China countered President Donald Trump’sacross-the-board tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs on select U.S. imports. It will also launch an antitrust investigation into Google and other trade measures.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico have all agreed to pause planned tariffs for at least a month as negotiations over border security continue.
Here’s the latest:
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee US spy agencies, clears Senate committee
Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be President Donald Trump director of national intelligence cleared a key Senate committee Tuesday despite concerns raised about her past comments sympathetic to Russia and a meeting with Syria’s now-deposed leader.
A former Democratic congresswoman, Gabbard is one of Trump’s most divisive nominees, with lawmakers of both parties also pointing to her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden. But the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced her nomination in a closed-door 9-8 vote, and it now heads to the full Senate for consideration. A vote has not been scheduled yet.
Until three GOP members seen as swing votes announced their support, it wasn’t clear her nomination would advance. Gabbard will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes to win confirmation.
▶ Read more about Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence
Trump and Musk demand termination of federal office leases through General Services Administration
Office space is next on the hit list for Trump and Musk’s sweeping effort to fire government employees and curtail operations.
The General Services Administration’s regional managers got the memo last week to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide, where more than 1 million federal civilian employees work.
The email shared with The Associated Press by a GSA employee seems to contradict Trump’s own return-to-office mandate, adding confusion to what was already a scramble by the GSA to bring in remote employees. They may believe they won’t need as many offices once workers have resigned or been fired.
According to the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, the office closures are being led by Nicole Hollander, an employee of Musk’s X company now embedded in the GSA’s headquarters. Her LinkedIn profile says she has a background in real estate.
▶ Read more about the GSA office leases
Trump envoy calls Gaza rebuilding timeline ‘preposterous’
Envoy Steve Witkoff said “it is unfair to explain to Palestinians that they might be back in five years.”
He’s reiterating the Trump administration call for Arab nations to temporarily relocate displaced Palestinians from the war-torn territory.
Egypt and Jordan, as well other Arab nations, have rejected Trump’s calls to take in 2.3 million Palestinians during a post-war rebuilding effort.
Netanyahu and Witkoff began the daunting work of brokering the next phase of a ceasefire agreement ahead of the Israeli leader’s meeting with Trump on Tuesday.
▶ Read more about Trump-Netanyahu developments
Canada’s energy minister proposes closer cooperation on critical minerals, uranium
A 30-day tariff delay allows Canada and the United States time to prevent a “lose-lose” cycle of tariffs and retaliation, a Canadian official says.
Instead of treating each other as adversaries, the two longtime trading partners should more closely cooperate on issues such as critical minerals, uranium and other energy, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.
Canada can “find ways to ramp up production of uranium,” thereby reducing U.S. imports from hostile countries such as Russia, Wilkinson said. A number of uranium mines in Canada are not running at full capacity, but “certainly could be,″ he said. “There certainly are options for enabling the displacement of Russian fuel by Canadian fuel.″
The U.S. has banned imports of Russian uranium under a law Congress passed last year, but exceptions are allowed if approved by the Energy Department. About 12% of the uranium used to produce electricity at U.S. nuclear power plants was imported from Russia in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Wilkinson was in Washington for a speech to the Atlantic Council think tank.
Doctors for America sues the federal government for removing health information from government web sites
Some advocacy groups are suing the federal government over the removal of health information from government web sites, asking a court to order that the information be restored.
Doctors for America, working with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in a federal court in Washington, D.C. The suit targets removal of the government health-focused webpages and datasets in the last week, arguing the action creates a dangerous gap in scientific data needed to respond to disease outbreaks and deprives doctors of information they need to treat patients.
Doctors for America is a not-for-profit representing over 27,000 physicians and medical trainees. The organization was born from an earlier organization that pushed for health reform and supported Barack Obama when he was running for president.
The defendants include the Office of Personnel Management, which directed federal health agencies to remove or modify webpages, and government health agencies that took those steps — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Secret Service readies for Trump at the Super Bowl
Secret Service agents are on the ground in New Orleans preparing to protect President Trump as he watches Kansas City face Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the agency tasked with protecting the president, said Tuesday that security measures at the game have been “enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event.”
Guglielmi says the Secret Service has been “on the ground for days” working with the NFL and other law enforcement agencies to prepare for the president’s visit.
More details will be coming soon on what fans can expect especially when it comes to going through security checkpoints.
First military flight to deport migrants to Guantanamo Bay is set to depart, official says
Tuesday’s flight was confirmed by a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public.
