WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump shopped for a new Tesla on the White House driveway on Tuesday, selecting a shiny red sedan to show his support for Elon Musk ‘s electric vehicle company as it faces blowback because of his work to advance the president’s political agenda and downsize the federal government.

“Wow,” Trump said as he eased his way into the drivers seat of a Model S. “That’s beautiful.”

Musk got in on the passenger side and joked about “giving the Secret Service a heart attack” as they talked about how to start a vehicle that can reach 60 miles per hour in a few seconds.

Trump told reporters that he would write a check for the car, which retails for roughly $80,000, and leave it at the White House so his staff can drive it. The president also said he hopes his purchase will boost Tesla’s fortunes.

“It’s a great product,” he said. Referring to Musk, Trump said “we have to celebrate him.”

It was the latest — and most unusual — example of how Trump has demonstrated loyalty to Musk, who spent heavily on his comeback campaign last year and has been a key figure in his second administration. Musk is leading Trump’s efforts to overhaul federal agencies and reduce the workforce.

The Republican president announced on social media early Tuesday that he was going to buy a new Tesla as “a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”

Musk continues to run Tesla — as well as the social media platform X and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX — while also serving as Trump’s adviser.

“Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Trump wrote. “But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for.”

Others have also rallied to Musk’s defense. Alex Jones, a prominent conspiracy theorist, said that he bought a customized version of a Cybertruck that he’ll give away to a customer of his online store next month.

In addition to Tesla’s struggles, Musk has faced other challenges too. He said X was targeted by a “massive cyberattack” that disrupted the social media platform on Monday, and the last two test launches of his Starship rocket ended in explosions.

Tesla has faced sagging sales and declining stock prices as Musk devotes his time to overhauling and downsizing the federal government as an adviser to the president.

The White House did not immediately elaborate on Trump’s plans for buying a Tesla, such as how the purchase would be handled or where the car would be kept.

Presidents almost never drive for security reasons. Joe Biden got behind the wheel of an electric truck while promoting domestic manufacturing, and Barack Obama took a spin with Jerry Seinfeld in the White House driveway for a comedy show.

But regardless of the practicality of Trump’s purchase, his overnight announcement about buying a Tesla represented another step in how the president has blurred lines between private and public interests.

During his first term, top adviser Kellyanne Conway urged people to show their support for Trump’s daughter Ivanka by purchasing her retail products.

“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” she said. “I’m going to give it a free commercial here.”

Trump’s wealth and business savvy is core to his political appeal. The president promoted his products while running for office last year, and he attached his name to a cryptocurrency meme coin that launched shortly before he took office.

However, it’s rare to see Trump use his own money to support an ally, no matter how important they are.

Musk is the world’s richest person, with billions of dollars in government contracts. He’s also exerting sweeping influence over Trump’s administration through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and traveling frequently with the president.

During an interview with the Fox Business Network on Monday, host Larry Kudlow asked Musk “how are you running your other businesses” while also advising Trump.

“With great difficulty,” he said.

“But there’s no turning back, you say?” Kudlow responded.

“I’m just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud,” Musk said.

Tesla has recently faced protests and vandalism. Police are investigating gunshots fired at a dealership in Oregon, and fire officials are examining a blaze that destroyed four Cybertrucks at a Tesla lot in Seattle.

At times, the White House has needed to play cleanup for Musk, who had never worked in public service before and has admitted that he’ll make mistakes along the way.

For example, Musk presented inflated estimates of fraud in government benefits like Social Security on Monday, leading Democrats to argue that he was planning cuts to the popular programs.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk said in the interview. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The next morning, a White House account on X criticized news organizations as “lying hacks” and told Democrats to “spare us the fake outrage” about reducing benefits.

“He was clearly talking about the WASTE in the programs,” the White House posted.

Chris Megerian, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans, particularly those in Congress, have been overwhelmingly supportive of broad cuts across the federal government at the hands of Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency. But some have had words of caution.

