Other news we’re following today:
Canada’s leader says Trump ‘wants to break us so America can own us’ — 3:29 p.m.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Trump’s trade war “is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more.” American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low and US -Canadian kinship is under more strain than ever before, Carney said while campaigning in Windsor, Ontario ahead of Canada’s April 28 election. Trump put 25 percent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening to impose sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2. But America will never own Canada, Carney said: “It will never ever happen because we just don’t look out for ourselves we look out for each other.” US secretary of state says Signal leak was a ‘big mistake’ but did not cause harm — 3:20 p.m.
“Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist” to the Signal group chat with the most senior Trump officials, Marco Rubio said. “Nothing against journalists, but you aren’t supposed to be on that thing.” Speaking alongside Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness during his tour of the Caribbean, Rubio said he’s been assured by the Pentagon that the group chat’s details about attacking Houthis in Yemen weren’t classified. “It didn’t put in danger anyone’s life or the mission. There was no intelligence information,” Rubio said. “ There was no war plans on there. This was a sort of description of what we could inform our counterparts around the world when the time came to do so .” The White House security breach raises concerns among some military spouses and veterans — 3:00 p.m.
When Alyssa Myatt’s husband served on an aircraft carrier last year, she and other U.S. Navy spouses had to follow strict security protocols that meant driving to the ship’s home port just to learn that its deployment was being extended. “It was not information that they would send in an email or share over the phone,” Myatt said. “They wouldn’t even stream it. You had to physically come and be present in a location with them to hear the information.” Now Myatt is among some military spouses and veterans questioning the White House’s own adherence to security safeguards after President Donald Trump’s national security adviser added a journalist to a group chat about striking Houthi rebels in Yemen. “‘Loose lips sink ships’ is a very real saying,” Myatt said of the World War II-era warning. Her husband served on the USS Eisenhower as the Navy shot down Houthi-launched missiles in the Red Sea. Vance gives a pep talk to Marines at Quantico, Virginia — 2:43 p.m.
Vice President JD Vance offered a good excuse after he arrived hours behind schedule. “I was in the Oval Office talking to the president and I stood up and I said, ‘Sir, I realize we’re in the middle of something but the Marines at Quantico are waiting on me.‘” He asked the president for a message for the Marines. “The president of the United States said he wanted me to tell you two things. First of all, that he loves you and, second of all, that he’s proud of you,” Vance said. Vance is the first Marine Corps veteran to become vice president. He enlisted after graduating from high school in Ohio and served four years, including a tour in Iraq. Education Department says it has reopened applications for student loan repayment plans — 2:29 p.m.
The Education Department says applications for income-driven repayment plans are available online again for student loan borrowers. The applications were taken down in response to a February court ruling that blocked some Biden-era programs. The materials’ removal had complicated the renewal process for borrowers already enrolled in other repayment plans. The department said Wednesday that revisions to the form were necessary to comply with the court ruling. The American Federation of Teachers had filed a lawsuit seeking to force the department to accept and process applications for the repayment plans. Schumer says Trump pick would ‘destroy Social Security from within’ — 2:28 p.m.
Senate Democrats said Frank Bisignano should withdraw his nomination to lead the Social Security Administration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer compared appointing Bisignano to “hiring an arsonist to run the fire station.” “And what is the intent? Kill Social Security — by strangling, by not letting it work, by making it so that it’s impossible for people to get their help and their benefits,” Schumer said. Bisignano, a Wall Street veteran and self described “DOGE person,” faced tough questions at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. White House characterizes Signal chat as ‘sensitive policy discussion’ but insist no classified information shared — 2:00 p.m.
“I would characterize this messaging thread as a policy discussion, a sensitive policy discussion amongst high level cabinet officials and senior staff,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Wednesday. Asked to square how classified information wasn’t shared, considering launch times and weapon systems were included, Leavitt cited a social media post by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that said the information wasn’t classified. She also assailed The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg — mistakenly added to the thread by the national security adviser — as an “anti-Trump sensationalist reporter.” “Do you trust the secretary of defense — who was nominated for this role, voted by the United States Senate into this role, who has served in combat, honorably served our nation in uniform — or do you trust Jeffrey Goldberg?” she asked. Cotton says Senate Intelligence Committee has no more probing for Signal issue — 1:49 p.m.
Committee chairman Tom Cotton said “I don’t think so” when asked Wednesday if his panel has more work to do in terms of asking intelligence leaders about the inclusion of a reporter in a group text chain about military plans. “What I think is most important here is not the way this information was communicated, but the action that was taken to actually attack the Yemen rebels who have been targeting our sailors and international shipping Saudi Arabia for more than a year,” Cotton said. Cotton’s fellow Senate Republican, Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, said Wednesday that he and his committee’s ranking Democrat are requesting an Inspector General investigation and a classified briefing on the use of Signal by top national security officials. The White House says Trump will announce tariffs on auto imports at a 4 p.m. news conference — 1:34 p.m.
