President Donald Trump will deliver remarks on " Investing in America " following the release of a worrisome economic report from the Department of Commerce saying the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first three months of the year.
Trump was quick to jump to social media and blame the setbacks on his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, claiming they had " NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS."
Earlier Wednesday the president and his Cabinet spent the better part of their meeting touting the administration’s record on everything from immigration to the economy.
But Trump also got worrisome news: The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years. It was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs.
Here's the latest:
Appellate court won’t lift restrictions on DOGE access to Social Security information
A federal appeals court says it won't lift restrictions on the access that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.
The full panel of judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 9-6 to keep the ruling from U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in place while DOGE pushes appeals.
Hollander issued a preliminary injunction this month in the case, which was brought by a group of labor unions and retirees who say DOGE's recent actions violate privacy laws and present massive information security risks.
Memorial wall to fallen USAID staffers is removed from the agency’s former building
Contractors hired by the Trump administration have removed a memorial wall to fallen staffers from the now-closed headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, with no immediate word on where it will wind up.
Engraved tiles on the wall honor 99 USAID staffers killed in the line of duty around the world. President John F. Kennedy and Congress created the foreign assistance agency in the early 1960s.
President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency swiftly moved to dismantle USAID, closing the headquarters and terminating most staff and projects within weeks of the inauguration.
Crews had already removed the agency’s name and banner from buildings in Washington, eradicating traces of an agency whose mission Trump and Musk said was wasteful and contrary to the president’s agenda.
Families of the dead, lawmakers and staffers have worried about whether the memorial would be treated respectfully amid the breakup.
US, Ukraine sign economic deal after Trump presses Kyiv to pay back US for help repelling Russia
The U.S. and Ukraine have announced an economic deal after a weekslong press by Trump calling on Ukraine compensate Washington for billions more in military and economic assistance to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video posted to the social platform X on Wednesday that “this partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilize American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
Ukraine Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed to The Associated Press that the deal was signed in Washington. In a post on X, she said, “Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country.”
▶ Read more about the deal
FBI reassigns agents photographed kneeling during 2020 racial justice protest, AP sources say
The FBI has reassigned several agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington following the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers.
That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel decisions, which were first reported by CNN. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The reasons for the moves were not immediately clear, though the FBI under Director Kash Patel has been undertaking broad personnel changes and Deputy Director Dan Bongino has repeatedly sought to reassure critics of the bureau on social media that leaders are working to address their concerns.
— Eric Tucker
The Senate is voting on whether to block Trump’s global tariffs amid economic turmoil
Senate Democrats are forcing a vote Wednesday evening on whether to block global tariffs announced by Trump, a potentially tough decision for some Republicans who have expressed concerns about the policy but are wary of crossing the president.
Trump announced the far-reaching tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners April 2 and then reversed himself a few days later after a market meltdown, suspending the import taxes for 90 days.
Amid the uncertainty for both U.S. consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, the first drop in three years.
It is unclear whether the resolution will pass the Senate, and House passage is even less likely. But Democrats say they want to put Republicans on the record either way and try to reassert congressional powers.
▶ Read more about the vote
Trump praises companies pledging investments in US
The president read off a list of companies that have pledged to invest, pausing for applause for each during a White House event celebrating businesses.
The list took several minutes to read and included announced investments from Eli Lilly, Novartis, AbbVie, Merck, Abbott, IBM and GE Aerospace, as well as automakers Toyota and Hyundai.
Trump invited some CEOs up to talk about their companies, including H. Lawrence Culp of GE Aerospace.
He later said he would let them tour the Oval Office and it would “blow your offices away.”
Despite Trump’s list there is no evidence in the economic data that the announced financial commitments have so far increased factory construction spending, which climbed sharply under his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden.
Lovefest or Cabinet meeting? For Donald Trump, it’s both
The president, never bashful about his achievements, is usually the one doing the bragging.
But in a two-hour game of one-upmanship at the White House on Wednesday, top Cabinet officials took turns drenching the president with praise that went beyond even the usual levels of adulation from those who work for Donald Trump.
The president assembled his Cabinet to celebrate the 100-day mark of his second term, and Trump opened by noting that “things are happening that are amazing, but I would not say it if it weren’t fact.”
From there, the president let others do the talking.
▶ Read more about officials' effusive praise for Trump at the Cabinet meeting
Senate Democrats denounce Republican efforts on voting, elections
The lawmakers are highlighting what they say are GOP actions that threaten to disenfranchise millions of Americans.
Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, helped organize Wednesday’s floor speeches in response to the Republican-sponsored SAVE Act and President Trump’s recent executive order on elections. Padilla said the actions would make it harder for people to vote and are based on “endless lies and conspiracy theories about massive voter fraud.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the legislation “one of the most destructive, dangerous voter suppression bills in recent memory.”