Facing blowback from constituents fearful of job reductions, some Republicans have begun voicing public concerns about Musk — one of President Trump’s most influential advisers — and the swift spending slashes he’s made in an effort to downsize the federal workforce.

With more reductions anticipated, here is a look at what some of those Republican members of Congress have had to say about the reductions in the federal civilian workforce, 80% of which is located outside Washington, D.C., and in their states and districts:

Rep. Bill Huizenga, Michigan

“I will fully admit, I think Elon Musk has tweeted first and thought second sometimes,” Huizenga said last week during a virtual meeting with constituents.

“He has plunged ahead without necessarily knowing and understanding what he legally has to do or what he is going to be doing.”

Rep. Mike Bost, Illinois

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans, according to an internal memo obtained March 5 by The Associated Press.

Bost, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said following that reporting that he had “questions about the impact these reductions and discussions could have on the delivery of services, especially following the implementation of the PACT Act” and would work “to ultimately put veterans back at the core of VA’s mission.”

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin

Saying that he found Musk “highly receptive” when the two spoke last week, Van Orden said in a news release that the billionaire had “assured” him that “DOGE will be more refined in their recommendations to ensure our vets and farmers are not hurt in the process of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending.”

Van Orden said he shared with Musk what he had heard from constituents, urging him to look at veterans and farmers “with a different lens.”

Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, Virginia

Virginia’s 2nd District, which Kiggans represents, is home to Virginia Beach and its large U.S. Navy presence. It has the highest concentration of civilian federal workers, at 8.1%, of all congressional districts represented by Republicans. Earlier this month, Kiggans wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking him to limit layoffs for veterans. She expressed concern that eliminating waste could mean unintentional harm for a key GOP constituency.

“We all understand the overarching goal, where we’re going to: again, downsizing, cutting spending. But how are we getting there? And I think there’s just some places to provide a gentle reminder along the way that, please look out for our veterans,” Kiggans said.

Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska

Bacon, who represents a swing district, has said the administration should be more careful in how it carries out its cuts, likening his desire to the need to “measure twice and cut once.”

Last month, as the Agriculture Department scrambled to rehire several workers who were involved in the government’s response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak that has devastated egg and poultry farms over the past three years, Bacon commended Trump for “fulfilling his promise to shed light on waste, fraud, and abuse in government” but told AP that “downsizing decisions must be narrowly tailored to preserve critical missions.”

Rep. Mike Simpson, Idaho

Simpson has warned that national parks could be impaired by cutbacks at the start of summer hiring in preparation for the onslaught of visitors.

“We need to have a conversation with DOGE and the administration about exactly what they’ve done here,” Simpson, a seasoned lawmaker who sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee, said last month. “It’s a concern to all of us.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina

In reaction to the VA cuts memo, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee said he was displeased that the VA had not given lawmakers an advance notification of the changes, saying it was “political malpractice not to consult Congress.”

“Maybe you’ve got a good reason to do it,” Graham said last week, leaving a lunch with Musk. “But we don’t need to be reading memos in the paper about a 20% cut at the VA.”

Sen. Katie Britt, Alabama

Last month, Britt put out a statement calling for a “targeted approach” in ensuring that proposed caps on the National Institutes of Health don’t hit what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions,” including her state’s beloved University of Alabama.

“While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed,” Britt said.

Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas

Moran has expressed concern that food from heartland farmers would spoil rather than be sent around the world as the U.S. Agency for International Development shutters.

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is starting another round of job cuts — this one more than 1,000 — at the nation’s weather, ocean and fisheries agency, four people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday began plans to lay off 10% of its current workforce, people inside and outside the agency said, with some of them requesting anonymity due to fear of retribution. The numbers were presented to NOAA employees and managers were asked to submit names of positions for layoffs to agency headquarters, which will then go to NOAA’s parent agency, the Department of Commerce, on Wednesday, the people said.

Three former senior NOAA officials — two former political appointees from the Biden administration — who speak regularly with managers at their old agency used the same number for upcoming job cuts: 1,029, 10% of the current 10,290. They talked to multiple people still in NOAA and a current agency worker detailed the cuts that a manager explained to employees.

While most people know about NOAA and its daily weather forecasts, the agency also monitors and warns about hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and tsunamis, manages the country’s fisheries, runs marine sanctuaries, provides navigation information to ships and observes changes in the climate and oceans. The agency also plays a role in warning about avalanches and space weather that could damage the electrical grid. It helps respond to disasters, including oil spills.

The new cuts come after earlier rounds of Trump administration firings and encouraged retirements at NOAA, plus the elimination of nearly all new employees last month. After this upcoming round of cuts, NOAA will have eliminated about one out of four jobs since President Donald Trump took office in January.

“This is not government efficiency,” said former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. “It is the first steps toward eradication. There is no way to make these kinds of cuts without removing or strongly compromising mission capabilities.”

The cuts are being ordered without specific guidance from the Trump administration on how or where, which makes it even worse, Spinrad said.

NOAA spokeswoman Monica Allen said the agency’s policy is not to discuss internal personnel matters, but said NOAA will “continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”

NOAA has already stopped releasing some weather balloons that gather crucial observations for forecasts in two locations — Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine — because of lack of staffing, the agency said last week.

This is all happening as severe storm system is forecast to move through the central and southern parts of the nation late this week in a multi-day outburst with strong tornadoes, hail and damaging winds expected.

Weather forecasts will worsen and “people are going to start seeing this very quickly,” warned former NOAA chief scientist Craig McLean. It will also limit how much commercial fishermen will be able to catch, he said.

On top of all the job losses, cuts in research grants to universities will also make it harder for the U.S. to keep improving its weather forecasts and better monitor what’s happening to the planet, McLean said.

“People are silently watching the United States decline as a technological leader,” McLean said. “America got to the moon, but our weather forecasts won’t be the greatest.”

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s version of the Elon Musk-led effort charged with making government run more efficiently struck a more collegial, bipartisan tone in its first meeting Tuesday, taking input from Democrats and hearing testimony from a broad array of government leaders.

Wisconsin is one of several states that have sought to mimic the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Musk at the federal level. Others that have created similar groups include Florida, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana and New Hampshire.

The Wisconsin Assembly’s GOAT committee, which stands for Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency, is much more constrained in its mandate and powers than DOGE, which has broad authority given to it by President Donald Trump.

The Wisconsin committee was created by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, but three of its nine members are Democrats. There is no counterpart in the state Senate, which means any of its recommendations may face difficulty clearing both houses of the Legislature.

And the committee can’t unilaterally fire state workers or slash government spending. Broad actions like that require action by the full Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, in addition to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Evers has broken records for vetoing Republican-sponsored bills, making it highly unlikely he would go along with anything significant the GOAT committee may recommend.

Still, as a committee of the Legislature, it was able to solicit testimony Tuesday from numerous agency heads in Evers’ administration at its first meeting Tuesday. University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and Bob Atwell, the founder of Nicolet National Bank, also testified.

Republican Rep. Amanda Nedweski, chair of the committee, said the goal was to address “strong demand from the public” about what is happening with telework, state office use, whether public workers are being held accountable, what cybersecurity is in place and whether there is a cost savings.

Nedweski even cut off fellow Republican and committee vice chair Rep. Shae Sortwell when he began asking questions of a state education department official about spending related to DEI.

“We’re going to stay on topic today,” Nedweski said.

Sortwell sent numerous requests seeking information to the state’s largest cities and all 72 counties related to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in local governments across the state before the committee met, drawing criticism from Democratic members of the committee. Wisconsin Watch was the first to report on Sortwell’s efforts.

