Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States comprised of the 198,000 bitcoins the American government already holds through law enforcement confiscations, which are worth an estimated $17bn.
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks said the move would “not cost taxpayers a dime” but the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to slump on Thursday night, with the value of rival coins not included in the scheme also falling.
Also on Thursday, the president postponed planned 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada for one month after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sheinbaum described her call with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas the Trudeau exchange was reportedly more “colorful”, with the Canadian saying afterwards he expects his country to remain locked in a trade war with the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Trump also abruptly called a cabinet meeting yesterday to clarify the role of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after they faced significant pushback from the courts over their authority to order the mass firings of federal workers.
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Key Points
- Donald Trump establishes federal cryptocurrency reserve as markets for digital currency slump
- Trump backs down and suspends 25 percent tariff hike on Mexican and Canadian goods for one month
- Trump-Trudeau tariff call got heated and included ‘profanity,’ report says
- Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum thanks Trump after tariff climbdown
- Elon Musk has no authority to fire federal workers, Trump tells Cabinet – but they do
Trump backs down and suspends 25 percent tariff hike on Mexican and Canadian goods for one month
09:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president postponed planned 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada for one month yesterday after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sheinbaum described her call with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas the Trudeau exchange was reportedly more “colorful”, with the Canadian saying afterwards he expects his country to remain locked in a trade war with the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Trump said he was granting the exemption on any goods imported into the U.S. that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement that he negotiated during his first term but expected to reintroduce the levy hike on April 2.
Here’s Andrew Feinberg with the full story.
Trump establishes federal cryptocurrency reserve as markets for digital currency slump
09:12
,
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States comprised of the 198,000 bitcoins the American government already holds through law enforcement confiscations, which are worth an estimated $17bn.
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks said the move would “not cost taxpayers a dime”.
“The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value,” Sacks wrote on X
“The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.’”
Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) March 7, 2025
The Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This means it…
But the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to slump on Thursday night, with the value of rival coins not included in the scheme also falling.
Here’s more.
Report: Trump considering changing NATO policy to favor countries spending more on defense
08:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump is considering changing U.S. engagement with NATO to favor members who spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, NBC News reports.
Officials told the network that under the changed policy, the U.S. might not come to the aid of a NATO member that has been attacked if they don’t spend a certain amount of their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on defense. The change would be a departure from NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on one country is an attack on all.
Three current and former senior U.S. officials and one congressional official spoke to NBC, saying that the U.S. may also prioritize military exercises with NATO members spending a certain percentage of their GDP on defense.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Trump backtracks, lifting tariffs on most Mexican and Canadian goods — until April 2...
08:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was granting a month-long reprieve on unilaterally ordering tax increases on some goods imported from Mexico and Canada that will expire on April 2, when he is set to order reciprocal tariffs on imports from a broad range of countries.
After a telephone call with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum earlier in the day, Trump said he was granting an exemption on any goods imported into the U.S. that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement that he negotiated during his first term.
Andrew Feinberg reports from the White House.
Trump warns his Cabinet that Musk can’t actually fire workers
07:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump warned his Cabinet that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency staffers cannot fire workers without their permission.
Trump gathered his department heads Thursday afternoon and told them that they can be “very precise” with the billionaire and his team “as to who will remain and who will go” as DOGE continues to gut the federal government.
The SpaceX CEO, who is participating in DOGE as a “special government employee,” was also at the meeting as the newly-formed department faces resistance from the courts and from Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
Rhian Lubin reports.
ANALYSIS: House Democrats resume infighting after Trump speech humiliation
07:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
One full day of embarrassment over the party’s response to Donald Trump’s speech to Congress was insufficient for Democrats, who delivered a second helping on Thursday.
Despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declaring a censure of Rep. Al Green not worth the paper on which it was printed, nearly a dozen members of his party broke ranks to vote for it.
Green, who was escorted out of Trump’s speech Tuesday evening by the sergeant-at-arms, is not exactly worse off. He’ll likely receive a fundraising boost resulting from the rebuke.
