February 3, 2025: Donald Trump presidency news

President Donald Trump has made little secret of his obsession with the stock market.

But with a trade war looming — and global financial markets rattled in the wake of tariff threats with Mexico, Canada and China — the president on Monday shrugged off the market reaction and told us he wasn’t following the financial markets.

“How is the market doing?” Trump asked, suggesting he was unaware of the volatility and uncertainty. “I don’t know. I don’t think about it.”

That stands in stark contrast to how Trump has long viewed the stock market: as a metric for the country’s economic success.

As he spoke to reporters while signing executive orders and actions, Trump gestured to Rupert Murdoch, who was sitting a few feet away from the Resolute Desk. Murdoch was visiting the White House and Trump invited him to see — and be seen by reporters — the Oval Office.

Murdoch, who has been both critical and laudatory of Trump over the last decade, is back in the president’s good graces. A crown of his newspaper empire, the Wall Street Journal, delivered a blistering critique of the Trump tariffs in a weekend editorial entitled: “The dumbest trade war in history.”

When we asked Trump about market reaction and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial he turned toward Murdoch with a smile and said, “I’m going to have to talk to him.”

“I’ve been right over the Wall Street Journal many times. I will tell you, I don’t agree with him on some things. Not only is it not dumb, you’re going to see, you’re going to see every single one of those countries is dying to make a deal,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress that he is conducting a review of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) foreign assistance activities, the State Department said in a statement on Monday

The review will have “an eye towards potential reorganization” in order to “ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda,” the statement said.

Earlier on Monday, Rubio said he was the acting administrator of the humanitarian agency. He told reporters that the functions of USAID must align with US foreign policy and that it is “a completely unresponsive agency.”

President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been involved in making calls to senators who have concerns about his pick for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and his pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as they face key confirmation votes this week.

Later asked about Gabbard, Trump expressed optimism, but acknowledged he can’t guarantee her confirmation.

“I think Tulsi is going to be doing okay. I’m not sure— I can’t guarantee anything, but she’s liked by so many people, especially people in the military and law enforcement,” Trump said.

On Edward Snowden, which was point of contention for Gabbard during her hearing, Trump indicated that he would not be considering a pardon for him.

“No, I don’t talk to about it right now,” Trump said. “People feel very differently. Some people think he should be pardoned, and some people think it would be a terrible thing to do, but I don’t get involved in that.”

As CNN previously reported, Trump’s allies, including Vice President JD Vance, are making calls to shore up support for both Kennedy Jr. and Gabbard following their confirmation hearings this week, two sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

Gabbard vote: As the Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote tomorrow on whether or not to advance Gabbard’s nomination, GOP Sen. James Lankford plans to talk to the nominee today to work through some of his follow up questions after the hearing.

CNN’s Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media during a visit to workshops of aircraft maintenance firm Aeroman in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on February 3.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a “frank and respectful conversation” with Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday, the top US diplomat said. The talks come after President Donald Trump renewed his threat to seize control of the Panama Canal.

“We have a treaty obligation to protect the canal if it comes under attack, but our Navy is paying fees to go through there,” he said. “So I expressed frustration about those things.”

“I think it was a good visit,” he said, but acknowledged that “it’s a delicate issue in Panama.”

“We don’t want to have a hostile or negative relationship with Panama,” Rubio said.

On Sunday, Trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal, warning of “powerful” US action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the Central American country over China’s presence around the vital waterway.

Belt and Road initiative: Panama announced that it would not renew its participation in China’s development initiative known as the Belt and Road. The China-led infrastructure project originally intended to link East Asia and Europe, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. It has since expanded to other places, including Africa and Latin America, it said.

Rubio said Panama’s decision to no longer participate was “good.” He also called the Mulino “a friend of America.”

However, China’s UN ambassador Fu Cong expressed disappointment, telling reporters at the UN that it is “a regrettable decision because the Belt and Road Initiative is an economic initiative. That purpose is to build up a platform for countries, especially the global south, to have economic cooperation with each other.”

Fu also denied US claims that Beijing manages or operates the Panama Canal.

This 2015 photo shows samples of rare earth minerals from left, Cerium oxide, Bastnasite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate during a tour of Molycorp's Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in Mountain Pass, California.

President Donald Trump says he wants to secure access to Ukraine’s supply of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued US assistance to the country.

“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, complaining that Europe had not provided Ukraine the same level of aid as the United States.

“We have an ocean in between. They don’t. It’s more important for them than it is for us,” he said.

Trump told reporters that Ukraine’s government had signaled openness to the idea of exchanging its supplies of lithium, titanium and other rare earth minerals for continued American aid.

