Donald Trump

Is United States President Donald Trump leading his nation into economic ruin and authoritarian dystopia or correcting its course after decades of inertia?

Republican strategist James Davis and Democratic strategist Joel Rubin tell host Steve Clemons that Trump has delivered on his promise to “shake the place up”. But not all Americans believe that the economic pain caused by trade wars will lead to long-term gain.

With the Democratic Party in tatters, there is no alternative vision for the country on the horizon, leaving Americans wondering about rising costs and eroding freedoms.

President Donald Trump has said he is unsure whether people in the United States are entitled to due process rights guaranteed by the US Constitution as his administration pushes aggressively to deport immigrants who entered the country illegally and other non-citizens, including some detained for pro-Palestinian activism and other political speech.

Trump made his comments during an interview taped Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and aired Sunday on the NBC News programme Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.

Welker asked Trump whether he agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said last month that “of course” all people in the US are entitled to due process, which generally requires the government to provide notice and a hearing before taking certain adverse legal actions.

“I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump said, adding that such a requirement would mean “we’d have to have a million or two million or three million trials”.

The Constitution’s Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law”, meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.

Trump added that his lawyers “are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said”.

He said he was pushing to deport “some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth”, but that courts are getting in his way.

“I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it,” Trump said.

On April 19, the Supreme Court justices temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members. Trump’s administration, which has invoked a rarely used, 18th-century wartime law, has urged the justices to lift or narrow their order.

US Solicitor General Dean John Sauer said in a filing to the Supreme Court that detainees are receiving advance notice of their removals and have had “adequate time” to file claims for judicial review.

The Trump administration has deported hundreds of men without providing evidence of gang membership. In one prominent case, that of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, authorities ignored a court order that was supposed to protect him from deportation to El Salvador. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers later acknowledged that his removal was an “administrative error”.

Third term?

Separately, Trump said during the NBC interview that pursuing a third presidential term “is not something I’m looking to do”.

“It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do,” said Trump, who has occasionally hinted he would like to run for a third term.

The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment states in part: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Separately, Trump said the US economy is in a “transition period” but he expects it to do “fantastically” despite the economic turmoil sparked by his tariffs.

He offered sharp pushback when Welker noted that some Wall Street analysts now say the chances of a recession are increasing.

“Well, you know, you say, some people on Wall Street say,” Trump said. “Well, I tell you something else. Some people on Wall Street say that we’re going to have the greatest economy in history.”

He also deflected blame for the 0.3 percent decline in the US economy in the first quarter, saying he was not responsible for it.

“I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because he’s done a terrible job,” referring to his Democratic predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.

Trump also said he won’t remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who the president has repeatedly criticised for not moving faster to lower interest rates, before his term as Fed chair ends in 2026.

Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to fire Powell. His attacks came after Powell signalled that the Federal Reserve – which is responsible for conducting US monetary policy – would keep its key interest rate unchanged, while it seeks “greater clarity” on the effect of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs.

During the interview, Trump also said he would extend the June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok, the short video app used by 170 million Americans, if no deal had been reached by then.

“I would … I’d like to see it done,” Trump said.

Trump said he had a “sweet spot” for the app after it helped him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election, adding, “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected”.

May 3 (UPI) — The U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency is consolidating staff and shifting resources, part of a larger restructuring effort that will seek to “bring much needed efficiencies,” officials announced.

The agency is also planning to cut jobs as part of the shake-up, reducing staffing to levels seen during the 1980s, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said this week.

“With these organizational improvements, we recommit to fulfilling all of our statutory obligations and exceptionally delivering on EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. This reorganization will bring much needed efficiencies to incorporate science into our rulemakings and sharply focus our work on providing the cleanest air, land and water for our communities. It will also save at least $300 million annually for the American people,” Zeldin said in the agency’s statement.

Zeldin said the agency will strive to “operate as efficiently and effectively as possible,” signaling the possibility of looming job cuts.

The New York Times previously reported President Donald Trump‘s administration planned to fire over 1,500 scientists from the EPA at some point, citing an internal government document.

The agency had a workforce of 15,130 people and a $9.158 billion budget in the most recent fiscal year.

“This phase of reorganization will save taxpayers more than $300 million annually by Fiscal Year 2026. It is all part of a larger, comprehensive effort to restructure the agency, and when finalized, EPA expects to have employment levels near those seen when President Ronald Reagan occupied the White House,” the EPA said in a press release announcing the restructuring.

Under the directive, the focus will shift to strengthening partnerships with state-level agencies, particularly when it comes to air and water monitoring.

“In the Office of Air and Radiation, we’re establishing the first-ever Office of State Air Partnerships to improve coordination with state, local, and tribal air permitting agencies. This collaborative approach will resolve permitting concerns more efficiently and ensure EPA is working with states, not against them, to advance our shared mission,” Zeldon wrote in an op-ed written for Newsweek and republished on the EPA’s website.

Part of that will also see the creation of a new Office of Clean Air Programs.

The EPA also plans to begin consolidating staff to save on office space costs and prioritize approval of the use of certain chemicals currently under review.

“Under the previous administration, EPA’s buildings stood largely empty, with headquarters attendance peaking at just over one-third occupancy as the record high attendance day last year. Agency spending had ballooned from around $8 billion to $10 billion to more than $63 billion. Hundreds of new chemicals remained in regulatory limbo far beyond statutory review timelines, as did more than 12,000 pesticide reviews, and 685 State Implementation,” Zeldin wrote.

He pointed to some 504 new chemicals currently under EPA review beyond the statutorily required timeframe and more than 12,000 pesticides in a similar situation.

“The American people deserve an EPA that effectively balances environmental protection with economic prosperity,” Zeldin wrote.

“Through this reorganization, we’re positioning the agency to do just that.”

Cardinals will gather on May 7 in a conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.

United States President Donald Trump has faced backlash, including from Catholics, after he posted an artificial intelligence-generated photo showing himself as the pope days in advance of a conclave to elect the next pontiff.

Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died last month at the age of 88. The White House then reposted it on its official X account.

The image shows an unsmiling Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with his right forefinger raised.

It came after Trump joked to reporters this week that he would like to be the next pope, just days before cardinals are due to start the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis.

pic.twitter.com/x2HrR939tn

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025

Asked who he would like to succeed Francis, Trump said: “I’d like to be pope, that would be my number one choice.”

Trump went on to say he did not have a preference, but said there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good”.

He appeared to be referring to the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, a theological conservative and fiercely opposed to abortion.

‘Blatant insult to Catholics’

The irreverent posting, however, drew instant outrage on X, including from Republicans against Trump, a group that describes itself as “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism”. The group reposted the image, calling it “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith”.

The New York State Catholic Conference, which says it represents bishops of the state in working with the government, voiced sharp criticism of the picture.

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” it wrote in a post on X.

“We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.”

Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its homepage on Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania”.

When asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”

Pope Francis had arguably been one of the most powerful moral voices on the world stage critical of Trump.

When Trump first ran for president in 2016, Francis was unsparing on his signature promise to build a border wall to seal off Mexico.

Francis had told reporters: “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian.”

Cardinals will gather on May 7 in a conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.

May 3 (UPI) — South Korea’s defense industry is gaining global interest, as demonstrated by high-profile visits from U.S. figures like Donald Trump Jr., who met with business leaders in Seoul Tuesday. Reportedly, among them was Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan.

Vice Chairman Kim also hosted US Navy Secretary John Phelan Wednesday at Hanwha’s shipyard in Geoje, roughly 200miles southeast of Seoul.

“Working with leading shipyards like Hanwha Ocean Shipbuilding and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is essential to ensuring deployed U.S. ships and systems remain fully operational in the Indo-Pacific,” Secretary Phelan said.

“Leveraging the expertise of these highly capable shipyards enables timely maintenance and repairs for our vessels to operate at peak performance. This level of large-scale repair and maintenance capability strengthens our combat readiness, sustains forward deployed operational presence, and reinforces regional stability,” he stated

Observers point out that such visits reflect growing global recognition of South Korea’s defense capabilities.

Hanwha Group operates such subsidiaries as Hanwha Aerospace, known for the K9 self-propelled howitzers, and Hanwha Ocean, a manufacturer of warships and submarines.

As the eldest son of Chairman Kim Seung-youn, Vice Chairman Kim is regarded as the heir apparent of South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate.

“For the United States, South Korea is indispensable to reviving its shipbuilding industry, as President Donald Trump has stressed,” Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun told UPI.

“Washington is likely to seek South Korea’s capital and technology as the country is a global leader in naval vessel construction. Hanwha Ocean is well-positioned, having already invested in the U.S. last year,” he said.

In June 2024, Hanwha Ocean and its sister company channeled $100 million to acquire Philly Shipyard, which has delivered about half of the large U.S. Jones Act commercial ships since 2000.

Hanwha Ocean was soon awarded a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) contract for the U.S. Navy’s dry cargo and ammunition ship Wally Schirra.

The task was completedin Geoje and Hanwha Ocean is now working on another MRO deal for USNS Yukon, a replenishment oiler assigned to the Navy’s 7th Fleet.

Beyond the U.S., the traditional weapons of South Korea gained popularity after the war between Russia and Ukraine started in early 2022.

According to South Korea’s defense ministry, arms exports more than doubled from $7.73 billion in 2021 to $17.3 billion in 2022. The figure dropped to $13 billion in 2023 and $9.5 billion last year, but is projected to rebound to $24 billion this year in consideration of ongoing negotiations with multiple countries.

In addition to Hanwha, several other South Korean defense corporations have proactively entered the global market, including Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries, LIG Nex1, and HD Hyundai.

“South Korean firms are favored by global buyers for their quick delivery and cost-effectiveness, the advantages shaped by the country’s continued weapons production amid North Korean threats,” Jeonbuk National University professor Jang Won-joon said in a phone interview.

“Their international rivals are also trying to expand facilities to better meet demand. Against this backdrop, South Korean players will need to innovate to maintain their edge in the long run,” he commented.

However, some critics take issue with the Seoul administration’s lack of transparency in arms exports.

“The Korean government vows to become one of the world’s top four arms exporters. Yet, it does not disclose related information transparently,” attorney Lim Jae-sung noted in a local newspaper column.

May 3 (UPI) — The National Endowment for the Arts has begun to cancel grants to recipients after President Donald Trump on Friday revealed a budget plan calling for the elimination of the agency as he aims to exert governmental influence over the cultural sector.

The NEA — along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — was one of some 16 “small agencies” marked for elimination in Trump’s 2026 budget proposal.

In the budget plan, White House officials wrote that the disbanding of the agencies was “consistent” with Trump’s aims to slash the federal government to “enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities.”

The operations of the small agencies amount to some $3.5 billion of the federal budget while Elon Musk’s SpaceX has received some $15.3 billion in government contracts alone since 2003. Musk oversees the Department of Governmental Efficiency’s efforts to cull what it views as wasteful spending for the Trump administration.

“We have some difficult news to share with you all. This evening we were informed by the National Endowment for the Arts that they are withdrawing their $25,000 grant in support of our current production of Joe Turner‘s Come and Gone,” the Portland Playhouse in Oregon said in a statement on social media Friday.

“To receive this news on the eve of opening night is deeply disappointing. While we have no plans currently to cancel our production, moving forward without the support of this critical funding presents a significant challenge for our company.”

The NEA was established in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his Great Society agenda to foster creativity and bring cultural enrichment to all Americans.

Though it represents less than 0.004% of the federal budget, the NEA has long been a target of political scrutiny, particularly from conservative lawmakers who argue that public funds should not support art deemed controversial or elitist.

Trump previously proposed eliminating the NEA during his first term, but the effort was repeatedly blocked by Congress, where the agency enjoys bipartisan support from lawmakers representing districts that benefit from cultural tourism and arts-related economic development.

