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Trump admin updates: Trump says tariff letters to be sent to 'various countries' on Monday

PHOTO: President Donald Trump gestures, on the day he is expected to sign a sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 4, 2025.
2:19
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
B-2s will fly over during spending bill signing, Trump says
By Alexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: July 7, 2025, 3:42 AM

After days of Republican drama, the House on Thursday passed President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cut and spending bill.

Trump helped Speaker Mike Johnson pressure GOP holdouts into flipping their no votes to allow the measure to go forward in time to meet the president's self-imposed July Fourth deadline.

Latest headlines:

  • Bessent shades Musk over his new political party
  • Trump signs disaster declaration after Texas flood
  • Trump defends popularity of megabill
  • Trump announces UFC fight on White House lawn for America's 250th birthday
  • Trump says Iran strikes, megabill passage have been 'best 2 weeks'
Here's how the news is developing.

Jul 07, 2025 3:42 AM

Trump says tariff letters to be sent to 'various countries' on Monday

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that his tariff letters "and/or deals" will be delivered to "various countries from around the world," on Monday, starting at 12 p.m ET.

Currently, it is unknown which nations will be receiving the letter and/or deal.

"I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th," Trump said. "Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP, President of The United States of America."

Shortly thereafter, Trump posted that any nation that aligns itself with the "anti-American policies of BRICS" will be charged an additional 10% tariff, and that there will be "no exceptions" to the countries that are hit with this "BRICS tariff."

BRICS members include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Nations that are considered "partner states" include Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

-ABC News' Alex Ederson


Jul 06, 2025 11:18 PM

Trump says Musk is becoming a 'TRAIN WRECK'

In a lengthy post on his social media platform on Sunday, President Donald Trump wrote that Elon Musk is becoming a "TRAIN WRECK," explaining their differences on EV mandates and why he pulled the nomination of Musk's associate to lead NASA.

"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," Trump wrote in a post after Musk announced he was starting a new political party.

Trump then claimed that Musk told him he had "no problems" with him ending subsidies for electric vehicle purchases.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP, Files
President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP, Files

"No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate - It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised!" Trump wrote.

The president went on to argue that he felt that it was in the best interest of the American public not to have Musk associate Jared Isaacman lead NASA due to their space industry connections.

"I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!" Trump added.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa


Jul 06, 2025 11:06 PM

Trump says it's 'ridiculous' for Musk to start political party

President Donald Trump said Elon Musk "can have fun with it" when asked about the billionaire's announcement that he will start a new political party, but called it "ridiculous" and said it will create more confusion for voters.

“I think it's ridiculous to start a third party,” Trump said.

“I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous," the president said.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Hannah Demissie



Jul 06, 2025 7:11 PM

Bessent shades Musk over his new political party

Following Elon Musk's announcement that he plans to create a third political party called the "America Party" in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shaded the billionaire and former head of DOGE about his efforts.

PHOTO: Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to members of the press, after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, June 27, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to members of the press, after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, June 27, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

"Look, the principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you would look at the polling, Elon was not, so I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone," Bessent said on CNN. "So, I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday, and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities."

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie


Jul 01, 2025 8:51 AM

GOP leadership work on holdouts as votes continue

As more amendments are called for votes, Republicans continue to huddle behind the scenes to chart a path to ending the marathon vote-a-rama and passing President Donald Trump's megabill.

It appears increasingly clear there is concern among the Senate GOP leadership that they don't yet have the votes locked down to pass the bill. Republicans can only lose three votes when this bill comes up for a final vote.

PHOTO: Majority Leader John Thune Sen. Lisa Murkowski walk to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Majority Leader John Thune Sen. Lisa Murkowski walk to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

There's been a very aggressive effort by GOP leadership to work on Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has so far not said how she intends to vote on this package.

In the last hour, Murkowski has been seen on the floor deep in conversation at various points with Majority Leader John Thune, Republican whip John Barrasso, Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and fellow Alaskan Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Murkowski has been a hold out, expressing concern over Medicaid and SNAP provisions.

Thune, walking off the floor, said he and Murkowski were "just chatting". But he's not yet denoted a clear path out of this whip count predicament.

Thune was asked, as he walked off the floor, if he could pull the bill back or if he'd be forced to hold a final passage vote on the bill, even if he knows it will fail.

"Those are options I don't want to have to worry about," Thune said.

At present, the whip count is a real problem for Thune. Sens. Thom Tillis and Rand Paul are expected to cast votes against the bill. Losing Murkowski or Sen. Susan Collins could be a real problem.

There's also not yet a clear path forward on how an amendment that aims to further reduce Medicaid spending will be dealt with. The outcome of that amendment vote could sway voters like Sens. Mike Lee and Rick Scott.

At the beginning of this vote, Senators overwhelmingly voted in favor of stripping out provisions in the bill that would limit states from passing rules to regulate artificial intelligence.

The move came after Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Ted Cruz struck a deal on how to keep the moratorium in the bill, before Blackburn reneged early Tuesday morning.

Before this tranche of votes that Thune teed up, Sen. Joni Ernst's amendment that bars millionaires from collecting unemployment income support passed by voice vote.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin


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