The transactional proposal offers some insight into Trump’s intentions when it comes to the Ukraine war. He has long complained about the US burden in arming Kyiv, but hasn’t detailed his plans for halting or continuing support since taking office.

Trump, who once vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of taking office, said Monday that talks were progressing on ending the war.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order proposing a US sovereign wealth fund in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order saying he would direct American officials to set up a sovereign wealth fund in the US.

Sovereign wealth funds, which are popular in Asian and Middle Eastern countries, are state-owned investment funds that direct their country’s budgets into financial assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate.

More about sovereign wealth funds: According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), an investor research platform, several individual US states — including Colorado, Alabama and Texas — have set up their own wealth funds, often to help fund public education. This is the first time the US federal government has pursued one.

Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund, with $1.7 trillion in assets, according to SWFI. China, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are also part of the top five largest funds.

It is still unclear how a US wealth sovereign fund will be funded, since the text of Trump’s executive order was not immediately available.

However, commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said that the fund would “monetize the asset side of the US balance sheet for the American people” at the order’s signing.

Some countries use their funds to exert influence around the world.

Saudi Arabia’s fund has invested in a number of US companies, including Uber, Lucid Motors and Blackstone.

“I think it’s going to create value and be of great strategic importance,” Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Monday of the planned US fund.

Former President Joe Biden has signed with Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency, CNN has confirmed.

This marks a return to CAA for Biden, who was a client at the agency from 2017 to 2020, in between his eight-year term as vice president and taking office as president. While at CAA, Biden published his memoir “Promise Me, Dad” and launched the nationwide “American Promise” tour.

Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama, is also represented at CAA where he and the former first lady Michelle Obama have their Higher Ground production company.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had “no assurances” that the ceasefire in Gaza will hold as he prepares to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this week.

Asked during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office whether he had any doubts a ceasefire could hold, Trump responded: “I have no assurances that it’ll hold.”

“And I’ve seen people brutalized. I’ve never — nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” Trump added. “No, I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold.”

Democratic lawmakers are condemning President Donald Trump’s apparent move to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Elon Musk, who is charged overhauling the federal government, said on Monday Trump had signed off on shuttering the agency.

At a press conference in front of the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC, Monday, the lawmakers argued that the agency is critical to the foreign policy and national security.

Crowds were gathered outside of the headquarters, which was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home

Here’s what they said:

President Donald Trump said he will speak with China “probably over the next 24 hours” regarding tariffs, during a signing from the Oval Office on Monday.

Trump again highlighted the ongoing issue with fentanyl entering the US as a reason for his tariffs plan, saying, “We don’t want fentanyl coming into our country,” signaling the importance of the conversation in addressing both trade and border security concerns.

Earlier in the day, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, where they reached a mutual agreement to “immediately pause” expected tariffs on imports from Mexico for one month. Trump described the conversation as “very friendly” and praised Sheinbaum’s commitment to provide 10,000 Mexican soldiers to patrol the border between the US and Mexico.

When asked who blinked, he or Mexico’s president, Trump responded: “There was no blinking.”

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he had an initial phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the looming 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, which are still set to take effect at midnight.

Trump again said he will be speaking with Trudeau “right after my next meeting, and we’ll see what happens.” “What I’d like to see Canada become our 51st state,” he added.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he doesn’t need Congress to scrap the US Agency for International Development (USAID), suggesting he intends to move forward with plans to significantly reduce the agency’s role.

“Not when it comes to fraud. If there’s fraud, these people are lunatics,” Trump said when questioned by CNN’s Jeff Zeleny about his capacity to exact major changes to USAID.

“We’ll be doing a report,” he went on. “We’ll be giving you that report at the appropriate time.”

Pressed about his support for USAID during his first term in office, Trump said he loved the “concept” but not the execution of the agency’s mission.

“They turned out to be radical left lunatics. And the concept of it is good, but it’s all about the people,” he said.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Elon Musk can’t and won’t do anything without his administration’s approval.

Musk is officially serving under Trump as a special government employee, according to a White House official. That designation means Musk is not a volunteer, but also not a full-time federal employee. According to a DOJ summary, a special government employee is “anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period.” Musk is not being paid, a person familiar with his employment told CNN.

As CNN reported over the weekend, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) associates at the Treasury Department now have full access to the government’s payments system.

Asked by a reporter why it’s important for Musk to have access to government payment systems, Trump said Musk only has access to firing people that he — and the administration — deem “no good.”

“He’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him. He’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs, and we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups, and certain numbers,” Trump said.

Trump said the goal is to “shrink government” but said if there is a conflict of interest on Musk’s part, “we won’t let him go near it.”

Trump also repeated a false claim that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded $100 million in “condoms to Hamas.” A CNN fact check found that during the last three years of the Biden administration, USAID spent no money on condoms in the Middle East.

