Trump 2nd term updates: Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics'

The comments came amid turmoil as DOGE took over USAID offices last week.

President Donald Trump made good on his threats to impose tariffs on some of the U.S.'s trading partners, announcing Saturday that he will levy 25% tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% on Chinese goods.

Experts have warned that tariffs of this magnitude will likely increase prices paid by U.S. and Trump appeared to acknowledge that “some pain” might be possible in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee announced it will meet Tuesday, when it is expected to vote on the controversial nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Jan 25, 2025, 2:32 AM GMT

Mayor Bass, Rep. Sherman spar with Trump

President Donald Trump and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went head-to-head in front of cameras Friday during an at times heated roundtable discussion on recovery from the wildfires in California.

The event in total lasted more than an hour, with Trump taking questions and welcoming comments from the room for the better part of it.

First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump look on as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks during a fire emergency briefing at Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat, pushed back on Trump’s demands for policy changes in California in exchange for the state receiving disaster aid.

“I am hoping that we can get these funds and that we don't punish individuals for the policies of their state,” Sherman said.

“I know you’ve talked about policies of California that you’re not a fan of. I really disagree with Louisiana on their abortion policy … and I would never have turned to somebody from Louisiana and say, 'You keep living on your cousin’s couch because we are not going to help you rebuild until Louisiana agrees with me on a woman’s right to choose,’” Sherman said.

Trump and Bass had more than one extended exchange over when homeowners will be able to rebuild, with Trump urging Bass to move as quickly as possible to let people get back to their homes and slash restrictions on rebuilding -- something she said the city is doing but warned that they also needed to clear out hazardous waste from the fire.

“You have emergency powers, just like I do. And I'm exercising my emergency powers. You have to exercise them also,” Trump said to Bass.

“I did exercise them, I signed an emergency declaration,” Bass responded.

“I mean, you have a very powerful emergency power, and you can do everything within 24 hours,” Trump said, talking over Bass.

“And if individuals want to clear out their property, they can,” Bass said.

Bass said they would be able to go back soon, noting they think residents will be able to return to their properties within a week.

“That's a long time, a week,” Trump said. “I'll be honest, to me that -- everyone standing in front of their house, they want to go to work, and they're not allowed to work, and they're not allowed to do it. A week is a long time.”

“The most important thing is for people to be safe,” Bass said sharply.

At the end of the roundtable, Bass quickly walked over and shook Trump’s hand and said, “we’re going to get it done.”

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Molly Nagle

Jan 25, 2025, 1:01 AM GMT

Trump remarks on Palisades Fire damage tour: 'It is devastation'

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as thet tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump reflected on the destruction but resilience he saw during his tour of the Palisades Fire damage in Los Angeles.

"I don't think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it," he said during a roundtable with officials including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. "It is devastation."

Trump met with some homeowners during his tour, noting that many of them want to rebuild, calling the residents "amazing."

"We're going to work very hard with the mayor, the governor, the supervisor and everybody, and get the resources behind you," Trump said.

Trump noted that he had a "very positive talk" with California Gov. Gavin Newsom upon landing in Los Angeles that afternoon.

Jan 25, 2025, 12:35 AM GMT

WH press secretary previews FEMA executive order

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the executive order Trump said he is planning to reform FEMA.

"What it will do is it will direct a council of FEMA advisers to look at the agency and to root out the corruption, the incompetence in the bureaucracy. There is no question that there are political biases, unacceptable political biases at FEMA," Leavitt said during her first gaggle with the press aboard Air Force One earlier Friday while en route to Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump step off of Air Force One upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Pressed on Trump's statement that he was thinking about abolishing FEMA, the press secretary stressed that it is under consideration right now, but no final decision has been made.

"We're thinking about abolishing, we're thinking about it at this point in time," Leavitt said.

On conditioning aid, Leavitt said there would be no conditions put on North Carolina, but that "California needs to address the water issue in their state that is critical to ensuring that when fires happen in California, there's resources there to quell these fires and to help people."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Jan 24, 2025, 11:54 PM GMT

Democrats urge Rubio to reverse foreign aid freeze

Top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee raised concerns that freezing foreign aid "undermines American leadership and credibility around the world" in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

They warned that the pause will cause "damage" around the world where U.S. aid is delivered -- specifically mentioning the PEPFAR program, which delivers HIV/AIDS treatment to millions of people in 55 countries, and the President's Malaria Initiative, which distributes mosquito nets and malaria medicine to millions of people.

"For years, Republicans in Congress have decried what they see as a lack of U.S. credibility vis-a-vis countries like China, Russia, and Iran. Now our credibility is on the line, and it appears we will cut and run from American commitments to our partners around the world," Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Lois Frankel, D-Fla., wrote in the letter. "In arbitrarily blocking our foreign assistance, we lose trust: from the people relying on this aid for survival whether in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, Ukraine, or those standing in harm's way delivering this aid."

The letter comes after the State Department instructed officials overseeing projects funded by grants and awards that have already been distributed to issue immediate "stop-work orders" until the secretary of state can review the program to determine whether to continue, modify or halt the program. The decisions are due in the next 85 days.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel