The White House said on Sunday that it reached a trade deal with China as the two countries negotiated for a second day in Switzerland. China has yet to comment on Sunday's talks.
"We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Geneva. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "substantial progress" had been made but stopped short of touting a full deal.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom -- the first in what the White House said it hopes will be a flurry of agreements while the reciprocal tariff pause is in effect. With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speaker phone in the Oval Office, the leaders conceded that they are still working out the details of the agreement.
Trump economic adviser says early signals on US-China meet are 'very promising'
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday morning expressed some optimism about upcoming with negotiations with China but remained tight-lipped about what to expect.
"Everything that's been going on with the meeting in Switzerland is very promising to us," Hassett said on CNBC. "We're seeing extreme respect, treated, treating both sides with respect for seeing collegiality and also sketches of positive developments. So I think that as we move forward and remove, hopefully, uncertainty on China and get deals like the UK, that people understand what President Trump's trade policy has been all about."
Hassett was also asked by reporters at the White House about Trump's social media post today suggesting an 80% tariff rate on China and whether that was an opening salvo for negotiations.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett speaks with reporters outside the White House, May 9, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
"It will come out tomorrow what happens," Hassett said repeatedly when asked about the president's post.
Hassett added that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are going into the talks this weekend with "open minds" and no news will come out until after the negotiations.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
May 09, 2025, 8:17 AM EDT
Trump says 80% tariffs on China 'seems right' before negotiations begin
In a new social media post, President Donald Trump says that an "80% Tariff on China seems right!"
"Up to Scott B," Trump wrote in the post.
The message comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is headed to Switzerland this weekend for the first in-person trade negotiations with China. The 80% rate that Trump has suggested would be a huge reduction, close to half of the current rate of 145% tariffs on Chinese imports.
In another social media post, Trump indicated that China should do more to "OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA."
President Donald Trump takes questions outside the West Wing of White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
May 08, 2025, 11:45 PM EDT
Trump meets with Netanyahu confidants
President Donald Trump held a private meeting Thursday with one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest confidants for discussions that centered around the war in Gaza and Iran-United States nuclear talks, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Trump met with Israel's minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, on Thursday at the White House. He also met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
The meeting comes as Israelis appeared to be blindsided by Trump's announcement this week that the U.S. will stop strikes on the Houthis.
During his trip to the Middle East, which starts Monday, the president does not intend to visit Israel. He will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The meeting also occurred before Sunday's expected start of the fourth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Jonathan Karl and Kelsey Walsh
May 08, 2025, 11:43 PM EDT
Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News.
She was notified by an email from the White House Office of Personnel Management, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News.
"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service," the email read.
The librarian of Congress serves a 10-year term, and Hayden's term was set to expire next year. Hayden has served in the position since 2016. She was the first woman to serve in the role.
Top Democrats condemned the move.
“Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement late Thursday.
Jeffries thanked Hayden for her service and said, “There will be accountability for this unprecedented assault on the American way of life sooner rather than later."
The Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden attends the Library Of Congress "The Two Georges: Parallel Lives In An Age Of Revolution" exhibition press preview at The Library of Congress on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Shannon Finney/Getty Images
House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle called the firing a “complete disgrace” and an “ignorant decision.”
“Tonight, President Trump fired a patriotic public servant. The Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has spent her entire career serving people — from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation’s most precious treasures. She is an American hero,” Morelle said in a statement late Thursday.
Morelle said he plans to introduce legislation to guarantee that the Librarian of Congress is appointed by Congress. House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro said in a statement late Thursday that the move to fire Hayden “undermines the foundational principles of our democracy and erodes public trust in our institutions. The Trump Administration must provide a transparent explanation for this decision.”
“Every Member of Congress I know—Democratic or Republican—loves and respects Dr. Carla Hayden. A ‘fighter of freedom’ and a guardian of our nation’s truth and intellectual legacy, Dr. Hayden was just abruptly and callously fired by President Trump,” DeLauro added.
Trump is expected to announce her replacement as soon as tomorrow on his social media account. ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie, Katherine Faulders and Lauren Peller
