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, 8:57 PM GMT

Trump quips about rolling back environmental funding

Trump spoke to a crowd at the Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to tout his "no tax on tips" proposal and other economic policies.

The president spent the early parts of the rally repeating his claims from the campaign trail and on inauguration day that the U.S. was in decline and prices were too high.

President Donald Trump attends an event about the economy at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Jan. 25, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters

He also boasted many of his executive orders including having the U.S. leave the Paris Climate Agreement.

"Wasn't the environment supposed to eat us up like in 12 years? But that was like 13 years ago. What happened? We're still here," said Trump, who spent Friday visiting areas of North Carolina and California ravaged by recent natural disasters.

Jan 25, 2025, 8:19 PM GMT

Oath Keeper founder on stage at Trump rally days after release

Just days after Trump commuted his 18-year sentence for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was on stage for Trump’s Saturday speech at a Las Vegas casino.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes appears at the venue where President Trump will be speaking, in Las Vegas, Jan. 25, 2025.
ABC News

Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for helping to organize the riot, has VIP seating on the stage where Trump is about to take the stage to promote his “no tax on tips” proposal.

Several Trump supporters at this event told ABC News they believe Trump has been carrying out his campaign promises, pointing out that he pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters.

-ABC News' Selina Wang and Kelsey Walsh

Jan 25, 2025, 7:53 PM GMT

IG Committee says emails firing watchdogs not 'legally sufficient'

In a letter to the White House Friday, Mike Ware, the Small Business Administration inspector general and chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, said the firing of the independent watchdogs over email is not "legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate confirmed Inspectors General."

The letter, obtained by ABC News, goes on to explain the removal process codified in the 2022 amendments to the inspectors general law.

"The requirement to provide the substantive rationale, including detailed and case specific reasons, was added to better enable Congress to engage on and respond to a proposed removal of an Inspector General in order to protect the independence of Inspectors General," Ware wrote.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer and Benjamin Siegel

Jan 25, 2025, 7:52 PM GMT

GOP reactions mixed following IG firing

Some Republican senators expressed frustration with Trump over his surprise firing of 17 inspectors general.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he was still waiting for more information about the dismissals and the laws surrounding Congressional notification before weighing in formally.

“I do not know what his logic was on it and I do not know the reasoning, we will give him a reason to explain,” Rounds said.

Sen. Mike Rounds speaks during the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate Republican who was among those that helped to pass the legislation in 2022 that strengthened the law requiring administrations to give a detailed reasoning for the firing of an IG, told ABC News she was quite frustrated by Trump’s move.

“I don’t understand why one would fire individuals whose mission is to root out waste, fraud and abuse,” Collins said. “So this leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump, so I don’t understand it"

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin