President Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause and lowered reciprocal taxes on U.S. trading partners that have not retaliated against the country over its new tariffs, but increased China’s tariff level to 125 percent.
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon, adding that over 75 countries have sought to negotiate with the White House.
China announced new 50 percent tariffs on U.S. exports after Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners took effect overnight. The European Union also hit back with 25 percent levies on the U.S.
The president’s move comes as the trade war spurred by his aggressive tariff agenda has shown no signs of slowing down as markets reel from a rough couple of days. Immediately after Trump’s Wednesday announcement walking back the tariffs on some countries, markets jumped.
On Capitol Hill, Trump’s top trade adviser, Jamieson Greer, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee after both sides of the aisle in the upper chamber pressed him over the administration’s tariff agenda Tuesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is also charging forward in an effort to bring the Senate-crafted budget resolution, which the House rules committee voted to advance midday Wednesday, to the floor.
But this may be easier said than done, as some in the GOP conference are digging their heels in over concerns about the level of spending cuts. The final vote is slated to take place at 5:30 p.m.
Read below for all the latest news.
House GOP leaders meet with holdouts as vote stalls
House GOP leaders are huddling with more than a dozen Republican opponents of the Senate’s budget resolution in a room just off the House floor, as top lawmakers search for the votes to adopt the framework meant to enact President Trump’s budget resolution.
An unrelated vote was held open for nearly 30 minutes to allow for leaders to meet with the holdouts.
Republican Reps. Ralph Norman (S.C.), Chip Roy (Texas), Keith Self (Texas), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Lloyd Smucker (Pa.), Scott Perry (Pa.) were all seen leaving the House chamber for the office, among others. On the leadership side, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is in the room.
The hardline conservatives have expressed opposition to the fact that the Senate’s budget resolution includes different spending cut minimums for each chamber. House committees are directed to find at least $1.5 trillion in cuts, while Senate panels are mandated to slash at least $4 billion of federal spending.
House hardliners press Senate GOP for details on spending cuts ahead of key vote
Hardline House Republicans are pressing their Senate GOP colleagues for more information on the amount of spending cuts that will be included in the ultimate bill full of President Trump’s domestic policy priorities, details they are demanding before they can vote to advance a blueprint for the initiative.
The push for particulars — which three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill — comes as the House vote on the Senate’s framework to advance Trump’s legislative agenda hangs in the balance, with those in the right flank refusing to support the measure over concerns regarding the level of spending cuts.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and other senators in his office Wednesday as the House’s vote on the framework kept getting pushed back. The vote was initially scheduled for around 5:30 p.m.
“We just want to make sure the House and Senate are in the same ballpark,” Harris told lawmakers on his way into Thune’s office.
One of the sources said Harris “would like to see an outline from the Senate on spending reduction and is working to achieve that.”
Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who is not in the Freedom Caucus but is often aligned with them, were also in attendance.
Perry, a former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said he wanted “answers.”
Takeaways from the tariff drama
Financial markets soared on Wednesday after President Trump issued a 90-day pause in almost all the tariffs that had roiled the global economy during the past week.
The key exception was China, which had notably declined to back down from Trump’s threats and had issued its own retaliatory tariffs in response. The president announced a further elevation of the tariff rate on China, to a massive 125 percent.
Johnson aiming for budget vote Wednesday, but suggests support is not yet there
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that he’s still aiming to stage a vote later in the evening on a Senate-passed budget bill to guide President Trump’s domestic agenda, but suggested the support is not yet there to pass it and the final vote will come later than 5:30 p.m., as initially scheduled.
“We’re continuing to have discussions. The intention is to have the vote by this evening, and we’ll see when that time is,” he told reporters shortly after 4 p.m., as the House was voting on the rule underlying the budget bill.
“I’m not going to tell you what the number is,” he continued. “But I’ll tell you I’m optimistic, as I always am, and we’re working toward that final consensus. I think we’ll get there.”
GOP leaders are scrambling to secure enough Republican support for the Senate’s budget blueprint, which is a crucial step in the party’s effort to pass Trump’s domestic priorities, including sweeping tax cuts, later in the year.
House Republicans advanced the bill on Wednesday on a narrow, 216-215 vote, but several conservatives have said they will vote against final passage even though they voted to overcome the procedural hurdle.
Mike Turner votes ‘no’ on budget bill rule because of tariff language
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), one of three Republicans to vote against the rule teeing up the Trump budget resolution, said he will be a “yes” on final passage, but he was opposed to procedural language in the rule that turns off the ability to force a vote on repealing Trump’s liberation day tariffs for 90 days.
