Morning Rundown: Trump says he’s ‘just getting started,’ Border Patrol agents sued over ‘fishing expedition,’ and director Bong Joon-ho is back
Profile
Sections
Local
tv
Featured
More From NBC
Follow NBC News
news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
Lawyers working on a case against the Department of Government Efficiency found new ammunition late last night in the form of Trump’s own words during his joint address to Congress.
“I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight,” Trump said during his speech.
The quote was quickly picked up by Kelly B. McClanahan, a lawyer in a case that centers on the legality of DOGE. McClanahan, who represents parties suing DOGE, entered a new court filing shortly after the president’s remark highlighting the quote as “new evidence,” emphasizing that Trump had affirmed Musk was heading DOGE.
Read the full story.
Trump made his first joint address to Congress since taking office after winning a second term, touting his agenda, taking aim at his political rivals and leaning in on culture war issues, including diversity and transgender rights. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports and Hallie Jackson and “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker provide analysis for “TODAY.”
Trump’s plan to use the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay to detain 30,000 immigrants has been hitting major legal, logistical and financial hurdles ever since he surprised many in his own administration by announcing it. Now, as agencies spar over responsibility for operations there, and over blame for what has gone wrong, there is a growing recognition within the administration that this was a political decision that is just not working.
Among the major issues, especially as the Trump administration works to slash spending throughout the government, is the cost. Bringing detained immigrants to Guantánamo means flying them there, and the administration has sometimes chosen to use military planes that are expensive to operate in order to do so.
Read the full story.
A go-to move for presidents who’ve just delivered a prime-time speech before a joint session of Congress is to quickly leave town.
Whether they fly to the heartland or a swing state, the idea is to head outside the Beltway and start selling the glut of proposals they’ve laid out before the biggest televised audience they might attract all year.
Trump did just that as a new president eight years ago but, this time, he appears to be staying put. Coming off his address last night, the president had no post-speech travel in the offing, a senior administration official said. Instead, he is scheduled to remain at the White House today, where he’ll meet with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus to discuss government funding.
His vice president, JD Vance, will be the one boarding a plane: Vance is scheduled to visit the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, to talk about security, a spokesperson told NBC News.
Read the full story.
Reporting from Hong Kong
China warned the U.S. it will “fight till the end” amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said late last night in a post on X.
The comments echoed those the Chinese Foreign Ministry made earlier in the day after Beijing announced new tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. goods in response to the Trump administration doubling its 10% tariff on Chinese imports to 20%.
China, which has been working with the U.S. to stem the international flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, has accused the U.S. of using its deadly opioid crisis as an excuse to start a trade war.
“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals,” the embassy said.
President Donald Trump assessed his presidency as a ringing success yesterday in his first address to a joint session of Congress since he reclaimed the White House in January.
“America is back,” an ebullient Trump said. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started.”
The address, a mix of culture war red meat, grievance settling, name calling and outright falsehoods, was the first time the full complement of lawmakers heard directly from Trump since he embarked on a mission to expand the powers of his office at the expense of congressional prerogatives.
Read the full story.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
