President Donald Trump shared on Truth Social that he has “ authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%.” Trump also raised the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the pause was not a result of the brutal selloffs in the financial markets but rather because other countries are seeking negotiations. About an hour later, Trump told reporters that he pulled back on many tariffs because people were getting “yippy” and “afraid.”
Here's the latest:
Trump’s ‘buy’ tip on social media before his tariffs pause made money for investors who listened
When Trump offered some financial advice Wednesday morning, stocks were wavering between gains and losses. That was about to change.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT,” he posted online at 9:37 a.m.
Less than four hours later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on nearly all his tariffs. Stocks soared, closing up 9.5%. The market, measured by the S&P 500, gained back about $4 trillion, or 70%, of the value it lost over the previous four trading days.
“He’s loving this, this control over markets, but he better be careful,” said Trump critic and former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, noting that securities law prohibits trading on insider information or helping others do so. “The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money.”
The question: Was Trump already contemplating the tariff pause when he made that post?
▶ Read more about the president’s “buy” post
Attorney general announces $510M worth of illegal drugs seized from vessels linked to cartels
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the seizure of roughly $510 million worth of cocaine and marijuana from vessels headed for the United States, seeking to highlight the government’s efforts to take down sophisticated cartel networks.
Bondi traveled to Florida to tout the seizure by U.S. Coast Guard crews and spotlight a key Trump administration priority of going after drug traffickers helping to fuel America’s addiction crisis.
Trump misrepresented facts about coal as he signed executive orders to boost its use
President Trump signed four executive orders Tuesday designed to boost the U.S. coal industry, outlining steps to protect coal-fired power plants and expedite leases for coal mining on U.S. land. But in touting the benefits of coal, he misrepresented several aspects of its safety and use.
Here’s a look at the facts.
CLAIM: “I call it beautiful, clean coal. I told my people, never use the word coal unless you put beautiful, clean before it.”
THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn’t mean it’s clean.
▶ Read more fact-checks of Trump’s coal claims
US Space Command says it finalized options for missile defense system
It sent recommendations for President Trump’s “Golden Dome” system to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his review and approval.
The futuristic system was ordered by Trump during his first week in office, and if successful, it would mark the first time the U.S. would place weapons in space that are meant to destroy ground-based missiles within seconds of launch.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, said at a conference this week in Colorado that the system is needed “to deter a space conflict and to be successful if we end up in such a fight.”
Officials did not give details on what the options for the system look like.
Interior Department workers have until end of day to respond to buyout or early retirement offers
Department of the Interior employees have until the end of Wednesday to respond to the latest offer to take buyouts or early retirement, according to a document obtained by AP, as the administration continues its efforts to reduce the federal workforce.
The offer for deferred resignation, often described as a buyout, or early retirement was sent April 4 — one day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered national parks to “remain open and accessible” and directed officials to ensure proper staffing.
The memo says the department is also planning for reductions “to maximize workforce efficiency,” but some positions will be exempt because they are “critical to public safety” or “directly linked to the highest priority programs.”
The document, sent to assistant secretaries and heads of bureaus and offices, said the offers were department-wide.
Among the exemptions are wildland firefighters, law enforcement officers, aviation jobs and cyber security positions.
House votes to overturn Biden-era rule limiting bank overdraft fees to $5, sends to Trump to sign
The House voted Wednesday to overturn a rule that would have limited bank overdraft fees to $5, following the Senate in moving to dismantle the regulation that the Biden administration estimated would save consumers billions of dollars.
The resolution killing the rule, which passed the House 217-211, will now head to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature.
Republicans argued that the “disastrous” regulation issued in the final days of President Joe Biden’s term would have forced banks to stop offering overdraft protection altogether and made it harder for Americans to access credit.
Democrats strongly opposed the effort and said the rule would help consumers who can’t afford the fees.
Kash Patel has been replaced by Army Secretary Driscoll as acting head of the ATF, AP sources say
FBI Director Kash Patel has been removed as the acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been replaced with the Army secretary, three people familiar with the matter said.
It was not immediately clear why Patel was replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to lead the Justice Department agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws. One person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move, said Patel was removed at the end of February, just days after he was sworn in.
But that was never publicly announced. Patel on Wednesday afternoon remained on the agency’s website and was identified as the acting director in an April 7 press release. In March he posted on social media a note he sent to the ATF workforce that read “special message from the acting director.” And senior ATF leaders were only informed Wednesday of the change, according to another person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move.