The other two GOP “no” votes were Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), and Victoria Spartz (Ind.).
House GOP tees up final vote on budget blueprint as conservative opposition hardens
House Republicans on Wednesday advanced the Senate’s blueprint to enact key parts of President Trump’s legislative agenda, teeing up the measure for a final vote — even as its fate hangs in the balance amid conservative opposition.
The chamber voted 216-215 along party lines to adopt the rule, which governs debate for legislation, the last step before the entire House weighs in on whether to adopt the measure. A final vote is slated for around 5:30 p.m.
While hardliners stuck with their party to advance the budget resolution, many are vowing to vote against the measure when it comes up for a final vote, brushing aside heavy lobbying from President Trump.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), among others, have said they will oppose the budget resolution later on Wednesday despite supporting the procedural vote.
Horsford berates US trade rep as Trump makes tariff announcement: ‘WTF, who’s in charge?’
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) grilled the White House’s top trade negotiator on the administration’s trade strategy during a hearing on Wednesday, asking the official “who’s in charge” as President Trump announced a pause on tariffs for most countries.
As news broke of Trump’s announcement that he would pause reciprocal tariffs against most trading partners except China, Horsford pressed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer about the recent move.
“How long is the pause? How many days? How many weeks?” Horsford asked.
“I understand it’s 90 days, I haven’t spoken to the president –” Greer began to say before Horsford responded.
“So, the trade representative hasn’t spoken to the President of the United States about a global reordering of trade and yet he announced it on a tweet? WTF, who’s in charge?” Horsford said, before arguing, “It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you and paused the tariffs, the taxes on the American people.”
“There’s no strategy you just found out three seconds ago, sitting here, we saw you,” he said, while also asking Greer why he hadn’t disclosed plans to pause the tariffs earlier in the testimony if he was aware beforehand of the president’s eventual announcement.
Ex-Treasury secretary: US being treated as ‘problematic emerging market’
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Wednesday that the U.S. is being treated as a “problematic emerging market.”
“Long-term interest rates are gapping up, even as the stock market moves sharply downwards. This highly unusual pattern suggests a generalized aversion to US assets in global financial markets,” Summers said in a Wednesday morning thread on the social platform X.
Whistleblower tells senators that Meta undermined U.S. security, interests
Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of global public policy at Facebook, which is now called Meta, testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday that she saw Meta executives “repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values” during her seven-year stint in that job.
In remarks to a hearing convened by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Wynn-Williams alleged that Meta executives worked vigorously to “win favor” with leaders in Beijing to build an $18 billion business in China.
Wynn-Williams told Hawley’s panel that during her time at Meta: “Company executives lied about what they were doing with the Chinese Communist Party to employees, shareholders, Congress and the American public,” according to a copy of her remarks.
Her most explosive claim is that she witnessed Meta executives decide to provide the Chinese Communist Party with access to user data, including the data of Americans. And she says she has the “documents” to back up her accusations.
Ackman on Trump tariff pause: ‘Brilliantly executed’
Billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman on Wednesday praised President Trump’s decision to implement a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against foreign trading partners, with the exception of China.
“This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump,” Ackman wrote social platform X. “Textbook, Art of the Deal.”
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman, wrote Wednesday in a separate X post.
Ackman had originally pressed Trump for a pause over the weekend, and doubled down on Tuesday, saying he was supportive of the tariffs but wanted the president to allow room for negotiations.
Earlier Wednesday, the billionaire also suggested small businesses could struggle due to the president’s expansive trade agenda and reiterated his suggestion that the Trump administration hit the brakes on sweeping import taxes.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman said on X. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
Grassley, Tillis praise Trump’s 90 day pause on reciprocal tariffs
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) praised President Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against most trading partners as “good news.”
“Things are moving,” Grassley told reporters in the Senate. “It will bring credibility to the whole process.”
Grassley introduced a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to approve Trump’s tariffs on trading partners. Six other Republicans had signed on to the legislation.
Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), who was one of those Republicans, said the pause “probably slows down any escalations.”
“I’m glad the president made that choice, but now we have to get the deal flow going,” Tillis said.
GOP senator: ‘Eye for an eye’ on tariffs ‘leaves both people blind’
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) criticized President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, arguing an “eye for an eye just leaves both people blind.”
Kennedy, who serves on the Banking and Budget Committee, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” just hours after Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs went into place, with an emphasis on China.
