Federico DeMarco works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) | AP
‘LIBERATION DAY’ FALLOUT CONTINUES — As President Donald Trump’s global trade war upends the stock market for the second week in a row, leaders around the globe, and here at home, have started to push back. Here’s where we are at so far …
Volatile markets at home, and abroad: As expected, Wall Street faced another painful moment when markets opened this morning as the economic impacts of Trump’s trade war looms over weary investors. Just after opening, the Dow Industrial Index dropped 1,200 points while the S&P 500 faced its “worst three-day performance” since October 1987, per Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal. The early morning dip comes after global markets took a nosedive overnight, with “Hong Kong suffering their steepest fall since the 1997 Asian financial crisis,” Semafor’s Paige Bruton reports.)
But the numbers were on the upswing later in the day shortly after a CNBC headline claimed Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the president was considering a 90-day tariff pause for all countries except for China. The markets quickly spiked in response — only to tumble again when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced the story as “fake news.”
The whiplash goes to show just how badly Wall Street is hoping Trump will bring an end to the trade drama. In his annual letter to shareholders, the JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that the trade wars could threaten the U.S.’s long-term economic alliances: “The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse,” Dimon wrote. More per POLITICO’s Sam Sutton
Meanwhile, global leaders have signaled they’re open to negotiations – to an extent. Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told reporters the group had repeatedly offered zero for zero tariffs “long before” Trump’s latest trade announcement and they’re willing to agree to the same thing now, CNN’s James Frater and Christian Edwards report: “Europe is always ready for a good deal. So we keep it on the table,” Von der Leyen said.
In a 25-minute phone call with Trump today, Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba also suggested negotiations, telling reporters he urged Trump to reconsider the tariffs, noting “the tariff policies could hurt Japanese companies' investment capabilities.”
But Trump isn’t letting up yet. In a Truth Social post, the president ramped up his trade threats against China — demanding Beijjing rescind its 34 percent retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. or face additional 50 percent tariffs starting Wednesday. The president also warned he will cease negotiations with China if it doesn’t withdraw the measures.
“[A]ny country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs,” Trump wrote, repeating his warning shot to other countries considering similar moves. The president added negotiations with other countries “that requested a meeting” will take place “immediately.”
So what now? With Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping seemingly locked in a battle of wills, it’s unclear what happens next. But if tensions reach an ultimatum, “Beijing has other options,” per Bloomberg: “If past actions were any guide, it could let the yuan weaken to offset the impact of tariffs, tighten export controls on critical minerals or increase pressure on US companies operating in China.”
THE HILL HAS EYES — Opposition continues to mount on Capitol Hill as some lawmakers — including long-time Trump allies — grow nervous about the economic toll of Trump’s trade war.
A vivid image: In a new episode of his “Verdict” podcast, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) urged Trump to use this moment “as leverage” rather than enforce long-term tariffs: “[T]here are angels and demons sitting on President Trump’s shoulders. Who does he listen to? I hope he listens to the angels,” Cruz said.
ICYMI:Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) is also planning to introduce a bill today that would reclaim Congress’ authority over tariffs and limit presidential power over trade. The bill mirrors that of Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in the upper chamber, where seven GOP Senators have signed on so far.
Not signed on? Sen. Rand Paul. The Kentucky Republican says he has his own measure he wants to introduce that would take Congress’ powers further as he rails against Trump’s ongoing trade war. Though any such bill faces long odds in Congress, “Paul said a handful of Senate Republicans had told him privately that they supported his efforts even if they were unwilling to defy Trump by voting to overturn his tariffs,” WaPo’s Liz Goodwin and Theodoric Meyer report.
Meanwhile, the White House isn’t taking the challenge lightly. In a SAP sent out to congressional offices today, the administration threatened to veto the Senate bill should it pass, arguing it would encroach on the president’s power to national emergencies and threats: “If passed, this bill would dangerously hamper the President’s authority and duty to determine our foreign policy and protect our national security.” More per Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio
And hot on the left … Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is expanding his blockade to include a total of 300 Trump’s agency and department nominees in addition to several foreign relations bills,Axios’ Stephen Neukam scoops. Schatz called on his GOP colleagues, “who he said he thinks are privately panicked and frustrated, to publicly push back against the White House.”
“You can't be a senator in private,” Schatz said. “If you're going to stand up to the president, people have to see you doing it.”
Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
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HAPPENING SOON — Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in just under an hour. Expect the president’s new tariffs on Israel and the ongoing conflict in Gaza to be at the top of the agenda for the leaders. The White House reportedly canceled the planned 2:30 p.m. press conference with the Israeli leader, though the Oval Office meeting is still set to happen, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports.
The meeting comes as officials confirmed the White House has discontinued some of the final life-saving humanitarian initiatives in the Middle East that were a part of the now-dismantled USAID, AP’s Ellen Knickmeyer and Samy Magdy report: “About 60 letters canceling contracts were sent over the past week, including for major projects with the World Food Program, the world’s largest provider of food aid. … The newly terminated contracts were among about 900 surviving programs that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had notified Congress he intended to preserve, the USAID.”
7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block a judge's order for officials to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
`1. IMMIGRATION FILES: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block a judge's order for officials to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U. S. after the Maryland man was mistakenly deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, NBC News’ Marlene Lenthang and Gary Grumbach report. In their filing to the high court, administration lawyers described tonight’s midnight deadline to return Garcia as “arbitrary” and “impossible”: “The United States’ negotiations with a foreign sovereign should not be put on a judicially mandated clock, least of all when matters of foreign terrorism and national security are at stake.”
The cost of it all:NPR’s Ximena Bustillo and Alyson Hurt break down how the deportation process works and the price tags involved. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say around “1.4 million people have pending deportation orders” in the U.S., with the government typically on the hook for their potential detention, flight costs and more.
2. MORE SCOTUS WATCH: The high court will likely face another difficult case over Trump’s broad use of executive power after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the president from firing two federal board officials,POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. The unusual, split ruling overturned a decision from a three-judge panel last month from the same appellate court, meaning “Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, can return to their previous roles for now.” There’s little question Trump will ask SCOTUS to block the ruling on an emergency basis, but we’ll have to see “whether the justices will step in to do so or allow the appeals court’s process to play out fully to a final decision.”
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3. X FILES: Elon Musk’s constant presence in the Trump administration has bolstered X’s profile as the go-to site for official government news,NYT’s Kate Conger reports. In recent months, X “has scrambled to meet revenue and advertising goals,” internal emails show. But as Musk’s star continues to rise at the White House, major advertisers have returned to the platform, and “[b]ankers have sold off billions in the company’s outstanding debt in recent weeks. … While it’s unclear how long X’s new momentum will last, and how much of it is a direct result of Mr. Musk’s proximity to Mr. Trump, the recent successes are notable after years of business woes.”
4. SOCIAL INSECURITY: A slew of stories out in the last few days show how the 89-year-old Social Security Administration is rapidly buckling under the weight of DOGE job cuts. A union spokesperson warned the agency could face a “death spiral” as layoffs lead to overburdened employees and more resignations,The Guardian’s Michael Sainato reports. And across the country, beneficiaries are facing widespread website outages, many of which “appear to be caused by an expanded fraud check system imposed by the DOGE team,”WaPo’s Lisa Rein, Hannah Natanson and Elizabeth Dwoskin report. The tech issues come amid DOGE demands for a 50% cut to the agency’s tech division, while nervous customers fear “that the rapid changes at the agency will compromise their benefits.
5. THE LOCAL ANGLE: “Fed work helped build Black wealth in this suburb. Now families worry,” by WaPo’s Michael Brice-Saddler and Lateshia Beachum: “The federal government is the largest employer in Maryland, and more than 65,000 federal workers live in Prince George’s County, making up 17.4 percent of the county’s total workforce. … [I]n a suburb where fiscal spending by the local government is closely linked to residential homeownership and property taxes, the wide-scale loss of federal jobs threatens to imperil the county’s economy.”
6. SURVEY SAYS: “Trump pollster finds Medicaid cuts unpopular among Trump voters,” by POLITICO’s Ben Leonard: “Two-thirds of swing voters … said they disapproved of slashing the safety-net health program as part of the GOP’s larger effort to pass a party-line package of tax cuts, beefed up border security and increased defense spending. … These findings from Fabrizio Ward, the firm that conducted the survey, come as some Republicans say they oppose cuts to Medicaid to finance that package — but could have few other options than to do just that, given the massive deficit reduction targets lawmakers are facing.”
TALK OF THE TOWN
The artist behind Trump’s portrait in the Colorado state capitol is defending her work.
OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at an 80th birthday tribute and garden party for Steven J. Green, Dorothea Green and Kimberly Green, hosted by Florida International University’s FIU in Washington, D.C. and the Meridian International Center over two days last week: Singaporean Ambassador Lui Tuck Yew, Luis Almagro, Jeanette Nuñez, Shlomi Dinar, Carlos Becerra, Jim Messina, Rob and Marina Arnott, Jules Kroll, Jeremy Kroll, Mark Medish and Jorge Plasencia.
TRANSITIONS — Lauren Baldwin is now director of intergovernmental affairs and public engagement at USTR. She previously was a government relations coordinator at the Conservative Partnership Institute. … Olivia Coleman is now press secretary for the Office of the DNI. She previously was press secretary for the House Oversight Committee. … AnnMarie Pariseau is joining the Mackinac Center for Public Policy as director of comms. She previously was director of media engagement at Alliance Defending Freedom.
…Heidi Baskfield is now VP of mental health at the Children’s Hospital Association. She previously was president and CEO of the Advocacy Collective, and is a Children’s Hospital Colorado alum. … Christina Herrin is now director of the Consumer Center at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. She was previously director of health and science policy at Citizens Against Government Waste. … Cambell O’Connor will be manager of healthcare comms for AWS Communications at Amazon. He previously was VP of media relations at Weber Shandwick.
WEDDING — Reed Elman, SVP of campaigns at HGCreative, and Audrey Elman (née Whitehurst), media director at Polaris Campaigns, got married March 29 at the Hotel Monaco. Instapics
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