The Latest: White House highlights Trump Accounts for kids amid frustrations over rising prices
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that all Americans under age 18 are being automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts, which are set up by the government to invest in stocks. Parents and legal guardians need to formally claim the accounts by using the program’s website or mobile phone app.
Trump’s push to highlight his economic agenda comes as Republicans are increasingly anxious that the $1 billion at their disposal may not be enough to fend off sweeping midterm election losses due to late spending, the president’s unpopularity, persistent cost concerns and the fallout from the war in Iran.
Trump said he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible case of plague at a Siberian research institute. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he would be talking with Putin about the case “very soon.”
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“On the other side, we are talking about communism, socialism, the government controlling it,” Texas Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton told the audience at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of an appearance by Trump, Paxton ticked through a list of issues on which he said Democratic nominee James Talarico is outside the mainstream, notably gender and oil and gas. “We’re in Texas, right?” Paxton said.
His seven-minute moment onstage before a friendly audience was similar to his speech to the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last month.
Paxton is in a very competitive race for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, the four-term Republican whom Paxton beat in the May primary runoff. Trump won the state by almost 14 percentage points in 2024.
Nearly a month after the president signed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill named after Lindsey Graham, bipartisan leadership in the Senate is urging the administration to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators said the most urgent priority must be to tackle the “shadow fleet” of tankers that Moscow is using to transport oil and bypass sanctions. They also pushed for a halt of Russia’s emerging satellite system that Ukraine has warned could prove devastating with real-time bombing attacks this winter.
“Every day that passes without maximum economic pressure allows Moscow to sustain this military escalation,” wrote Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The president’s promised rebates are estimated to cost $2 billion and are intended to help more than 20 million Medicare enrollees with their Part B premiums.
Less than one-third of all Medicare recipients are eligible for the payouts. Not eligible are roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, millions of other people with disabilities and low-income Medicare recipients.
The election-year promise comes as the November’s midterms are fast approaching, with the cost of living and healthcare expenses among the top issues for voters.
Critics say the move is a political stunt.
The White House says the administration is enabling Americans “by putting money directly back in the hands of Medicare patients.”
The president has turned it into a campaign talking point in the final sprint to the midterms, approving disaster declarations in consequential states and coupling endorsements with funding announcements. That has revived questions about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery.
The latest example came Wednesday when Trump voiced support for Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race while pledging millions to help with recent storms.
The president also recently joked that he would cut off money to North Carolina, which is still healing from Hurricane Helene two years ago, if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley loses. And the day before an Ohio rally with Sen. Jon Husted last Saturday, Trump approved a disaster declaration for the state while leaving 15 other requests pending.
Disaster survivor advocates say they want elected officials to prioritize their recovery — not wield it as a political tool.
The White House rejected accusations that it’s injecting politics into disaster recovery.
Progressive Nithya Raman, who is running against incumbent Karen Bass, is renewing her vow to oust the police chief in a video in which she says “Only you can stop fascist liars” as a photo of the mayor appears.
Asked in the video by content creator Ed Choi what she will do to reduce fascism in the city — which he says was ushered in by Bass’ appointment of Police Chief Jim McDonnell — Raman says “there is a lot we can do to make sure our LAPD is actually protecting people, instead of protecting ICE on our streets,” referring to federal immigration raids.
“I don’t believe Chief McDonnell has met this moment.”
Raman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokesperson Liz Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that “Only you can stop fascist liars” referred to federal immigration agents and “the Trump administration’s violent kidnappings” in the city.
In a statement released by her campaign, Bass said Raman’s remarks represent “dangerous and extreme rhetoric and it has no place in this city, let alone from someone trying to become mayor.”
The more the president stumps for Republicans across the country, “the better the opportunity for Democrats to further convince the American people that we actually are the only ones determined to make life more affordable for them,” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control, said Trump’s own words — calling affordability a “hoax” and high gas prices a “small price to pay” for the Iran war — have helped Democrats.
“This is extraordinary stuff,” Jeffries told reporters.
Democrats, he said, have focused on promising to “fight for an affordable America.”
The Democratic National Committee’s suit is over the recent television advertisements promoting the president’s political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The complaint alleges that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accuses Trump of personally directing them. It asks the court to declare the ads illegal and stop the use of federal funds to pay for them.
Trump has faced bipartisan backlash for the ads, which glorify him and echo his campaign pitch as voters cast early ballots with the midterms less than a month away.
The spots, which began airing in September, already have cost more than $12 million to run, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact, and a total of $20 million in Homeland Security Department funding has been tapped to pay for them.
