Trump administration briefing: Trump changes tack on tariffs – again – as US plans to close consulates

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : Trump said on Thursday he has instructed department secretaries to work with Doge but to “be very precise” about which workers will stay or go, using a “scalpel rather than a hatchet”.
48% : Read the full storyMembers of Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) unit were barred from entering a small, independent federal agency promoting economic development in Africa on Wednesday after a tense standoff with federal staff they had been sent to fire.
43% : Trump said the reversal has “nothing to do” with turbulence in the stock market in recent days, as investors weighed his economic plans.
39% : Reuters reported last month that US missions around the world had been asked to look into reducing US and locally employed staff by at least 10% as Donald Trump and his billionaire aide Elon Musk have unleashed an unprecedented cost-cutting effort across the US federal workforce.
27% : Workers at the US African Development Foundation (USADF), which Donald Trump has ordered to be closed, refused to allow Doge operatives to enter after they arrived at its Washington headquarters.
26% : Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he will “probably” extend TikTok’s deadline to find a US buyer or face a ban.
25% : Read the full storyElon Musk is telling Republican lawmakers in private meetings that he is not to blame for the mass firings of federal workers that are causing uproar across the country, while Donald Trump reportedly told his cabinet secretaries on Thursday that they are ultimately in charge of hiring and firings at their agencies – not billionaire aide Musk.
25% : In an escalation of his pressure campaign, Trump said the US will not fight for Nato allies who don’t spend enough on their own defense.
16% : Donald Trump pulled back from his trade war with Canada and Mexico on Thursday, temporarily delaying tariffs on many goods from the two countries once again.
15% : Donald Trump has performed another reversal on tariffs, delaying duties on many goods from Canada and Mexico again.

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