The Latest: Trump says he looking at 'massive increase' in tariffs against China

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President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry.

The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves.

The United States and China have been jockeying for advantage in trade talks, after the import taxes announced earlier this year triggered a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Both nations agreed to ratchet down tariffs after negotiations in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, yet tensions remain as China has sought to restrict America’s access to the difficult-to-mine rare earth’s needed for a wide array of U.S. technologies.

On Thursday, the Chinese government restricted access to the rare earths ahead of the scheduled Trump-Xi meeting.

The Latest:

A federal judge late Thursday ordered ICE to temporarily remove a fence outside an ICE facility in the western Chicago suburb of Broadview.

The Village of Broadview sued DHS, accusing the agency of erecting an 8-foot-tall fence to illegally block the public street outside the facility, creating problems for local emergency services trying to access the area. The ICE facility has been the site of intense protests over the last few weeks.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said the decision was a “validation of local law and, most importantly, a decisive win for public safety.” She said it “remains to be seen if ICE will respect the judge’s order and dismantle this hazard immediately, or if they will continue their pattern of defiance.”

The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

The White House previewed that it would pursue the aggressive layoff tactic shortly before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, telling all federal agencies to submit their reduction-in-force plans to the budget office for its review. It said reduction-in-force could apply for federal programs whose funding would lapse in a government shutdown.

Sen. John Thune is showing no sign of backing away from his current tactic of pressing Democrats to vote for a stopgap government funding bill.

Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has tried to peel away Democratic senators to vote to advance the bill. So far, it hasn’t worked. Despite repeated votes on the bill since the government shutdown, the voting pattern has not changed, leaving Republicans five votes short of advancing the legislation.

Yet Thune at a news conference laid down a challenge to any Democrat who may be thinking about crossing party lines: “All it takes is a little backbone, a little courage on behalf of five Democrats.”

MIT President Sally Kornbluth said she “cannot support” the proposal that calls for universities to adopt President Donald Trump’s political agenda in exchange for favorable access to federal funding.

MIT was one of nine universities invited last week to sign a compact the White House billed as providing benefits including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.” Leaders of the University of Texas system said they were honored its flagship university in Austin was invited, but most other campuses have remained silent as they review the document.

President Donald Trump is getting a check-up at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House announced the visit earlier this week. Trump is preparing to travel to the Middle East shortly after his medical exam.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the visit earlier this week as a “routine yearly checkup,” although the Republican president had his annual physical in April.

White House aides have declined to explain why Trump is getting another checkup Friday. Trump told reporters Thursday he thinks he’s in great shape. Trump plans to return to the White House after the visit.

First lady Melania Trump says eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Melania Trump in August wrote a letter to Putin and had her husband hand-deliver it during his meeting with the Russian president in Alaska.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia taking Ukrainian children out of their country so that they can be raised as Russian.

The White House says the president’s Friday afternoon announcement in the Oval Office is aimed at reducing drug prices, but has provided few details.

It follows Trump announcing late last month that his administration had reached an agreement with Pfizer aiming to reduce the prices of its U.S. prescription drugs to be similar to the lowest prices paid by other developed nations.

Advocates saw Trump’s Pfizer announcement as positive, but said they worried it put the onus too heavily on the drug company to cut prices, rather than attempting to spell the move out as part of larger U.S. policy.

White House says Nobel Committee “proved they place politics over peace,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, wrote on X as he reacted to Trump being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday despite jockeying from his fellow Republicans, various world leaders and — most vocally — himself.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the award.

Cheung did not comment on Machado’s recognition but said Trump “has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”

The Venezuelan opposition leader said in a statement that she wanted to dedicate the award to the U.S. president for support of her cause, along with dedicating it to the people of her country.

“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” Machado said in a statement on X.

Speaker Mike Johnson is making clear he won’t be bringing House lawmakers back to Washington until the Senate passes a government funding bill.

The House has not held votes for about three weeks. It could take up other issues besides a government funding bill, and Democrats have described the situation as House Republicans going on vacation.

But Johnson said members are working diligently in their districts to help constituents.

“We will come back here and get back to legislative session as soon as the Senate Democrats turn the lights back on,” Johnson said.

Speaker Mike Johnson is highlighting the prospect of 1.3 million military service members missing a paycheck next week as the federal government shutdown continued Friday.

Also, the next paycheck for civilian workers will be a partial one.

He’s blaming Democratic lawmakers for that scenario during a press conference and emphasizing that Republicans have voted multiple times to keep the government funded temporarily.

“You’ve got millions of American families who will now have to figure out how to make their mortgage, how to cover the rent, pay the car note, keep food on the table because Democrats, Chuck Schumer and his colleagues in the Senate are here playing games,” Johnson said.

Additionally, the nation’s third shutdown in 12 years is once again raising anxiety levels among service members and their families because those in uniform are working without pay.

While they would receive back pay once the impasse ends, many military families live paycheck to paycheck. During previous shutdowns, Congress passed legislation to ensure that troops kept earning their salaries, but time is running out before they miss their first paycheck in less than a week.

National Guard troops have been seen patrolling in Memphis for the first time, as part of Trump’s federal task force.

The deployment comes a day after a federal judge in Illinois blocked the deployment of troops in the Chicago area for at least two weeks.

It was unclear Friday how many Guard members were on the ground in Memphis or were expected to arrive later.

Trump is pushing to deploy the National Guard to several U.S. cities. His administration claims crime in those cities is rampant, despite statistics not always supporting that. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee supports the deployment.

House members’ absence during the government shutdown is creating a political dilemma for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and is testing his leadership. '

The Louisiana congressman sent members home three weeks ago, and they haven’t been back in working session since.

In the intervening weeks, the government has shut down. Trump threatened a mass firing of federal workers. And Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special congressional election in Arizona but has not been sworn in.

Johnson says the House already did its job, passing a bill to fund the government. Johnson blames Democrats in the Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans. Democrats want health care funds for insurance subsidies that are set to expire.

The White House is responding bitterly to President Donald Trump being passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize despite efforts from Republicans and world leaders.

A White House spokesman said Friday members of “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace” because they didn’t recognize Trump. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the award for her work promoting democratic rights.

Trump has long desired the prize, claiming credit for ending global conflicts. Although the Republican president received nominations, many came after the deadline. The Nobel Peace Prize aims to encourage peace efforts, with past winners including three sitting U.S. presidents. Critics argue Trump’s nominations are more about manipulation than merit.