Trump facing backlash over Zelenskyy meeting

Peter Guo

Jennifer Jett and Peter Guo

China will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. goods, its government said, after an additional U.S. tariff of 10% on Chinese goods took effect at midnight ET.

The new Chinese tariffs, which take effect on March 10, include a 15% tariff on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton and a 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables and dairy and aquatic products.

“The unilateral tariff increase by the U.S. harms the multilateral trade system, increases the burden on American businesses and consumers, and undermines the foundation of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation,” China’s Customs Tariff Commission said in a statement.

The U.S. tariff adds to a previous 10% tariff that Trump imposed on Chinese goods starting Feb. 4. China also responded immediately to that tariff with its own targeted levies of 10% to 15% on U.S. products including coal, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.

National Education Association President Becky Pringle said after the Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as education secretary that there is “no evidence” she will support public schools.

“While educators and parents would hope McMahon will reflect upon the enormous responsibility she has to our nation’s students, sadly there is no evidence to believe she will use her position to focus on strengthening public schools so every student can thrive,” Pringle said in a statement.

The NEA is one of the largest labor unions in the country, representing more than 3 million people. Among its members are public school teachers, retired educators, higher education faculty members and school administrators.

Pringle said parents and educators are “organizing, advocating, and mobilizing” to stop McMahon from “hurting students” and “gutting public education.”

China strongly opposes an additional 10% U.S. tariff on its goods that is set to take effect at midnight ET tonight and “will take countermeasures to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests,” its Commerce Ministry said.

The 10% tariff is in addition to one Trump imposed on all Chinese goods imports starting Feb. 4, citing the international flow of fentanyl and precursor chemicals for illicit drugs that often originate in China. The country, one of the United States’ largest trading partners, responded to the first tariff by immediately announcing its own levies of 10% to 15% on some U.S. products, including coal, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.

China says that the two countries have cooperated extensively on anti-drug efforts “and achieved significant results” and that the United States is using fentanyl as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.

“These tariffs will not solve the U.S.’ own problems and will disrupt China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation and the normal international trade order,” a ministry spokesperson said. “China urges the U.S. to respect the rights of other countries and immediately withdraw these unreasonable and harmful unilateral tariff measures.”

Trump has said Ukraine — not Russia — started the war. He has called Zelenskyy — not Vladimir Putin — a dictator. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is standing down on a suite of tough anti-Kremlin policies.

In just over a month, Trump has executed a startling realignment of American foreign policy, effectively throwing U.S. support behind Moscow and rejecting the tight alliance with Kyiv cultivated by former President Joe Biden.

The extraordinary pivot has upended decades of hawkish foreign policy toward Russia that provided a rare area of bipartisan consensus in an increasingly divided nation. Trump’s recent moves have drawn international attention, unsettling U.S. allies in Europe and thrilling conservative populists who favor a turn away from Zelenskyy.

The new posture was put in stark relief Friday during a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy. They clashed in front of the media, raising questions about the future of American support for Kyiv, more than three years after Russia opened the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Read the full story here.

If a 25% U.S. tariff on Canadian imports takes effect as planned at midnight ET tonight, Canada will respond with 25% tariffs on 155 billion Canadian dollars ($107 billion) in American goods, its prime minister said.

Tariffs on $20.7 billion worth of goods will take effect immediately, while tariffs on the remaining $86.3 billion in U.S. products will begin in 21 days, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. They will remain until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, he said.

“Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs,” Trudeau said. “Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”

Trump had cited the international flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs as the reason for his tariffs on Canada and Mexico, even though Canada accounted for only 0.2% of the more than 20,000 pounds of fentanyl seized at the northern and southern borders in the 2024 fiscal year. Trudeau said Canada had nonetheless stepped up its drug enforcement efforts, resulting in fentanyl seizures from Canada dropping a further 97% from December to January, to 0.03 pounds.

Chrystia Freeland, who could soon be the next prime minister of Canada, said today that she would fight back against U.S. tariffs “with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs.”