Vos, the Assembly speaker who created the GOAT committee, has said that its goal was to root out waste, fraud and abuse in state government. He attributed Sortwell’s inquiries to information gathering related to that goal.

DOGE claims credit for saving more than $100 billion at the federal level through mass firings, cancellations of contracts and grants, office closures and other cuts that have paralyzed entire agencies. Many of those claimed savings have turned out to be overstated or unproven.

DOGE’s work during the early stages of the Trump administration has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits. Judges have raised questions in several cases about DOGE’s sweeping cost-cutting efforts, conducted with little public information about its staffing and operations.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it would immediately lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine and its intelligence sharing with Kyiv, more than a week after imposing the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.

The announcement came at talks between Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine also said it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, subject to Kremlin agreement.

Here’s the latest:

Ukraine is ready to negotiate for a broader peace, Rubio says

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Ukraine agreed to enter immediate negotiations for an “enduring and sustainable” end to the war with Russia.

“Ukrainians are ready to stop the fighting, they’re ready to stop the shooting, they’re ready to get to the table,” Rubio told reporters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The secretary had just finished several hours of talks that included U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and a Ukrainian delegation. The U.S. now takes the offer to Russia, Rubio said.

Trump administration to resume military aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it would immediately lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine and its intelligence sharing with Kyiv, more than a week after imposing the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.

The announcement came at talks between Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine also said it was open to a 30-day cease-fire in the war with Russia, subject to Kremlin agreement.

▶ Read more about the Russia-Ukraine war

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stops short of calling Canada a close ally of the US

“I think Canada is a neighbor. They are a partner. They have always been an ally,” Leavitt told the White House press corps during a briefing.

“Perhaps they are becoming a competitor now,” she said, especially in light of Trump’s announcement Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada in an escalation of the trade war with the U.S.’s northern neighbor.

Leavitt continued to press Trump’s suggestion that Canada would be well served becoming the 51st state in the United States.

“He believes Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America,” she said.

White House press secretary calls market volatility a ‘snapshot’

“We are in a period of economic transition … from the mess that was created by Joe Biden,” Leavitt said while speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room.

She was touting increases in the automotive industry while pointing to the high inflation that occurred during the early part of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.

“When it comes to the stock market, the numbers we see today, the numbers we saw yesterday, the numbers we will see tomorrow, are a snapshot in a moment in time,” she said, repeating Trump’s claim that the U.S. is entering “a golden age in American manufacturing.”

Leavitt did not mention that markets were higher in September, when Biden was nearing the end of his term in office.

University of Maine says USDA has paused funding during investigation into Title IX compliance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last month it initiated the compliance review in the wake of a disagreement between President Trump and Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills over the role of transgender girls in sports.

Trump signed an executive order designed to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump characterized Maine as out of line with the order and told Mills “you’re not getting any federal funding” during a meeting with governors during the disagreement.

University of Maine officials said in a statement that federal funding is critical to its work supporting farmers, fishermen and foresters in the state. They said the university has complied with the USDA investigation and has been informed the funding pause is temporary until further notice.

Judge blocks federal cuts to a teacher training program

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun sided with eight states that sued to keep federal funding in place for a pair of teacher-training grants the Trump administration wants to slash.

The grants largely help bring teachers to rural districts, but California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin had argued that cutting the programs was illegal.

The Education Department had said the grants supported divisive ideologies.

Trump answers backlash against Musk by buying a Tesla

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a Tesla is being brought to the White House for Trump.

The president announced in an overnight social media post that he was going to buy a car from Elon Musk’s company, which has faced sagging sales and declining stock prices as Musk slashes government jobs, programs and funding throughout the federal bureaucracy.

Leavitt said getting the new vehicle would be a “very exciting moment,” and that Trump would pay full market price.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says to give Trump’s economic policies ‘a chance’

Johnson suggested President Trump’s economic policies amounted to a “shake-up” in the short term that would eventually result in “repairing and restoring the American economy.”

