Daily Briefing: Trouble in Trumpland
Good morning, not all is hunky-dory in Trumpland. The US President's once-trusted 'first buddy,' Elon Musk, has called time on his 'special government employee' stint at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk's reign saw him mostly wreaking havoc on government institutions to reduce government spending. Musk and Trump had earlier hinted at the Tesla CEO's eventual exit, with the billionaire shifting his focus back to his entrepreneurial pursuits. However, Musk's disillusionment with the Trump administration at the fag end of his tenure has raised several eyebrows. Just yesterday, he criticised Trump's 'one big, beautiful Bill'—the legislative mainstay of his agenda—for undermining DOGE's work. This wasn't the first time Musk had disagreed with the administration. Significantly, he publicly spoke up against the sweeping tariff policies imposed by Trump in April.
That brings me to today's big story. Read on.
The US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority and blocked his tariffs on trading partners from going into effect. The verdict essentially makes the tariffs, which Trump had imposed under emergency powers to combat 'unfair trade practices,' illegal.
Zoom in: Invoking the US Constitution, the court declared that Congress has the exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries. The President's emergency powers cannot override Congress's authority. While the court refused to comment on the 'effectiveness' of the President's 'use of tariff as leverage', it asserted that the law made it 'impermissible'.
Counters: The ruling came in separate cases filed by businesses and states to halt Trump's tariff march. Notably, the Trump administration, last week, had pleaded against narrowing the scope of the President's emergency powers, citing the India-Pakistan conflict. The US Commerce Secretary told the court that Trump's offer for trade access to the duelling countries had 'averted a full-scale war', and an 'adverse ruling' could jeopardise the ceasefire. The State Secretary added that the court's ruling could threaten the ongoing trade negotiations with several countries. (🎧 For more on these US claims, tune in to today's episode of the '3 Things' podcast.)
What's next: It's unclear if the tariffs would be revoked immediately and, if so, how. The Justice Department has already filed a notice of appeal. It can appeal the court's ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and, ultimately, the US Supreme Court. A White House spokesman said, 'It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency'.
The Delhi Police has made concerted efforts to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The exercise was ramped up in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. As many as 470 illegal migrants and 50 foreigners who had overstayed were airlifted from the Hindon air base in the national capital on 'special flights' to Tripura's Agartala and then deported via the land border to Bangladesh. Intensifying the crackdown on illegal migrants, it is learnt that the Union Home Ministry has asked authorities to scan the immigration database before handing out identification cards like Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards.
Also read: A family in Assam, whose citizenship case is being heard in the Supreme Court, has alleged that one of its members has been 'pushed' into Bangladesh.
Clean chit: The anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, has said there was 'not even a tittle of credible material' to prove the allegations against the former Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, of having investments linked to the Adani Group.
Peace & power: A group of 10 MLAs of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met Manipur's Governor, Ajay Bhalla, on Wednesday to press for forming a 'popular government' in the state. Manipur, rocked by ethnic violence, has been under President's rule since February 13.
Saving Mumbai: The municipal corporation in Mumbai is cracking down on illegal construction along the city's fragile coastline. In recent weeks, the BMC has issued over 100 notices and razed nearly 30 unauthorised structures in the ecologically sensitive Madh Island. Behind the clean-up lies a determined, almost decade-long battle of one man who owns ancestral land in the area: Vaibhav Thakur. My colleague Mohamed Thaver chronicles Thakur's fight.
Injustice: In her weekly column, contributing editor Neerja Chowdhury spotlights the recent—and rather imprudent—remarks made by BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra, who questioned the women survivors of the Pahalgam terror attack for not fighting back. He isn't the first BJP MP to have tainted the party's messaging with good old misogyny. Earlier, a BJP minister had referred to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a 'sister' of the terrorists. But Jangra's comments go a step further and 'demean all women', Chowdhury writes.
The numbers game: Recently, Niti Aayog CEO, BVR Subrahmanyam, declared that India had overtaken Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world. His claim, based on International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, set off a wave of self-congratulations among several Indians. However, a closer examination of IMF data shows that India is still the fifth-largest economy. My colleague Udit Misra would argue that India is, in fact, the third-largest economy. Confused? Here's how to read the data.
Cricket central: Our sports writers, Sandip G and Vinayakk Mohanarangan, surveyed nearly 250 players across the 10 teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to take a look at the geographical distribution of homegrown talent. Their finding may surprise you. Once irrelevant on India's cricketing map, Madhya Pradesh has transformed into a thriving nursery of IPL stars. Read on.
I leave you with the latest offering from 'Fresh Take': The era of 'Netflix parents' is here, quietly changing the living room conversations in Indian households.
That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take.
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Indian Express
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However, he added that it did not mean the CM or others had to resign. 'There will be a report in 15 days and then the people will know what happened… There have been incidents in previous governments as well but there have been no resignations,' Jarkiholi said. The stampede came at a time when Shivakumar was pressing for appointment as CM, replacing Siddaramiah, though he was rebuffed on this by two AICC general secretaries recently. He was reportedly opposing any Cabinet expansion by Siddaramaiah as well. In recent days, Shivakumar had tried to mend fences with Karnataka Home Minister and key Dalit leader Parameshwara, another aspirant to the CM's post, after embarrassing him with remarks about an expensive gift given to an actress arrested for gold smuggling. 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