The Space Force will begin to absorb service members who currently serve in space positions within their state’s Air National Guard units to create and support a Space Force National Guard.
The service members will not leave their states, but the move has nonetheless riled some governors, who in a letter Tuesday challenged the Space Force’s authority to pull those Air National Guard members and transfer them. The governors say that authority rests with them.
In a statement, the Air Force says service members will be able to choose to transfer to the Space Force or remain with their state Air National Guard units.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he participates in a ceremonial swearing in of Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump seemed to walk back his suggestion that he could fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after making statements that put the Fed’s political independence at risk and caused a financial market selloff.
“I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
Trump had previously insinuated otherwise as he said he could fire Powell if he wanted to, having been frustrated by the Fed putting a pause on cuts to short-term interest rates.
Powell has said that Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures, while the president maintains that inflationary worries are essentially non-existent.
Paul Atkins, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Paul Atkins said after being sworn into his post as Securities and Exchange Commission chair, “We will work to make sure the U.S. is the best and most secure place to do business.”
In comments before the swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump said Atkins is “the perfect man to lead this agency at a time when crypto innovators are urgently in need of, and they want so badly … regulatory certainty.” He said a key priority would be “clear rules of the road.”
Trump is participating in a ceremonial swearing-in Tuesday for cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Atkins was actually sworn into office on Monday, according to the SEC.
He founded the Patomak Partners and is a former SEC commissioner who has contended after leaving the SEC that there is too much market regulation.
The new standards, which will be graduated in over the next seven months, require that men and women meet the same fitness benchmarks for 21 combat specialties.
The positions where such standards would be put in place include infantry officer, an M1 Abrams tank armor crewman, special forces members and artillery crew.
The Army had been working on revising its guidelines over the last year, but leveling standards for men and women in combat fields has also been a priority of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
U.S. second lady Usha Vance, wife of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and their daughter Mirabel watch a cultural performance at Amber Fort, a historical site in Jaipur, India Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
The wife of Vice President JD Vance says that, in many ways, the trip to India has been the “trip of a lifetime.”
Visiting the country where her parents are from is “something that I’ve wanted to share with my new nuclear family,” Usha Vance said in an interview taped Tuesday with Indian news company NDTV.
“We think of it as sort of a gateway, the first of many trips to come, I hope,” she said.
It’s the first trip to India for their children, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, ages 7, 5 and 3, as well as for the vice president.
Usha Vance is the first person of Indian descent to become second lady of the United States.
The federal Food and Drug Administration will take steps to eliminate the synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference. The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes.
“For the last 50 years we have been running one of the largest uncontrolled scientific experiments in the world on our nation’s children without their consent,” Makary said.
The announcement drew praise from advocates, who have cited mixed studies indicating artificial dyes can cause neurobehavioral problems in some children. Removing the dyes from foods has long been a goal of so-called MAHA moms, key supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives.
▶ Read more about the plan to phase out artificial dyes
Tesla’s first-quarter profits plunged by more than two-thirds amid a boycott of Elon Musk’s electric car company that has hurt sales and sent its stock plunging.
The Austin, Texas, company said Tuesday that quarterly profits fell by 70% to $409 million, or 12 cents a share. That’s far below analyst estimates. And Tesla’s revenue fell 9% to $19.3 billion in the January through March period, below Wall Street’s forecast.
The disappointing results come as the company is fighting backlash over Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, the federal government jobs-cutting group that has divided the country and sparked angry protests.
▶ Read more about Tesla’s first-quarter performance
U.S. stocks jumped in a widespread rally and more than made up for their sharp drops from the day before.
The S&P 500 rose 2.5% Tuesday to erase Monday’s loss, which came on worries about Trump’s trade war and his attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.7%. Equifax, 3M and other companies reporting better profits than analysts expected helped lead the way.
The value of the U.S. dollar also stabilized after sliding against the euro and other competitors, while Treasury yields held steadier in the bond market.
▶ Read more about the U.S. financial market today
In a memo to staff members on Tuesday, Bill Owens said that he would not be able to make independent decisions based on what is right for the audience.
“Having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time and with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” he wrote in the memo, first reported by The New York Times.
The show has been under attack from Trump, who sued the network for the way it edited its interview with Kamala Harris last fall. CBS corporate leaders have been discussing a potential settlement with Trump, which Owens and others at the show have resisted.
Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Heath Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were among the top federal officials at Justice Department headquarters Tuesday for the first meeting of the task force.
Trump signed an executive order in February directing the task force to identify unlawful policies, practices, or conduct by all executive departments and agencies, and recommend any additional presidential or legislative action.
Bondi touted the Trump administration’s move to curtail prosecutions against people accused of blocking access to abortion clinics and the dismissal of several cases related to the blockades of clinics. Abortion-rights advocates have slammed the move as well as Trump’s pardon of those convicted of violating the law.
Harvard University announced Monday that it has filed a lawsuit to halt a federal freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus.
A group of roughly 175 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Treasury leadership late Monday, calling on them not to end the IRS’ Direct File program — an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free.
The Associated Press last week reported that the Trump administration plans to eliminate the Direct File program, according to two people familiar with the decision.
Treasury says it hasn’t made a decision about the program’s future.
Led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the lawmakers wrote: “ending this free, easy-to-use, and popular program would be an insult to American taxpayers, eliminating an important alternative to commercial options provided by the tax prep industry.”
White House press secretary Leavitt said at Tuesday’s briefing that she spoke with President Trump about the tariffs on China, saying that the president told her to say “we’re doing very well” regarding a “potential trade deal with China.”
Leavitt said the Trump administration has received 18 proposals from other countries for trade deals with the U.S., adding that “everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Press secretary Leavitt said Hegseth is doing “a tremendous job” and “is bringing a monumental change to the Pentagon,” which she said had prompted a “smear campaign” against him.
She was asked by a reporter to square her comments that some of the recently departed officials from the Pentagon were disgruntled and working against Hegseth with the fact that they were part of his inner circle.
“They were Pentagon employees who leaked against their boss,” Leavitt said.
The dismissed employees have said their character is being slandered.
The presidents of nearly 200 U.S. colleges and universities are calling on the Trump administration to stop “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
A statement issued Tuesday by the American Association of Colleges and Universities and signed by university presidents came a day after Harvard said it was suing the Trump administration to halt a federal freeze on billions of dollars in research funding.
The administration argues its campaign against Harvard, Columbia and other schools is a fight against antisemitism.
In their statement, university presidents said they were speaking with one voice to “reject the coercive use of public research funding” by the government.
Those signing the statement included presidents of private and public universities, community colleges and Christian campuses.
Leavitt announced Trump will meet at the White House on Thursday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
The meeting comes as Trump is seeking to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and pressure members of NATO, of which Norway is a member, to spend more on defense.
President Donald Trump remembred Pope Francis Monday as “a good man,” and said he signed an executive order putting U.S. flags at half mast in recognition of his passing. Trump made the comments at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Trump is planning to leave Washington on Friday morning to fly to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral services.
He’ll return Saturday evening, once services are over.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the president’s travel plans during her briefing with reporters on Tuesday. She did not provide details on if Trump will meet with foreign leaders during the trip, or who might travel with him as part of a U.S. delegation.
The White House says more details on travel will be coming.
President Donald Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to May 16.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the dates at Monday’s news briefing. Trump would be traveling to the Middle East at a time of ongoing tensions with Iran, the Houthis in Yemen and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Trump called reports of the attack on tourists in Kashmir, India “deeply disturbing” and offered support to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism. We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media network.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be attending discussions with Ukrainian and European officials this week in London about peace prospects in Ukraine.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Tuesday that it was a scheduling issue and that retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, would be taking part in those talks.
Speaking of Trump and Rubio, Bruce said, “They want diplomacy to work.”
FILE – Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks to reporters at Trump Tower, Nov. 15, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
It comes after Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff attended meetings with European and Ukrainian officials last week about efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
After those talks, Rubio said the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts failed to bring an end to the fighting.
Bruce said she could not speak to Russian reports that Witkoff was expected to visit Moscow again this week.
Employees working in environmental justice programs will face layoffs this summer, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The memo, sent late Monday by EPA Assistant Deputy Administrator Travis Voyles, says employees in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and regional environmental justice divisions will be laid off as of July 31.
The layoffs are “necessary to align our workforce with the agency’s current and future needs and to ensure the efficient and effective operation of our programs,” he wrote.