This post has been updated with details about Musk’s employment status.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he would continue negotiating tariffs with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum after he temporarily paused his 25% duty on all imports from the country.

“We had a great talk with Mexico, and we had - President Sheinbaum is a woman. I like her very much. We’ve had good relationships, but we have to stop fentanyl from coming in, whether I like somebody or not, and we have to stop the illegal aliens from coming in.”

Trump praised Sheinbaum’s decision to order 10,000 Mexican national guard troops to the border to help with drug trafficking and security efforts.

On Canada: Trump said he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “also had a good talk” earlier Monday but added that Canada is “very tough to do business with.”

“I did ask him a couple of questions like, you know, banks aren’t allowed to do business in Canada. Canada is very tough. Canada is very you know, we’re not treated well by Canada and we have to be treated well,” Trump said.

He later again floated the idea of Canada being a US state.

“We give them protection, military protection,” the president said. “We don’t need them to build our cars. I’d rather see Detroit or South Carolina or any one of our Tennessee, any one of our states, build the cars. They could do it very easily. We don’t need them for the cars. We don’t need them for lumber. We don’t need them for anything.”

Trump said he was due to speak with Trudeau again later Monday afternoon.

This post has been updated with more of Trump’s remarks.

A federal judge said Monday that she is inclined to extend a block on the Trump administration’s freeze on federal grant and loans.

US District Judge Loren AliKhan said she planned to issue a temporary restraining order against any freeze on federal funds by 5 p.m. ET Monday — the time at which a previous block she issued was set to expire. The new order would likely last for 14 days.

The forthcoming order would be the latest such block issued in recent days by a federal court after a separate judge in Rhode Island also blocked the administration on Friday from freezing aid in a case brought by a group of Democratic state attorneys general.

On Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a short memo that it had rescinded the memo it issued a day earlier that froze the federal funds.

But during a hearing on Monday, AliKhan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, appeared persuaded by sworn testimony submitted to her over the weekend that funds were still being held back by various federal agencies, necessitating another court order against the administration.

Americans who heat their homes with oil could have to shell out more this winter to keep warm if President Donald Trump levies tariffs on Canada.

The president has promised to slap a 10% on Canadian energy imports starting Tuesday, though he is expected to speak with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday afternoon.

The 10% tariff would raise the cost of oil-based home heating by about $117, to $1,576, on average, this winter, according to an estimate released Monday by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. This would have the greatest impact on the New England region, where about 80% of heating oil is imported from Canada.

Lower-income households would bear the brunt of the cost increase because states will not have additional federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program money to offset the tariff-fueled increase unless Congress provides more funding for the current fiscal year, the association said.

Overall, heating one’s home will cost $976, on average, this winter, a 12.7% increase from last year, according to the association. The group raised its projection from the 8.7% hike it forecast in December, largely because of the colder-than-expected temperatures this season.

The Justice Department rescinded a previous directive requiring legal service providers to stop work intended to help support immigrants, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

Last month, legal service providers who receive federal funding and work in immigration detention were told by the Justice Department to cease work as it relates to legal orientation, help at immigration courts, and counsel for children, citing one of President Donald Trump’s immigration executive orders.

The move stripped away critical access for people in detention trying to navigate the tangled US immigration system.

In a new memo, dated February 2, providers were told to “immediately resume funding of all programs that received a stop-work order.” No reason was provided.

The top federal prosecutor in Washington, DC, told Elon Musk on Monday to report any threats against staff from the Department of Government Efficiency so that federal prosecutors can investigate, according to a letter posted on X.

The letter addressed to Musk, posted online by interim US attorney for DC Ed Martin, said that the US attorney’s office was aware that “some of the staff at DOGE has been targeted publicly” for their work. Martin did not elaborate in the letter about what the “targeting” included.

The letter continues: “Let me assure you of this: we will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people. We will not act like the previous administration who looked the other way as the Antifa and BLM rioters as well as thugs with guns trashed our capital city. We will protect DOGE and other workers no matter what.”

While Martin tagged the wrong Elon on the social media platform, Musk responded to Martin’s post with the letter, writing: “Thank you, receipt via 𝕏 acknowledged.”

Senior staff at the Office of Personnel Management have been directed by a top lieutenant of Elon Musk to prepare plans eventually to cut 70% of the agency’s workforce, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN. Offices have also been told by Monday to identify 30% of their team that could potentially be let go in the near term.

The order came from Brian Bjelde at a senior staff meeting on Friday, one source said, but no further details were given on timing and whether this would be fully implemented. Bjelde, identified by sources as a senior advisor at OPM, is also listed on his LinkedIn as Vice President, People Operations at Musk’s SpaceX company.