This time, however, Trump has more tools at his disposal, including his DOGE allies and a Republican-controlled budget committee that appears more willing to implement his sweeping cuts. House Speaker Mike Johnson has already endorsed Trump’s proposal.

Arts advocates warn that the real impact of the proposed elimination won’t just be felt in major metropolitan museums but in small-town programs that rely on NEA matching funds to unlock local and state-level support. In many cases, losing the NEA grant could trigger a domino effect that makes it harder for organizations to qualify for private philanthropy or regional grants.

The cancellation of grants has affected everything from playhouses to publishing houses, from visual arts centers to film festivals. A list of 2025 grant recipients shows hundreds of recipients across America’s small towns.

Will Evans of the Texas-based nonprofit publishing house Deep Vellum called the NEA “politically weaponized” on social media.

“They can’t cancel literature; they can’t cancel dialogue. Donate & let’s fight this [expletive] together!” Evans said.

The cancellation of the grants was sent by email to the affected arts organizations. According to The New York Times, which reviewed the emails sent to various grant recipients, there were at least two versions of the message.

Mexican president says she told Donald Trump that Mexico ‘will never accept the presence of US army in our territory’.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she rejected an offer from her United States counterpart, Donald Trump, to send US troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking.

Speaking at a public event on Saturday, Sheinbaum said Trump had asked her during a call how he could help fight organised crime and suggested sending US troops.

The Mexican leader said she declined, telling Trump, “We will never accept the presence of the United States army in our territory.”

“I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,’” Sheinbaum said.

Her comments come a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was pressuring Mexico to allow “deeper US military involvement” in the fight against drug cartels.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the news outlet said “tension rose” during an April 16 call between the two leaders as Trump “pushed to have US armed forces take a leading role in battling Mexican drug gangs that produce and smuggle fentanyl to the US”.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly hit out at Mexico and the US’s other neighbour, Canada, over drug trafficking.

He has accused the two countries of allowing illegal drugs, most notably fentanyl, to flow over their borders into the US.

Trump’s administration has also tied its push to impose steep tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods to fentanyl trafficking, among other factors.

On Saturday, Sheinbaum said she had offered to collaborate with the US during her talks with Trump, including through greater information-sharing.

At the same time, the Mexican president said she had urged Trump to stop the cross-border arms trafficking that has contributed to a wave of violence that has killed more than 450,000 in Mexico over nearly two decades.

She added that Trump issued an order on Friday “to ensure that everything necessary is in place to prevent weapons from entering our country from the United States”.

A spokesperson for the US National Security Council told the Reuters news agency that Trump had been “crystal clear that Mexico must do more to combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries”.

The spokesperson added that Trump had worked closely with Sheinbaum to achieve the “most secure southwest border in history”.

But “dangerous foreign terrorist organizations continue to threaten our shared security and the drugs and crime they spread threaten American communities across the country”, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Trump has continued to push forward with his plan to carry out the “largest deportation operation” in US history, despite several legal challenges against his hardline anti-immigration policies.

The US Department of Defense said earlier this week that it designated a second stretch on the border with Mexico as a military zone to enforce immigration laws.

The newest area is in the US state of Texas and is attached to the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso.

Like the first zone established last month in New Mexico, military personnel are authorised to take custody of migrants who irregularly cross the border until they are transferred to civilian authorities in the US Department of Homeland Security.

May 3 (UPI) — The taxpayer-funded Voice of America is scheduled to resume broadcasting next week for at least a little while longer.

The Department of Justice emailed VOA staff on Friday to tell them a “phased return” of the radio broadcast will occur next week while a federal appeals court weighs the matter, Politico and The Guardian reported.

“The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) currently expects staff to begin to return to the office next week, as security, building space and equipment issues require a phased return,” U.S. Attorney Brenda Gonzalez Horowitz said in an email to attorneys who are representing VOA employees in the federal legal challenge, The Washington Post reported.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday temporarily stopped the Trump administration from blocking USAGM’s and VOA’s funding, but affirmed the administration could continue withholding funds from Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

The VOA is a federal entity, but the other broadcasting platforms are privately owned non-profits that mostly were funded by Congress.

Thursday’s ruling enables the VOA to resume broadcasting while he appellate court weighs the merits of the case, which might take several weeks or months to decide.

President Donald Trump on March 14 signed an executive order to reduce the scope of the federal government, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the VOA.

A day later, the White House newsletter published an article called “The Voice of Radical America,” which says “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”

The unattributed article quotes former 34-year VOA correspondent Dan Robinson in an earlier opinion piece saying the VOA “has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media.”

Robinson argues the USAGM and VOA “are rightly in budget cut bull’s-eye” and accuses VOA of “violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement.”

The VOA began as an international radio broadcast more than 80 years ago and more recently included television, mobile, internet and social media formats in more than 40 languages.

Prime minister of Yemen’s internationally recognised government has resigned amid political turmoil.

Israel has intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, the third such attack by Houthi forces in a 24-hour span, as the United States continues daily attacks on the country.

The Israeli army confirmed on Saturday it had activated air raid sirens across parts of the country following the missile launch.

No injuries or major damage were reported. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a response to Israeli operations in Gaza.

The Houthis have increasingly targeted Israel and shipping routes in the Red Sea, stating that their actions are acts of solidarity with Palestinians as Israel continues its assault on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Houthis did not carry out attacks during the Gaza ceasefire earlier this year until Israel blocked all aid into the besieged enclave in early March and followed that with a full resumption of the war.

In the meantime, Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported on Saturday that the US launched two air raids on Yemen’s Kamaran Island and as-Salif district in the port city of Hodeidah.

The new attacks come a day after the same news outlet reported seven US attacks on the Ras Isa oil port in as-Salif district in Hodeidah. Last month, a US strike on the same port killed at least 80 people and wounded 150 in one of the deadliest attacks on the country by US forces.

The US has also ramped up its air campaign in Yemen, launching its most extensive military operations in the Middle East since President Donald Trump assumed office in January.

