President Donald Trump went after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during an interview with Laura Ingraham in France. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
President Donald Trump on Thursday called Nancy Pelosi a “nasty, vindictive, horrible person” in response to the House speaker telling lawmakers she wanted Trump to go to prison.
“I think she’s a disgrace. I don’t think she’s a talented person,” Trump said of Pelosi. “I’ve tried to be nice to her because I would have liked to have gotten some deals done. She’s incapable of doing deals. She’s a nasty, vindictive, horrible person.”
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POLITICO reported Wednesday that Pelosi said she wanted Trump to go to prison while pushing back on Democratic efforts to impeach the president, saying that she wants him defeated in 2020 and later charged for crimes.
Pelosi has frustrated some in her party for rebuffing calls for the president’s impeachment following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Pelosi’s allies have said impeachment would go nowhere with a Republican-controlled Senate.
“I don’t want to see him impeached, I want to see him in prison,” Pelosi said, while Trump was in Europe.
Pelosi’s comments were made behind closed doors and revealed to POLITICO by people familiar with the meeting.
Trump laid into Pelosi during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham broadcast Thursday evening. He made the comments in France, again eschewing the tradition of leaving partisan politics on American shores. Trump himself expressed anger that Pelosi made her remarks while he was abroad.
Trump repeated a recently minted nickname for Pelosi — Nervous Nancy — and said she should divert her attention away from the president’s alleged misdeeds to her home district in San Francisco, which he said has “drugs and needles all over the place.”
“It’s the most disgusting thing what she’s allowed to happen to her district,” he said.
Trump also went after Sen. Joe Biden, who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination, saying he “just doesn’t get it” on economic relations with China. During a Tuesday town hall, Biden characterized the economic threat posed by China as less severe than Trump’s trade war would suggest. Trump in turn said Chinese President Xi Jinping would love to have Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Despite his ire toward his adversaries back home, Trump was conciliatory toward one critic abroad: German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The German leader has been a vocal advocate of the liberal world order and multilateral cooperation — a stark contrast to the America-first message of Trump.
Speaking at Harvard’s commencement ceremony last month, Merkel criticized Trump’s world view (though not naming Trump himself), urging the audience to “tear down the walls of ignorance and narrow mindedness.”
Trump said he Merkel “has to say what she has to say” and even conceded that “I like her a lot.”
“A lot of people think we don’t have a good relationship,” Trump said of himself and Merkel. “We do. She even smiles!”
Merkel, Trump and several other world leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron gathered this week in France to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing.
When asked what he prayed for when he prayed for the country, Trump responded: “Peace.”
The St. Louis Blues are one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
St. Louis defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 in Thursday’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden and seized a 3-2 lead in the series with its performance in the swing game.
Ryan O’Reilly opened the scoring in the second period for the Blues, while David Perron added insurance in the third in controversial fashion after a missed tripping penalty earlier in the play. The Bruins fought back with a late Jake DeBrusk goal, but he was the only one to solve goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Greg Wyshynski @wyshynski
Bruce Cassidy said the officiating in the playoffs has been a “black eye” for the postseason. Wow. #NHL
The rookie saved 38 of the 39shots he faced and preserved the victory in dramatic fashion even after the Bruins pulled Tuukka Rask for an extra attacker.
Binningtonwas brilliant throughout, further cementing his status as a St. Louis legend after leading the franchise to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970.
He also made history in the process:
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
Jordan Binnington is the 5th goalie in league history to record 9 road wins in a single playoff year, and breaks a tie with Ron Hextall (8 in 1987) for the most-ever in a postseason by a rookie goaltender. https://t.co/2xNy1LcI3A
The goaltender stole the show, but a major storyline heading into Thursday’s contest was the status of Boston captain Zdeno Chara, who was bleeding after he was hit in the face by a puck during a Game 4 loss. He didn’t return for the third period, but he started Game 5 and drew a massive ovation.