Johnson was fielding reporters’ questions at the U.S. Capitol.

“Give the president a chance to have these policies play out,” he said.

Wall Street scrapes 10% below its record after Trump’s latest tariff threat worsens its sell-off

The S&P 500 earlier sank as much as 1.5% Tuesday before paring its loss to 1.4%, which put it 9.9% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 711 points, or 1.7%, as of 1:32 p.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

The drops came after Trump said he would raise tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from Canada, doubling their planned increase to 50%. The president said it was a response to moves a Canadian province made after Trump began threatening tariffs on one of the United States’ most important trading partners.

Canada incoming PM says he’ll keep tariffs in place until US shows respect and commit to free trade

Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday his government will keep tariffs in place until Americans show respect and commit to free trade after President Trump threatened historic financial devastation for Canada.

Carney, who’ll be sworn in as Justin Trudeau’s replacement in the coming days, said Trump’s latest tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers, families, and businesses.

“My government will ensure our response has maximum impact in the US and minimal impact here in Canada, while supporting the workers impacted,” Carney said.

Trump said Tuesday that he’ll double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, escalating a trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor and showing an indifference to recent stock market turmoil and rising recession risks.

▶ Read more about tariffs between the U.S. and Canada

Trump says a TikTok deal is in the works

In less than a month, TikTok could have one or a few new owners, be banned again, or simply receive another reprieve to continue operating in the United States.

Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued to linger since a law requiring its China-based parent company to divest or face a ban took effect Jan. 19. After taking office, President Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until April 5.

As he returned to Washington from his Florida home Sunday, Trump told reporters a deal could come soon. He didn’t offer any details on the interested buyers, but said the administration was in talks with “four different groups” about TikTok.

“A lot of people want it and it’s up to me,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.

A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment.

▶ Read more about a possible deal on TikTok

Johnson is pleased with Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest

House Speaker Mike Johnson is making his views clear about the arrest of the Palestinian activist, a former Columbia University graduate student who helped lead last spring’s protests against Israel.

Johnson said he was glad the United States has a president “who’s strong enough to lay down the law.”

“We’re going to arrest your tail,” Johnson said, referring to deporting certain international students in the U.S. on visas. “This is just getting started.”

More than 1.1 million people have unclaimed tax refunds from 2021

The Internal Revenue Service says more than $1 billion in refunds remain unclaimed by taxpayers who haven’t filed their 1040 forms for the 2021 tax year.

The IRS estimates the median refund amount to be about $781. In all, it estimates about 1.1 million people may have money owed to them.

Taxpayers who haven’t claimed their refunds for 2021 have until April 15 to submit their returns, the service says.

The EU says it will keep supporting Ukraine against Russia’s illegal invasion

The European Union plans to step up humanitarian aid to Ukraine when others pull back.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ speech at the U.N. on Tuesday was clearly aimed at Trump’s dismissive language about Europe, his massive cutbacks in aid to poor and conflict-torn countries, and his refusal to acknowledge that Russia invaded Ukraine.

“The EU will remain the U.N.’s reliable partner of choice,” Kallas said in defending the U.N.’s commitment to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.

While the Trump administration is eliminating 83% of the programs of its former aid agency — including to the U.N. — she said the EU will always support rising humanitarian needs, with almost 2 billion euros (about $2.16 billion) this year.

A White House official says they plan to appeal ruling that DOGE is subject to FOIA

The official says the Monday ruling finding DOGE is likely subject to public record law was based on a misunderstanding of DOGE’s placement in the federal government.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

— Chris Megerian

A judge finds DOGE is subject to FOIA requests

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is likely covered by public records law and must begin complying with requests from a watchdog group, a federal judge found.

Judge Christopher Cooper rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that DOGE isn’t an agency subject to public-records requests because it’s part of the White House.