US forces claim to have struck Houthi positions, however, there have been numerous civilian casualties.

The high civilian toll from US strikes is drawing increasing alarm. The UK-based monitor Airwars reported that between 27 and 55 civilians were killed in March alone. April’s deaths are expected to be higher.

Houthi sources say at least 68 African migrants died in a single overnight strike on Monday, with additional casualties reported around the capital.

Yemen’s prime minister resigns

As the conflict intensifies, political instability is growing within Yemen.

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, the prime minister of the internationally recognised government, announced his resignation on Saturday, citing persistent challenges, including his inability to reshuffle the cabinet.

Government insiders said a power struggle with Presidential Council leader Rashad al-Alimi triggered Mubarak’s departure.

Within hours of the announcement, the presidential council named Finance Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik as prime minister, according to the state-run SABA news agency. The council also named bin Mubarak as an adviser to the ruling body, without addressing his claims.

Mubarak’s political career has been closely linked to the long-running war in Yemen. He rose to prominence after being abducted by Houthi fighters in 2015 while serving as chief of staff to then-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Much of the international community does not recognise the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), even though the armed Iran-aligned group controls most parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and some of the western and northern areas close to Saudi Arabia.

May 3 (UPI) — Warren Buffett shared his thoughts on everything from Donald Trump‘s tariffs to the state of the economy Saturday, while also taking questions from shareholders.

The billionaire Chairman and CEO of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway spoke at the company’s annual shareholder weekend in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., which saw a record 20,000 people attend.

Buffett in February celebrated 60 years at the helm of the company he founded, where he reiterated his preference for the equity market over large cash positions.

Buffett is Berkshire Hathaway’s largest shareholder, controlling approximately 31.2% of its voting interest.

Nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffet is the seventh richest person in the world with a net worth of $168.2 billion through Saturday, according to Forbes.

Berkshire Hathaway’s market capitalization stood at $1.16 trillion Saturday.

The 94-year-old said he believes the American economy will steady itself after the market turmoil created in the wake of the announcement of international tariffs by President Donald Trump.

He also reiterated his position that the tariff should not be used as “an act of war” with other countries.

“There’s no question that trade can be an act of war and I think it’s led to bad things, just the attitudes it’s brought out in the United States,” Buffett said in response to a question.

“I mean, we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world and we should do what we do best and they should do what they do best.”

Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Chair Greg Abel also fielded questions about the company’s insurance business assets in the aftermath of California’s devastating wildfires.

“We can’t just become the insurer of last resort,” Abel responded to a shareholder question, while acknowledging the public utility business is not as lucrative as it has been previously.

“We can’t be responsible for everything that happens in the state.”

The pair also said the company plans to continue investments and operations of coal power plants.

“We will continue to work with each of our states to identify the paths they want to chart,” Abel told investors, adding coal is still required to keep power grids stable, eliciting a round of applause.

May 2 (UPI) — Federal officials are proposing to roughly triple the number of hunting opportunities across the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System, the U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed Friday.

The proposal would see 42 new hunting opportunities across more than 87,000 acres within the department’s systems, including the first-ever sanctioned hunting opportunity in the newly established Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge.

Opportunities will expand in 16 National Wildlife Refuge System stations and one National Fish Hatchery System station in 11 states. The system is made up of 573 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts.

The proposal would amount to more than tripling the number of hunting opportunities under President Donald Trump‘s administration. It would also more than quadruple the number of fishing stations, the department said in a statement Friday.

“Expanding recreational access to our public lands isn’t just about tradition — it’s about supporting rural economies and the American families who depend on them,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the department’s statement.

“By opening more areas to hunting and outdoor recreation, we’re helping drive tourism, create jobs, and generate revenue for local communities, all while promoting responsible stewardship of our natural resources.”

The proposal will see expanded hunting opportunities at National Wildlife Refuge System stations in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Texas and Washington.

Among the new opportunities is the first time sport fishing will be offered at the North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery in Massachusetts.

The department says it is making the changes to grow interest in outdoor activities, which collectively generated more than $394 billion worth of economic expenditures in the United States in 2022. Hunting and fishing specifically accounted for over $144 billion of that total, according to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

Federal officials say they are working in harmony with their state-level counterparts to facilitate the new proposal. In Minnesota, the department is proposing an end to an experimental five-day early opening of the hunting season for the American teal, a common duck, at the request of the state and White Earth Nation.

“Hunting and fishing are traditional recreational activities deeply rooted in America’s heritage. National wildlife refuges, national fish hatcheries and other Service lands offer hunting and fishing access that helps boost local economies and gives Americans an opportunity to unplug,” Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Paul Souza said in the department’s statement.

“We are pleased to expand access and offer new opportunities that are compatible with our conservation mission and are committed to responsibly managing these areas for the benefit of future generations.”

Cuts will reportedly take place over several years and be accomplished through reduced hiring as opposed to layoffs.

United States President Donald Trump’s administration is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other major US spy units, according to The Washington Post, in a move seen as part of his bid to downsize key government agencies.

The CIA plans to cut 1,200 positions, along with thousands more from other parts of the US intelligence community, the newspaper reported on Friday.

Members of Congress have reportedly been told about the planned cuts, which will take place over several years and be accomplished in part through reduced hiring as opposed to layoffs, the report added.

Asked about the report, a spokesperson for the agency did not confirm the specifics, but said that the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, “is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the administration’s national security priorities”.

“These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position CIA to deliver on its mission,” the spokesperson also said.

Trump appointee Ratcliffe, who was sworn in as CIA director in January, previously told lawmakers that, under his leadership, the agency would “produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products”.

“We will collect intelligence, especially human intelligence, in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult,” as well as “conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do”, he said.

Addressing CIA officers, he said: “If all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work.”

In March, the CIA also announced that it would fire an undetermined number of junior officers as part of Trump’s government downsizing policy.

An agency spokesperson said those officers with behavioural issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off, noting that not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job.