The veteran helped the Bruins dominate the first period from a statistical perspective, leading a physical defensive effort that stifled St. Louis’ best chances. The visitors managed just eight shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, while Boston countered with 17 on the other end.
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
Zdeno Chara left Game 4 of the #StanleyCup with a broken jaw.
Even an average showing fromBinningtonwould have allowed the Bruins to seize control of the game and series, but the rookie stood strong and didn’t allow a single one of those 17 shots into the net even though BradMarchandrang the post.
It was a welcome development for the Blues sinceBinningtonhas dealt with spats of inconsistency even while making history. He allowed six goals in a first-round game, five goals in two of the first three games of the Western Conference Final and five goals in Game 3 against the Bruins.
However, he has made a habit of bouncing back and allowed a combined two goals in the last three games of the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks and just two goals in the Game 4 win over the Bruins.
That the dominant version ofBinningtonshowed up against Boston’s initial onslaught was critical because it allowed the visitors to weather the storm and find the scoreboard first.
WhileRasksaved 19 of 21 shots overall and stuffed a VladimirTarasenkobreakaway in the opening minute of the second period, he didn’t have a chance when O’Reillysnuckinto the crease for a beautifully placed Zach Sanford pass from behind the net.
Sanford’s pass went between his legs and McAvoy’s legs to O’Reilly, who dragged it to his backhand and roofed a shot high glove on Rask. What a pretty play all around.
Breaking through againstRaskafter a Boston loss has been no easy task in these playoffs.
The veteran goaltender entered Thursday’s showdown with a 5-1 record, .940 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average following a loss in the 2019 postseason, further proving himself as one of the league’s premier players at his position. He also hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a single game since the first round and is a primary reason the Bruins are still playing.
St. Louis would have beatenRasktwice in the second period were it not for a heroic effort from DavidKrejci. The center threw his body in front of the net to preserve a 1-0 deficit afterRaskfell to the ice on a previous save attempt.
#StanleyCup on NBC @NHLonNBCSports
Whatever it takes!
David Krejčí sacrifices the body and makes a HUGE save to end the second period. https://t.co/AieHLiglw1
It was the type of play that could swing a game, especially with Boston continuing to create the majority of the chances despite trailing on the scoreboard.
Binningtonand his best friend the post—which StevenKampferfound with a shot—made sure the game didn’t draw level in the face of another Boston push in the third period. The St. Louis defense killed an AlexSteeninterference penalty and survived multiple odd-man rushes and two-on-one breaks as the Bruins pressed with time running out to even the score.
Boston nearly tied it when a DavidPastrnakwraparound attempt drew a replay review, but that met the same fate as so many of its other chances:Binnington’s pads.
The continued push on the offensive side for the Bruins left the door open for a counter, which the Blues took advantage of in controversial fashion. TylerBozakclearly tripped NoelAcciari, but the officials did not blow the whistle and reward the Bruins with a power play. Instead, Perron’s shot bounced offRask’s pad and into the net to give the visitors some much-needed breathing room.
Mark Lazerus @MarkLazerus
Yes, he was clearly tripped.
No, you don’t get to stop skating because you assume it was a penalty.
Bruins fans responded by throwing things onto the ice, but the team responded by climbing back into the game with DeBrusk’s goal less than three minutes later.
Not even that could breakBinnington’s will, as he turned away all of Boston’s best chances with the extra attacker to bring his team within a single victory of the sport’s ultimate glory.
What’s Next?
The series shifts back to St. Louis for Sunday’s Game 6.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said preliminary findings of a probe into attacks on oil tankers off its coast last month showed that they were part of “a sophisticated and coordinated” operation that was likely carried out by a state actor – but did not lay the blame on any country.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Norway, presented on Thursday the initial findings of the investigation during a briefing to United Nations Security Council, which will also receive the final results of the probe to consider a possible response.
