Morning Report — Trump leans in on tariffs, Musk

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In today’s issue:

Trump tees up steel, aluminum tariffs, defends Musk
House GOP’s budget plan? Nowhere in sight
Experts: Civil service buyouts teetering
Trudeau: Trump’s 51st-state threat “not a joke”

Trump leans in on tariffs, Musk

The United States is not “that rich right now,” President Trump said Sunday while also announcing he will escalate trade tariffs and back Elon Musk’s attack on targets of “wasteful” spending, which Trump measured during a Fox News interview using U.S. projected debt.

“We owe $36 trillion," he told Fox News’s Bret Baier. "That's because we let all these nations take advantage of us."

Voicing doubts about America’s economic stability at the outset of his governance is an unusual political strategy, especially while Trump was pressed over the weekend to explain Musk’s blast through existing statutes and congressional appropriations in pursuit of less spending. The president wants to enact and extend tax cuts this year, a legislative hurdle. Lower taxes mean lower federal revenues, and if Trump’s benchmark is fiscal responsibility, the math will matter.

"The people want me to find it [the wasteful spending]," Trump told Fox. "And I've had great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific.”

The bromance between the two and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) show no signs of flagging. The president said he’s frustrated by pushback from the judicial branch. A federal judge on Sunday issued a temporary halt to deportation of three immigrants in New Mexico to Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba. A federal judge Saturday blocked Musk’s access to a Treasury Department payment system. In response, Musk called for the judge to be impeached.

Vice President Vance on Sunday objected to recent court orders pausing or blocking the president’s executive orders. “Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power,” he wrote on social media, suggesting such court action is “illegal.” That view has been much debated over decades, referring to Supreme Court precedent.

Republicans in Congress have opted to keep any misgivings largely private, while Democrats, including Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), warned of a simmering constitutional crisis and floated a shutdown possibility.

Many Americans watching from the sidelines are reacting to rising egg and meat prices. None of Trump’s executive orders, memos or directives to date has specifically focused on food inflation or the price of eggs, up 14.5 percent in the past month.

Nevertheless, appearing to slash future Washington spending for science funding and international aid, and even the president’s directive last week to revive plastic over paper straws, may add up to an action-heavy executive narrative. Late on Sunday, he directed the Treasury Department to cease minting pennies, long a conservative target.

Trump begins the fourth week of his second term vowing to ramp up trade tariffs and shrink the Education Department. But when asked on Fox when ordinary consumers will see lower prices, a key promise he made during his campaign, Trump demurred while assailing “hundreds of billions” of wasted spending he did not detail on Sunday.

The president plans today to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum and announce “reciprocal” tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, he told reporters accompanying him on Air Force Once to the Super Bowl.

“Very simply, if they charge us, we charge them,” he said, adding that the tariffs would go into effect “almost immediately” and impact “every country.”

The president’s confidence that tariffs harm trading partners rather than U.S. consumers continues to be questioned by economists and CEOs. Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico imposed a week ago, which he then suspended for a month, and 10 percent levies on China rattled financial markets and blew apart hopes among some U.S. companies for policy stability as the new administration gets underway.

Trump’s job approval is 53 percent (47 the percent disapproval), according to a CBS/YouGov poll. Americans say the new administration is doing what it promised. But a new left-leaning Navigator Research survey released today and conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 3 found Musk’s popularity ebbing since last month with registered voters in both parties.

▪ The Hill: How Musk is using tech to DOGE the government.

▪ The New York Times: Here are all the administration’s moves in its first 20 days.

SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN

It’s the single best performing stock since 2024 and it has strong ties to the military. I’m talking about Palantir, which was up 340 percent last year and nearly 50 percent so far this year. Its nearly $260 billion market cap now puts it on par with Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo.

Palantir’s rise has intrigued investors, but what its executive said on a recent conference call is what caught my attention.

“I think the real lesson, the more profound one is that we are at war with China. We are in an AI arms race,” Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer, said last Monday.

Palantir would know, as they provide artificial intelligence (AI) and database services to a broad spectrum of the United States military.

It’s a fascinating rise for a company that’s involved in the new frontier of tech in this new world that’s seemingly upon us.

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

▪ The U.S. relies on China for key medicines. They won’t be spared from tariffs.

▪ Here’s what you need to know about “debanking,” which has become a GOP talking point in recent weeks as they take aim at Biden-era regulators.

