Trump 2nd term updates: Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics'

The comments came amid turmoil as DOGE took over USAID offices last week.

President Donald Trump made good on his threats to impose tariffs on some of the U.S.'s trading partners, announcing Saturday that he will levy 25% tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% on Chinese goods.

Experts have warned that tariffs of this magnitude will likely increase prices paid by U.S. and Trump appeared to acknowledge that “some pain” might be possible in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee announced it will meet Tuesday, when it is expected to vote on the controversial nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Jan 23, 2025, 6:54 PM EST

Migrant processing centers in Central and South America shut down

The Trump administration has shut down processing centers in Central and South American countries that allowed migrants to apply to come to the United States legally.

The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending decisions on refugee cases and after the State Department suspended new applications and case processing.

The centers were part of a program started by the Biden administration called the Safe Mobility Initiative, aimed at reducing illegal immigration. Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador were among the countries that had processing centers.

"Following a decision by the US government, the Safe Mobility Initiative is no longer active," said a message posted to the Safe Mobility Initiative website. "New applications will not be accepted."

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Jan 23, 2025, 6:42 PM EST

John Ratcliffe sworn in as CIA director

John Ratcliffe with his wife Michele is sworn in as CIA Director by Vice President JD Vance during a swearing in ceremony at the Vice President's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President J.D. Vance swore in newly confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Thursday in the vice president's ceremonial office.

"John is a great patriot, a guy that has the trust of the president, and I think really believes deeply in the mission, first of all, keeping Americans safe, but also doing it in a way that ensures that the American people have confidence in our national intelligence services," Vance said.

Ratcliffe did not give any remarks.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Jan 23, 2025, 6:31 PM EST

State Department starts suspending passport applications with 'X' gender marker

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed the State Department to freeze applications in the passport pipeline with "X" selected as the gender identifier, according to internal communications reviewed by ABC News.

The move follows President Donald Trump's executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which states that "it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female."

Applicants who call into the State Department's National Passport Information Center with questions are being told to wait for new guidance before applying if they can, which the center said will be made available "in the coming days."

The State Department declined to comment on the matter, saying it "does not comment on leaked internal documents."

The Biden administration introduced an option to select "X" instead of male or female on passport applications in 2022.

The State Department doesn't publish data on how many applicants have selected "X" since it was introduced, but the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, estimated at the time that 16,700 people would apply for passports with the "X" identifier each year.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

Jan 23, 2025, 5:55 PM EST

Trump pardons pro-life protesters

Trump signed a set of pardons for several anti-abortion protesters calling it a "great honor to sign."

More details of the pardons were set to be released later.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

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