President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada will take effect on March 4 as scheduled, due to the continued influx of drugs into the U.S. from those countries.
Trump announced that China will incur an extra 10 percent charge on that day, according to a post on his Truth Social platform.
The president held his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, with Elon Musk in attendance. He explained the workings of DOGE and admitted to mistakes, including accidentally axing an Ebola prevention program.
On Thursday, U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will become the latest foreign leader to visit the president at the White House, following in the footsteps of French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, with Ukraine once more top of the agenda.
The Trump administration has seen an order requiring it to unfreeze roughly $2 billion in foreign aid payments temporarily blocked after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts moved to intervene and place a lower court’s ruling on hold.
Roberts stepped in just hours before a Wednesday’s midnight deadline arrived. His decision gives the plaintiffs until noon on Friday to respond.
Key Points
- Trump issues renewed tariff threat to Canada and Mexico over Fentanyl
- Supreme Court pauses judge’s order for Trump to unfreeze USAID payments
- Elon Musk admits DOGE accidentally canceled Ebola prevention program at first Trump cabinet meeting
- Sir Keir Starmer visiting Trump at White House
- Mike Johnson claims anti-DOGE town hall arguments started by ‘paid protesters’
U.S. expresses concern about U.K. forcing Apple to spy on iPhone users
15:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
U.S. officials have expressed concern over reports that the UK government has compelled Apple to spy on its users.
In recent days, numerous reports have indicated that the U.K. served Apple with a secret document that required it to build a “backdoor” into its devices so that British spies could access users’ data.
The order would have weakened security not just for U.K. users but across the world, reports have suggested.
Andrew Griffin reports.
What’s on the agenda for Trump’s meeting with the UK PM?
15:32
,
Oliver O'Connell
Following French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip on Monday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will visit the White House today. Both visits will follow the same format.
This will be Sir Keir’s third visit to the White House in just seven months, but his first with President Donald Trump in office. The visit is being closely watched in the U.K., with one former British ambassador to the US calling it “one of the most consequential meetings of a British prime minister and president that we have had since the Second World War.”
The two leaders have met once before in person, sharing a two-hour meal together at Trump Tower in New York in September. They have also spoken several times on the phone. According to the British Embassy, Sir Keir will also “relay warm regards to President Trump and the American people from His Majesty the King and the Royal Family” during his visit.
The British prime minister's agenda includes issues related to prosperity and security for working people. The special relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. is critical to delivering growth and security, and further collaboration on AI and tech is planned. Sir Keir will reiterate the shared commitment to reaching a durable and lasting peace in Ukraine and the need for Europe to step up to the challenge.
Trump says Mexico, Canada tariffs will take effect on March 4 and levy on China will double
15:19
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump says he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday and double the 10 percent universal tariff on imports from China.
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that illicit drugs like fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels,” and that imposing import taxes would compel other countries to crack down on trafficking.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” the president wrote. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.”
The prospect of rising tariffs has already thrown the global economy into turmoil. Consumers voice concerns about worsening inflation and the potential damage to the auto sector if America’s two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, are hit with taxes.
The potential for higher prices and slower growth could provoke political backlash for Trump, who promised voters during last year’s presidential election that he could swiftly reduce the inflation rate, which surged during President Joe Biden’s term.
However, Trump also campaigned on implementing sweeping tariffs, which he plans to introduce on April 2 by adjusting tariffs to align with the taxes he believes other countries impose on American goods.
“The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect,” Trump said as part of his Thursday social media post.
Mexican and Canadian officials are in Washington today for talks with their U.S. counterparts to discuss a solution to the threatened tariffs on goods before Tuesday.
With reporting from the Associated Press
Speaker claims ‘paid protesters’ disrupting GOP town halls — then backtracks when asked for proof
15:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
House Speaker Mike Johnson baselessly claimed that the angry constituents raging at GOP lawmakers in town halls over DOGE’s drastic cuts and layoffs were “paid protesters,” only to backtrack when CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins pressed him for evidence.
Justin Baragona has the story.
What you need to know about the Trump administration’s new illegal immigrant registry
14:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The U.S. government will soon require all individuals residing in the country without legal documentation to register with federal authorities, immigration officials have announced.
Failure to comply could result in fines, imprisonment, or both.
According to a statement released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, the registry will be mandatory for all individuals aged 14 and older without legal status.
Each person must register and provide their fingerprints and address.