“I would do it again,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Whether the same can be said for his 10 colleagues who flirted with what Jeffries called a “political and partisan game” is less obvious, as is the actual strategy that Democratic leadership is pursuing.
Continue reading...
Trump rants about CNN, MSNBC and ‘sleazebag journalists’ after swearing he doesn't follow 'fake news'
06:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump attacked the media on Wednesday in a Truth Social post, criticizing recent coverage of a clip of him that seized on an interaction where he thanked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and shook his hand during the president’s joint address to Congress earlier this week.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump preparing executive order to dismantle Education Department
05:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to sign an executive order that would initiate the dismantling of the Department of Education.
After multiple reports that Trump could sign the order as soon as Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied those claims, calling it “fake news.” There was concern among officials about the possible criticism the administration may face because of the order — including questions over how it would affect the school lunch program and other critical initiatives — and some felt there wasn’t sufficient messaging in place, according to ABC News.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Ukraine: Trump allies ‘met with Zelensky’s political rivals’
04:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Members of Donald Trump’s team reportedly held secret discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky’s top political opponents days after his fiery White House clash with the Ukrainian president.
At least four senior allies of the US president spoke with Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and high-ranking party members of Mr Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Porshenko, according to Politico, citing three Ukrainian parliamentarians and a US Republican foreign policy expert.
Arpan Rai has the story.
Pentagon press secretary has a ‘long history’ of bigoted social media posts
03:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
A Pentagon press secretary with a “long history” of bigoted and antisemitic social media posts faces calls to resign.
Jewish organizations have blasted the appointment of Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, who compared the murders of Israeli infants during the October 7 Hamas attacks to abortion. She has also peddled the antisemitic conspiracy theory about Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman who was wrongly convicted and hanged for the murder of a 13-year-old Georgia girl in 1951.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Report: Trump-Trudeau call after tariff announcement got heated
02:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s relationship continued to sour, with the pair having a heated phone call after the Canadian leader announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., according to a new report.
Trump and Trudeau spoke Wednesday, a day after the prime minister said he was implementing 25 percent tariffs on some American exports after the president’s sweeping levies came into effect. The call — which Trump told reporters was “somewhat’ friendly — was in fact heated and profanity-laden, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The White House referred The Independent to the president’s initial characterization of the call when contacted for comment.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Trump officially moves to create 'strategic Bitcoin reserve'
02:00
,
Josh Marcus
The Trump administration has officially moved to create what it’s calling the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a store of cryptocurrency seized in court proceedings that the government will maintain as a resource for the American people, White House AI and crypto adviser David Sacks announced on X.
Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) March 7, 2025
The Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This means it…
“The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve,” he wrote. “It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.’”
The move is likely to further drive up the price of the cryptocurrency held by private investors.
The crypto industry was a key backer of the 2024 Trump campaign.
Kristi Noem promises help in her first visit to Puerto Rico
01:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged Thursday to help Puerto Rico in her first visit to the U.S. territory as it struggles to rebuild from catastrophic hurricanes amid chronic power outages.
Continue reading...
Is RFK doing enough to stop the measles outbreak?
01:29
,
Josh Marcus
A second person may have died as result of the measles outbreak that’s been spreading from Texas to the rest of the U.S., according to New Mexico public health officials.
A deceased resident of Lea County, which borders Gaines County, Texas, the center of the outbreak, tested positive for measles, the New Mexico Department of Health announced on Thursday.
The individual was unvaccinated, and their official cause of death is still being investigated. They did not seek medical care before they died, officials said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine activist before joining the administration, has faced scrutiny for his handling of the outbreak.
More details in our full story.
Tim Walz stumped when asked who leads Democratic party
00:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota and former vice presidential candidate, couldn’t name someone when asked who the leader of the Democratic party is.
Walz appeared on CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump’s joint congressional address. Hunt asked the governor who he thinks is the Democratic leader right now.
The 60-year-old Democrat paused for a few beats before answering.
Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington, D.C.
House Democrats including AOC release cringe ‘fighter’ video
Thursday 6 March 2025 23:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
House Democrats have been widely mocked for releasing their own “choose your fighter” parody video branded “cringe” across the political spectrum.
Rhian Lubin tries to explain what on earth they are doing...
Trump says he’d ‘probably’ extend TikTok sale deadline if no deal by then
Thursday 6 March 2025 23:20
,
AP
Trump signed an executive order in January pushing to early April the deadline for TikTok to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S.
Asked Thursday about a possible extension, Trump said one isn’t needed at this time because there’s still a month to go before the deadline.
“But if I needed the extension, I’d probably get an extension,” he said, adding, “We have a lot of interest in TikTok.”
Budget office confirms Congress can’t reach Trump’s cuts without touching Medicaid or Medicare
Thursday 6 March 2025 23:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
House Republicans won’t be able to reach their budget target needed to pass the Trump agenda without major cuts to Medicare or Medicaid, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed on Wednesday.
Last week, House Republicans took on a budget plan that aims to pass Trump’s agenda on immigration, energy, and taxes. It orders the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut spending by $880 billion.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Musk calls for Amtrak and the Postal Service to be privatized
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:50
,
Oliver O'Connell
Trump administration adviser and Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk wants government-run entities like the U.S. Postal Service and Amtrak to be taken private.
"Basically, something's got to have some chance of going bankrupt, or there's not a good feedback loop for improvement," Musk told the Morgan Stanley Technology Media & Telecom conference on Wednesday.
"We should try to privatize everything we possibly can, and that would be my recommendation," he added.
Josh Marcus reports from San Francisco.
ANALYSIS: House Democrats resume infighting after Trump speech humiliation
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:38
,
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
One full day of embarrassment over the party’s response to Donald Trump’s speech to Congress was insufficient for Democrats, who delivered a second helping on Thursday.
Despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declaring a censure of Rep. Al Green not worth the paper on which it was printed, nearly a dozen members of his party broke ranks to vote for it.
Green, who was escorted out of Trump’s speech Tuesday evening by the sergeant-at-arms, is not exactly worse off. He’ll likely receive a fundraising boost resulting from the rebuke.
“I would do it again,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Whether the same can be said for his 10 colleagues who flirted with what Jeffries called a “political and partisan game” is less obvious, as is the actual strategy that Democratic leadership is pursuing.
Continue reading...
Federal judge reinstates labor board member fired by President Trump
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:30
,
AP
A federal judge agreed Thursday to reinstate a board member whom President Trump removed from the National Labor Relations Board.
Board member Gwynne Wilcox sued Trump after he fired her and the agency’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, on Jan. 27.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump did not have the authority to remove Wilcox from the NLRB.
Wilcox’s attorneys said no president had tried to remove an NLRB member. They argued that board members can only be fired “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office” and only after giving notice and holding a hearing.
During a hearing Wednesday, Howell jokingly referred to herself as a “speed bump” for the case on its way to the Supreme Court.
Read the full story here:
Watch: Trump gives freewheeling take on astronauts stuck in space
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:20
,
Oliver O'Connell
Trump on two astronauts stuck in space: "Maybe they'll love each other, I don't know. But they've been left up there. Think of it. And I see the woman with the wild hair. Good solid head of hair she's got. There's no kidding. There's no games with her hair." pic.twitter.com/6a2JHVXFNO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2025
EDITORIAL: Europe must do whatever it can to keep Trump from siding with the Kremlin
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
One week after he was roughed up, shaken down and thrown out of the White House, Volodymyr Zelensky finds himself once again among dear friends, not least Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Reassured by strong words when he attended the international security conference in London at the weekend, his presence at the emergency European Summit in Brussels probably helped the 27 national leaders present, albeit some reluctantly, to offer Ukraine more tangible help.
Continue reading...
Hegseth: Trump having pro-Russia stance 'garbage'
Thursday 6 March 2025 22:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed accusations that Washington had taken a pro-Russia stance as "garbage," asserting that President Donald Trump was seeking a peaceful resolution to Russia's three-year invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has exerted pressure on Ukraine by pausing all U.S. military and intelligence aid to Kyiv, as his administration advocates for a negotiated resolution to the largest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
Trump and his advisors, including Hegseth, have also refrained from labeling Russia as the aggressor.
“The press is interested in narratives. Our president is interested in peace. So we will get characterized one way or another: ‘Oh, your stance is pro-Russia or pro-’ ... it's all garbage,” Hegseth told reporters.
“The President got elected to bring peace in this conflict, and he is working with both sides in a way that only President Trump can ... to bring them to the table to end the killing.”
Hegseth spoke alongside British Defence Minister John Healey, who aimed to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine during a meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday.
“It's the detail of those discussions which are rightly behind the scenes that the defense secretary and I will now pursue this afternoon,” Healey said.
With reporting from Reuters
Hispanic Democrat slams ‘xenophobic’ Republican tweet calling him an ‘illegal immigrant’
Thursday 6 March 2025 21:50
,
Oliver O'Connell
A Hispanic Democrat from New York slammed the main Republican congressional campaign arm for calling him an “illegal immigrant.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who is the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, slammed a tweet from the Republican National Congressional Committee.
Eric Garcia reports from Washington, D.C.
Bessent: Trudeau a 'numbskull' for imposing retaliatory tariffs
Thursday 6 March 2025 21:48
,
Oliver O'Connell
Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that trading partners who retaliate will face even higher duties on their U.S. exports, labeling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “numbskull” for taking such actions.
“As President Trump has said many times, tariff is his favorite word. I would say that reciprocal is probably his second favorite word,” Bessent said.
“If you want to be a numbskull like Justin Trudeau and say, ‘oh, we're going to do this,’ then ... tariffs are going to go up. But if you want to sit back, have a discussion with the Commerce Department, USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) — they all have my phone number too — I am happy to have a discussion with our foreign counterpart.”
Trump has promised reciprocal tariffs effective April 2. Bessent stated that tariffs would provide benefits on multiple fronts, particularly for lower-income families who are likely to be most affected by the higher prices resulting from the tax on imports.
“One, it is a good source of revenues. Two, it protects our important industries and their employees. And three, [Trump has] added a third leg to the stool and he uses it for negotiating," Bessent said.
He argued that rather than being a regressive tax, the “substantial” revenue generated from tariffs would fund tax cuts for earners in the bottom 50%, including eliminating taxes on tips.
With reporting from Reuters
Watch: Trump says he won't defend NATO members that don't pay
Thursday 6 March 2025 21:39
,
Oliver O'Connell
Wall Street ends lower amid trade policy uncertainty
Thursday 6 March 2025 21:36
,
Reuters
Wall Street stocks finished lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq confirming it has been in a correction since December, weighed down by market jitters over the current uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy.
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that goods from Canada and Mexico covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) will be exempted for a month from the 25% tariffs imposed earlier this week. The development comes a day after Trump exempted automotive goods from the tariffs.
Trump had earlier only mentioned an exemption for Mexico, but later signed an amendment to his order that now covers Canada as well.
"The fog of confusion is getting thicker by the moment unfortunately," said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at SiebertNXT in New York.
"We are getting a lot of just different conflicting information: tariffs are on, tariffs are off, some tariffs are off, and so forth."
The S&P 500 lost 103.98 points, or 1.78%, to end at 5,738.65 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 483.97 points, or 2.61%, to 18,068.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 430.93 points, or 1.00%, to 42,575.66.
Full story: Trump warns his Cabinet that Musk can’t actually fire workers
Thursday 6 March 2025 21:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump warned his Cabinet that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency staffers cannot fire workers without their permission.
Trump gathered his department heads Thursday afternoon and told them that they can be “very precise” with the billionaire and his team “as to who will remain and who will go” as DOGE continues to gut the federal government.
Rhian Lubin reports.