A 25% U.S. tariff on goods imported from Canada, one of the United States’ largest trading partners, is set to take effect at midnight ET tonight.

“Our retaliation is going to be surgically targeted to create the maximum pressure on the White House to stop what The Wall Street Journal has described quite rightly as the dumbest trade war in history,” Freeland, who is running for leader of the governing Liberal Party in an election that ends Sunday, told MSNBC host Jen Psaki.

As an example, Freeland said she would impose a 100% tariff on cars from Tesla, the electric vehicle company owned by Trump adviser Elon Musk. She also said she would consider canceling Canadian contracts with Starlink, Musk’s low-orbit satellite service.

Freeland encouraged Americans to call the White House, their governors and their members of Congress to express their concerns about a possible trade war with Canada, the largest market for U.S. exports.

“The reality is you guys need us. We are your largest market by far. The U.S. sells more to Canada than to China, Japan, the U.K. and France combined,” she said. “So we do have leverage. And as prime minister I will use it.”

Vice President JD Vance said tonight that Zelenskyy can return to the White House when he has a “serious proposal” for peace between his country and Russia.

“There are details that really matter, that we’re already working on with the Russians. We’ve already talked to some of our allies. He needs to engage seriously on the details. I think once that happens then, absolutely, we want to talk,” Vance said in a taped interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House prematurely Friday after his explosive meeting with Trump and Vance, who accused him of not being grateful enough for U.S. support and “gambling with World War III.”

Megan Lebowitz and Julie Tsirkin

Trump and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., claimed today without evidence that “paid troublemakers” were behind the outcry some Republicans have faced at recent town hall meetings.

Marshall was booed at a town hall in Kansas over the weekend as he was peppered with questions about efforts by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by Musk.

“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Marshall reposted Trump’s comments on X, writing, “Can confirm.”

Frank Thorp V and Sahil Kapur

Reporting from Washington

Senate Democrats voted unanimously to block a Republican-led bill tonight that would prohibit federally funded schools from allowing transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.

In a party-line vote of 51-45, Democrats filibustered the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. It fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance as Democrats dismissed it as a distraction and a cynical political move.

Four senators didn’t vote: Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; and Peter Welch, D-Vt.

The outcome means the legislation — which passed the House in January and mirrors an executive order issued by Trump — won’t go any further. But the failed vote is likely to become a political talking point for Republicans in upcoming elections after they used the issue of transgender rights as a cudgel in the 2024 campaign.

Read the full story here.

Gary Grumbach and Zoë Richards

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., held a rally today outside the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, where a group of lawmakers trashed Trump and Musk and sought to deliver a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner signed by 122 lawmakers.

Waters and several fellow Democratic members of Congress were turned away from the department’s headquarters, where they tried to hand Turner a letter seeking information about the Department of Government Efficiency’s impact on the department. The letter makes a series of requests for information and takes particular aim at DOGE.

“Several individuals from DOGE who we understand to be currently stationed at HUD, including Scott Langmack and Michael Mirski, come from the very industries that stand to gain from the dismantling of the federal government’s role in housing and consumer protections, and the path that creates for greater housing market consolidation and profiteering at the expense of families,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter asks for a list of department employees who have been terminated since Trump took office. It also requests a list of any DOGE staffers or advisers who have been given access to department facilities, staff members, records or information and information on staff reduction plans and contracts, grants or loan agreements identified for potential pause or cancellation.

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Gabe Gutierrez, Courtney Kube and Zoë Richards

The Trump administration is pausing military aid to Ukraine, according to two U.S. officials, following last week’s public clash between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” a White House official said today. “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment tonight.

The move by the Trump administration comes after an explosive meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance told Zelenskyy that he hadn’t shown enough gratitude for the billions of dollars in U.S. aid provided to his country in the three years since Russia invaded.

Read the full story here.