More context: Musk and his allies have asserted significant influence at OPM, which serves as the overarching human resources headquarters for the federal government. The agency has nearly 3,000 employees and has historically been driven by career officials who have worked across administrations of both parties. But during the first two weeks of the Trump administration, political appointees tied to Musk now appear to be calling the shots.

OPM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed reporting to this post.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters after watching people board a repatriation flight bound for Colombia at Albrook Airport in Panama City on February 3.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he is acting director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Rubio told reporters that he has “delegated that authority to someone, but I stay in touch with him,” without providing specifics. The acting USAID administrator had previously been Jason Gray. CNN has asked the State Department if this is the person Rubio referenced.

While in El Salvador on his trip to Central America, Rubio argued that USAID is “a completely unresponsive agency.”

Still, when asked about the arguments of USAID’s vital work in national security, Rubio said, “there are things that USAID, that we do through USAID, that we should continue to do, and we will continue to do.”

Some context: It comes after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down.

Lawmakers and aid workers have been bracing for Trump to shut down the agency entirely and place it under the umbrella of the State Department.

In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home. Over the weekend, two top security officials at USAID were put on administrative leave for refusing members of the Department of Government Efficiency access to systems at the agency, even when DOGE personnel threatened to call law enforcement, multiple sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

The DOGE personnel wanted to gain access to USAID security systems and personnel files, three sources said. Two of those sources also said the DOGE personnel wanted access to classified information, which only those with security clearances and a specific need to know are able to access.

This post has been updated with comments from Rubio and additional background.

Sen. Chuck Grassley at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday, January 30.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is advocating for exemptions to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, applauded Trump’s pause in tariffs on Mexico on Monday and appeared to hope that negotiating with Canada will “preempt more talk of tariffs.”

Grassley is pleading with Trump to exempt potash from the tariffs because of the potential impact to Iowa family farmers, whom he said get majority of the fertilizer from Canada.

Trump on Saturday announced a 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada set to go into effect just after midnight Tuesday, with the two nations promising retaliatory tariffs. Trump said Monday he agreed to pause tariffs on Mexico for a month following a conversation with the nation’s president. Trump is set to talk with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later today.

A Mexican National Guard member stands guard as migrants from a caravan in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, head to the US border on January 20.

Mexico will send 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border to help reduce the flow of fentanyl into the US, reinforce the border, and help improve security in its own territory, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

This comes as President Donald Trump and Sheinbaum earlier on Monday announced a deal to delay tariffs by a month after Mexico agreed to place the soldiers at the border.

Sheinbaum also noted that the US, for the first time, has agreed to work together to prevent high-powered weapons from entering Mexico.

“I believe this is a very important aspect of the agreement we reached,” she said.

Sheinbaum also told Trump that she disagreed with his claim that the Mexican government has links with cartels, insisting that the claim no longer holds up.

“There is no way we would come to an agreement under those circumstances,” she said.

Officials from the US and Mexico will continue to hold high-level talks on security, migration and trade after agreeing to pause tariffs for a month, Sheinbaum said.

Most Americans are opposed to implementing new tariffs on Mexico and Canada, according to recent polling. The surveys were all taken prior to President Donald Trump’s announcement of the tariffs this weekend, or his statement today that he had agreed to “immediately pause” tariffs on Mexico for a month.

Reuters/Ipsos polling just after Trump was inaugurated found that most US adults didn’t want to see new tariffs on imported goods from either Canada (37% support, 60% oppose) or Mexico (41% support, 55% oppose).

CBS/YouGov polling taken in November after the election found higher support for tariffs on goods from other countries in general with views on implementing new tariffs about evenly split (52% in favor to 48% opposed) — but even in that poll, 59% of US adults said they expected tariffs would make prices higher, with just 18% saying they thought tariffs would bring prices down. In the same poll, 79% of US adults said Trump should make lowering the prices of goods and services a high priority in developing policies during the transition, outpacing any other policy issue and well ahead of the share who put the same priority on imposing tariffs (26%).

And in a Quinnipiac University poll taken just after Trump took office, registered voters said, 48% to 42%, that “U.S. tariffs on goods made in other countries” were more likely to hurt than help the US economy.

There’s room for those opinions to shift in either direction if the tariffs are implemented and American consumers begin to feel the effects on prices. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, roughly half of the public didn’t have a strong opinion either for or against tariffs on either Canada or Mexico.

In CNN’s early January polling, 80% of US adults said they thought it was at least somewhat likely that Trump would implement tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, higher than the shares expecting him to follow through on nine other possible actions tested. A smaller share, 30%, said they thought he was “very likely” to implement such tariffs.

