President Trump is holding firm in his economic plans, even as stocks opened Monday morning at a loss and discontent grew over the weekend with his tariff agenda.
He pushed back on criticism quickly Monday, calling on Americans to be patient. Later in the morning, he threatened an additional 50 percent tariff on China, which had responded last week to Trump’s 34 percent tariff on imports by implementing the same on American imports.
Amid the tariff tension, Trump’s Monday agenda included a meeting with a key ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In meeting with reporters, Trump announced the U.S. would hold high-level talks with Iran starting Saturday.
Congress also returned to work Monday. House Republican leaders are urging their members to adopt the Senate’s version of the budget resolution, passed early Saturday, which will tee up Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.
And Republican senators are starting to line up support for tariff deals or a check on the president’s trade authority. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) suggested the White House take a deal after the EU said Monday it was ready to negotiate. Meanwhile, seven GOP senators are backing a bipartisan bill that would require congressional approval for steep tariffs on allies.
Follow along all day for updates.
Roberts temporarily halts deadline for Trump admin to return mistakenly deported man
Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday temporarily halted a judge’s midnight deadline for the Trump administration to return to the country a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Roberts agreed to hold the deadline until the high court can resolve the Trump administration’s emergency request to wipe it completely. The chief justice set a fast briefing schedule for the request, ordering the plaintiffs to respond by Tuesday afternoon.
Read the full story here.
Appeals panel clears way for DOGE access to sensitive personal data at OPM, Education Dept
A federal appeals panel on Monday paused an order curtailing the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to troves of sensitive personal data from three federal agencies, reopening the floodgates for the cost-cutting advisory board.
In a 2-1 decision, the panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit judges agreed to stay a Maryland federal judge’s order barring the Department of Education, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Department of Treasury from disclosing the personal identifying information of roughly 2 million Americans to DOGE while the Trump administration appeals.
Though Treasury is included in the decision, a different court’s injunction covers data there and remains in effect for now.
“The district court misread our precedent in requiring nothing more than abstract access to personal information to establish a concrete injury,” Judge G. Steven Agee wrote in the majority opinion. “The Government has thus met its burden of a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of their appeal.”
Read the full story here.
Trump rails against EU over trade
Trump on Monday railed against the European Union over trade, claiming that the group of countries has been “very, very bad to us.”
“The EU has been very tough over the years. It was – I always say it was formed to really do damage to the United States in trade,” Trump said.
“They formed together to create a little bit of a monopoly situation to create a unified force against the United States for trade. So they have NATO, which is largely the same countries, and they took advantage of US dollar-wise and militarily, until I got there.”
Trump, who has regularly criticized European allies for not contributing more to the military alliance, claimed that “we’re paying them to guard them militarily, and they’re screwing us on trade.” During his first term, Trump floated the idea of withdrawing from NATO altogether.
Trump confirms talks with Iran
Trump said the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear problem, saying a meeting is set for Saturday.
“We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started, it will go on Saturday, very big meeting. We’ll see what will happen, everyone agrees doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said, referring to threats of military force against Iran nuclear facilities.
Trump made his remarks alongside Netanyahu, who said he put support behind diplomacy, although he has raised the potential for a military strike.
Trump takes questions
Appearing alongside President Trump in the White House on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to eliminate his country’s trade deficit with the U.S.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do. And we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers, a variety of trade barriers, that have been put up unnecessarily. And I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same,” Netanyahu said.
Trump, whom Netanyahu called a “remarkable friend of Israel,” has held firm on his economic plans even as stocks opened Monday morning at a loss amid signs of growing upset with the administration’s tariff moves.
Watch live: Trump and Netanyahu meet at White House
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his second visit to the White House this year for a meeting with President Trump.
Watch their remarks from the Oval Office here.
Trump orders new review of proposed US Steel acquisition
President Trump ordered on Monday a new review of a proposed U.S. Steel acquisition by Japanese corporation Nippon Steel.
In a memo to multiple government figures including department heads, the president told the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to conduct a review of the acquisition of U.S. Steel for help “in determining whether further action in this matter may be appropriate.”
Earlier this year, former President Biden announced that he was going to stop the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in the wake of a yearlong review of the possible acquisition.
“We need major U.S. companies representing the major share of US steelmaking capacity to keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” Biden said in a previous statement.
“As a committee of national security and trade experts across the executive branch determined, this acquisition would place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”
Mike Lee, Ron Johnson urge EU tariff deal
A pair of Senate Republicans on Monday urged President Trump to accept the European Union’s offer of “zero-for-zero tariffs” on cars and industrial goods amid the administration’s growing trade wars.
“Let’s take that deal!” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on the social platform X from his personal account.
“Much to gain,” Lee added.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) chimed in, writing in response, “Totally agree with @BasedMikeLee.”