In February, the CIA also offered buyouts to some employees. It was not clear how many employees accepted the offer.

Government says 100km-long Texas National Defense Area runs east from the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso.

The United States military has created a second military zone along the border with Mexico, adding an area in Texas where troops can temporarily detain migrants or trespassers, following another zone newly designated in New Mexico last month.

The announcement of a new military encampment comes as President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive anti-immigration crackdown since taking office, increasing troops at the southern border and pledging to deport millions of people from the US.

Some of the people the Trump administration deported have included children who are American citizens.

The US military said late on Thursday that it had established the “Texas National Defense Area” in a 100-kilometre (63-mile) strip running east from the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso.

According to the Pentagon, US troops can detain migrants in the zones, and the detainees will then be handed over to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or other civilian law enforcement, which maintains jurisdiction over illegal border crossings.

In April, the Trump administration designated an 18-metre-wide, 270km-long (60 feet by 170 miles) strip along the base of New Mexico as a “National Defense Area”.

A total of 82 migrants have so far been charged for crossing into the New Mexico military zone, according to the US Attorney’s Office. US troops did not detain any of them, and they were dealt with by CBP officials.

The military zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use its military forces to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the US military only to suppress events like civil disorder.

About 11,900 US troops are currently stationed on the border with Mexico. According to government data, the number of migrants caught crossing illegally into the US in March fell to the lowest level ever recorded.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican, on Thursday posted pictures of a razor wire barrier construction on the border, saying, “Texas continues to work with the Trump Administration to stop illegal immigration.”

Since 2021, Abbott has deployed the state’s National Guard and police to border security.

However, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has opposed what she called a “deportation buffer zone” in her state.

In a March social media post, the Democrat called it “a waste of resources and military personnel, especially when migrant crossings are at the lowest in decades”.

May 2 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to halt federal funding to PBS and NPR, calling the public news organizations “biased.”

Trump, who has long criticized the two news organizations for alleged bias, signed the executive order Thursday, directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease direct funding to NPR and PBS to the maximum extent allowed by law.

To stem indirect public funding to NPR and PBS, the executive order calls on CPB to ensure that licensees and permittees of public radio and television stations as well as other recipients of its funds, do not use federal funds for the two news organizations.

All agency heads are also directed under the order to identify and terminate any funding to the organizations, which are also to be investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services for compliance with statutory mandates concerning employment discrimination.

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher described Trump’s executive order as “an affront” to the First Amendment rights of her news organization, listeners and locally owned and operated stations across the United States that depend on their content.

“We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public,” she said in a statement. “We will challenge this executive order using all means available.”

More than 70% of CPB’s congressionally approved $535 million budget goes directly to public media stations through grants.

According to NPR, about 1% of its annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from CPB and federal agencies and departments, excluding CPB funding for the Public Radio Satellite System.

According to PBS, federal funding covers about 15% of its revenue.

The White House on social media said they receive “millions from taxpayers.”

Trump signed the executive order just two days after CPB sued the Trump administration over its attempt to remove three of its board members.

In the lawsuit, CPB argues that it is not a federal agency but a private corporation and therefore is not subject to the president’s authority.

It also comes amid a GOP push to strip the two organizations of federal funds, and roughly two weeks after the White House issued a statement that amounted to a list of articles from NPR and PBS that the Trump administration took exception too, and framed as spreading “radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.'”

On his Truth Social media platform early last month, Trump urged Republicans to abandon both PBS and NPR.

“REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS’ THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!” he said.

CPB was founded in 1967 as a private nonprofit corporation to fund public television and radio stations and their programs.

A recent Pew study conducted in March found that 43% of respondents said NPR and PBS should continue to receive federal funding compared to 24% that said Congress should stop allocating the two news organizations money. The remaining 33% of respondents said they weren’t sure.

A United States district judge has struck down an executive order from President Donald Trump that targeted the law firm Perkins Coie over its representation of his Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton.

On Friday in Washington, DC, Judge Beryl A Howell issued a five-page order declaring the executive order unconstitutional.

“Executive Order 14230 is unlawful, null and void in its entirety and therefore should be disregarded,” Howell wrote in the order.

The ruling is the first to permanently nullify one of the executive orders Trump has issued against a law firm. His administration is expected to appeal.

As part of Judge Howell’s order, the Trump administration must cease any investigations of Perkins Coie, restore any rescinded services and allow the law firm to resume its “ordinary course of business” with the government.

In her full 102-page ruling, Judge Howell spelled out her rationale, declaring Trump’s executive order represented “an unprecedented attack” on the country’s “foundational principles”.

“No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit,” she said in her opening lines. “In purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

Trump’s executive order, she added, offers a new twist on that Shakespearean phrase: “Let’s kill the lawyers I don’t like.”

The case began on March 6, when Trump published Executive Order 14230 under the title, “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP”.

Citing the law firm’s work with Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, the executive order suspended the law firm’s security clearances, limited its access to government buildings and ordered agencies to terminate contracts with Perkins Coie when possible.

A handful of other law firms were also targeted with executive orders, including WilmerHale, Paul Weiss and Jenner & Block. Many had either represented causes unfavourable to Trump or had employed individuals with whom the president had expressed open displeasure.

But the idea that the president could withdraw services, security clearances, and even building access — simply because he disagreed with a law firm — raised questions about the constitutionality of those orders.

Critics pointed out that the First Amendment of the US Constitution protects individuals and companies from facing government retaliation for their free speech. The Fifth and Sixth Amendments, meanwhile, protect the right to due process and the right to seek legal counsel from law firms like Perkins Coie.

Many of the law firm’s clients had cases intimately involved with the inner workings of the government. Perkins Coie even said in its filings that its lawyers had to “necessarily interact with the federal government on behalf of their clients”.

It also added that some of its clients had started to reconsider working with Perkins Coie, in light of the executive order’s restrictions.

In April, more than 500 law firms signed an amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie, arguing that Trump’s actions “would threaten the survival of any law firm” — and scare away clients.

