Thursday, March 13 | By Jonathan Easley |
Trump says he's 'not going to bend' on tariffs
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PRESIDENT TRUMP IS DIGGING IN for the long haul on his intercontinental trade war, even as the S&P 500 neared correction territory Thursday. Speaking at the White House next to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump insisted he could not be swayed to back away from the retaliatory tariffs that have roiled the financial markets. "I'm not going to bend at all," Trump said. Ahead of his meeting with Rutte, Trump threatened a 200 percent tariff on wine and Champagne from the European Union (EU), calling the EU "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world." Trump also railed against Canada on Thursday, as the tariffs brinkmanship reached new heights. "We don't need their lumber, we don't need their energy," Trump said. "We don't need anything they have," he added. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Quebec for the Group of Seven (G7) summit. He's been holding meetings with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, as Trump muses about annexing her country. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also meeting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who backed away from levying electricity tariffs on three U.S. states this week. "We have done nothing to justify Trump's attacks on our country, on our economy and our identity," Joly said. Canada's incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, said he's ready to meet with Trump but only if he respects Canada's sovereignty and is serious about finding a solution to end the trade war. Trump's pick for ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said at a Congressional hearing Thursday that he believes Canada is a sovereign state, though he avoided a question about whether it should be referred to as the "51st state" of the U.S. |
ECONOMISTS, EXECUTIVES URGE TRUMP TO BACK OFF |
The U.S. got some good news on inflation this week, but economists, executives and some Republicans worry the economy will not be able to withstand the dark cloud of a trade war. "Uncertainty is not a good thing," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Semafor. The economy once polled as Trump's strongest suit, but new surveys indicate the public has little tolerance for the trade wars. Most voters in a new Reuters poll said Trump's economic moves are too "erratic," and half of voters surveyed by CNN said Trump's policies are making the economy worse. |
TRUMP SIGNALS OPTIMISM ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE |
Meanwhile, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both sent a signal Thursday that Russia might be open to accepting a 30-day ceasefire proposal with Ukraine. "We are getting word things are going OK in Russia," Trump said. "Hopefully they'll do the right thing," he added. The Associated Press reports Putin spoke vaguely at a press conference about how he's open to discussing a ceasefire if certain conditions are met, including a deal that addresses the "root causes of the crisis." "The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin said in Moscow. "But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners." Trump said he'd be willing to discuss the matter directly with Putin. "I'd love to meet with him and talk to him but we have to get it over with fast," he said. Washington is promising further sanctions on Russia if they resist. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is discussing the proposed ceasefire with foreign ministers at the G7. "Here's what we'd like the world to look like in a few days: Neither side is shooting at each other — not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing, not artillery," Rubio said. |
💡Perspectives: • The Economist: America's bullied allies need to toughen up. • The Hill: 'No pain, no gain' is the motto of the new Trump economy. • Foreign Policy: Why America struggles to build. • Compact: Why Canada can't win a trade war. • Very Serious: Uncertainty is what Trump loves about his tariff powers. |
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Senate Dems cornered, running out of time in funding fight
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Democratic Senators have few palatable options as they stare down a vote on the GOP's continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for six months. The government shutdown will begin Saturday if no funding bill is passed. Republicans aren't sweating it, confident they won't be blamed if the CR fails to pass the Senate, where it will need eight Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold. "If there's a shutdown it's only going to be on the Democrats," President Trump said Thursday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he's open to Democratic demands for an amendment vote on a one-month stopgap funding patch. That would almost certainly fail, putting the Senate back to square one of needing to pass the six-month CR to avoid a shutdown. Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) has been the lone Senate Democrat to publicly advocate for his party to get on board with the six-month CR. He panned the Democrats' demand for a 30-day CR. "Total theater is neither honest with constituents nor a winning argument," he posted on X. Democrats have few cards to play. The Hill's Al Weaver writes: "Senate Democrats have been agonizing for days over whether to back the GOP's bill, which only one House Democrat voted for, or to force a shutdown as they believe the bill gives even more power to President Trump and Elon Musk over spending and cutting." In public, Democrats are digging in, saying they're united in voting against the GOP's CR. Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Mark Warner (Va.) have all announced they'll vote against the CR. What are some Democrats saying in private? The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports: "Senate Democrats say privately that they will not allow the government to shut down Saturday, despite growing pressure from activists and liberal lawmakers who want them to kill a GOP-crafted six-month stopgap spending bill." |
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© AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana |
Roundup: DOGE firings face another setback in court
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A federal judge ruled Thursday the Trump administration must reinstate probationary government employees fired at several agencies. U.S. District Judge William Alsup broadened his previous ruling to require the government reinstate probationary employees fired last month at the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury departments. This comes on the day Trump set as the deadline for agencies to submit their plans to layoff workers to the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget. • Democratic attorneys general in Washington, D.C., and 20 states sued Thursday over the Trump administration's efforts to lay off nearly half of the workforce at the Education Department. • The Trump administration flew 40 migrants detained in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba back to the U.S. and has no future plans to deport anyone to the Naval Station there. The facility is currently not housing any migrants, with the 23 "high threat" individuals and 17 others removed. • Democrats, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are following the lead of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as they head to GOP-held districts for town hall events. • The Hill's Amie Parnes has an exclusive excerpt from her upcoming book "FIGHT" on how former President Biden crippled former Vice President Harris's campaign by insisting there be "no daylight" between them. |
💡Perspectives: • Vox: Conservatives' decades-long quest to destroy the Education Department. • Washington Monthly: Dem candidates must shred interest-group questionnaires. |
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