▪ The Hill’s three-part “Future of Energy” series begins today with reporting by Rachel Frazin about how falling costs drive the United States toward green energy — even as political tides shift.

LEADING THE DAY

Remember when kicking the government funding can down the road was supposed to give congressional Republicans overtime to resolve their disagreements? As lawmakers approach a March 14 deadline, they’re forecasting another extension. Bottom line: A full set of appropriations bills is nowhere in sight.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), members of his leadership team and an ideological cross section of lawmakers huddled for hours on Thursday with Trump and Vance to discuss a framework for advancing the president’s legislative wish list. His priorities include border funding, immigration policy and an extension of the 2017 tax cuts. Johnson, who is struggling to wrangle his razor-thin House GOP majority, said Sunday that tentative plans for a House Budget Committee markup this week on Trump’s massive legislative agenda may now be postponed.

“We were going to do a Budget Committee markup next week,” Johnson told “Fox News Sunday" at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, where he was preparing to watch the Super Bowl with Trump. “We might push it a little bit further because the details really matter. Remember that I have the smallest margin in history, about a two-vote margin currently, so I’ve got to make sure everyone agrees before we bring the project forward, that final product. And we’ve got a few more boxes to check, but we’re getting very, very close.”

Meanwhile, Hill relations are souring: Johnson last week accused House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) of “trying to set up some sort of a government shutdown” and saying Democrats were “unresponsive.”

“Projection,” Jeffries said, adding that Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the Democrats’ top appropriator, “has been trying to get Republicans to respond to her for weeks — weeks.”

House Republicans have said they’re “very close” to a deal for weeks now, even as progress stalls. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are moving ahead with an alternative, two-bill package focused on border security, defense and energy production. The Senate Budget Committee plans to mark up that package Wednesday and Thursday.

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, on Sunday defended Johnson’s delay in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewalt. Hern said Johnson’s task is especially difficult, noting the GOP can lose virtually no votes in the House, but he said he is optimistic that the conference will be able to move forward with a resolution this week.

Politico: Inside the House GOP clash over tax cuts.

With no stalemate resolution in sight, Trump could be stuck with Biden-era funding levels for longer than expected. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said last week that “appetite is increasing” among Republicans for a full-year stopgap to prevent a shutdown next month and keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year. But members on either side aren’t happy about the prospect of keeping funding the same as last year.

“That’s one of the things that, as an appropriator, that worries you,” Cole told reporters last week. “I would say that there’s a significant portion of our Congress that would rather us just [pass a stopgap] until we get Trump’s stuff.”

The New York Times: The confirmation of Russell Vought to lead the powerful White House budget office is likely to escalate the funding fights roiling Washington and the nation.

SENATE LOBBYIST: Vance has quickly become Trump’s liaison to the Senate, which has paid dividends during the confirmation processes for the most controversial nominees. The Senate GOP has long included voices skeptical of Trump, and even with a larger 53-seat majority that includes a number of new Trump allies, there have been doubts about some Cabinet picks. Now national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear headed toward confirmation after several doubters announced their support last week. Vance, a former senator, has been a “kind of chief Senate lobbyist,” said a source close to the president.

“He’s been enormously helpful,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill of Vance. “[He’s] willing to talk to whomever and served as a really good liaison between the president and our members, and I think people appreciate the fact that he’s been really candid. He’s not sugarcoating anything.”

NBC News: From TikTok to messy Cabinet nomination fights, Vance builds his VP portfolio. Vance heads to France and Germany this week for the first overseas trip of his vice presidency.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will convene at noon.
The Senate meets at 3 p.m.
The president at the White House will announce new tariffs.
The vice president is in Paris to participate in a two-day AI summit and attend the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany during his first overseas trip in his new role.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meetwith Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Department of State at 11 a.m.

ZOOM IN

GUANTÁNAMO: Trump administration officials are rapidly moving to turn Guantánamo Bay into a facility that could hold up to 30,000 migrants who are being deported from the U.S. Since announcing the move on Jan. 29, the Pentagon flew 10 migrants described as “high-threat individuals” to the facility in Cuba, while Defense Department and Homeland Security officials work to put infrastructure in place. The base is described as lacking facilities and would require considerable new spending if the government intends to shelter tens of thousands of detainees, feed them and provide hospital and medical care. Officials have been murky about the site’s long-term prospects, although it has long been used to house migrants from Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean nations. Some Democratic lawmakers believe the GOP strategy is about optics.