The White House claims the tariffs will foster domestic manufacturing. It also could put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she would leave it to the president to flesh out his plans to tax foreign-made autos and parts, which could be complicated as even US automakers source their components from around the world. Shares in General Motors have fallen roughly 1.7 percent in Wednesday afternoon trading. Ford’s stock was down roughly 1.5 percent. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for complete defunding of public broadcasting — 1:31 p.m.
The Georgia congresswoman made her declaration after her contentious House Oversight committee hearing featuring the leaders of PBS and NPR. Greene said the systems “can hate us on your own dime.” Republicans on the committee repeatedly attacked the public broadcasting outlets for what they called biased reporting. Trump also called for ending federal funding in what represents the most serious threat to the system in many years. The leaders acknowledged some mistakes — NPR chief Katharine Maher said they should have offered more coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop — but said they work hard to present viewpoints of all Americans. Homeland Security secretary on her way to El Salvador for prison visit — 1:22 p.m.
The Department of Homeland Security says in a post on X that Kristi Noem will discuss how the US can expand deportation flights of “violent criminals” to the Central American nation. Noem is visiting a prison where Venezuelans removed from the US are being held. The Trump administration has acknowledged that many do not have criminal records, but alleges that they are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. It has not identified who was deported or given any evidence that they’re gang members. She’ll also meet with President Nayib Bukele. He agreed to imprison the deportees at the administration’s request. RFK Jr. meeting privately with GOP senators at the Capitol — 1:10 p.m.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is on Capitol Hill, meeting privately with Republican senators at their daily lunch. He declined to answer questions as he joined the meeting behind closed doors off the Senate chamber. Federal judge struggles with scope of relief for fired federal workers — 1:09 p.m.
US District Judge James Bredar is briefly extending a temporary order requiring the Trump administration to bring back federal workers who were fired as part of a dramatic downsizing of the federal workforce. During a hearing in Baltimore on Wednesday, the judge said he is reluctant to issue a sweeping national preliminary injunction in the case. The government is appealing Bredar’s earlier decision to require the federal government to reinstate more than 24,000 federal workers. His ruling came in a lawsuit filed by 19 states and the District of Columbia. They contend the Trump administration blindsided them with the layoffs, which could have devastating consequences for their state finances. US on track to hit debt ceiling by August, CBO reports — 1:01 p.m.
The so-called X-date is when the country runs short of money to pay its bills. Without another deal between lawmakers and the White House, the government will exhaust the accounting maneuvers used to stretch existing funds by August, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday. The House added $4 trillion to the debt ceiling in the Republican budget plan, which sets the stage for extending tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term. Whether the Republican-led Senate will agree remains unclear. “Democrats are ready to work across the aisle to prevent a catastrophic default. But Republicans must work with us to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee. Republican chair of Senate Armed Services Committee calls for investigation into Signal chat — 12:54 p.m.
Sen. Roger Wicker said he and Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, will send a letter to the Trump administration requesting an Inspector General investigation into the use of Signal by top national security officials to discuss military plans. Wicker is also calling for a classified Senate briefing from a top national security official and verification that The Atlantic published an accurate transcript of the Signal chat. Wicker’s move is notable given the Trump administration’s defiance. Most Republicans seem content to allow the episode to blow over. Asked what the consequences for Hegseth should be, Wicker said, “Let’s see.” He added that the administration — “right up to the president” — should take a conciliatory approach to the episode. The Trump administration is at the Supreme Court with a new emergency appeal — 12:36 p.m.
Wednesday’s filing seeks approval to go ahead with cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already impacting a nationwide teacher shortage. Eight Democratic-led states challenged Trump’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs as his administration follows his executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department. The Justice Department has filed three other emergency appeals of court rulings that blocked administration actions. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether to narrow nationwide holds on executive actions as Trump seeks to restrict birthright citizenship. Also pending is an appeal to halt an order requiring the rehiring of thousands of federal workers. Democrats, CIA director clash over Hegseth, Signal chat — 12:15 p.m.
The questioning of John Ratcliffe descended into yelling as a California Democrat asked the CIA director whether Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was drinking when he used the Signal app to text his plans for attacking Houthis in Yemen. “I think that’s an offensive line of questioning,” Ratcliffe told Rep. Jimmy Gomez. “The answer is no.” Ratcliffe and Gomez then began shouting over each other as Gomez tried to follow up. “We want to know if his performance is compromised,” Gomez said. Democrats call on Secretary of Defense to resign over Signal app exposure — 11:40 a.m.
