The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about $1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes. Recovering that lost revenue, which the White House was counting on to help offset the steep, multi-trillion dollar cost of its tax cuts, is possible but will be challenging, experts say. The administration has to use different legal provisions to impose new duties, and those provisions require longer, complex processes that U.S. companies can use to seek exemptions. It could be months or more before it is clear how much revenue the replacement tariffs will yield.
President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth. Instead it's kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America’s future. In his recent State of the Union address, Trump said "the roaring economy is roaring like never before.” The latest batch of data on jobs, gasoline prices and the stock market suggests otherwise. There's a gap between the boom that Trump has predicted and the results he's produced. And that could set the tone in this year’s midterm elections as he tries to defend Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
China says it hopes this year will be a “landmark year” in relations with the United States, as the two sides prepare for an expected leaders’ summit later this month. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells reporters in Beijing that the two leaders have had “good exchanges” at the highest levels. U.S. President Donald Trump is due in Beijing near the end of March. While China did not confirm the summit, Wang says both sides have a ready agenda for discussions. The U.S. and China have tensions over issues from trade to national security.
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran on Friday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the last war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, who fired rockets at Israel in the opening days of the latest conflict. More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings. The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted.
The Trump administration is following through with its threat to designate artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a supply chain risk in an unprecedented move that could force other government contractors to stop using the AI chatbot Claude. The Pentagon said in a statement Thursday it has “officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply chain risk, effective immediately.” The decision appeared to shut down opportunity for further negotiation with Anthropic, nearly a week after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused the company of endangering national security.
The House Oversight Committee has voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Five Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday support the subpoena proposed by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina in a sign of continued frustration with the department’s review and release of a tranche of documents regarding the wealthy financier. The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the subpoena.
In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds. Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ are “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Eaton also wrote that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties.’’ The ruling offers some clarity about the tariff refund process, something the Supreme Court did not even mention in its Feb. 20 decision.
President Donald Trump, his Treasury secretary and his choice to lead the Federal Reserve believe they can coax the U.S. economy into partying like it’s 1999. They are putting their faith in artificial intelligence to duplicate what happened when another technology arrived in the 1990s: the internet. Back then, the American economy surged as businesses became more productive, unemployment tumbled and inflation remained in check. Trump is confident that his nominee to become Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, can unleash an even greater economic bonanza by jettisoning what the president sees as the central bank’s hidebound reluctance to slash interest rates. But many economists are skeptical.
The United Nations chief is condemning the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and calling for an immediate return to negotiations “to pull the region, and our world, back from the brink.” Secretary-General António Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday that everything must be done to prevent further escalation. “The alternative,” he warned, “is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.” Guterres also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said it was “hypocrisy” to condemn the airstrikes.
U.S. Secret Service said Sunday that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida Trump was not there, but was instead spending the weekend at the White House. The name of the person who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was “observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.” He was shot by Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff deputy, the agency said.