Donald Trump doubles foreign steel tariffs
When he visited the US steel facility in Pennsylvania, President Trump announced that he would double the tariff on foreign steel to 50%.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is asking Congress to return $9.4 billion in federal funds to reflect some of Elon Musk’s government’s efficiency cuts.
The much-anticipated request sent to Congress on June 3rd stripped the company of public broadcasting funding for NPR and PBS, and from foreign aid agencies such as the US International Development Organization and the World Health Organization.
House and Senate Republicans are expected to move quickly to enact cuts, another cut to the $175 billion Doge claim cut from the federal government. Musk, who left the administration in late May, initially aimed to eliminate $2 trillion in government spending.
The Congress has been acting on demand for 45 days. Passing it requires only a majority vote in the Senate, unlike most policies that require a 60 vote threshold to overcome the filibuster.
Sen. Susan Collins, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that the panel will “review a careful review of the retirement package and consider the potential consequences of these retirements for global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, public radio and television stations.”
The Administration announced the request through X’s post. The request details several specific reductions, such as “Electric Buses in Rwanda” and “Net Zero City in Mexico.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement that the lower room would vote for the proposal “as soon as possible.”
“Under President Trump, all federal taxpayer dollars are actually used to serve Americans, not to fund bloated bureaucratic or purely partisan pet projects,” Johnson said. “We thank Elon Musk and his Doge team for identifying a wide range of useless, overlapping, outdated programs, and House Republicans want to eliminate them.”
Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate minority in D-New York, and Sen. Patty Murray, a top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, have cut efforts to cut back on foreign aid as a responsible programme, calling public media “resolve political scores, free press at muzzle,” and “rescue China’s malice and save other Bipartisan Portiorities.”
The White House provided justification for each rollback proposed in a formal request sent to Congress. For example, one of the requests to remove $500 million from the USAID budget would strip the funds of child and mother health, HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease-related activities.
“The proposal will not reduce treatment, but will eliminate programs that are conflicting with America’s interests and will worsen the lives of women and children, including “family planning,” “reproductive health,” LGBTQI+ activities, and “equity” programs. “Enacting a retraction will allow us to focus on proper health and life spending, which is perfect for American taxpayers.”
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
