Donald Trump issues an executive order, calling for an end to "dangerous, demeaning, and immoral" diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes
In a follow-up government memo, federal agencies are told to put diversity staff on paid leave "immediately" – specifically by 17:00 local time (22:00 GMT) today
After his inauguration on Monday, the president signed a flurry of executive actions – here's a summary
Trump has been defending his decision to pardon nearly 1,600 supporters charged in connection with the US Capitol riot in 2021, saying their "lives have been ruined"
Speaking on the first full day of his presidency, Trump also said he was considering imposing a 10% tariff on imports of Chinese-made goods as soon as next week
He says discussions with his administration are "based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada"
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'Their lives have been ruined' – President Trump defends Capitol riot pardons
Edited by Caitlin Wilson and Sam Hancock
Katty Kay
US special correspondent
We're starting to hear responses to Trump's executive order seeking to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the federal government.
Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres from New York tells me the DEI executive order isn't something he'll be focusing on as a way to counter Trump.
He says: "I've never had a constituent who said to me 'DEI is my number one issue'."
Instead, he is more focused on public safety as something his voters actually think about every day.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
I've just arrived at the White House, where things are so far quiet on an extremely cold Wednesday morning.
So far, the White House has not released President Donald Trump's public schedule – the third day in a row where that has been the case.
We do know, however, that he will sit down with Fox News host Sean Hannity for the first Oval Office interview of his second administration. That interview will air tonight at 21:00 EST (02:00 GMT).
While we also did not have a public plan early yesterday, the president had a busy day that extended long into the evening.
His engagements included the announcement of an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, an extended question-and-answer session with pool reporters and a late-night social media post announcing that he had pardoned Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht.
Stay with us for more updates.
The US Office of Personnel Management issued a memo which outlined the Trump administration's ambitions for diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI), and diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility (DEIA) programmes. Here's what was in it:
The memo, which was first reported by the BBC's US partner, CBS, was confirmed by the White House. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X: "To every reporter asking about this: I can gladly confirm!".
Donald Trump was sworn in as US president on Monday, and he's already issued an avalanche of executive orders and announcements. For those of you just joining us, here's a brief overview of President Trump's first full day in office:
Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino
Panama has hit back at US President Donald Trump's threats of taking "back" the Panama Canal, a key trade route.
"The Panama Canal was not a concession or a gift from the United States," Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino tells a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland.
In his inaugural speech, Trump said Panama had "broken" a promise to remain neutral, alleging that "China is operating the Panama Canal". Trump also said "American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly".
The canal is one of the most important trade routes for the US. Around 5% of global maritime trade passes through the 51 mile (82 km) Panama Canal.
Mulino says Trump's claims about the canal are "false", adding that it belongs to the people of Panama.
The Trump administration has taken action on its election promise to cut funding to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes being used across the government – here are the key updates you need to know.
In a memo from US government agency the Office of Personal Management (OPM), obtained by the BBC's US news partner CBS, heads of DEI initiatives and programmes are told to follow this timeline:
It also says employees must report any efforts by staff to "disguise" the programmes by using "coded or imprecise language".
According to an executive order, signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the US Justice Department should make recommendations to encourage any private sector "educational agencies" receiving federal funds to also end DEI programmes.
We don't yet know how many members of staff this order will affect – but we're working to find that out and will let you know when we do.
Back to the news that President Trump is putting all US government DEI staff on paid leave – you may well be wondering what DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) actually means. Let's take a look.
DEI refers to a combination of steps and policies carried out by several organisations, both in the public and private sector, to support people from different backgrounds, namely those who are often underrepresented.
Different backgrounds and lived experiences could include someone's gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religious beliefs or disabilities.
The idea behind these policies is to address systemic injustices, like historic sexism and racism, which have prevented some groups from having the same access to jobs and industries as their peers.
But critics say the policies themselves can be discriminatory. The White House says an executive order rolling back DEI, external "protects the civil rights of all Americans and expands individual opportunity", and "faithfully advances the Constitution’s promise of colorblind equality before the law".
In recent weeks, American firms including Meta and Amazon have scaled back their diversity programmes.
We're now hearing from the European Union's foreign policy chief, who says she agrees with President Donald Trump that the bloc doesn't spend enough on defence.
"Europe's failure to invest in military capabilities sends a dangerous signal to the aggressor," Kaja Kallas says during a speech at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency. "Weakness invites them in."
Focusing on Vladimir Putin, she says "for too long" the Russian president has been offered "alternatives" – in the hope he "would choose cooperation and economic prosperity for its people over fraudulent imperialistic ambitions".
"But instead Russia's defence industry's churning out tanks, glide bombs, artillery shells, in vast quantities."
Trump previously said he'd "encourage" Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" with European allies if they "don't pay" their way and boost defence spending.
Pivoting back to trade policy, Canada this morning has hit out at Donald Trump's intention to impose tariffs on goods being imported to the US from its neighbouring nation.
"It's not a great situation for trading partners."
That's how Canada's energy minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, describes his country's relationship with the US after Trump said the tariffs would come into force unless the country took steps to increase security on their shared border. Trump also warned he would use "economic force" to make Canada the 51st state – something outgoing PM Justin Trudeau has said will not happen.
Speaking to BBC World Service's Newsday, Wilkinson says tariffs would raise consumer prices in the US – highlighting that his country would respond with tariffs on crude oil, fertiliser and uranium that would increase the cost of petrol, food and electricity.
The tariffs would have a significant impact on Canada, but also bring "significant pain" to the US. Instead, he suggests, the two countries should focus on an energy and mineral alliance. In the Canadian minister's view, it's a shame President Trump's "taking such an aggressive approach".