Parents or guardians of individuals under 14 must ensure their registration.
The registry is the latest move related to Donald Trump’s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S.
Coming up today...
14:35
,
Oliver O'Connell
As a reminder, President Donald Trump will host U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the White House today for wide-ranging talks on the future of peace in Ukraine, as well as on trade and tariffs, among other topics.
The president will greet the prime minister outside the White House at 12:15 p.m. ET before holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with questions from the White House pool, including The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg.
At 12:35 p.m., there will be a bilateral lunch in the Cabinet Room, followed by a press conference in the East Room, which is scheduled for 2 p.m.
USAID staffers given 15 minutes to clear desks as Trump administration dismantles agency
14:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Thousands of US Agency for International Development (USAID) employees are being given just 15 minutes on Thursday and Friday to clear out their offices.
The workers were recently terminated or placed on leave due to the Trump administration's dismantling of the agency.
According to a State Department spokesperson, USAID placed 4,080 staff members on leave on Monday, in addition to a "reduction in force"affecting another 1,600 employees.
Here’s more.
Canada says progress made on tightening border should satisfy US
14:22
,
Reuters
The progress Canada has made on tightening security along the border with the United States and combating drug smuggling should satisfy the Trump administration, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said on Thursday.
McGuinty made his comments in televised remarks to reporters in Washington ahead of talks with senior U.S. officials.
Trump’s spending bill may face a big problem: Disgruntled Senate Republicans
14:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
After the House of Representatives passed Mike Johnson’s budget resolution earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it a “first step in what will be a long process, and certainly not an easy one,” which will not be music to Trump’s ears.
Kelly Rissman and Eric Garcia bring us this one.
Trump issues renewed tariff threat to Canada and Mexico over Fentanyl
13:58
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s the president’s first social post of the day:
Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China. More than 100,000 people died last year due to the distribution of these dangerous and highly addictive POISONS. Millions of people have died over the last two decades. The families of the victims are devastated and, in many instances, virtually destroyed. We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled. China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date. The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China. More than 100,000 people died last year due to the distribution of…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 27, 2025
Analysis: Republicans wrestle with Musk while Democrats insult him
13:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The GOP are urging the billionaire to show some restraint and slow down his DOGE activities as the opposition are making him their new boogeyman, writes Eric Garcia.
‘It’s not unusual’: RFK Jr. downplays measles outbreak in Texas despite unvaccinated school child’s death
13:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
In case you missed this exchange from yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Trump’s new Health and Human Services Secretary attempted to dismiss the significance of an ongoing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed a child and resulted in over 120 cases of the disease since January.
AG Pam Bondi confirms ‘pretty sick’ Jeffrey Epstein files coming today
13:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s James Liddell with more on Bondi’s promise that the Department of Justice will release more files related to convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein today, a step she trailed on Fox last night.
Former Trump hotel boss calls president’s wild Gaza video ‘scary’
12:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
After the president posted an AI-generated video of what the Gaza Strip would look like if it were to become the “Riviera of the Middle East,” the former chief operating officer of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City denounced the gesture as “scary.”
Jack O’Donnell, who worked for Trump for three years, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that he believes the president is “amused” by the idea of gold-washing Gaza.
O’Donnell went on to compare the video to propaganda videos made by regimes in North Korea, China and Iraq.
Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.
Musk says he’ll appear on The Daily Show on one condition
12:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
The world’s richest man was responding to an X user who suggested he should appear on the late night political comedy show.
“I will do it if the show airs unedited,” Musk tweeted, to which The Daily Show’s official account replied: “We’d be delighted!”
Here’s more from Kevin EG Perry.
Republican floats new $250 bill bearing Trump’s portrait
12:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
South Carolina’s Joe Wilson is the man to blame for this one:
Grateful to announce that I am drafting legislation to direct the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring Donald J. Trump. Bidenflation has destroyed the economy forcing American families to carry more cash. Most valuable bill for most valuable President! pic.twitter.com/v4glGOB2z3
— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) February 25, 2025
Trump promised to lower egg prices on ‘day one.’ Now his administration admits there’s no ‘silver bullet’
11:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to bring grocery and egg prices on “day one.”
Now, his agriculture secretary says there is no “silver bullet” to eradicate the disease killing chickens and leading to the spike.
“This five-point strategy won’t erase the problem overnight, but we’re confident that it will restore stability to the egg market over the next three to six months. This approach will also ensure stability over the next four years and beyond,” Brooke Rollins wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.