It is the first step in an expected surge in the number of migrants held at the Navy base in Cuba.
President Donald Trump has eyed the facility as a holding center and said it has the capacity to hold as many as 30,000.
▶ Read more about plans to hold migrants at Guantanamo
‘We have a Constitution’ — Rubio acknowledges ‘legalities’ about jailing Americans in El Salvador
The U.S. secretary of state said El Salvador’s offer to accept and jail violent American criminals raises clear legal issues.
“There are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution,” Rubio said Tuesday, a day after reaching an unusual agreement with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to allow the Central American country to imprison U.S. deportees of any nationality, including American citizens and legal residents convicted of violent crimes.
“But it’s a very generous offer. No one’s ever made an offer like that — and to outsource, at a fraction of the cost, at least some of the most dangerous and violent criminals that we have in the United States. But obviously, the administration will have to make a decision.”
Rubio spoke at a joint news conference with President Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica, the next stop on his tour.
▶ Read more about Rubio’s controversial State Department moves
FBI agents sue over Justice Dept. effort to ID employees involved in Trump-related investigations
FBI agents who participated in investigations related to President Donald Trump have sued over Justice Department efforts to develop a list of the employees involved, fearing it could lead to mass firings.
The class-action complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington seeks an immediate halt to plans to compile a list of investigators who participated in probes of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as well as Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The lawsuit notes Trump’s repeated campaign promises of ‘vengeance’ or ‘retribution.’ They said even compiling such a list is “retaliatory in nature, intended to intimidate FBI agents and other personnel and to discourage them from reporting any future malfeasance” by Trump or his appointees.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
▶ Read more about the FBI agents’ lawsuit
US coal industry leader on Chinese tariffs: We can sell elsewhere
National Mining Association President Rich Nolan says the Chinese tariffs are “significant,” but noted that global coal demand is at record levels.
“U.S. coal exports go to more than 70 nations and are a critical, stabilizing force in global markets,” Nolan said. “While China tries to damage a core U.S. industry, we expect global demand for high-quality U.S. coal to remain robust.”
U.S. coal exports peaked in 2012 under former President Barack Obama, accounting for about 12% of the fuel mined in the U.S. that year. Now the U.S. is exporting more than 20% of the total mined.
Doug Collins confirmed as veterans affairs secretary
The U.S. Senate confirmed Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs on Tuesday, putting the former congressman and Iraq War veteran at the helm of a department that provides crucial care to America’s veterans.
The former Air Force chaplain was confirmed on a 77-23 vote to join Trump’s Cabinet.
The Department of Veterans Affairs manages a more than $350 billion budget and oversees nearly 200 medical centers and hospitals nationwide. Collins has promised to cut regulations and elevate the quality of care for veterans.
“I’m an Iraq War veteran. I understand burn pits because I slept next to one for many months,” Collins said at his confirmation hearing.
Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii dissented over concerns that Collins will limit access to reproductive care. Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois pressed him not to resort to privatization.
▶ Read more about Collins’ confirmation
Trump sings in Cantonese and wins cheers in Hong Kong in an operatic twist
A traditional Hong Kong theater has come alive with an untraditional twist: Donald Trump singing in Cantonese.
The Cantonese production “Trump on Show” drew crowds to the soon-to-be-closed Sunbeam Theater. Its latest edition of the opera, “Trump, The Twins President,” featured scenes about Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency and the 2024 election.
Cantonese actor Lung Koon-tin, wearing a blond wig, sang the part of Trump. Roger Chan, in a blue blazer and pearls, played former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
The production, which debuted in 2019 during Trump’s first term, sparked laughter and applause from the audience on Monday night.
▶ Read more about the Cantonese opera
Melania Trump’s 2018 Africa trip highlighted US aid agency Trump and Musk want to eliminate
USAID had partnered with Melania Trump for her trip to Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt. Each stop called attention the international developmental agency’s work in Africa.
At a primary school in Malawi, she watched as textbooks were donated by USAID.
Her tour of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx called attention to the agency’s work with the Egyptian government on lowering groundwater levels to prevent further damage to the landmarks.
President Trump twice proposed to cut the agency’s budget during his first term.
Trump to attend Super Bowl
President Donald Trump will attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday, according to the White House.
It will be his first trip as president to the game, as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Trump’s trip was confirmed by a White House official that was not authorized to speak publicly about the president’s plans.
Trump is also scheduled to sit for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier as part of the network’s pre-show programming, which is set to be taped from Florida before the game. It’s a tradition that’s been inconsistently followed by Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, who have both in the past opted to skip the interviews.
—By Michelle Price
New Trump order targets transgender athletes
Trump plans to sign an executive order on Wednesday aimed at preventing people whose assigned sex at birth was male from participating in women’s or girl’s sporting events.
That’s according to a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.
The precise mechanism or impact of Trump’s order wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday. He could direct a reinterpretation of Title IX, the law best known for its role in pursuing gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.
At minimum, it’s his latest attempt to use his public influence as president to target medical care and reject the public recognition of transgender people, after the sweeping order he issued on his first day signaling how the federal government would deal with transgender people and their rights.
China coal tariffs target a US industry that depends on exports
China’s 15% tariff announced Tuesday on coal from the U.S. — a retaliation against Trump’s across-the-board tariffs on Chinese goods — targets a sector of the U.S. coal industry that’s grown in recent years, helping offset a dramatic long-term decline from domestic customers.
Total U.S. coal exports were on track to top 100 million tons (90 million metric tons) in 2024, with the biggest demand in Asia, where new coal-fired power plants are fueling expanding economies despite concerns about increasing greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.
China has followed India as the largest customer for U.S. coal, accepting shipments of about 8.7 million tons (7.9 million metric tons) valued at about $1.2 billion through September, according to the Energy Information Administration.
JD Vance will meet world leaders in Paris and Munich
The vice president is off to Paris next week for a summit of world leaders focusing on artificial intelligence. Then he’ll appear at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.
The AI Action Summit on Feb. 10-11 puts top government officials together with corporate executives at the the Elysee Palace amid galloping advances in technology. And the global talks on international security come amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine as Trump reasserts his “America First” agenda.
Sustaining support for Ukraine, constraining Russia’s partnership with Iran and containing China are on the table, all while Trump threatens tariffs on friends and foes alike. Other attendees at the AI summit include China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
▶ Read more about JD Vance’s trip (edited)
Trump hosting talks with Netanyahu, warning ‘no guarantees’ that peace in Gaza will hold
Trump will meet Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Tuesday afternoon as the Israeli prime minister faces competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and the 15-month conflict to end.
This first visit of a foreign leader during Trump’s second term comes amid lagging support for Netanyahu in Israel and could distract from his ongoing corruption trial, which Netanyahu called a “witch hunt.”
Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which accused him, Israel’s defense minister and Hamas’ slain military chief of crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza. The U.S. does not recognize ICC authority over U.S. citizens or territory.
▶ Read more about the Trump-Netanyahu talks
Musk claims he ‘deleted’ IRS’ free tax filing program -- it’s still available
Hours after Musk posted on X that he had “deleted” 18F, a government agency that worked on technology projects such as the IRS’ Direct File program, there was confusion about whether Direct File is still available to taxpayers.
But the free filing program is still available for now.
An individual with knowledge of the IRS workforce said the Direct File program was still accepting tax returns. They spoke anonymously with The Associated Press because they were not authorized to talk to the press. As of Monday evening, 18F’s website was still operational, as was the Direct File website. But the digital services agency’s X account was deleted.
The IRS announced last year that it would make the free electronic tax return filing system permanent.
Private tax preparation companies have made billions charging people about $140 each to use their software, and have spent millions lobbying Congress.
▶ Read more about Musk and the IRS’ free filing program
__By Fatima Hussein and Barbara Ortutay
Senators offer some ‘weird,’ ‘wild,’ parting words on RFK Jr.
Kennedy’s quick committee vote did not go without some parting words from senators.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said that maybe Kennedy as a non-health care professional will be just the kind of “disrupter” needed to improve the nation’s health outcomes.
“I hope he goes wild,” Tillis said, listing all the ways the nominee could shake things up.
But Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont spoke about Kennedy’s odd behavior, including leaving a dead bear in New York’s Central Park.
“These are just weird things,” he said before the 14-13 party line vote sent the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation.
Cassidy said JD Vance, White House influenced his vote for RFK Jr.
“I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning. I want to thank VP JD specifically for his honest counsel,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician, posted on X. “With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes.”
Cassidy had expressed deep concern ahead of the vote about Kennedy’s views on routine childhood vaccinations. He said he would speak on the Senate floor later Tuesday morning.
