The Latest : Trump threatens countries to abide by tariff deals despite Supreme Court decision

wjfw.com · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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President Donald Trump on Monday threatened countries around the world to abide by any tariff deals they agreed to despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of his far-reaching taxes on imports. And he said he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from 10% he had announced immediately after the ruling.The court’s Friday decision struck down tariffs Trump had imposed on nearly every country using an emergency powers law. But the Republican president won’t let go of his favorite tool for rewriting the rules of global commerce and applying international pressure.“Any Country that wants to “play games” with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have “Ripped Off” the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social.One of Trump's executive orders says he can bypass Congress and impose a 10% tax on imports from around the world starting Tuesday, the same day as his State of the Union speech.The Latest:Oregon congresswoman to send Epstein survivor to State of the Union in her place“I’m inviting Lisa Phillips, one of the many brave women who survived Epstein’s abuse, to attend the State of the Union on my behalf,” U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter said in a statement. “Her presence will send a clear message: Epstein survivors will not be silenced.”Dexter is among the Democratic lawmakers who won’t be attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday. She will be holding a telephone town hall instead.“I am deeply grateful to Representative Dexter for this honor. I sit in this seat not for myself, but for the girls who were never given a voice — and for the accountability they deserve,” Philips said in the statement.Funding cuts and uncertainty have taken a toll on local communities, nonprofits sayNonprofit leaders said communities are coping with rising demand while also seeing disruptions or reductions in federal funding.“In the last year, nonprofits have faced record demand for food, housing, mental health services, and at the same time, funding freezes, payment delays, and administrative uncertainty, making their ability to respond even more difficult,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Council of Nonprofits, speaking in advance of Trump’s State of the Union.Danielle Clore, the CEO of the Kentucky Nonprofit Network, said federal funding cuts have reduced the availability of substance abuse counseling and food assistance in her state.“Cuts don’t eliminate need. They simply shift costs elsewhere, often to emergency rooms or law enforcement,” Clore said.Since the 1960s, the federal government has funded a vast network of nonprofits to address social problems or deliver services. The Trump administration’s policies have significantly strained that partnership, with nonprofits warning that neither local government funding nor charitable donations can replace federal support.Court denies GOP effort to block Utah’s congressional remap favoring DemocratsNew Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map.The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal at the state Supreme Court.A Utah judge imposed the new districts last November after striking down the congressional districts that the Republican-led Legislature had adopted after the 2020 census. The judge ruled that the Legislature had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.▶ Read moreDemocrats are not just targeting toss-up suburbs in November midtermsDemocrats’ initial list of top House challengers in 2026 includes several candidates running in districts that cover swaths of rural voters, and the party is touting those contenders’ biographies as perfect fits to reclaim area’s that Trump and Republicans have dominated.Announcing its first slate of “Red to Blue” candidates Monday, Democrats said former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in Arizona’s sprawling 2nd District is “determined to give rural Arizonans a real seat at the table.”Iowa Democrat Christina Bohannan, the announcement noted, was raised “in a trailer in a rural small town” and wants to “grow the rural economy.” Western North Carolina’s Jamie Ager “grew up on his family farm” and built it “into a successful, sustainable small business.”Democrat Rebecca Cooke is running in southwest Wisconsin’s 3rd District as a nonprofit leader and waitress who is “a 6th generation Wisconsinite” and “grew up on a dairy farm.”Democrats’ ‘Red to Blue’ list includes several return candidatesHouse Democrats aren’t shy about backing candidates who’ve lost before and now want potential rematches against incumbent Republicans.In 2024, Christina Bohanan lost the general election in southeast Iowa’s 1st District by just 799 votes (less than 0.25%) to Republican Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks. Broadcast journalist Janelle Stelson lost to Republican Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th District by 1.2 percentage points (about 5,000 votes).Former Rep. Elaine Luria won Virginia’s 2nd District in 2018. She lost to Republican Jen Kiggans in 2022 by about 10,000 votes (3.4 points) and is seeking a rematch.Arizona’s Jonathan Nez would need the biggest turnaround. He lost in 2024 to Republican Rep. Eli Crane by 9 points (more than 36,000 votes).All four Democrats are on the party’s initial “Red to Blue” list of top House challengers released Monday. Democrats believe voter discontent with Trump will yield considerable swings from previous election cycles.Democrats name their first 12 ‘Red to Blue’ challengers in bid to flip HouseThe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial list of “Red to Blue” midterm candidates includes two military veterans, two mayors, two state senators (one of them a Lutheran minister), a fourth-generation farmer, a waitress, a local prosecutor, small business owners and a former Navajo Nation president.The 12 challengers in Republican-held districts are intended to highlight Democrats’ focus on selling their candidates as advocates for middle- and working-class voters, while contrasting that with Trump’s tumultuous second presidency and compliant GOP incumbents.The Republican targets span from suburban districts that have been toss-ups in recent election cycles to more small-town and rural districts that Trump won comfortably. There are two seats in Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia and one each in Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.The program, launched Monday, is not an official endorsement but offers designated candidates staff resources, training and fundraising support.Army veteran who was detained by ICE invited to State of the UnionDemocratic Rep. Mark Takano of California is inviting George Retes to be his guest at Trump’s State of the Union address. The U.S. citizen was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last year and held for days before being released.Some Democrats are seeking to draw attention to the excesses of Trump’s immigration crackdown by inviting guests who have suffered at the hands of federal immigration agents. Other Democrats are inviting survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse who have become outspoken critics of how the Trump administration has handled the release of case files on the late financier.Trump is under pressure to deliver on the economy to an increasingly skeptical publicTrump swept back into the White House on promises to bring down prices and restore order to immigration in America. But on both issues, public sentiment has turned against him.Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership and just 38% support him on immigration, according to the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Those low numbers show the country is still fretting about the costs of groceries, housing and utilities, a problem compounded by Trump’s whipsawing use of tariffs. They also show how the public was disturbed by videos of violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents.Since his party passed a massive tax cut bill last year, Trump has yet to unveil major new economic policy ideas, instead offering reruns about his tax cuts, ideas about reducing mortgage rates and a new government website for buying prescription drugs.Trump says his State of the Union address will be a ‘long’ oneHow long is an important question.As he was wrapping up the White House event recognizing “angel families,” Trump talked about how well the country is performing, in his view, and his administration’s work to cut off illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S.“I’m making a speech tomorrow night, and you’ll be hearing me say that,” he said. “I mean, it’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”Last year, the Republican president spoke for a record-setting 100 minutes to a joint session of Congress. Such a speech in a president’s first year in office technically is not considered a State of the Union address.Angel families event wraps upTrump concluded the event by signing a proclamation designating Feb. 22 as “National Angel Family Day.” A candle was lit in memory of victims killed by people in the U.S. illegally, whose names were read aloud. Members of the military then sang “Amazing Grace.”The event featured remarks by family members of the victims who thanked Trump for his work honoring their loved ones and securing the border. Trump acknowledged their suffering and derided the press for its coverage of the issue.Tariff taxes should be refunded to benefit consumers, Democrats sayThe bill being introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire would require the Trump ad