Kristen Welker and Zoë Richards

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, the freshman Michigan Democrat set to deliver Democrats’ response to Trump’s joint address to Congress tomorrow, will deliver her remarks from a town in metropolitan Detroit that both she and Trump won in November, according to a source familiar with the speech.

The source said that Slotkin is a unique voice in the Democratic caucus because of her security background as a former CIA analyst and that she is going to lean heavily on that in her remarks, offering perspective for a critique of what happened in Trump and Vance’s Oval Office meeting last week with Zelenskyy. She won’t necessarily dwell on the meeting but will talk about the larger issues at play, according to this person.

Slotkin will lean on her national security experience throughout the speech while putting forth a proactive economic vision, the source said. Slotkin has often said she views a healthy middle class as a national security issue. 

And she is going to be careful to emphasize what Democrats are against as well as what the party is working toward, the source said. She will also point to the recent GOP budget resolution, which pushes for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and aims for $2 trillion in spending cuts, as a preview of what’s coming as she discusses what her party is trying to protect from harm in the Trump agenda.

Democrats and some moderate Republicans have criticized the resolution for its potential cuts to Medicaid.

Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong

Reporting from Washington

Congress is careening toward a government shutdown in just 11 days as the discord between the two parties over funding talks grows, with no clear path to reach a deal.

The government is set to run out of money at the end of next Friday, March 14. Republicans control the House and the Senate, but they need Democratic support to pass a funding bill as it is subject to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

Hopes of a full funding deal have faded, so Trump and congressional leaders are falling back on a short-term bill to keep the government open on autopilot, most likely through the end of the fiscal year. But even that is running into obstacles.

Read the full story here.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who recently launched a recruiting effort to hire laid-off federal workers, is behind a series of new digital ads running on billboards around Union Station in Washington, D.C., encouraging the workers to apply for New York jobs.

The ads feature the Statue of Liberty pointing, with the text “DOGE says you’re fired? We say you’re hired.”

Hochul accused the Trump administration and Elon Musk in a statement of “vilify[ing] public servants.”

Kyle Stewart and Raquel Coronell Uribe

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he plans to attend Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress tomorrow and emphasized the importance of “a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber” in a letter to House Democrats tonight.

“Given my responsibilities in the House, I plan to attend the speech, along with other members of the Democratic leadership, to make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the administration,” Jeffries wrote.

“The decision to attend the Joint Session is a personal one and we understand that members will come to different conclusions,” Jeffries added. “The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied.”

Jeffries also urged fellow Democrats to participate in events related to Trump’s speech throughout the week “beyond the traditional Democratic response,” including “an event featuring the voices of the American people” on the East Front Capitol Steps on Wednesday, and a hearing by the Steering and Policy Committee on Thursday that will feature Americans who rely on Medicaid for their health care.

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Chloe Atkins, Julia Jester, Lawrence Hurley and Dareh Gregorian

A federal judge today kept in place an order prohibiting mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while she sorts through conflicting claims about whether the Trump administration is still trying to shutter the independent agency.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued the ruling in Washington, D.C., after the official who has been the CFPB’s chief operating officer since February 2023 said in a court filing yesterday that the administration was now “right sizing” the agency instead of trying to eliminate it completely.

That contrasts with court filings last week in which federal employees alleged that plans were underway by the Trump administration to reduce the financial watchdog agency’s workforce from the current roster of 1,700 to five.

Jackson said at a hearing today that the question before her was: “Is this impending doom, or is this not impending doom?”

Read the full story here.

Megan Lebowitz and Julie Tsirkin

NAACP President Derrick Johnson slammed McMahon after her Senate confirmation vote, saying today was “another dark day in America.”

“Linda McMahon is wholly unqualified to lead American education, but — like Elon Musk — was handpicked by Donald Trump because she has a net worth in the billions and will always kiss the ring,” Johnson said in a statement. “Our democracy is on life support, and we need to start acting like it.”

Trump has called for eliminating the Education Department. Johnson said in his statement that McMahon’s confirmation “brings us one step closer to losing our Department of Education — the agency that not only funds public schools, but advocates for our teachers and enforces essential civil rights laws.”

