Trump 2nd term updates: Trump excludes low-value shipments from looming tariffs
The amendment exempts imports valued at less than $800 from Canada and Mexico.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government to his liking suffered a loss in court when a federal judge blocked his administration from firing the head of a federal watchdog agency without cause, likely triggering a lengthy appeal that could end at the Supreme Court.
U.S. District Justice Amy Berman Jackson determined the move was unlawful and issued a permanent injunction that reinstated special counsel Hampton Dellinger to his position.
Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration said it will cut 7,000 jobs and six of its 10 regional centers as part of the president’s downsizing of the federal workforce.
And Trump’s physician announced the president will have his annual physical next month, days after reporters raised questions about a bruise they saw on the back of his hand.
Latest headlines:
- White House excludes low-value shipments from looming Canada, Mexico tariffs
- Kennedy stops short of calling for vaccines amid measles outbreak
- Intel community has concerns Russia, China could target fired employees
- Trump's doctor says he'll have annual physical exam 'next month'
- White House backs Israel blocking aid to Gaza
Musk is seated behind Trump during Cabinet meeting
During the first Cabinet meeting of Trump’s second administration, Elon Musk -- who is not a Cabinet member -- is seated to Trump’s back right.
He does not have a seat at that table.
Trump is seated directly across from Vice President JD Vance, while being flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Cabinet meeting begins
Trump is now convening with his Cabinet for the first time in his second term.
Seated next to Trump are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In the room is Elon Musk, who is not a member of the Cabinet or a Senate-confirmed official. But Musk, as de facto leader of DOGE, has a high level of influence as he oversees Trump's agenda to cut costs across the federal government.
White House to take over which news outlets make up the press pool
The White House will now decide which news outlets are represented in the daily White House press pool, not the White House Correspondents Association, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday.
"I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations," Leavitt said.
The WHCA spoke out against the decision.
"It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps," White House Correspondents' Association president, Eugene Daniels, said in a statement Tuesday.
The press pool is a small group of White House reporters allowed to get close to the president, and ask questions, in the Oval Office and in some other settings. The WHCA includes media organizations that cover intimate events with the president through a rotating pool of reporters and shares those notes with other outlets.
Leavitt said the new process will open up the pool to other outlets not included in the pool previously.
"Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join -- fear not -- but we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome, responsibility," she said.
USDA considering importing eggs as prices skyrocket
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled a plan to tackle bird flu and bring down the cost of eggs, which has skyrocketed in recent and could increase 41% this year. The cost of groceries was a key issue in the 2024 election.
Rollins, speaking to reporters outside the White House after he published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal outlining the steps, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture will enhance biosecurity measures to keep diseases off farms; provide financial relief to farmers to repopulate flocks; and fund research for possible vaccines for animals.
To provide more immediate, short-term relief, Rollins said they were considering importing eggs from other nations.
"We're already in discussions," she said. "There's been, you know if you dig around you'll kind of figure out which countries, but we're talking to three or four countries right now about getting between 70 and 100 million eggs into the country in the next month or two, which of course will help with supply and demand."