We can now bring you more details about US President Donald Trump's latest executive order, which calls for an end to diversity policies within the federal government and in the private sector.
In the order, the Trump administration describes initiatives under the Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the Diversity, Equity Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) umbrella as policies that "violate the text and spirit of our longstanding federal civil rights laws".
These policies, the document reads, undermine national unity as they "deny, discredit and undermine the traditional American values of hard work".
The Trump-led White House used the order to instruct government agencies to "combat" DEI preferences, mandates, policies and activities in the private sector.
The document goes on to give the attorney general 120 days to build a report advising the government on how best to encourage an end to DEI and DEIA in private workplaces, including a list of the "most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners" and steps that can be taken to deter them.
In other news this morning, the Trump administration is continuing its campaign against diversity and inclusion programmes.
In a US Office of Personnel Management memo, issued late last night, federal agencies are told to prepare to lay off staff in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) programmes. It orders all employees working in such roles to be placed on paid leave by 17:00 local time (22:00 GMT) Wednesday, according to the memo – obtained by CBS, the BBC's US partner.
It follows a new executive order, signed by the president earlier in the day on Tuesday, calling for an end to what he called "dangerous, demeaning and immoral" hiring practices.
Trump's campaign against diversity programmes is in line with the promises he made on the the campaign trail, where he often said such practices discriminated against white people and pledged to get rid of them.
Several large US companies have ended or scaled back their own DEI programmes since Trump was elected, including McDonald's, Walmart and Meta. Others, like Apple and retailers Target and Costco, publicly defended their existing programmes.
Sticking to one of his election promises, Donald Trump says he's considering imposing a 10% tariff on goods entering the US from China. Here's a look at what that would mean:
The US is the world's largest importer: China, Mexico and Canada account for about 40% of the $3.2tn (£2.6tn) of goods it imports each year.
A short while ago we heard from the Chinese foreign ministry, saying it will defend its "national interests" after US President Donald Trump told reporters he's considering a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
"We have always believed that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war," the department's spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.
China's "firmly committed to safeguarding national interests," she's also quoted as saying.
Trump says the tariff could come into effect as soon as 1 February (next weekend), and that it's based on China sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada. China previously defended its efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs.
As we've been reporting, Trump has also threatened import taxes on Canada and Mexico, as well as the EU.
The US Capitol police chief says he thinks President Trump pardoning those involved in the Capitol riots "sends the message that politics is more important than policing".
In an interview with the BBC's US news partner CBS, Thomas Manger says he's now "concerned" for his officers – and "concerned about what message they get from these actions".
The justice department, in its last update, said 1,583 people had been arrested or convicted of riot-related crimes over 6 January. More than 600 were charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing police, including around 175 charged with using a weapon or causing serious injury to an officer.
Trump's blanket pardon effectively freed all the rioters and erased the work of the largest criminal investigation in US history. The president says "these people have already served years in prison, and they've served them viciously".
But Manger says many of his officers are angry with the decision to pardon them. "They're upset, and I don't blame them," he tells CBS.
In our morning round-up, we mentioned Jacob Chansley – the self-styled QAnon Shaman who's been pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riots.
Last night, he spoke to our Newsnight colleagues, telling them he screamed "freedom at the top of my lungs" having learnt the news from his lawyer.
Chansley, who had pleaded guilty to unlawfully obstructing the certification of the 2020 presidential election, said: "I regret nothing".
He also said that now his conviction has been wiped clean, he plans to exercise his right to buy guns again. Hear more from him in this clip:
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'QAnon Shaman' says he screamed 'freedom' after Trump pardon
As we've been reporting, Donald Trump has heavily defended his decision to release high-profile prisoners jailed over the Capitol riots – and to pardon nearly 1,600 people in connection with 6 January 2021.
In the latest episode of the BBC's Americast, our team of presenters in DC discuss who has been released, what the reaction has been, and how Trump is changing the narrative over who was responsible for the riots.
Also, Trump’s former advisor Bryan Lanza joins with an inside view on why the immigration raids are more about PR than deportation.
Donald Trump was sworn into his second term as US president on Monday – and already there have been a lot of headlines about his first actions back in office. If you're just joining us, good morning, or if you need a recap – here's what you need to know:
Fresh from his inauguration, US President Donald Trump has wasted no time in signing off a suite of executive orders.
Among them is a direction to rename the Gulf of Mexico the ''Gulf of America''. But can the president really do that?
BBC Verify's Jake Horton takes a look:
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Kelly Ng
BBC News
Internet users in China have been discussing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was sworn into office yesterday.
Rubio is considered by many as a foreign policy "hawk" or someone who takes hardline positions, in this case towards China as well as Iran.
"That's good, he will have a lot more to do now, and will not be bothering us like a rabid dog, as before," wrote a user on Weibo, China's version of X.
Beijing has sanctioned Rubio twice before, over his comments on Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Several Weibo users asked if those sanctions will be dropped.
China's foreign ministry did not respond directly when asked about Rubio on Tuesday. Instead, it said that "China will firmly defend national interests".
"In the meantime, it’s necessary for high-level Chinese and American officials to maintain contact in an appropriate way," said the ministry's spokesman Guo Jiakun.
One of the people who served time in jail for participating in the 6 January riots has refused the pardon from Donald Trump, telling the BBC "we were wrong that day".
Pam Hemphill, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 days in prison, told the BBC World Service Newsday programme that there should be no pardons.
"Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, rule of law and, of course, our nation," she said.
"I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."
She told the programme that she sees the Trump government as trying to "rewrite history and I don't want to be part of that".
"We were wrong that day, we broke the law – there should be no pardons."
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