Live updates: RFK Jr confirmed to lead health department; Trump to announce reciprocal tariffs on trading partners
![Live updates: RFK Jr confirmed to lead health department; Trump to announce reciprocal tariffs on trading partners Live updates: RFK Jr confirmed to lead health department; Trump to announce reciprocal tariffs on trading partners](http://i0.wp.com/static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/23/20/Trump_Cabinet_Rollins_99167.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
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Donald Trump is set to announce reciprocal tariffs today but gave no hints about his latest plan, which could target every country that charges duties on U.S. imports.
“Today is the big one: reciprocal tariffs,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
He later posted he would detail the latest in a barrage of tariffs he has unveiled since taking office last month in a press conference at 1 p.m. in the Oval Office.
Trump will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House later today with trade between the two nations high on the agenda.
On Capitol Hill, the president’s controversial nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has been confirmed by the Senate and will be sworn in later today.
Trump’s choice for Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, is answering questions at her confirmation hearing a day after he ranted about closing that very department.
Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI has advanced out of committee and will soon face a vote in the full Senate.
In other news, Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk have begun initiating the mass layoff of federal employees, with Musk saying he wants to “delete entire agencies” to reduce bureaucracy.
Modi brings tariff ‘gift’ to Trump
Ahead of his White House meeting on Thursday, Modi has readied promises including increased liquefied natural gas, combat vehicle and jet enginepurchases, according to Indian government officials who declined to be named.
Indian officials are also looking at possible deals on U.S. agriculture exports to India and investment in nuclear energy, along with tariff cuts in at least a dozen sectors, including electronics, medical and surgical equipment, and chemicals.
Those are areas Trump’s team believes India needs to make improvements, according to another person familiar with their thinking.
It’s a “gift” for Trump, said one of the sources, who declined to be named as they previewed a private meeting.
U.S. and Indian officials were also moving forward with talks on a bilateral trade deal, with a Trump administration official saying they hoped to have a deal in place this year.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:57
Democrat leader says Trump admin intends to keep New York mayor ‘on a short leash’
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries says concerns voiced by New York Democrats that Mayor Eric Adams has been “compromised” and is on a “short leash” are “all legitimately held concerns.”
Jeffries says that the Department of Justice dropping corruption and bribery charges against Adams without prejudice shows it is the Trump admin’s intention “to keep the current Mayor on a short leash.”
“How the mayor responds to the White House’s intentions will determine a lot about the political future of the current mayor of New York City.”
And here’s Ariana Baio and Mike Bedigan with the background on the case:
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:53
First-year federal workers are easier to fire
Now that the window has closed on the Trump administration’s offer to pay federal workers to resign, more sweeping layoffs could be coming. Most vulnerable are “probationary” employees who have less civil service protection for their first year on the job.
The full scope of the firings remains unclear. Some probationary employees have already been fired at the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Agencies were told by the Office of Personnel Management earlier this week that any probationary employees who aren’t meeting high performance standards should be let go. The guidance was shared by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Like Biden before him, high prices are Trump’s major economic challenge
As a candidate last year, Donald Trump suggested he could easily conquer inflation and ease voters’ fears about the economy.
“I will very quickly deflate,” he promised at a California rally. “We are going to take inflation, and we are going to deflate it. We are going to deflate inflation. We are going to defeat inflation. We’re going to knock the hell out of inflation.”
Wednesday’s consumer price index report showed that inflation is punching back — and President Trump could end up facing the same challenges that dragged down his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:47
Wrestler Triple H sitting behind Linda McMahon at hearing delights social media
Some joked that McMahon, estranged wife of WWE mogul Vince McMahon, had “brought her own security,” while others remarked on the sheer absurdity of the moment on Thursday.
Mike Bedigan has the story.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:41
Linda McMahon may be asked to dismantle the Education Department. Here’s what it does…
If Linda McMahon is confirmed as education secretary, President Donald Trump has said he wants her to “put herself out of a job.”
A plan being considered by the White House would direct the education secretary to dismantle the department as much as legally possible while asking Congress to abolish it completely. At her confirmation hearing Thursday, McMahon indicated she would seek “a better functioning Department of Education,” with more efficient programs that might be better implemented by different federal agencies.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:34
British military chiefs rage over fears of Trump sell out of Ukraine
And British defence figures are said to reacted furiously to claims Ukraine will be forced to give up land to Russia in a peace deal, saying of the US administration’s stance: “The bastards are going to do this”.
The robust British response could mark the first major test in relations between the Labour government and Mr Trump’s White House.
Mille Cooke and Kate Devlin report.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:28
Brooke Rollins confirmed as Trump’s secretary of agriculture
Brooke Rollins is confirmed as Donald Trump’s secretary of agriculture, taking a key post amid growing fights over tariffs, of which we will hear more from the president in under an hour.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:21
Full story: Senate confirms anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr
The Senate has voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the conspiracy-promoting environmental lawyer-turned-anti-vaccine activist, to run the nation’s largest public health agency.
In a 52-48 vote, Kennedy was approved as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, with only Sen. Mitch McConnell breaking from his Republican colleagues to reject the confirmation. McConnell, a polio survivor, has stressed the importance for vaccinations.
Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:11
McConnell votes against RFK Jr, releases blistering statement
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky issued the following statement today on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.
Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts.
This Administration – led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed – deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system. Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency. As he takes office, I sincerely hope Mr. Kennedy will choose not to sow further doubt and division but to restore trust in our public health institutions.
Oliver O’Connell13 February 2025 17:01