In his ruling late Monday, Cooper cited social-media statements from Musk and President Trump as he found that DOGE likely does wield independent authority that makes it legally subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Judge Cooper ordered DOGE to start responding to requests about the team’s role in mass firings and disruptions to federal programs filed by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

US hasn’t determined who was behind attack that caused outage on Trump adviser Musk’s social site X

That’s according to a Trump administration official familiar with the ongoing investigation into the matter.

Monday’s outage was described as a cyberattack by the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the Republican administration takes all cyberattacks against American companies seriously but underscored that the U.S. government had not gleaned any specific intelligence about who might have been behind the attack.

The comments came after Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and a top adviser to Trump, claimed in an appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” show that the cyberattackers had “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” without going into detail on what that might mean.

Cybersecurity experts quickly pointed out, however, that this doesn’t necessarily mean the attack originated in Ukraine.

▶ Read more about the apparent cyber attack against X

— Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller

Trump doubles planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50% as trade war intensifies

Trump says the increase of the tariffs set to take effect Wednesday is a response to the price increases the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

The U.S. stock market promptly fell following the social media post.

Trump slump: Can the president restore trust in his economic plans after his tariffs create fear?

After a brutal stock market selloff because of his tariff threats, President Trump faces pressure Tuesday to show he has a legitimate plan to grow the economy instead of perhaps pushing it into a recession.

Trump was set to deliver an afternoon address to the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that during the 2024 campaign he wooed with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers. But his plans for tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, steel and aluminum — with more to possibly come on Europe, Brazil, South Korea, pharmaceutical drugs, copper, lumber and computer chips — would amount to a massive tax hike.

The stock market’s vote of no confidence over the past two weeks puts the president in a bind between his enthusiasm for taxing imports and his brand as a politician who understands business based on his own experiences in real estate, media and marketing.

▶ Read more about Trump’s effect on the economy

Wall Street’s sell-off is slowing, for now at least

That follows a scary stretch where worries about the economy and tariffs sent it close to 9% below its all-time high.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3% in early trading. While still a loss, such a modest move would be a respite after the main measure of Wall Street’s health swung by at least 1%, up or down, seven times in the last eight days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 202 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:35 a.m. ET. A day earlier, it had been down more than 1,100 points at one point. The Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.

Several Big Tech stocks held steadier after getting walloped in recent months. Elon Musk’s Tesla rose 1.1%, for example. President Trump even said he would buy a Tesla in a show of support for “Elon’s ‘baby.’ ”

▶ Read more about the financial markets

Polls open in Greenland for parliamentary elections as Trump seeks control of the strategic island

The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.

Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 2200 GMT Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.

While the Arctic island has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark isn’t on the ballot even though it’s on everyone’s mind. Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 lawmakers who’ll shape the island’s debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.

▶ Read more about Greenland’s elections

White House cautious about what’s ahead in Syria after clashes

The White House is circumspect about the prospects for a peaceful Syria after clashes erupted last week that left hundreds dead.

Monitoring groups say hundreds of civilians were killed in the clashes that broke out last week. Revenge attacks primarily targeted members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs.

White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said Tuesday that the attacks on religious minorities has raised concerns in the administration “about whether Syria’s interim governing authorities are ready to include a religiously and ethnically diverse population, and whether the interim authorities even have the legitimacy to do so.”

Syria’s interim government signed a deal Monday with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main U.S.-backed force there into the Syrian army.

Republicans are marching ahead with a government funding bill despite Democratic opposition

Republicans will face a critical test of their unity when the spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September comes up for a vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson is teeing up the bill for a vote as soon as Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act.

Republicans will need overwhelming support from their members in both chambers — and some help from Senate Democrats — to get the bill to President Trump’s desk. It’s one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president’s second term.

“The CR will pass,” Johnson told reporters Monday, using Washington shorthand to describe the continuing resolution. “No one wants to shut the government down. We are governing, doing the responsible thing as Republicans. It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing.”