▶ Read more about Patel and the ATF
The US and China are locked in a faceoff over tariffs. No one wants to blink first
The tariff fight between the world’s two largest economies spiraled into greater peril Wednesday as President Donald Trump tried to narrow his global trade war into a direct — and risky — faceoff with Beijing.
As Trump reversed his larger “reciprocal” tariffs on most of the world in the face of recession fears, he nonetheless hiked his tariffs on China once again — to 125%. The move locks the strategic rivals into a deepening standoff that endangers both their economies and interests around the world. The stakes are higher than ever, as the U.S. and China are already embroiled in competition on everything from artificial intelligence to monetary policy to overall global influence.
Each nation dares the other to blink first. But the rounds of escalation are raising concerns that the window for diplomacy has narrowed even further, while the economic pain on both economies intensifies.
▶ Read more about the US, China and tariffs
More USAID firings announced
The Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have notified thousands of local staffers employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development for missions overseas that they will lose their jobs by Aug. 15.
The group had been one of the last spared from layoffs at USAID.
The administration says it will move about 1,000 surviving humanitarian and development programs under the State Department, after ending 5,000 others. The email notices, which were sent Wednesday and reviewed by AP, invited the newly laid-off workers abroad to apply for State Department jobs.
All but a few hundred of thousands of other USAID staffers have already been fired or been given severance notices effective this summer.
Trump gives muddled answer on when he decided to pause tariffs
Asked by a reporter about when he arrived at the decision to pause the tariffs on most countries for 90 days, Trump gave a muddled answer.
“For a period of time. I would say this morning. Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it,” the president said. He added, “Fairly early this morning.”
Earlier in the day, before announcing the pause, Trump on social media urged people to “BE COOL” and said “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
After members of his administration gave conflicting answers in recent days about whether the tariff hikes were a negotiating ploy, Trump said Wednesday, “A lot of times it’s not a negotiation until it is.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was in the Oval Office with Trump, said the European Union did not face further retaliatory tariffs like China did because the tariffs that the bloc announced Wednesday do not take effect immediately.
“I’m glad that they held back” Trump said.
Trump: Israel would be ‘leader’ of Iran strike if Tehran doesn’t give up nuclear weapons program
President Donald Trump said Israel would be the “leader” of a potential military strike against Iran if Tehran doesn’t give up its nuclear weapons program.
Trump made the comments ahead of this weekend’s scheduled talks involving U.S. and Iranian officials in the Middle East sultanate of Oman. Earlier this week he said the talks would be “direct,” while Iran has described the engagement as “indirect” talks with the U.S.
The United States is increasingly concerned as Tehran is closer than ever to a workable weapon.
▶ Read more about Trump, Israel and Iran
Trump says he doesn’t expect to increase tariffs on China again
Trump told reporters at the White House that he “can’t imagine” he would need to increase tariffs on China again to get them to the negotiating table.
“We calculated it very carefully,” the president said.
‘Anonymous’ author says Trump proves his point with retribution
The Homeland Security official who authored an anonymous op-ed and book critical of Trump before unmasking himself said the president has proven his point by directing the Justice Department to investigate him.
“Dissent isn’t unlawful,” Miles Taylor said in a post on the social platform X. “It certainly isn’t treasonous. America is headed down a dark path.”
Trump signs another executive order targeting law firm
President Donald Trump has signed another executive order targeting a law firm whose work he opposes.
The latest one applies to Susman Godfrey, whose lawyers represented Dominion Voting Systems in a lawsuit that accused Fox News of falsely claiming that the company rigged the 2020 presidential election. Fox News ultimately agreed to pay nearly $800 million to avoid trial.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the order will mean that the firm cannot use government resources or buildings.
Trump has issued a series of orders meant to punish firms, including by ordering the suspension of lawyers’ security clearances and revoking federal contracts. He has succeeded in extracting concessions from some that have settled, but others have successfully challenged the orders in court.
Trump praises Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
The president called Whitmer a “very good person” who has done an “excellent job.”
The remark came with the governor in the Oval Office as Trump signed executive orders and attacked political opponents.
The remarks marked a sharp departure from his tone in his first presidency toward Whitmer, once one of his fiercest critics.
Since his reelection Whitmer has signaled a willingness to find common ground. Hours before the meeting, she delivered a speech voicing partial support for tariffs — though she criticized how Trump had carried them out.
Trump wants to increase water pressure
Trump signed an executive order that aims to roll back water efficiency standards on appliances, according to the White House.
That prompted the president to muse about how he likes to let the water run in the shower and how new faucets are disappointing.
“In my case, I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,” Trump said.