Judge Howell validated those concerns in her ruling, saying that the law firm had “shown monetary harm sufficient to establish irreparable harm”. She also called the executive order an “overt attempt to suppress and punish certain viewpoints”.

But rather than face such punitive action, several high-profile law firms decided to cut a deal with the White House.

Paul Weiss was believed to be the first to strike a bargain, offering the administration $40m in pro bono legal services. Others followed suit: The firms Skadden, Milbank and Willkie Farr & Gallagher each agreed to perform $100m in free legal services.

In her ruling, Judge Howell warned that Trump’s executive orders against law firms could have a chilling effect on the entire profession and were tantamount to a power grab.

“Eliminating lawyers as the guardians of the rule of law removes a major impediment to the path to more power,” she wrote.

The Constitution, she added, “requires that the government respond to dissenting or unpopular speech or ideas with ‘tolerance, not coercion’”.

Democrats have called for an investigation into whether the US president is pressuring the IRS to strip Harvard’s status.

United States President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to strip Harvard University of its tax exempt status, a move that could cost the Ivy League institution billions of dollars if implemented.

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” Trump wrote on Friday, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

The statement is the latest threat in a continuing feud between the Republican president and Harvard, the country’s oldest higher-education institution.

Since taking office for a second term on January 20, Trump has sought to increase his control over US universities and crack down on what he considers “illegal protests” on campus.

But Harvard has been a focal point for his public ire, particularly after school leaders refused a list of demands the Trump administration sent on April 11.

In a five-page letter (PDF), Trump officials called on Harvard to reform its student disciplinary system, investigate protesters involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, commission an external audit of programmes deemed anti-Semitic and eliminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

The letter also required Harvard to commit to “viewpoint diversity” in its hiring and admissions practices, something it was expected to accomplish through “structural and personnel changes”. Critics said this mandate was tantamount to Trump attempting to impose a political litmus test on the school.

By April 14, Harvard’s President Alan Garber had rejected the letter. In a statement published to Harvard’s website, he explained that Trump’s demands infringed upon Harvard’s academic freedom, among other rights.

“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Garber wrote. “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

The Trump administration swiftly responded by suspending nearly $2.2bn in grants and contracts to the school.

It has since filed a lawsuit (PDF) challenging Trump’s attempts to withhold federal funding from the school, calling the move “leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard”.

Shortly after halting the grants and contracts, Trump turned his attention to Harvard’s tax exempt status, ratcheting up the pressure on the school.

Educational institutions, charities, nonprofits and institutions of scientific research are among the entities eligible to apply for tax exempt status under US law. That status offers those organisations relief from paying federal income and property taxes.

But on April 15, Trump mused on social media that Harvard should lose that exemption, on account of its handling of pro-Palestinian student protests.

“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax-Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’” Trump wrote.

US media reports later indicated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was having internal deliberations about whether to revoke the school’s IRS status, despite such action being relatively rare.

But under the US Code, it is illegal for the president, vice president or any of their employees to petition the IRS — even indirectly — to conduct an audit of any taxpayer.

Democrats have seized on that fact to push for an investigation into the Trump administration’s actions towards Harvard.

“The President is targeting the non-profit status of Harvard University for blatantly political purposes,” Democratic senators including Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren wrote in a joint letter on Friday.

“The president’s call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status raises troubling constitutional questions, including whether the president is trying to squelch Harvard’s free speech rights and whether the revocation of its tax-exempt status will deprive the university of its due process rights.”

The United States has labelled the Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif gangs in Haiti “foreign terrorist organisations”, a move that follows a trend under President Donald Trump of issuing terrorist designations against criminal groups in Latin America.

As part of Friday’s announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the two gangs have spread violence and chaos in Haiti, where armed groups exert substantial control over much of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

“The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over,” Rubio said in a news statement.

“Haitian gangs, including the Viv Ansanm coalition and Gran Grif, are the primary source of instability and violence in Haiti. They are a direct threat to US national security interests in our region.”

The Trump administration has projected a hard line against criminal groups in Latin America, often connecting those efforts to domestic priorities like stemming irregular migration and drug trafficking.

In February, the US also designated eight drug-trafficking and criminal groups as terrorist organisations, including gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Tren de Aragua and several Mexican drug cartels.

While such groups carry out acts of violence and intimidation, experts have typically differentiated between them and traditional “terrorist” organisations that typically have explicit political goals.

The designation of “foreign terrorist organisation” makes any member of a given group inadmissible for entry into the US.

It also bars offering “material support or resources” to the group — an element of legal jeopardy that could inadvertently penalise individuals in areas where gangs are deeply embedded in the local economy and government.

But Trump and his allies have sought to up the ante against criminal organisations and cartels, blaming them for the flow of undocumented migration and illicit drug-trafficking into the US.

In the past, he and other Republican leaders have even suggested the US could carry out military strikes on countries such as Mexico to address the threat of gangs, causing alarm about possible violations of territorial sovereignty.

While US-Mexico relations remain strong, critics fear aggressive moves — including the use of the terrorism designation for Mexican cartels — could undermine cooperation as the two countries address organised crime.

In Haiti, the threat of gangs is widespread. For instance, the Viv Ansanm coalition, whose name translates to “Live Together”, is thought to control as much as 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, preventing commercial flights from arriving and restricting necessary supplies like food and medicine.

With many Haitian civilians facing hunger, displacement and violence, critics fear the new designation could make it even harder to send necessary supplies to the country, given the need to negotiate with the gangs.

“The first consequences will be on the humanitarian and international cooperation, which is basically the only thing preventing the people in Haiti from starving,” Romain Le Cour, an expert with Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, told The Associated Press.

Experts point out that the gangs often charge tolls for movement in and around their territory. The “terrorist” designation could make payment a criminal offence in the US.

“It could function as a de facto embargo,” said Jake Johnston, international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

“The gangs exercise tremendous control over the commerce of the country,” he added. “Doing any kind of business with Haiti or in Haiti is going to carry much greater risk.”

