(LONDON) — India claimed on Thursday morning to have intercepted “drones and missiles” fired by Pakistan at a several military targets throughout northern and western India, saying the overnight attack amounted to a bid by Pakistan to “escalate” the conflict between the two countries.
India also said it targeted Pakistani sites, including a Pakistani air defense system at Lahore, which it said it destroyed.
“Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan.”
India on Tuesday and Wednesday launched aerial attacks on Pakistan, about two weeks after a deadly terror attack in the disputed Kashmir region. India blamed Pakistan for that militant attack, the Pahalgam incident, which left 26 people dead in Indian-held Kashmir. Pakistan denied involvement.
At least 16 people have been killed in India, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had convened on Thursday a meeting of his secretaries to discuss “national preparedness,” a high-level defense discussion that came as his Pakistani counterpart declared that Pakistan had “once again proven its superiority over its enemy.”
The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on Thursday praised the actions of his country’s military over the last few days.
“I salute the heads of all three armed forces and every brave soldier,” Sharif said, according to his office. “The 240 million people of Pakistan are proud of their armed forces.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Facing the potential of life in prison on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Sean Combs hired a high-profile team of defense lawyers for his criminal trial in New York.
With a combined 150 years of legal experience, Combs’ team of lawyers have defended everyone from alleged United Healthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione to disgraced financier Martin Shrkeli and rapper Young Thug.
“In looking at the team, especially on the first day of jury selection, it seems like they’ve got people who are experts in their own kind of general areas,” said ABC News Legal Contributor Brian Buckmire. “I think the team that Diddy has put together are some heavy hitters in their own rights, and they’re working together as such.”
Combs, a self-proclaimed “Bad Boy for Life”, was charged last year with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and prostitution after prosecutors accused the rap mogul of using violence to coerce women into sex, protect his business empire, and preserve his reputation as one of hip-hop’s most important figures. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations against him, and his lawyers are expected to argue that any of the alleged sexual activity was done by consenting adults. He rejected a plea deal last week.
With an estimated billion-dollar fortune helping support his legal defense, Combs is relying on his high-powered army of attorneys to defend him in court and convince a jury to spare him a lengthy prison sentence.
Marc Agnifilo
Experienced defense attorney Marc Agnifilo is leading Combs’ defense team, bringing with him experience defending NXIVM leader Keith Raniere, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng.
Raniere was convicted for creating what prosecutors described as a sex cult in which female members were branded with his initials and kept in line through blackmail and sentenced to 120 years in prison. Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in person for securities fraud and conspiracy, while Ng was sentenced to 10 years in person for his alleged role in a money laundering and bribery scheme including paying more than $1.6 billion in bridges to dozens of government officials.
Agnifilo also has experience working as a federal and state prosecutor and boasts having tried more than 200 cases over his three-decade legal career.
Agnifilo is also one half of a legal power couple with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former prosecutor who investigated the Trump Organization while with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Since leaving government service, her most high-profile client has been Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
Teny Geragos
Teny Geragos is a founding partner at New York-based law firm Agnifilo Intrater, and also defended Raniere and Shkreli. She graduated from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 2016.
Geragos is also the daughter of famed defense attorney Mark Geragos, whose clients include Hunter Biden, Chris Brown and Michael Jackson. While Mark Geragos is not representing Combs, his appearance in court during jury selection sparked criticism from prosecutors due to his past public statements about the case on his podcast. Federal prosecutors asked the judge to remind Mark Geragos about court policies that forbid statements outside court that could interfere with a fair trial.
Mark Geragos is also involved in a simultaneous high-profile case — arguing for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez 35 years after the pair was convicted of killing their parents.
Alexandra Shapiro
Alexandra Shapiro brings over 30 years of appellate experience to Combs’ legal team, having served as the deputy chief of appeals for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan and an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice.
She represented Sam Bankman-Fried in the failed appeal of his criminal conviction and scored a series of legal victories at the United States Supreme Court. She also clerked for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a job she shares with the judge overseeing Combs’ case, though the two did not overlap.