Zoë Richards and Kate Santaliz

The Senate tonight confirmed former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department in a 51-45 party line vote.

McMahon was a co-chair of Trump’s recent presidential transition team and head of the Small Business Administration during his first term. She stepped down from the SBA post in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC.

Andrew Arenge

Reporting from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Elon Musk shared a claim by conservative activist Scott Pressler earlier today questioning recent Democratic voter registration changes in Pennsylvania. In the viral post, which has reached over 6 million views on X, Pressler claims that nearly all the Democratic registered voter gains from the past week have come out of Philadelphia.

“@PAStateDept, can you explain how Philadelphia County gained 14,643 active democrat voters in 1 week,” Pressler wrote.

Philadelphia Election Commissioner Seth Bluestein responded to Pressler’s post by explaining that voter registration staff members have been conducting routine list maintenance since the November election.

“These are eligible, registered voters who participated in the November 2024 election or updated their registration,” he wrote. “They have correctly been moved from inactive to active status.”

Bluestein’s response has received about 5,000 views on X.

Election officials routinely conduct list maintenance to ensure that the voter rolls are up to date, including removing people who have died or people who have moved to new jurisdictions. Federal law requires that states notify inactive voters and wait two federal elections before they remove a voter from the rolls.

Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, signaled today that Canada is set to retaliate against the U.S. tariffs scheduled to take effect tomorrow.

“The market is going to go downhill faster than the American bobsled team. It’s going to be an absolute disaster for both countries. We’re your largest trading partner. I don’t want to respond. But we will respond like they’ve never seen before,” Ford told NBC News’ Aaron Gilchrist on “Meet the Press NOW.”

Ford, who said he had spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other provinces’ premiers, emphasized that they “do not want” to take retaliatory measures but are ready to do so.

“There’s no country in the world that buys more products off the U.S. than we do. We’re the No. 1 trading customer to 28 states, and a lot of them are red states. They’re going to feel the pain like they’ve never felt before,” he said.

He added that he will stop his province’s shipments of nickel, which would negatively affect American manufacturing, and cut off billions of dollars’ worth of contracts with the United States.

“I’m going after absolutely everything, and I don’t want to. We keep the lights on the 1.5 million homes in manufacturing in New York, in Michigan and in Minnesota. If [President Donald Trump] wants to destroy our economy and our families, I will shut down the electricity going down to the U.S., and I’m telling you we will do it,” Ford said.

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Ken Dilanian, Jonathan Dienst, Ryan J. Reilly and Tom Winter

The head of the FBI’s New York field office was forced out of the bureau today, a month after he urged his employees to “dig in” after the Trump administration removed senior FBI leaders and requested the names of all agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases, five sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Two of the sources said James Dennehy, a highly respected leader, was given a choice to resign or be fired. He was eligible for retirement and has officially retired.

Dennehy wrote an email to his staff after the Trump Justice Department, led by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, demanded a list of employees who had worked criminal cases against the hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of the then-and-now president’s attempts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.

“Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own as good people are being walked out of the FBI,” Dennehy wrote. “And others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy.”

Read the full story here.

Frank Thorp V and Zoë Richards

Sen Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will give his own response to Trump’s joint address to Congress tomorrow, something he has done in past.

Sanders’ office announced that his remarks would be livestreamed on his Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram accounts after Trump concludes his speech to Congress.

NBC News has reported that first-term Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is expected to give Democrats’ response to Trump’s address.

Syedah Asghar

Sydney CarruthSydney Carruth is a digital assistant for NBC News.

Syedah Asghar and Sydney Carruth

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said today that he is working with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, to get a rare-earth minerals deal with the United States back on track.

Citing a “lengthy and productive” conversation with Yermak, Fitzpatrick said on X that the two of them are working together to get an agreement signed soon.

