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Greg Clugston
SRN Correspondent Greg Clugston keeps you informed about all the news coming from the White House.
Administration appeals deportation case to Supreme Court
The Trump administration is appealing a deportation ruling to the U-S Supreme Court. Last week, a judge ordered the administration to bring back to the United States a Maryland man who was sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The White House described the man’s deportation as an “administrative error,” but has also cast him as an MS-13 gang member. The government argues that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is no longer in U-S custody and the government has no way to get him back. It’s asking justices to block a court order requiring Garcia’s return.
Listen DownloadTrump threatens more tariffs on China as markets drop
President Trump is threatening more tariffs on China as global markets plummet. In response to the president’s tariffs announcement, China retaliated by increasing taxes on American goods by 34 percent. And now, Donald Trump is demanding that Beijing withdraw its tariff increase. He’s giving China until Tuesday to reverse course or else the U-S will impose additional 50 percent tariffs on Chinese imports effective Wednesday. Meanwhile, the president says trade negotiations will begin “immediately” with nations that have requested talks with the administration.
Listen DownloadTrump “not going to bend” on tariffs despite market crash
President Trump shows no signs of easing his tariffs plan despite deep losses in global financial markets.
With markets crashing, the president doubled down on his trade policy, writing on social media that he “is not going to bend.” But some influential financial leaders are worried about the potential consequences. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned of higher inflation and billionaire investor Bill Ackerman, who is pro-Trump, said “we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.”
Israel’s Netanyahu to meet with Trump amid tariff chaos
President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for talks at the White House this afternoon. This will be Netanyahu’s second visit during Donald Trump’s second term, but he’s the first foreign leader to see the president since last week’s global tariffs announcement. Israel was slapped with a 17 percent tariff rate by the U-S, which is Israel’s largest trading partner. The two leaders are also expected to discuss other Mideast issues, including the war in Gaza and Iran’s nuclear activity.
Listen DownloadTrump at odds with House Speaker over proxy voting
President Trump threw House Speaker a curve ball on a family-friendly issue in Congress. Late last week, the president endorsed a proposal that would allow new parents in Congress to vote by proxy, rather than in person. That position put him squarely against Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has aggressively tried to kill that bill. The president told reporters: “If you’re having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote.” “I’m in favor of that,” he said.
Listen DownloadStaff fired at federal program that helps low-income households pay for heat
The Trump administration has laid off the entire staff of a federal program that provides energy assistance to millions of low-income households. Roughly two dozen workers who ran the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program were fired last week. The program, called LIHEAP for short, has a 4-billion dollar budget that helps pay low-income Americans for heat during the winter and cooling in the summer. Following the layoffs, state officials are now wondering whether they will still receive millions of dollars in expected federal payments.
Listen DownloadDOD chief’s use of Signal app to be investigated
Use of the Signal messaging app is being investigated at the Pentagon. The Defense Department’s acting inspector general announced he will review Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to convey plans for a recent military strike in Yemen. The review will also look at other defense officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Pentagon’s secure communications network. Hegseth’s use of the app came to light when a journalist was added to a text chain by the president’s national security adviser.
Listen DownloadIntelligence, national security officials fired by Trump
There’s a staff shake-up involving intelligence and national security employees. The Trump administration fired the top two officials at the National Security Agency, including the director who also headed the Pentagon’s U.S. Cyber Command. President Trump also acknowledged the firing of several White House National Security Council officials. The shake-up came a day after far-right activist Laura Loomer met with the president to discuss staff loyalty. He said Loomer sometimes offers advice but claimed she had nothing to do with the recent firings.
Listen DownloadHarvard is Trump’s latest target in Ivy League crackdown
Harvard University is the latest target in the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown against campus antisemitism. Nine billion dollars in grants and contracts are being threatened unless Harvard agrees to a list of demands from the federal government. It’s just one of several Ivy League schools feeling the heat. Columbia University was the first one targeted and it agreed to several demands. The Trump administration also suspended about 175 million dollars in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender swimmer, and Princeton University had dozens of its research grants halted by the administration.
Listen DownloadTrump says Musk to leave administration “in a few months”
President Trump says Elon Musk will likely leave his administration in “a few months.” The world’s richest man has been Donald Trump’s most powerful and disruptive adviser since Inauguration Day. But Musk may soon be wrapping up his work downsizing and overhauling the federal government. Last week, Musk faced a setback in Wisconsin, where voters rejected his choice for a state Supreme Court candidate despite more than 21 million dollars in personal donations. Musk’s role in the administration has led to lower Tesla sales and violent attacks against his car company.
Listen DownloadTrump giving TikTok another 75 days to find a U.S. buyer
President Trump is giving his administration more time to broker a deal for TikTok. Congress had mandated that the popular social media platform be divested from China back in January or banned in the U-S on national security grounds. But Donald Trump extended the deadline to this weekend in a bid to keep it running. On Friday, the president announced he’s going to let TikTok operate in the U-S for another 75 days while a deal is ironed out. He said he looks “forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal.”
