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Trump 2nd term live updates: Trump defends tariffs, declines to comment on Ukraine aid

Trump said tariffs will be the "greatest thing we've ever done as a country."

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Kevin Shalvey, Julia Reinstein, William Mansell, Stacey Dec, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: March 9, 2025, 8:31 PM EDT

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Mar 03, 2025, 10:32 AM EST

DOGE claims $105B in savings but that figure remains unverifiable

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency updated its website overnight with new figures, now claiming to have saved $105 billion. However, the figure remains unverifiable and the site claims to have posted only 30% of the receipts supporting this total.

According to the website, all "contract, grant, and lease cancellations" posted account for just 30% of the claimed total savings.

"We are working to upload all of our receipts in a digestible and transparent manner consistent with applicable rules and regulations," the website states. It also claims to have saved $652.17 per taxpayer.

PHOTO: Elon Musk, front left, holds hands with his son, X Æ A-Xii, as he walks with his mother, Maye Musk, top left, down the stairs of Air Force One upon President Donald Trump's arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March 2, 2025.
Elon Musk, front left, holds hands with his son, X Æ A-Xii, as he walks with his mother, Maye Musk, top left, down the stairs of Air Force One upon President Donald Trump's arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March 2, 2025.
Luis M. Alvarez/AP

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Mar 03, 2025, 9:27 AM EST

Senate expected to vote to confirm Linda McMahon as education secretary

The Senate is expected to vote on Monday afternoon to confirm Linda McMahon as the secretary of the Department of Education.

Linda McMahon, President Trump's nominee to be secretary of Education, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025.
Tierney L Cross/Reuters

After months of anticipation, President Donald Trump could soon sign an executive order that directs the education secretary to spearhead the closing of the federal agency.

As previously reported by ABC News, sources say the order will call for McMahon to submit a proposal to diminish the agency and direct Congress to pass legislation that gets rid of it. However, Trump's directive will be illegal without congressional approval, according to experts. Any proposed legislation would likely fail without 60 Senate votes.

-ABC News' Arthur Jones II and Kiara Alfonseca

Mar 03, 2025, 9:18 AM EST

Trump says speech to joint session of Congress 'will be big'

President Donald Trump is teasing his upcoming speech to Congress in a new social media post.

"TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG. I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!" Trump wrote on his conservative platform Truth Social.

President Donald Trump disembarks from Marine One followed by his father-on-law, Victor Knavs on March 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Trump will address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. Read more about what to know about the speech and how to watch here.

Mar 03, 2025, 7:04 AM EST

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

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