WASHINGTON – Fireworks lit up disputes about President Donald Trump’s priorities in a collection of high-stakes conferences about overseas affairs and home spending.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney advised Trump within the Oval Workplace on Could 6 that his nation is “not on the market,” regardless of the president’s repeated proposals to annex the northern neighbor as a 51st state. The 2 met to debate tariffs and border safety, though Trump stated he didn’t anticipate to vary his import duties.
Sparks flew on Capitol Hill, too, because the Home Appropriations Committee started reviewing Trump’s funds blueprint for the 12 months beginning Oct. 1.
Trump want to remove the Federal Emergency Administration Company and easily present catastrophe grants to the states, in accordance with Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem.
Her affirmation of Democratic suspicions got here after Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, stated “disasters occur in all places” and argued the federal authorities wants to reply.
DeLauro additionally criticized Noem for working a multi-million advert marketing campaign selling more durable border safety that the lawmaker known as GOP “propaganda.” However Noem stated Trump proposed the adverts himself and insisted she seem in them.
In one other congressional listening to, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied the nation is in a recession regardless of the economic system shrinking through the first three months of the 12 months. He cited a stunning jobs report.
Bessent acknowledged the nation’s $36 trillion in debt “scary.” However he stated he would stop it from turning into unsustainable, with “a sudden cease within the economic system because the credit score would disappear.”
Listed here are some highlights from a day of high-stakes conferences:
President Donald Trump acknowledged that he has not talked with the Chinese language authorities about putting a commerce deal, regardless of beforehand suggesting that he had.
Trump made the admission after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified on Could 6 that commerce negotiations between the U.S. and China over tit-for-tat tariffs had not taken place.
“They need to meet. They usually’re doing not enterprise proper now,” Trump stated.
Trump advised reporters “we’re shedding nothing” by not buying and selling with China. “We’ll be assembly with them on the proper time,” he stated.
Requested straight if he’d met with the Chinese language, he stated he had not. “I’ve not met with them no, after all, you’ll know if I might met. I might inform you.”
Trump stated China is “struggling vastly” from the commerce struggle. – Francesca Chambers
President Donald Trump detoured away from his assembly with Canada’s prime minister to supply to assist former President Barack Obama construct his library in Chicago.
Trump, who was a New York-based actual property mogul in his non-public life, was speaking in regards to the difficulties of building when he took a detour to take jabs at his predecessor’s troubled mission.
“President Obama — and if he needed assist, I might give him assist as a result of I am a extremely good builder and I construct on time, on funds — he is constructing his library in Chicago, and it is a catastrophe,” Trump stated.
The Obama library is being constructed as a tribute to the previous president however has been besieged by important delays and going over funds. Its preliminary price of $350 million has ballooned to $830 million, as an illustration.
Trump then went additional, nonetheless, by arguing the Obama library’s woes had been because of its emphasis on range, fairness and inclusion hiring practices.
“And (Obama) stated one thing to the impact of ‘I solely need DEI. I solely need woke.’ He needs woke folks to construct it,” Trump added. “Effectively, he is bought woke folks.”
Earlier this 12 months, a racial discrimination lawsuit by a Black-owned contractor who labored on the middle.
Obama’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to USA TODAY’s request for remark. – Phillip M. Bailey
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney advised President Donald Trump that Canada is “not on the market” as the 2 males kicked off their bilateral assembly simply weeks after Carney’s election victory.
“As you realize from actual property, there are some locations which can be by no means on the market,” Carney stated to Trump. “Having met with the homeowners of Canada over the course of the marketing campaign the final a number of months, it is not on the market. It will not be on the market ever.”
“The chance is within the partnership and what we will construct collectively,” Carney added.
Carney’s feedback got here after Trump advised reporters he nonetheless believes Canada could be higher off being a part of the US.
“I nonetheless consider that, however it takes two to tango, proper?” Trump stated. “I imply, I consider it will be an enormous tax minimize for the Canadian residents. You get free army, you get super medical cares and different issues. There could be lots of benefits.”
Carney started his remarks by thanking Trump for his hospitality and management.” You are a transformational president,” Carney stated, level to Trumps “give attention to the economic system, with a relentless give attention to the American employee.” – Joey Garrison
President Donald Trump advised Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that he was “in all probability the best factor that occurred to him” as the 2 leaders kicked off a bilateral assembly within the Oval Workplace.
