White House officials are quietly freaking out about Trump upcoming 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement
The mood inside the White House is verging on panic with just days to go before Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' on April 2.
Trump is expected to unveil sweeping new tariffs on America's global trading partners, but those tasked with implementing his agenda admit they're uncertain.
Behind closed doors, top administration officials are deeply concerned, with many quietly admitting they're unsure what the president is actually going to do.
'No one knows what the f*** is going on,' one White House ally close to Trump's inner circle told Politico.
From the vice president to the Cabinet, from financial markets to foreign capitals, the Trump administration's aggressive new tariff push is triggering anxieties on a global scale with even Trump's staunchest allies are bracing for a chaotic rollout.
The president has signaled that more than $1 trillion in trade could be affected.
But with less than a week to go, even the most basic details including which countries will be hit, at what rates, and for which goods, remain undecided or constantly shifting.
White House officials have spent the past several weeks privately assuring business leaders, financial executives, and Republican lawmakers that a clearer, more stable trade agenda is coming.
One goal is to calm markets rattled by previous tariff announcements that has caused the S&P 500 to shed all gains made since November's Election Day.
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Meanwhile...in related news:
S&P 500 touches lowest since September
The S&P 500 fell on Monday, but was off of its session-lows after falling back into correction territory earlier in the trading day, as traders nervously looked ahead to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 73 points, or 0.1%.
Life in Post Democracy Era: Trump 2/Elon
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The Evil Genius
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Where's Buzz when you need him?
Trump finds a ‘heartless and dangerous’ new way to screw over veterans
President Donald Trump is once again targeting the very veterans he claims to love—this time by reportedly gutting the Department of Veterans Affairs call centers and replacing human staff with automation.
According to CNN, which cited multiple sources familiar with the planned cuts, the agency is moving to automated systems, drastically reducing the need for live agents.
“This is heartless and dangerous,” one Democratic congressional staffer told CNN after being briefed by VA officials on the layoffs. “Veterans in need of life-saving care and compassion should be met with a person who understands their needs and can provide them the information and resources they seek, not a lifeless machine.”
Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been on a warpath to gut federal agencies, and veterans are among the first casualties. Earlier this month, Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense announced sweeping layoffs of civilian workers—many of whom are veterans.
Now, CNN reports that Trump’s VA purge is just the beginning of a broader plan to eliminate as many as 83,000 jobs—or 20% of the agency’s workforce.
Among the first on the chopping block? Billing specialists, policy analysts, and medical appointment managers—people who handle the day-to-day operations that keep the VA running. But it won’t stop there. Sources inside the agency and on Capitol Hill say the cuts will also slash health care support staff, human resources personnel, and regional and central office workers.
“This is exceptionally short-sighted,” one congressional staffer told CNN, pointing out that the VA’s HR offices are already struggling to keep up. “HR doesn’t just hire people—it handles firings, promotions, disciplinary actions, employee benefits, retirement, and more. Gutting that department will throw everything into chaos.”
Click on the link for the full article
Trump finds a ‘heartless and dangerous’ new way to screw over veterans
President Donald Trump is once again targeting the very veterans he claims to love—this time by reportedly gutting the Department of Veterans Affairs call centers and replacing human staff with automation.
According to CNN, which cited multiple sources familiar with the planned cuts, the agency is moving to automated systems, drastically reducing the need for live agents.
“This is heartless and dangerous,” one Democratic congressional staffer told CNN after being briefed by VA officials on the layoffs. “Veterans in need of life-saving care and compassion should be met with a person who understands their needs and can provide them the information and resources they seek, not a lifeless machine.”
Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been on a warpath to gut federal agencies, and veterans are among the first casualties. Earlier this month, Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense announced sweeping layoffs of civilian workers—many of whom are veterans.
Now, CNN reports that Trump’s VA purge is just the beginning of a broader plan to eliminate as many as 83,000 jobs—or 20% of the agency’s workforce.
Among the first on the chopping block? Billing specialists, policy analysts, and medical appointment managers—people who handle the day-to-day operations that keep the VA running. But it won’t stop there. Sources inside the agency and on Capitol Hill say the cuts will also slash health care support staff, human resources personnel, and regional and central office workers.
“This is exceptionally short-sighted,” one congressional staffer told CNN, pointing out that the VA’s HR offices are already struggling to keep up. “HR doesn’t just hire people—it handles firings, promotions, disciplinary actions, employee benefits, retirement, and more. Gutting that department will throw everything into chaos.”
Click on the link for the full article
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The Evil Genius
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2025 4:03 pm
- Reactions score: 193
- Location: Gallifery
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The Evil Genius
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2025 4:03 pm
- Reactions score: 193
- Location: Gallifery
I’ll take finally realizing what you sold out to for $500 Alex!
The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies. -John LesCroart
So much for any budget savings...