In a document on their briefing to the Security Council members, the three countries did not mention Iran, which has been accused by the United States of being directly responsible for the May 12 attacks that came at a time of rising tensions between Tehran and Washington. Iran has denied any involvement.
The countries’ joint investigation said the.attacks required expert navigation of fast boats and trained divers who likely placed limpet mines with a high degree of precision on the vessels – two Saudi-flagged, a Norwegian-flagged and an Emirati-flagged – under the waterline to incapacitate but not sink them.
They said they believed it was the work of several teams of operatives, which coordinated the timed detonation of all four explosive charges within less than an hour.
“While investigations are still ongoing, these facts are strong indications that the four attacks were part of a sophisticated and coordinated operation carried out by an actor with significant operational capacity, most likely a state actor,” they said.
While the briefing document did not mention Iran, a Saudi diplomat accused it of being the culprit.
“We believe that the responsibility for this action lies on the shoulders of Iran. We have no hesitation in making this statement,” Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, the Saudi ambassador to the UN, told reporters in New York.
The tanker attacks occurred off the UAE emirate of Fujairah, which lies just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil and gas shipping route that separates the US-allied Gulf Arab states and Iran.
In the weeks before the attacks, the administration of US President Donald Trump hardened its policy against Iran by fully reimposing sanctions on Iranian oil exports and designating the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.
Washington has also sent nuclear-capable bombers and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf, moved labelled by Tehran as “psychological warfare”.
Saudi Arabia maintains the attacks affect the safety of international commercial navigation and the security of global oil supplies, requiring a response from the Security Council.
Russia‘s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Vladimir Safronkov told reporters after the closed-door briefing that no evidence was presented linking Iran to the attacks.
“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” Safronkov said. “This investigation will be continued.”
UN diplomats say that any attempt at the Security Council to punish Iran for the attacks is likely to face opposition from Russia.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that Iranian mines were likely used in the attacks.
“There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind in Washington who’s responsible for this,” Bolton said last week during a visit to Abu Dhabi.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Iran was trying to raise the price of oil as Washington works to end Iran’s exports of crude.
Regional tensions have spiked since President Donald Trump’s administration reimposed sanctions against Tehran after the US pulled out of a landmark multinational nuclear deal with Iran.
The Atlanta Braves and starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel came to terms on acontract Thursday, according to The Athletic’s David O’Brien, marking the end of a longer-than-expected stay on the free-agent market.
Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown reported Keuchel’s deal is worth $13 million over one year.
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
For context: In early March, the Astros offered Keuchel two possible deals — one year at $15 million, or 2/$24m.
Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1
So #Yankees were willing to go to pro-rated sign bonus, which is about $11M now. So #Braves went higher. Interesting that Keuchel is going directly to AAA, Atlanta must really like what saw in sim games. Keuchel goes back into fr age market after season but can’t be offered QO https://t.co/uryJg9syaR
After winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2015 by virtue of a 20-8 record, 2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 232 innings, Keuchel struggledin 2016.
Keuchel followed up his All-Star campaign with a 9-12 record, 4.55 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 144 strikeouts in 168 innings, which markedhis worst production since posting a 5.15 ERA in 2013.
That put some pressure on him to perform in 2017, and he bounced back in a big way with a 14-5 mark, 2.90 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 145.2 innings.
Keuchel and the Astros avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $13.2 million deal for 2018, perSpotrac, but that put pressure on Houston to get a long-term deal done during the 2018 season since the player was in the final year of his contract.
The 31-year-oldveteran proceeded to go 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 153 strikeouts in 204.2 innings, but the Astros let him test the market and risked potentially losing him in free agency.
Atlanta is banking on the notion that Keuchel’s norm is closer to his Cy Young and 2017 form than his 2016 performance.
His showing in 2018 was up and down, but he was still a key piece of Houston’s rotation and managed to top 200 innings for the first time since 2018.
