AFP USA

Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of major US cities on Saturday to oppose the divisive policies of President Donald Trump, in the largest demonstrations since his return to the White House.Opponents of the Republican president’s policies — from government staffing cuts to trade tariffs and eroding civil liberties — rallied in Washington, New York, Houston, Florida, Colorado and Los Angeles, among other locations.”I am so angry, I’m so mad, all the time, yes. A bunch of privileged, white alleged rapists are controlling our country. It’s not great,” said New York painter Shaina Kesner, 43, joining a crowd marching through the heart of Manhattan.In Washington, thousands of demonstrators — many traveling from across the United States — gathered on the National Mall where dozens of speakers rallied opposition to Trump.”We have about 100 people who have come down by bus and van from New Hampshire to protest against this outrageous administration (that) is causing us to lose our allies across the world, and causing devastation to people here at home,” said Diane Kolifrath, 64, a bike tour guide.”They’re gutting our government.”In Los Angeles, a woman dressed as a character from dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” waved a large flag with the message: “Get out of my uterus,” a reference to Trump’s anti-abortion policies.In Denver, Colorado, one man in a large crowd of protesters held up a placard reading “No king for USA.”The rallies even extended to some European capitals, where demonstrators voiced opposition to Trump and his aggressive trade policies.”What’s happening in America is everyone’s problem,” Liz Chamberlin, a dual US-British citizen told AFP at a London rally. “It’s economic lunacy… He is going to push us into a global recession.”And in Berlin, 70-year-old retiree Susanne Fest said Trump had created “a constitutional crisis,” adding, “The guy is a lunatic.”In the US, a loose coalition of left-leaning groups like MoveOn and Women’s March organized “Hands Off” events in more than 1,000 cities and in every congressional district, the groups said. – Anger -Trump has angered many Americans by moving aggressively to downsize the government, unilaterally impose  conservative values and sharply pressure even friendly countries over borders and trade, causing stock markets to tank.”We’re out here to stop the, honestly, fascism,” protester Dominic Santella told AFP in Boston. “We’re stopping a leader from… jailing his opponents, stopping him from jailing just random people, immigrants.”Many Democrats are irate that their party, in the minority in both houses of Congress, has seemed so helpless to resist Trump’s moves.At the National Mall, just blocks from the White House, thousands heard speakers including Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who served as impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment. “No moral person wants an economy-crashing dictator who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,” he told the crowd.Activist Graylan Hagler, 71, also addressed the protest, saying: “They’ve woken up a sleeping giant, and they haven’t seen nothing yet.””We will not sit down, we will not be quiet, and we will not go away.”Saturday’s demonstrations were largely peaceful. An upbeat atmosphere prevailed on a mild day in Washington, with protesters ranging from the elderly to young couples with infants in strollers.A Women’s March shortly after Trump’s first election in 2016 drew an estimated half-million protesters to Washington. Organizers for the latest Washington rally had predicted a turnout of 20,000 but by Saturday afternoon said the number appeared considerably larger. As Trump continues upending Washington, his approval rating has fallen to its lowest since taking office, according to recent polling.But despite global pushback to his sweeping tariffs and bubbling resentment from many Americans, the White House has dismissed the protests.The Republican president, still popular with his base, shows no sign of relenting.”My policies will never change,” Trump said Friday.

When Liz Gabbitas joined thousands of fellow protesters Saturday in the US capital, she thought her message to the Trump administration would be best delivered through her homemade sign: a cardboard guillotine.The 34-year-old librarian made clear she does not advocate violence, but nevertheless insisted that her one-meter (three-foot) sign, complete with tin foil blade, “communicated the visual language” of revolutionary fervor she longs for less than three months into Donald Trump’s presidency.”It’s easy to be overwhelmed with all of the horrible things going on” under Trump’s leadership, she told AFP at the base of the Washington Monument, just blocks from the White House.”I’m worried that the separation of powers is dissolving,” she added, noting Trump’s dramatic expansion of executive authority. “And I do worry that people get into the trap of feeling like, well there’s nothing I can do.”Americans were taking action all around her, however, on the biggest day of national “Hands Off” protests since Trump returned to power.Hand-scrawled “Resist” signs poked up from the crowd, which organizers said amounted to more than 20,000 people.Some protesters dressed in the red cloaks of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a popular novel and TV series about a totalitarian society. Others carried American flags upside down, traditionally a symbol of distress or danger to the country’s liberties. “You did Nazi this coming,” screamed a sign.Bob Dylan’s protest classic “Masters of War” oozed from a portable speaker. A larger-than-life paper mache model of Elon Musk, the billionaire whom Trump has tasked with slashing the federal workforce, cast a fascist salute.”Because of Trump and Elon and DOGE, my project died and I was laid off,” said Annette, a 39-year-old from Oregon who recently lost her government contractor job in international development.While she fears a collapse in US-funded humanitarian work worldwide, “I’m really heartened to see so many people out here,” she said.But “this is not enough… Congress needs to get off their asses, I think,” she said.”Unfortunately,” she added, “I feel this in my heart that people aren’t going to come out until it hurts them personally somehow.”- ‘Coup’ by oligarchs -Half a mile away, Shelly Townley and her husband were making their way past the White House, provocatively holding an upside-down American flag and a sign reading “Stop the Musk Coup.””I feel sad. This is the first time I’ve walked by here without crying,” Townley, a 62-year-old from North Carolina, told AFP. “I believe we’re under a coup right now, by oligarchs, much to my dismay,” and “the checks and balances of our government” are disintegrating, she added.Even though Trump was away in Florida, Townley found herself looking at the White House through tall metal fencing erected ahead of the rally.”I wish that instead of being at a golf tournament at Mar-a-Lago that he was in there and could see what was happening out here, that the people are out here” opposing his policies, she said.Not everyone was comfortable openly protesting in public, especially given Trump’s executive order issued last week that approves deployment of “a more robust Federal law enforcement presence” in Washington. A 51-year-old woman who represents an NGO said she was wearing a mask “to protect my identity.””I think they are using AI and different recognition technologies to out people and to then punish them,” she added.”It’s all about loyalty with this administration,” she warned. “And if you’re disloyal, you’re at risk of losing everything.”