Listen DownloadTrump defends tariffs; Fed chair says higher inflation likely
President Trump is preaching patience as the stock market plummets on news of his across-the-board tariffs. With the global economy reeling by the tariffs, the president is insisting his trade policies “will never change.” He wrote online that “this is a great time to get rich,” telling Americans to “hang tough.” Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the tariffs were “significantly larger than expected” and are “highly likely” to cause more inflation.
Listen DownloadWhite House applauds jobs reports as stock market tumbles
The Trump White House is applauding the latest jobs numbers. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month’s addition of 228-thousand jobs was “well ahead of the market’s expectation.” She also pointed to an increase in transportation, construction, and warehousing employment. The White House statement was released against the backdrop of tariff-induced turmoil in the global financial markets.
Listen DownloadIntelligence, national security officials fired by Trump
There’s a staff shake-up involving intelligence and national security employees. The Trump administration fired the top two officials at the National Security Agency, including the director who also headed the Pentagon’s U.S. Cyber Command. President Trump also acknowledged the firing of several White House National Security Council officials. The shake-up came a day after far-right activist Laura Loomer met with the president to discuss staff loyalty. He said Loomer sometimes offers advice but claimed she had nothing to do with the recent firings.
Listen DownloadAs Wall Street plunges, Trump predicts a market “boom”
President Trump remains upbeat about his tariffs even though global stock markets took a nosedive. Asked about the biggest Wall Street sell-off since 2020, the president told reporters he thinks his trade plan is “going very well.” Donald Trump may be upbeat, but the initial response on Wall Street was overwhelmingly negative. The Dow plunged more than 16-hundred points and the Nasdaq sank six percent.
Listen DownloadJudge says “fair likelihood” administration violated his deportation order
A federal judge is weighing in on the recent deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. At a Thursday hearing, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said there’s a “fair likelihood” the Trump administration violated his court order last month. The judge temporarily blocked the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members while he considered a lawsuit challenging the administration’s use of an 18th century law. The administration failed to return two deportation flights that were in the air at the time he issued the order.
Listen DownloadJudge to weigh whether administration violated deportation order
A federal judge will hold a hearing over the recent deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. Last month, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg imposed a two-week ban on deportations of accused members of the Tren de Aragua gang. He issued the pause to consider a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s use of an 18th century law. Boasberg is now probing whether the administration violated that order by failing to return two deportation flights that were in the air at the time he issued the order.
Listen DownloadNew 25% tariffs on imported autos take effect
In addition to across-the-board tariffs, President Trump also announced a 25 percent tax on auto imports. The tariffs went into effect at midnight on all cars and trucks being shipped to the United States. In his Rose Garden speech, the president complained that while the U-S imports many foreign vehicles, Japan, South Korea, and other nations have put up barriers to American-made automakers. Auto dealers say the 25 percent tariffs will likely result in sharply higher sticker prices.
Listen DownloadAmazon offers to buy TikTok as Trump mulls sale
Amazon has put in a bid to buy TikTok. A Trump administration official says the last-minute Amazon offer was sent to Vice President Vance and Commerce Secretary Lutnick. The clock is ticking on the video platform with a U-S ban set to go into effect Saturday. On the day of inauguration, President Trump gave TikTok a reprieve and met this week with senior officials to discuss the coming deadline for a sale.
Listen DownloadIn trade war escalation, Trump unveils tariffs on all imports
President Trump has unveiled widespread tariffs on all imports in a bid to revive U-S manufacturing and collect tax revenue. Declaring a national economic emergency, the president rolled out 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods and even higher duties on dozens of countries. The president promised that factory jobs, in the long run, will return to the U-S. But economists, investors, and consumers are wary about price hikes on everyday goods in the short term.
Listen DownloadTrump reciprocal tariffs will be half of what the U.S. is charged
President Trump has announced 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods and even higher duties on dozens of countries. Saying that American taxpayers have been “ripped off” for decades, the president unveiled a long list of reciprocal tariffs. He said they’ll be half of what the U-S is charged. For example, China faces a 34 percent tax on imports, South Korea 25 percent, and Japan 32 percent.
Listen DownloadTrump’s “Liberation Day” to feature tariffs announcement
President Trump has dubbed it “Liberation Day” — the day he’s announcing sweeping trade tariffs. During a Rose Garden ceremony, the president will impose reciprocal tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on U-S products. Ahead of this afternoon’s announcement, financial markets have been jittery and many Americans have rushed to buy products they fear will rise in cost as a result of the import taxes.
Listen DownloadSupreme Court to hear Planned Parenthood funding case
A case involving Planned Parenthood goes before the U-S Supreme Court. Justices will hear arguments about South Carolina’s effort to block any public health care dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. Federal law prohibits Medicaid money from paying for abortions and the Trump administration is backing the state’s case. Opponents argue that redirecting Medicaid funds will harm low-income citizens. It’ll be up to the high court to decide whether Medicaid patients can sue over their legal right to choose their own qualified provider.
Listen DownloadTrump prepping to announce sweeping tariffs plan
President Trump will unveil a new set of tariffs with the goal of boosting products made in America. CEOs, Wall Street investors, and everyday consumers are bracing for the impact of new taxes on imports from other countries. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt predicts the president’s action “will improve American competitiveness.” The president unveils his sweeping tariffs at a Rose Garden ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
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