“It’s all about scaring and intimidating people,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (R-Ariz.). “Building a facility there is because it just sounds very frightening to a lot of folks.”

BUYOUTS: Millions of federal workers face a deadline today to decide whether to accept the Trump administration's unprecedented buyout offer, which 65,000 employees have already taken. But questions remain over whether the plan is even valid without Congress’s approval. Today, a federal judge in Boston is expected to hear arguments over the merits of the “deferred resignation” program, which is being challenged by several labor unions.

“I think this program is likely to be struck down,” Justin Schnitzer, a managing partner at Fedelaw, a Maryland law firm that specializes in federal employment cases, told NBC News. “In some of these emails, the administration says workers who take the buyout can ‘go on their dream vacation,’ things like that — but that’s clearly not how Congress appropriated funds.”

▪ The Hill: The majority of nurses, doctors and other personnel providing care to military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs do not qualify for the deferred resignation offer from the Trump administration.

▪ USA Today: Federal employees on Trump’s buyout offer: “The bridge is burned.”

PRIMARY BATTLES are already underway in key Senate and gubernatorial races ahead of the 2026 midterms, an election that will determine not only control of Congress but also the governorships in several key states. Retirements and term limits have triggered wide-open contests that are poised to become packed with candidates, while a few potentially vulnerable incumbents seem like they could face a serious primary challenge for another term. The Hill’s Jared Gans breaks down seven primaries to watch.

▪ NBC News: Casey DeSantis, wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), is considering running for Florida governor amid a push from top donors.

▪ The Washington Post: GOP laws aimed at very rare noncitizen voting could hit eligible voters.

ELSEWHERE

51ST STATE: It’s not a joke, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday, referring to Trump’s repeated statements that he wants to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. Trudeau said Canada needs to take the threat seriously.

“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau told a gathering of executives and business leaders in Toronto. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those. But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”

Trump has been talking about annexing Canada for weeks as he has laid the groundwork for plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States. Despite Trump’s reassertion in his Super Bowl interview that Canada should become the 51st State, national security adviser Mike Waltz told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday he doesn’t think the president has “any plans to invade Canada.”

“Really, what you’re seeing is a reassertion of American leadership in the Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic all the way down to the Panama Canal,” Waltz said.

▪ Bloomberg News: Why does Trump want Canada’s wealth of critical minerals?

▪ Reuters: Canada seeks stronger European Union trade ties in the face of Trump tariffs.

▪ The Guardian: Why Trump blinked before imposing his “beautiful” tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

GAZA CEASEFIRE: Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor that cuts through Gaza on Sunday as part of Israel’s commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas. But the truce faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension, amid external pressures, including Trump’s controversial Gaza relocation plan. An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar over the weekend to begin the second phase of negotiations.

On Saturday, three Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the deal.

▪ The Times of Israel: These are the 17 hostages yet to be returned in phase one of Gaza ceasefire.

▪ The Hill: The Trump administration on Friday announced a $7 billion arms sale to Israel, including munitions and missiles, just days after Congress blocked an initial deal.

▪ NPR: Egypt announced Sunday it would host a summit of Arab leaders on Feb. 27, amid alarm in the region over Trump’s proposals regarding the future of Gaza.

▪ Axios: Trump said he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin would not confirm the conversation.

▪ The Associated Press: Waltz said top Trump administration officials will meet with European officials this week about how to end the war in Ukraine.

OPINION

■ Democrats, Trump has given you a mission. Accept all of it, by E.J. Dionne Jr., columnist, The Washington Post.

■ Instead of taking aim at inflation, Trump has returned to his familiar culture war fights, by Brad Bannon, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 🏈 The three-peat that wasn’t. The rematch that was. The Philadelphia Eagles demolished two-time defending Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday in New Orleans. The Super Bowl LIX performance saw the Eagles avenge their 2023 Super Bowl defeat by the Chiefs and marked Philadelphia’s second Super Bowl victory. The Chiefs, meanwhile, broke their two-year winning streak.

“Defense wins championships,” Super Bowl MVP and Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts said after the game. “We saw the difference they made and the opportunities they gave us on a short field and we were able to do what we do.”

▪ Sports Illustrated: The Eagles were built to destroy, and that’s just what they did to the Chiefs.

▪ NPR: Kendrick Lamar brought West Coast hip hop, Uncle Sam and Serena Williams to the Super Bowl halftime show.

▪ CNN: Super Bowl LIX ads: Seals, donkeys and donuts.

Stay Engaged

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