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Trump’s first address to Congress since returning to the White House, which will begin at 9pm ET from the chamber of the House of Representatives, marks his first major speech six weeks into a presidency that has seen the president empowering Elon Musk to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, threatening American’s allies with tariffs and coddling longtime American foes.
His administration has initiated sweeping mass layoffs of federal employees, mobilized officers from nearly every federal law enforcement agency and the US military to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations, and rattled Europe with his pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms preferential to Moscow.
Trump holds key address amid global turmoil
Donald Trump is set to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress since reclaiming the presidency and promising a new “golden age” for America. The US president will lay out his second-term vision after a radical start that has dramatically reshaped both domestic and foreign policy.
We will update our briefing after he has spoken – but you can get up to speed ahead of the event here:
Trudeau condemns ‘dumb’ Trump trade war over Canada-China tariffs
Justin Trudeau has claimed the aim of a “dumb” trade war launched by Donald Trump is to usher in the “complete collapse” of the Canadian economy and make it easier for the United States to annex Canada.
Speaking hours after the US slapped 25% taxes on Canadian and Mexican goods – and a 10% levy on Canadian energy exports – the prime minister announced retaliatory tariffs on US exports and said his country would remain defiant against the aggression. China also announced retaliatory tariffs.
Zelenskyy proposes Ukraine peace plan
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a possible peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying he is willing to work “constructively” under Donald Trump’s “strong leadership” and to sign a deal giving the US access to his country’s mineral wealth. In an attempt to mend fences after Trump abruptly suspended supplies of military aid, the Ukrainian president said on Tuesday he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible”.
Trump threatens funding for schools that allow ‘illegal protests’
Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to halt all federal funding for any college or school that allows “illegal protests” and vowed to imprison “agitators”. “All federal funding will stop for any college, school, or university that allows illegal protests,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
UK lawmakers condemn Vance’s ‘deeply disrespectful’ comments
The British shadow defense secretary and other lawmakers have reacted with fury after JD Vance appeared to describe a proposed Anglo-French peace deployment to Ukraine as “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “Britain and France came to their [the US’s] aid, deploying thousands of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice.”
Alarm as RFK Jr backs vitamins to treat measles
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, has caused alarm among pediatricians, vaccine experts and lawmakers with an opinion piece that focuses on vitamin A and nutrition as treatments for measles.
In response to a measles outbreak in Texas in which a child has died, Kennedy wrote about the benefits of “good nutrition” and vitamin A – but did not explicitly recommend highly effective vaccines. A leading doctor has said this “puts children at serious risk”.
Democrats ask how many veterans cut by ‘Doge’
Democrats have called on the White House to disclose how many military veterans have been fired in the ongoing cuts by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge). A letter from 12 senators to Charles Ezell, acting director of the office of personnel management, highlights the impact on former armed forces service members.
Trump administration revises directive to fire probationary employees
The Trump administration appears to be walking back its directive to fire probationary employees. The reversal comes less than a week after a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out the mass firings of some employees, including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience.
The ruling came after thousands of probationary employees were already let go.
What else happened today:
The largest US union of auto workers said it supported Trump’s tariffs and was working with the administration “to end the free trade disaster”. United Auto Workers said tariffs on Mexico and Canada will help undo the damage of free trade agreements it claimed undermined American manufacturing.
Elon Musk will brief House Republicans on Tuesday night about criticism of Doge cuts, Bloomberg News and the Hill reported.
The CEOs of two large US retailers, Target and Best Buy, said they expected prices to go up as a result of Trump’s trade war.
Ontario’s premier Doug Ford told the Wall Street Journal that he was imposing a 25% export tax on electricity sent to three US states, and might cut it off altogether if the tariffs linger.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Monday 3 March
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