Politics

Canada, Mexico, China tariffs drop Saturday: POTUS

Published

6 hours ago

February 1, 2025

Promises made, promises kept.

President Donald Trump said Friday he would place 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on goods from China effective Saturday, raising the specter of swift price increases for U.S. consumers even though he suggested he would try to blunt the impact on oil imports.

Trump had been threatening the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries on stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used for fentanyl, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing and raise revenues for the federal government.

“Starting tomorrow, those tariffs will be in place,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier Friday. “These are promises made and promises kept by the President.” Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later, Trump said there was nothing the three countries could do to prevent the tariffs from going into force Saturday.

The tariffs carry both political and economic risks for Trump, who is just two weeks into his second term. Many voters backed the Republican on the promise that he could tamp down inflation, but the possibility of tariffs could trigger higher prices and potentially disrupt the energy, auto, lumber and agricultural sectors.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

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Politics

Donald Trump brings Venezuelan hostages home

Published

33 minutes ago

February 1, 2025

May Greene

Negotiation worked.

Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced the release of the six men on social media. The visit by Grenell came as a shock to many Venezuelans who hoped that Trump would continue the “maximum pressure” campaign he pursued against Maduro during his first term.

Grenell’s hours long trip to Venezuela, according to the White House, was focused on Trump’s efforts to deport Venezuelans back to their home country, which currently does not accept them, and on the release of the detained Americans.

“We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens,” Grenell posted on X along with a photo showing him and the men aboard an aircraft. “They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him.”

The meeting in Venezuela’s capital took place less than a month after Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost last year’s election. The U.S. government, along with several other Western nations, does not recognize Maduro’s claim to victory and instead points to tally sheets collected by the opposition coalition showing that its candidate, Edmundo González, won by a more than a two-to-one margin.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

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Politics

Nikki Fried-endorsed Ken Martin wins DNC Chair race going away

Published

1 hour ago

February 1, 2025

May Greene

The recently re-elected chair of the Florida Democrats’ pick for national chair prevailed in an election Saturday that was over on the first ballot.

Ken Martin, the chair of the Minnesota Democrats, won by a big margin by invoking the memory of progressive darling Paul Wellstone, whose life inspired many on the left before its untimely, tragic end.

Martin got 246 votes, and the candidate endorsed by Nikki Fried and others, including State Senator Shevrin Jones, Judy Mount, Pamela Castellana, Alan Clendenin, Ric Gable, and Lydia Hudson, will take helm of a national organization that is locked out of control in Washington and firmly in insurgent mode.

Despite the dire circumstances left by exited Chair Jaime Harrison, Florida Democrats herald Martin’s win as a new beginning.

“As Chair of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, Ken has spent years traveling the country to support state parties while leading in his own state of Minnesota. As the longest serving Chair of the Minnesota Democratic Party, he has devoted his time to turning the party around into a model for the nation, built a winning coalition and won every statewide election,” Fried said.

“Ken is a visionary leader for Democrats in red, blue and purple states. He understands what it takes to win again and has always shown up for Florida — I’m proud to call him my friend, and excited to work with him as our chair,” she added.

Ben Wikler finished second with 134 votes, and he carried impressive endorsements all his own from Florida, including Vice Chair Daniel Henry and 2022 LG nominee Karla Hernàndez-Mats. He was also financially backed by George Soros, it was revealed before the vote.

Sean Shaw, a former state Senator who narrowly lost the 2018 Attorney General race, backed Martin O’Malley, who got just 44 votes. He was the only Floridian to break from the top two.

The delegation is more united behind Parkland survivor David Hogg for Vice Chair, meanwhile. That result has yet to be announced.

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Donald Trump cans CFPB chief

Published

2 hours ago

February 1, 2025

May Greene

He’s fired.

President Donald Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Joe Biden administration holdover.

Chopra was one of the more important regulators from the previous Democratic administration who was still on the job since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Chopra’s tenure saw the removal of medical debt from credit reports and limits on overdrafts penalties, all based on the premise that the financial system could be fairer and more competitive in ways that helped consumers. But many in the financial industry viewed his actions as regulatory overreach.

In a social media post Saturday about his departure, Chopra thanked people across the country who “shared their ideas and experiences” with the government’s consumer financial watchdog agency.

“You helped us hold powerful companies & their executives accountable for breaking the law, and you made our work better,” Chopra posted above on X above pictures of his letter announcing that he would no longer lead the bureau.

During Trump’s first term, the Republican had picked Chopra as a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.

Chopra was notified of his firing in an email, according to a person familiar with the notice who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.

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