The SAVE Act, which passed the House on April 10, would require people registering to vote to provide documented proof of citizenship.
Among other changes, Trump’s order directs a federal agency to update the national voter registration form to include such a requirement.
Republicans say proof of citizenship is necessary to prevent any noncitizen voting, which research and state reviews show is rare. Republicans say even a few instances undermine public confidence in elections.
Ford CEO welcomes relief on tariffs but says more work is needed on trade policies to spur growth
Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company's top executive, welcomed revisions to auto import rules but said more work is needed to craft trade policies that spur growth in the U.S. auto industry.
Farley touted his company’s domestic production, saying it outpaces competitors, as he attended the rollout of the 2025 Expedition SUV at a massive truck plant in Kentucky.
Farley focused on trade policies during his remarks to plant workers a day after President Trump signed executive orders to relax some of his 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.
“The changes this week on tariff plans will help ease the impact of tariffs for automakers, suppliers and consumers,” Farley said. “But this is what we really care about. We need to continue to work closely with the administration on a comprehensive set of policies to support our shared vision of that healthy and growing auto industry. And we are not there yet.”
▶ Read more about Farley's remarks
Wall Street bounces back from an early loss as volatility continues
U.S. stocks bounced back from steep early losses to end mixed, continuing their wild swings amid uncertainty about what President Trump’s trade war will do to the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Wednesday, extending its winning streak to a seventh day; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%; and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.
Indexes started the day lower after a report suggested the U.S. economy may have shrunk at the start of the year, before most of Trump’s announced tariffs could take effect.
The S&P 500 had been down as much as 2.3%.
Treasury yields fell.
Kuwait frees 10 more Americans
The Persian Gulf country has released an additional 10 American detainees, bringing to nearly two dozen the total number freed by the country in the past two months, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Taken together, Kuwait’s pardons of 23 Americans since March — done as a goodwill gesture by the U.S. ally — amounted to the largest release of U.S. citizens by a single foreign country in years.
The prisoners include military contractors and veterans held on drug charges and other offenses by the small, oil-rich nation. One detainee was said by supporters to have been coerced into signing a false confession and endured physical violence and threats against his wife and daughter.
Ten others were released March 12, weeks after a visit to Kuwait by Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's envoy for hostage affairs.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with top leaders of India and Pakistan
The conversations came as as the Trump administration moved to try to prevent another major international crisis while it seeks to navigate ends to both the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war.
In separate statements Wednesday, the State Department said Rubio encouraged both countries not to escalate the situation after last week's deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which India has blamed on Pakistan or Pakistani-supported militants. Pakistan has denied the allegations.
In his call with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Rubio ”expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism,” the State Department said.
Speaking with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Rubio called for Islamabad “to condemn the terror attack” and urged authorities to cooperate in investigation of the attack.
Rubio also encouraged both countries to de-escalate tensions and work with each other to maintain peace and security in the region, the State Department said.
Vance says Trump’s first 100 days were about bringing change ‘very quickly’
The vice president says the administration’s first 100 days were about hustling to bring major change but that, going forward, the pace of change may slow down.
“The next 100 days are going to be a lot of things that don’t change as quickly,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
He said, “The first 100 days, you can get a lot done with just the president’s signature on a piece of paper.”
The vice president also noted that, by contrast, “the next 100 days are going to be a lot of things where we need Congress, and, in some cases, some of our international partners, to step up to the plate.”
He singled out proposed tax cuts working their way through Congress and said the finished product could “juice the economy a little bit.”
Trump administration plans to remove a memorial wall to USAID’s fallen staffers
The administration has hired a contractor to remove the memorial wall from the now-closed headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, with no immediate word on where it will wind up.
Engraved tiles on the wall honor 99 USAID staffers killed in the line of duty since the agency’s creation in the early 1960s. Trump and Musk closed the headquarters and terminated most staff and projects within weeks of Trump’s inauguration.
The federal government posted notice Tuesday of a $41,142.16 contract to remove and relocate the memorial wall by June 6. Neither the State Department nor the contractor immediately responded to a question on where it would go.
Families of the dead, lawmakers and staffers have worried about whether the memorial would be treated respectfully amid the breakup of USAID. Supporters proposed moving it to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History or the National Cathedral, while a counterproposal suggested moving it to a rented office, a former USAID official familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
— Ellen Knickmeyer
Head Start providers sue to prevent further federal funding cuts
A group of Head Start parents and providers is suing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Health and Human Services Department, seeking a court order blocking any further cuts to the federally funded early education program.