“It is completely outrageous to me that administration officials come before us today with impunity, no acceptance of responsibility,” said Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. He said Pete Hegseth “must resign immediately. There can be no fixes, there can be no corrections until there is accountability.” Other Democrats on House Intelligence Committee rejected assertions by Gabbard and Ratcliffe that no classified material was included in the chat. They pointed chat messages released by The Atlantic on Wednesday as evidence the exposure could have jeopardized the mission’s success or endangered US service members’ lives. “This is classified information. It’s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. “He needs to resign immediately.” Trump says ‘we have to convince’ people of Greenland to become US citizens — 10:58 a.m.
Asked if he thinks they’re “eager” to become American citizens, Trump said he didn’t know “but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.” Trump repeated in an interview Wednesday on “The Vince Show” that the US needs control of Greenland for national security reasons. His pronouncements have irked residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Vance and his wife, Usha, are scheduled Friday to visit a US military base on the Arctic island. Marjorie Taylor Greene grills the leaders of public broadcasting — 10:54 a.m.
Now the chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, the Georgia Republican summoned the leaders of PBS and NPR to a hearing, demanding to know why taxpayers funded what she considers biased news resembling content from communist China. Trump suggested Tuesday that public funding for PBS and NPR be cut off. NPR chief Katherine Maher says the radio network is making progress in presenting different viewpoints on the air. Gabbard says including a reporter in a discussion of military plans on Signal was a ‘mistake’ — 10:46 a.m.
Gabbard acknowledged before the House Intelligence Committee that the texts contained “candid and sensitive” discussions but said again that no classified information was included. “It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added,” Gabbard said. National security adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for the addition of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief to the chat, which also included the defense secretary, the vice president and other top Trump administration officials. Democrats blasted it as a sloppy mistake that could have put American service members at risk. Texts released by The Atlantic on Wednesday referred to the timing of strikes and the types of weaponry involved. Democrats to press directors of National Intelligence and CIA over Signal leak — 10:25 a.m.
Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe face more questioning about how Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat in which they discussed American military strikes in Yemen. Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Michael Waltz and other top national security officials were on the chat, which included the times of warplane launches and other actions. Waltz has taken responsibility. Trump called it “a glitch.” Democrats said it was an irresponsible security lapse that could require resignations. Republican Rep. Rick Crawford urged his fellow House Intelligence Committee members not to focus on the Signal chat leak during Wednesday’s hearing on global threats. “It’s my sincere hope that we use this hearing to discuss the many foreign threats facing our nation,” Crawford said in opening remarks. Senate confirms Trump’s picks to lead NIH, FDA — 10:00 a.m.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya passed a 53-47 party-line vote to become director of the the National Institutes of Health. The Stanford University health economist, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 policies, has vowed to encourage scientific dissent. He now leads the world’s top funder of biomedical research as Trump drastically reduces its funding and workforce. Dr. Marty Makary won over a handful of Democrats in a 56-44 vote to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates drugs, medical devices and food safety. The Johns Hopkins University researcher also has contrarian views, and like the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has criticized food additives, ultraprocessed foods and the overprescribing of drugs. Schumer and Senate Democrats question if Signal app breach violated Espionage Act — 9:42 a.m.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Democrats on the national security committees want answers from President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials as the Signal app fallout deepens, questioning whether the actions violate the Espionage Act. “We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors,” the senators wrote in a letter to the president. “Our committees have serious questions,” they wrote, detailing a 10-part probing line of inquiry. Consumers and investors slam Delaware’s passage of ‘billionaire’s bill’ — 9:41 a.m.
The legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor after Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer urged quick passage amid pressure from corporate leaders about court precedents governing conflicts of interest. Elon Musk encouraged a “Dexit” after Tesla shareholder complaints led a judge to invalidate his compensation package potentially worth more than $55 billion. Critics warned it will harm investors, pensioners and middle-class savers by making it harder to hold corporate insiders accountable for violating their fiduciary duties. Delaware is the legal home of more than 2 million corporate entities, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton warned against “cooking that golden goose.” Democrats keep control of Pennsylvania House — 9:39 a.m.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin says Tuesday night’s victory means state House Democrats “can stand up to President Trump’s mayhem in Washington.” Democrat Dan Goughnour handily won the special election, keeping majority control by a single seat, 102-101. He beat Republican Chuck Davis in the Pittsburgh-area district. This removes a potential barrier to Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising star among Democrats who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Martin’s statement says the victory will block efforts to weaken Shapiro’s authority and “continue to expand job opportunities, strengthen schools and create safe communities in Pennsylvania.” The Atlantic releases entire Signal chat — including plans for Yemen attack — 9:37 a.m.
