President Donald Trump wrapped up his second term’s 28th week in office announcing he would reposition two nuclear submarines amid increased tension with Russia, after just adding new tariffs to a host of countries.
On Monday, Trump unveiled a new deadline for Russia to end its conflict with Ukraine, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the announcement is an additional ‘step towards war.’
In response, Trump made a rare announcement Friday that he would reposition two submarines to best respond to the escalated tension between the two countries.
‘Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,’ Trump said in a Friday post on Truth Social.
Trump did not disclose any additional details regarding the submarines, and defense officials rarely comment on submarine placement given the highly classified nature of their operations.
Here’s what also happened this week:
New tariffs
Trump also signed several executive orders Thursday related to tariffs, including raising the tariffs on Canada from 25% to 35%.
The president raised the tariff rate due to Canada’s contribution to the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S., according to the Trump administration. However, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney challenged that assessment.
‘Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes,’ Carney said in a Friday statement.
Trump also modified reciprocal tariffs on a series of countries Thursday, bumping up the tariff rate on Brazil to 50%.
Meanwhile, Trump reached a trade deal on Thursday with South Korea, driving down tariffs against South Korea from 25% as pitched in the spring to 15%. Additionally, Trump agreed Thursday to continue trade talks with Mexico for another 90 days.
Veterans housing legislation
Trump also signed the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act into law Wednesday, which would make permanent a partial claims program that seeks to keep veterans from losing their homes to foreclosure.
The new partial claims program under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ (VA) Home Loan Program permits veterans who are behind on mortgage payments to tack on those payments to the tail end of their loans, while also offering them an interest-free loan in the interim.
‘This legislation provides desperately needed relief to veterans and their families who have fallen behind in their mortgages,’ Trump told reporters Wednesday. ‘It’s a really sort of an amazing situation, and it helps keep our promise to end veterans homelessness. And, we’re going to do that for America. We’re going to do that for our great veterans.’
Estimates suggest the partial claim program could assist up to 3.7 million veterans, according to Trump.
‘It’s common sense legislation,’ Trump said. ‘My administration is committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our veterans are treated with respect and treated as well as anybody in this country.’
