On some days, the Trump administration acts on so many different issues at once that it can be hard to keep track of everything. Yesterday was one of those days.
President Trump hosted the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, for diplomatic talks about Ukraine, trade and more. Trump announced that tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect next week. And his administration began readying the most widespread firings across the federal bureaucracy so far, while a federal judge ruled against other terminations.
Today’s newsletter walks through each of these stories, with help from my colleagues at The Times.
Trump’s diplomacy
Starmer’s main goal was to persuade Trump not to abandon Ukraine. But Trump seemed unmoved. He continued to argue that Ukraine should pay back the United States for military aid — an unusual approach in the middle of a conflict, Amanda Taub pointed out. He said that Vladimir Putin could be trusted to not violate the terms of a peace deal. “I think he’ll keep his word,” Trump said. “I’ve known him for a long time now.”
Trump and Starmer also announced that they were working on a trade deal. They spent much of their news conference complimenting each other and their countries’ relationship. Trump praised Starmer for announcing this week that Britain would increase its military spending to 3 percent of economic output within a decade. As Mark Landler explained, “That addresses one of Mr. Trump’s core grievances: his contention that Europeans are free riders, sheltering under an American security umbrella.”
Later today, Trump will meet with Ukraine’s president. They are set to sign a deal that gives some of Ukraine’s mineral wealth to the United States, meeting one of Trump’s conditions for supporting Ukraine. In Trump’s transactional outlook, alliances come with strings attached, as Luke Broadwater put it.
Tariffs return
Trump also said that 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff against China, would take effect on Tuesday. The three countries are America’s biggest trading partners, and two are close allies. They have promised to retaliate. The ensuing trade war could push up prices and slow growth, economists warn.
Trump said the tariffs punish the three countries for the flow of drugs through their borders and into the United States. But very few drugs come from Canada, Ana Swanson reported. All of last year, federal officials intercepted about 43 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S.-Canadian border — less than what my in-laws’ dog weighs. Officials seized 500 times that amount of fentanyl at the border with Mexico.
Trump nearly imposed the levies on Canada and Mexico a few weeks ago but backed off at the last moment when they promised some concessions. Maybe he’ll do that again. He is also attentive to the stock market, which does not respond well to tariffs. The U.S. economy has already shown signs of strain from Trump’s previous tariff threats, Alan Rappeport wrote.
Lastly, the Trump administration published a memo that asked federal agencies to submit plans for mass firings by March 13. “Denigrating the federal bureaucracy as ‘bloated’ and ‘corrupt,’ the seven-page memo called for agencies to be drastically cut — in some instances to the fullest extent allowed by the law,” Chris Cameron wrote. Steep cuts are already expected at the Social Security Administration, The Washington Post reported, and at the Environmental Protection Agency. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration started mass layoffs yesterday.
The administration is also trying to move some offices out of Washington. Officials have justified this as a cost-cutting measure, but it is also an attempt to fulfill Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.” He argues that Washingtonians are out of touch with the general public, and that moving the offices could connect programs more closely with the people they serve.
But the moves could backfire. In his first term, Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters to Grand Junction, Colo. The change led to the departure of 87 percent of staff, Lisa Friedman reported at the time — a brain drain for an agency that handles technical issues, such as oil and gas leases on federal lands. Joe Biden reversed the move.
Some of Trump’s cuts and other changes might not stick. Yesterday, a federal judge told the administration to retract directives that led to the firing of probationary workers. Federal workers have filed other lawsuits, and experts say that many of the administration’s actions are illegal. The White House has also admitted to accidentally cutting some things, including staff at a nuclear security agency and funds to contain Ebola.
The cuts, initiated by Elon Musk as part of his Department of Government Efficiency, echo the Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things.” That attitude can work for an app trying to keep users entertained. But when parts of the federal government break — say, health care or safety functions — people can die.
Related: Cabinet secretaries are trying to figure out how to respond to Musk without annoying the president. Read the inside story.
THE LATEST NEWS
Government Overhaul
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Defense Department schools, which serve American children on military bases, have cut programs — including pride and STEM clubs — to comply with Trump’s anti-D.E.I. rules.
The Defense Department is barring transgender members of the military from service. Meet the trans troops affected.
International
Most clicked yesterday: Read Gene Hackman’s obituary.
Modern Love: Rules for staying close to exes.
Lives Lived: Peter Elbow, a professor and champion of free writing, emerged as a towering and divisive figure in college English departments with the publication of his book “Writing Without Teachers.” He died at 89.
SPORTS
N.B.A.: Stephen Curry scored 56 points and made 12 3-pointers in the Warriors’ comeback win over the Magic, a performance that electrified a road crowd and his own locker room.
N.F.L.: The Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter said he intended to play both wide receiver and cornerback in the N.F.L.
Tennis: The top five seeds are out at the Mexican Open in Acapulco after an illness ravaged the tournament.
Who makes the red carpet for the Oscars? Steve does.
Steve Olive has worked in the event carpet business for more than three decades, and he’s the man the Academy trusts to get its iconic rug just right. Read more about him.
