Today in one sentence: Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, first announced in April and delayed for months during talks on “90 deals in 90 days,” took effect, raising average rates from the usual 2–3% to 18.6% – the highest since 1933; Trump ordered the Commerce Department to begin work on a new census that would exclude immigrants living in the U.S. illegally; the FBI agreed to help Texas law enforcement find about 50 Democratic legislators who left to block a Trump-backed redistricting plan that would add five additional Republican House seats; a senior Trump Justice Department adviser was caught on Jan. 6 police bodycam footage urging rioters to attack officers defending the Capitol; the FBI fired several senior agents who had worked on investigations involving Trump or his allies; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will move to occupy all of Gaza.

1/ Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, first announced in April and delayed for months during talks on “90 deals in 90 days,” took effect, raising average rates from the usual 2–3% to 18.6% – the highest since 1933 – with some imports from Brazil and India reaching 50%. Since April, the Trump administration has announced eight trade agreements, but only two – with the UK and China – are finalized, leaving most others, including with Japan, South Korea, the EU, Vietnam, and Indonesia, incomplete or without key details. The tariffs are collected from U.S. importers, who typically raise prices to cover the added costs. The White House claims the duties will bring in $50 billion a month, but that revenue comes directly from Americans, with the Yale Budget Lab projecting an extra $2,400 in costs per household this year. June inflation data already show price increases in tariff-affected categories such as clothing, appliances, and furniture. Economists have warned the impact will accelerate as pre-tariff inventories run out, forcing more businesses to pass on the full cost of the higher import taxes to consumers. Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the rollout of his tax on Americans, writing: “BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” (Bloomberg / CNN / NPR / Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

  • Trump will nominate Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a temporary vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors created by Adriana Kugler’s early resignation. The term ends Jan. 31, 2026, though Miran could remain until a successor is confirmed. Miran has criticized the Fed under Jerome Powell for tolerating higher inflation and supports lower interest rates, saying there is “zero macroeconomically significant evidence of price pressures from tariffs.” At the same time, Fed governor Christopher Waller has emerged as a leading candidate among Trump’s advisers to succeed Powell when his term as chair ends in May. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN)

2/ Trump ordered the Commerce Department to begin work on a new census that would exclude immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, saying it would use “results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.” The Constitution and federal law require counting the “whole number of persons in each state” every 10 years, and no census in U.S. history has excluded noncitizens from apportionment totals. Nevertheless, Trump wrote on social media that “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.” The order comes as he claims Republicans are “entitled” to more House seats in Texas. The ACLU, meanwhile, said the plan would “defy the Constitution” and vowed to fight it in court. A 2019 Supreme Court ruling blocked his prior attempt to add a citizenship question as “contrived.” (Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NPR / USA Today / NBC News / Axios / CBS News)

  • A federal judge ordered Florida to stop construction for 14 days at the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Everglades while she considers claims it violates environmental laws. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued in June, alleging the project skipped legally required federal environmental reviews and threatens wetlands and endangered species. (Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times)

3/ The FBI agreed to help Texas law enforcement find about 50 Democratic legislators who left to block a Trump-backed redistricting plan that would add five additional Republican House seats. The lawmakers went to Illinois to deny Republicans the quorum needed for the vote. Sen. John Cornyn said FBI Director Kash Patel “approved my request” and assigned agents, though no criminal warrants have been issued and the bureau hasn’t acted. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, meanwhile, said there is “no federal law applicable to this situation” and lawmakers in Illinois “can’t be arrested.” (NBC News / New York Times / Axios)

4/ A senior Trump Justice Department adviser was caught on Jan. 6 police bodycam footage urging rioters to attack officers defending the Capitol. Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who was then working as a consultant, shouted “Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” and called police “Nazi” and “Gestapo” as the crowd attacked law enforcement. He was later indicted on charges including civil disorder and aiding an assault on officers, but Trump ordered his case dismissed along with all other Jan. 6 prosecutions on his first day in office. Wise is now a senior adviser in the deputy attorney general’s office, reviewing alleged “weaponization” of law enforcement. (NPR)

5/ The FBI fired several senior agents who had worked on investigations involving Trump or his allies, including former acting director Brian Driscoll and Washington field office chief Steven Jensen. Driscoll, who briefly led the bureau in early 2025, resisted Justice Department demands to name agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigations. “Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI […] No cause has been articulated at this time. I regret nothing,” Driscoll wrote to staff. In April, Trump-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel named Jensen to lead the Washington office, prompting criticism from Trump supporters because he had overseen the FBI’s domestic terrorism section that investigated the Jan. 6 attack. The FBI Agents Association, meanwhile, said it was “deeply concerned” about agents being “summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs.” (Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / Reuters)

6/ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will move to occupy all of Gaza, vowing to “liberate ourselves and the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas” despite warnings from his top general, hostage families, and foreign governments that the plan could kill more civilians and endanger the remaining hostages. Netanyahu’s plan calls for Israeli forces to seize all remaining parts of Gaza, displace up to a million civilians, establish a security perimeter, and eventually hand governance to unspecified Arab forces, beginning with the takeover of Gaza City in a months-long operation that analysts say could take years to fully implement. Hamas said the move “will not come without a heavy and costly price for the occupying forces,” while the UN warned it “would risk catastrophic consequences” for Gaza’s displaced and starving population. Trump, meanwhile, said he would not intervene in Israel’s decision to occupy Gaza, urging Hamas to “SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Israel’s nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the enclave’s over 2 million residents, left 70% of buildings uninhabitable, and driven a famine that has killed at least 193 people, including 96 children. (New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Washington Post / Axios)

The midterm elections are in 453 days.

Two years ago today: Day 930: "Deranged."
Five years ago today: Day 1296: "Shameful."
Six years ago today: Day 930: Do something.
Seven years ago today: Day 565: Reluctance.
Eight years ago today: Day 200: A case of the Mondays.