Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States comprised of the 198,000 bitcoins the American government already holds through law enforcement confiscations, worth an estimated $17bn in total.
White House crypto czar David Sacks said the move would “not cost taxpayers a dime” but the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to slump on Thursday night, with the value of rival coins also tumbling.
Trump is hosting a “Digital Assets Summit” at the White House on Friday.
Yesterday, the president postponed planned 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada for one month after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sheinbaum described her call with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas the Trudeau exchange was reportedly more “colorful”, with the Canadian saying afterwards he expects his country to remain locked in a trade war with the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Trump also abruptly called a cabinet meeting yesterday to clarify the role of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after they faced significant pushback from the courts over their authority to order the mass firings of federal workers.
Watch: Republican senator shares ‘worries’ over Trump’s tariff policy
Louisiana’s ever-folksy John Kennedy cautiously expresses some disquiet in this interview with former Trump adviser Larry Kudlow on Fox Business.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 14:10
Canadian senator challenges Donald Trump Jr to boxing match over ‘bogus tariffs’
Patrick Brazeau, 50, a controversial Quebec-based lawmaker, took to X on Thursday to challenge Trump’s eldest son to a charity bout.
“In light of these bogus tariffs from President Trump from the U.S. onto Canada, I challenge you to a fight to raise money for cancer research or an organization of your choosing”, Brazeau wrote to Don Jr.
Here’s more from Madeline Sherratt.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 13:55
U.S. economy adds 151,000 jobs but unemployment ticks up in first report of Trump administration
That’s an increase on January and a decent showing amid a climate of DOGE-backed federal layoffs.
Here’s the latest from Rhian Lubin.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 13:45
Twenty states sue Trump over mass firings saying Musk’s DOGE skipped required notices
Nearly half of the country’s attorneys general sued the Trump administration over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s mass firings of federal workers.
The AGs accuse the administration of terminating tens of thousands of probationary employees without first following federal regulations, including a 60-day advance notice to affected employees and states.
“These large-scale, indiscriminate firings are not only subjecting the Plaintiff States and communities across the country to chaos. They are also against the law,” the suit filed on Thursday says.
“Where an agency fails to provide such notice, the employees ‘may not be released.’”
Here’s the latest from Kelly Rissman.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 13:30
Jimmy Kimmel roasts Trump for ‘dumb’ claim about transgender mice
The late night host roasted the president for falsely claiming, during his address to Congress on Tuesday evening that the U.S. government spent $8m on making mice “transgender”.
Here’s Greg Evans on Kimmel.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 13:10
Trump’s treasury secretary declares cheap goods are ‘not the essence of the American Dream’
Scott Bessent made that odd statement as part of a defense of his boss’s tariffs hike unsettling the stock market.
Let them eat overpriced cake?
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 12:50
Trump administration resumes detention of migrant families and kids
A detention center in Texas is reopening as the Trump administration prepares to restart the detention of migrant families and kids – a move that advocates worry could usher in another “dark chapter” in America’s treatment of immigrants.
CoreCivic, a company that manages the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reactivate the facility.
The facility, which holds up to 2,400 people, was built in 2014 for ICE to provide additional space to hold migrant families.
CoreCivic ran the center until 2024, “when funding for the contract with ICE was terminated and the facility was idled,” the…
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