Scott Bessent appears before the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 16.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB announced on Monday morning.

The appointment was made on Friday, according to the CFPB.

Rohit Chopra, who had been director, was terminated at the beginning of the weekend. In a letter posted on X on Saturday, Chopra confirmed that his term had ended.

More context: This is not the first time President Donald Trump has named an acting director for the agency who also held another very full-time job in his administration. In November 2017, he installed Mick Mulvaney, who at the time was serving as the head of the Office of Management and Budget. Mulvaney served in the acting director role for a little over a year, until the Senate confirmed Kathy Kraninger as the next director.

Critics say Chopra took an overly expansive view of CFPB’s oversight authority, and a number of the rules finalized on his watch aimed to limit how much banks could charge customers for things like overdraft and late payments, which have been in litigation. Bessent’s appointment, at least in the view of one analyst, could mean the end to such measures.

“Putting Bessent in charge means he can freeze pending rulemakings and takes charge of existing litigation. It is why we see this pick as leading to the CFPB dropping its defense of the credit card late fee rule, the bank overdraft rule, the credit bureau rules and the open banking rule,” said Jaret Seiberg, financial services policy analyst at TD Cowen Washington Research Group.

Indeed, soon after CFPB’s announcement Monday, Bessent ordered the agency to freeze its operations.

The freeze, first reported by Bloomberg Law, covers a wide swath of activities, according to an email from Seiberg.

A request for comment from the CFPB’s press team was not immediately returned.

After two weeks of publicizing the number of immigrants arrested under Trump’s crackdown – now hovering just under 7,500 reported arrests – some of those arrested have been released, according to two sources familiar with the operations.

Those released are being monitored under an existing program known as Alternatives for Detention, the source said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can track them several ways, including by ankle monitors, wrist bands or through telephonic check-ins.

It is unclear how many of the approximate 7,500 have been released.

One main reason for their release is a lack of detention space. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly asked Congress for additional funding to build more detention facilities which he says he needs to house the number of undocumented immigrants they plan to arrest and deport.

Trump announced plans late last weeks to ramp up detention space at Guantanamo Bay with up to 30,000 beds. US Marines have arrived at the Naval base to begin construction. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said it was “not the plan” to hold migrants there indefinitely.

CNN has reached out to ICE for comment.

Just about everyone thought it was a bluff. Top analysts from the biggest banks on Wall Street said it was highly unlikely. Stocks were trading like it wouldn’t happen. Some companies built contingency plans, but they weren’t exactly rushing to make changes.

And maybe it was, after all.

US President Donald Trump and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday announced a deal to delay tariffs by a month after Mexico agreed to place 10,000 soldiers at the border.

That sent stocks on the verge of a comeback after they initially tumbled Monday. The Dow was down by around 130 points, or 0.3%, after tumbling nearly 600 points at the opening bell. The S&P 500 sank 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite was 1% lower — both well off their lows.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also reversed course and were broadly higher mid-morning.

Auto industry stocks, which had been particularly hard hit because virtually all American-made cars are manufactured at least in some part in Mexico or Canada, rebounded. GM (GM) was down less than 2% after falling more than 7% earlier in the day, Jeep and Chrysler maker Stellantis (STLA) was down 3% and Ford (F) fell more than 1% — well off their lows.

But, globally, stocks crumbled. Major European indexes were down across the board, and Asian markets closed sharply lower. The US dollar rose sharply.

Read more about how the stock market has reacted here.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his members on Monday that he will make canceling the White House’s “illegal” effort to freeze cash for federal programs a key demand in the upcoming spending talks — likely sparking a massive fight with the administration.

Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, told Democrats that he has “made clear” to House GOP leaders that the recent moves by Trump’s budget office must be “choked off” in the upcoming spending bill, “if not sooner.”

Why this matters: It’s the first big sign from Democrats about how seriously they will use their own powers in Congress to fight Trump’s efforts to dismantle or slash government programs and reshape the federal workforce. Government funding currently runs out on March 14.

In his letter to members, Jeffries also outlined other steps Democrats are taking. That includes a new bill to “prevent unlawful access” to the Treasury Department’s payment programs, which contain personal data for millions of Americans.

Jeffries also told members that the party will fight in the courts, including 20 different lawsuits challenging more than a dozen executive actions.

President Donald Trump said he agreed to “immediately pause” tariffs on Mexico for a month after a “very friendly” conversation with the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

“These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country,” he wrote.

“We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico. I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a “deal” between our two Countries,” the president continued.

Trump on Saturday announced new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China. The sweeping actions — scheduled to take effect Tuesday — consisted of a 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most from Canada (where there was a carve-out for a 10% tariff on energy products), and a new 10% tariff on Chinese goods.

