Trump live updates: Trump threatens 200 percent retaliatory tariff on European alcohol as trade war escalates

A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia claims that the Trump administration’s drastic layoffs in the Education Department are unlawfully dismantling an agency established by Congress.

The Trump administration has reduced the department’s workforce by half, and the president has expressed his desire to shut it down.

The federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Massachusetts contends that the layoffs make it impossible for the department to fulfill its statutory obligations, will lead to lost or delayed federal funding for public schools, and leave the agency incapable of administering college financial aid or enforcing civil rights laws.

With reporting from the Associated Press

As journalist Aaron Rupar points out, this is likely the interview that caused the president to attack The Wall Street Journal in a Truth Social post earlier today.

President Trump wrote this morning:

The Globalist Wall Street Journal has no idea what they are doing or saying. They are owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of “screwing” the United States of America. Their (WSJ!) thinking is antiquated and weak, and very bad for the USA. But have no fear, we will WIN on everything!!! Egg prices are down, oil is down, interest rates are down, and TARIFF RELATED MONEY IS POURING INTO THE UNITED STATES. “The only thing you have to fear, is fear itself!”

Ariana Baio has the details.

Former transportation secretary and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has ruled out a run for the Senate in Michigan and a run to be the state’s governor.

He wrote on X: “I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race.

“I remain enthusiastic about helping candidates who share our values – and who understand that in this moment, leadership means not only opposing today’s cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative.

“While my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative.

“The decisions made by elected leaders matter entirely because of how they shape our everyday lives – and the choices made in these years will decide the American people’s access to freedom, security, democracy, and prosperity for the rest of our lifetimes.”

Dr. Marty Makary is on track to become the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

The Republican-controlled Senate health panel voted 14-9 to advance his nomination to the Senate floor. Democrats Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and John Hickenlooper of Colorado joined Republicans in favor.

Makary — a surgeon, author, and researcher — is known for his contrarian views and is closely aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on many issues. Both are highly critical of food additives, ultra-processed foods, and the overprescribing of drugs.

Makary refused to be pinned down on specific actions he might take as commissioner, including on the abortion pill mifepristone.

NBC News reports that the White House has asked the U.S. military to draw up plans for increasing the presence of American troops in Panama with the aim of achieving Donald Trump’s goal of reclaiming the Panama Canal.

The network cites two officials familiar with the planning.

Trump said in his address to Congress last week that “to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.”

It was unclear what was meant by “reclaiming.”

U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans that vary from partnering more closely with the Panamanian military to the less likely option of U.S. troops seizing the Panama Canal by force, the officials said. Whether military force is used, the officials added, depends on how much the Panamanian military agrees to partner with the U.S.

The Trump administration’s goal is to increase the U.S. military presence in Panama to diminish China’s influence there, particularly access to the canal, the officials said.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to reveal on Thursday that he’s not going to run for the open Senate seat in Michigan, clearing the way for a potential bid for the White House in 2028.

China called U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “unilateral and protectionist acts under the name of national security.”

Chinese commerce ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian confirmed Thursday that ministry officials had reached out to Walmart following reports that the giant U.S. retailer was seeking price cuts from its Chinese suppliers to offset the cost of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

Walmart said in a statement that its conversations with suppliers were aimed at saving money for its customers and that it would work closely with the suppliers to “find the best way forward during these uncertain times.”

CNN reports that the Trump administration is expected to invoke a sweeping wartime authority, known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to speed up deportations of certain immigrants in the coming days.

It is expected to come in the form of a presidential proclamation, te network reports.

Such authority was brought up by President Donald Trump repeatedly during the 2024 campaign, as Alex Woodward reported at the time.

Lawyers with Trump’s Department of Justice admit that their attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil is based only on Secretary of State Marco Rubio having “reasonable grounds to believe that his presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” despite being a lawful permanent resident with a green card.

Government lawyers filed their first response to Khalil’s challenge of his detention in ICE custody on Wednesday night after a brief hearing in Manhattan federal court.

They argued that Khalil’s case should be dismissed or moved to Louisiana, where he is currently detained, more than 1,300 miles away from his pregnant wife, who is a U.S. citizen.

Khalil’s lawyers first filed a petition for his release with New York’s court at 4:41 a.m. on Sunday morning, believing he was still in the state in ICE custody, because ICE’s website said that’s where he was.

He was moved to New Jersey roughly an hour earlier, and then sent to Louisiana later that day.

At the hearing, Judge Jesse Furman — who is temporarily blocking the administration from deporting Khalil —suggested that his court could still have jurisdiction, in the event that the government deliberately evaded attempts to make it clear where Khalil was being held.

In their filing, government lawyers argue that the fact that the ICE website had not been “updated with accurate information at that hour (around 4am on a weekend)” isn’t enough to keep his case in New York.

“Over the span of a day, Khalil was processed and transferred, after an overnight stay, to a detention facility where he will be held for the foreseeable future; and where he can file a proper petition in that District,” they wrote. “His detention is not unique in any way that would provide a basis for departure from the district-of-confinement/immediate custodian rule.”

Government attorneys still have not presented any evidence of his “activities” and concede that he did not commit any crime.

Layers for Khalil will file an updated petition for his release later today.