Morning Report — Due process vs. Trump tariffs: Democrats are in a messaging bind ...Middle East

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In today’s issue:  

As the White House continues to stonewall a federal judge’s demand for information about efforts to secure a mistakenly deported Maryland man, politicians on both sides of the aisle are considering the case’s wider implications — and its messaging.

On Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers revealed little information about Kilmar Abrego Garcia in court papers, saying they were engaging in “appropriate diplomatic discussions” with El Salvador, though they offered no detail. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, meanwhile, asked the judge for a hearing on the “government’s failure to comply with this court’s orders.” 

The White House has repeatedly resisted court orders — not only in Abrego Garcia’s case, but in other legal proceedings as well. ure is pushing the administration ever closer to an open showdown with the judicial branch that could threaten the constitutional balance of power. Three courts — including the Supreme Court — have directly told the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release and devise a way of handling his case as it should have been handled if the government had not flown him to El Salvador on March 15, in violation of an earlier court order.

As the legal and political battle over Abrego Garcia and the administration’s deportation policy heats up, a divide is growing among Democrats over the handling of the case. The Hill’s Al Weaver and Mychael Schnell write some worry about whether it’s a winning issue as Republicans go on offense. 

Four House progressives arrived in El Salvador on Monday to push for Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., following Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who made the trek to the Central American country last week. The group has framed the effort as pushing back on a threat to basic constitutional rights.

Few Democrats dispute the issue of due process in Abrego Garcia’s case as they slam President Trump’s defiance of a Supreme Court ruling ordering the White House to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. But some describe the administration’s focus on the issue as a deliberate distraction from other news, including the dwindling stock market, rising price of groceries and widespread confusion over Trump’s tariff policies.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) argued on CNN over the weekend that the administration “picked out this case and this man because it’s about a subject that they want to keep in the news.” The White House alleges Abrego Garcia has ties to the Salvadoran gang MS-13, which his family denies. Still, Democratic operatives say the optics matter.

“People can’t afford eggs, and … you’re flying to sit with someone who’s accused of being in a gang,” one Democratic operative told The Hill. “Republicans have given us such an opportunity with DOGE and … with Trump tanking the economy. Obviously, you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but I don’t think we can take our eyes off the prize in terms of talking about real, real-world impacts and how people are being hurt in their everyday lives by some of these policies.”

CNN: As Democrats rally around Abrego Garcia case, some worry a due process argument won’t land with voters.

TARIFF TALK: As the economic consequences of Trump’s tariff policies continue to reverberate, Trump said Tuesday that the hefty tariff rate on China will be significantly reduced after he negotiates with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing optimism about a trade deal. So far, no meeting between the two leaders has been scheduled.

“One hundred forty-five percent is very high. It won’t be that high, it’s not going to be that high … it won’t be anywhere near that high,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”

The Wall Street Journal: Trump said he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, prompting relief from investors who had been spooked by the White House’s aggressive moves in recent weeks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China is unsustainable and that he expects the situation to de-escalate. Negotiations haven’t started but a deal is possible, the secretary said, according to attendees.

The White House says it is closing in on general agreements with Japan and India to stave off tariffs, but details are unclear.

▪ USA Today: Elon Musk said he'll “advocate for lower tariffs” during a Tesla earnings call.

▪ The Hill: U.S. stock markets closed with solid gains Tuesday as traders bought into the idea that Trump’s trade war with China could cool down.

▪ Vox: The domestic fallout from Trump’s tariffs, in three charts.

▪ The New York Times: Businesses plead for tariff breaks after Trump spares iPhones.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Tuesday that U.S. tariffs will contribute to a global slowdown, saying the levies have unleashed a “major negative shock” into the world economy. It’s a stark assessment of the impact of Trump’s policies and comes as global finance ministers prepare to meet in Washington. 

"We're entering a new era as the global economic system that has operated for the last 80 years is being reset," said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF's chief economist. "Beyond the abrupt increase in tariffs, the surge in policy uncertainty is a major driver of the economic outlook. If sustained, the increase in trade tensions and uncertainty will slow global growth significantly."

SMART TAKE with NewsNation’s BLAKE BURMAN: 

A reminder this week that the 2026 jockeying is well underway. For example, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he’s running for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) soon-to-be-open seat. While that’s a definitive move, there are also questions about a different Republican House member: Could Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) try to challenge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D)?  

“She would be an absolutely fantastic candidate,” Michael Whatley, chair of the Republican National Committee, told me. I asked Whatley if she’d be the best chance for Republicans to flip the governor’s mansion, but he wasn’t willing to go there yet. “I think we'll wait and see who's going to get in that race.”  

This is indeed a big “wait-and-see” moment for Republicans. It involves a rising star within the party potentially trying to close a 6-point gap from the last gubernatorial race.  

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:

▪ After weeks of higher education playing defense against an aggressive Trump administration, Harvard University is taking the lead in fighting back.

▪ The Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled during oral arguments Tuesday that it will require schools to provide opt-outs for parents who have religious objections to LGBTQ+ books read in elementary schools.

▪ Minnesota sued the Trump administration Tuesday in response to federal threats to withhold federal funding based on the state’s refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. 

LEADING THE DAY 

© The Associated Press | Damian Dovarganes

The Hill interview: California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the Democratic Party must work harder, go deeper, and listen more analytically to grasp its problems among voters ahead of the next election. 

He told The Hill’s Amie Parnes during a Monday interview that the Democratic Party still has not conducted a thorough autopsy of his party’s loss of the White House and swing states in November. 

