If you thought your guac cost extra before, Donald Trump released a tariff plan that will affect the prices of everything from cars to bell peppers to yes, avocados.
But first, you should know:
- Elon Musk’s DOGE is using Treasury access to stop contractor payments, putting USAID staff who tried to block their access on eave.
- Democrats are pushing to reinstate agency watchdogs that Trump fired.
- Trump ousted a slew of civil servants from the labor relations board, the DOJ, the finance watchdog, and more.
Trump Tariff Blitz Tests Economy
The tariff blitz unleashed by President Donald Trump will test the strength of the economy and its fledgling victory over inflation, alongside the limits of his second-term honeymoon period.
Trump signed orders Saturday imposing across-the-board tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% from China — three of America’s biggest trading partners. The tariffs will take effect at 12:01 am Tuesday, leaving only a small window for last-minute negotiations.
Prices are set to rise for a wide range of household items under the upcoming tariffs, including vegetables, fruits and cars. Economists have warned US-based companies paying more to import products will hike prices to absorb at least some of the extra expense.
- The potential economic impact could work out to roughly $835 per person, or $3,242 for a family of four, according to ING estimates based on the latest quarterly trade data. Read More
- Also Read: Trump’s Tariffs Aim a Wrecking Ball at Economy of the Americas
A 25% tariff on the more than $900 billion in annual imports from Canada and Mexico would raise roughly $225 billion annually or $2.3 trillion over 10 years — if the tariffs had no impacts on trade, which many economists see as unlikely.
Canada, Mexico Respond: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country will impose 25% tariffs against C$155 billion ($106 billion) of US goods, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also pledged retaliation within hours of the announcement. Trump’s orders also included retaliation clauses that would increase US tariffs if the countries respond in kind. The new measures will be on top of existing trade levies on those countries. Read More
China’s reaction — coming in the middle of a weeklong Lunar New Year holiday — was more muted, as was typical during Trump’s first term.
- The Commerce Ministry issued a statement expressing strong “dissatisfaction” and vowing “corresponding countermeasures,” without elaborating. It pledged to file a complaint at the World Trade Organization and called on the US to “manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect.” Read More
Further Coverage:
- Trump Ramps Up EU Tariff Threat, Plans Calls With Canada, Mexico
- EU Warns US It Will Retaliate If Trump Imposes Tariffs on Goods
- Tariffs Seen Disrupting Oil Market, Raising US Pump Prices
DOGE Halting Payments to Federal Contractors
Elon Musk’s enforcers are stopping payments to some federal contractors—moves that suggest the billionaire has access to sensitive files at the Treasury Department.
Rapid Shutdown: The world’s richest man posted on X on Sunday that staff on his so-called Department of Government Efficiency are “rapidly shutting down” payments to a Lutheran Family Services, a faith-based charity that has been providing social services to refugees.
- “The corruption and waste is being rooted out in real-time,” Musk posted on X.
The Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to questions about the extent of Musk’s access. Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Friday he’s been told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has granted DOGE full access to Treasury’s payment systems. Read More
Trump put Musk in charge of an effort to modernize federal information technology.
But Musk seems to be expanding that mandate to include control over financial flows in other parts of the federal government. He sketched out plans for aggressive cuts to US spending and regulations that include wiping out the US Agency for International Development. Musk said he has Trump’s blessing for the move to end USAID as a stand-alone agency and fold what’s left of it into the State Department. If it turns out the US really needs such an organization in the future — or any of the regulations he aims to cull — they could simply just be created again. Read More
Top security officials at USAID were placed on leave Saturday after refusing to allow DOGE staffers access to systems at the foreign assistance agency, saying they lacked the required security clearances.
Musk on Sunday also called USAID “a criminal organization” that should “die.” Read More
Tax Exempts on Edge as GOP Eyes Offsets
Nonprofits are getting together to defend their tax-exempt status, as Republicans consider trimming breaks that benefit hospitals, universities, and others to fund extensions of much of the 2017 tax law.
Cuts to tax breaks in the sector were included on a lengthy list of options to raise revenue circulated by GOP lawmakers this month. Policies floated include eliminating the nonprofit status of hospitals, expanding the endowment tax on private universities, and making scholarship and fellowship income taxable.
- “This is the first time really in more than 50 years that associations have faced such a fight,” said Jarrod Clabaugh, a steering committee member of the new Community Impact Coalition and president of the Ohio Society of Association Professionals. “We’re very nervous about our tax-exempt status.”
The American Society of Association Executives in January formed the Community Impact Coalition with about 60 other associations and charities to lobby lawmakers about how ending nonprofit tax benefits could hurt communities. Members of the coalition include the American Heart Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Read More
Read BGOV’s Congress Tracker for our breakdown of lawmakers’ agenda and the politics driving it.
More From the Hill
Democrats Push to Reinstate Government Watchdogs Trump Fired
Senate Democrats are pushing to reinstate agency watchdogs after President Donald Trump dismissed more than a dozen inspectors general a week ago.
Franchisers Seize GOP Sweep as Opportunity on Joint Employer
Businesses lobbyists are trying to capitalize on Republican’s power trifecta in Washington by reigniting a legislative push to settle the issue of joint employment once and for all.
Senate Panel to Vote on Advancing Agriculture Secretary Monday
Rollins is expected to sail through the Republican-majority Senate Agriculture Committee after a collegial hearing and having gained the support of at least one Democrat on the panel, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
Key Senate Democrat Starts Probe on Trump’s EEOC, NLRB Firings
President Donald Trump’s purging of key members of two independent panels governing labor and workplace anti-bais laws prompted a probe from the ranking member of the Senate’s labor and health panel.
RFK Jr. Commits to Divesting Interests in HPV Vaccine Litigation
RFK Jr. told Senate lawmakers in written responses that he would amend his ethics agreement to reassign his legal claim “via an assignment to my non-dependent, adult son.”
US Lawmakers Ask RFK Jr. to Stay Away From Vaccine Decisions
Democratic lawmakers in the US are asking
Trump Administration Latest
CFPB’s Chopra Targeted Big Tech, Bank Fees With Political Savvy
Rohit Chopra is out the door at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but he left a lasting mark on the US watchdog and the industries it polices by focusing on high-profile issues like exorbitant or hidden bank fees and Big Tech’s growing role in finance.
Rubio Brings a Tough Trump Message to Latin America
Trump Said to Oust DOJ’s Veteran Diplomat, Civil Rights Head
Bruce Swartz, globally renowned for representing the Justice Department in some of its most sensitive foreign dealings, has resigned rather than accept a Trump demotion.
Trump Fires Labor Board Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter
President
FBI Firings, Jan. 6 Agent Probe Sharpen Trump DOJ Reshaping
The
Trump’s Deportation Plans Get Boost From Actions in Red States
Republican-led states are pledging their resources to support President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts, setting up a likely legal clash with immigrant advocates who say some measures violate the law.
Downed Black Hawk Was Practicing Secretive Evacuation Plans
Top US officials said a military helicopter was on a regular training mission when it
Trump Vows to Punish South Africa Over Expropriation Law
President
To contact the editors responsible for this story: