none of these 57 cases involve some kind of illegal activity. But I would be very surprised if we saw anything but that the vast majority of these were some kind of error or miscoding.
“If this is the best that DOGE and the Trump administration can do in ferreting out voter fraud, they are not going to be any more effective this time around than they were during Trump 1,” he said.
Democratic senators raise concerns about Waltz's nomination to be U.N. ambassador
Democratic senators told reporters on Capitol Hill today that they have concerns with Trump's decision to nominate national security adviser Mike Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"I think it would be pretty brutal," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said when he was asked what he thought Waltz's confirmation hearing would be like.
Both Warner and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., named Waltz's involvement in a Signal group message in which U.S. strike plans were discussed as reason for concern.
"In terms of Waltz himself at the U.N., I’ve not I’ve not thought about that. I worry again that this administration doesn’t seem to understand there are reasons why we have classified information and lives are at stake," Warner said.
Trump administration officials have maintained that there were no classified details in the Signal group chat ahead of U.S. military strikes in Yemen.
Welch said that he won't decide how to vote on Waltz' nomination until the confirmation hearing, but he said, "I’m not excited about what the behavior was on Signal-gate game. The folks that were principally involved, [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth and Waltz, I think both should own up to it."
House to vote on a bill to change the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in U.S. records
The House is scheduled to vote next week on a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” according to a notice from the House Rules Committee.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., would require federal agencies to update any “map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States” with the “Gulf of America” name no later than 180 days after enactment.
Waltz says he's 'deeply honored to continue my service' in Trump administration
Rep. Donald Norcross discharged from hospital
Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., has been discharged from the hospital “following his recent serious medical incident and has begun his rehabilitation,” his office said in a statement.
Norcross was first admitted to the hospital in early April and was placed in intensive care. The hospitalization came after a medical incident in Raleigh, North Carolina, his office said at the time.
A physician at Cooper University Health Care, where Norcross was treated, told reporters weeks ago that the congressman was suffering from a gallbladder infection and sepsis.
Trump announces that he's nominating Mike Waltz to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
After news emerged that White House national security adviser Mike Waltz was expected to leave his post, Trump announced on Truth Social that he's nominating him to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first," Trump wrote.
"In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he added.
Trump had previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the post at the U.N., but recently withdrew it after concerns about her confirmation narrowing the already razor-thin GOP majority in the House.
The Senate will need to confirm Waltz to the Cabinet post. He had faced some criticism after it was reported that he added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat with other top administration officials in which they discussed sensitive military information.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore: 'I'm not running' for president in 2028
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, told ABC's "The View" today that he is "not running” when asked if he would launch a presidential campaign in 2028.
Moore, who is in his first term as governor and flipped a Republican-held governorship in 2022, is expected to run for another term in 2026. In the deep-blue state of Maryland, he would be expected to win a second term, after which he would be term-limited.
Moore is one of a long list of Democratic governors who are widely considered as potential leading presidential contenders in 2028, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Moore's remarks are unlikely to dismiss speculation that he will run for president in 2028, as he did not say he "will not" run for president in three years.
Past Democratic presidential candidates have also said that they are "not running" for president years before they eventually have.
Among them are Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts and Tom Steyer, both in 2020, and even then-Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, on "Meet the Press" in 2006.
Grassley says GOP members have questions for Trump's nominee for D.C. U.S. attorney
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., abandoned a plan today to force a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on holding a nomination hearing for Ed Martin, Trump's nominee to be Washington, D.C.'s next U.S. attorney.
Martin’s nomination was not on the agenda for today’s business meeting, so a vote on his nomination was not expected. But Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chair of the committee, thanked Durbin for not bringing the issue of Martin's potential hearing to a vote.
Grassley added that he and other senators still have questions for Martin, a conservative activist who Democrats say lacks experience for the position. Grassley told Durbin at the hearing that "we’ve had people on our staff who had more questions and I think wanted to meet personally."
