Wednesday, 5 March 2025

President Trump delivered a joint address to Congress on March 5, 2025, where he boasted about his administration's efforts to slash the federal workforce and reorient foreign policy. Democratic congressman Al Green was removed from the chamber after repeatedly heckling the president, while other Democrats protested silently throughout the speech. Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered the official Democratic response, warning that Trump's agenda would be costly for Americans and leave them less safe.

Trump reiterated his assertion that the U.S. will acquire Greenland 'one way or another,' prompting Greenland's prime minister to condemn the statement as 'disrespectful' and reaffirm that the country is not for sale. Meanwhile, Panama's president José Raúl Mulino accused Trump of lying about reclaiming the Panama Canal, calling the rhetoric a 'new affront' to sovereignty.

Trump temporarily exempted U.S. carmakers from tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month following calls with executives at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. The president acknowledged his tariffs might create 'a little disturbance' to the economy but doubled down on the trade levies during his Congressional address.

The Supreme Court rejected Trump's request to continue freezing $2 billion in foreign aid, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining liberal justices to uphold a lower-court order requiring the release of more than $1.5 billion in USAid funds.

Trump was ordered by a federal independent board to reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary workers at the Agriculture Department who were fired. The workers will return for 45 days while the board investigates whether the firings were conducted properly.

The Trump administration announced plans to expand mass layoffs to the Internal Revenue Service and Veterans Affairs, potentially cutting up to half of the IRS workforce and up to 83,000 workers at the VA. This represents a further phase of the administration's federal workforce reduction efforts.

The Trump administration launched fresh attacks on abortion rights, dropping an emergency lawsuit in Idaho and backing South Carolina in a case involving Planned Parenthood funding. These actions mark a continued assault on reproductive rights policies.

The U.S. has stopped sharing intelligence on Russia with Ukraine, marking the latest blow to Kyiv after the Trump administration halted military aid. This decision occurs as France's President Macron proposed extending France's nuclear umbrella to European allies in light of reduced U.S. security commitments.

Frustration is growing within the White House over the pace of deportations, as President Trump's promise to launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history collides with practical difficulties in detaining people and transporting them across the globe.

The White House announced plans to overhaul a $42.5 billion Biden-era rural internet program, with Elon Musk's Starlink service positioned as a likely beneficiary of the Trump administration's alterations to the initiative.