Gang control over Haiti has increased in recent years, particularly after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. His death led to a power vacuum, and no federal election has been held since, eroding public trust in state institutions.

The gangs have exploited that vacuum to exert control. More than one million people have been internally displaced by the resulting violence, and the United Nations estimates that 5.7 million residents — nearly half the country — do not have enough food to eat.

Kenya has led a UN-backed international security mission tasked with bolstering local police as they combat the gangs. But that mission has been heavily reliant on US support, some of which Trump has frozen since taking office.

That task force has struggled to make an impact thus far, and in February, one of the Kenyan police officers was shot and killed as part of the mission, its first known death.

Sceptics have also questioned the efficacy of the international group, given the long and disastrous history of foreign interventions in Haiti, including by the US.

Trump has also attempted to scrap programmes like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and humanitarian parole that allow Haitians to live legally in the US. An estimated 520,694 Haitians are protected under TPS alone. But under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security plans to fold the TPS programme for Haitians by August.

Australians are heading to the polls shortly in parliamentary elections which will decide if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor government will return for a second term.

Labor’s main rival is the country’s conservative coalition, led by opposition leader Peter Dutton, which came into the election campaign polling strongly but is now lagging slightly behind Labor.

If Albanese does win, it could mean Australia is following in similar footsteps to Canada, where the Liberal party reversed its prospects in recent weeks, amid concerns about the effect of United States President Donald Trump’s policies on Canada’s economy.

Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute, an independent research centre, told Al Jazeera that polls indicate President Trump is “an increasing concern for Australian voters” and that “Labor’s gamble of holding a later election to allow some of Trump’s policies to start to impact has paid off.”

In comparison with Canada, where both major parties tried to distance themselves from Trump, Remeikis notes that Australia’s opposition leader Dutton has courted “favourable comparisons” to Trump for months.

But, he has been “badly damaged by the ‘Temu Trump’ label” – a reference to the Chinese online shopping website known for selling cheap copies of original brands.

War on Gaza and the price of eggs

Uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs on Australia has only compounded the concerns of many Australians around the cost of essential items, including housing, food, healthcare and childcare.

In the final televised leaders’ debate, a week before the election, both Dutton and Albanese stumbled when asked to guess how much a dozen eggs might cost at a supermarket.

Albanese was closer, guessing 7 Australian dollars, nearly two dollars less than the actual price of $8.80, while Dutton guessed $4.20, less than half the actual price.

Cost of living has “trumped everything” leading into the election, says Josie Hess, who comes from the Latrobe Valley, a coal-mining region in Victoria, and who also works for advocacy group Environment Victoria.

For a number of Australians, the most important issue on election day will be beyond Australia’s borders, says Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).

Mashni told Al Jazeera that “the genocide that is occurring in Palestine” has seen a “new constituency” emerge in Australia that understands that Israel is “a settler colonialist movement doing exactly what occurred here [in Australia] 238 years ago”.

APAN has developed a scorecard of where the major parties stand on Palestine. Of those, only the Greens received a tick from APAN on every issue. The scorecard for Labor was mixed, while the conservative Liberal-National coalition did not meet a single criterion.

“We’ve asked for people to make Palestine their number one issue and to find a candidate that best reflects a just and humane position for Palestine,” Mashni said.

“Certainly, the easiest candidates to find will be in the Senate, but I am sure there’ll be somebody in every seat where they can vote a little bit better for Palestine, and in some cases, very well for Palestine,” he added.

Dozens of minor parties and independents from across the political spectrum are also vying for votes.

Remeikis said there is a “late surge to the nationalistic, far-right, One Nation party”, which has been aided by Dutton’s conservative coalition preferencing votes for One Nation, and vice versa, in outer suburban and inner regional seats. Next year marks 30 years since One Nation’s leader Pauline Hanson was first elected to federal office in Australia.

But Remeikis says the late surge is unlikely to affect the outcome of the election, with polls suggesting Labor will win with a minority government.

The Greens, along with some independents running on pro-climate action platforms, will also be hoping to repeat successes in Australia’s 2022 election, which followed many months of devastating fires and floods.

Going nuclear

With climate change remaining a key concern for many Australians, Dutton, whose party has long delayed taking action on climate, has chosen to focus on campaigning to build Australia’s first-ever nuclear power stations in areas where coal power stations are closing down, such as the Latrobe Valley, in Victoria.

This week, organisations representing more than 350,000 emergency and health services workers released a letter calling on Dutton to drop his plan to introduce nuclear energy to Australia, saying “Australia’s current emergency services do not have the support or resources to respond to nuclear disasters.”

Josie Hess, a Latrobe Valley local who works for Environment Victoria, told Al Jazeera that people there still have questions about the viability of Dutton’s proposal.

She says people in the valley “desperately need jobs” but the timeline to build nuclear means that it would do little to help workers now.

“We have some people who support nuclear but for the most part, the Latrobe Valley is not a monolith, and there is clear and demonstrable opposition to the proposal,” she said.

And while economic issues are a concern, she added, there is also an “intrinsic link between climate security and cost of living and housing”.

Melissa Sweet, who runs public health news site Croakey, told Al Jazeera that climate change remains a key issue for Australian health workers heading into the election.

“Heatwaves, floods, and bushfires are already driving up demand for emergency care, mental health services, and chronic disease management,” Sweet said.

The recent US cuts to “public health, global health and climate action and science generally” under Trump mean it’s “more important than ever” that the next Australian government invests in these areas, Sweet added.

Mike Waltz was dropped as US national security adviser.

It’s the first big shift in personnel of Donald Trump’s second term.

Weeks ago, he added a journalist to a chat group of senior officials sharing secret information.

Is that why he is being moved – or is there more going on?

Presenter:

Nick Clark

Guests:

John Haltiwanger, reporter at Foreign Policy Magazine covering US national security.

Amy Koch, Republican political strategist.

Matthew Bryza, former US diplomat and National Security Council official at the White House.

