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.
President Donald Trump's broad tariffs on imported goods from Mexico and Canada went into effect on Tuesday, along with increased duties on goods from China, according to the White House.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
"President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensuring U.S. trade policy serves the national interest," the White House said in a statement.
Goods entering the U.S. from Mexico and Canada will carry a 25% tariff, while those from China will be subject to a 10% increase on existing tariffs, according to the White House.
Vance indicates potential for US to resume negotiations with Ukraine
Vice President JD Vance hinted during an interview on Fox News' "Hannity" on Monday that there is still a chance to resume negotiations between the United States and Ukraine. He also said that President Donald Trump's administration is "already working" on a peace plan with the Russians.
Vance was asked if the administration would welcome Zelenskyy back if he were willing to come back to the negotiating table. Vance said yes -- if Zelenskyy was willing to seriously engage.
Vice President JD Vance speaks while attending a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 28, 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
"I think that if he called and had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process -- look, there are details that really matter, that we're already working on with the Russians," Vance said. "We've already talked to some of our allies. He needs to engage seriously on the details. I think once that happens, then absolutely, we want to talk."
The vice president implied that further engagement would require a consideration of the raw minerals deal that the U.S. was pursuing with Ukraine, claiming that it came with "real security guarantees."
"The security guarantee, and also the economic guarantee for Ukraine, is to rebuild the country and ensure that America has a long-term interest," Vance said, describing the minerals deal as America's "economic upside in the future of Ukraine."
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Mar 03, 2025, 10:37 PM EST
Trump prepares 'Renewal of the American Dream' speech
President Donald Trump has been blocking off an hour or so of time most days this past week to prepare for his joint address to Congress, which will take place Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C.
A room was set up in the East Wing of the White House on Monday, consisting of a podium with teleprompters on each side for him to rehearse, sources told ABC News.
Trump was joined by senior White House staff during these rehearsals — specifically White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his top speechwriter, Ross Worthington, according to sources. Vince Haley, the head of Trump's Domestic Policy Council, is also deeply involved in speech prep, they said.
The speech is not done; it continues to undergo revisions, sources said.
Trump is not expected to be seen publicly on Tuesday until he leaves the White House for his speech. He will continue to prepare for it from mid-afternoon onward, ahead of the planned address at 9 p.m. ET.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Rachel Scott
Mar 03, 2025, 10:01 PM EST
Pentagon spokesperson details $80M in 'wasteful spending' found by DOGE at DOD
In a video posted to X on Monday night, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell outlined the Department of Government Efficiency's initial findings of "wasteful spending" at the Department of Defense.
He detailed findings of some $80 million in so-called waste, attributed primarily to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as well as initiatives related to climate change.
Sean Parnell speaks during a campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 3, 2020.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Among them were a $6 million University of Montana program to strengthen democracy, $1.6 million to the University of Florida to study climate on the African Sahel and a $1.9 million Air Force program on DEI transformation and training.
Calling such programs a "distraction" from the DOD's mission, Parnell said that the process of finding and trimming such programs "will make us more lethal and that means that our war fighters on the battlefield will be more successful."
The video was shared on the same day that DOGE updated the "Savings" page of its website for the third time, showing a pattern of changing and deleting contracts that it had previously listed as having saved hundreds of thousands of dollars to billions of dollars in federal money, after media outlets and others publicly questioned details of the contracts.
