Intelligence Officials Testify, Trump’s Auto Tariffs, DOGE Access
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Today’s top stories
Democrats are pressing the Trump administration for answers on how it is handling national security after detailed plans for a U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen were mistakenly shared with a journalist from The Atlantic magazine. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a high-level group chat alongside top U.S. officials on the messaging app Signal. Republicans say it’s time to shift focus to what they say was a successful bombing campaign.
A House lawmaker points to text messages by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing on March 26. The hearing, held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, addressed Trump administration officials inadvertently including a journalist on a high-level Signal group chat discussing plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen.
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Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
- 🎧 No formal investigation has been planned, but Democrats say they’ll keep pressing about details like whether national security officials use Signal for other chats because of convenience, NPR’s Greg Myre tells Up First. More broadly, they are questioning President Trump’s foreign policy. Trump has boasted about efforts to arrange ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine; however, they have not been the quick successes he was hoping for. There is also not enough evidence yet to know if the U.S. bombing of the Houthis was successful.
Trump announced yesterday that he will impose 25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts beginning next week. He says the money collected will boost the government’s revenue and encourage automobile manufacturers to build cars in the U.S. Auto service providers like Cox Automotive estimate that if the tariffs go through, car prices could increase by thousands of dollars.
- 🎧 One of the big winners of this move is the auto unions, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez says. The UAW has praised the decision, saying it is time “to end the free trade disaster.” However, the big three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — are concerned because their production is spread worldwide. The new tariffs come just a week before Trump’s promised announcement of reciprocal tariffs on imports for countries he says impose tariffs on the U.S. The president argues tariffs are necessary to national security and significant for the U.S.’s revenue.
Fewer than 50 people have access to the Social Security Administration’s databases, which contain hundreds of millions of people’s private financial information. Only one person also has access to the government’s student loan data and HR files: Akash Bobba, a Department of Government Efficiency employee.