Houston is stacked with young, talented hitters, but its starting rotation is largely aging, which means its window of opportunity may not be as big as anticipated. Despite that, the Astros opted to let Keuchel walk, and they are banking on the possibility that the likes of Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers will be able to make up for his absence.
It is difficult to predict how Keuchel will perform from one year to the next, but he is a solid lefty with playoff experience, which should make him an important part of the Braves’ rotation for the remainder of the season, as well as their championship hopes.
In Atlanta, Keuchel is joining a young Braves team that is coming off an NL East title and has room to improve in 2019 and beyond.
The Braves already have a talented starting rotation that includes Mike Foltynewicz, Julio Teheran,Kevin Gausman, Max Fried and Mike Soroka, but Keuchel gives them the type of veteran leadership and playoff experience they previously lacked.
With Keuchel in the fold, the Braves have yet another reliable starter and a player who knows what it takes to go all the way and win a World Series.
Former Vice President Joe Biden changed his stance on public funding for abortions, saying he “can’t justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need.” | Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Joe Biden on Thursday reversed his longstanding opposition to public funding of abortions, saying that the successful Republican nationwide “assault” on a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy forced him to change his mind.
The former vice president and current Democratic front-runner for president, said that his about-face during the election cycle came as GOP-controlled states this year began restricting the procedure and phasing out abortion clinics — a move that left women without access to a doctor to end their pregnancies.
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He made the surprise announcement at the start of a speech during the Democratic National Committee’s gala in Atlanta, which was devoted more to voting rights and minority empowerment than abortion.
“I can’t justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to exercise their constitutionally protected right,” Biden said Thursday. “If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s ZIP code.”
Biden, however, did indicate that he would not support taxpayer funding for abortion if it became more readily available for women in need, particularly women who live in poverty.
Biden’s reversal came as he began drawingsignificant political fire this week for saying he still supported what’s known as the Hyde Amendment, a federal spending provision that since 1976 has been annually approved to ban federal funding for most abortions, including for low-income women enrolled in Medicaid.
Earlier in the campaign, Biden had signaled he no longer supported the amendment.
Biden has long held one of the more conservative positions on abortion among latter-day Democrats. He once opposed efforts to add abortion exemptions for victims of rape or incest when he was a senator from Delaware. In 1981, he also voted for a constitutional amendment that would have allowed states to overturn Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973.
“I have supported the Hyde Amendment like many, many others have,” Biden said Thursday, “because there were sufficient monies and circumstances where women were able to exercise that right — women of color, poor women, women who were not able to have access — and it was not under attack as it is now. But circumstances have changed.”
Biden said he changed his mind as he began hammering out his health care plan to provide universal health care coverage, “and I’ve been struggling with the problems that Hyde now presents.”
But the biggest challenge, he said, were Republicans.
“Women’s rights and women’s health are under assault like we haven’t seen in the last 50 years,” he said. “It’s clear that these folks are going to stop at nothing to get rid of Roe. And it’s clear to me that we just have to be strong defending it. I support Roe. I support a woman’s right to choose … and quite frankly, I always will.”
Biden’s surprise announcement was quickly condemned as an election-year epiphany by his opponents on the right and left, but it was praised by the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, which said in a written statement that that it was “glad that Joe Biden listened to the voices of millions of women and further clarified his position on the Hyde Amendment.”
“Let’s be clear,” NARAL said, “the Hyde Amendment discriminates against all women but particularly poor women and women of color.”
According to ESPN’sAdam Schefter, the deal is worth $128 million, including over $107 million guaranteed. His contract is now valued at $154 million total over the next six years. Schefter noted the guaranteed total is the largest ever in the NFL, topping Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson‘s extension in April.
Tim McManus @Tim_McManus
Carson Wentz: 4 years, $128 million (per @AdamSchefter), $32 mil per year, $107-plus guaranteed.