“We are 100% getting this train back on the tracks.  This mineral deal will be signed in short order, which will lead to a strong long-term economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine, and which will ultimately and naturally lead to security assistance. Europe will be required to step up and do its part, and there will be mandates for them to do just that.  Stay tuned for further details,” Fitzpatrick wrote on X.

Sydney CarruthSydney Carruth is a digital assistant for NBC News.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said this morning that he believes Trump and Vance’s attack on Zelenskyy during Friday’s contentious Oval Office meeting was a “setup” orchestrated by the White House.

“When you saw Vice President Vance interject, what he did and how he did it, it was a setup to try to get Zelenskyy to either come and just look like he’s kissing a ring or putting him down and belittling him,” Meeks, of New York, told MSNBC’s José Díaz-Balart in an interview today.

The Oval Office meeting, originally intended to lead to the signing of an agreement that would have granted the United States access to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals and helped lay the foundation for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, ended after Vance and Trump accused Zelenskyy of not being thankful enough for U.S. aid to Ukraine.

Trump remained critical of Zelenskyy today, insisting that a peace agreement to end the war with Russia was within reach and “should not be that hard.” Yet he suggested that Zelenskyy could struggle to lead his country there.

“The deal could be made very fast. It should not be that hard a deal to make,” Trump said at the White House. “Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.”

Trump continued: “That person will not be listened to very long, because I believe that Russia wants to make a deal. I believe, certainly, the people of Ukraine want to make a deal.”

Victoria Ebner and Sydney Carruth

Chants of “Hands off NOAA!” reverberated through the large crowd that gathered outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, this morning to protest sweeping cuts across the agency’s workforce.

The crowd, holding handmade signs, was one of three that gathered across metro Washington today in protest of the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically reduce the size of the federal government, which has materialized as mass layoffs at key government agencies and the complete shuttering of operations at others.

“This is the great betrayal in action,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told the hundreds of demonstrators outside NOAA. “Donald Trump said on Day One he was going to cut prices; instead what Donald Trump has done on Day One is begin cutting important services to the American people.”

In downtown Washington, former federal employees and labor union representatives gathered to thank government workers for their service and protest Trump’s attempted contract cuts across the Department of Veterans Affairs. Blocks away, another group gathered outside the U.S. District Courthouse in a show of resistance to the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Andrew Arenge and Ben Kamisar

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is appearing in a new Democratic National Committee fundraising ad, telling beleaguered Democrats, “Let me just remind you, please, you have power, you have power, and no one, no situation, no circumstance can take it from you.”

She goes on to urge people to “stay active” and accuses Republicans of again giving tax cuts to “the richest among us while they’re trying to get rid of Medicaid.”

Asked whether he was considering suspending military aid to Ukraine, Trump demurred, telling reporters, “I haven’t even talked about that right now.”

But he did not shut the door to the possibility entirely. “We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “A lot of things are happening right now, as we speak, literally as we speak.”

He continued: “I could go back and do the Oval Office and find out that the answer is obsolete.”

At a news conference celebrating an investment announcement by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Trump took several questions about Ukraine and Russia, reiterating his interest in working out a peace deal.

Sarah Dean and Rebecca Shabad

Trump said in remarks at the White House for an unrelated announcement that U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico are still expected to take effect tomorrow.

“The tariffs, you know, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” he said when he was asked whether there was an opportunity for those countries to make deals with the United States before midnight.

Trump previously delayed implementing the tariffs by 30 days.

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Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains and Rebecca Shabad

The Defense Department announced this afternoon that it’s changing the name of Fort Moore near Columbus, Georgia, back to Fort Benning.

Fort Benning was established in 1918 and named after Confederate Gen. Henry Benning. The Pentagon said the name now honors Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a World War I Army veteran “who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action.”

In 2023, the Pentagon renamed it Fort Moore after Army Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julie Compton Moore.

Hal Moore was a commander in the Vietnam War, and Julie Moore was a longtime volunteer and advocate for military families. She is considered one of the top advocates for widows of fallen soldiers in the history of the Army. The fort is the only base named for a husband and wife. Their children are still alive and were actively involved in the process — at least one served in the Army.