Head Start was founded serves hundreds of thousands of the neediest preschoolers and their families across the country.
It typically has enjoyed bipartisan support, but President Donald Trump has slashed its staffing and shuttered half of its regional offices, leading to funding delays and some temporary closures. A Trump budget proposal seeks to eliminate the program altogether.
The plaintiffs say the administration is exceeding its authority with the cuts. The administration’s actions, they say, violate laws that call for the funding of Head Start, among others.
An spokesperson at HHS said the agency “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Schumer calls Trump’s first 100 days a ‘failure’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Trump’s first 100 days can be defined by “one big F word — failure.”
Democrats gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol denouncing the president’s agenda so far and blamed Republicans in Congress. Schumer said the GOP lawmakers are “complicit” and “co-conspirators” as Trump threatens democracy and drives the American economy “into the ground.”
Maine lawmaker goes to SCOTUS over censure for transgender sports post
Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby of Maine is appealing to the Supreme Court after she was censured by the state House for a social media post about a transgender athlete.
The move comes as the state controlled by Democrats and the Trump administration spar over the issue.
Libby says her censure by the Democratic-majority House has blocked her from speaking and voting on the floor. She’s asking the Supreme Court for an order requiring her legislative votes be counted.
Her censure stemmed from a viral post in which she named a girls track winner and said the student had previously competed in boys track.
Vance calls presidents with portraits in the Oval Office ‘placeholders’
As Vance was praising the president during the Cabinet meeting, he referred to the Oval Office, which under Trump’s redecorations now includes portraits of Ronald Reagan, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.
“You sit the Oval Office and you see these portraits of presidents past. And let’s be honest, most of them have been placeholders. They’ve been people who’ve allowed their staff to sign executive orders with an autopen instead of men of action,” Vance said.
He said the media “attacks” the Trump administration as “chaotic” because the president is “solving problems.”
Rubio says he would never tell a judge about talks on Abrego Garcia
Rubio had a quick response when asked whether he has had any conversations with El Salvador about returning Abrego Garcia to the United States.
“Well, I’ll never tell you that. And you know who else I’ll never tell? A judge,” Rubio said during Wednesday’s marathon Cabinet meeting. “Because the conduct of all foreign policy belongs to the president of the United States and the executive branch, not some judge.”
He continued: “So we will conduct foreign policy appropriately.”
▶ Read more about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison.
Trump says children may go with ‘fewer dolls’ because of trade war with China
Trump, when asked if he if he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, didn’t answer the question but instead seemed to acknowledge that there might be fewer, costlier products for Americans as a result of his trade war.
The president said that “somebody said” shelves in the U.S. would be empty and then seemed to acknowledge there would be fewer products, saying, “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”
He said China is facing tremendous difficulty” because of his tariffs.
▶ Read more about the impact of Trump's tariffs on China.
White House says Ukraine has made ‘last minute’ changes to minerals deal
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during the Cabinet meeting that the Trump administration stands ready to sign off on a long-anticipated critical deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources but there’s still work to do.
“Our side is ready to sign,” Bessent said when asked about reports that Ukraine is ready to sign off on the delayed deal. “The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last minute changes,” Bessent said “We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are.”
Bessent’s comments came amid reports that the U.S. and Ukraine were getting closer to finalizing the deal.
▶ Read more about the minerals deal.
Canada’s Carney to visit White House soon
Mark Carney, the newly elected prime minister of Canada, will come to the White House “within the next week or less,” the U.S. president says.
Trump called Carney a “very nice gentleman” who, on their phone call Tuesday, “couldn’t have been nicer.”
The president mused that both candidates in the race — Carney and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre — “hated Trump” and that the conservative figure “hated me more.”
▶ Read more about Canada's election.
Trump distances himself from stock prices
Trump says he is not “taking a credit or discredit for the stock market,” as financial markets have tumbled over his tariffs.
Speaking to reporters during a Cabinet meeting, Trump tried to distance himself from the stock prices — despite taking credit when markets rose after his election in November.
“I’m not taking a credit or discredit for the stock market,” Trump said. “I’m just saying we inherited a mess.”
Belarus releases US citizen after several years in custody
The State Department says Youras Ziankovich was released Wednesday and will return to the U.S. soon.
Ziankovich was convicted and sentenced to prison on what his supporters and the U.S. government say were bogus charges that he was part of a coup against the Belarusian government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that he acknowledged Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s humanitarian gesture in releasing Ziankovich.
Democrats express ‘grave concerns’ about plans to label Haitian gangs as foreign terror organizations
In a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who co-chairs the Haiti caucus, told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that while they support efforts to target the financial support of Haitian gangs, they are concerned that labeling the gangs as foreign terror groups can cause a chilling effect on the delivery of humanitarian services as aid groups fear prosecutors could accuse them of directly or indirectly supporting the targeted groups.