Durbin and other Democrats on the committee have slammed Martin, saying that he hasn't been "forthright" in his disclosures to the committee and called on Grassley to hold a hearing on Martin's nomination.
The Senate Judiciary Committee does not usually hold hearings on U.S. attorney nominees, though their nominations do usually get voted out of committee.
"I feel strongly that Mr. Martin has not been honest and forthright in his disclosures to this committee, and as we’ve investigated his background, he is not qualified for this job," Durbin told reporters.
"I do my best to cooperate with the other side, particularly when it appears that they’re sharing my concerns," the Illinois Democrat added.
Judge rules Trump can't rely upon Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members
A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas has found that Trump cannot rely on the Alien Enemies Act to detain and remove Venezuelan migrants whom the administration alleges are members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, wrote that he does not question the executive branch’s authority to direct the detention and removal of migrants who engage in criminal activity, adding that administration can continue to rely on the Immigration and Nationality Act.
But the judge wrote that "the historical record renders clear that the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms. As a result, the Court concludes that as a matter of law, the Executive Branch cannot rely on the AEA, based on the Proclamation, to detain the Named Petitioners and the certified class, or to remove them from the country.”
The opinion said the Trump administration’s use of “invasion” does not match the historical definition of the term, which has typically been used in connection with military endeavors or warfare. The court found that an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” must be “an organized, armed force entering the United States to engage in conduct destructive of property and human life in a specific geographical area,” but that “the action need not be a precursor to actual war.”
Rodriguez separately wrote in his class certification that “the number of Venezuelan aliens who Respondents could designate as alien enemies under the Proclamation and detain in or remove through this Court’s geographic jurisdiction remains fluid,” noting that the administration has "the ability to transfer a significant number of unidentified Venezuelan aliens into the Southern District of Texas, designate them as alien enemies under the Proclamation, and subject them to removal under the AEA."
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who is representing the plaintiffs, praised the judge's decision.
“The Court correctly held that the President lacks authority to simply declare there’s been an invasion of the United States and then invoke a 18th century wartime authority during peacetime," Gelernt said. "Congress never meant for this law to be used in this manner."
Democratic senators say Hegseth should be fired alongside Waltz
In the wake of reports that national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy would be departing the White House, Senate Democrats were quick to argue that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should be fired instead. Several Democratic senators said that Waltz’s departure is just a cover for Hegseth over his involvement in a Signal group chat that detailed U.S. military strike plans.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters, “Look, they should fire him, but they’re firing the wrong guy. They should be firing Hegseth.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., called the move “long overdue."
"He’s the guy that started the classified text chain, when there were classified channels available. It’s his responsibility, but I also think that Pete Hegseth needs to be fired as well," she added.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told NBC News that, “Mr. Waltz is only the first and maybe not even the worst who should go. The secretary of defense ought to be fired today.”
None of the GOP senators NBC News spoke to were aware that Waltz had been let go, including Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who told NBC News he had only seen news reports during his hearing this morning.
Trump acknowledges Cabinet members with no mention of Waltz
Amid reports that national security adviser Mike Waltz will depart the administration, Trump notably did not mention Waltz during remarks today at the White House's National Day of Prayer.
Trump acknowledged many other Cabinet officials, including those whom he did not believe were in attendance at the breakfast.
Both Waltz and his No. 2 are expected to depart the administration
Both Waltz and his deputy national security adviser, Alex Wong, are expected to leave the Trump administration, three sources with knowledge of their expected departures told NBC News.
Waltz has been on shaky ground with Trump over the past six weeks after he inadvertently added a journalist to a private chat on the messaging app Signal with other top national security officials to discuss military strikes in Yemen.
White House officials have declined to comment when asked about the expected departure of Waltz and Wong.
Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz expected to leave his post, according to multiple reports
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz is expected to depart his post, according to numerous media reports citing anonymous U.S. officials.
NBC News has not independently confirmed the reports.