The plan includes providing $500 million to expand biosecurity, increasing relief to aid farmers to the tune of $400 million, removing “regulatory burdens” on the industry, exploring vaccine strategies for chickens and even having eggs sent here from abroad.
The president and administration officials have continuously pinned most of the blame for consumer woes and the U.S. response on the Biden administration, saying that they hadn’t taken the issue “seriously.”
Now, experts are warning that egg prices will continue to go up – to the tune of a 40 percent jump in 2025.
Trump chooses his words ‘carefully’, VP insists
11:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
Social media has been quick to mock JD Vance after he insisted his boss “chooses his words carefully.”
“So much of American diplomacy has become pure performance – an obsession with *saying* this or that,” Vance wrote on X.
“The reason the failed establishment hates President Donald J. Trump is because he chooses his words carefully and, more importantly, is much more focused on *doing*.”
Here’s Katie Hawkinson with some of the replies that pronouncement invited.
Voices: Trump’s AI video of Gaza is a nightmare look inside his mind
11:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president’s vision for post-war Gaza is ethnic cleansing packaged as a slick real estate promotional video, writes Richard Hall.
Canada looks to shift intelligence-sharing focus towards Europe as Trump courts Wayne Gretzky
10:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
The country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Ottawa is hoping to deepen its intelligence-sharing ties with its European partners, as it looks to turn away from the Donald Trump-led United States in light of the new president’s tariff aggressions and threats of absorbing the nation as America’s 51st state.
“We’re now living in a much more dangerous and complicated world,” Joly told reporters on Monday, according to The National Post.
“In order to protect our interests and protect our people, we need to be able to understand what is going on in the world, and more than ever we need to have a strong security partnership with the U.K. and other European allies.”
Joly was speaking at a virtual news conference from London after talking to Britain’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
As The Financial Times credits Trump’s posturing with inspiring an unlikely resurgence in support for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, the man himself has been carefully explaining why ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is not coming out in support of his 51 state campaign and why, in Gretzky’s case, he can be forgiven.
Wayne Gretzky is a fantastic guy! They call him, "The Great One," and he is. He could run for any political office in Canada, and win. Wayne is my friend, and he wants to make me happy, and is therefore somewhat "low key" about Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than…
— Trump Posts on (@trump_repost) February 26, 2025
Trump axes Chevron’s Venezuela oil license
10:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president moved yesterday to withdraw a license given to Chevron to operate in Venezuela by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “reversing the concessions” of the “oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022.”
Trump did not actually name Chevron in his post but Washington granted Chevron a license to operate in Venezuela’s oil sector on November 26 2022 and it was the only license the administration issued for the country that day.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez responded on Telegram by saying: “The U.S. government has made a damaging and inexplicable decision by announcing sanctions against the U.S. company Chevron.”
She said “these kinds of failed decisions” had prompted migration out of Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said on X he will provide foreign policy guidance to terminate all Biden-era oil and gas licenses “that have shamefully bankrolled the illegitimate Maduro regime.”
According to Reuters, Chevron said it was aware of Trump’s post and was considering its implications.
The company exports about 240,000 barrels per day of crude from its Venezuela operations, over a quarter of the country’s entire oil output.
Ending the license means Chevron will no longer be able to export Venezuelan crude and if the country’s state oil company PDVSA exports oil previously exported by Chevron, U.S. refineries will be unable to buy it due to U.S. sanctions.
Mike Johnson claims anti-DOGE town hall shouting matches started by ‘paid protesters’
10:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
On CNN last night, the House Speaker clashed with Kaitlan Collins over the spate of angry scenes erupting at Republican town hall events across the country over Elon Musk’s activities in Washington, with Johnson insisting they are being instigated by paid agitators, despite his fellow GOP members reporting otherwise.
Johnson: The videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 27, 2025
Collins: A Republican acknowledged they were his constituents.
Johnson: They had Democrats come and fill the seats pic.twitter.com/EnPfxMaled
Over on Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi promised some previously withheld Jeffrey Epstein files would be released today, hinting that they could be the flight logs seen at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, which happen to feature her boss’s name mentioned several times.
The flight logs that were already released in 2021 as part of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial? The ones where Trump’s name appears seven times?https://t.co/NrtXlvrNgk https://t.co/v2iHYHoVbd
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) February 27, 2025
Also on Fox, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville inadvertently revealed that he may not know what a triangle is.
