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

Vice President JD Vance said that both he and President Donald Trump remain optimistic that a mineral deal can be reached with Ukraine despite the seemingly growing rift between the U.S. and Ukraine.

"Yah, I certainly do," Vance said on Capitol Hill Tuesday when asked about whether he believed the mineral deal could still be struck. "And I think the President is still committed to the mineral deal."

His answer comes just days after the tense Oval Office meeting between Vance, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Last Monday night, the United States paused aid to Ukraine.

Vance said Trump is trying to send a "very explicit message" by withholding aid to Ukraine.

"We think the Ukrainian troops have fought very bravely, but we are at a point here where neither Europe nor the United States nor the Ukrainians can continue this war indefinitely, so it is important that everybody come to the table and the President is trying to send a very explicit message," Vance said Tuesday.

--ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that if no deal can be reached with the U.S., she will announce retaliatory tariffs at a rally on Sunday.

Yesterday, the government of the United States, after 30 days of pause, unilaterally decided to impose 25% of tariffs on exports from Mexico, despite the Trade Agreement signed by President Trump himself," Sheinbaum said Tuesday.

Sheinbaum said she has a phone call with President Donald Trump on Thursday and if no deal can be reached, she'll announce the tariff and non-tariff measures at a rally.

On the night of March 3rd, last night, the White House released an offensive, defamatory and unlawful statement on the Government of Mexico that we deny emphatically and condemn categorically," Sheinbaum said Tuesday.

Trump set March 4 as the start date for 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 20% tariff on Chinese goods.

--ABC News' Anne Laurent

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said her final mission is to do a "historic overhaul" of the Department of Education that cuts red tape and restores the American education system.

"Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education—a momentous final mission—quickly and responsibly," McMahon wrote in an internal Department of Education email obtained by ABC News.

Stressing her commitment to deliver President Donald Trump's vision, McMahon said her mission is to change the status quo and dismantle the federal agency she was confirmed to lead.

"The Department of Education's role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington," McMahon said.

--ABC News' Arthur Jones

President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Tuesday morning to say that federal funding will stop for any "College, School, or University that allows illegal protests."

"All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter."

--ABC News' Hannah Demissie