Internal State Dept memo reveals top brass question if feds should be ‘in the business of philanthropy’
FIRST ON FOX: Top brass at the Department of State are questioning if the U.S. government’s role should include working “in the philanthropy business” as the Trump administration uncovers a trove of mismanagement and overspending in recent years. “No one will argue with the philanthropic nature of foreign assistance,” Pete Marocco, the director of the Office of Foreign Assistance — which sits under the State Department’s federal umbrella — said to a group of faith-based organizations Friday. “So, this leads to another question I put before you today. Is it the proper role of government to be in the business of philanthropy?” “If U.S. foreign aid is only reaching 10% of its intended target, and the private sector is reaching the right people 87% of the time, this is a fundamental, age-old question we must return to and take seriously,” he continued. “It’s imperative for foreign assistance to land in the right hands of the right people for the right reasons.” Marocco’s comments were detailed in an internal State Department memo obtained by Fox News Digital that recapped a meeting between government officials and a group of roughly 25 faith-based organizations, which worked to engage the organizations in a “candid discussion about how their work supports and enhances U.S. foreign assistance goals under the America First framework.” The “listening session” meeting was invitation-only and moderated by Albert T. Gombis, acting under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, and director of global criminal justice, Fox Digital learned. WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chair Elon Musk and the Trump administration have been on a warpath in recent weeks against the United States Agency for International Development’s history of reported overspending and mismanagement. USAID is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations. Musk has characterized the agency as “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.” ELON MUSK DESCRIBES LIMESTONE MINE USED FOR PROCESSING FEDERAL WORKERS’ RETIREMENT PAPERS: ‘LIKE A TIME WARP’ In January, President Donald Trump issued a near-total freeze on foreign aid through the agency and has since terminated thousands of employees and appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the agency’s acting director, moves that have received staunch pushback from Democrats and federal employees. The freeze on payments was hit with lawsuits, with the Supreme Court Wednesday dealing a blow to the administration when it denied its request to block a lower court’s ruling for the administration to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign aid money. In a 5–4 ruling, the justices said a Feb. 26 deadline imposed by a lower court for the Trump administration to pay the funds already had expired, and directed the case back to the district court to clarify any additional details on payment. The internal State Department memo continued that Marocco explained to the group of faith-based organizations that the Trump administration is “intentionally disrupting the system to identify and root out significant problems” with its foreign aid programs. “As you know, we’re in the midst of conducting a review of U.S. foreign aid programs,” the memo said of the director’s opening remarks. “It’s challenging because we’re taking a very different approach from other reviews. Our review is starting from zero – a zero-based methodology. That means we are intentionally disrupting the system to identify and root out significant problems. Yes, this is causing unintended consequences for some programs, and those issues are being addressed separate from this forum.” ‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM “The truth is: the American people have lost faith in foreign assistance. They’ve lost faith in how we carry out this work. Nevertheless, today you’re here to think big and tell us how foreign assistance can be optimally effective,” he added. Trump went to Capitol Hill Tuesday evening to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress since returning to the White House in January. In the speech, Trump celebrated his administration’s immediate pause to foreign aid. “Every day my administration is fighting to deliver the change America needs to bring a future that America deserves, and we’re doing it,” Trump said Tuesday evening. ‘This is a time for big dreams and bold action. Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, a freeze on all new federal regulations and a freeze on all foreign aid.” GOP HARDLINERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP, MUSK SCALING BACK USAID The 47th president continued in his speech that Musk and DOGE have identified $22 billion in government “waste” across various federal agencies, including USAID. “Forty-five million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma,” Trump said as he rattled off various examples of federal waste. “Forty million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. Eight million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Sixty million dollars for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America. Sixty million. Eight million for making mice transgender.” Democrats and government employees have railed against the Trump administration and DOGE’s work auditing the federal government, and some Democratic lawmakers even held up signs reading “Musk lies” during Trump’s address Tuesday. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Independents and Republicans went wild for Trump’s declaration that ‘America is back’