“At some point, you have to take YES for an answer,” Johnson wrote.
The senators were responding to a clip of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, saying at a press conference on Monday, “We stand ready to negotiate with the United States.”
Navarro: No-tariff offer from Vietnam would be ‘small first start’
Even getting rid of all tariffs on U.S. goods wouldn’t be enough to spare Vietnam from Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a top administration trade official said Monday.
Peter Navarro, a long-time Trump trade adviser, told CNBC in a Monday interview that he is more concerned with other non-tariff trade policies conducted by Vietnam.
“Let’s take Vietnam. When they come to us and say ‘we’ll go to zero tariffs,’ that means nothing to us because it’s the nontariff cheating that matters,” Navarro said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Navarro later softened his stance, calling it a “small first start.”
Seven GOP senators sign onto bill to check Trump’s trade authority
Seven Republican senators, including Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Senate’s president pro tempore, and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the former Senate Republican leader, have signed onto a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to approve President Trump’s steep tariffs on trading partners.
Grassley and McConnell have joined five other Republicans, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), in supporting the Trade Review Act of 2025.
Read the full story here.
EU ‘ready to negotiate’ on Trump tariffs, von der Leyen says
The European Union is “ready to negotiate” with the United States after President Trump issued sweeping tariffs last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference on Monday.
“This is a major turning point for the United States,” she said. “Nonetheless, we stand ready to negotiate with the United States.”
“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods — as we have successfully done with many other trading partners — because Europe is always ready for a good deal, so we keep it on the table.”
She stressed, however, that the EU is readying countermeasures in response to Trump’s 20 percent tariff on imported goods from the EU. Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariff took effect on Saturday, and the individualized tariffs will take effect Wednesday.
Trump previously announced tariffs on aluminum and steel and on foreign car imports.
“We are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests,” she added. “And in addition, we will also protect ourselves against indirect effects through trade diversion.”
Trump planning military parade through DC
The Trump administration is planning a June 14 military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C. to mark the president’s 79th birthday.
It will also mark the Army’s 250th anniversary. A senior administration official confirmed the plans to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.
Trump adviser fires back at Bill Ackman: ‘Nuclear winter’ talk ‘completely irresponsible’
White House National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett said in a Monday interview that billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman “should ease off the rhetoric” after he warned that President Trump’s tariffs could lead to a “self-induced, economic nuclear winter.”
In an interview Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Hassett called the remarks by Ackman, who endorsed Trump for president last year, “completely irresponsible rhetoric.”
“I would urge everyone, especially Bill, to ease off the rhetoric a little bit,” Hassett said in the interview, in response to Ackman’s warning.
Hassett said most of the country’s GDP is not affected by Trump’s new sweeping tariffs, noting imports account for just 14 percent of the GOP, “so 86 percent of GDP is affected by the deregulation and the tax cuts and everything else.”
“Even if you think that there will be some negative effect from the trade side, that’s still a small share of GDP,” Hassett said. “And so the idea that it’s going to be a ‘nuclear winter,’ or something like that, is completely irresponsible rhetoric.”
Trump celebrates Dodgers, knocks Schiff, Padilla
President Trump on Monday welcomed the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House.
Trump celebrated the Dodgers’ victory over the New York Yankees last October, praising the team’s resilience, talent and “movie star” looks.
The president also used the event to swipe at California’s Democratic senators, who were in attendance for the event in the East Room.
“We have a couple senators here. I just don’t particularly like them, so I won’t introduce them,” Trump said, referring to Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Trump joked that he didn’t think the comment was a big deal after awkward laughter lingered in the room.
Justice asks Supreme Court to lift order to return wrongly deported man
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a judge’s ruling ordering the government return a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the end of Monday.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who resides in Maryland, was removed despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling protecting him from being deported to the country. The administration has blamed it on an “administrative error.”
Calling U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis’s Friday order to return Abrego Garcia “unprecedented relief,” the Justice Department said it can’t comply with the ruling and called for the high court’s emergency intervention.
“And this order sets the United States up for failure,” wrote Solicitor General D. John Sauer.
Read the full story here.
Trump on possibility of sending American inmates to El Salvador prison: ‘I love that’
President Trump said on Sunday he would “love” to send American inmates to El Salvador’s mega-prison but first needs to check if it’s legal.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump was asked whether he plans to discuss El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s offer to take in and house American prisoners with him.
“Well, I love that,” Trump said. “If we could take some of our 20-time wise guys that push people into subways and that hit people over the back of the head and that purposely run people over in cars — if he would take them, I would be honored to give them.”
“I don’t know what the law says on that, but I can’t imagine the law would say anything different,” he said. “If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I’m all for it, but I would only do according to the law.”
Trump threatens additional 50 percent tariff on China
President Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on imports from China, a massive escalation of a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s threat is the latest tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China in the last week. The White House last Wednesday announced it would impose a 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports as part of “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of countries.