Waltz did not appear to be present this afternoon at a prayer-related White House Rose Garden ceremony attended by the president and many senior Trump administration officials.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, came under fire last month after a journalist was mistakenly added to a group chat with other top administration officials on impending U.S. military strikes in Yemen. Screenshots of the Signal chat shared by The Atlantic showed that a user named “Michael Waltz” initially added the magazine’s top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the high-level discussion.
Trump stood by Waltz in the days after The Atlantic report, telling NBC News, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.” But when asked by the magazine recently how long Waltz might stay in the administration, the president said, "Waltz is fine. I mean, he’s here. He just left this office. He’s fine. He was beat up also."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praises U.S.-Ukraine deal
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised a deal with Ukraine that will give the U.S. preferential access to Ukrainian minerals deals and fund Ukraine’s recovery. Bessent called it a “historic economic partnership” and said that the U.S. “looks forward to quickly operationalizing” the agreement.
U.S. deports more than 130 Central Asian migrants to Uzbekistan
The U.S. has deported 131 Central Asians who were in the country illegally to Uzbekistan, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The migrants are from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and were flown out of the country yesterday, the department said in a statement.
“We commend Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for his leadership in sending a flight to return 131 illegal aliens back to their home country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Uzbekistan on efforts to enhance our mutual security and uphold the rule of law.”
Uzbekistan is the latest country to agree to accept migrants deported by the Trump administration, with others including Colombia and El Salvador. Critics say people are being deported without due process and that parents are being separated from their U.S. citizen children or given little choice but to take their children with them.
White House press secretary encourages Kamala Harris to continue speaking out
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters this morning that the White House hopes former Vice President Kamala Harris continues to speak out against the administration.
"I think I speak for everyone at the White House, we encourage Kamala Harris to continue going out and speaking, do speaking engagements," she said at the daily press briefing, suggesting that Harris' remarks work in Republicans' favor.
Harris denounced Trump and the first 100 days of his second term at an event yesterday in San Francisco, saying his policies threatened to bring about a constitutional crisis and were harming the economy.
The address by the former vice president, who may be considering runs for governor of California or for president in 2028, marked her return to the public spotlight after losing the last election to Trump.
Stephen Miller says Trump won't allow judges to act as the secretary of state
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for domestic policy, weighed in on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case at a White House news briefing this morning, repeating Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments that the administration won't discuss its foreign policy negotiations publicly.
"As Secretary Rubio said yesterday in the Cabinet meeting, this administration is not going to publicly discuss the inside details of our foreign policy and negotiations with a foreign country, and in particular, we are not going to allow a district court judge to try to become the secretary of state," Miller said.
Trump said in a recent interview with ABC News that he could have Abrego Garcia returned to the United States — remarks that conflict with his administration's arguments in litigation over the Maryland man's deportation that it would be up to El Salvador's government to send him back.
Rubio is the one "managing the day-to-day relationship with El Salvador," Miller said at the briefing, in which he also addressed a wide range of subjects, including tariffs, China and higher prices.
"Let’s just take a moment, number one, to express our gratitude to El Salvador for agreeing to take some of the most dangerous terrorists off of America’s streets and to put them into a safe environment where they cannot continue to engage in acts of terrorism or coordination with the Maduro regime," Miller said.
U.S. is ‘actively’ reaching out for trade talks, Chinese state media says
Reporting from Hong Kong
The U.S. has been “actively” reaching out to China through various channels in the hope of starting tariff negotiations, Chinese state media reported.
China, which has contradicted Trump’s claims that talks are already underway, has said the U.S. must first “completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures” against China, which now total 145%.
“China has no need to negotiate with the U.S. before it takes any substantive actions. However, it will bring no harm to China at this stage if the U.S. wishes to engage with China,” Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state-run broadcaster CCTV, said in a post today, citing unidentified sources. It did not provide details.