“With tariffs, an eye for an eye just leaves both people blind,” Kennedy said. “When a government imposes a tariff, it’s putting its thumb on the scale. It interferes with people’s freedom to exchange goods and services.”
Schweikert undecided on budget vote
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) has been among the GOP critics of the Senate budget bill, warning that it doesn’t go far enough to reduce deficit spending.
On Wednesday, after crunching math behind closed doors with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Ariz.), who’s racing to bring the holdouts behind the bill, Schweikert said he’s still undecided about how he’ll vote. But he suggested he could get behind it — “if the math works.”
The vote is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Schumer reacts to Trump tariff announcement: ‘This is government by chaos’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said President Trump had instituted a pause on reciprocal tariffs against some countries because “he is reeling, he is retreating, and that is a good thing.”
At a press conference previously scheduled but taking place moments after Trump’s announcement, Schumer vowed to keep the heat on Trump, saying other damaging tariffs were still in place.
This is chaos. This is government by chaos. He keeps changing things from day to day. His advisers are fighting among themselves, calling each other names,” Schumer said.
“And you cannot run a country with such chaos. With such unpredictability. With such lack of understanding of what’s going on in the world and the facts. When there’s chaos, already damage is done, irretrievable damage is done because of the chaos.”
Johnson on Trump tariff pause: the ‘Art of the Deal’
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) praised President Trump’s pause on some tariffs on Wednesday.
“Behold the ‘Art of the Deal,’” Johnson wrote, referencing the president’s 1987 book.
“President Trump has created leverage, brought MANY countries to the table, and will deliver for American workers, American manufacturers, and America’s future,” he added in a post on the social platform X.
Rounds: ‘The markets have spoken for themselves’
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a skeptic of the recent tariffs, said that the 90-day pause was welcome and served as a message from Wall Street after a week of losses.
“I think the markets have spoken for themselves,” he told reporters. “They’re sending a message that they want to see progress made and the fact that the president has indicated that he’s seeing progress made is a positive step. It also indicates that most of the market believes the economy is alive and well, they’re just concerned about the proposed tariffs.”
Watch live: Whistleblower testifies on accusation Meta compromised national security
Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams is testifying Wednesday afternoon before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, alleging Facebook cooperated with the Chinese government against U.S. interests.
“I saw Meta executives repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values,” Wynn-Williams said in her written testimony, obtained by The Hill. “They did these things in
secret to win favor with Beijing and build an $18 billion dollar business in China.”
The hearing is expected to kick off at 2:30 p.m. Watch here.
Senate GOP breathes easy after tariff pause
Senate Republicans were visibly relieved after news of the 90-day pause came down from the White House after many worried about mounting losses on Wall Street since “Liberation Day.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) emerged from the weekly Senate GOP Steering Committee luncheon and told reporters that the news was very welcome. At one point during the meeting, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told members about the breaking news, which prompted a cheer from those in attendance.
“All part of the master plan, I’m sure,” Johnson joked. “We all would rather see the market rise than fall.”
“It was a bold and risky action. I think people recognize that,” continued Johnson, who was cool to the tariff policies. “Obviously, the reaction of the market place was not good initially. Now it’s positive. We’re still a long way from this thing being concluded.”
Stocks surge after Trump backs down from new tariffs
The stock market surged Wednesday afternoon after President Trump announced he was pausing steep new import taxes on dozens of nations less than a day after they went into effect.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite all skyrocketed after Trump said he would reduce and delay his previously announced tariffs on nearly all foreign goods by 90 days. The president, however, also announced he would increase the tax rate on Chinese imports to a staggering 125 percent.
Bill Ackman thanks Trump for tariff pause on dozens of countries
Billionaire Bill Ackman thanked Trump after his decision to pause the higher tariffs that he announced last week.
In a post on X, Ackman thanks the president on “behalf of all Americans”.
He had previously called for a pause on Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda.
Watch live: Schumer, Democrats rail against Trump tariff agenda
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other top Democrats will make remarks Wednesday afternoon in response sweeping tariffs imposed on global trading partners by the Trump administration.
Their remarks come just an hour after President Trump issued a 90-day “pause” on tariffs for nations other than China, which is hit with a 125 percent tariff.
Karoline Leavitt confirms 10 percent tariffs will remain in effect during 90-day pause
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday that the universal 10 percent baseline tariff will remain in effect during the 90-day pause just announced by Trump. China however will be tariffed at 125 percent.
Trump announces pause in tariffs; markets jump
President Trump on Wednesday jacked up tariffs on China to 125 percent and implemented a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against all other trading partners, causing a major surge in the markets.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he said on Truth Social.