▶ Read more about the spending bill in Congress

Trump to speak to business leaders amid market turmoil over tariffs

The president stayed away from the cameras during Mondays sell-off on Wall Street, driven by concerns over his trade war and the reverberations it will cause the global economy.

Trump will get a chance to say his piece when he visits with the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from leading American companies, later Tuesday.

Homeland Security overhauls its asylum phone app. Now it’s for ‘self-deportation’

The Trump administration has unveiled an overhauled cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the U.S. to say they want to leave the country voluntarily.

The renamed app, announced Monday and now called CBP Home, is part of the administration’s campaign to encourage “self-deportations, ” touted as an easy and cost-effective way to nudge along Trump’s push to deport millions of immigrants without legal status.

Moments after Trump took office, the earlier version of the app, CBP One, stopped allowing migrants to apply for asylum, and tens of thousands of border appointments were canceled.

More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country on immigration parole under CBP One, generally for two years, starting in January 2023.

The Trump administration has repeatedly urged migrants in the country illegally to leave.

▶ Read more about the new CPB app

Trump calls on Republicans to primary Rep. Thomas Massie

Massie, the hardline conservative from Kentucky, has raised Trump’s ire by opposing a Republican push for a spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded through September.

Trump went after Massie on social media, calling him a “GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble.”

“HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump says.

Massie said he opposes the short-term spending bill because it maintains federal funding without considering budget cuts that reflect the “waste fraud and abuse” in government spending DOGE has uncovered.

“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election,” Massie added on X. “Guess what? Doesn’t work on me.”

Trump says he’ll buy a Tesla to show support for Elon Musk

President Donald Trump says Musk, who’s effectively running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been “putting it on the line” for America and he’s going to show his support for the Tesla CEO by buying one of his electric vehicles.

Shares of Tesla slid again Monday as confidence in Musk’s electric car company continues to disintegrate following a post-election “Trump bump.”

Trump said on his social media platform that he was “going to buy a brand new Tesla” on Tuesday “as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American. Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”

Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s government downsizing efforts.

Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy, environmentally-conscious liberals.

Kentucky bourbon makers fear becoming ‘collateral damage’ in Trump’s trade war

The trade wars pose an immediate threat to an American-made success story, built on the growing worldwide taste for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and other products.

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said the president’s zig-zagging tariff policy is hurting the American economy and will lead to higher consumer prices while disrupting business.

Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada for a month amid fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. Yarbrough said his company’s expansion plans are still in limbo.

For an industry that has to plan well into the future, based on aging its whiskey products, such angst is widespread in Kentucky, which produces 95% of the world’s bourbon supply. At this point even a delay in tariffs wouldn’t alleviate the practical problems confronting U.S. whiskey makers.

▶ Read more about how Kentucky bourbon makers are being impacted

Ukraine-US talks on ending war with Russia start in Saudi Arabia as Kyiv launches huge drone attack

Senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks Tuesday on how to end Moscow’s three-year war against Kyiv, hours after Russian air defenses shot down more than 300 Ukrainian drones in the biggest such attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said. No large-scale damage was reported.

Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 Shahed and other drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine on Tuesday, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war.

In the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, journalists briefly entered a room where a senior Ukrainian delegation met with America’s top diplomat for talks on ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

▶ Read more about the talks in Saudi Arabia

Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency’s programs gone

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, cutting 83% of them, and said he would move the remaining aid programs under the State Department.

Hours later, a federal judge said Trump had overstepped his authority in shutting down most foreign assistance, saying the administration could no longer simply sit on the billions of dollars that Congress had provided for foreign aid. But Judge Amir H. Ali stopped short of ordering Trump officials to use the money to revive the thousands of terminated program contracts.

Rubio made his announcement Monday in a post on X, in one of his few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams.

Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and “our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid.

▶ Read more about the dismantling of USAID

The Associated Press