China, which Trump referred to yesterday as the “chief ripper-offer” of the U.S., has taken a hard line against U.S. tariffs, responding with its own 125% levy on U.S. imports. Earlier this week, the Foreign Affairs Ministry released a video saying, “Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst — it only deepens the crisis.”
“China won’t kneel down, because we know standing up for ourselves keeps the possibility of cooperation alive, while compromise snuffs it out,” the video said.
China is starting to feel the bite of tariffs, however, reporting yesterday that manufacturing activity in April had fallen more than expected to a near two-year low, CNBC reported.
The U.S. currently has no official trade talks with China but deals with other trading partners are expected within weeks, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News yesterday.
Democratic senators warn Trump about tariffs' impact on housing
Senate Democrats are calling out Trump in a letter this morning highlighting the impact his global tariffs could have on housing costs.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Lisa Blunt Rochester, of Delaware, and Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, led a group of 19 Democratic senators demanding that Trump reverse course on his tariffs and warning of increased construction costs and interest rates for homebuyers.
“During your campaign, you promised to address America’s housing crisis and on day one of your Administration you signed an executive order to pursue “appropriate actions to ... lower the cost of housing and expand housing supply.” the senators wrote. “Yet your reckless trade policies will only make the crisis worse.”
The tariffs could increase material costs for the average new home by as much as $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The senators specifically pointed to tariffs on aluminum, steel and appliances, writing that they will “undoubtedly” raise the cost of constructing new homes.
The senators also wrote that economic uncertainty caused by tariffs will only place more pressure on interest rates and cause mortgage rates to skyrocket in the midst of a nationwide housing shortage.
“If China retaliates against your tariffs by selling off U.S. Treasury bonds or U.S. mortgage-backed securities, that could also result in higher costs.” the senators wrote.
The letter comes as the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is set to hold a hearing at 10 a.m. today on the home insurance industry and housing costs.
Army leaders to Musk: We will DOGE ourselves
Under pressure to make drastic budget cuts, Army leaders have struck an unusual agreement with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency: Don’t DOGE us; we will DOGE ourselves.
The process began at a White House meeting in March attended by Vice President JD Vance, a Marine veteran; Army Secretary Dan Driscoll; and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Musk says DOGE should scrutinize Federal Reserve spending
Elon Musk told reporters yesterday that he thinks the Department of Government Efficiency should look at the Federal Reserve, citing spending on renovations at its headquarters.
“I did see recently that they’re spending $2½ billion on redecorating. Sounds high. Who’s their designer?" Musk said, laughing. "I mean, what do you get for $2½ billion in redecorating? Must be incredible.”
Pressed on whether the central bank's spending should be scrutinized, Musk said, “Since, at the end of the day, this is all taxpayer money, I think we would certainly — we should certainly look to see if indeed the Federal Reserve is spending $2½ billion on their interior designer. That’s, that’s an eyebrow raiser, you know? They’re like, can we see pictures of what you get for that?”
The Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, have been frequent targets of Trump, who has criticized the central bank for not lowering interest rates amid economic volatility stemming in part from the president's tariff policy.
Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs are threatening Independence Day fireworks
Trump’s massive China tariffs are jeopardizing American fireworks shows, threatening to drive up prices and limit supplies.
U.S. fireworks wholesalers and distributors say they’ve been canceling shipments from China for this year’s July Fourth holiday. Some are also halting manufacturing in China of fireworks for next year’s celebrations of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. Trump’s April 2 tariff rollout, which he dubbed “Liberation Day,” raised the effective import tax rate on nearly all Chinese goods to 145%, even after he walked back much of the other sweeping duties days later.
Last month’s chaotic trade policy swings occurred just as U.S. fireworks companies were preparing to receive their last July Fourth shipments from China, which makes around 75% of fireworks used in professional shows and 99% of consumer fireworks used in the United States, according to the National Fireworks Association. The companies say that the tariffs are too steep to absorb and that hiking prices on customers to offset them would make their products unaffordable.