The United States economy has added 177,000 jobs in April, topping analysts’ expectations despite economic turmoil in the early months of Donald Trump’s second term as president.

The data, released on Friday by the Labor Department, suggests the job market is holding steady despite uncertainty driven by Trump’s tariff campaign.

The healthcare industry added 51,000 jobs, the highest total gain, but a sum that is consistent with the average monthly growth over the last 12 months. The transportation and warehousing sectors also increased significantly, gaining 29,000 jobs in April.

But experts say that growth in those sectors in particular could be a signal that industries are stockpiling before Trump’s high tariffs kick in, driving up the price of imports.

“People wanted to front-load and bring in more material before the tariff hike,” said Stuart Mackintosh, the executive director of the Group of Thirty, a financial think tank.

While Friday’s labour report contains positive signs, Mackintosh added that other economic indicators signal uncertainty in the market at large, and that could eventually dampen future employment statistics.

“Companies large and small have put warnings on their forward projections of earnings going forward. That’s companies telling us, ‘We don’t know. We are uncertain. And we expect [earnings] are going to fall,’” Mackintosh said.

“I suspect that will soon trickle down to employment.”

Slowing growth

Still, Friday’s labour report showed that employment in the US remains steady despite a suite of changes since Trump took office in January.

Over the last four months, Trump has pursued an aggressive trade policy designed to drive down trade deficits, largely through the threat of tariffs. Currently, the US has a blanket policy of 10-percent tariffs on imports, with the possibility of higher tariffs for individual countries within the next three months.

China, however, currently faces tariffs of 145 percent, due to an ongoing trade war with the US. Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, are shouldering tariffs of 25 percent on all products not covered by a regional free-trade agreement Trump brokered during his first term.

Experts have warned that Trump’s erratic trade policies could have negative knock-on effects over the long term, including slowing economic growth and the possibility of a recession.

But Friday’s report shows that the US labour market has yet to reflect any widespread harms. The unemployment rate held steady in April at 4.2 percent.

The number of underemployed workers who hold part-time jobs for economic reasons also showed little change, holding at 4.7 million people. The labour force participation rate came in at 62.6 percent.

Wages ticked up as well: The average hourly wage rose by six cents to $36.06 since last month. Average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent on an annual basis.

However, the number of Americans who have been unemployed over the long term, classified as 27 weeks or longer, has increased by 179,000 for a total of 1.7 million people.

Other reports, however, do not show the same strong job growth. ADP Research, a company that tracks private sector payrolls, found only 62,000 jobs were added in April, marking the smallest monthly gains since July 2024.

In a news release accompanying the findings, ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson said “unease” was the prevailing sentiment.

“Employers are trying to reconcile policy and consumer uncertainty with a run of mostly positive economic data,” she explained.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the employment services firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas showed that, while there were hiring gains, the US economy cut more than 105,000 jobs in April.

Government cuts

One area in Friday’s report that did show significant losses was in government employment.

The Labor Department’s report showed a decline of 9,000 jobs in April alone. Overall, since January, it found that 26,000 government workers have lost their jobs.

While the report did not speculate about the reasons for this downward trend, the Trump administration has been vocal in its mission of downsizing the federal government.

As the country’s single largest employer, the federal government boasted upwards of 2,925,000 employees as of 2023. But Trump has pursued a policy of mass layoffs, on the premise that the government is “bloated” with “waste, fraud and abuse”.

The newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been put in charge of streamlining the federal workforce under the leadership of tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are expected to be laid off by year’s end, but many DOGE cuts are currently being challenged in federal court, as well as through programmes like the Merit Systems Protection Board, which protects employee rights.

As a result, some employees are on paid leave. Others are currently receiving severance pay. Neither group would be categorised as “unemployed” for the purposes of April’s job report.

In its report, Challenger, Grey & Christmas found that a total of 282,227 federal jobs were slashed so far this year, the majority of which could be attributed to DOGE’s cuts. That marked a 680-percent increase in government sector job cuts from April 2024.

The downsizing has already hit key government functions. Earlier this month, the news agency Reuters reported that the Food and Drug Administration was suspending a quality control programme in its Food Emergency Response Network due to staffing cuts.

A broader economic downturn

But government cuts could have ramifications for the employment market even beyond the federal workforce.

The Trump administration has also sought to roll back government spending, slashing grants, contracts and foreign aid programmes that use US companies as private contractors.

Experts believe this month’s gains in the healthcare sector, for example, could be short-lived amid cuts to government bodies like the Department of Health and Human Services.

Those departments often fund universities and private companies to do research on their behalf.

“The administration has been cutting funding for institutions, like in higher education, in research institutions. They’ve been cutting grants that have gone out for grants for particular communities, for mental health services for children,” said Jessica Fulton, a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that focuses on Black communities.

“Those are job-sustaining investments,” Fulton explained. “We will see the impact of those [cuts] in future jobs reports.”

She also pointed to legislation in Congress that could also lead to employment in the healthcare sector shrinking.

Critics argue the current Republican-led budget bill would require cuts to Medicaid — a government insurance programme for low-income individuals — in order to fund tax cuts and other party priorities.

“Any potential cuts to programme like Medicaid could threaten those jobs in the future,” Fulton said. “We are in a wait-and-see posture.”

Other industries are likewise bracing for economic turbulence ahead. This week, several companies, including the social media giant Snap and carmaker Stellantis, suspended future guidance for investors. Stellantis already furloughed 900 workers in early April amid tariff-driven uncertainty.

The Commerce Department released a report that showed the US gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by an annual rate of 0.3 percent during the first quarter of 2025, compared with 2.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.

On Tuesday, a separate report released by The Conference Board, an economic nonprofit, showed consumer confidence fell 7.9 points in April.

“Consumer confidence declined for a fifth consecutive month in April, falling to levels not seen since the onset of the COVID pandemic,” Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement.

The report also noted growing fears about the state of the job market. An estimated 32 percent of Americans expect fewer jobs to be available over the next six months, a rate similar to what the board found in April 2009, at the height of the Great Recession.