"We have not done a forensic of what went wrong, period, full stop," said the governor, who recently launched his podcast “This is Gavin Newsom.” “I represent the state larger than 21 state populations combined and I can assure you there's not been a party discussion that I'm aware of that has included the state of California.”

The governor is not speaking out to torch Trump or diss DOGE. He’s hosting podcast guests from across the aisle, much to the surprise of listeners in his own party. What fell flat last fall or Democratic candidates? “An unwillingness … to listen,” he says. The reaction to the governor’s platform-sharing with partisan opposites “has been a little more bumpy than I even anticipated,” he conceded.

Parnes is co-author with NBC News’s Jonathan Allen of “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.” Allen also interviewed Newsom and reported the governor thinks Democrats have been too focused on the personality of candidates at the top of tickets.

Newsom also took note of Trump's advantage among young male voters in the last election, which he attributes to the attention they received from the current president — demonstrated in part by what they heard from Trump on podcasts and YouTube shows popular with that demographic.

"He had no policy to back up for young men, how to take care of these kids," Newsom said. "But he at least expressed that — ‘I see you, you matter, I care.’"

New York City: Federal prosecutors in a criminal case involving Mayor Eric Adams (D) resigned Tuesday after the Justice Department placed them on administrative leave in February. The prosecutors, who had resisted dropping corruption charges against Adams, accused the department of requiring them to “express regret and admit some wrongdoing” in the handling of the case if they wanted to be reinstated. After meeting with the president in Florida in February, the mayor said he supported Trump’s immigration and other policies. At the request of the Justice Department, a federal judge early this month dismissed the federal charges against Adams. The mayor is seeking reelection as an independent. 

Florida: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a lame duck who lost to Trump in last year’s GOP presidential primary, faces new backlash from GOP detractors, reports The Hill’s Julia Manchester. The situation is complicated by a scandal with ties to Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, a 44-year-old former journalist reported to be interested in succeeding her husband. The governor denies she’ll run, but the state’s first lady has topped hypothetical polls conducted by the University of North Florida and Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Survey. 

WHERE AND WHEN

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | Julien de Rosa, AFP

WILL OLD GLORY BE MISSED? What does it matter if the State Department sheds 100 bureaus worldwide, whittles its presence on the African continent where China does business and shrinks its U.S.-based workforce by 15 percent? Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday unveiled a dramatic department overhaul that he said can reduce “bloated” bureaucracy and erase “radical political ideology.” The specifics of the plan have not been debated by lawmakers on Capitol Hill; an organization chart and statement Tuesday embraced a reduction of 17 percent in overall department offices (from 734 to 602). The president reportedly wants to slash spending for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, which is now all but eliminated, by roughly half in fiscal 2026. 

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to fire or reassign nearly 300 employees responsible for environmental justice and civil rights.  

The Hill: Fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill have pressed the White House to set a timetable to claw back discretionary spending previously appropriated by Congress, known as rescissions. Lawmakers return to Washington next week. 

The Health and Human Services Department and the Food and Drug Administration will take steps to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026 to improve children’s health, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said Tuesday, despite previous assurances from the agency that such dyes are safe. Artificial dyes are used widely in U.S. foods. In Canada and in Europe — where warning labels are required — manufacturers mostly use natural substitutes. Several states, including California and West Virginia, have passed laws restricting the use of artificial colors in foods.

At the Defense Department, Secretary Pete Hegseth and the top leadership are described by insiders as in turmoil as the secretary navigates negative headlines about handling sensitive military information, among other dustups the president could do without. Hegseth has opted to dig in while blaming his travails on former colleagues who were fired — and what he complained are leaks to the news media. Trump publicly backed his Pentagon chief and commended his performance this week. A Senate Republican told The Hill on Monday that many members are in “wait-and-see mode” on Hegseth, as they are betting more negative news is on its way.

ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press | Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik

UKRAINE: President Volodymyr Zelensky’s objection to a key U.S. proposal for peace  in Ukraine and Rubio’s decision to pull out of a series of meetings in London today raise questions about the state of negotiations to end the three-year war. The British Foreign Office confirmed that ministerial Ukraine peace talks with U.S. and European counterparts were postponed and downgraded to behind-the-scenes meetings with officials.

Earlier this week, both Russia and Ukraine suggested earlier that they would be open to direct negotiations. But then came what the U.S. characterized as a “final offer” for a peace deal, under which Ukraine would be required to recognize the annexed Crimea as Russian. and unofficially recognize Russian control of nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion. The U.S. expects Ukraine’s response by today, Axios reports.

“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelensky said at a news conference. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our Constitution.”

Financial Times: Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to halt Moscow’s invasion along the current front line. 

ISRAEL: Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and the nuclear talks with Iran. The White House wants to make another attempt this week to bring about a breakthrough in negotiations, but Netanyahu has been reluctant to agree to anything beyond an interim deal that does not end the war.

“I've just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, relative to numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc. The call went very well—We are on the same side of every issue,” Trump said.

Reuters: Germany, France and Britain called on Israel to allow aid into Gaza.

OPINION

■ Trump is insatiable, by Thomas B. Edsall, columnist, The New York Times.

■ Trump’s Iran strategy is a missed opportunity, by Dan Perry, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press | Ng Han Guan

And finally … ?

In an apparent first, thousands of robots ran a Chinese half-marathon along with humans on Saturday. What they lacked in opposable thumbs, their human navigators, operators and engineers supplied along a course of 13.1 miles. Sky Project Ultra robot, also known as Tien Kung Ultra, claimed victory among the nonhumans, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds in a race that featured pit stops for battery swaps.

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