Hello all! It's Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at USA TODAY. To be honest, I can't stop thinking about how amazing the Grammys were last night. |
Elon Musk made a 'special government employee' |
Looks like Elon Musk is getting ".gov" email and office soon. The White House said Monday that Musk – the billionaire who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a top Donald Trump ally who was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency – is a "special government employee." It's not clear when Musk got the designation, but the White House's confirmation of Musk's title came hours after the billionaire announced a plan to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development. Read more. |
Early Monday, Musk announced on his social media website, X, that with Trump's backing, the administration was going to begin dismantling USAID – which put 606 employees on leave and terminated 791 personal service contracts . The move was met with swift objection from Democrats, who said Trump lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate the office, which was established by Congress as an independent agency in 1998. Read more. |
Musk didn't just ruffle feathers with his actions at USAID this week. Protesters gathered outside the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., after Musk and his aides last week reportedly seized the department's data. The protesters called it a "coup." Read more. | People protest outside the USAID building on Monday, after billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading President Donald Trump's drive to shrink the federal government, said work is underway to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency. Kent Nishimura, REUTERS |
Trump tariffs on hold with Mexico, Canada |
A full fledged trade war with two of the United States' neighbors is briefly put on hold. Mexico and the United States first reached an agreement to stave off the 25% tariffs for at least one month. The tariffs were set to go into effect on Tuesday. Mexico agreed to send 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border to stop the flow of fentanyl and mitigate migrants from illegally entering the country, said Trump. Read more. |
| • | Trump's 25% tariff on Canadian goods has also been paused for 30 days. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a post on X that Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan to reinforce the U.S. northern border with "new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl." The country will also appoint a "Fentanyl Czar." Read more. | |
Businesses close to support 'Day Without Immigrants' |
Some businesses across the nation wanted their communities to see what the country could look like without immigrants for a day. Restaurants and other businesses in several states and Washington D.C. participated in "Day Without Immigrants," where employees were given paid time off on Monday in response to Donald Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations. Participants were encouraged to not shop, go to school or work. Read more. | | | | President Donald Trump is taking an unorthodox path to shake up Washington and change federal policy to his priorities. | | | | Trump issued an executive order for the creation of the nation's first sovereign wealth fund, which could be used to purchase TikTok. | | | | The memo from new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth comes amid President Trump's ongoing campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. | | | | Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said his department will come out with a plan to address critical understaffing in control towers across the country. | | | | The new complaint adds Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories, Colgate-Palmolive, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods and Shell International to the list. | | | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
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