President Donald Trump’s declaration that “America is back” during his joint address to Congress was well-received by both Republicans and independents. “Members of the United States Congress, thank you very much. And to my fellow citizens, America is back!” Trump said at the conclusion of his speech Tuesday. The moment received an ovation from many of those in attendance and sparked a positive reaction among Republican and independent viewers, with Fox News voter dials showing those two groups, which were represented on the screen by red and yellow lines, immediately shooting up on the screen, indicating a positive response. Democrats, meanwhile, who were represented by the blue line, had a largely neutral reaction to the moment, with the line not deviating far from the middle of the screen. CONSERVATIVES ERUPT WITH PRAISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER TRUMP’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS: ‘RUN THROUGH A WALL’ The moment was followed by chats of “USA” from those in attendance, with Trump as well as Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson joining in. That moment continued to receive a positive reaction from Republican and independent viewers, while Democrats remained neutral throughout. Tuesday night’s joint address to Congress was Trump’s second, coming eight years after his first speech in Congress in 2017. The speech is structured similarly to a State of the Union Address, though Trump will not give the first official State of the Union of his second term in office until next year. ‘HE’S BACK’: TRUMP’S JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TO BE BLANKETED WITH 6-FIGURE AD BUY TOUTING TAX PLAN Tuesday’s speech saw Trump boast about the early accomplishments of his second administration and lay the groundwork on the agenda for the rest of his presidency. “Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden Age of America,” he said at the conclusion of his speech. “From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started. “Every single day, we will stand up, and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and for the country people deserve,” Trump added. “My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future, because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you. God bless you and God bless America.” The Fox News Digital focus groups were conducted by maslansky + partners.
Trump earns largely positive speech reaction, but ejected Dem’s behavior widely deemed inappropriate: CNN poll
A majority of speech viewers (69%) had a very or somewhat positive reaction to President Donald Trump’s Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress, according to a CNN poll by SSRS. While 44% indicated that they had a “Very positive” reaction to the speech, 25% felt “Somewhat positive,” 16% had a “Very negative” reaction and 15% had a “Somewhat negative” reaction to the address. “A total of 431 adults nationwide were surveyed via text message,” according to a document about the poll. “Among the entire sample, 21% described themselves as Democrats, 44% described themselves as Republicans, and 35% described themselves as independents or members of another party,” the document notes. “The margin of sampling error for total respondents is +/-5.3 at the 95% confidence level.” TRUMP SAYS AMERICA WOULD WELCOME GREENLAND DURING JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who was removed from the event for being disruptive, did not fare well in the court of public opinion. A whopping 80% found Green’s behavior to be inappropriate, while just 20% felt it was appropriate, according to the poll. CONSERVATIVES ERUPT WITH PRAISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER TRUMP’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS: ‘RUN THROUGH A WALL’ Trump’s address on Tuesday came less than two months into his second term in office. However, while he is still chipping away at the early days of his new term, the president is a well-known figure who has been on the political scene for years. TRUMP DECLARES ‘AMERICA IS BACK’ IN SPEECH BEFORE CONGRESS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He is now the second U.S. president to serve non-consecutive terms — the first was Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.