Brian Steel
Atlanta-based attorney Brian Steel joined Combs’ legal team last month after gaining national attention defending rapper Young Thug.
After the longest criminal trial in Georgia history, Young Thug pleaded guilty to gun, drug and gang charges but was spared a lengthy prison sentence. Steel was briefly sent to jail during the trial after the judge overseeing the case held him in contempt for refusing to provide the judge information about what he learned of a meeting between prosecutors, a witness and the judge himself. The contempt ruling was later overturned.
Xavier Donaldson
Xavier Donaldson, a New York-based criminal defense attorney, joined Combs’ legal team on the eve of trial. He has nearly three decades of criminal defense experience and worked as a former prosecutor in the Bronx.
Anna Estevao
Anna Estevao is a partner at New York law firm Sher Tremonte LLP. She graduated from New York University School of Law and briefly worked as a federal defender in California, according to her Linkedin profile.
Jason Driscoll
Jason Driscoll is an associate at Shapiro’s law firm and one of the most junior members of Combs’ defense team. He graduated from New York University School of Law and completed two deferral clerkships.
Linda Moreno
Linda Moreno is a high-profile legal consultant who joined Combs’ legal team to help with jury selection. Her law firm’s website describes her an expert on anti-Muslim bias, including representing Sami Amin Al-Arian after he was indicted under the Patriot Act for allegedly playing a leadership role in the terrorist group Palestinian Jihad. He was acquitted on most charges and pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
She also was on the legal team that secured an acquittal for Noor Salman, the wife of the Pulse nightclub shooter who was accused of lying to the FBI and helping her husband.
Moreno is no stranger to celebrity trials having worked on the legal team defending American actor Wesley Snipes in his criminal trial for failing to file tax returns. Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor charges but acquitted on the more serious felony charges.
Mortgage rates have dropped over the early months of 2025, offering homebuyers an opportunity for some borrowing relief if they move ahead with the big-ticket purchase.
The housing market remains sluggish and wider economic uncertainty looms, however. President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to upend global trade and tip the U.S. into a downturn, experts said. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday of a possible resurgence of inflation, which could trigger higher interest rates.
The mixed signals pose a quandary for homebuyers: Is it the right time to get into the market?
Lower mortgage rates ease the financial pain for prospective homebuyers, presenting an incentive at a moment when it appears unclear whether borrowing costs will drop any further, some analysts told ABC News.
A tight housing market and a cloudy economic outlook may give homebuyers pause, however, as they weigh the large expense with financial conditions in flux, analysts added.
“It’s still a tough environment to find a house,” Lu Liu, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News. “On the other hand, it’s unclear whether that environment will get any better.”
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.76%, marking a decline from 7.04% in January, FreddieMac data shows. The current level of mortgage rates is roughly a percentage point lower than a recent peak attained in the fall of 2023.
Each percentage point decrease in a mortgage rate can save thousands or tens of thousands in additional cost each year, depending on the price of the house, according to Rocket Mortgage.
“Mortgage rates have seen substantial decline,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, told ABC News. “It’s a measurable difference.”
Mortgage rates closely track the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually. Bond yields are shaped in part by expectations of inflation, some experts said.
Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks devaluing the asset and in turn makes bonds less attractive. If inflation were to rise, those annual returns would get cut down as price increases erode the purchasing power of the fixed payout.
Bond yields rise as bond prices fall. When a selloff hits and demand for bonds dries up, it sends bond prices lower. In turn, bond yields move higher.
The Fed has cautioned about a possible tariff-induced rise of inflation, which could trigger higher bond yields and, in turn, increased mortgage rates. But a simultaneous slowdown of the economy may complicate potential rate hikes, since high interest rates could worsen a downturn.
“There’s a risk of upward pressure on inflation, which could drive up yields,” Liu said. “Maybe there’s a wait-and-see about a possible economic slowdown, which could lower rates.”
“It’s very hard to predict,” Liu added.
Homebuyers face another challenge: A slow housing market.
