After months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Donald Trump is touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods. One former agency leader says it's "a defining event that can help them realize that a Federal Emergency Management Agency is essential."
Trump also teased that he'll declare more tariffs against U.S. trading partners ahead of his latest Aug. 1 deadline for negotiations. The 27-member European Union hopes to seal a trade deal ahead of that date, and meanwhile is preparing retaliatory measures against American products, from beef to Boeing jets.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program faces the largest cut in its history under Trump's budget law. It will, for the first time, require parents to work to qualify for the benefit if their children are 14 or older. But even households with younger children could feel the impact.
The law kicks some immigrants with legal status off food assistance, and makes qualifying more difficult by changing how it considers utility bills. States will now have to shoulder some of federal burden, and may make it even more difficult for people to qualify, or exit the program altogether, said Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"When young children lose access to that healthy nutrition, it impacts them for the rest of their lives," Bergh said. "This bill fundamentally walks away from a long-standing nationwide commitment to making sure that low-income children in every state can receive the food assistance that they need."
President Joe Biden's former White House physician is refusing answer questions as part of the House Republican investigation into Biden's health in office.
Dr. Kevin O'Connor invoked doctor-client privilege and his rights under the Fifth Amendment during an appearance Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. That's according to the doctor's attorneys.
Republicans are conducting a sweeping investigation into Biden's actions in office and questioning whether the Democratic president's use of an autopen may have been invalid. Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims "ridiculous and false."
Over 10 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care. About 40% of births are covered by Medicaid. Newborns, too, qualify for it when their mothers have it. Pediatricians say the cuts 13 will be felt broadly, even by those who do not use Medicaid, since the financial strain will force health care providers to cut their least profitable services, which are often pediatrics.
The ripple effects could exacerbate an existing shortage of pediatricians and hospital beds for children, said Lisa Costello, a West Virginia pediatrician who chairs the federal policy committee for the American Association of Pediatrics.
And if parents lose their health insurance due to the bureaucratic barriers imposed by having to document work requirements, they'll be less likely to take their kids to the doctor, advocates say.
The bill Trump signed into law on Independence Day will impact infants and toddlers, who are particularly vulnerable to cuts to the federal social safety net.
Many middle-class and wealthy families will see benefits from the new legislation, but programs that help low-income families keep babies healthy have been cut back. To pay for tax cuts and border security, the law cuts Medicaid and food stamps, which poor households with children rely on — by more than $1 trillion.
The legislation increases tax deductions to $2,200 per child, and introduces investment accounts for newborns dubbed "Trump Accounts," each seeded with $1,000.
Still, advocates say they do not make up for what children are likely to lose under the new law. And they fear what comes next, as the next Trump budget proposes more cuts to programs that help parents and babies.
Read more about the impact on the youngest kids
Trump's departments of Education and Health and Human Services urged the New England Commission of Higher Education to examine whether Harvard no longer meets its standards for accreditation, now that the Trump administration has determined that the university tolerated antisemitism.
Accreditors work on behalf of the federal government to decide which colleges can accept federal financial aid. Without an accreditor's seal of approval, Harvard could no longer accept students' federal grants or loans. The Trump administration made a similar move against Columbia University to its accreditor.
Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government's findings and is committed to fighting bias as the White House presses universities to accept its demands.
The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Malaysia will not compromise on its national interest or sovereignty in tariff talks with the U.S., Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Wednesday.
Trump raised his threatened tariffs against Malaysia to 25% from 24% this week, but Zafrul said Malaysia won't cross "specific red lines" involving U.S. requests in policy and laws in areas such as government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes.
Zafrul said he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would meet with Rubio to discuss the tariff issue. Malaysia's offer includes a pledge by Malaysia Airlines to buy 30 Boeing jets, as well as deals on semiconductors and other technology, but he said that "if the deal does not benefit Malaysia, we should not have a deal."
The 27-nation bloc is hoping to strike a deal with Trump soon, but is preparing retaliatory measures on hundreds of American products from beef to beer to Boeing jets if talks aren't successful.
"We stick to our principles. We defend our interests. We continue to work in good faith and we get ready for all scenarios," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at an EU meeting in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.
She said the American imposition of 70% tariffs on trade from the EU is "unprecedented" and requires that "our line has to be very clear. We will be firm. We do prefer a negotiated solution."
Trump's latest threat of higher tariffs to countries including several Asian nations if they don't make trade deals with the U.S. came just a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations security conference in Malaysia on Thursday and Friday.
Rubio's "talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs," said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration.
Compared to China's representative, Rubio "is a rookie trying to sell an 'America First' message to a deeply skeptical audience," Russell said.
Read more about Rubio's first official trip to Asia
The agenda of Trump's "multilateral lunch" Wednesday with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau includes economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from the Liberian presidency. The White House has not provided further details.
The surprise meeting comes as Trump takes radical steps to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa, dissolving the U.S. Agency for International Development and shifting from what the administration calls "a charity-based foreign aid model" to partnerships with nations that have "the ability and willingness to help themselves."
A study published in the Lancet medical journal projects Trump's shift will lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children.
West Africa possesses untapped resources. They're also among countries that might fall under an expansion of Trump's travel ban.
Read more about Trump's lunch with African leaders
Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. Wednesday of hinting at potential tariffs against the trade alliance of Brazil, Russia, India and China as a form of political pressure.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said unilaterally applying such tariffs would destroy the existing architecture for international economic cooperation. She accused Washington of "hiding" behind principles such as fair competition and national security.
Trump's threat "grossly violates the rules of the WTO and the principles of free trade, which, until recently, Washington insisted on as a universal truth," Zakharova told journalists.
"We will be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade, tomorrow morning, with an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon," the president said Tuesday night in a post on his social platform.
Trump has for several days teased letters listing tariffs that the administration plans to impose on different countries — even as it also continues to negotiate trade deals. So far, Trump's trade blitz has produced lots of uncertainty but deals with just two countries — the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
The president has avoided talking about his plan to scrap the federal disaster response agency after the catastrophic flash flood in Texas that killed more than 100 people, including children attending a girls-only camp.
Asked shortly after the disaster whether he still intended to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Trump said it wasn't the right time to talk about it. Nor did he mention such plans during a nearly two-hour meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday.
Instead Trump opened the meeting by having Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem talk about her visit to Kerrville, Texas, a day after floodwaters swept away riverside campers and homeowners in the wee hours of the Fourth of July holiday.