The Pentagon is citing a policy from the early days of the Iran war as the reason for denying a briefing to a Democratic lawmaker who’s visiting the Middle East.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he requested visits to bases and military leaders but was denied.
Murphy on social media called the move “a cover-up” and “was told the policy prohibited military leaders in the region from even talking to me.”
The Pentagon wouldn’t allow Murphy to access Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “directive on travel restrictions in the region,” spokesman Joel Valdez said.
The directive, issued March 3, says “congressional delegation visits will be unavailable” to the Middle East and that no Pentagon “support shall be made available for congressional travel” without Hegseth’s approval.
While the Pentagon has maintained that Operation Epic Fury has concluded, Valdez said that because operations are continuing in the region, the policy was still necessary.
Flight Attendants Association-CWA President Sara Nelson said the union has safety concerns about Trump’s proposed triumphal arch that will be on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
She said the 250-foot arch compounds multiple safety issues that have gone unaddressed from a deadly January 2025 crash over the Potomac River that killed 67 people. Nelson also criticized Trump’s plan to turn the arch into “a top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
“DCA is already stretched to its limit, we do not need an obstacle taking up space in our flight path,” said Nelson. “Nor should commercial aviation have to dodge military drones, missiles or snipers while attempting to take off or land at Washington National Airport. Safety first always.”
The union has about 55,000 members.
The U.S. president said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel.
Trump said he wished Netanyahu and the people of Israel well, and added, “the other side is paying a very big price” for the attacks.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has awarded the USS Abraham Lincoln the Presidential Unit Citation during a visit to the ship and just a day ahead of the carrier’s return to home port in San Diego.
The award, which is the highest award a unit can receive and one typically reserved for significant achievement in combat, was bestowed upon the Lincoln and accompanying ships for “40 days of combat operations and an iron clad maritime blockade against Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury,” according to Hegseth.
The aircraft carrier’s extended deployment drew national attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.
In speaking to the crew, Hegseth acknowledged that “I’m the only thing standing between you and home” and that he was the one “who signed that orders book twice” to extend the ship’s deployment.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note have risen close to 5.3% “because of growth.”
“Growth here is strong,” said Bessent, stressing higher energy costs because of the Iran war were pushing up interest rates rather than concerns about the growing national debt and the administration’s credibility on the issue.
Higher growth can imply an increase in demand that can keep inflation elevated. But Bessent said that rates will drop once the war ends. He did not specify when the war would end.
The increase in rates is a global phenomenon in multiple industrialized nations, as debt loads have climbed without clear plans to reduce annual budget deficits.
Trump told reporters, “Today is Vladimir Putin’s birthday.”
He said he had “a call set up” with the Russian leader and intended to discuss the death of a Russian lab workers that raised questions about the possibility of a plague outbreak. Trump previously said the Russians claim to have the issue under control.
Asked about Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers releasing an ad calling for an end to President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, the president suggested Rogers wasn’t breaking with him on the issue.
“I viewed it as wanting Canada to make a deal,” Trump said of Rogers’ ad.
In the spot, Rogers says, “We know that Canada is not our enemy” and “we need to end this tariff war now.”
The U.S. and Canada have been locked in an escalating trade war since Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods this summer.
Before the ad, Rogers had previously defended some of the tariffs as “necessary.”
In another break with Trump, Rogers has also recently called for the U.S. war with Iran to “end quickly.”
“They’re sharing it a little bit with our people. We expect them to share it a lot with our people,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, when asked if Russia has been sharing enough information on the death of a lab employee in Siberia.
The president added that he had “just met with our people” to talk about the situation. “We have brilliant experts,” Trump said. “They know everything about what’s going on.”
Appearing with Trump in the Oval Office, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz made a point of mentioning Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom when praising Trump accounts.
“To give a sense of the broadness of the impact,” Cruz said before adding, “Gavin Newsom had a press conference celebrating the Trump accounts.”
He said that the governor saluted Trump and proved “miracles could happen.”
Newsom has praised the federal accounts for children as one of the best things Trump has done.
Cruz added Newsom said “nice things about you and nice things about me, and lightning did not strike anything.”
Cruz is widely considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate and so is Newsom.
Trump said he would be willing to put a presidential retreat at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida because “it seems that all presidents play golf.”
“This wouldn’t be for me,” Trump said. “This would be for all future presidents.”
Trump said the location, which is near a public library, would be ideal because it’s close to the airport and there are not houses or “high buildings” surrounding the greens.