Existing home sales dropped nearly 6% in March compared to the previous month, National Association of Realtors data showed.
The housing market is suffering from a phenomenon known as the “lock in” effect, some experts said.
While mortgage rates have fallen, they remain well above the rates enjoyed by most current homeowners, who may be reluctant to put their homes on the market and risk a much higher rate on their next mortgage.
In turn, the market could continue to suffer from a lack of supply, making options limited and prices sticky.
An influx of new homes has eased some of the supply crunch, but construction of new homes remains well short of demand, Lautz said.
“There’s inventory coming in but it doesn’t mean the inventory-supply crisis is over,” Lautz added. “We know we need a lot more inventory in the U.S.”
Despite these complications, homebuyers may still find it worthwhile to enter the market, some experts said.
Limited supply of homes increases the likelihood that a given purchase will retain or increase its value, offsetting the costs and easing some of the risk, Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at the University of Mississippi.
“Prices should be stable or rise,” Johnson said. “You almost certainly won’t see a crash because we’re woefully short on roofs to live under in the U.S.”
In the event mortgage rates fall even further, homebuyers retain the option of refinancing at the reduced interest rate, Johnson added.
“As some say, ‘You get engaged to the mortgage rate and married to the refinance,'” Johnson said. “People may be looking now because they need to get into a home.”
The Republican-led House is set to vote Thursday on a bill to make the Gulf of Mexico’s name change to Gulf of America permanent.
The legislation, which was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, codifies an executive order from President Donald Trump to rename the body of water.
Its fate in the Senate is more of a challenge, given that it will need bipartisan cooperation to overcome a filibuster.
“Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the ‘Gulf of America,’” the bill text states.
The measure also instructs each federal agency to update each document and map in accordance with the name change that Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum will oversee.
“Codifying the rightful renaming of the Gulf of America isn’t just a priority for me and President Trump, it’s a priority for the American people. American taxpayers fund its protection, our military defends its waters, and American businesses fuel its economy,” Rep. Greene argued in a post on X.
One of Trump’s first executive orders when he started his second term was to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed the bill, which is expected to clear the lower chamber in a party-line vote.
“We’ve been working around the clock to codify so much of what President Trump has been doing … to make sure that we put these into statutory law so that it can’t be reversed and erased by an upcoming administration,” Johnson said at a news conference on Tuesday.
House Democrats, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have criticized the measure.
“Why is the top thing that House Republicans — going to do this week on their legislative agenda renaming the Gulf of Mexico?” Jeffries said at a news conference Monday. “Because Donald Trump and House Republicans are on the run. They are on the run.”
Former President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will appear on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday for their first joint interview since leaving the White House.
The pair will join the co-hosts live in-studio to discuss life post-presidency, the Democratic Party’s losses in 2024, and the current political landscape as President Donald Trump passes the 100-day mark of his second term.
The Bidens have kept a relatively low profile since leaving Washington in January, though the former president is beginning to ratchet up his public appearances.
Joe Biden’s first major speech since departing the White House came last month in Chicago, when he rebuked the Trump administration’s approach to Social Security, accusing officials of “taking a hatchet” to the agency and more broadly causing “so much damage” to the federal government. Biden has appeared occasionally since.
In his first post-presidency interview, broadcast on the BBC on Wednesday, Biden sharply critiqued the current administration on a host of issues: He likened Trump’s push for a peace deal that would have Ukraine cede territory to Russia to “modern-day appeasement,” and blasted Trump’s threats to acquire Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“What president ever talks like that?” Biden said. “That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.”
Trump, for his part, routinely criticizes Biden as “the worst president in American history” and blames him for various difficulties in his own administration, including recent stock market turmoil and a decline in U.S. gross domestic product.
Biden’s presidency marked the culmination of a career in public service that spanned more than five decades, including 36 years as a senator and eight years as vice president. He leaves behind a complex legacy, punctuated by Trump’s historic victory in November.
Biden and his team were criticized for his decision to seek reelection and later withdraw after a poor debate performance against Trump that moved some Democrats to publicly question his ability as he approached the age of 82 to campaign for and serve another term.
