The Latest: Trump criticizes Zelenskyy for saying end of the war ‘is still very, very far away’
The Latest: Trump criticizes Zelenskyy for saying end of the war ‘is still very, very far away’
U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine is still likely “very, very far away.”
The U.S. president responded on Truth Social, saying it was “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”
The long, complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following a disastrous White House meeting where Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine.
Here’s the latest:
Trump plans to discuss fate of rare earth minerals deal in his speech to Congress
Trump is still describing the economic agreement with Ukraine “a great deal” after refusing to sign it last week when he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was disrespectful during a contentious Oval Office meeting.
The speech is scheduled for Tuesday.
Trump says 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will start Tuesday
The move sparks renewed fears of a North American trade war.
“Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters Monday in the Roosevelt Room. Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two U.S. neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.
Trump provided a one-month delay in February as both countries promised concessions. But Trump said Monday that there was “No room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the steep new tariffs.
Federal workers face midnight deadline in Musk’s 2nd demand for progress report
The request has become a flashpoint within the government workforce. Musk and Trump have suggested that employees who don’t comply could get fired.
They’ve also described the requirement — a list of five things that each person did last week — as an unobjectionable way to increase accountability within a sprawling bureaucracy.
But for many workers, the request has been a source of anxiety and confusion as the new administration tightens its grip on the federal government. Some agencies are still telling their workforces not to respond or to limit what they say in response, just as they did after Musk’s first request last month.
Judging by instructions that have circulated in recent days, the workforce will face a standing request for lists of accomplishments every Monday.
▶Read more about the upcoming deadline.
Trump says TSMC is investing $100 billion to expand semiconductor manufacturing in US, mostly Arizona
The planned investments are on top of $65 billion that TSMC has previously announced for a massive campus in Phoenix.
“This is a tremendous move by the most powerful company in the world,” Trump said.
First lady lobbies for bill to crack down on revenge porn
Melania Trump said it’s “heartbreaking” to see teens and especially girls grapple with the fallout after they’re targeted by malicious online content.
The first lady spoke at a roundtable discussion at the Capitol on legislation to regulate revenge porn.
She’s calling on the House to now pass the bill and send it to President Donald Trump to become law.
Melania Trump says Congress must prioritize the well-being of young people because they deserve a safe online space to express themselves freely without the threat of exploitation or harm.
National Science Foundation rehires dozens of probationary workers
Of the 86 probationary employees let go last month, 84 have been rehired after a federal judge recently found the mass firing of probationary employees may have been unlawful.
The latest move was confirmed by foundation spokesperson Michael England in a statement.
The rehiring is also a response to Office of Personnel Management guidance from last week, allowing agencies to keep certain probationary employees who are disabled, are veterans or are military spouses.
The science foundation cut 170 employees last month. An additional 84 workers appointed as temporary experts were not rehired.
Trump expected to announce chip company investment
He is expected to announce Monday that chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in the United States, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly.
TSMC, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, had already announced plans to invest more than $65 billion in the U.S., including three plants in Arizona after the Biden administration offered billions in subsidies. It was not immediately clear if the $100 billion includes the $65 billion that was already announced.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the planned announcement Monday.
— Michelle L. Price
Mexico’s president is waiting to see if Trump makes good on tariff threat
Claudia Sheinbaum’s Cabinet secretaries for security and trade among others have been in constant communication with their U.S. counterparts.
She said there was still the possibility she and Trump would speak Monday about his threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports.
Trump had threatened to impose tariffs in February before suspending them at the last minute, when Mexico sent 10,000 National Guard troops to their shared border to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
“It’s a decision that depends on the United States government, on the United States president,” Sheinbaum said. “So whatever his decision is, we will make our decisions and there is a plan and there is unity in Mexico.”
CIA to deliver talk on creative problem solving at SXSW
The typically tight-lipped CIA is headed to the South By Southwest festival to share tips on finding innovative solutions to complex challenges.
America’s preeminent spy agency will deliver a presentation Sunday during the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, the CIA announced Monday. A CIA historian and one of the agency’s public affairs officers will deliver the talk, entitled “Mission Possible: The Spies’ Guide to Creative Problem Solving.”
The agency said its tips on creative problem solving are designed to be helpful to anyone, even if their particular challenges don’t include running covert surveillance, organizing clandestine meetups or sniffing out double agents.