Russell Wilson: 4-years, $140 million, $35 mil per year, $107 guaranteed
Philadelphia Eagles @Eagles
EXCLUSIVE: Behind-the-scenes look at Carson Wentz’s contract “negotiations” https://t.co/d7j3L4TiA4
Carson Wentz @cj_wentz
Grateful for this opportunity and excited for the future! #FlyEaglesFly #AO1 https://t.co/1Cxn12lciD
Wentz has flashed the potential to become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks since the Eagles selected him with the second overall pick in the 2016 draft. It’s been an unsteady rise toward superstardom because of injuries in recent years, though.
After the 26-year-old North Dakota State product endured an up-and-down rookie campaign with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, he enjoyed a breakout season in 2017. He threw for 3,296 yards with 33 TDs and seven pick across 13 appearances.
Wentz suffered a torn ACL late in the regular season, however, which led to former Philly backup Nick Foles entering the starting lineup and leading the Eagles to a championship with a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
The 2017 Pro Bowl selection missed the first two games of the 2018 season while completing his recovery from the major knee injury. Although he shined after returning to full strength with a 102.2 passer rating in 11 games, his year once again ended prematurely because of a lingering back injury.
Yet, the Eagles have never wavered in their belief Wentz is the long-term answer at the NFL’s most important position. They’d previously picked up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract for 2020.
“I have so much faith in Carson Wentz,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman told SportsRadio 94WIP in May. “This guy is going to be a great player for the Philadelphia Eagles for a long time.”
For his part, Wentz said he’s hoping to shed the injury-prone label in the near future.
“I look forward to putting that to rest over the next couple of years,” he told reporters in January.
Meanwhile, Joseph Santoliquito of PhillyVoice reported shortly after the Eagles’ 2018 season ended that sources within the organization called Wentz “selfish,” “uncompromising” and “egotistical.” One source provided a blunt assessment of the situation:
“Carson Wentz’s biggest enemy is Carson Wentz. He’s had his ass kissed his whole life, and sometimes acts like he’s won 10 Super Bowls, when he hasn’t played in, let alone won, a playoff game yet. Everyone around him wants good things for him. He did more thinking on the field than he did playing (in 2018). You don’t have to be a brain surgeon or a football expert to see how differently this team plays and reacts with one guy as opposed to the other [Foles].”
Although Wentz wouldn’t dispute some of the story’s claims—”I’m not going to sit here and say it was inaccurate and completely made up.”— he explained he’d use the situation to become a better teammate.
“I realize I have my shortcomings. Yes, I can be selfish,” he told reporters. “I think we all have selfishness inside of us. There’s human elements to that, that I really look at and say, ‘Well, I can get better.’”
The Eagles didn’t let the situation or Wentz’s injury history impact their offseason planning. Foles entered free agency and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Eagles opted against signing a proven backup to fill the void.
That left the offense firmly in the hands of Wentz. His new contract extension merely further showcases the team’s faith in his ability to lead the team to championship contention.
The speaker has consistently said she won’t impeach Trump, but her rhetoric against the president has become more savage.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has remained firm in her opposition to seeking President Donald Trump’s impeachment, but she’s walked a careful rhetorical line — at times channeling the left’s anger to accuse Trump of crimes worthy of impeachment, at others urging her most hot-blooded colleagues to slow down and wait for more facts.
POLITICO has collected Pelosi’s shifting rhetoric on impeachment over time, beginning just before special counsel Robert Mueller finished compiling damning evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice. Her evolving language has accompanied a slow succession of Democrats who have embraced impeachment proceedings despite her opposition.
“We are grateful that the Mexican delegation came forward with proposals. It was a good discussion,” Vice President Mike Pence said. | Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP
The White House pledged on Thursday to charge ahead on tariffs on Mexico, saying the U.S. position “has not changed” after officials met for a second day to address the steady flow of Central American migrants trying to enter the United States.