“However I can not take full credit score,” Trump stated. “His get together was shedding by so much, and he ended up successful. So, I actually need to congratulate him with in all probability one of many biggest comebacks within the historical past of politics, perhaps even higher than mine.”
In his current election victory, the Liberal Get together’s Carney was capable of seize on Trump’s rhetoric focusing on Canada, together with his hopes to make Canada the “51st state” to catapult him to victory after trailing significantly in polls. – Joey Garrison
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Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, blasted a Division of Homeland Safety advert marketing campaign to advertise immigration enforcement as “propaganda adverts” for Republicans. However DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated Trump proposed the advert marketing campaign as a result of he was assured information reporters wouldn’t cowl more durable enforcement.
“This appears like a payout to Republican political consultants,” DeLauro stated of the marketing campaign she stated price $200 million, a determine Noem disputed. “It’s actually sort of the peak of conceitedness.”
Noem had advised the Conservative Political Motion Convention that Trump directed her to make “lovely adverts” in regards to the border and he needed her face in them, thanking him.
“President Trump was very clear from the very starting that he acknowledged the faux information on this nation was not going to inform the reality of the work that had been carried out on the border to safe this nation,” Noem advised lawmakers on Could 6. “The circulation has stopped.” – Bart Jansen
President Donald Trump want to remove the Federal Emergency Administration Company and as a substitute present grants to states to deal with disasters, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem advised lawmakers.
The highest Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, questioned Trump’s plan for the embattled company after his funds proposed to chop $644 million in FEMA grants.
“Federal catastrophe aid needs to be available throughout the US, no matter the place you reside,” DeLauro stated. “Pure disasters occur in all places.”
DeLauro argued that states couldn’t deal with disasters on their very own. However Noem stated Trump proposed to supply states with federal grants somewhat than the paperwork.
“He believes that FEMA and its response in lots of, many circumstances has failed the American folks, and that FEMA because it exists immediately needs to be eradicated,” Noem stated.
DeLauro requested for proof of FEMA’s failure. Noem stated the company nonetheless has claims open from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and from fireplace claims a decade in the past.
“What the president has stated is he’s sick and uninterested in federal companies that choose and select who wins and who loses,” Noem stated.
Rep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, stated his state has been hit with many hurricanes and “frustration ranges are off the chart” as a result of FEMA funds lag for years whereas cities and states pay curiosity on catastrophe prices.
“It’s not that FEMA exhibits up and the whole lot’s OK,” Rutherford stated. “It’s fairly the opposite, truly.” – Bart Jansen
President Donald Trump prompt in a publish on Fact Social that he’ll ask Ottawa to extend its protection spending and shut a buying and selling hole with the US however wouldn’t push a controversial plan to annex the nation when he meets with Canada’s prime minister.
“I very a lot need to work with him, however can’t perceive one easy TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion {Dollars} a 12 months, along with giving them FREE Navy Safety, and plenty of different issues?” Trump wrote.
Trump argued forward of the assembly with Prime Minister Mark Carney that the U.S. doesn’t want Canadian vitality and items. “We don’t want ANYTHING they’ve, apart from their friendship, which hopefully we’ll all the time keep,” he stated. – Francesca Chambers
Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Illinois, questioned the federal price for safety at Trump’s deliberate army parade on June 14, which coincides with the Military’s 250th anniversary and the president’s 79th birthday.
Underwood stated plans name for a full army presence crossing the Potomac River from the Pentagon to Structure Avenue. As a result of DHS declared it a nationwide safety occasion, prices might be lined by the federal government, she stated.
Underwood requested how a lot the parade would price and whether or not the federal government will maintain parades for the anniversaries of army branches that aren’t on Trump’s birthday.
“I can get these particulars and get again to you. I don’t have them with me immediately,” Noem stated. – Bart Jansen
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, stated agricultural pursuits in his state depend on migrant labor and requested Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem for extra particulars about Trump’s plan to permit undocumented immigrants to return after voluntarily returning to their house international locations.
“I can’t overstate the significance as you realize of agriculture labor to provide meals and fiber for our nation,” he stated.
Noem replied that Trump believes immigrants who’re within the U.S. unlawfully “must face penalties and go house.” However she stated if these immigrants deport themselves, they may ultimately return legally.
“They must alternative to come back again then and to do it the fitting manner,” Noem stated.
Newhouse additionally stated a serious cattle producer in Washington and Idaho voiced concern about Noem’s try – which a federal decide quickly blocked – to terminate a program permitting Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to stay and work within the U.S. quickly. Newhouse stated 15% of the cattle producer’s workforce is from these international locations.
Noem stated there’s some flexibility in offering visas for agricultural employees however that Congress units caps on kinds of visas granted in several classes. – Bart Jansen
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when the U.S. debt ranges would now not be sustainable.
Bessent stated it’s “troublesome to pinpoint” the precise second, however stated it “would appear like a sudden cease within the economic system because the credit score would disappear as markets would lose confidence.”
“I am dedicated to that not occurring,” he stated.
The debt is “scary,” he stated, however the important thing might be decreasing spending whereas rising GDP.
GDP contracted through the first quarter of the 12 months, and Republicans in Congress are at the moment engaged on a invoice that non-partisan consultants estimate might add round $5.8 trillion to the deficit.
Edwards requested: When is the tipping level?
“What the market is extra involved about is a trajectory. Are you on a trajectory that’s unsustainable or are you bending the curve?” Bessent stated, including that the objective is to make use of each progress and spending restraint to resolve the issue. – Riley Beggin
Bessent says US will ‘by no means default’ and can increase debt ceiling
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated they’re unclear nonetheless of the looming X date, when the U.S. would breach the debt ceiling.
Tariffs might be on the prime of the agenda as President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the White Home.
Trump put a 25% tariff on Canadian items that aren’t lined by a commerce settlement between the 2 international locations and Mexico in March. A lesser 10% tariff is in place on Canadian vitality and potash.
The tariffs and an ongoing push from Trump to make the neighboring nation a part of the U.S. have sparked a bitter dispute between Washington and Ottawa. Canada is likely one of the United States’ closest army allies and largest buying and selling companions.
Trump has stated the tariffs are needed to shut the commerce hole between the U.S. and Canada and a technique to make the neighboring nation pay extra for its protection. In assessing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico earlier this 12 months, Trump additionally pushed for a crackdown on fentanyl monitoring and unlawful migration into the US.
Carney is visiting the White Home for the primary time since he turned prime minister in mid-March. He gained a hard-fought marketing campaign to maintain the job on the finish of April.
He succeeded former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau within the place. – Francesca Chambers
Rep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, praised Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem for coordinating immigration enforcement with state and native legislation enforcement however questioned why different international locations are refusing to just accept deported immigrants.
The division has 598 agreements spanning 6,200 officers in teams equivalent to state police and county sheriffs to trace down and arrest undocumented immigrants, Noem stated.
However Rutherford requested about 1.2 million immigrants with elimination orders who’re from international locations that gained’t settle for them. Noem stated the State Division negotiates journey paperwork however that some international locations equivalent to Mexico restrict the variety of flights or folks they may settle for.
“There are some international locations which can be refusing to take again their very own residents,” Noem stated. -Bart Jansen
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the highest Democrat on the Home subcommittee in control of the Treasury Division’s funds, requested Secretary Scott Bessent whether or not he believes that the U.S. is at the moment in a recession.
“I consider in information, and there’s nothing within the information that exhibits that we’re in a recession,” Bessent responded. “As a matter of reality, the roles report has stunned to the upside.”
Nevertheless, financial experiences launched final week indicated that U.S. GDP contracted through the first quarter.
Bessent argued that the numbers could possibly be revised and that he expects they are going to be modified after taking a look at an in depth evaluation. – Riley Beggin
Rep. Steve Womack, R-Arkansas, a member of the Home Appropriations panel, requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when the “x-date” is, the date by which the U.S. would default on its debt if the debt ceiling just isn’t raised.
Bessent stated his company continues to be tallying complete revenues from tax day in mid-April.
However “we’re on the warning observe,” he stated. “And while you’re on the warning observe, it means the wall’s not far-off.”
Nevertheless, he assured members that the U.S. authorities will “by no means default” and that they may increase the debt ceiling.
Elevating the debt ceiling is included within the large party-line invoice Republicans in Congress are engaged on to implement Trump’s agenda. Lawmakers hope to go it by July 4.
– Riley Beggin
Rep. David Joyce, R-Pa., the subcommittee chairman, requested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent what Individuals can anticipate to see on tariffs a 12 months from now.
“This might be path depending on our buying and selling companions,” Bessent stated.
Bessent additionally stated the administration is negotiating with 17 of the nation’s 18 largest buying and selling companions. The one nation the Trump administration has not engaged with is China.
These negotiations are “continuing very properly,” he stated, including that lots of these international locations have approached the U.S. with “excellent gives.”
“So I anticipate that we will see a considerable discount within the tariffs that we’re being charged, in addition to non-tariff obstacles, foreign money manipulation and the subsidies of each labor and capital funding,” Bessent stated. – Riley Beggin
The highest Democrat on the Home Appropriations subcommittee for homeland safety, Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, criticized the Trump administration for ignoring spending choices that Congress made.
“The Trump administration’s actions have pushed us to unprecedented and to a sobering second,” Underwood stated. “America is a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Noem stated the division was evaluating the grants had been acceptable.
“We have now evaluated grants to ensure they had been approved appropriately,” Noem stated.
Underwood advised DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was spending greater than authorized beneath the “dangerous” technique of relying on Congress to make up the distinction later this 12 months.
“DHS is cashing checks it merely doesn’t have,” Underwood stated. -Bart Jansen
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised a Home Appropriations subcommittee that the Inside Income Service spent round $450 million on paper processing final 12 months.
By means of “coverage adjustments and automation,” the administration goals to scale back that expense to beneath $20 million, he stated.
The listening to is Bessent’s first public look on Capitol Hill since President Donald Trump applied sweeping tariffs.
Bessent argued that the administration’s insurance policies are already “bearing fruit,” together with including 464,000 jobs to the U.S. economic system. – Riley Beggin
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick voiced skepticism about President Donald Trump reaching a commerce take care of what he known as the “socialist regime” of Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney on the eve of their first assembly.
“I believe it’s actually advanced,” Lutnick advised Fox Enterprise host Larry Kudlow on Could 5. “They’ve their socialist regime, and it’s principally feeding off of America.”
Canada offered about $63 billion extra to the U.S. in items and companies in 2024 than it purchased, in accordance with the Census Bureau. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on the worth of imports from Canada, however exempted gadgets negotiated beneath a U.S.-Mexico-Canada commerce deal that expires in 2026.
“It’s going to be an interesting assembly,” Lutnick stated. “I simply don’t see the way it works out so completely.” -Bart Jansen
Regardless of steep cuts to different home packages, Trump proposed to spend $43.8 billion extra on DHS within the subsequent 12 months, as a part of a $175 billion increase over 4 years.
Trump advised reporters Could 5 that his administration is deporting undocumented immigrants by the hundreds however that “it’s a really troublesome factor with the courts.” Judges quickly blocked removals beneath the Alien Enemies Act and ordered him to “facilitate” the return of a Salvadoran immigrant who was deported by way of an administration error.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who carries out the immigration coverage, is ready to testify at 10 a.m. EDT at a Home Appropriations subcommittee. Noem on Could 5 started providing migrants $1,000 stipends and free airplane tickets to deport themselves.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been a distinguished defender of Trump’s tariffs. However Bessent stated privately in April that Trump’s 145% tariffs on China aren’t sustainable, and the president has stated he expects to barter decrease figures.
In one other vein, Trump’s funds goals to chop the division’s funds 19%, principally from a virtually $2.5 billion minimize to the Inside Income Service. After Trump has gone by way of a handful of IRS administrators, the funds stated the minimize would finish the weaponization of the company that allegedly focused conservative teams and small companies whereas defending taxpayer companies.
Bessent is ready to testify at 10 a.m. EDT earlier than one other Home Appropriations subcommittee.
Carney’s first go to to the White Home after successful his election comes at an uneasy time when Trump has threatened the longstanding alliance of the international locations with a commerce struggle over imports.
However after repeatedly proposing to annex Canada as a brand new state, Trump softened his stance. He advised NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Could 4 that he doesn’t envision utilizing army power.
“I don’t see it with Canada,” Trump stated with amusing. “I simply don’t see it, I’ve to be sincere with you.”
Carney, for his half, has stated many years of regular integration with the U.S. since World Warfare II are over. Liberals, who had been in energy for greater than 9 years, had been behind in polls in January earlier than the earlier prime minister, Justin Trudeau, introduced he was quitting and Trump proposed tariffs and annexation.