Sheinbaum also posted on social media about the pause, saying she and Trump had reached agreements on security and trade.

Mexico will immediately reinforce the border with 10,000 members of its National Guard, while the US committed to working on preventing high-powered weapons from being trafficked to Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

Talks with Canada: Earlier today, Trump said he held an initial phone conversation with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with a follow-up talk scheduled for later today, as the clock ticks toward midnight 25% tariffs on imports from the United States’ northern neighbor.

This post has been updated with new reporting on the tariffs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, according to a statement by the prime minister’s spokesperson Omer Dostri.

The Israeli leader will extend his trip through the weekend and depart Washington, DC, Saturday evening, Dostri also said.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington, DC, on Sunday in advance of his meeting with the US president.

Netanyahu is scheduled to be the first world leader to have a formal meeting with Trump since his inauguration last month.

The prime minister was welcomed at Blair House, the official guest house of the White House.

The meeting time between Trump and Netanyahu has been updated in this post.

The US Agency for International Development headquarters is seen on February 3, in Washington, DC.

The fate of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) appeared bleak Monday after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home.

Here’s what to know about the agency:

• USAID was established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy’s administration and is the US government’s humanitarian arm.

• It dispenses billions of dollars annually across the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, treat diseases, and respond to famines and natural disasters. It also promotes democracy building and development by supporting non-government organizations, independent media and social initiatives.

• USAID is a key soft power tool of the US to foster relations with communities around the world, officials say, noting that US national security is approached with the “three D” pillars: defense, diplomacy and development, led, respectively, by the Defense Department, State Department and USAID.

• Around 60 senior USAID staff were put on leave last week on accusations of attempting to circumvent Trump’s executive order to freeze foreign aid for 90 days. Many more junior staff and contractors within the agency have been placed on furlough as well, multiple sources told CNN.

On Saturday, USAID’s website went dark and a new page for the agency appeared on the State Department website. USAID’s X account also went offline Saturday, and a source told CNN that the entire USAID public affairs office was put on leave and locked out of their systems.

Read more about why Trump and Musk want it shut down here.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, told senators concerned that he could benefit from the outcome of litigation over the HPV vaccine Gardasil that he’d divest his interest in the case to an adult son, an arrangement Democratic senators called “plainly inadequate” in a letter Monday.

The senators are members of the Senate Finance Committee, which is scheduled to vote on Kennedy’s nomination on Tuesday. The vote comes after two days of confirmation hearings last week in which Kennedy’s history of sowing doubt about vaccines, and potential to benefit financially from doing so, were common themes.

In additional written responses to questions from Wyden after his confirmation hearing last week, Kennedy said the family member to whom he’d transfer his right to payments in such litigation is licensed to practice law in California. Kennedy’s son Conor Kennedy is listed as an attorney at the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum, a law firm with which Kennedy had a consulting arrangement and which is suing Merck, the maker of Gardasil.

Warren and Wyden asked Kennedy in their Monday letter to commit to recusing himself from all vaccine-related communications and decisions if confirmed as secretary, as well as from all matters related to entities under the umbrella of HHS involved in litigation that he or his family have an interest in. They also asked him to commit to not litigating cases involving vaccines, representing parties in vaccine injury cases or having a financial interest in such litigation for at least four years after leaving office.

“You cannot credibly serve as secretary without clearly and fully addressing these conflicts,” the senators wrote.

Several Republican senators have taken to social media platform X to push back on the President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, particularly those targeting Canada.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Trump critic, warned that her state’s “economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner.”

“Certain tariffs will impose a significant burden on many families, manufacturers, the forest products industry, small businesses, lobstermen, and agricultural producers,” she argued.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa noted that farmers from his state get most of their potash, a key ingredient in fertilizers, from Canadian manufacturers.

Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning conservative, also pushed back on the new tariffs, writing that “tariffs are simply taxes.”

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum arrives for her daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on January 28.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had a “good conversation” with US President Donald Trump and reached an agreement to pause tariffs for a month starting Monday.

Sheinbaum said Monday both sides also reached agreements on security and trade.

“I also made it clear that we wanted him to put tariffs on hold, and in that regard, we reached an agreement,” she said at a news conference on Monday.

Mexico will immediately reinforce the border with 10,000 members of its National Guard, while the US committed to working on preventing high-powered weapons from being trafficked to Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum said she explained the issue of high-powered firearms “illegally entering Mexico from the US,” which she said criminal groups take advantage of.

“I believe it was a good agreement, and we will provide updates on this month of work by both the security and trade teams,” she added.

This post has been updated with more of Sheinbaum’s comments.

