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In today’s issue:
- Trump, El Salvador president defy courts
- Tariffs threaten a globalized economy
- State Department budget to shrink
- Blame surrounds Ukraine-Russia-U.S. talks
President Trump said Monday he’s open to sending United States citizens to prison in El Salvador, a move that would strain the Constitution and heighten the president’s battles with the judiciary branch. He added that the fate of a migrant the U.S. mistakenly deported to El Salvador now rests with that country.
“I’m all for it,” Trump said about imprisoning U.S. citizens outside the country, adding the Justice Department is studying the legality of the idea. “If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no problem, no,” he said. “I’m talking about violent people. I’m talking about really bad people.”
Trump commended visiting Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose government is earning $6 million to incarcerate hundreds of migrants deported from the United States who are alleged by the administration to be criminal gang members.
Trump, Bukele and Attorney General Pam Bondi said the U.S. and El Salvador are prepared to leave migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia behind bars in his home country because of jurisdictional considerations. Abrego Garcia’s lawyer says his client was deported in violation of an earlier court order protecting him from removal.
“Of course, I’m not going to do it,” Bukele told reporters, calling the idea of returning Abrego Garcia from El Salvador “preposterous.”
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” he added.
Trump has shifted his position on Abrego Garcia after initially saying he would abide by a Supreme Court decision.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” Trump told reporters last week. The high court then backed a lower court ruling that the U.S. return of the father of three.
Trump in the Oval Office on Monday turned to his attorney general to describe the administration’s newest position that the president’s hands are tied, regardless of rulings by U.S. courts. Bondi said the U.S. will not decide Abrego Garcia’s future.
“That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us. The Supreme Court ruled that if El Salvador wants to return him … we would facilitate it: meaning, provide a plane,” Bondi said.
The Hill: In a filing late Monday, the administration sidestepped court questions about its efforts to secure Abrego Garcia.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the Salvadoran president’s refusal to return Abrego Garcia “pure nonsense,” arguing the Maryland man should be flown back to the U.S. to receive judicial due process “immediately.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told MSNBC his party is trying to publicly press the Trump administration “to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive, and the Supreme Court and/or the federal district court actually needs to enforce its order.”
▪ The Hill’s Niall Stanage in The Memo reports the latest in a deportation case that has roiled the political world.
▪ Lawfare Media: Mixed signals on alleged alien enemies.
Meanwhile, Trump’s evolving tariff policies and economic war with China continue to rattle investors and businesses. Analysts say it’s difficult to gauge whether the president’s tangle of universal, reciprocal and sector-specific tariffs embody Trump’s long-term strategy to try to isolate Beijing or will linger as temporary bargaining leverage.
The administration on Monday began the process of placing tariffs on imported semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. China overnight ordered its airlines to stop taking Boeing Co. jet deliveries in the latest evidence the trade divide with the U.S. is expanding. Beijing also wants Chinese carriers to halt any purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies.
Economists warn of rising U.S. inflation, flat-lining consumer confidence and a possible recession resulting from Trump’s unilaterally declared trade levies. The financial winners are Wall Street firms that are raking in record trading fees, according to new data.
Kevin Hassett, the president’s economic adviser, told CNBC on Monday that more than 10 countries have so far made “amazing” trade-deal offers to the U.S. He said last week that the administration had been approached by 20 countries. No new bilateral trade pacts have been announced. The universal U.S. tariff set by Trump is 10 percent. Additional levies imposed on most goods imported from China total 145 percent.
The Wall Street Journal: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has said trade negotiations with other nations will likely take months, is prioritizing Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea among the top targets for deals.
U.S. MANUFACTURING: Nvidia, the world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) computing and headquartered in California, announced Monday it will mass-produce AI supercomputers for the first time, expected in Texas. The made-in-America headline cheered the White House and investors because of intense competition with China over the race to develop AI.
Blake Burman’s Smart Take is off this week and will return next week.
3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
▪ The Hill’s second installment of a four-part housing series reports how affordability issues show few signs of easing. Check back later in the week at TheHill.com for all stories in the series.
▪ Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Monday as his social media company faces off against the Federal Trade Commission in a case that could determine the fate of the tech titan’s empire.
▪ A female Army Ranger for the first time competed in the annual Best Ranger Competition, a grueling three-day weekend event. Her two-soldier team came in 14th overall among 52 teams competing.
LEADING THE DAY
© The Associated Press | Nathan Howard, Reuters
STATE DEPARTMENT CUTS: Would Congress vote to cut the State Department budget nearly in half? A new memo shows what would be on the chopping block under an administration strategy: no funding for NATO, the United Nations and 20 other organizations. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is assumed to be gone and absorbed into the State Department under the plan released last week and obtained by The Washington Post.
The American Foreign Service Association, in a statement, urged Congress to reject the administration’s plan, calling it “reckless and dangerous” and suggesting that it “would empower adversaries like China and Russia who are eager to fill the void left by a retreating United States.”
It is unclear whether such steep cuts would pass the Republican-controlled Congress, as Trump’s aggressive bids to cut government spending and reduce the federal workforce have faced strident opposition in some GOP districts.
The Wall Street Journal: Pete Marocco, a key architect of the Trump administration’s campaign to slash foreign aid, has left the State Department after less than three months on the job.
Additionally, the administration will ask Congress to rescind $9 billion in current appropriations from USAID and public media — which includes NPR and PBS. Congress has 45 days to consider the so-called rescission package. If it is not approved, the government must spend the money as planned.
More immigration: Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently arrested a Palestinian Columbia University graduate student, protest leader and green card holder during a citizenship interview.