Beijing responded by announcing a 34 percent tariff on American imports, leading to Trump’s warning on Monday.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that China made the move, “despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”
“Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump added. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!”
Labor Department touts strong jobs report with meme amid tariff meltdown
The Trump administration is attempting to focus attention on a sturdy U.S. job market as stocks plunge and recession fears rise in the wake of the president’s tariff plans.
The Labor Department sought to highlight the better-than-expected March jobs report, posting a meme on X to celebrate amid another bad day for the stock market.
“🔥Our mood since Friday,” declared the Labor Department, with an image featuring coverage of the March jobs numbers and Aziz Ansari’s character from the sitcom “Parks and Rec.”
The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, far better than economists had expected.
The stock market still plunged in the wake of the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 2,200 points on the day over fears of Trump’s tariffs derailing the U.S. economy.
Jamie Dimon says tariffs will weigh down economy
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is warning investors that the U.S. economy is facing “considerable turbulence,” calling President Trump’s escalating trade war, which has sent markets reeling, “one large additional straw on the camel’s back”
“The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession,” Dimon wrote in a letter to shareholders Monday morning. “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”
The markets continued to freefall early Monday, but then bounced back later in the morning, apparently on optimism that Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs. However, the White House pushed back on that notion.
White House dismisses rumor that led markets to jump: ‘Fake News’
The White House pushed back on the idea that President Trump is considering a 90-day pause on tariffs as “fake news” after it spread on social media and caused the stock market to jump.
“Wrong. Fake News,” the White House said on X, sharing a post that Trump is reportedly expecting to do a pause.
A White House official also told The Hill “fake news” when asked about the reports.
Goldman raises recession risk
Goldman Sachs analysts are again raising the odds of a recession as markets continue to reel in the wake of President Trump’s sweeping tariff actions.
The bank warned in a new report on Sunday that it increased the probability of a recession in the U.S. to 45 percent, just a week after it forecasted odds at 35 percent as fears rise of an impending trade war.
Stocks fell again at the start of the week amid blowback over Trump’s latest move imposing hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on foreign goods.
Bondi on third Trump term: ‘I think he’s going to be finished probably after this term’
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday brushed off concerns that President Trump might seek a third term in the White House, saying she thinks the president will “be finished probably” in 2028.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” anchor Shannon Bream asked whether Bondi thinks there is a method by which Trump could run for a third term in office, as he has suggested recently, barring any constitutional amendment.
“President Trump has served one full term. He’s on his second full term. He’s a very smart man. And we – I wish we could have him for 20 years as our president,” Bondi said.
“But I think he’s going to be finished probably after this term,” she added.
‘Orange Monday’: Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy mocks Trump’s tariffs
Barstool Sports owner and internet personality Dave Portnoy mocked President Trump over major losses the stock market took Monday in response to the new sweeping tariffs his administration announced last week.
“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy said five minutes before markets opened on his “Davey Day Trader” financial livestream show, adding “there’s no political agenda to this.”
Portnoy, who has spoken positively of Trump, ranted against the tariffs which he said has personally cost him millions in the stock market.
Read more here.
Ex-Fed bank leader: Trump tariffs dramatically raise risk of ‘Smoot-Hawley type outcome’
Former Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said early Monday that President Trump’s tariffs could risk severely worsening the economy, in a way that mirrors the consequences of the protectionist trade measures put in place in the early days of the Great Depression.
“The main thing is that this has dramatically raised the risk of a Smoot-Hawley type outcome,” Bullard, dean of Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” referring to the Smoot-Hawley Trade Act of 1930.
Appeals court halts Trump independent agency firings
A federal appeals court flipped on President Trump’s firings of two independent agency leaders, temporarily reinstating them Monday and likely setting up a battle at the Supreme Court.
In a 7-4 vote, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wiped a ruling from a three-judge panel on the court that sided with the government late last month by greenlighting Trump’s firings of Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board.
Monday’s ruling clears the way for Harris and Wilcox to return to their posts, for now, though the Trump administration could now file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court.
Trump’s court losses spark battle over nationwide injunctions
The Trump administration’s repeated losses in courts have sparked Republican efforts to limit the reach of the judiciary, something Democrats argue is designed to hamstring reviews of lawless orders.
Congressional Republicans have rolled out two legislative vehicles that would curb nationwide injunctions, arguing this will restore order to the judiciary and put district court judges in their place.
“These rogue judge rulings are a new resistance to the Trump administration and the only time in which judges in robes in this number have felt it necessary to participate in the political process,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the sponsor of one such bill to limit nationwide injunctions, said at a hearing last week.
But Democrats say the bills are an attack on a system that is rightfully reviewing a record-high number of executive actions from President Trump that exceed the bounds of the law.
Read the full story here.