Buttigieg says he’s ‘looking at’ possible Senate run in battleground state
Pete Buttigieg said he’s contemplating a run for the Senate next year in his adopted home state of Michigan. “I’ve been looking at it,” the former Department of Transportation secretary and former presidential candidate acknowledged in his latest interview, as he pointed to the emerging race to succeed Sen. Gary Peters. The two-term Democrat announced in January that he won’t seek re-election in 2026. “I’m going to continue to work on the things that I care about,” Buttigieg elaborated as he appeared Tuesday night on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Buttigieg emphasized, “I have not decided what that means professionally, whether that means running for office soon or not. But I will make myself useful.” WHY PETE BUTTIGIEG MET WITH THIS TOP DEMOCRAT In a sign of just how seriously he is contemplating a Senate campaign in the pivotal Great Lakes battleground state, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News that Buttigieg met last week with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, the longtime leader of the chamber’s Democrats. The 43-year-old Buttigieg, a former naval intelligence officer who deployed to the war in Afghanistan and who served eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was a long-shot candidate when he launched his 2020 presidential campaign. BUTTIGIEG APPEARANCE ON THIS RADIO SHOW SPARKS MORE 2028 SPECULATION But his campaign caught fire, and he narrowly edged Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to win the Iowa caucuses before coming in close second to Sanders in the New Hampshire presidential primary. But Buttigieg, along with the rest of the Democratic field, dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden as the then-former vice president won the South Carolina primary in a landslide, swept the Super Tuesday contests and eventually clinched the nomination before winning the White House. The millennial Democrat, who served as Biden’s transportation secretary for four years, has maintained popularity within the Democratic Party as one of its younger stars. Buttigieg in recent months has highlighted that he aims to stay involved. In a radio interview in December near the end of his tenure as transportation secretary, he said, “I will find ways to make myself useful, and maybe that’s running for office, and maybe that’s not. I’ll take the next few weeks and months to work through that.” TOP POLITICAL HANDICAPPER REVEALS DEMOCRATS CHANCES OF WINNING BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY And soon after Peters revealed in January he wouldn’t seek re-election, a source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking told Fox News Digital, “Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve… he’s honored to be mentioned for this, and he’s taking a serious look.” After his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg and his spouse, Chasten, moved from red-state Indiana to neighboring Michigan, and have a home in Traverse City. Buttigieg isn’t the only Democrat taking a hard look to succeed Peters. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow is likely to launch a Democratic campaign. McMorrow grabbed national attention in 2022 after delivering a floor speech in the Michigan Senate which was seen as a model for countering GOP attacks. Among the other Democrats who’ve expressed interest in running are two-term Michigan Attorney General Dana Nesse and Congresswoman Haley Stevens. ONLY ON FOX: SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S GUNNING FOR IN 2026 Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., announced at the end of January that he was “strongly considering” a second straight Republican run for the Senate in Michigan. Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats’ nominee, in last November’s election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point. Rogers is a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress. While Rogers was the first Republican to publicly make a move toward launching a 2026 Senate campaign in Michigan, GOP sources told Fox News last month that others who may consider running are Rep. John James – who’s in his second term in the House and was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in 2018 and 2020 – and longtime Rep. Bill Huizenga. FIRST ON FOX: SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHTS ‘TEAM EFFORT’ The Michigan Senate race is considered a “Toss Up” by top nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report. The Republicans currently control the Senate 53-47, after flipping four seats from blue to red in last November’s elections. The party in power – clearly the Republicans right now – traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections. Nevertheless, an early read of the 2026 map indicates the GOP may be able to go on offense in some key states. Along with Michigan, Republicans will also be targeting battleground Georgia, where first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is considered vulnerable. And in swing state New Hampshire, longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has yet to say whether she’ll seek another term when she’s up for re-election next year. The GOP is also eyeing blue-leaning Minnesota, where Democratic Sen. Tina Smith last month announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in 2026. But Republicans are also playing defense in the 2026 cycle. Democrats plan to go on offense in blue-leaning Maine, where moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, as well as in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also up in 2026. And Democrats are looking at red-leaning Ohio, where Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was appointed in January to succeed Vice President JD Vance in the Senate. Husted will run next year to finish out Vance’s term. Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report
Texas Democratic Rep Sylvester Turner dead at age 70
Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died Tuesday night at the age of 70, according to top Democrats. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., announced Turner’s passing at a House Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., later issued a statement expressing his shock and sadness. Turner, who previously served as the mayor of Houston, Texas, was elected to replace the late Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee, who died in July of last year. Turner served 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives, and was elected mayor of Houston in 2015 and again in 2019. Turner was on Capitol Hill as recently as Tuesday afternoon ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. The lawmaker was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in 2022. Jeffries honored Turner in a statement Wednesday. “As the Representative for the 18th Congressional District in Texas, Sylvester followed in the hallowed footsteps of trailblazers like the great Barbara Jordan and our late sister, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. We all stand on the shoulders of these incredible giants and join Texans in mourning the tremendous loss of another iconic leader. Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end – he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard. In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us ‘don’t mess with Medicaid,’” Jeffries wrote. Turner’s office has yet to release a statement on the congressman’s death. This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Vance heads to southern border as Trump touts sharp drop in crossings: ‘They heard my words’
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday is heading to the southern border, a day after President Donald Trump touted a sharp drop in border crossings amid a ramping up of border security and interior arrests of illegal immigrants. Vance is touring the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, and will be joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Eagle Pass was one of the hot spots for border crossings at the height of the historic Biden-era border crisis. Trump had centered his 2024 campaign on a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, and he deployed a slew of measures early on. On Day One, he signed executive orders to declare a national emergency at the border and deploy the military. He also ordered the resumption of border wall construction and the end of Biden parole policies. TRUMP HONORS LIVES OF LAKEN RILEY, JOCELYN NUNGARAY WHILE CELEBRATING STRIDES ON SECURING BORDER The Pentagon quickly deployed troops and opened up Guantánamo Bay to flights of migrants. The Department of Homeland Security has taken limits off of interior enforcement and expanded the use of expedited removal, while the State Department secured additional cooperation with countries to return migrants. The administration has launched a massive interior enforcement operation, where daily arrests have regularly hit 1,000+ a day, although officials have indicated they want to see numbers go even higher. NOEM SAYS DHS WILL ‘NOT BE DETERRED’ AFTER ICE HIT BY NEW LEAKS AHEAD OF VIRGINIA RAID The administration has pointed to figures showing sharp increases in interior arrests compared to the Biden era and a sharp drop in encounters at the border. In February, there were just 8,326 southern border encounters, down from 189,913 in February 2024. The administration has so far removed more than 55,000 illegal immigrants from the U.S. Trump touted those numbers in a speech to Congress on Tuesday night. “Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border and I deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion of our country. And what a job they’ve done. As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded, ever,” he said. “They heard my words, and they chose not to come.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE He also mocked the claim by Democrats and the Biden administration that legislation was needed to fix the crisis. “But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president,” he said. Meanwhile, a Border Patrol source told Fox News that there were just 271 total encounters for the entire southern border on Tuesday, and just 14 in the Del Rio Sector where Vance is visiting. Fox News’ Brooke Taylor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ISIS-K member confessed to scouting Abbey Gate attack route, training Moscow attackers: affidavit
The ISIS-K member described by President Donald Trump as the “top terrorist” suspect behind the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan confessed to scouting the attack route and training gunmen involved in a terrorist attack near Moscow last year, according to a Justice Department affidavit. Muhammed Sharifullah, who was charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, is expected to make his first federal court appearance in Virginia Wednesday. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. The Justice Department released photos showing FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at an airport awaiting Sharifullah’s arrival this morning in the U.S. President Trump announced Sharifullah’s capture last night during his address before a joint Congress, saying he was “pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity” that left 13 U.S. service members dead in August 2021. TRUMP REVEALS TOP TERRORIST BEHIND ABBEY GATE ATTACK APPREHENDED During the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, American and coalition forces were conducting an evacuation operation at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. Abbey Gate was the main entry point for the operation, and thousands of civilians were in the area on Aug. 26, 2021, according to the Justice Department. Around 5:36 p.m. that day, Abdul Rahman al-Logari – a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), “detonated a body-worn suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, killing 13 U.S. military service members and approximately 160 civilians,” the Justice Department said. The U.S. withdrawal was completed a few days later and the Taliban later claimed control of Afghanistan. An affidavit released by the Justice Department said FBI