Good Thursday evening. In this edition: Trump trade deadline looms as court weighs validity of tariffs; and C-SPAN names host of new "Ceasefire" series.
Plus, drug companies, inflation, Gaza, ballroom, Brown, fitness test and Davis.
Tariffs
President Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs are set to go into effect just after midnight when most of the world's countries will see steep import taxes slapped on their goods.
The president stunned the world with his April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement that saw him roll out massive levies on virtually every nation in an effort to correct trade imbalances, fill U.S. coffers and encourage domestic manufacturing.
The move upended global trade and sunk stocks, prompting him to announce a 90-day pause a week later to give time for countries to negotiate new bilateral trade deals with the U.S.
Since then, the administration has cut a flurry of deals with key trading partners, notably the European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Those countries agreed for their goods to be subject to levies ranging from 10%–20%, lower than the president had initially threatened but much higher than historical levels.
South Korea on Wednesday became the latest nation to hammer out a deal, which the president said would include a 15% levy on its imports.
He also said Seoul agreed to invest $350 billion in the U.S. and purchase $100 billion worth of liquified natural gas.
But dozens of other counties remain in limbo, including the U.S.'s top three trading partners:
No. 1: The U.S. and Mexico agreed Thursday to extend the current 25% tariffs on certain Mexican goods for an additional 90 days. The move pushes off the 30% rate that was set to go into effect on Friday.
No. 2: Canada has yet to cut a deal despite Prime Minister Mark Carney's earlier optimism. On Thursday, President Trump said Ottawa's decision to back Palestinian statehood could "make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them."
No. 3: Top U.S. and Chinese officials concluded their negotiations this week without a broader agreement, but with the goal of extending their trade détente beyond the Aug. 12 deadline.
Ms. Leavitt said world leaders would be informed before the midnight deadline of their new tariff rates, which have yet to be publicly released.
She added that the president would be signing an executive order "at some point this afternoon or later this evening" imposing the new rates.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court heard arguments this morning on whether the president exceeded his authority by unilaterally imposing the sweeping tariffs through emergency powers.
The Constitution vests Congress with the power to lay and collect duties, but over time, lawmakers have delegated some of those powers to the president under certain circumstances.
President Trump implemented the majority of his tariffs by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to act in response to unusual and extraordinary threats.
His use of the statute, which does not mention the word tariffs, was the first time since its enactment in 1977 that it had been invoked to impose tariffs on imports from other countries.
In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down the bulk of the president's tariffs, saying he exceeded his authority under the emergency powers law.
The Federal Circuit Appeals Court quickly paused that ruling, keeping the tariffs in place as further legal challenges play out.
It's unclear when the appeals court will issue its ruling.
Dasha Burns, Politico's White House bureau chief and Playbook chief correspondent, was named as the host for the inaugural season of C-SPAN's new program Ceasefire.
"I love creating spaces where Democrats, Republicans, independents, people from across the political spectrum feel like they're going to get a fair shake, like they're going to be able to have a substantive, meaty conversation — and I'm excited to do that here," she said on this morning's Washington Journal.
The show, which debuts this fall, will feature leaders and lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle who would typically be pitted against one another — instead paired for honest and civil discussions about how to tackle the nation's most pressing problems.
"I think that we are living in a time where most of what we see is partisanship, polarization, conflict. What if we had a space where that wasn't the case?" she said.
"What if we had a space where people actually could come and try to find some common ground and move the ball forward on real issues affecting Americans? And that's what I really want to see with this program."
Ms. Burns joined Politico in January after working as a national correspondent for NBC News.
She's no stranger to C-SPAN, having moderated more than a dozen discussions and public policy events that have aired on the nonprofit network.
President Trumpsent letters to 17 of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies demanding that they reduce some of their U.S. prices to match the levels charged in other wealthy countries. "If you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices," he warned in the nearly identical letters.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, rose at an annual rate of 2.6% in June, higher than the 2.4% rate in May. Core PCE, which removes the more volatile food and energy indexes, was up 2.8% over the past year. The report dampens the prospects of the Fed cutting rates in September.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will visit Gaza on Friday as they look to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave, the White House announced. At least 91 Gazans have been killed and more than 600 wounded while trying to access humanitarian aid over the past 24 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The White Houseannounced plans for the construction of a 90,000-sqare-foot state ballroom, which will commence in September to the tune of $200 million. The ballroom will have a 650-person seating capacity and connect to the East Wing of the executive mansion. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the project will be funded by private donations and is expected to be completed by the end of the president's term.
Brown Universitystruck a $50 million deal with the Trump administration in exchange for the reinstatement of federal research funding, becoming the third Ivy League school to cut such an agreement in the past month. The deal requires the school to comply with the administration's vision on matters like transgender athletes and "merit-based" admissions policies and comes after accusations of antisemitism amid pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its campus.
President Trumpsigned an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test after it was phased out more than a decade ago. The fitness test, which was established in 1956 and used until 2012, required school-aged children to run one mile and perform sit-ups, pull-ups and the sit-and-reach. President Obama replaced the program with the FitnessGram test, which aimed to encourage living an active and healthy lifestyle.
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) announced he will not seek reelection in 2026 after 15 terms in Congress. The 83-year-old lawmaker, who represents parts of Chicago, endorsed Illinois State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) to take his place in the deep blue district.
For your radar…
Former President Biden delivers remarks Thursday night at the National Bar Association's gala in Chicago. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 8pm ET.
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