House GOP moves to turn off ability to force vote on rescinding Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
House Republicans are moving to turn off Democrats’ ability to force a vote on rescinding the sweeping global tariffs imposed by President Trump as part of his “Liberation Day” announcement.
Language tucked into procedural rule legislation setting up debate on an unrelated matter — the budget resolution blueprint for Trump’s legislative agenda — removes the ability for Democrats or rebellious Republicans to circumvent GOP leadership using an expedited process to rescind the tariffs until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A vote on the rule is set for Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson says the Trump budget blueprint vote is on, and it will pass
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that a House vote on the Senate’s budget blueprint will proceed later in the day, as scheduled, and that GOP leaders will ultimately secure enough Republican votes needed to pass it.
“I believe we will — eventually we will,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol. “I think it’s gonna pass today.”
Senate Democrat blocking Trump pick for cybersecurity agency
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) plans to block President Trump’s pick to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) until the agency releases a report about telecommunications insecurity.
Wyden will place a hold Wednesday on Sean Plankey’s nomination to serve as CISA director over what he describes in a statement as the agency’s “multi-year cover up of the phone companies’ negligent cybersecurity has real consequences.”
CISA has refused to provide Congress and the public with copies of a 2022 report on “U.S. Telecommunications Insecurity,” although Wyden’s staff was permitted to read the report in person at the agency’s office in 2023, the senator said.
He disputed CISA’s claim that the unclassified report is protected by a “deliberative process privilege,” arguing that it is a “technical document containing factual information about U.S. telecom security.”
Why Trump faces toughest House GOP test yet on budget blueprint
President Trump has succeeded in uniting House Republicans ahead of a number of high-stakes votes this year — the Speaker’s race, the House-crafted budget resolution and a government funding bill — cajoling skeptical GOP lawmakers into backing the efforts despite their qualms.
But this time around, the president may not have the same impact.
Wednesday’s looming House vote on the Senate’s framework for advancing Trump’s legislative agenda is shaping up to be one of the president’s toughest tests yet on Capitol Hill, as hardline Republicans dismiss the White House’s public — and private — entreaties to line up behind the measure that will unlock the process to enact tax cuts, border funding and energy policy.
Trump has been running a full-court press when it comes to lobbying. The president hosted a meeting with some holdouts at the White House Tuesday afternoon, has fired off a number of Truth Social posts calling on Republicans to back the measure, and gave hardliners a stern talking to during the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) fundraiser Tuesday evening.
“They have to do this. We have to get there. I think we are there. We had a great meeting today,” Trump, donned in a bow tie, said at the dinner in Washington. “But just in case there are a couple of Republicans out there. You just gotta get there. Close your eyes and get there. It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding. Just stop grandstanding.”
Almost 3 in 4 expect higher prices after Trump tariffs take effect: Survey
A majority of Americans said in a new survey they expect higher prices because of the sweeping global tariffs President Trump that fully took effect on Wednesday.
In a three-day poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos this past weekend, 73 percent of Americans said prices would increase over the next six months for “the items you buy every day.”
Similar shares of respondents said the same for a variety of specific goods: 77 percent said they expect higher prices for electronics and phones, 73 percent for automobiles, 72 percent for household appliances, 70 percent for fresh produce, 62 percent for home repairs and improvements, and 56 percent for dairy items such as milk and cheese.
The respondents were told tariffs of at least 10 percent on goods imported into the U.S. would go into effect over the weekend and asked whether they expect “costs for you personally will increase, decrease, or not change at all in the next six months,” for each of the categories listed.
A majority of respondents across the political spectrum said they expect prices to increase in most categories, but more Democrats and independents expect higher prices than did Republicans.
Polis pushes back on Whitmer’s remarks on tariffs
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) pushed back on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) remarks on tariffs during her speech in Washington on Wednesday.
“The ‘tariff hammer’ winds up hitting your own hand rather than the nail. Tariffs are bad outright because they lead to higher prices and destroy American manufacturing,” Polis said in a post on X.
Trump budget blueprint advances out of Rules Committee
The House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning advanced the budget blueprint that will serve as the basis for a sweeping bill full of President Trump’s domestic priorities.
The measure advanced 9-3, teeing it up for floor action later Wednesday.
But it faces a difficult path forward.
Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas) voted for it to advance out of committee while vowing to oppose it on the floor.
Other conservatives, seemingly unmoved by pressure from Trump, are also slamming the bill and promising to vote “no.”