Trump's SHOCKING Week: Trade War Ends, Drug Prices Plummet, and a FREE $400 Million Jet?

2025-05-12 18:01:21.148

• Trade war breakthrough: The US and China agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90 days, de-escalating a punishing trade war and buoying global markets. By Wednesday, the US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%. • Lowering drug prices: President Donald Trump signed an executive order that his administration says will crack down on “unreasonable and discriminatory practices” by foreign countries that suppress drug prices abroad. It’s unclear whether Americans will see lower prices and what authority the US has to direct drug pricing in other countries. • Middle East trip: Trump will visit three wealthy Gulf Arab nations this week, hoping to deepen economic ties. Here’s what to watch for. • Qatari jet: Trump’s trip comes as his administration is expected to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family to use as Air Force One, raising legal and ethical questions. The White House said today that the legal details on accepting the Boeing 747-8 are “still being worked out,” while Trump defended the plan, saying he would be a “stupid person” if he turned down a free jet. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has been appointed to serve as acting librarian of Congress, according to the Justice Department. Blanche will replace Carla Hayden, who was fired by the White House last week. Hayden had served in the position since 2016 and had about a year and half left in her 10-year-term. She was the first woman and first Black person to serve in the role. Two other Justice Department officials will also hold positions at the Library of Congress, according to the DOJ. Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins will serve as acting register of copyrights, and Brian Nieves, Blanche’s deputy chief of staff, will fill the role as acting deputy librarian of Congress. The Library of Congress serves as the largest library in the world, according to its website. The librarian of Congress is a position that requires presidential appointment followed by Senate confirmation. The librarian has several duties, including overseeing the more than 178 million items in the library’s collection. Blanche represented Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal hush money trial, which ended with the then-former president being found guilty on 34 felony counts. Blanche was nominated to be deputy attorney general in November following Trump’s election win. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that his country “would appreciate” President Donald Trump attending potential peace talks with Russia in Istanbul. Zelensky said he supported Trump’s call for direct talks between himself and Vladimir Putin, reiterating his readiness to meet the Russian president in Turkey on Thursday. “And of course, all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in (Turkey). This is the right idea. We can change a lot,” Zelensky said in a post on X. Trump said earlier Monday that “I think you may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine.” “I was thinking about actually flying over there,” he added. “There’s a possibility of it, I guess.” Trump, who is headed to the Middle East for the first major international trip of his second term, continued that he would go to Istanbul “if I thought it would be helpful.” Some background: Putin suggested direct talks in Turkey in response to an ultimatum by Ukraine’s European allies, who said Saturday that Russia should accept a 30-day ceasefire proposal or face “massive” sanctions. Putin ignored the ultimatum and instead called for talks. Ukraine’s allies initially said no talks can take place before a ceasefire — but after Trump urged Zelensky to agree to the talks, the Ukrainian leader said he is ready to meet Putin. The Kremlin has not said whether Putin or any other Russian official would travel to Turkey to meet Zelensky. Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blasted President Donald Trump’s plan to accept a jet from the Qatari royal family to be used as Air Force One and announced that they would force a vote on the Senate floor condemning it. “The Constitution is clear: elected officials, like the president, cannot accept large gifts from foreign governments without consent from Congress,” Sens. Chris Coons, Chris Murphy, Cory Booker and Brian Schatz said in a statement. “Air Force One is more than just a plane — it’s a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself. Any president who accepts this kind of gift, valued at $400 million, from a foreign government creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government. No one — not even the president — is above the law,” they continued. “This week, we will ask the Senate to vote to reiterate a basic principle: no one should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts.” Some context: A Qatari official said the plane is technically being gifted from the Qatari Ministry of Defense to the Pentagon, describing it more as a government-to-government transaction instead of a personal one. The White House has been looking for an off-ramp from its trade war with China — even a temporary one — and the president told his aides that he was eager to strike a deal before departing on his Middle East trip, a senior administration official said. While Trump has repeatedly offered a dose of tough medicine in recent weeks, lecturing Americans about a need to rein in their shopping habits of certain goods produced in China, he has been sensitive to the image of empty store shelves in the US and to the financial markets reacting to a deepening trade war, the official said. The official on Monday dismissed the notion that the escalating tariffs with China had been a miscalculation by the administration, but conceded that Trump wanted to “find a win” to avoid having a nasty trade war hanging over him this week as he seeks to rally more US investment from Gulf Arab states. The China announcement is only the latest example of how Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emerged as the most critical player in the ongoing tariff negotiations inside the White House. That hardly means Peter Navarro — the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing who is more supportive of tariffs — is out of the picture, given his unceasing loyalty to Trump. But the senior administration official said Trump views Bessent as the leading voice. The House GOP’s unveiling of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” is far from complete. But so far, House centrists feel like they have emerged the big winners. The House does not return to Washington until Tuesday, but privately, House centrists are feeling upbeat about the party’s plans to largely sidestep the most severe Medicaid restructuring that some feared could cost them the majority. That’s left some GOP hardliners fuming, including Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who took to X to tear apart the early details of the plan and declare: “I sure hope House & Senate leadership are coming up with a backup plan.” And behind the scenes, Roy is not the only Republican who is skeptical that the planned Medicaid revamp will get to the conference’s goal of $880 billion in cuts. The backlash from the GOP’s right flank is emerging ahead of a critical week of policymaking for House Speaker Mike Johnson and his Republican conference. Several key committees will hold votes to advance their own slices of Trump’s domestic policy package — followed by a critical vote by the fiscally hawkish House Budget Committee. A full floor vote could follow as soon as next week. The Trump administration is terminating a form of humanitarian relief for Afghan nationals residing in the United States — a move that stands to impact around 11,700 people. The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it’s ending Temporary Protected Status — which applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters — for Afghanistan. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cited “notable improvements” in the situation in Afghanistan and national security to justify ending the relief, according to a notice in the Federal Register. “This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem said in a statement. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.” It’s the latest in a series of moves to end Temporary Protected Status for certain countries that Trump officials argue has been extended too long. Attempts to terminate relief have been challenged in court. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have designated the protections. Families of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza may meet with President Donald Trump when he visits Qatar this week, two people familiar with the planning told CNN. The plans are in the works and not yet finalized. Officials hope Monday’s release of Israeli American Edan Alexander — in a deal struck between the US and Hamas — will pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to an agreement with Hamas for the remaining 58 hostages, only 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. “It’s an opening, not a one-off,” said one of the sources, who works with the families. “It puts enormous pressure on the prime minister.” CNN previously reported that Trump had invited the Alexander family to Doha, but their travel depends on Edan’s condition. Trump had already planned to stop in Doha on his tour of the Middle East this week. Qatar, along with Egypt, has been a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks of the past 19 months. America’s shoe industry wants the White House to “finish the job” on lowering tariffs. “We’re encouraged by President Trump and his administration’s progress in the U.S.-China trade negotiations,” Matt Priest, the CEO of trade group Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, said in a statement Monday. “But we’re not across the finish line yet.” The group represents Nike, Under Armour and other leading shoe companies. Shoes are highly exposed to tariffs because 99% of all footwear sold in the United States is manufactured overseas. The industry has warned that tariffs could wipe out hundreds of businesses, kill tens of thousands of jobs and raise prices for consumers. “Some shoes still face duties approaching 100%, and that’s unacceptable,” Priest said. “Our industry needs relief — and so do (US) families.” If the United States and China are at an impasse following the 90-day pause, the tariffs on Chinese imports aren’t expected to snap back to 145%, President Donald Trump said Monday. “No, but they would go up substantially higher” than the 30% rate during the pause, he said. “At 145%, you’re really decoupling, because nobody’s going to buy; but [the duties] got very high because of additional tariffs that were applied because of fentanyl and other things,” he said when asked if the US tariffs would return to 145%. “But no. But they’d go substantially higher.” “I think you will have a deal, however,” Trump said. Ahead of his trip to the Middle East this week, President Donald Trump said today he hoped more hostages held by Hamas will be released. His remarks came after Hamas announced it would be releasing Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage who was kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel while serving in the military. “We hope that we’re going to have other hostages released, too,” Trump told reporters from the White House. He said he believes about 20 living hostages, not counting Alexander, are still being held by Hamas. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that he said promises to crack down on “unreasonable and discriminatory practices” by foreign countries that suppress drug prices abroad. Trump signed the order during an event in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, where he was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among others. “This is the most powerful executive order on pharmacy pricing and health care ever in the history of our nation,” Oz said. It’s unclear whether Americans will see lower prices and what authority the US government has to direct drug pricing in other countries. Some context: The action goes far beyond Trump’s implementation of a “Most Favored Nation” policy in his first term, which was quickly blocked by federal courts for procedural reasons before being rescinded by then-President Joe Biden in 2021. The initiative will likely face stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, which successfully halted the first iteration. President Donald Trump on Monday defended the US government’s plan to accept a luxury plane from the Qatari royal family, describing it as a “contribution” and saying the US can’t turn down a free jet. CNN reported Sunday that the Boeing 747-8 jet would be retrofitted to be used as Air Force One. The plan raised substantial ethical and legal questions about foreign influence over the US government because of the plane’s massive value. Acceptance of the plane would also raise significant security concerns. Trump said the relatively younger Qatari jet was needed to replace an aging Air Force One. “I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’ But it was, I thought it was a great gesture.” Trump said the plane will “go directly” to his presidential library after he leaves office. “I wouldn’t be using it,” he added. President Donald Trump said today he may travel to Istanbul for potential peace talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. “I think you may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump during an event about drug prices at the White House. “I was thinking about actually flying over there,” he added. “There’s a possibility of it, I guess.” Trump is traveling to the Middle East later today. He continued that he would go “if I thought it would be helpful.” Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to urge Zelensky to “immediately” accept the Putin’s offer to hold peace talks in Turkey, something not seen since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. President Donald Trump on Monday said he may “very well relieve” sanctions on Syria as part of an effort to give the country a “fresh start.” Trump’s comments on sanctions came as he prepares to head to the Middle East today. He was trumpeting his relationships with various world leaders during a press availability this morning. “We’re going to have to make a decision on the sanctions, which we may very well relieve,” Trump said. “We may take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start.” He said “the way we have them sanctioned, it doesn’t really give them much of a start.” He added that: “We want to see we can help them out.” Syria’s economy has long been crippled by western sanctions. According to the World Bank, the country’s economy shrank by more than half between 2010 and 2020. CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed. President Donald Trump said Monday he called House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to urge them to use tariffs and his new drug prices pharmaceutical order to lower the cost of the huge GOP tax bill. Doing so, he added, would pay for what he calls the “Golden Dome” — his vision for a defense missile system over the U.S. akin to the Iron Dome in Israel. “I said when you score, you’re going to have to score two things: You’re going to have to, No. 1, score that hundreds of billions of dollars of tariff money is coming in. But even bigger than that, you’re going to have to score that your cost for Medicaid and Medicare and just basically pharmaceuticals and drugs is going down at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House. “It’ll pay for the Golden Dome,” he added. “See, that’ll easily pay for the Golden Dome, and we’ll have a lot of money left over. We need the Golden Dome.” Trump signed an executive order Monday morning that aims to crack down on “unreasonable and discriminatory practices” by foreign countries that suppress drug prices abroad. Some context: Earlier this year, Trump proposed a sweeping missile defense initiative aimed at protecting the US from incoming attacks — calling it the “Golden Dome.” CNN previously reported it would likely cost billions of dollars to construct and maintain. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system selectively protects populated areas from short-range threats in a country the size of New Jersey; Trump wants a space-based missile defense system capable of defending the entire United States from advanced ballistic and hypersonic missiles. President Donald Trump on Monday told a somewhat meandering story about a friend who he said was able to obtain weight-loss medication at a much lower price in the UK as an example of the disparities between drug prices in the US and overseas. “Highly neurotic, brilliant businessman — seriously overweight,” Trump described his friend, whom he didn’t name. “And he takes the fat-shot drug.” Trump said his friend recently called him from London, where he was able to obtain a drug that helps with weight loss for $88, instead of the $1,300 he would have paid in New York. Trump said he recently relayed this story to a representative from a pharmaceutical company but didn’t say which one or when this conversation took place. The remarks came before Trump signed an executive order that he said will aim to slash drug prices. President Donald Trump said today that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping “maybe” at the end of this week, after the US and China reached a trade agreement over the weekend. The deal would temporarily reduce the two countries’ tariffs on each other for an initial 90 days, de-escalating a punishing trade war and buoying global markets. “I’ll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week,” Trump said during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. “We have some other things we’re doing,” he added. “They were very happy to be able to do something with us and the relationship is very, very good,” the president continued. President Donald Trump on Monday said he threatened to end trading relationships with India and Pakistan as an impetus to get both countries to accept a ceasefire over the weekend. “I said, ‘C’mon, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,’” the president said at the White House on Monday. “And all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop,’” the president added. Trump said the countries came to the decision “for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one.” The president said the United States will “do a lot of trade” with both countries. Negotiations with India are ongoing and negotiations with Pakistan will start soon. Trump said he believed a nuclear war might have been averted. CNN previously reported the ceasefire may not lead to a lasting peace as it does not address the fundamental grievances fueling the decades-long dispute over the status of Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan. President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Monday morning that promises to crack down on “unreasonable practices” by foreign countries that suppress drug prices abroad, a White House official said. It will apply to a wide range of drugs and to prices in the commercial market, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, and will most likely spark fierce legal battles. If prices do not come down quickly, the administration will look at various policy levers that can be used to force prices down, the official told reporters Monday. The mandate also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices across all markets. If no progress is made, the agency will implement a rule to impose the “Most Favored Nation” cost for the drug, which would be the lowest price available among peer countries. The trade war de-escalation with China represents a big win for the US economy and the American consumer, Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council of the United States, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday. Hassett said Trump had scored major concessions from China and the United Kingdom in their respective recent frameworks for trade negotiations, announced over the past few days, particularly by opening up the UK market to American beef and potentially paring back some of the barriers China had put in place on American companies looking to do business there. “We described the non-tariff barriers and tariffs that disadvantaged American workers, and folks are coming to the table and and it’s really stunning how quickly they’re moving and how dramatic the changes are,” Hassett said. “I think it’s really a very historic fresh start in the relationship between the US and China.” The biggest win for the US economy from this weekend’s stunning agreement with China is likely the drastic reduction of the sky-high tariffs the US had placed on Chinese goods that had all but stopped trade between the two countries. That risked supply chain shocks, higher prices and some shortages. Although Hassett hinted at future agreements that could open up foreign markets more to US goods and services, it’s not clear yet what shape those will take and whether Chinese and British consumers will want those American goods. Significant damage has already been done by the enormous tariffs put in place between the US and China over the past few months, economists and logistics experts say. Shipments of Chinese goods to the United States fell off a cliff in recent weeks. But Hassett suggested the agreement reached over the weekend should prevent further issues with supply from China. “A lot of that is cleared up now — the potential for supply disruptions from China,” Hassett said. “All of that stuff is cleared up by this really historic negotiation.”