donald trump

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, fulfilling a campaign promise but raising the prospect of trade conflict and increased prices for American consumers. Trump is declaring an economic emergency to put duties of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada — America’s largest trading partners — except for a 10% rate on Canadian oil. The White House said Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S., as they have threatened. Trump says the tariffs are to force the countries to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He made the remark Friday during a trip to two disaster zones, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA, the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states. He spoke while visiting North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term. He planned to visit wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles later in the day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan to fund federal operations and prevent a government shutdown. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law. The House passed the package late Friday in an overwhelming vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed into the night to finish early Saturday, just after the midnight deadline. The bill would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. He also said Trump is happy with the outcome.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers and small business owners are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. The money is urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the southeastern United States one after the other this fall. In North Carolina, small business owner Jessie Dean is still waiting for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan after her building was completely destroyed three months ago. She says she is determined to build back, but she speaks to friends every day who are weighing whether they can go on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is naming former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be his ambassador to China. Trump says that as a former CEO, Perdue will bring “valuable expertise” to the U.S. relationship with China. Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor. Economic tensions are sure to be a big part of the U.S.-China picture for the new administration. Trump has threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary. Rollins, who heads the Trump-allies America First Policy Institute, was the director of his office of American innovation in his first term. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. Rollins is the last of Trump’s picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters. Trump says Zeldin, who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, would “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards.” The announcement comes after Trump selected longtime adviser Stephen Miller to be the deputy chief of policy and named Rep. Elise Stefanik as his nominee or U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged ongoing federal support for those affected by Hurricane Helene as she visited North Carolina. The Democratic presidential nominee met with state and local officials Saturday in Charlotte, where she praised the work of strangers helping strangers. She also helped pack aid kits and met with volunteers, calling them “heroes among us.” It was her second trip in four days to the disaster zone. Republican nominee Donald Trump was in the state a day earlier, and has been spreading false claims about the federal response to the disaster. But Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says that federal officials have been on the ground in the state helping “since the very beginning.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential election campaigning is revving back up. Donald Trump heads on Tuesday to Michigan and Vice President Kamala Harris answers questions at a Black journalists forum in Pennsylvania. Their travels come as authorities continue to investigate a second apparent assassination attempt against Trump that’s roiled the race. Trump is holding a town hall in Flint, Michigan, and has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington and North Carolina. Harris will participate in a Philadelphia gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists. That follows a recent appearance before the group by Trump that sparked an uproar when he questioned the vice president’s racial identity.