Anytime you see a new faucet, he said, “you know it’s going to be a long wash of the hands.”
Supreme Court allows Trump’s firings of independent agency board members to take effect, for now
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to oust two board members who oversee independent agencies, for now.
Chief Justice John Roberts signed an order pausing a ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington that had temporarily restored the two women to their jobs. They were separately fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as President Donald Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.
Roberts handles emergency appeals from the nation’s capital.
▶ Read more about the judge’s ruling
Mexico and Canada still face tariffs of up to 25%
Despite President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause limiting tariffs, imports from Mexico and Canada will still get taxed by as much as 25%.
That’s according to a White House backgrounder. Unlike the tariffs that Trump temporarily took down to 10% to give time for negotiations, the taxes on the United States’ two largest trading partners are a separate matter. Mexico and Canada are being tariffed ostensibly to stop fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration.
The backgrounder contradicted an earlier statement by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said Mexico and Canada would also be tariffed at 10%.
Administration reopens office that helps victims of crimes committed by immigrants
The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office was opened under Trump’s first term and then closed under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The office helps victims receive automated custody status information about immigrants and helps them make victim impact statements in court cases, among other things.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the office’s reopening during a news conference with families of people who had been killed by people in the country illegally.
‘The bond market right now is beautiful,’ Trump says
Trump said he was watching the markets the past few days and said that “it looked pretty glum,” and that he saw on Tuesday that on the bond market, “people were getting a little queasy.”
“The bond market right now is beautiful,” the president told reporters at the White House.
Trump defended his decision to launch the tariffs, sending shocks into the market, because the situation with the U.S.’s trading partners “wasn’t sustainable.”
“Somebody had to pull the trigger. I was willing to pull the trigger,” he said.
The president said he would consider exempting some companies hit particularly hard by the tariffs, but when asked how he would make those determinations, he said, “Just instinctively.”
“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct,” he said.
Trump says he loves watching racing — but has no desire to participate
Trump hosted champions from NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA in the Oval Office, then chatted with them outside, near race cars parked on the White House driveway.
Trump asked how fast NASCAR champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney could go in cars like the one parked by the South Portico. When told it was 190 mph (306 kph), “One ninety? You can have it,” Trump said.
Informed that other vehicles for IndyCar and international motorsports were even faster, the president said he wouldn’t ride in those “if you paid me.”
Trump said he was a racing fan, adding that many people “don’t realize what great athletes they are.”
‘Brilliantly executed’: Pundit who called mass tariffs unsuccessful reverses course
The whipsaw-like nature of Wednesday could be seen in the social media posts of Bill Ackman, a hedge fund billionaire and Trump supporter.
“Our stock market is down,” Ackman posted on the social platform X. “Bond yields are up and the dollar is declining. These are not the markers of successful policy.”
Ackman repeated in the post his call for a 90-day pause. When Trump embraced that idea several hours later, an ebullient Ackman posted that Trump had “brilliantly executed” his plan and it was “Textbook, Art of the Deal,” a reference to Trump’s bestselling 1987 book.
Trump says he pulled back on some tariffs because people were getting ‘yippy’ and ‘afraid’
Trump was asked about volatile markets and his decision to back off on many tariffs after previously suggesting he wouldn’t do so.
His comments came as he was chatting with reporters during an event with racing champions on the White House driveway.
Senate Democratic Leader calls Trump’s tariff strategy ‘chaos’
“He keeps changing things from day to day. His advisors are fighting among themselves, calling each other names, and you cannot run a country with such chaos,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference that had originally been scheduled to call attention to the stock market plunge.
Schumer added that the danger from Trump’s tariffs had not passed and attributed his backing down to the reaction from across the country.
“Donald Trump is feeling the heat from Democrats and across America about how bad these tariffs are,” Schumer said. “He is reeling, he is retreating, and that is a good thing.”
Poll: Voters anticipated short-term harm to the US economy from Trump’s tariffs
About 7 in 10 voters believed that Trump imposing tariffs on dozens of countries was going to hurt the U.S. economy in the short-term, according to a Quinnipiac Poll conducted before the president announced a 90-day pause on most of those tariffs.
But there was less consensus that the long-term impact would be negative.
About half of voters believed the tariffs would hurt the U.S. economy in the long term.
Republican voters were about evenly divided on whether the tariffs would help or hurt the U.S. economy in the short term: 46% said they would help, and 44% said they would cause short-term pain.
Almost all Democrats and about three-quarters of independents believed the tariffs would harm the economy in the short term.
Melania Trump thanks House committee for advancing ‘Take It Down Act’ bill
In a written statement, the first lady called the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s 49-1 vote a “significant step in our bipartisan efforts to safeguard our children from online threats.”
She urged the full House to “swiftly pass” the “Take It Down Act.” In March, Trump made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill by a first lady to personally lobby for the bill.
The Senate passed the measure in February.
The bill would make it a federal crime to knowingly publish or threaten to publish intimate imagery online without an individual’s consent. Social media platforms would have 48 hours to remove such images and take steps to delete duplicate content after a victim’s request.
Senate Republicans cheer Trump’s tariffs announcement
GOP senators were attending a luncheon when Sen. Roger Marshall stood up and announced that Trump was backing down on most tariffs.
The room responded with applause, some cheers and relief, said senators who were in the meeting.
“It really lightened up the lunch discussion,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, adding that there were “a lot of smiles.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said he was relieved by the announcement and “we all would rather see the market rise than fall.”
Republicans in recent days have become louder with their concerns that Trump’s sweeping tariffs would harm the economy.
In the Senate, they have pushed the White House to negotiate trade deals rather than double down on the tariffs.
White House claims Trump demonstrated ‘Art of Deal’ as he suspends some tariffs
“Many of you in the media clearly missed the ‘Art of the Deal,’” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, in a nod to the Trump’s 1987 memoir and advice book.
“You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China, when in fact, we’ve seen the opposite effect — the entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets,” she added.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to oust board members fired by president
The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order to oust board members who oversee independent agencies, as a constitutional fight about presidential power plays out.
The quick appeal to the high court follows a ruling two days earlier in which a divided appeals court in Washington restored two board members to their jobs for now. They were separately fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.
The immediate issue confronting the justices is whether the board members can stay in their jobs while the larger fight continues over what to do with a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor.
In that case from 1935, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.
The ruling has long rankled conservative legal theorists, who argue it wrongly curtails the president’s power. The current conservative majority on the Supreme Court already has narrowed its reach in a 2020 decision.
Government appeals in ruling against it over AP ‘Gulf’ dispute
The Trump administration says it will appeal a federal court decision in a case brought against it by The Associated Press. That’s the ruling Tuesday that ordered it to readmit AP journalists to White House events on First Amendment grounds.
The government filed a notice of appeal early Wednesday afternoon on behalf of the three White House officials sued by the AP. The one-page notice of appeal gave no other details.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled in favor of the AP, whose reporters and photographers had been excluded from White House events since February because the news agency had decided not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Treasury secretary says markets ‘didn’t understand’ Trump’s tariff strategy
“The market didn’t understand, those were maximum levels. The countries can think about those levels as they come to us to bring down
their tariffs, their non-trade barriers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House.
He said Trump “created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” and the Chinese have “shown themselves to the world as the bad actors.”
Trump maintaining 10% tariffs on nearly all global imports
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells reporters that Trump is pausing his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on most of the country’s biggest trading partners but maintaining his 10% tariff on nearly all global imports.
State Department reinstates UN emergency food aid for Syria, Somalia and 4 other nations
The move comes after Jeremy Lewin, an Elon Musk associate helping lead the Trump administration’s dismantling of much of the United States’ foreign assistance program, expressed regret for killing those and other lifesaving aid programs over the weekend.
Lewin ordered funding restored on Tuesday for World Food Program emergency programs helping keep alive millions of refugees and others in Syria, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Ecuador. That was after The Associated Press reported the cuts in emergency food support, and after appeals from the U.N. and some lawmakers.
However, the State Department said the cutoff of U.S. support for food aid would stand for Yemen and for Afghanistan, two conflict-ridden countries where millions are dependent on aid. The State Department said aid programs benefited the Taliban in Afghanistan and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reverse the other humanitarian cuts, as well, saying they would have devastating consequences.
Court clears the way for Trump administration to fire thousands of probationary workers
A federal appeals court ruling on Wednesday halted a judge’s order requiring them to be reinstated.
A split panel for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the workers let go in mass firings must appeal the dismissals through a separate employment process.
The decision in a case filed by nearly two dozen states in Maryland comes a day after the Supreme Court blocked a similar order from a judge in California.
Trump says he will pause tariffs on most countries for 90 days but raise China tariffs
Trump announced that he is pausing his hiked-up tariffs on most countries for 90 days because of their interest in negotiating trade deals with the U.S. but is slapping another high tariff on China, citing a “lack of respect.”
The president made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social media network on Wednesday, causing stocks to quickly surge and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to shoot up 1,800 points.
The Associated Press