Special Agents interviewed Sharifullah around the start of this week, during which he revealed that he was in prison in Afghanistan from 2019 until approximately two weeks before the Abbey Gate attack. “Upon Sharifullah’s release, an ISIS-K member contacted Sharifullah to arrange for his assistance in an upcoming attack,” the affidavit cited Sharifullah as saying in an interview. “ISIS-K members provided Sharifullah with a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, and instructions to open an account on a particular social media platform to communicate with them during the attack operation. After making these preparations for the attack, Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near Hamid Karzai International Airport for an attacker,” the affidavit said. “Sharifullah conducted surveillance on a route, specifically checking for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints. “Sharifullah communicated to other ISIS-K members that he believed the route was clear and that he did not think the attacker would be detected while proceeding through that route. ISIS-K members then instructed Sharifullah to leave the area of HKIA,” it continued. “Later that same day, Sharifullah learned of the attack at HKIA… and recognized the alleged bomber as an ISIS-K operative he had known while incarcerated.” TRUMP PUSHES TO RECOVER ‘BILLIONS OF DOLLARS’ OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL The affidavit also alleged that Sharifullah trained gunmen who were involved in a terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow in March 2024, which left around 130 people dead. “In an interview with FBI Special Agents after waiving his Miranda rights on or about March 2, 2025, Sharifullah stated the following: Sharifullah received an order from a known ISIS-K senior leader to provide instructions on how to properly use AK-style rifles and other weapons to would-be attackers in Moscow,” it said. “Sharifullah shared video instructions with several individuals. Following the attack, Russian authorities arrested four gunmen in connection with the attack. Sharifullah recognized two of those individuals as the same people to whom he provided the firearms training video.” National security advisor Michael Waltz told “Fox & Friends” Wednesday that the Abbey Gate victims’ family members were “emotional” when Trump called them to inform them of Sharifullah’s capture. “The president said to these families at Arlington, ‘we are going to get this guy.’ We shared the intelligence with Pakistan, and he’s rolled up, and he will be tried in a U.S. court,” Waltz said. Bondi added Wednesday that “Under President Trump’s strong leadership on the world stage, this Department of Justice will ensure that terrorists like Mohammad Sharifullah have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America.” Patel also said his agency “will never forget the loss of these American heroes” at Abbey Gate and “will continue to hunt down those who viciously murdered our warriors… and bring them to justice.” Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Boatman who earned whopping Rs 30 crores during Mahakumbh Mela recalls experience: ‘Life was tough…’
Inspired by the earnings of boat operators during the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, a boatman’s family in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj took a bold entrepreneurial step during the recently concluded Mahakumbh Mela 2025, generating a staggering profit of Rs 30 crore.
Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner dies
Turner, a Democrat, was sworn into his first term in the U.S. House in January.
China, reacting to Trump tariffs, promises to ‘fight till the end’ in trade war ‘or any other type of war’
China has vowed to “fight till the end” against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, warning that it is ready for any “type” of war with the U.S. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Tuesday that pushed back against tariffs against the Chinese government that Trump bumped up from 10% to 20% earlier this week over Beijing’s failure to address the flow of fentanyl entering the U.S. “If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in the statement. China has already responded to the tariffs by imposing a 15% tariff on American agricultural goods. Jian’s statement, which was quoted by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, argued that the fentanyl issue is a “flimsy excuse” to raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Jian cautioned that “intimidation does not scare us” and “bullying” would not work. TRUMP’S LATEST TARIFFS: HERE IS WHAT WIL COST CONSUMERS MORE “Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China,” Jian said. “Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.” The tariffs against China went into effect on Tuesday. Trump increased the tariffs on Monday with an executive order that stated the Chinese government has failed “to blunt the sustained influx of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, flowing from [their country],” and that such failure constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Trump also said that the crisis jeopardizes the “national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” LUTNICK SAYS TRUMP TARIFF WITH CANADA, MEXICO LIKELY ENDS WITH MEETING IN THE MIDDLE, POSSIBLE DEAL SOON Beijing, however, claimed that only the U.S. is responsible for the fentanyl crisis inside the U.S., though left the door open for “cooperation” in solving the fentanyl crisis. “If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals,” Jian said in the statement. The Chinese government has opposed the tariffs since they were announced. The Trump administration is already imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, which were announced last month and also went into effect on Tuesday. Trump addressed the tariffs during his address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, saying that while the objective is to make the nation “rich” and “great again,” there will “be a little disturbance” for American consumers. Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.