About 280 employees will be laid off, and another 175 employees were reassigned to other offices, the agency said. The EPA placed 168 workers on administrative leave in February, but many were later called back to work.
The ADL recorded a record 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the United States last year — 58% of them related to Israel — including chants, speeches and signs at rallies.
The ADL’s annual report released Tuesday cites widespread opposition to Israel’s military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. And it says it’s “careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism.”
The debate among American Jews over what exactly constitutes antisemitism has led to a balancing act among Jewish leaders as the Trump administration seeks to punish universities and deport pro-Palestinian campus activists.
“The fears of antisemitism are legitimate and real — and we don’t want to see those real fears exploited to undermine democracy,” said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “I feel that a majority of American Jews can believe that two things are true at the same time.”
▶ Read more about the ADL report and reaction to it
U.S. stocks are rallying Tuesday after companies reported fatter profits than expected, and other U.S. investments are also steadying a day after falling sharply on worries about President Donald Trump’s trade war and his attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 was 2.7% higher in afternoon trading and on track to recover most of Monday’s drop. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 765 points, or 2%, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% higher. Every major index recovered all of their losses from sharp drops on Monday.
The value of the U.S. dollar also stabilized after sliding against the euro and other competitors, while Treasury yields held steadier. Sharp, unusual moves in those markets have recently raised worries that Trump’s policies are making investors more skeptical that U.S. investments still deserve their reputations as the world’s safest.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on upon his arrival at the Quai d’Orsay, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs before a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Julien de Rosa, Pool via AP)
The plans include reducing staff in the U.S. by 15% and closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” mandate.
The reorganization plan, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government.
“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by The AP.
Plans include consolidating 734 bureaus and offices to 602 as well as transitioning 137 offices “to another location within the Department to increase efficiency,” according to a fact sheet obtained by The AP.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser accused the Justice Department of wielding “political power” to give unprecedented help to a former county election clerk who was convicted of letting Trump supporters access election equipment after his 2020 defeat.
Trump administration prosecutors are trying to intervene in the case of Tina Peters, who wants to be released from prison while she appeals her conviction and nine-year sentence. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Denver.
Peters’ case is among those the government has said it is reviewing for “abuses of the criminal justice process.” Weiser’s office said the Justice Department has not given any good reason why it should intervene.
“Tina Peters was not prosecuted because of any political pressure; she was prosecuted because she broke the law,” lawyers from Weiser’s office said in a filing.
A state judge sentenced Peters in October to nine years.
▶ Read more about today’s court hearing
He’s shunned traditional policy deliberations to entertain divergent opinions and viewing unpredictability as a negotiating tool. He’s spent years fostering a competitive atmosphere among his staff, who are often chosen for their devotion and penchant for aggression.
There’s a risk for more turmoil in the months ahead, as Trump presses forward with a dramatic overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, international trade, foreign policy and more.
John Bolton, Trump’s first-term national security adviser who later wrote a tell-all book about the president’s inner circle, said the drama reflects the lack of consistent ideology and the inexperience of many administration officials.
“The only thing they have in common is the belief that they should show personal fealty to Trump,” Bolton said. “That got them the job. That may in fact keep them in the job. But it shows how fundamentally unserious they are.”
▶ Read more about conflict within the Trump administration
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council are scrambling to address a financial crisis created when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives recessed without voting on a fix to a city budget hole.
To address it, Bowser’s government has ordered a spending freeze on new hires, promotions, bonuses and contracts. An overtime freeze starts Sunday. And she expects to receive a detailed plan for potential layoffs and furloughs by week’s end.
Bowser also has invoked a 2009 law allowing the city to increase spending by 6%. That shrinks the shortfall to $410 million, instead of $1.1 billion. She’s walking a public tightrope, balancing elected responsibilities and demands of the president and Congress as some rekindle calls for D.C. statehood.
Trump said his conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday touched on Iran, trade and other subjects, and he found agreement with the foreign leader.
FILE- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and President Donald Trump stand as they prepare to depart after the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The Republican president said in a post on Truth Social that “The call went very well — We are on the same side of every issue.”
Trump already made his Republican primary pick — housing developer Karrin Taylor Robson. She’s been trying to eliminate any daylight between herself and the president, touting Trump’s endorsement and eagerly embracing him and his policies.