The Atlantic released the entire Signal chat between Trump senior national security officials on Wednesday, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of war plane launches through the unclassified communications app — before the men and women flying those attacks on behalf of the United States were airborne. The revelation follows two intense days where Trump’s senior most cabinet members of his intelligence and defense agencies have squirmed to explain how details — which current and former US officials have said would have been classified — wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Hegseth has refused to say whether he posted classified information onto Signal. He is traveling in the Indo-Pacific and to date has only said he did not reveal “war plans.” Trump’s schedule for Wednesday — 8:56 a.m.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a briefing, and in the afternoon, the president will participate in a Women’s History Month event at the White House. Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding — 8:46 a.m.
When President Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying COVID-19’s impact on children. The urgency of salvaging ongoing research projects at the university’s labs and world-renowned medical center was one factor in Columbia’s decision last week to bow to the Republican administration’s unprecedented demands for changes in university policy as a condition of getting funding restored. The university’s decision to accede to nearly all of the Trump administration’s demands outraged some faculty members, who say Columbia has sacrificed academic freedom. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers, representing members of Columbia’s faculty, filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying the funding revocation violated free speech laws. Scientific and medical researchers are appalled that their work was drawn into the debate to begin with. Change in itinerary for JD Vance brings cautious relief for Greenland and Denmark — 8:35 a.m.
Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that Vance and his wife are changing their itinerary for their visit to Greenland Friday, reducing the likelihood that they will cross paths with residents angered by the Trump administration’s attempts to annex the vast Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. The couple will now visit the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, instead of Usha Vance’s previously announced solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut. The vice president’s decision to visit a US military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. But Vance has also criticized longstanding European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the U.S. The so-called “Big Six” meet at Treasury to discuss Trump-era tax cuts — 8:35 a.m.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with the so-called “Big 6″ group at US Treasury Tuesday. The group includes White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. A Treasury readout of the meeting states that the group discussed permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “I am dedicated to working with Congress in making permanent President Trump’s historic tax cuts and reviving the American dream,” Bessent said in a statement. “Today’s productive meeting gives me confidence that a swift timeframe is achievable.” Trump’s executive order on elections is far-reaching. But will it actually stick? — 8:33 a.m.
President Trump’s executive order seeking broad changes to how elections are run in the US is vast in scope and holds the potential to reorder the voting landscape across the country, even as it faces almost certain litigation. He wants to require voters to show proof that they are US citizens before they can register for federal elections, count only mail or absentee ballots received by Election Day, set new rules for voting equipment and prohibit non-US citizens from being able to donate in certain elections. A basic question underlying the sweeping actions he signed Tuesday: Can he do it, given that the Constitution gives wide leeway to the states to develop their own election procedures? Here are some of the main points of the executive order and questions it raises. Rubio calls on Turkey for support in seeking peace in Ukraine — 4:29 a.m.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “requested Turkey’s support for peace in Ukraine” during his first meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the State Department said late Tuesday. Fidan is on a two-day trip to Washington, where he is seeking to shore up Turkey-US ties that became increasingly frayed under Joe Biden’s presidency. The visit follows a telephone call between the countries’ presidents that Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff described as “transformational.” Turkey has maintained close ties with Russia and Ukraine during the three-year war and has previously offered to mediate talks. It hosted unsuccessful peace talks in 2022. Under the Biden administration, Ankara’s ongoing trade with Russia drew repeated warnings from Washington. Energy, migration top Rubio agenda on Caribbean visit this week — 12:45 a.m.
Weaning Caribbean countries from their dependence on Venezuelan oil and combating illegal immigration will top Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tour of three Caribbean nations this week, a visit that comes as the Trump administration increasingly focuses its attention on the Western Hemisphere. The State Department said Rubio will push for the region to diversify their energy supplies when he visits Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname starting Wednesday, just days after President Trump announced new sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and threatened tariffs on all goods imported into the United States by other countries that buy oil from Venezuela. Homeland Security Secretary Noem visits the El Salvador prison where deported Venezuelans are held — 12:22 a.m.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday will visit the high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelans who the Trump administration alleges are members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang have been held since their removal from the US. Noem’s trip to the prison — where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside — comes as the Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the “worst of the worst.” Since taking office, Noem has often been front and center in efforts to highlight the immigration crackdown. She took part in immigration enforcement operations, rode horses with Border Patrol agents and was the face of a television campaign warning people in the country illegally to self-deport. Noem’s Wednesday visit is part of a three-day trip. She’ll also travel to Colombia and Mexico. US intelligence officials to appear at House hearing after Senate grilling over leaked military plan — 12:15 a.m.
President Trump’s top intelligence officials will brief House lawmakers Wednesday on global threats facing the US — though they’ll likely be questioned again over their use of a group text to discuss plans for military strikes in Yemen. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel are among those who were asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its annual review of threats facing the US. At a similar hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gabbard briefed lawmakers on her office’s threat assessment, noting that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea continue to pose security challenges to the US, as do drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
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