Even still, Biden and his allies have maintained a belief that he could have beaten Trump had he stayed in the race. He’s said he decided to drop out and endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris to help unify the party.
Asked by the BBC if he should have dropped out earlier, Biden said it wouldn’t have had an impact on the outcome.
“I don’t, I don’t think it would have mattered. We left at a time when we had a good candidate, she’s fully funded,” Biden said.
“I meant what I said when I started, that I think I’m prepared to hand this to the next generation, a transition government,” Biden added. “But things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away from the ticket and it was a hard decision. But regret that? No, I think it was the right decision. I think that, well, it was just a difficult decision.”
Jill Biden, 73, who has also begun stepping up public appearances, has also emphasized she believes her husband would have been able to serve four more years.
“Sure,” she told the Washington Post in an interview before the Bidens left the White House in January. “I mean, today, I think he has a full schedule. He started early with interviews and briefings, and it just keeps going.”
More broadly, the Bidens’ appearance on “The View” comes as Democrats are in the midst of rebuilding their coalition and retooling some parts of their message; and grappling with what role — if any — the former president should play in the future of the party.
Two key electoral races this year will stress test those changes: gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. It’s unclear if Joe Biden will be involved in campaigning.
Both Joe Biden and Harris have signed with the CAA talent agency.
Meanwhile, Jill Biden, who retired from her longtime teaching career in December, was recently named as chair of the recently launched Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network, which will promote research and investments for women’s health.
Speaking about the initiative in Los Angeles on Monday, Jill Biden said that she does not think the federal government will be as involved with women’s health investments and research as it used to be.
“I think this is really an opportunity for business, for private equity to, you know, it doesn’t seem like the federal government is really going to be as involved as they were … I think we all have a part to play in every aspect of this,” Biden said when discussing what excited her about the initiative.
She was seemingly referencing federal government cuts, which have heavily hit health research initiatives as well, although she did not call out the White House or any figures explicitly.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — When Svetlana Dali snuck onto a Delta flight from New York to Paris in November it was not the first time she had successfully evaded airport security measures, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in a new court filing.
Two days before Dali, 57, went through security at JFK Airport and walked onto the Delta plane without a boarding pass she accessed a secure area of the departures terminal at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, prosecutors said.
“The investigation uncovered that, just like at JFK, the defendant similarly tried twice to enter TSA security checkpoints at BDL without a boarding pass—the first time unsuccessfully, and the second time successfully—wearing what appeared to be the same boots and backpack that she was wearing at JFK,” prosecutors said.
There is no evidence Dali boarded a flight from Bradley but the filing said she “bypassed BDL security checkpoints in a manner that is strikingly similar to her conduct at JFK” where she was able to sneak past identification checks by comingling with other passengers.
Earlier in 2024, customs agents found Dali hiding in a bathroom in a secure area of the Miami International Airport, prosecutors said.
In that instance, Dali claimed she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband in the secure international arrivals zone. Prosecutors said there was no record of Dali on an Air France flight that day and no record she had left the United States in the prior five years. Ultimately, she was escorted from the airport.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are seeking to introduce evidence of each episode when Dali stands trial later this month on stowaway charges from the incident on Nov. 26.
Once aboard Delta flight 264 to Paris, the filing said Dali hid in one of the plane’s lavatories for several hours.
“When a flight attendant noticed her lengthy bathroom visit, the defendant manipulated her into believing she was sick by pretending she was vomiting to excuse her prolonged time in the bathroom,” the filing said.
“Shortly before landing, the captain announced that the plane’s descent would be turbulent and instructed everyone to take their seats, including the crew,” the filing said. “As the flight crew rushed to secure the plane, the same flight attendant realized the defendant was still in the bathroom and instructed her to take her seat. The defendant continued to pretend to vomit, but the flight attendant insisted she sit down.”
Dali allegedly could not find a seat and the flight attendant asked for her name, identification and boarding pass. The defendant gave her two fake names and failed to produce any boarding pass or ID, prosecutors said.
