President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark the first 100 days of his second term, staging his largest public event since returning to the White House in a state that has been especially rocked by his steep trade tariffs and combative attitude toward Canada.
Democrats have tallied it up: The Trump administration has frozen, stalled or otherwise disrupted some $430 billion in federal funds -- from disease research to Head Start for children to disaster aid -- in what top Democrats say is an "unprecedented and dangerous" assault on programs used by countless Americans.
Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday relaxing some of his 25% auto tariffs to help domestic carmaking, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She also said that Amazon's plans to show tariff-related price hikes to consumers "is a hostile and political act."
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Trump will relax some of his 25% auto tariffs to help domestic carmaking
Leavitt declined to provide details of the relief for autos and auto parts before Trump signs Tuesday's executive order. Bessent said the goal is to enable automakers to create more domestic manufacturing jobs. Trump himself has suggested the changes would come.
Automakers and independent analyses have indicated that Trump's tariffs could raise prices, hurt sales and make the U.S. sector less competitive worldwide.
"President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he's committed to bringing back auto production to the U.S.," Bessent said. "So we want to give the automakers a path to do that, quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible."
Treasury secretary says market uncertainty is good for Trump negotiating trade deals
Scott Bessent says the economic uncertainty upending global financial markets is a tool Trump can use as he negotiates tariffs and trade deals. "President Trump creates what I would call strategic uncertainty in the negotiations," he told reporters at the White House.
"I think the aperture of uncertainty will be narrowing and, as we start moving forward announcing deals, then there will be certainty," Bessent said. "But certainty is not necessarily a good thing in negotiating."
To those with questions about the market uncertainty, Leavitt added: "I would say, trust in President Trump."
White House slams Amazon's plans to show how much tariffs increased prices
Leavitt said showing consumers how much tariffs raised prices on certain goods "is a hostile and political act."
The import taxes imposed by Trump threaten to increase prices on consumers and businesses and worsen inflationary pressure. Companies want customers to understand the source of these higher prices.
Leavitt suggested at Tuesday's briefing with reporters that such transparency is un-American, saying "Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm."
White House says economy is getting stronger at 100-day mark for Trump's second term
The White House is cheering Trump's economic management despite a down stock stock market and depressed consumer sentiment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the economy has added 345,000 jobs since Trump took office, including 9,000 manufacturing jobs. Leavitt also took credit for lower oil prices, even though some of the decline reflects expectations of slower economic growth worldwide because of Trump's tariffs. And she said deregulating would lead to savings for U.S. families.
"As President Trump has said before, the best is yet to come," Leavitt said.
China to US: You started this trade war
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a short social media video Tuesday in response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments Monday that China is responsible for escalating tariffs since it sold vastly more goods to the U.S. than vice versa.
Amid soaring rhetoric and scenes of charged moments in U.S.-China relations, the narrator says China would never "kneel down" before Trump, as "kneeling only invites more bullying."
"When the rest of the world stands together, the U.S. is just a small, stranded boat," said the narrator.
China has called for the U.S. to completely remove all tariffs on Chinese goods if they want to hold negotiations.
Trump's team has disrupted some $430 billion in federal funds, top Democrats say
The Trump administration has frozen, stalled or otherwise disrupted some $430 billion in federal funds -- from disease research to Head Start for children to disaster aid -- in what top Democrats say is an "unprecedented and dangerous" assault on programs used by countless Americans.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut on Tuesday released an online tracker that is compiling all the ways Trump and his adviser, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, are interrupting the flow of federal funds, often going up against the law.
"Instead of investing in the American people, President Trump is ignoring our laws and ripping resources away," said Murray and DeLauro, who are the top Democrats on the Appropriations committees in Congress.
The tally is far from complete or exhaustive, the lawmakers said, but a snapshot in time. It comes in a rapidly changing political and legal environment as the Trump administration faces dozens of lawsuits from state and local governments, advocacy organizations, employees and others fighting to keep programs intact.
? Read more about Trump's use of federal funding
Trump made big promises and moved at frenetic speed. 100 days in, here's what he's done and not done
The weeks since Trump returned to office have been a whirlwind of activity to show Americans that his administration is relentlessly pursuing his promises.
With a compliant Republican-controlled Congress, Trump has had a free hand to begin overhauling the federal government and upending foreign policy.
As Trump hits his 100th day in office, his imprint is everywhere. But the long-term impact is often unclear.
Some of the Republican president's executive orders are statements of intent or groundwork to achieve what has yet to be done.
Trump's goals occasionally conflict with each other. He promised both to lower the cost of living and to impose tariffs on foreign goods, which will most likely increase prices. Other issues are languishing.
Very much unsettled is whether Trump has run up his scorecard lawfully. He has faced lawsuits over some of his actions, meaning much of what he's done could be undone as cases play out.
? Read more about where progress on his promises stands
Trump marks his first 100 days in office with a rally in Michigan, a state rocked by his tariffs
Trump is holding a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark the first 100 days of his second term, staging his largest public event since returning to the White House in a state that has been especially rocked by his steep trade tariffs and combative attitude toward Canada.
He will make an afternoon visit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base for an announcement alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He's expected to speak at a rally at Macomb Community College, north of Detroit, allowing him to revel in leading a sprint to upend government and social, political and foreign policy norms.
Michigan was one of the battleground states Trump flipped from the Democratic column. But it's also been deeply affected by his tariffs, including on new imported cars and auto parts.