Tulsi Gabbard testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30 in Washington, DC.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon in a closed session on Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Remember: Gabbard can’t afford to lose a single GOP vote on the committee, otherwise her nomination will collapse. Several committee Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins, Todd Young and James Lankford, have yet to say whether they’ll vote to send the nomination to the floor.

The vote is expected at 2 p.m. ET.

Sunday op-ed: Gabbard sought to minimize the risk her refusal to condemn NSA leaker Edward Snowden as a “traitor” has posed to her already-uncertain nomination in a Sunday op-ed.

Writing in Newsweek to make the case for her confirmation, Gabbard said she told lawmakers privately that she does not “casually throw around that term” because it is a capital offense and argued that she and Donald Trump Jr. have been “slandered” as traitors by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former GOP Sen. Mitt Romney.

“It is essential to focus on the facts, not the label,” she wrote.

CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis contributed reporting to this post. This post has been updated with reporting on the Sunday op-ed.

US President Donald Trump announced a 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the US at the weekend.

The tariffs – which Trump says are needed to combat the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the US – are expected to come into effect Tuesday. Canada and Mexico have announced retaliatory tariffs, and China has said it will challenge the move at the World Trade Organization.

The president also said that additional tariffs could come by mid-February on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and gas imports – along with tariffs on the European Union.

Here’s how other countries are responding:

The first working session of a meeting of European leaders in Brussels on Monday was dedicated to transatlantic relations, where leaders highlighted the value of the European Union’s partnership with the US, an EU official told CNN. The official said that there was a strong consensus that tariffs would be harmful for both sides.

CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg, Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene and David Goldman contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

President Donald Trump said he held an initial phone conversation with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with a follow-up talk scheduled for later today, as the clock ticks toward midnight 25% tariffs on imports from the United States’ northern neighbor.

The president’s message didn’t offer any indication he was willing to grand a last-minute reprieve to the tariffs. But the fact a second conversation is scheduled suggests talks are ongoing between the two leaders on fulfilling Trump’s demands to stop illicit flows of migrants and drugs across the border.

In his message, Trump also went after Canada for some of its practices.

“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Just spoke to Justin Trudeau. Will be speaking to him again at 3:00 P.M.,” the president added.

Late Sunday, Trump said he didn’t expect anything “dramatic” to emerge from his conversation with Trudeau and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference following a House Republican Caucus meeting at the US Capitol on January 14 in Washington, DC.

Tariffs, which were announced by President Donald Trump on Canada, Mexico and China this weekend, are “going to bring in revenue” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday.

The tariffs will amount to a significant 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States. They are expected to come into effect on Tuesday.

Johnson also expressed confidence that “we’re going to get everybody together” in the House GOP conference around an agenda bill that can pass with a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate. CNN has reported on how the speaker is carefully navigating negotiations over how to successfully advance Trump’s agenda with his razor thin GOP majority.

On Netanyahu’s visit: Johnson said he’ll meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday on Capitol Hill and that “we need to be supporting Israel as always strongly as ever.”

“I communicate with him often,” he said on Fox and Friends on Monday, explaining “we’ve been very close over the last year and a half since I’ve become speaker of the House.”

In this 2018 photo, Kevin Hassett waits for the beginning of a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC Monday morning that the Trump administration has been in discussions with Mexico, Canada and China. That could ultimately lead the president to get rid of the tariffs set to go into effect Tuesday at midnight ET.

More on the tariffs: Although the executive order that Trump signed Saturday said the tariffs would be put in place until the targeted countries control the flow of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants into the United States, the order contained no guidelines as to how Canada, Mexico and China could meet those demands. And though Hassett repeatedly said this is a “drug war, not a trade war,” Trump has said he is not interested in negotiations and didn’t expect to make much progress on tariff talks because of the significant trade imbalances with those countries.

So it’s not clear what, if anything, those countries could do to get rid of the tariffs. It will ultimately be up to Trump.

Pedestrians walk past an electronic board showing the Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in central Tokyo on February 3.

Stock markets in Asia and Europe slumped Monday after Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, sparking fears over another bruising ‘America First’ trade war that could hit global economic growth.

US stocks were also set for a selloff, based on falls in stock futures.

“Trade war 2.0 begins,” UBS strategists wrote in a note Monday.

On Sunday evening, Trump also threatened to enact additional tariffs on the European Union, accusing the EU of being “really out of line.” Europe’s benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was 1.4% lower on Monday morning.

Here’s a look at how countries have been impacted:

The US dollar soared to a record high against the Chinese yuan.

“For the moment it looks like the dollar is the only winner,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, an online trading provider.

Remember: Trump announced over the weekend a 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the US.

The tariffs – which Trump says are needed to combat the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the US – are expected to come into effect Tuesday.

