Trump’s commerce secretary says goal of DOGE and tariffs is to abolish IRS

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social upon his return to the White House this evening:

A President, after election, gets a choice of 1 in 7 desks. This desk, the “C&O,” which is also very well-known and was used by President George H.W. Bush and others, has been temporarily installed in the White House while the Resolute Desk is being lightly refinished—a very important job. This is a beautiful, but temporary replacement!

President Donald Trump signed a raft of new executive orders on Wednesday, including one aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from supporting illegal immigration and one designed to get rid of regulations the administration considers “overreach.”

The immigration order bars the use of federal money to help migrants in the country illegally and directs all agencies to identify any federally funded programs that do so.

The executive action also ensures that federal funds cannot be used by state or local “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Sanctuary cities prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal civil immigration officers.

In another order, Trump instructed the heads of every agency to review all regulations, working with members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The order said any regulations that are deemed inconsistent with the administration’s policies will be rescinded or modified.

The action aims to bolster Musk’s sweeping government-slashing effort, the legality of which is being challenged in numerous courts.

Trump also targeted several advisory committees and agencies for elimination as part of his broader campaign to assert control over independent executive agencies.

Among the agencies set to be disbanded are the United States Institute for Peace, which promotes conflict resolution worldwide; the Inter-American Foundation, which funds community development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean; and the U.S. African Development Foundation, which invests in community development efforts in Africa.

Trump signed the new orders on Air Force One, returning to Washington, D.C., after a five-day trip to Florida.

With reporting by Reuters

U.S. security ally Australia, which has provided A$1.5 billion ($954 million) in support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, said on Thursday that Moscow was the aggressor in the conflict and it must be resolved on Kyiv’s terms.

U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator” on Wednesday and warned Zelenskiy had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country.

The extraordinary attacks – a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion – heightened concerns among U.S. allies in Europe that Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.

A U.S. appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s bid to end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants born in the nation.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court judge’s order halting the president’s executive order, which he signed when he took office a month ago.

Japan’s Asahi newspaper reports that Trade Minister Yoji Muto is planning to visit the U.S. in March to seek exemptions from the Trump administration’s plans to impose import tariffs on steel and cars.

According to the report, Muto is arranging meetings with newly confirmed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and other top officials to discuss plans to purchase more American natural gas and Nippon Steel’s stranded bid to acquire U.S. Steel.

The minister said last week that Japan has asked the U.S. to exempt it from steel and aluminum tariffs.

Officials have impressed upon their U.S. counterparts how important the car industry is to Japan’s economy, following President Donald Trump’s remarks that he intended to put a 25 percent tariff on car imports from April.

Carmakers and their suppliers employ more than 5 million people in Japan — eight percent of the country’s working population — and the transport machinery sector produces approximately three percent of Japan’s GDP, according to a government released on Wednesday concerning the tariffs.

A Reuters survey of major Japanese companies found that nearly 90% of them consider Trump’s policies harmful to their business environment.

Muto aims to visit the U.S. by March 12, when the 25 percent tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum are due to take effect. However, Asahi reported, citing multiple unnamed government sources, that the schedule is fluid depending on Japanese parliament budget sessions.

With reporting from Reuters

President Donald Trump has announced new appointments to the Council of Governors, a bipartisan group of state leaders tasked with strengthening state-federal partnerships on key national security, disaster response, and military coordination issues.

Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA) – Co-Chair Governor Josh Stein (NC) – Co-Chair Governor Ron DeSantis (FL) Governor Brian Kemp (GA) Governor Jeff Landry (LA) Governor Wes Moore (MD) Governor Gretchen Whitmer (MI) Governor Kathy Hochul (NY) Governor Josh Shapiro (PA) Governor Henry McMaster (SC)

The Council of Governors was established by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 and formally created by Executive Order 13528 in 2010.

It serves as a key forum for governors and federal officials to enhance collaboration on disaster response, National Guard operations, and military integration within the states.

A 9th Circuit appeals court panel has denied the Trump administration’s bid for emergency relief from the injunction blocking President Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.

The court in Washington, D.C. denies Trump’s emergency motion to reverse the lower court’s injunction against the order.

The judges ruled that there was no emergency. More hearings will follow, and the Birthright order is still blocked.

It was supposed to be in effect around today.

Here’s what you need to know about one of the many cases challenging Donald Trump’s signature policies.

Mr Trump’s most recent dismissive utterances about Mr Zelensky and his country could quite easily have come from the lips of Vladimir Putin himself. Among other calumnies, Mr Trump claimed that President Zelensky has a miserable 4 per cent approval rating; that the war would have been settled if Ukraine had given up some land immediately; and, most bizarrely of all, that Ukraine started it.