Now Trump says he’s also endorsing her rival, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who formerly chaired the House’s hard-right Freedom Caucus and was president of the Arizona Senate. Biggs has long been a close Trump ally and supported his stolen election claims.
“When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH,” Trump said Monday in a post on Truth Social.
The GOP primary winner will face likely face Gov. Katie Hobbs, who has no serious Democratic challenger.
▶ Read more on Trump and the Arizona governor’s race
The Swiss pharmaceuticals powerhouse announced Tuesday that the investment will create 12,000 jobs.
The Basel-based company envisions high-tech research and development sites and new manufacturing facilities in California, Indiana, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Trump has urged foreign businesses to invest more in the United States, saying his sweeping tariffs are meant to reduce the U.S. trade deficit in sales of goods.
Roche spokesperson Rebekka Schnell said in an e-mail that the company isn’t specifying how much of the $50 billion was announced for the first time on Tuesday, and that some was already being spent or planned.
▶ Read more about the Roche deal and Trump’s negotiations with Switzerland
Global financial markets have been turned upside down this year by Trump’s trade war. Markets are not in full panic, but the double-digit declines in major U.S. stock indexes are testing nerves.
U.S. markets had been on a two-year tear coming into 2025. Trump pushed the idea that stock prices had become overinflated into hyperdrive. The S&P 500 has tumbled more than 12% as U.S. markets are outpaced in Europe, Asia, and just about everywhere else.
Traditionally safe havens, the U.S. dollar struck a three-year low on Monday and U.S. Treasurys no longer seem to provide the same shelter. Only gold, hitting record highs, has maintained its reputation for safety.
▶ Read more on the performance of stocks, bonds, currencies, oil and bitcoin
FILE – The Supreme Court is seen under stormy skies in Washington, June 20, 2019. In the coming days, the Supreme Court will confront a perfect storm mostly of its own making, a trio of decisions stemming directly from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments over the religious rights of parents in Maryland to remove their children from elementary school classes that use storybooks with LGBTQ characters.
Tuesday’s case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before justices who have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years.
The Montgomery County public schools introduced the storybooks to better reflect the district’s diverse population. Some parents sued after the district stopped allowing them to pull their kids from the book lessons.
▶ Read more about the Supreme Court arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor
As Trump cracks down on illegal immigration, Republican legislators lawmakers are pushing new state laws targeting people lacking legal status to live in the U.S. Nineteen other states and Washington, D.C., issue driver’s licenses regardless of whether residents can prove their legal presence.
In Florida, motorists with special out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to those in the U.S. illegally are not welcome to drive. Wyoming’s governor enacted a comparable ban this year. And Tennessee’s governor said he will sign similar legislation sent to his desk.
On May 7, the U.S. will start enforcing national standards for state driver’s licenses. Licenses compliant with the REAL ID Act are marked with a star and require applicants to provide a Social Security number and proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency.
▶ Read more on how states are targeting driver’s licenses differently
Khalil, a Columbia University activist held in a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, requested a two-week furlough on Sunday morning, noting that his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, had gone into labor eight days earlier than expected. Their child was born Monday in New York, according to emails shared with The Associated Press.
His lawyers had said he would be “open to any combination of conditions” to allow the temporary release, but an ICE official promptly wrote back denying the request.
“My son and I should not be navigating his first days on earth without Mahmoud,” she added. “ICE and the Trump administration have stolen these precious moments from our family in an attempt to silence Mahmoud’s support for Palestinian freedom.”
A message seeking comment was left with ICE officials.
The U.S. vice president talked up an expected bilateral trade deal with India by calling Tuesday for enhanced engagement. He said India should buy more U.S. defense equipment and energy and allow Washington greater access to its market.
Vance said he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had finalized the terms of reference for the trade negotiation, a vital step towards setting the road map for a final agreement aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
“I believe there is much that India and America can accomplish together,” Vance said in the western city of Jaipur, where and his wife Usha and their three children were sightseeing during their four-day visit to India.
▶ Read more about Vance’s India trip
FILE – The logo of the International Monetary Fund is visible on their building, Monday, April 5, 2021, in Washington. Finance officials of the world’s major economies on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 agreed on a proposal to boost the resources of the International Monetary Fund by $650 billion as a way to provide more support to vulnerable countries struggling to deal with a global pandemic. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that due to uncertainty over Trump’s plans, the global economy will grow just 2.8% this year, down from its 3.3% forecast in January. U.S. economic growth will come in at just 1.8% this year, down sharply from its previous forecast of 2.7% and a full percentage point below its 2024 expansion.
The IMF’s World Economic Outlook raised the odds of a U.S. recession this year from 25% to 37%. Economists at JPMorgan say the chances of a U.S. recession are now 60%.
“We are entering a new era,” chief IMF economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said. “This global economic system that has operated for the last eighty years is being reset.”
▶ Read more about the IMF’s World Economic Outlook
Hegseth doubled down during a Tuesday morning Fox and Friends interview, insisting that the information on airstrike launches and bomb drop times that he shared with his wife and brother and dozens of others in two separate Signal chats was not classified.
Hegseth didn’t deny the existence of a separate chat, instead attacking the media and his former staff, which he accused of leaking information about the chats.
His repeat denial comes as NBC News reported Tuesday that the information Hegseth posted came directly from secure communications from the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Erik Kurilla.
The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating the chats.
“Oh, not for a minute,” Hegseth said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
“I haven’t blinked, and I won’t blink because this job is too big and too important for the American people, and I’m grateful for every opportunity the president’s given,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth had a rocky road to confirmation and is under investigation by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general for allegedly sharing classified information over the Signal messaging app and with people outside of the military, like his wife. Close advisers recently were dismissed from top roles at the Pentagon, leading to questions about Hegseth’s leadership and viability. Trump has dismissed the allegations.
Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trump’s trade war and his attacks on the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have sent markets sharply lower.
Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq rose less than 1% before the bell, far from recovering Monday’s loss of more than 2% as Trump stepped up his public criticism of Powell.
Trump has been demanding that the central bank lower its key interest rate to boost the economy. Trump called Powell “a major loser” and declared that the central bank no longer needs to keep interest rates elevated to suppress inflation. The Fed has resisted lowering rates quickly, which could reignite inflation after it soared to more than 9% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Any attempt to unseat Powell would likely set off a crisis in global financial markets.
▶ Read more about today’s developments in financial markets
Hegseth has blamed the new allegations on disgruntled former employees.
Trump has dismissed the reports about his defense secretary sharing sensitive information about airstrikes outside classified channels, saying Hegseth is “doing a great job.”
The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Hegseth has pushed out top advisers. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown.”
On Trump’s public schedule today, he only has one event, at 4 p.m. He will participate in the swearing in ceremony for the chairman of the SEC. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will be holding a press briefing today at 1 p.m.
The infighting and backstabbing that plagued Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty.
The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top advisers and faces fresh controversy over sharing sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen outside of classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown.”
The interpersonal drama is not — at least yet — a dominant plot line of Trump’s return to the White House. But its reemergence after a period of relative discipline in his ranks reflects a turbulent management style that has been suppressed or papered over, not reformed.
▶ Read more about the infighting within the Trump administration
Trump called the institutions “two really GREAT places” as he announced his upcoming schedule in a social media post.
It’s tradition for the commander in chief to speak at one of the military service academies and West Point’s commencement is May 24.
Alabama’s website says commencement ceremonies are May 2-4.
Vance held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as New Delhi looks to avoid American tariffs, negotiate a bilateral trade deal with Washington and strengthen ties with the Trump administration.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Indian Prime Minister’s Office via AP)
Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day visit to India, met with Modi at his residence in New Delhi and the two leaders “reviewed and positively assessed the progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation,” Modi’s office said in a statement. They also “welcomed the significant progress” in the negotiations of an expected trade deal between the two countries, the statement said.
The White House, in a statement, said that Vance and Modi set the terms for ongoing talks, “laying down a roadmap for further discussions.” It’s a sign that talks are moving forward but remain far from finalized, though Trump administration officials also spoke with their counterparts from India in a sign of the high level of engagement.
The Trump administration has portrayed its strategy of tariffs as forcing negotiations that could limit the reach and influence of China, the world’s dominant manufacturer.
▶ Read more about Vance and Modi’s meeting
