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Trump admin live updates: Trump says Hamas will release hostage Edan Alexander
Trump did not provide any timing on when Alexander is expected to be released.
The White House said on Sunday that it reached a trade deal with China as the two countries negotiated for a second day in Switzerland. China has yet to comment on Sunday's talks.
"We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Geneva. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "substantial progress" had been made but stopped short of touting a full deal.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom -- the first in what the White House said it hopes will be a flurry of agreements while the reciprocal tariff pause is in effect. With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speaker phone in the Oval Office, the leaders conceded that they are still working out the details of the agreement.
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Bessent grilled over 'Signalgate'
Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch grilled Bessent over his participation in the Signal group chat that discussed military plans in Yemen.
Bessent said he did not discuss any sensitive material and preserves his records, however, the congressman criticized the Treasury secretary for being in the unsecured chat in the first place.
"You could have intervened. You could have brought it up," Lynch said.
"This buffoonery needs to stop," he added.
NY congressman questions administration's trade deficit 'emergency'
New York Democrat Rep. Gregory Meeks questioned Bessent on the Trump administration's claims that the trade deficit is an "emergency" and thus needed to institute tariffs.
Meeks noted that the country has had a trade deficit for the last four decades, but Republican and Democratic presidents didn't determine it to be an emergency.
"It says to me that we need to bring tariffs back to the United States Congress so that we can make that determination as the Constitution has said," the congressman said.
Bessent refuses to give details on tariff negotiations, says Trump has final say
New York Democrat Rep. Nydia Velázquez questioned Bessent on the tariffs and asked for more details on the negotiations.
The Treasury secretary repeatedly refused.
"I'm sorry, congresswoman, that would not benefit the United States," Bessent said, citing the ongoing negotiations.
When pressed about a timeline, Bessent said that "they will be agreements in principle and then we will paper them over in the coming months."
"Once we reach an agreement, I am sure the other countries will live up to them," he said.
The Treasury secretary added that Trump has final say over all of the deals, which concerned Velázquez.
"You could strike the best deal with Canada, Mexico or even China that is completely in our favor… and if President Trump decides for whatever reason not to take the deal, that would be it," she said.
Rep. Waters calls out Bessent for 'gaslighting' Americans over tariffs
Treasury Secretary Bessent was back on the hot seat on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Financial Services Committee to discuss the state of the international financial system.
While Republican House members focused on the topic, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the committee, criticized the Bessent over his tariff policies and work with the Department of Government Efficiency.
The California congresswoman accused Bessent of "gaslighting" Americans over Trump's policies.
"Secretary Bessent, you are about to go down in history as the man who oversaw one of the most significant economic downfalls in modern history," Waters said in her opening statement.
Waters continued to press Bessent about DOGE during her questioning and inquired if DOGE employees were given access to sensitive Department of Treasury data.
Bessent said that the employees were Department of Treasury employees and only given read-only access.
"There is no such thing as a DOGE employee; they were Treasury employees," he said.