White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War
Ahead of President Trump’s plan to impose sweeping tariffs across the globe this week, his administration is weighing a new round of emergency aid to farmers, who are likely to be caught in the middle if America’s trading partners retaliate.
The early discussions offer a tacit acknowledgment that Mr. Trump’s expansive tariffs could unleash financial devastation throughout the U.S. agricultural industry, a crucial voting base that the president similarly tried to safeguard during his 2018 trade war with China.
While the president has not announced any details of an aid package, his advisers have signaled in recent days that he could follow a playbook similar to the one he used in his first term, when he directed billions in payments to farmers who saw their exports to China plummet amid a trade war with Beijing.
Such a rescue package ultimately proved expensive, with the government shelling out about $23 billion after China imposed high retaliatory duties on soybean, corn, wheat and other American imports beginning in 2018. That money came from a fund at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a portion of which can be used to respond to emergencies, including trade disputes.
Click on the link for the full article
White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War
Ahead of President Trump’s plan to impose sweeping tariffs across the globe this week, his administration is weighing a new round of emergency aid to farmers, who are likely to be caught in the middle if America’s trading partners retaliate.
The early discussions offer a tacit acknowledgment that Mr. Trump’s expansive tariffs could unleash financial devastation throughout the U.S. agricultural industry, a crucial voting base that the president similarly tried to safeguard during his 2018 trade war with China.
While the president has not announced any details of an aid package, his advisers have signaled in recent days that he could follow a playbook similar to the one he used in his first term, when he directed billions in payments to farmers who saw their exports to China plummet amid a trade war with Beijing.
Such a rescue package ultimately proved expensive, with the government shelling out about $23 billion after China imposed high retaliatory duties on soybean, corn, wheat and other American imports beginning in 2018. That money came from a fund at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a portion of which can be used to respond to emergencies, including trade disputes.
Click on the link for the full article
No corruption here...
Trump Orders Firing of Prosecutor Investigating One of His Donors
A Los Angeles-based federal prosecutor was reportedly fired Friday on instruction of the White House, with sources saying that it was likely due to his part in a case involving one of Trump’s top donors.
Citing several sources familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Los Angeles Times reports that prosecutor Adam Schleifer was fired Friday morning at around 11 a.m. via an email that read “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump.”
Carley Palmer, a former Los Angeles federal prosecutor, told the outlet that Schleifer received his termination from a “one line email and it came from a White House staff account.”
Sources also noted that Schleifer’s boss, acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Joseph T. McNally, was not involved with the decision.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House, in coordination with the Department of Justice, has dismissed more than 50 U.S. Attorney and Deputies in the past few weeks. The American people deserve a judicial branch full of honest arbiters of the law who want to protect democracy, not subvert it.”
The Times’ sources also said that they suspect Schleifer’s termination was caused in part by one case in particular: a probe of Andrew Wiederhorn, the former CEO of restaurant operator Fat Brands Inc. which owns fast-food chains like Fatburger and Johnny Rockets.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Wiederhorn was indicted by a grand jury last May on “federal charges alleging a scheme to conceal $47 million in distributions he received in the form of shareholder loans” from the IRS and other appropriate bodies. The former CEO pleaded not guilty.
Citing Federal Election Commission records, the Times reports that Wiederhorn donated “approximately $40,000” to the Republican National Committee and Trump political action committees since 2023.
Click on the link for the full article
Trump Orders Firing of Prosecutor Investigating One of His Donors
A Los Angeles-based federal prosecutor was reportedly fired Friday on instruction of the White House, with sources saying that it was likely due to his part in a case involving one of Trump’s top donors.
Citing several sources familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Los Angeles Times reports that prosecutor Adam Schleifer was fired Friday morning at around 11 a.m. via an email that read “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump.”
Carley Palmer, a former Los Angeles federal prosecutor, told the outlet that Schleifer received his termination from a “one line email and it came from a White House staff account.”
Sources also noted that Schleifer’s boss, acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Joseph T. McNally, was not involved with the decision.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House, in coordination with the Department of Justice, has dismissed more than 50 U.S. Attorney and Deputies in the past few weeks. The American people deserve a judicial branch full of honest arbiters of the law who want to protect democracy, not subvert it.”
The Times’ sources also said that they suspect Schleifer’s termination was caused in part by one case in particular: a probe of Andrew Wiederhorn, the former CEO of restaurant operator Fat Brands Inc. which owns fast-food chains like Fatburger and Johnny Rockets.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Wiederhorn was indicted by a grand jury last May on “federal charges alleging a scheme to conceal $47 million in distributions he received in the form of shareholder loans” from the IRS and other appropriate bodies. The former CEO pleaded not guilty.
Citing Federal Election Commission records, the Times reports that Wiederhorn donated “approximately $40,000” to the Republican National Committee and Trump political action committees since 2023.
Click on the link for the full article