Tuesday’s vote sets up a high stakes campaign to pressure the full Senate to confirm Kennedy in the coming weeks. If four GOP senators and all Democrats vote against his confirmation, it would fail.
▶ Read more on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination
Senate committee advances RFK Jr. for health secretary despite worry over his vaccine stance
Kennedy cleared his first hurdle to becoming the nation’s top health official on Tuesday with the Senate finance committee voting to advance his nomination for a floor vote.
Republicans voted together to advance his nomination, while Democrats all opposed.
His nomination now faces the full Senate, where concerns include the work he’s done to sow doubts around vaccine safety and his potential to profit off lawsuits over drugmakers. To gain control of the $1.7 trillion Health and Human Services agency, Kennedy will need support from all but three Republicans if Democrats uniformly oppose him.
▶ Read more on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination
A key Republican senator enters the RFK hearing
The Senate Finance Committee began a meeting to vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination, though one key Republican wasn’t there at first.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician who had raised concerns over Kennedy’s views on vaccines, finally entered the hearing room several minutes after it was underway. Cassidy’s jaw was clenched and his face downcast.
Cassidy then voted in favor of advancing Kennedy’s nomination for health secretary to the Senate floor with a simple “aye.”
Trump says Musk is doing his bidding
Elon Musk is rapidly consolidating control over large swaths of the federal government with President Donald Trump ’s blessing, sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and dismantling a leading source of humanitarian assistance.
Working with stunning speed and scope, the world’s richest man has created an alternative power structure for the purpose of cutting spending and pushing out employees, none of it with congressional approval, inviting a constitutional clash over the limits of presidential authority.
Trump named Musk a “special government employee,” subject to less stringent rules on ethics and financial disclosures. He’s given Musk office space in the White House complex to oversee the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, sending teams into federal agencies Trump has vowed to abolish to gather information and deliver edicts.
Republicans defend Musk as simply carrying out Trump’s slash-and-burn campaign promises. Democrats accuse Musk of leading a coup from within by amassing unaccountable and illegal power.
▶ Read more on Musk’s moves
White House correspondents’ group announces Amber Ruffin as dinner entertainer
Ruffin is an Emmy- and Tony-award nominated writer, comedian, host, performer and best-selling author who soon will return for the second season of the comedy-news series, “Have I Got News For You,” which she leads with fellow comedians Roy Wood Jr. and Michael Ian Black.
She also writes for and appears on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual black-tie dinner is set for April 26 in Washington.
“She has the ability to walk the line between blistering commentary and humor all while provoking her audience to think about the important issues of the day. I’m thrilled and honored she said yes,” said Eugene Daniels of Politico, president of the association.
Mexico surges troops to its US border
Mexico began moving troops Tuesday to reinforce its shared border in the United States, part of the deal President Claudia Sheinbaum reached with U.S. President Donald Trump Monday to suspend 25% tariffs that were set to go into effect.
AP observed more than 100 members of the National Guard boarded a plane Tuesday morning in the southeastern city of Merida, bound for Ciudad Juarez. Additional units were scheduled to depart Cancun and Campeche. Still more were going by road.
A similar deal to surge troops and head off tariffs was made in 2019 between Trump and then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. More than 10,000 Mexican troops stationed along the border have been unable to stifle persistent violence or break the tight grip of organized crime on the smuggling of drugs, migrants and guns.
US negotiates to have El Salvador imprison deportees and jailed US citizens
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left El Salvador on Tuesday with an agreement that President Nayib Bukele will accept jailed U.S. citizens as well as deportees from the U.S. of any nationality and put them in his nation’s prisons.
Bukele “has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world,” Rubio said.
“We can send them, and he will put them in his jails,” Rubio said of migrants of all nationalities detained in the United States. “And, he’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents.”
Bukele confirmed the offer in a post on X, saying El Salvador would accept only “convicted criminals” and would charge a fee that “would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.”
▶ Read more about whether the U.S. will outsource its prisons to El Salvador
What kind of tariffs is China threatening?
China said it would implement a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products as well as a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S. The tariffs would take effect next Monday.
“The U.S.’s unilateral tariff increase seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization,” the State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement. “It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S.”
The impact on U.S. exports may be limited. Though the U.S. is the biggest exporter of liquid natural gas globally, it does not export much to China. In 2023, the U.S. exported 173,247 million cubic feet of LNG to China, representing about 2.3% of total natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
▶ Read more about China’s tariffs against the U.S.
The Associated Press
