Slow News Week (Not!)
Catching up on the week that was
Good morning! It’s Sunday, February 2, 2025. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so we’re (allegedly) looking at six more weeks of winter. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Welcome to R&R, our weekly email for paid subscribers. I know there’s a lot of news flying around all week — it’s hard to catch it all. In R&R, I try to recap everything you need to know from the past week, so you can start the new week fully caught up, while also recommending some great reads to go along with it. Let’s dive in!
THE TRADE WARS BEGIN
President Trump signed executive orders on Saturday imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on goods from China (on top of existing taxes on Chinese imports). Trump used his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs in response to “unusual and extraordinary” national security threats; Trump cited the threat of fentanyl made in China and smuggled into the U.S. along the Canadian and Mexican borders.
Canada has already responded with 25% tariffs of its own; China and Mexico plan to take retaliatory measures as well. The three countries are the U.S.’ largest trading partners; fruits, vegetables, cars, clothes, and more are likely to become more expensive as a result of the tariffs.
Good read: Robert Lighthizer was the architect of Trump’s first-term trade agenda. So why is he sitting in Florida as the trade wars escalate? The New Yorker tries to find out.
FLOODING THE ZONE
Meanwhile, Trump continued his attempts to remake the U.S. government at a breakneck speed. Dozens of prosecutors and FBI agents were fired. The country’s top foreign aid agency appears to be shutting down. A slew of government websites went dark. Buyouts have been offered. “Identity Months Dead at DOD,” the Pentagon announced. DEI workers are being pushed out. An inquiry into NPR and PBS was launched. Elon Musk’s team has been given access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.
A notable trend: The Justice Department moved to drop the case against Trump’s former classified documents co-defendants this week — and to dismiss felony charges against Jeff Fortenberry, a former Republican congressman. But it isn’t only GOP politicians seeking reprieve from Trump’s DOJ. This week, three prominent Democrats all seemed to be in the hunt for Trump to pardon them or drop their charges: New York City Mayor Eric Adams … Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez … Former Democratic superdonor Sam Bankman-Fried