Universities: Harvard University on Monday rejected demands from the Trump administration as it threatens the school’s federal funding as part of a broader clampdown on higher education. The university said that while it is and will continue to engage in reforms, those changes should not be mandated by Washington.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” wrote President Alan Garber. In response, the administration said it would freeze $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard, along with a $60 million contract.
The New York Times: Inside Trump’s pressure campaign on universities.
Law firms: A series of new agreements brokered between Trump and major law firms suggests a new price tag for those looking to dodge executive orders targeting the legal profession. Nine firms have now signed agreements with the Trump administration, with Trump announcing five new deals on Friday that reached a new high price — $125 million each for four of the firms.
The Hill: In drastically cutting down its public health workforce, the Trump administration is potentially undoing decades of work combatting the HIV epidemic and delaying upcoming advances.
WHERE AND WHEN
- Reminder: The IRS tax filing deadline is midnight ET. What happens if you owe taxes and cannot (or do not) pay in time?
- The House and Senate are out this week.
- The president will have lunch at the White House with Vice President Vance at 12:30 p.m. Trump will sign executive orders at 2:30 p.m. He will host a presentation at 3 p.m. of the commander in chief’s football trophy to midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Jordanian Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jafar Hassan at 3:30 p.m. in Washington.
- The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m.
ZOOM IN
© The Associated Press | Marc Levy
The arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) residence is the latest incident to underscore the threats faced by high-profile politicians in a fraught landscape of political polarization. The man accused of setting fire to the governor’s residence over the weekend reportedly harbored hatred against the Democratic Party and expressed anger specifically at Shapiro, admitting that he planned to attack the governor with a hammer if he had seen him at his home. The attack came amid a spotlight on political violence and the risks faced by top figures on both sides of the aisle.
All these incidents have been part of the “heightened levels of violence” of at least the past five years, said Katherine Keneally, the director of threat analysis and prevention at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in the United States.
“The division that we are currently seeing is playing a role as one of the reasons why we’re seeing officials be a primary target, but it doesn’t tell the whole story,” she said.
The Hill: Former President Biden is set to deliver his first public address since leaving the White House today, speaking at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago.
TOWN HALLS: With Congress on a two-week recess, Republican lawmakers are bracing for more anger from constituents upset with Trump policies. Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, advised Republican members of Congress not to hold in-person town halls — and it appears most are heeding his advice.
Democrats, meanwhile, are embracing town halls — and other events — across the country. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has drawn massive crowds as part of a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), fueling speculation about her future political ambitions amid signs of Democratic frustration with the party’s current leadership.
“So many of us know what it feels like for life to be one bad day, one bad piece of news, one major setback from everything feeling like it’s going to fall apart. And we don’t have to live like this anymore, Utah!” Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd in the Beehive State on Sunday. “We can make a new world, a better country where we can fight for the dignity of all people.”
▪ The Hill: Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) announced his bid for Senate on Monday, becoming the first major Republican to jump into the race, just months after narrowly losing to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).
▪ NBC News: The battle for the Senate is taking shape, with both parties waiting on governors to boost their chances.
ELSEWHERE
© The Associated Press | Evgeniy Maloletka
UKRAINE: Trump on Monday sought to distance himself from the Russia-Ukraine war as his promise to end the conflict quickly has proven difficult to accomplish.
“The War between Russia and Ukraine is [former President Biden’s] war, not mine. I just got here, and for four years during my term, had no problem in preventing it from happening,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “President [Vladimir Putin], and everyone else, respected your President!”
Trump also blamed Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for “allowing this travesty to begin.” Meanwhile, a devastating Russian attack against Ukraine on Palm Sunday, coming days after Putin shook hands with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s top negotiator, is renewing criticism of the U.S.’s approach to ceasefire talks.
IRAN: Significantly weaker than it was in 2022 during the last round of discussions with the U.S., a nuclear deal with Tehran could be more successful now. Iran takes seriously that Trump has repeatedly warned of a U.S. military response if the government doesn’t change course to Washington’s satisfaction, analysts say.
Still, Iran is expected to resist a U.S. proposal to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country as part of Washington’s effort to scale back Tehran’s civil nuclear program.
GAZA: More than half of Gaza is no longer accessible to Palestinians as the Israeli military takes over large areas of the enclave and absorbs them into so-called security zones along the borders. The military is tightening its control over Gaza, particularly in the south, after saying months ago that Hamas had been defeated in the area. Demonstrators accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of extending the war for political purposes instead of working to free the remaining hostages.
▪ The New York Times: Israel struck a hospital in Gaza’s north and captured a key part of the enclave’s south.
▪ Reuters: Israel has made a new Gaza ceasefire proposal, but prospects appear slim.
▪ The Guardian: In an open letter, hundreds of former Mossad operatives criticized Israel’s return to war in Gaza.
OPINION
■ Return Abrego García to Maryland, by The Washington Post editorial board.
■ Trump’s tariffs are as bad as Bidenomics, by Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux, guest essayists, The Wall Street Journal.
THE CLOSER
© The Associated Press | Sophie Bates
And finally …🐢 It’s Tuesday, and in praise of “slow and steady” in these uncertain times, we thought we’d highlight some tortoise news.
Myrtle, a midsize pet tortoise, survived a deadly tornado and went missing last month. Injured and in need of medical care, the lumbering creature was discovered weeks later, received treatment and was reunited with his enthusiastic Mississippi family.
In the City of Brotherly Love, a pair of endangered Galapagos tortoises nearly 100 years old became first-time parents to four hatchlings that began to emerge on Feb. 27, the Philadelphia Zoo announced on Friday. The parents’ names: Mommy and Abrazzo, the dad.
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