Canada and Mexico have announced retaliatory tariffs, and China has said it will challenge the move at the World Trade Organization.

House Judiciary Democrats called on Acting Attorney General James McHenry to provide assurances that the Justice Department will “publicly and promptly” release the final report on the classified documents investigation brought by former special counsel Jack Smith once the court grants the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the case.

The Democrats, in a letter obtained by CNN, further requested written assurance that neither President Donald Trump nor Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who are both listed as interested parties in the matter, will play any role in discussing the future of the report.

The request comes days after Trump’s administration ended the case against the president’s former co-defendants. The appeals court has not yet signed off on the Justice Department’s request, which is in line with what the two co-defendants wanted as well.

Warren speaks to reporters on her way to a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, in November 2024.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is demanding that newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explain why Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been given access to federal payment systems.

Warren also pressed him for answers on reports that a top career official at the department, David Lebyck, was placed on leave after he pushed back on DOGE’s demands.

“I am alarmed that as one of your first acts as Secretary, you appear to have handed over a highly sensitive system responsible for millions of Americans’ private data – and a key function of government – to an unelected billionaire and an unknown number of his unqualified flunkies,” she wrote. “The American people deserve answers about your role in this mismanagement, which threatens the privacy and economic security of every American.”

The Massachusetts senator has asked that Bessent respond by February 7.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses media following the imposition of a raft of tariffs by President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico and China, in Ottawa, on Saturday.

President Donald Trump told reporters that he plans to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday morning, less than a day before the US’ tariffs on the country are scheduled to go into effect.

Trudeau said Saturday he’d been trying to reach Trump since the inauguration, but his calls have not been returned.

Trump announced over the weekend that tariffs will amount to a significant 25% duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States. The three countries soon announced they would take retaliatory measures.

On Sunday evening, Trump also threatened to enact additional tariffs on the European Union — accusing the EU of being “really out of line.”

“They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything from them, millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products,” Trump said.

Fact check: It’s not true that the EU doesn’t buy US farm products. The US government says the EU bought $12.3 billion worth of US agricultural exports in the 2023 fiscal year, making it the fourth-largest export market for US agricultural and related products.

And according to a December 2023 report from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the EU is the second-largest market for US vehicle exports — importing 271,476 US vehicles in 2022, valued at nearly 9 billion euro.

The Agency for International Development headquarters in Washington, DC, in 2019.

The main office of the US Agency for International Development in Washington was unexpectedly closed Monday and workers were emailed shortly after midnight that they should not come in, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

“At the direction of Agency leadership, the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025. Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely tomorrow, with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership,” said the email, which CNN has obtained a copy of.

It comes as Elon Musk said President Donald Trump have said USAID needs to be “shut down,” following days of speculation over the future of the agency after its funding was frozen and dozens of its employees were put on leave.

Meanwhile, USAID logos and photos showing the humanitarian work the agency does around the globe were removed from its offices last week, multiple sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

A source who works in a USAID annex building told CNN they have no word on whether they should go to work on Monday.

When asked if leaders in their department appeared to have any more information on the future of the agency’s work, the source said: “Our senior leaders have all been fired.”

Around 60 senior USAID staff were put on leave last week on accusations of attempting to circumvent Trump’s executive order to freeze foreign aid for 90 days. Many more junior staff and contractors within the agency have been placed on furlough as well, multiple sources told CNN.

Just about everyone thought it was a bluff. Top analysts from the biggest banks on Wall Street said it was highly unlikely. Stocks were trading like it wouldn’t happen. Some companies built contingency plans, but they weren’t exactly rushing to make changes.

But the tariffs are coming — in full force. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a massive 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and most imports from Canada will go into effect Tuesday. An additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods will be enacted the same day.

Trump in a message posted on Truth Social Sunday said, “We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use.” But America’s supply chains are reliant on its trading partners, and even for goods that could be grown or produced exclusively in the United States, the complex web of interconnected global trade cannot easily be unwound.

So the additional costs on foreign-made goods will be paid by American importers, who typically pass those costs onto retailers, who pass them onto inflation-weary consumers. That means prices will rise — although, for most items, not immediately. Businesses’ profits will be squeezed as they bear the cost burden of the tariffs or pay to adjust their carefully constructed and at times inflexible supply chains.

That’s why stocks on Monday were set to tumble. Dow futures were more than 600 points, or 1.3% lower. S&P 500 futures sank 1.5%. and Nasdaq futures were 1.7% lower.

Globally, stocks fell, too. Major European indexes were down across the board, and Asian markets closed sharply lower. Bitcoin and other cryptos tumbled, brought down by growing fears of a recession. The US dollar rose sharply.

Read more about the impact of the tariffs here.