“Alarmed, the flight attendant realized the defendant was not authorized to be on board and instructed the defendant to sit in a seat reserved for flight crew,” the filing states. “Scared that the defendant might be dangerous, the flight attendant positioned herself between the defendant and other passengers for their safety. The flight crew notified French law enforcement, who arrested the defendant on the plane as soon as it landed in Paris.”
Officials attempted to send Dali back to the United States on another flight shortly after, ABC News previously reported, but Dali was removed from the plane after insisting against her return.
She was eventually brought back to New York to face charges. After being released, Dali allegedly cut off her ankle monitor and traveled to Buffalo, where she planned to cross over the Peace Bridge into Canada but was apprehended.
Dali has pleaded not guilty to a federal stowaway charge.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids targeting businesses in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, sources confirmed to ABC News.
A coalition of activists had warned delivery drivers and restaurants of the planned enforcement one day prior.
“I have heard those reports, I’ve been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters on Tuesday. “It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn’t look like they’re targeting criminals. It is disrupting.”
She also emphasized that the Metropolitan Police Department was not involved.
Multiple sources told ABC News that federal law enforcement officials visited dozens of restaurants, carry-out spots and bars across several neighborhoods in Washington, including U Street, 14th Street, Chinatown, Dupont Circle and Mount Vernon Triangle. The visits spanned a wide range of establishments, from fast-casual spots to fine-dining restaurants and luxury cocktail bars, reflecting the breadth of the operation.
At many restaurants, agents distributed information and pamphlets requesting to see I-9 forms to verify the identities and employment authorizations for all employees dating back to one year ago. Some restaurants were told that federal officials would return in three days.Following Tuesday’s visits, some restaurant owners chose to close preemptively.
George Escobar, chief of programs and services at CASA, an organization geared toward improving the quality of life for the working class, told ABC News on Tuesday that the organization regularly receives tips about planned raids — but that this one was different.
“This one, to be honest, alarmed us a little bit because it was really specific,” Escobar said.
The organization has run a 24-hour tip hot line since the first Trump administration.
“We’re experienced. We don’t get alarmed by, like, you know, any old threat because, you know, they’re frequent, right? And they come in all different types of forms,” he said.
“We received notice about a specific kind of operation on how they were going to be conducted: what the pretense of maybe entering some of these small businesses were going to be, the fact that they were looking specifically at food businesses and possibly delivery workers,” he explained.
ABC News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment but did not receive a response.
“If ICE wants to snatch up every single immigrant working in food service and delivery, then the entire industry will collapse,” Amy Fischer, a core organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, which supports migrants arriving in the capital, said in a statement.
The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, which represents the more than 60,000 restaurant workers in the area, said in a statement shared with ABC News that it is “deeply concerned” by the reports of ICE raids and drop-ins across Washington, D.C.
RAMW said it urges “policymakers on a local and federal level to consider the real-world impact on local businesses and communities.”
“Immigrants make up a significant portion of our workforce at all levels. From dishwashers to executive chefs to restaurant owners, immigrants are irreplaceable contributors to our most celebrated restaurants and beloved neighborhood establishments,” it added. “The immigrant workforce has been essential to sustaining and growing our local restaurant industry and has been a major contributor to our local economy.
“At a time when our economy is already fragile, losing even one staff member at a single establishment has a profound impact on the operations of a restaurant and its ability to serve patrons,” RAMW added. “Disrupting restaurant staffing across the industry can create a damaging ripple effect felt immediately throughout the entire local economy.”
(POLK COUNTY, Fla.) — A Florida woman was killed by an alligator during a canoeing trip with her husband, who tried to save her during the surprise attack, officials said.
The husband and wife were canoeing in about 2 1/2 feet of water at the mouth of Tiger Creek near Lake Kissimmee in Polk County on Tuesday afternoon when the boat drifted over a large alligator, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The gator thrashed and tipped the canoe over, throwing both the husband and wife into the water, fish and wildlife officials said.