The Associated Press

The Treasury Department announced it will not enforce a Biden-era small-business rule intended to curb money laundering and shell company formation.

The Treasury Department said in a news release Sunday evening that it will not impose penalties now or in the future if companies fail to register for the agency’s beneficial ownership information database, which was created during the Biden administration.

Read the full story here.

Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy today after The Associated Press reported that Zelenskyy said a resolution to the conflict with Russia is “very, very far away.”

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. During their ill-fated joint meeting Friday, Zelenskyy expressed doubt that the war could be ended through diplomacy, as Russia has broken ceasefire deals in the past.

Trump added: “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”

Gabe Gutierrez

Vance will visit the southern border on Wednesday and tour a processing facility in Eagle Pass, Texas, a spokesperson for the vice president said. He will be the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit so far.

Megan Lebowitz and Frank Thorp V

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., criticized Putin on X but stopped short of connecting that criticism to how Trump and Vance treated Zelenskyy last week.

“Putin routinely throws people who disagree with him out of windows or blows up the planes they are in. He has not just invaded Ukraine. He is killing anyone who disagrees with him,” Cassidy said.

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican whose state is the closest to Russia, said in a new statement that Friday’s meeting “was a missed opportunity for the people of Ukraine.”

Reporting from Washington

Democrats and outside allies are trying every angle to undercut Trump’s plans to pass his major party-line bill on spending and taxes through the Republican-led Congress.

Their latest salvo: a TV ad campaign by two liberal groups featuring a veteran named Leb from Woodbridge, Virginia, speaking to Trump and saying he voted for him to “lower costs and protect jobs.”

“You can cut taxes for billionaires and big corporations, or look out for us — the hard-working people who put you into office. So, my question to you is: Whose side are you on?” he says in the ad, which has not been reported on before. “Mr. President, choose families like mine. Don’t give billionaires even more tax breaks. Fight for us, not them.”

Rebecca Shabad and Tara Prindiville

National security adviser Mike Waltz said today that the Trump administration is still open to holding negotiations with Zelenskyy.

“We’re ready to have those conversations. We had it with the Russians in Riyadh. We’re ready to have it with the Ukrainians and then engage in shuttle diplomacy. But we need to hear that latter piece from Zelenskyy, and we need to hear it publicly,” he said in an interview on Fox News.

Waltz said that the White House will “test both sides” to determine how willing the parties are to compromise.

“What we need to hear from President Zelenskyy is that he has regret for what happened, he’s ready to sign this minerals deal, and that he’s ready to engage in peace talks,” Waltz said, referring to the clash on Friday between Trump and Vance and Zelenskyy. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

Europe is racing to repair the division between the U.S. and Ukraine after Trump clashed with Zelenskyy at the White House last week. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Igor Novikov, a former adviser to Zelenskyy, join MSNBC to discuss lawmakers’ reaction to the meeting and what’s next for U.S.-Ukraine relations.

Sydney Carruth and Jesse Rodriguez

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., criticized his Republican colleagues over their reactions to the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting on Friday. Many prominent congressional Republicans, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, applauded Trump for kicking Zelenskyy out of the White House.

“Even before Donald Trump was president, congressional Republicans were not doing the things necessary to support the most vital fight in defense of democracy in the world today,” Murphy said. “So I’m just going to be honest with you. I don’t have a lot of faith that Republicans are going to do anything except just offer some mild criticism of Vladimir Putin.”

Citing last year’s fight to pass a foreign aid package that drew large pushback from Congressional conservatives and nearly cost House Speaker Mike Johnson his gavel, Murphy said he does not believe the GOP will back more aid for Ukraine with Trump in the White House. 

“They weren’t willing to do that before Donald Trump was president. I’m not sure why they would be willing to do it now when Donald Trump is literally taking Russia’s side in this conflict,” Murphy said. 