Ex-US diplomats express alarm at USAID job cuts
The warning about the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development came in a statement from the American Academy of Diplomacy, which is led by former secretaries of State and other senior former diplomats.
The group stressed the importance of foreign aid to U.S. policy aims, and expressed concern that even popular farmer-backed programs donating food abroad would no longer have enough skilled people left to run them. “America First need not mean America the Callous,” the diplomatic group said.
The warning comes after the Trump administration has pulled thousands of USAID workers off the job and begun widescale firings.
Rock star Peter Wolf is latest performer to call off planned appearance at Kennedy Center
“I have cancelled my upcoming book event at The Kennedy Center due to the egregious firing of staff by the new administration,” the singer posted on social media over the weekend.
Wolf was to have discussed his memoir, “Waiting on the Moon,” at an event later this month for the center’s “Impactful Words” series.
Actor Issa Rae and author Louise Penny are among others who’ve canceled events since Trump forced out the center’s leadership last month and was elected chair of the board’s trustees. Trump wrote on social media that he opposed Kennedy Center officials who “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
Trump sends greetings for holy month of Ramadan
In a presidential message released Monday, Trump says Ramadan is a time to “draw hope, courage and inspiration to lead lives of holiness and virtue.”
Trump says his administration “recommits to upholding religious liberty that is such an integral part of the American way of life. Above all, we renew our resolve to building a future of peace, and to recognizing the dignity imprinted on every human soul.”
The president sought during his first term to ban travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
2 members of Congress urge governors to ban a prominent AI app on state government devices
The warning came in a letter from Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood and New Jersey Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer concerning about the use of DeepSeek. The app recently gained popularity in the U.S. after displaying capabilities comparable to U.S. made AI models such as ChatGPT.
The members of Congress cited “serious concerns regarding data privacy” as reason for a ban.
The two introduced a bill in Congress to ban the use of DeepSeek on federal government devices in February. Similar bans have been enacted at the state and federal level for other Chinese apps, including the social media platform TikTok.
Trump criticizes Zelenskyy for saying end of the war ‘is still very, very far away’
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Zelenskyy late Sunday said he believed the war would go on for some time, while trying to offer a positive take about the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of his contentious White House meeting Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war.
But Trump seemed further irritated by Zelenskyy’s latest comments suggesting it will take time for the three-year conflict to come to a close.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Rubio calls British counterpart to assure him Trump administration committed to peace in Ukraine
Monday’s call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy came after Britain hosted a leaders’ crisis summit over the weekend on Ukraine following a contentious White House meeting Friday between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The State Department said Rubio had “thanked Foreign Secretary Lammy for the UK’s role in encouraging Europe to provide for its own defense and push for peace in Ukraine.”
It also said Rubio “confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine.”
RFK Jr.’s agency spokesman abruptly resigns
The top spokesman for the U.S. Health and Human Services agency abruptly resigned on Friday, just two weeks after being sworn in to lead communications for the agency overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Tom Corry said on LinkedIn that he resigned from the job on Friday. His resignation comes as Kennedy has struggled with his public response to the measles outbreak in West Texas, first calling it “not unusual,” then on Sunday describing it as a “call to action.”
Corry previously oversaw communications for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services agency during the first Trump administration.
CEO of Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC will be in the White House on Monday
TSMC has committed to investing $65 billion to build factories in Arizona to make advanced chips. Last month, the company held its board meeting for the first time in the United States but did not make any announcement for expanded investment, as speculated.
President Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the semiconductor industry from the United States and has threatened to impose high tariffs on imported chips. Trump also has said companies like TSMC don’t need federal tax incentives.
First lady Melania Trump goes to Capitol Hill
She’s participating in a roundtable discussion with members of Congress on the “Take It Down Act.” The bill is designed to speed the removal of non-consensual intimate imagery, including videos that imitate real people, also known as “deepfakes.”
The Senate passed the bill last month. Melania Trump is making a public show of support for the bill Monday to help get it through the House and to the president’s desk to become law.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a sponsor of the bill, is among lawmakers joining the first lady.
Haitians and Venezuelans sue Trump administration to save immigration protections
The group of three immigrant advocacy organizations and four immigrants filed the lawsuit over temporary protections that have shielded hundreds of thousands of immigrants from being deported.
The lawsuit seeks to block the termination of temporary protected status, a legal status that for decades has allowed people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe.
