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Lutnick’s comments were unclear, but seemed to imply the president may offer some relief to products impacted by the duties, which many economists fear will disrupt trade and raise prices for American consumers.
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“The president is thinking about it. He’s thinking about autos. He’s thinking about USMCA,” Lutnick said, referring to the free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada negotiated during his first term. “He’s going to come up with a plan this afternoon. We’re going to announce that plan.”
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Here’s more on the potential impacts of the tariffs:
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Democrats panned Donald Trump’s first prime-time speech to Congress since returning to the White House as reaction to the address revealed a country still deeply split on political lines and an opposition party unsure of how to deal with his radical agenda.
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The Democrats’ exclusion from the corridors of powers – Democrats are in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives – has left them with limited options on how to effectively respond to Trump’s hardline 1hr 40min oration that amounted to a celebration of his purported achievements during his six weeks back in office.
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Some of the party’s rising stars, including Chris Murphy, a vocal senator from Connecticut, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive representative from New York, protested by staying away.
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Those who attended showed their displeasure by turning their backs on Trump as he spoke and holding up placards with messages like “No kings”, “Save Medicaid” and “Musk steals” in reference to the leading government cost-cutting role being played by the billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
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The protest was disparagingly compared to bingo signs by one normally sympathetic commentator, Symne Sanders-Townsend, a host on the MSNBC channel.
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“Why are democrats just sitting there? The signs are not landing. It is giving bingo! Sigh,” she posted on X.
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The audience of silent, grim-faced Democrats – some of them holding Ukrainian flags or wearing garments in the country’s colours – provided Trump with the perfect prop to troll them in real time.
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The Trump administration has listed over 300 buildings for sale in a further move to gut the federal government. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”.
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In a posting to US general services administration website, the administration says the 320 properties across multiple states are “designated for disposal”.
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It says:
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\n
We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces. Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.
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Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of US politics and the Donald Trump administration. I’m Tom Ambrose.
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We start with news that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering reducing its workforce by as much as 50%, according to reports. The agency has already laid off about 7,000 of its 90,000 employees since Donald Trump came to power.
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Federal agencies have been given until 13 March to formulate cost and staff reduction plans and submit them to the White House.
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Associated Press reports that, according to two anonymous sources familiar with IRS plans, it is proposing “a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts” will deliver the huge cut in headcount.
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John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, has said that cuts on this scale would render the IRS “dysfunctional”.
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In his marathon address to Congress last night, a jocular Donald Trump touted his administration’s “swift and unrelenting action” and praised the work of his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who has led his administration’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government through his so-called “department of government efficiency”. Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read “lies” and “false” through the speech, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes.
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You can read our story here
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The president’s speech was littered with false claims he has previously been corrected on but continues to repeat – here are some of those “facts” checked
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He doubled down on his expansionist rhetoric, saying the administration was in the process of “reclaiming the Panama canal” and repeating his threat to take control of Greenland: “One way or the other, we’re going to get it”. The president has also recently stated that the US will “own” the Gaza Strip
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The dollar has fallen to the lowest level since November, after Trump said his new tariffs will cause “a little disturbance” in his Congress speech
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Responding to Trump’s speech, Sen Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said that Ronald Reagan “must be rolling in his grave” after last week’s Oval Office spat with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump “cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin”, and asserted that Trump would have “lost” the cold war
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Democratic Rep Al Green of Texas was ejected for an outburst during Trump’s speech. He later told the media “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president”
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The Trump administration has listed over 300 federal buildings for sale. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”
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Important Events
The Secretary of Commerce says Trump will decide tariffs this afternoon
the next day Donald Trump Impacted economically destructive tariffs on Canadian and Mexican commerce secretaries Howard Lutnick He told Bloomberg television that the president will decide on taxation this afternoon.
Lutnick's comments were unknown, but they appeared to imply that the president might provide some relief to products affected by the duties.
“The president is thinking about that. He is thinking about cars. He is thinking about the USMCA,” Rutnick said of the free trade agreement between Mexico and Canada, negotiating during his first term. “He's going to plan this afternoon, and we'll announce that plan.”
Details regarding the potential impact of tariffs are as follows:
Democrats slam Trump's long speech to Congress
Robert Tate
Democrats have panned Donald Trump's first primetime speech to Congress since returning to the White House in response to the speech.
Democrats exclusion from Democrats — Democrats are in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives — left them limited options on how to effectively deal with the Trump hardliners' 1 hour and 40 minute stage.
Some of the party's upstarts, including Connecticut Voice Senator Chris Murphy, and progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are protesting away.
Those present turned their backs on Trump, held up placards and raised plazads with messages like “No King,” “Save Medicaid,” and “Mask Steel,” and held up placards about the government's cost-cutting role played by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The protest was surprising compared to the signs of bingo by Symne Sanders-Townsend, the usual sympathetic commentator who hosts the MSNBC channel.
“Why is Democrats just sitting there? The sign hasn't landed. They're giving you bingo! Sigh,” she said. Posted x.
The silent, stern, democratic audience — who are raising Ukrainian flags or wearing clothing in the colours of the country — has provided Trump with the perfect props to troll in real time.
Joseph Gedeon
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin took an active role in holding elected officials directly challenging citizens, following Donald Trump's record-breaking council speech on Tuesday, focusing on the risks of democracy decline.
The first-term democratic senator representing the nation that the president has acquired explained how constant and active participation from voters is necessary to maintain democracy.
“The very system of government, our democratic, is the world's desire, and now it is at risk,” Slotkin said in his official democratic response. “When the President decides you can choose and choose the rules you should follow, when he ignores the court orders and the constitution itself, or when an elected leader waits and makes it happen, it's in danger.”
The first term of the Senators outlined a three-stage approach for citizens. Maintain informed information, monitor the voting records of elected representatives, and actively organize issues that are important to certain people. She framed the citizens' supervision as “American as Apple Pie.”
Robert McKee
The Donald Trump marathon was littered with false claims in his speech to a joint Congress session on Tuesday. Many of them were scattered across many of the falsehoods he had previously stated, corrected, and continued to be repeated without regard.
Below are some of the main statements he made:
The Trump administration sells more than 300 federal buildings
The Trump administration is selling to further drive the federal government and sell more than 300 buildings. It describes the property as “not the core of government operations.”
in Submit to the US General Services Management Websitethe administration has stated that 320 properties in multiple states are “specified for disposal.”
say:
We identify buildings or facilities that are not the core of government operations, or non-core property for disposal. The sale ensures that taxpayer dollars will no longer be spent in vacant or underutilized federal space. Disposing of these assets eliminates expensive maintenance and allows you to reinvest in a high-quality work environment that supports your agency's mission.
On Wednesday morning, there were some early responses to some of Donald Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday from Denmark. Greenland.
Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Rocke RasmussenSpeaking in Helsinki, “the most important part of that speech” was when the US president said his country would “respect Greenland's right to self-determination.”
Recognizing Denmark and the United States have a common interest with the United States regarding Arctic security, he said:
Denmark says Greenland is not for sale. Opinion polls suggest that most Greenlanders are opposed to joining the US, but hopes to ultimately gain independence from Denmark.
In his speech to Congress, Trump said:
I have a message to the incredible people of Greenland tonight. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you to the US.
Greenland is needed for national and international security. And we're working with everyone involved to get it. But it is really necessary for the safety of the international world. And I think we'll get it – in some way, we're about to get it.
We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to the heights, like you've never thought of before. It is a very small population, but very very large land, very important for military security.
French President Emmanuel Macron is considering traveling to Washington again with Ukrainian President Voldymee Zelensky and British Kiel Starmer, government spokesman Sophie Plymouth said Wednesday.
Plymouth was talking to reporters after weekly meetings in the French Cabinet.
Our video team has put together this series of clips from Donald TrumpAn address to Congress.
IRS staffing could be halved – Report
Welcome to live coverage of US politics and the Guardian of the Donald Trump administration. I'm Tom Ambrose.
We start with that news The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering reducing the workforce by up to 50%according to the report. The agency has already fired about 7,000 of its 90,000 employees since Donald Trump came to power.
Federal agencies have been given until March 13 to develop a cost and staff reduction plan and submit it to the White House.
The Associated Press reports that it proposes a “combination of layoffs, exhaustion and incentive shopping,” according to two anonymous sources familiar with IRS plans.
Former IRS commissioner John Koskinen said this scale of cuts would make the IRS “difficult.”
In his marathon speech to Congress last night, the incredible Donald Trump touted his administration's “quick and relentless actions” and praised the work of his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who led his administration's efforts to dramatically reduce the federal government through his administration's “domain of government efficiency.” Democrats protested with placards reading “lies” and “fakes” through a speech that lasted an hour and 40 minutes.
You can read our story here
-
It was scattered across the president's speech. False claims He has been fixed previously, but continues to repeat – here are some of the “facts” checked
-
He doubled his expansionist rhetoric and said the administration was in the process of “recovering” Panama Canal“And repeatedly controls his threats. Greenland: “In any case, we're going to get it.” The president recently said it would be “owned” by the US. Gaza Strip
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The dollar has fallen to its lowest level since November after President Trump said his new tariffs would cause “a bit of a disturbance” in his Congress speech
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Sen in response to Trump's speech Elissa Slotkin Michigan claimed that Trump “must have been lying in his grave” after last week's spat in an oval office that Ronald Reagan “is working with Voldimir Zelensky and dictators like Vladimir Putin” and that Trump “must have been lying in his grave.”
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Democrats Al Green Texas was kicked out due to an explosion during Trump's speech. He later told the media, “It's worth letting people know that there are some of us who are planning on facing this president.”
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The Trump administration sells more than 300 federal buildings. Describes the property as “not the core of government operations.”