“I love Alabama. I’ve got to go to the game,” Trump responded, when asked if Tropical Storm Isaias — which could become the year’s first Atlantic hurricane — might affect his plans to attend the game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Saturday night.
Forecasts have the storm menacing the Gulf Coast. That might affect Alabama in coming days.
Trump said he didn’t want to do “anything to take the focus” away from “all of the great people that work on those things,” including first responders and police, adding “We’ll have to see” about his travel plans.
Ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize being announced, Trump said he deserved the award from the Norwegian Nobel Committee but, “They have a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me.”
Trump, who launched a war in Iran this year, went through his accomplishments for which believed qualified him for the Nobel. He also noted that the 2025 winner, Venezuela’s María Corina Machado, gave him her award.
“Whether I get it or not, I have done far more,” Trump said. “And I think it would be a great discredit to them” if he goes unrecognized.
The president said Paxton is “a great attorney general” and that he thought he’d be “a great senator.”
In leaked, recent audio, Paxton, the Texas attorney general, was recorded as saying his campaign was being run by Washington, rather than himself.
Trump’s endorsement of Paxton helped him beat incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary. But Paxton is now locked in a close race with Democrat James Talarico — even in America’s largest reliably Republican state.
Asked if he now regretted backing Paxton, Trump said that Paxton was “the best attorney general of the whole country.”
Asked if the recent death of a Russian lab worker was a sign that a plague might be developed as bioweapon, Trump said, “We’re going to find out soon enough, but we don’t think so.”
Trump had previously indicated that he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the issue. When asked if the situation was similar to dealing with China on the coronavirus during his first term, Trump suggested that Russia was staying relatively quiet on the issue just as China did before the virus turned into the pandemic.
“China didn’t say much and Russia is not saying much either, but they do say they have it very much under control,” Trump said.
Trump says that 70 million children under the age of 18 will now have automatic “Trump Accounts” set up by the government to invest in stocks.
Parents and legal guardians need formally claim the accounts by using the program’s website or mobile phone app. Trump called the accounts “a passion of love” that promotes capitalism.
The accounts were part of the 2025 tax overhaul and allow after-tax contributions of up to $5,000 a year, with the government seeding accounts with $1,000 for children born between 2025 and 2028.
Trump says he will press two of his top political advisers on their outside consulting work amid scrutiny over their efforts to help a pro-Russian government in the Balkans.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that as Trump was campaigning last week ahead of next month’s midterm elections, advisers James Blair and Chris LaCivita were in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb-majority entity of Republika Srpska assisting with local elections.
“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C.”
“I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!” he wrote.
Blair served as White House deputy chief of staff before departing to lead Trump’s outside political operation. LaCivita was co-manager of his winning 2024 campaign.
The two did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Standing in front of the ruins of the Acropolis, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the case for nationalism, while trying to maintain the importance of global alliances.
In a sweeping and dramatic speech about ancient civilization that reflected his political aspirations beyond being America’s top diplomat, Rubio warned European countries that decisions made in the next decade “will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy and servitude and decline.”
“We will either choose to act now, or lose the choice to act at all,” he said. “Under President Trump, the United States has made its choice. We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power.”
Rubio also said despite “passions” that have strained U.S.-Europe relations, allied-countries must work to “rebuild our institutions and our alliances to face these threats together.”
Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Senate in Michigan, released an ad Wednesday calling for an end to President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, marking the second recent break with the president by the battleground state candidate.
“We know that Canada is not our enemy,” Rogers says in the video. “We need to end this tariff war now.”
The U.S. and Canada have been locked in an escalating trade war since Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods this summer. Rogers previously defended some of the tariffs as “necessary.”
Rogers has also recently called for the U.S. war with Iran to “end quickly.” He had previously backed the war.
Rogers, once a critic of Trump, has aligned himself closely with the president since his first Senate campaign in 2024 and has Trump’s endorsement this year. Rogers faces progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for the open Senate seat.
The $70,000 fee proposed Wednesday for international students seeking to work in the United States is just the latest Trump administration effort to reduce foreign enrollment in U.S. higher education. A Department of Homeland Security statement described the fee as a response to visa fraud and abuse that created a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”
It would require schools to pay for each student participating in an optional practice training program, known as OPT, in jobs related to their major during or after their time in school. Students are generally eligible for one year of work post-graduation, though certain science, technology, engineering and math majors are eligible for an additional two years. The initial application would cost $70,000, plus a $30,000 fee for each renewal.
The public has 60 days to commen t on the proposal before DHS can finalize it and put it into effect. The proposal also could face legal challenges from higher education groups or business associations that could delay it.
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