In February the Trump administration announced the end of TPS for 500,000 Haitians and roughly 350,000 Venezuelans whose status is slated to expire in August and April. That is about half of the approximately 600,000 Venezuelans who have the protection. The remaining protections are set to expire at the end of September.
The plaintiffs are Haitians Americans United, Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, UndocuBlack Network and four immigrants who are not identified because of their fears for being deported.
Waltz commends UK Prime Minister Starmer, French President Macron for stepping up on Ukraine
“We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security,” National security adviser Mike Waltz told reporters at the White House. “I mean that’s been an underpinning. They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’re certainly showing a will.”
Waltz’s comments come after Starmer gathered his European counterparts in London on Sunday for talks and called on them to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russia’s war.
Both Starmer and Macron have said they would send troops to Ukraine for a peacekeeping mission once a truce in the fighting between Ukraine and Russia is achieved.
‘There’s initial signs’ of effect on the budget, Congressional Budget Office director says of DOGE cuts
Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said Monday that cuts enacted by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are slowing government spending but added that it’s “too early” to make any broader judgement about DOGE’s impact on spending or deficits.
“There’s initial signs that there has been a budgetary impact,” Swagel said in remarks at the National Association for Business Economics. He noted that government spending in some agencies has come in below what was projected before the Trump administration took office. But he said the cuts won’t show up as official budgetary savings unless Congress rescinds the money through legislation later this year. Some of DOGE’s spending cuts could be reversed by the courts, he said. He also noted that the majority of government spending is in the form of mandatory benefit programs and hasn’t been affected.
RFK Jr. lays out benefits of measles vaccines, but stops short of calling for people to get a dose
The nation’s top health official wrote Sunday that the measles vaccine has benefits but he stopped short of calling on parents to inoculate their children from the deadly disease.
In an opinion piece for Fox News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged parents to consult with “healthcare providers” on whether their children should get the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote in the piece, published Sunday.
Kennedy has previously criticized the vaccines, although research and real-world use has proven that they are safe and effective.
Waltz adds to doubt about whether White House willing to deal with Zelenskyy going forward
National security adviser Mike Waltz also on Monday said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready? Personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Waltz said on Fox News on Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support in the aftermath of Friday’s contentious meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz calls Oval Office blowup a ‘truly ridiculous and unacceptable session’
He was speaking on Fox News on Monday morning.
The meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was meant to result in the signing of a minerals deal between the two nations was abruptly ended after an extraordinary blowup between the Ukrainian and American leaders.
“He’s not ready to talk peace at all,” Waltz said. “This wasn’t an ambush,” he said. “Zelenskyy did his country a disservice.”
Unlike some Republican lawmakers who over the weekend called for Zelenskyy’s resignation — Waltz did not call on the Ukrainian leader to step down, but after asked whether Zelenskyy is fit to lead Ukraine, Waltz said: “what happened Friday really put that up in the air.”
Senate will vote on confirming Linda McMahon to lead an education agency Trump has vowed to close
The Senate will be voting Monday.
McMahon would face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs.
At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”
A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, 76, is an unconventional pick for the role. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University but otherwise has little traditional education leadership.
▶ Read more about Linda McMahon
Trump’s next first speech to Congress is bound to have little resemblance to his last first one
The nation will hear a new president sing a far different tune in his prime-time address before Congress on Tuesday night. Some Americans will lustily sing along. Others will plug their ears.
The old tune is out — the one where a president declares “we strongly support NATO,” “I believe strongly in free trade” and Washington must do more to promote clean air, clean water, women’s health and civil rights.
That was Donald Trump in 2017.
That was back when gestures of bipartisanship and appeals to national unity were still in the mix on the night the president comes before Congress to hold forth on the state of the union. Trump, then new at the job, was just getting his footing in the halls of power and not ready to stomp on everything.
It would be three more years before Americans would see Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, then the House speaker and his State of the Union host in the chamber, performatively rip up a copy of Trump’s speech in disgust over its contents.
▶ Read more about what to expect from Trump’s address to congress
The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.
“You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.”
Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the U.S. economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deficits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists.
▶ Read more about government spending and the GDP
Trudeau is expected to bring up Trump’s threat to annex Canada when he meets King Charles
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III, the country’s head of state, on Monday where he will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
The king has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
Trudeau said in London on Sunday he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles and said “nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”
▶ Read more about Trudeau’s meeting with King Charles III
By The Associated Press
