The White House has released President Donald Trump’s schedule for Monday. He will hold a press conference with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and then begin a weeklong trip to the Middle East. Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran.
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Trump promotes executive order meant to reduce drug costs
Trump says he鈥檚 directing his administration officials to investigate foreign countries that 鈥渆xtort鈥 drug companies
The order, according to a White House official, also sets a 30-day deadline for the U.S. Health Department to broker new price tags for drugs. If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to the lowest price paid by other countries.
As he signed the order, he called it 鈥渙ne of the most consequential executive orders in our country鈥檚 history.鈥
鈥淪tarting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the health care of foreign countries, which is what we were doing,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淲e were subsidizing others鈥 health care.鈥
鈥 By Seung Min Kim
Homeland Security says it鈥檚 targeting California over benefits to immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security says it is opening an investigation into a California program that pays money to some immigrants.
The Department said Monday that it had issued a subpoena to California鈥檚 Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants to obtain records about the program.
That California program was created when Congress in 1996 took away federal Supplemental Security Income assistance for legal immigrants in a welfare reform law.
According to the program鈥檚 website, it pays money to elderly, blind and disabled people in California who are not citizens. The website says the program is entirely paid for by California.
The Trump administration has targeted states and communities that it considers to be lax when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Trump says EU 鈥渘astier鈥 on trade than China
Fresh off a 90-day tariff rollback to hold talks with China, President Donald Trump said that on trade issues, the 鈥淓uropean Union is in many ways nastier than China.鈥
Trump said while speaking on Monday at the White House that the EU would 鈥渃ome down a lot鈥 on trade restrictions regarding the U.S., tearing into the longstanding ally. The U.S. president insisted that America has 鈥渁ll the cards鈥 in trade talks with Europe because of the vehicles it buys from the continent鈥檚 automakers.
Trump said his executive order on pharmaceutical drug prices would mean that Europeans will have 鈥渢o pay more for health care, and we鈥檙e going to have to pay less.鈥
The U.S. has a separate negotiating period on trade in which goods from the EU are being charged 10% import taxes.
Trump cheers special envoy for hostage Edan Alexander鈥檚 expected release from Gaza
Trump said that the U.S.-Israeli citizen was expected to be released by Hamas in the 鈥渘ext two hours鈥 or 鈥渟ometime today.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 coming home to his parents, which is really great news,鈥 Trump told reporters at the White House shortly before he was scheduled to depart for a whirlwind visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Trump credited his special envoy Steve Witkoff in helping win the release of Alexander, 21.
The president said that Witkoff, a New York real estate developer turned diplomat, knew 鈥渧ery little about the subject matter鈥 but learned quickly.
鈥淗e has a special way about him,鈥 Trump said of Witkoff.
Trump plans to speak with Xi after agreeing to tariff reduction for 90 days
President Donald Trump says he will likely speak with China鈥檚 leader Xi Jinping 鈥渕aybe at the end of the week.鈥
That鈥檚 after negotiators from the U.S. and China meeting in Switzerland this weekend agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days of talks. The import taxes on China imposed by the U.S. would still remain higher than when Trump took office at 30%.
Trump told reporters on Monday that the reduced tariff rates didn鈥檛 include tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum as well as the potentially upcoming import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs.
Trump said he also spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday and he expected the tech company to make additional commitments to invest in domestic production.
Trump said the talks would be great for 鈥渦nification and peace.鈥
Trump suggests promise of trade with US was factor in India-Pakistan ceasefire
Trump says the countries ended hostilities for a lot of reasons 鈥渂ut trade is a big one.鈥
Speaking at the White House on Monday, the president said the U.S. is already negotiating a trade deal with India and will soon start negotiating with Pakistan.
India and Pakistan to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea Saturday in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to stop the escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals that threatened regional peace.
Bessent expects next U.S.-China meeting in a few weeks
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised the progress made in in trade talks with Chinese officials over the weekend and said he expects another meeting in a few weeks.
U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on tariffs after the weekend talks in Geneva.
鈥淲e had a plan, we had a process and now what we have with the Chinese is a mechanism to avoid an upward tariff pressure like we did last time,鈥 Bessent said on CNBC.
Trump administration looking to expand legal power on deportation
White House deputy chief of staff says the administration is looking for ways to expand its legal power to deport migrants who are in the United States illegally.
To achieve that, he says the administration is 鈥渁ctively looking at鈥 suspending , the for people to legally challenge their detention by the government.
Such a move would be aimed at migrants as part of the Republican president鈥檚 at the U.S.-Mexico border.
鈥淭he Constitution is clear, and that of course is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion,鈥 Miller told reporters outside the White House on Friday.
鈥淪o, I would say that鈥檚 an option we鈥檙e actively looking at,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淟ook, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.鈥
Trump’s plan to change pricing model for some medications faces opposition
plan to change the pricing model for some medications is already facing fierce criticism from the pharmaceutical industry before he鈥檚 even signed the executive order set for Monday that, if implemented, could lower the cost of some drugs.
Trump has promised that his plan 鈥 which is likely to tie the price of medications covered by Medicare and administered in a doctor鈥檚 office to the lowest price paid by other countries 鈥 will significantly lower drug costs.
But the nation鈥檚 leading pharmaceutical lobby on Sunday pushed back, calling it a 鈥渂ad deal鈥 for American patients. Drugmakers have long argued that any threats to their profits could impact the research they do to develop new drugs.
White House releases Trump schedule for Monday
The White House has released President Donald Trump’s schedule for Monday. Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the White House at 9:30 a.m. Trump says that, if implemented, could bring down the costs of some medications 鈥 reviving a failed effort from his first term on an issue he鈥檚 talked up since even before becoming president.
Shortly after, Trump will begin his weeklong trip to the Middle East. , though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran.
Trump ready to accept gift of luxury jet from Qatar
President is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft.
The Qatari government said a final decision hadn鈥檛 been made. Still, Trump defended the idea 鈥 what would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government 鈥 as a fiscally smart move for the country.