Tuberville: We have to start in the Pentagon. We need to make a trigon, three sides instead of five sides in the Pentagon pic.twitter.com/hJd5ihHRDU
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 27, 2025
Andrew Tate ‘heading to Florida' on private jet after Romania travel ban lifted
09:50
,
Joe Sommerlad
Self-described misogynist and influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan – who are facing a series of criminal charges in Romania including rape, human trafficking and exploiting women, all of which they deny – are reportedly en route to the United States, perhaps in the hope of securing Donald Trump’s protection.
The brothers have been vocal supporters of Trump, with Romania’s foreign minister recently denying that his new administration had pressured Bucharest into lifting travel restrictions against them.
Sir Keir Starmer visiting Trump at White House
09:30
,
Joe Sommerlad
On Thursday, U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will become the latest foreign leader to visit the president at the White House, following in the footsteps of French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, with Ukraine once more top of the agenda.
Elon Musk admits DOGE accidentally canceled Ebola prevention program at first Trump cabinet meeting
09:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump held the first cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday, with Musk in attendance to explain the workings of DOGE.
The billionaire admitted that his fledgling outfit had made mistakes, including accidentally axing an Ebola prevention program.
Trump had plenty of controversial points to make himself, raising eyebrows on Taiwan, the formation of the European Union and DOGE’s threats to federal workers in particular.
Trump leaves the door open to China taking Taiwan by force pic.twitter.com/Mhuydqgaxk
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2025
Trump: "The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that's the purpose of it. And they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president." pic.twitter.com/qhU35ILNjA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2025
Trump on sending another email to federal workers: "It's a good idea bc those people are on the bubble. You've got a lot of people that have not responded so we're trying to figure out, do they exist? Who are they? It's possible that a lot of those people will be actually fired.… pic.twitter.com/rccWhVf7gH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2025
Supreme Court pauses judge’s order for Trump to unfreeze USAID payments in first DOGE test for justices
08:52
,
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump’s administration has seen an order requiring it to unfreeze roughly $2 billion in foreign aid payments temporarily blocked after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts moved to intervene and place a lower court’s ruling on hold.
Roberts stepped in just hours before a midnight deadline arrived late on Wednesday and his decision gives the plaintiffs until noon on Friday to respond.
A day earlier, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. had ordered the administration to reinstate funding for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts, arguing that Trump officials failed to comply with an earlier order to honor its commitments after Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led an attempt to dissolve the humanitarian agency, sparking chaos.
Here’s more from Alex Woodward.
Trump says he wants to get back the military equipment left in Afghanistan
08:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump said that the U.S. should move to reclaim disused and demilitarized military equipment that was not brought home with departing troops during the withdrawal from Afghanistan four years ago.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
Leavitt lashes out at press for being ‘obsessed’ with identity of new DOGE head
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt berated reporters on Wednesday for seeking more information about the acting administrator of Elon Musk’s meme-based government efficiency agency, calling the journalists “hounds” in the process.
Justin Baragona has the story.
Social Security: Higher payments are on the way for millions of former public workers
07:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
More than 3.2 million Social Security recipients who received pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs will soon see a boost in their benefits. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, and new monthly payments will begin in April, the agency says.
Read on...
Under new GOP budget plans, US student loan repayments could increase by $200
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Some student loan borrowers could see their payment plans increase by an average of $200 under new Republican budget plans.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are set to vote on a massive budget resolution this week that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in cuts to several federal programs, including Medicaid and student loans.
Some advocates say the resolution could have an outsized impact on some of the 42 million Americans with student loan debt, driving their payments up.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Florida congressman threatened with physical removal from chamber for 'grifter' Trump remark
05:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Florida Democratic Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the youngest member of Congress, was threatened with removal from a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday after he referred to President Donald Trump as a “grifter.”
Addressing the activities of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Trump has instructed to identify and slash expenditures from the federal government, Frost commented: “People like the grifter-in-chief, Trump, and President Musk are openly using their public offices to enriches themselves to the tune of billions of dollars.”
Joe Sommerlad has the story.
What you need to know about Trump's refugee ban
04:30
,
AP
President Donald Trump's effort to suspend the system for resettling refugees in the U.S. is on hold after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a 2023 appointee of former President Joe Biden, found that while the president has broad authority over who comes into the country, he cannot nullify the law passed by