Talks between Mexican and U.S. officials at the White House wrapped up without resolution. Several key officials in the administration were unavailable for negotiations. President Donald Trump was in France for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, and both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were on the road.
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One U.S. official said more meetings are planned this evening at State Department. The State Department didn’t respond to multiple requests for information about Pompeo’s whereabouts or who participated in Thursday’s talks with the Mexican delegation.
Aspokesperson for the Mexican Foreign Ministry said Thursday afternoon that the two sides were still talking.
“We continue to explore options to address the growing number of undocumented migrants that pass through Mexico,” Roberto Velasco Álvarez wrote on Twitter. “The US position is focused on immigration control measures, ours on development. We have not yet reached an agreement but we continue negotiating.“
Another source familiar with the talks told POLITICO that any deal likely “involves more on enforcement and regional coordination on asylum.”
U.S. officials wouldn’t comment about the specifics of the proposals. “It’s very premature of staff to comment on ongoing negotiations for fear of jeopardizing them,” one White House official said.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said it was possible that a 5 percent tariff increase scheduled for Monday could be put off while the negotiations continue. “We’re hopeful that the discussions that are happening right now with the Mexican officials will reach a conclusion and it’s a good one,” Thune said.
But both Pence and White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders stressed late on Thursday that the administration was pressing ahead with its plan to impose duties next week.
“At this point the tariffs are going to be imposed on Monday,” Pence told reporters in Pennsylvania. “I’m encouraged they came today with more but it will be a matter for the president to consider.”
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said he has been in frequent contact with officials at the White House and with the Mexican government and indicated that Mexico has shown a new willingness to address U.S. immigration demands. “I think the Mexicans are going to be doing things they really haven’t done in the past,” he said.
The lawmaker said he was “very hopeful” a deal could be reached, but wasn’t discounting Trump’s willingness to impose tariffs.
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obradorannounced plans for a rally in Tijuana on Saturday to “defend Mexican dignity” and outline Mexico’s response if no deal is reached to avoid tariffs.
The Trump administration has been pressing Mexico to sign a “safe third country” agreement, which would require Central American migrants to seek asylum in Mexico if they pass through that country en route to the United States.
Pence told reporters on Thursday before leaving for a D-Day event in Bedford, Va., that the Trump administration had made some progress on Wednesday in talks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, but that more work was needed.
“We‘re grateful that the Mexican delegation came forward with proposals. It was a good discussion,” Pence said. “We welcome what [they] put on the table. But, as the president said yesterday, it’s not nearly enough.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) vowed to pursue congressional action unless Trump drops his plan.
“The president’s proposed tariffs would hurt American workers, businesses, and consumers,” Neal said in a statement. “Commandeering U.S. trade policy to influence border security is an abuse of power. If the president does declare a national emergency and attempt to put these tariffs into place, I will introduce a resolution of disapproval to stop his overreach.”
That could happen as soon as next week, if Trump takes the expected step of declaring a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the tariffs, a congressional aide said.
If passed by both houses of Congress, a resolution would have the effect of stopping the new duties. But it’s unclear whether opponents of Trump’s plan can muster enough votes in both the House and the Senate to overcome a presidential veto.
Most Republicans share Trump’s concern about the increase in Central American migrants entering the United States, even if they worry about the harm of tariffs on local businesses and the national economy.
Meanwhile, Customs brokers are warning there has not been nearly enough time for them to prepare for a tariff increase. Industry leaders wrote to the administration on Wednesday, urging it to delay the new import duties until U.S. Customs and Border Protection “can develop the procedures by which importers and brokers and reasonably pay them.”
“It is our responsibility as the most knowledgeable professionals, to express our grave concern, even alarm, that it will be impossible to comply, as the mechanisms for compliance are not available between now and June 10, or even before the increase planned for July 1,” the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association wrote in a letter.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been working to formalize Trump’s plan, which he announced on Twitter late last week, but had little information to share about the effort on Thursday.
“CBP is working through the details and the technical aspects to implement tariffs on Mexico,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week issued an analysis of how tariffs on Mexico would affect various states. Crucial border states like Texas and 2020 battleground states like Michigan, Illinois and Ohio would be those hardest hit by the duties, the Chamber said.
If a deal is not reached in the next several days, Trump plans to begin imposing a 5 percent duty on all imports from Mexico beginning on Monday and to ratchet that up by 5 percentage points each month until it reaches 25 percent on Oct. 1 or a deal is made.
The firm U.S. tone stood in contrast with Ebrard’s generally upbeat appraisal of meetings at the White House on Wednesday with Pence, Pompeo, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and other administration officials.
“We are optimistic because we had a good meeting with respectable positions from both sides,” Ebrard said Wednesday after the talks. Ebrard and the rest of the Mexican delegation met on Thursday with lower-ranking U.S. officials.
Trump’s mind was also on trade, amid all of the pageantry of his whirlwind trip to Europe, which included a state dinner with the U.K.’s Queen Elizabeth II.
“The Democrats — Congress has been a disaster. They won’t change. They won’t do anything. They want free immigration — immigration to pour into our country,” Trump told reporters on the airport tarmac in Ireland before departing for D-Day ceremonies in France.
The president expressed hope about making progress in the trade talks with Mexico. But he also doubled down on his threat, predicting that “something pretty dramatic could happen.”
He also ripped the criticism he’s received — including from his own party, which has protested his plan and is eyeing a formal rebuke once it’s finally put in motion.
“And a lot of people, senators included, they have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to tariffs,” he told reporters. “They have no — absolutely no idea.”
Anita Kumar, Adam Behsudi, Nahal Toosi, Daniel Lippman and Caitlin Oprysko contributed to this report.
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The cash-strapped Palestinian government has pledged to suspend a secret increase in ministerial salaries, the United Nations envoy on the Israel-Palestinian conflict said Thursday, after reports of the raise sparked anger.
Documents leaked online appeared to show that in 2017, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had quietly agreed to increase monthly salaries of ministers by a 67 percent, from $3,000 to $5,000, as well as boosting the prime minister’s salary from $4,000 to $6,000.
According to The Associated Press, the raises were kept secret from the public and approved by Abbas, two senior officials said, overriding a 2004 law that fixed ministers’ salaries. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.
The revelation, by an anonymous online group known as “Against the Current”, came as the Palestinian government faces desperate financial shortfalls.
Nickolay Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said on Thursday he had spoken to recently installed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who had agreed to cancel the raises.
“At a time when the #Palestinian people are struggling with economic hardship, when salaries were cut in #Gaza, such decisions defy logic and rightly anger people,” Mladenov tweeted in reaction to the news of the salary increase.
“I spoke to @DrShtayyeh who committed to end this practice immediately and investigate.”
Shtayyeh, who replaced predecessor Rami Hamdallah in April, was not immediately available for comment.
Earlier, the prime minister said the PA has been forced over the past months to borrow money from banks, and that Abbas has called for a financial safety net during the Arab and Islamic summits in Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
Palestinians commenting on Against the Current’s Facebook page expressed outrage at the reported raises.
“All these ministers, what service do they provide to the people anyway? They’re just honorary roles,” wrote Subhi al-Hamdani.
The Palestinian Authority has been forced to halve the salaries of many employees in recent months due to an ongoing financial dispute with Israel.
Israel has been deducting around $10m a month from taxes it collects on behalf of the PA, money it says corresponds to payments to families of prisoners in Israeli jails – including those who have carried out attacks.
Israel sees such payments as rewards for attacks on its citizens, but the Palestinians argue they are a vital lifeline for families who have often lost their primary breadwinner. They also accuse Israel of arbitrary arrests.
Abbas has responded to the Israeli move by refusing to accept any of the tax revenues, which equate to more than half his government’s budget.
The United States has also cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians.
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