Meeks and Cherfilus-McCormick urged the administration to consider sanctions against the gangs first.
▶ Read more about the designation of Haitian gangs
Trump says Musk can stay as long as he wants
Trump said during his Cabinet meeting that Musk is invited to stay in his administration indefinitely as the billionaire is said to be preparing to return to focusing on his companies Tesla and SpaceX.
“You’re invited to stay as long as you want,” Trump said.
Trump said Musk had been “treated unfairly” for his role in helping Trump slash the size and scope of the federal government. “You really have sacrificed a lot.”
Musk’s net worth has dropped significantly, and sales of Tesla have fallen amid a public backlash to the Musk-led cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency.
Vance scolds the media
Vice President JD Vance used his few minutes during the Cabinet meeting to take a swing at the media, which he accused of being fixated on the wrong priorities during Trump’s first 100 days.
Vance pointed to military recruitment numbers that he said the press should focus on, rather than other stories such as the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador last month.
“Why is it that the press is so focused on the fake B.S., rather than what’s really going on in the country?” Vance said.
Judge directs administration to detail efforts to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland directed the Trump administration Wednesday to once again provide information on its efforts, if any, to comply with her order to retrieve Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison.
Xinis temporarily halted the directive for information last week at the administration’s request. But with the pause expiring at 5 p.m. Wednesday, she scheduled deadlines in May for administration officials to provide sworn testimony about efforts to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
The Trump administration arrested Abrego Garcia, 29, in Maryland and expelled him to his native El Salvador on March 15. The deportation violated an immigration judge’s 2019 order barring his deportation to El Salvador because he likely faced persecution by local gangs there.
Quack, quack: Calling for RFK Jr.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s duck-themed ring tone has been making waves at his recent public appearances.
The loud quacks of Kennedy’s cellphone briefly interrupted Trump during the Cabinet meeting Wednesday, shortly before the formal convening began.
Eagle-eyed watchers of Kennedy may be familiar with the quacking. It also interrupted Kennedy’s live town hall event with talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw on Monday evening.
Elon Musk present at Cabinet meeting
The billionaire outside adviser attended Trump’s meeting of Cabinet officials Wednesday.
Musk, who leads the administration’s government-slashing efforts, was seated to the president’s right.
Throughout the Cabinet meeting, Musk has appeared distracted by his hats. He initially donned a hat promoting DOGE — the Department of Government Efficiency — then swapped it out with a Gulf of America hat, then later returned to the DOGE hat. He later adjusted the Gulf of America hat to make it wide enough to fit over the DOGE one and wore the two hats at once.
In an earlier interview, Wiles, the White House chief of staff, had said Musk was no longer physically working from the White House grounds.
Transportation chief calls for new air traffic control system
Sean Duffy, the Transportation secretary, says the administration wants to install a new air traffic control system soon.
“You and I have talked about this,” Duffy told Trump during his Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “It’s a state-of-the-art system” that would be the “envy of the world.”
Duffy stressed that the administration will need help from Congress to get this done.
The secretary also said the department was working to hire more air traffic controllers, noting that they are about 3,000 people short.
Trump on Hegseth: ‘My least controversial person’
Trump continues to jab at his embattled defense secretary, calling Pete Hegseth ‘my least controversial person’ as he introduced him during his Cabinet meeting.
As the rest of the Cabinet chuckled, Hegseth quipped that he was being called controversial because “we’re over the target” when it comes to military recruitment.
Hegseth came under scrutiny again earlier this month after revelations of his involvement in another Signal messaging chat with sensitive military information that included his wife and brother.
President Trump is convening a meeting of his Cabinet
And he began by touting his record on immigration and the economy in his first 100 days.
“We’ve just completed what many consider to be the most successful 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” he said.
Jeffries promises to ‘stop bad things’ from Trump with a new Democratic agenda
Over the next 100 days, Jeffries says House Democrats will be laying out their own blueprint for what they’d do if they were in charge — and it won’t be about Trump but “all about you.”
Firing up campaign mode, he wrapped up a nearly hour long address with the fighting words Democrats have been demanding of their leaders.
“We will not rest until we end this national nightmare,” he said.
Trump’s first 100 ‘years,’ er ‘days’
Jeffries stumbled slightly in his opening remarks about Trump’s first 100 “years” — before quickly correcting himself to “days” — saying the quiet part out loud.
Many Democrats in Congress are exhausted by what Jeffries called the chaos at the White House as the president bulldozes across the government.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP