NATO Secretary-General
Mark Rutte
will be in Washington today and tomorrow for talks with President
Donald Trump
, Secretary of State
Marco Rubio
and Defense Secretary
Pete Hegseth
as well as members of
Congress
. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin “’talks nice and then he bombs everybody” as he confirmed the U.S. is sending Patriot missiles to Kyiv and plans
sell NATO allies weaponry
to pass on to Ukraine. Trump has teased a “major statement” on Russia on Monday.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened new 30% tariffs
against Mexico and the European Union
to be implemented Aug. 1
despite ongoing negotiations
. Last week, he also threatened a 35% tax on
many Canadian goods
and
warned of a 50% tax on Brazil
in an attempt to impact the
criminal trial
against former president
Jair Bolsonaro
.
And a federal judge
ordered a halt Friday to indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including LA, after plaintiffs including two U.S. citizens who were detained, accused the administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people.
Here’s the latest:
Wall Street hangs near its record, betting Trump will back down on tariffs
The S&P 500 was edging down early Monday, still within 0.5% of its all-time high set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite were holding steady in their first trading after Trump said he plans
30% tariffs
on goods from Mexico and the European Union starting Aug. 1, the same deadline he announced for
Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries
.
The latest postponements allow time for more dealmaking to mitigate economic damage. Enacting all his import taxes on U.S. consumers would raise the risk of a recession and raise U.S. debt pressure as big tax cuts add to the deficit.
Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, predicts the Trump administration “will ultimately de-escalate, especially if there is a new bout of heightened bond and stock market volatility.”
Trump the dealmaker: more ultimatum than compromise
As Trump slaps
trading partners
with
tariffs
rather than slog through prolonged negotiations, pressures
the Federal Reserve
to cut interest rates and
launches a new investigation
aimed at reshaping higher education, it’s clear that threats are a permanent feature of his presidency.
He’s tightening his grip on independent institutions, with fewer checks on his power. Republicans in Congress fear primary challenges, and the Supreme Court is stocked with his appointees.
Trump’s allies believe his aggression is required in a political ecosystem where he’s under siege from Democrats, the court system and the media. Critics fear he’s eroding the country’s democratic foundations with an authoritarian style.
“Pluralism and a diversity of institutions operating with autonomy — companies, the judiciary, nonprofit institutions that are important elements of society — are much of what defines real democracy,” said Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University. “That is threatened by heavy handed, extortionist approaches.”
▶ Read more about
Trump’s moves to expand his power
Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia meets with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
They met in Kyiv on Monday as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the
three-year war
.
Zelenskyy said he and
retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg
had “a productive conversation” about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production, purchasing U.S. weapons in conjunction with European countries and the possibility of tighter sanctions on the Kremlin.
Trump has
increasingly expressed frustration
about Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s unbudging stance
on U.S-led peace efforts. “I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said,” Trump said late Sunday.
“We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its … ambitions are stopped by force,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Summer and after-school programming for 1.4 million students at risk
These children attend
after-school and summer programming
at a Boys & Girls Club, YMCA or public school for free thanks to funding set Congress set aside for academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families. Many now face closure as the Trump administration withholds more than $6 billion in federal education grants to
align with his priorities
.
Ninety-one of the 100 school districts receiving the most money from four frozen grant programs are in Republican congressional districts, according to
an analysis from New America
, a left-leaning think tank.
“I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility, which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies, but also means being responsible — releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump,” said Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods, an elected Republican.
▶ Read more about
the children’s programs that face closure
How Republicans are getting around a filibuster
Spending bills almost always need some bipartisan buy-in to get 60 votes to avoid
a filibuster
in the 100-member Senate. This week’s effort is different.
Congress set up a process under President Richard Nixon to speedily claw back previously approved spending authority with only a simple Senate majority. It’s a rarely employed maneuver. Trump
proposed 38 rescissions
in 2018, but that package stalled.
“How Republicans answer this question on rescissions and other forthcoming issues will have grave implications for the Congress, the very role of the legislative branch, and, more importantly, our country,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned in a letter to colleagues.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s disappointed to see Schumer “implicitly threaten to shut down the government.”
The Trump administration is likening this as a test case and says more could come if Congress goes along.
White House says public media system is politically biased and unnecessary
Trump has asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
— the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.
The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations. Much of the rest supports national programming through National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System.
The potential fallout has generated concerns among Republicans. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota says these radio stations “are the only way of really communicating in the very rural areas of our state, and a lot of other states as well.”
In
recent testimony
, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought criticized a “Sesame Street” town hall on CNN about combatting racism.
A Senate vote will test the popularity of DOGE spending cuts
Senate Republicans will test the popularity of
Department of Government Efficiency
spending cuts this week by aiming to pass Trump’s request to claw back $9.4 billion in public media and foreign aid spending.
Senate Democrats are trying to kill the measure, but they need help from a few Republicans.
A rarely used tool allows the president to
request
the cancellation of previously approved funding authority, triggering a 45-day clock under which the funds are frozen. If Congress fails to act before that clock expires Friday, the spending stands.
The House has already
approved Trump’s request
on a mostly party line 214-212 vote. The Senate has little time to spare. Another House vote will be needed if senators amend the legislation, adding more uncertainty.
▶ Read more about
the congressional claw-back effort
Europe forges response to Trump’s surprise tariffs threat
European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels following Trump’s surprise announcement of
30% tariffs on the European Union.
“We should prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox,” said Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told reporters ahead of the meeting. “So we want a deal, but there’s an old saying: ’If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.’”
If Trump makes good on his
tariff threats
against dozens of countries, it could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy.
▶ Read more about
the European Union on Trump tariffs talks
The European Union is suspending Monday’s retaliatory tariffs
″This is now the time for negotiations,’′ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday after Trump sent a letter announcing new 30% tariffs on all EU goods starting Aug. 1.
The America’s biggest trading partner and the world’s largest trading bloc had been scheduled to impose ″countermeasures’’ starting Monday at midnight.
″We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,’′ she said. If they can’t reach a deal, she said that ″we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.’′
Trump to meet with NATO leader
Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, is visiting to meet with Trump. Their meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET in the Oval Office.
Trump is expected to move forward with a plan to sell weapons to European allies who can then transfer the weapons to Ukraine.
The president has grown frustrated with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and has promised a “major statement” on Monday.