The victim, 61-year-old Polk County resident Cynthia Diekema, ended up on top of the alligator in the water, the officials said.
She was bitten and her husband tried to save her, officials said. Her body has since been recovered.
An investigation is underway, the agency said. An 11-foot-4-inch alligator matching the description of the gator involved was recovered Tuesday night; a second gator, about 10 to 11 feet long, was recovered Wednesday morning, the officials said.
Roger Young, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, called Diekema’s death a “devastating loss.”
Deadly alligator attacks are “extremely rare,” but the “tragedy serves as a somber reminder” of the power of local wildlife, Young said at a news conference Wednesday.
To cut down on the risk of gator attacks, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urges the public to keep their pets away from the water and to only swim in designated areas during the day.
(NEW YORK) — An online legal defense fund for alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione has surpassed $1 million as he prepares to return to court next month.
The fund reached the million-dollar mark on Tuesday, which coincided with Mangione’s 27th birthday.
Mangione is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where his legal team said he “receives anywhere from 10 to 115 letters per day.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hasn’t specifically addressed the defense fund, but he spoke out against the online support for Mangione in general in an interview with ABC News in December.
“Celebrating murder is abhorrent,” Bragg said at the time. “I sit across the table from families who’ve had a loved one killed. And to think of people celebrating that … is beyond comprehension to me.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in connection with the assassination-style murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December.
Mangione is due back in court on June 26 for the state charges. Defense attorneys have asked to either dismiss or delay the state case in favor of the federal case.
If convicted of the federal charges, Mangione could be sentenced to death. Mangione is next due in federal court on Dec. 5.
(FRANKFORT, KY) — Kentucky’s bourbon industry faces potential devastation as President Donald Trump’s latest tariff dispute with Canada threatens to halt $43 million in annual whiskey exports. During Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump maintained his hard stance on tariffs, declaring that Canada would need to make significant concessions to see any relief.
The dispute is part of a broader trade conflict that has particularly impacted American spirits, with Canadian retaliatory tariffs targeting bourbon producers.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), chair of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus, expressed concern about the meeting’s outcomes in an interview with ABC News.
“With Kentucky, Canada is our largest trading partner,” McGarvey said. “We’re going to lose tens of millions of dollars in bourbon sales in Ontario province alone, not to mention the whole country, because of what Trump’s policies are doing.”
The congressman highlighted how the administration’s shifting tariff policies are affecting Kentucky’s distilleries. When asked about conditions for ending the tariffs, Trump indicated there were none, a stance McGarvey found particularly troubling.
“If you’re using tariffs as a negotiating tactic, but then you say there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it, that’s going to be problematic,” McGarvey noted.
McGarvey criticized the administration’s approach to trade policy, highlighting the chaos it has created for local businesses.
“There was one week I was working with the bourbon companies in my district where, quite literally, on Monday, the tariffs were on. On Tuesday, they were off. On Wednesday, they were on. On Thursday, they were off again,” he explained.
The impact extends beyond just sales figures. Kentucky’s bourbon industry supports over 22,500 jobs and contributes $9 billion annually to the state’s economy. The ongoing trade dispute threatens this economic engine, with some distilleries already reporting decreased international orders and considering production cutbacks.
Beyond trade concerns, McGarvey also addressed proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that could impact Kentucky residents.
“The Republican budget that Donald Trump has been pushing will cut Medicaid, 46% of the kids in Kentucky have health insurance through Medicaid,” he said, emphasizing that Kentucky receives more federal Medicaid dollars than its entire state budget.
The congressman, who serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, also expressed strong opposition to recently announced VA staffing cuts.
“Cutting 80,000 people from the VA workforce is not going to help our veterans access their benefits,” McGarvey stated. “We made them a promise, both a legal and a moral obligation, that we would take care of them after their service.”
As negotiations continue with Canada, uncertainty remains about whether a deal can be reached before the 90-day pause expires. McGarvey and his colleagues continue to push for what he calls “serious, certain strategic trade policies that are beneficial to American workers and consumers.”
