President Donald Trump is defending his decision to pause some tariffs to Canada and Mexico for another month -- a notable reversal after imposing historic levies on the key U.S. trading partners earlier this week, causing markets to tumble.
On Friday, Trump signed more executive orders at the White House before he convened a first-ever cryptocurrency summit with industry leaders.
Trump to discuss Ukraine with national security advisers
President Donald Trump is expected to meet on Monday afternoon with his top national security advisers for a briefing on Ukraine, multiple sources told ABC News.
The briefing will include national security adviser Mike Waltz, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, to discuss next steps after Trump kicked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine out of the Oval Office last week.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Mar 03, 2025, 5:06 AM EST
Trump 'only person' who can end Russia's war, Gabbard says
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump is the "only person" who can end Russia's war in Ukraine, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would only end the war if it's a "victory" for his country.
"President Trump recognizes the urgent need to end this war after three long bloody years and has proven that he is the only person that can do this," Gabbard said Sunday in an interview with Fox News.
President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives at the White House on Feb. 28, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
She added that Zelenskyy has "different aims in mind."
"He has said that he wants to end this war but he will only accept an end apparently that leads to what he views as Ukraine's victory, even if it comes at an incredibly high cost of potentially World War III or even a nuclear war," Gabbard said.
President Donald Trump waves to members of the media as he walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. Trump stopped to speak to the media about his contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Gabbard indicated that there would need to be "a rebuilding of any kind of interest in good faith negotiations," between Trump and Zelenskyy before they engage again in any future negotiations.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Mar 02, 2025, 11:07 PM EST
White House excludes low-value shipments from looming Canada, Mexico tariffs
President Donald Trump amended two executive orders on Sunday to exclude low-value shipments from the tariffs that are set to go into effect on imports from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday.
The move could be a sign that the White House is serious about moving forward with the tariffs, which were originally paused for 30 days so the countries could negotiate with the White House.
The change impacts two executive orders that aimed to stem the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. It now exempts imports valued at less than $800 from Canada and Mexico -- until the infrastructure is in place to start taxing those goods.
The amendments say that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick can start applying tariffs to those imports once the system is in place.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Elizabeth Schulze
Mar 02, 2025, 5:58 PM EST
Intel community has concerns Russia, China could target fired employees
There are real concerns within the intelligence community that foreign adversaries -- including Russia and China -- could target the growing ranks of recently fired federal employees for recruitment.
Agency officials are discussing this and warning colleagues and staff, sources tell ABC News.
“It's not difficult for a foreign spy service to find a target for recruitment. They just simply have to go online and look at the postings of people who've recently been fired, who are angry and who are in need of money,” said John Cohen, former Department of Homeland Security acting undersecretary for intelligence and an ABC News contributor.
The agency seal on the floor of the lobby at the CIA, in Mclean, Va., Sept. 24, 2022.
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
“These large-scale layoffs and firing potentially could cause a counter-intelligence and security nightmare.”
Cohen added that if these types of large-scale layoffs were happening in Russia or China, the U.S. would also be working “aggressively” to identify individuals to recruit as intelligence assets.
The White House National Security Council did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
CNN reported earlier that foreign adversaries have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of fired federal employees who worked in national security, citing unnamed sources and a document produced by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. That document, according to CNN, said foreign intelligence officers were being directed to look for potential sources on LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote and Reddit.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Pete Madden, Kristen Red-Horse and Selina Wang