Alexander Smith and Victor Sema

Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, who played a key role in bringing an end to the Cold War, signed a letter that lambasted Trump over his treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday at the White House.

“We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski with fear and distaste. We consider your expectations to show respect and gratitude for the material help provided by the United States fighting Russia to Ukraine insulting,” Wałęsa said in his letter, which was posted on his Facebook account.

Megan Lebowitz and Laura Strickler

Employees of the Department of Housing and Urban Development waited in long and unusual security lines today to enter a main department building, where they proceeded through airportlike security, according to two HUD sources.

An email, obtained by NBC News, was sent to employees Friday informing them of building entry changes, citing a commitment to safety and security.

One of the entrances to the building was closed, and the email noted that “everyone entering the building will be required to go through the magnetometers and have their personal belongings run through the scanners.”

Cars parked in certain locations would be “subject to the search of the trunk of the vehicle as well as the undercarriage of the car using mirrors,” the email noted. The email closed by reminding employees that weapons are not allowed on-site.

First lady Melania Trump is set to hold an event today in support of a bill that passed the Senate in the last Congress that would criminalize the nonconsensual publication of sexually exploitative images.

The Take it Down Act, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., would require platforms to take down revenge porn images within 48 hours of notice. The bill would also extend to deepfake images created by artificial intelligence.

It passed the Senate, but not the House in the last Congress. The senators reintroduced the legislation in January, which is also when the bill was unveiled in the House by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that he believes he will be able to salvage his relationship with the United States following his contentious meeting in the Oval Office on Friday with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Zelenskyy said he was still willing to sign a deal granting the United States access to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals, which was supposed to be the original purpose of his trip to Washington last week. 

Read the full story here

The Trump administration faces a flurry of court hearings today in cases challenging aspects of its efforts to reshape the size and scope of the federal government.

Here’s what to watch:

National Treasury Employees Union challenges CFPB’s acting head: The union sued acting CFPB head Russell Vought over his directives to employees, instructing them to stop all work unless required by law or approved in specific cases. The court will consider arguments from the parties about a temporary pause of Vought’s orders. A judge had previously temporarily blocked mass terminations at the CFPB.

Merit Systems employee lawsuit against Trump administration: A judge had previously temporarily reinstated Cathy Harris as chair of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board after she sued members of the Trump administration, arguing she was unlawfully fired. Another case hearing will take place today.

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Ben Kamisar, Julie Tsirkin and Andrew Arenge

Sen. Chris Murphy has made a name for himself as someone willing to chase a bipartisan deal on some of Washington’s thorniest issues. 

But weeks into President Donald Trump’s second administration, the Connecticut Democrat has taken steps to put himself at the center of aggressive resistance to Trump — and to let his party’s rank and file know it. Murphy is spending heavily to advertise on social media platforms and is flooding the zone on television and podcasts, positioning himself as the tip of the spear of Democratic Party efforts to oppose Trump in Washington. 

Read the full story here.

Julia Jester and Dennis Romero

An official at the federal foreign aid agency targeted by the Trump administration with layoffs, cuts and funding obstacles was placed on leave yesterday after saying those moves will lead to “preventable death” and threats to U.S. security.

In a memo to staff, including those placed on leave or laid off, Nick Enrich said the U.S. Agency for International Development has not implemented “lifesaving humanitarian assistance” under a temporary waiver to the pause on foreign aid issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Read the full story here.

Congressional Democrats are planning to try and highlight the human costs of Trump administration policies and DOGE cuts to the federal workforce by inviting guests who highlight those issues to Trump’s joint address to Congress tomorrow.

A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he has asked the Democratic caucus to bring guests who “have suffered under the Trump administration’s policies” and Schumer will be bringing:

• an individual who needs Medicaid to live 
• a child with a genetic spinal condition who is alive because of a National Institutes of Health program that was recently cut.
• a fired Veterans Affairs worker and former Army veteran close to retirement.
• a person who was fired from a USDA rural development program used to support farmers and small businesses.