Progressive group launches initiative focused on organizing communities against Trump's agenda
The progressive organization Democracy Forward is seeking to turn dissatisfaction with Trump’s early performance into small group meetings across the country for people to voice their opposition to the president's agenda.
In an announcement first shared with NBC News, Democracy Forward said “Dinners for Democracy” and “Coffee for Change” will focus in part on people seeking opportunities for engagement because their “members of Congress who are aligned with the Trump-Vance administration are unreachable or not holding town halls.”
“Through supporting people in gathering their community for dinner or for coffee, we are working to turn this crisis into a catalyst for change,” Skye Perryman, the group's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Democracy Forward says it has filed 60 legal actions against Trump’s administration since his inauguration.
The organization says it will provide event hosts conversation starters, discussion questions and other resources.
The initiative comes as polling suggests Democratic voters want to more aggressively fight Trump’s agenda, directing their lawmakers to resist compromising with him even if it risks bipartisan progress.
Immigrant community organizer launches Democratic campaign in toss-up Pennsylvania House district
Democrat Carol Obando-Derstine today launched a campaign for the House in Pennsylvania’s 7th District, where freshman Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Penn., narrowly won last year, flipping a Democratic-held district into the GOP’s column.
“I’m running because I don’t want to stand by as Elon Musk and Ryan Mackenzie rip away health care from millions of people, devastate our economy and take food off families tables to hand out tax cuts to billionaire donors,” Obando-Derstine told NBC News.
“I’m running for Congress to fight back, to fight for working families like the one I grew up with, and to ensure that the people of this district, of PA-7, know they have a champion in office who will always put them before politics,” she added.
Obando-Derstine is a naturalized citizen from Colombia who has worked in various community-facing roles in the Lehigh Valley, including as an energy engineer and as an aide to former Sen. Bob Casey.
Though she’s never held elected office, Obando-Derstine cited that as an asset, saying, “There’s momentum around candidates like me. Right now, we have someone who isn’t showing up for our district, and more career politicians won’t change that.”
“This is the change that voters want to see, and that’s what I’m going to channel into this primary. I dedicated my life to helping people in this region. I haven’t dedicated my life to politics,” she added.
The general election in Pennsylvania’s 7th District is expected to be close, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating the race as a “Toss-up” and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listing the race as one of their targets for 2026. Mackenzie only won the race by 1 percentage point, or just over 4,000 votes, in 2024.
Former Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., who represented the district but lost to Mackenzie in 2024, is expected to endorse Obando-Derstine later today.
In a statement, Mackenzie's campaign spokesperson, Arnaud Armstrong, tied Obando-Derstine to Wild, saying that electing Obando-Derstine would effectively be "a fourth Wild term."
“Susan Wild’s stated goal was finding someone with ‘no record’ so they could make up an image to fool voters. The sad truth that has been exposed is that Obondo-Derstine is running to carry on Wild’s radical left agenda that caused the worst inflation in decades, disastrous open-border policies, failed foreign policy, and woke mandates," Armstrong said. "Voters will reject this poorly veiled attempt by Wild’s special interest backers and consultants to obtain a fourth Wild term and all of the far-left policies that would accompany it."
No more sleepovers and late-night ice cream: Elon Musk prepares his White House exit
Elon Musk said that he’s in the process of stepping back from his nearly 24/7 role with the Department of Government Efficiency to focus on his businesses.
“Now we’re getting more of a rhythm,” Musk told reporters at the White House last evening. “And so the amount of time that it’s necessary for me to spend here is much less, and I can return to primarily running my companies, which do need me.”
Musk’s Tesla company this month reported a sizable drop in first-quarter profit and revenue.
Musk said that following an “intense” first three months of Trump’s administration — when he occasionally slept over at the White House at Trump’s invitation — he now expects to work on DOGE projects only one or two days a week and to be present in Washington every other week.