Washington is revoking all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and blocking new arrivals, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, complaining the African nation is not accepting its nationals expelled from the United States.The State Department “is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry,” Rubio said in a statement.It was the first such measure singling out all passport holders from a particular country since Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, having campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.Rubio accused the transitional government in Juba of “taking advantage of the United States,” saying that “every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country… seeks to remove them.”Washington “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” Rubio added.The world’s newest country and also one of the poorest, South Sudan is currently prey to tensions between political leaders.Some observers fear a renewal of the civil war that killed 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.South Sudanese nationals had been granted “temporary protected status” (TPS) by the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, with the designation set to expire on May 3, 2025.The United States grants TPS, which shields people against deportation, to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions.There were about 133 South Sudanese in the United States under the TPS program, with another 140 eligible to apply, the Department of Homeland Security said in September 2023.But the Trump White House has begun overturning TPS designations, revoking protection in January from more than 600,000 Venezuelans.A federal judge this week put that decision on hold after calling into question the government’s claims that the majority of Venezuelans in the US were criminals.According to the Pew Research Center, as of March 2024 there were 1.2 million people eligible for or receiving TPS in the United States, with Venezuelans making up the largest group.The Trump administration’s singling out of South Sudan also comes after growing numbers of Africans attempted to enter the US via its southern border — an alternative to risky routes into Europe.

Protesters flooded the streets of several major US cities on Saturday to oppose the divisive policies of President Donald Trump, in the largest demonstrations since his return to the White House.Opponents of the Republican president’s policies — from government staffing cuts to trade tariffs and eroding civil liberties — rallied in Washington, New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Florida, among other locations.”I am so angry, I’m so mad, all the time, yes. A bunch of privileged, white alleged rapists are controlling our country. It’s not great,” said New York painter Shaina Kesner, 43, joining a crowd that marched through the heart of Manhattan.In Washington, thousands of demonstrators — many traveling from across the United States — gathered on the National Mall where dozens of speakers rallied opposition to Trump.”We have about 100 people who have come down by bus and van from New Hampshire to protest against this outrageous administration (that) is causing us to lose our allies across the world, and causing devastation to people here at home,” said Diane Kolifrath, 64, a bike tour guide.”They’re gutting our government.”The rallies even extended to some European capitals, where demonstrators voiced opposition to Trump and his aggressive trade policies.”What’s happening in America is everyone’s problem,” Liz Chamberlin, a dual US-British citizen told AFP at a London rally. “It’s economic lunacy… He is going to push us into a global recession.”And in Berlin, 70-year-old retiree Susanne Fest said Trump had created “a constitutional crisis,” adding, “The guy is a lunatic.”In the US, a loose coalition of left-leaning groups like MoveOn and Women’s March organized “Hands Off” events in more than 1,000 cities and in every congressional district, the groups said. – Anger -Trump has angered many Americans by moving aggressively to downsize the government, unilaterally impose  conservative values and sharply pressure even friendly countries over borders and trade, causing stock markets to tank.”We’re out here to stop the, honestly, fascism at this point. We’re stopping a leader from… jailing his opponents, stopping him from jailing just random people, immigrants,” protester Dominic Santella told AFP at a rally in Boston.Many Democrats are irate that their party, in the minority in both houses of Congress, has seemed so helpless to resist Trump’s aggressive moves.At the National Mall, just blocks from the White House, thousands heard speakers including Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who served as impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment. “No moral person wants an economy-crashing dictator who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,” he told the crowd.Activist Graylan Hagler, 71, also addressed the protest, saying: “They’ve woken up a sleeping giant, and they haven’t seen nothing yet.””We will not sit down, we will not be quiet, and we will not go away.”Saturday’s demonstrations were largely peaceful. An upbeat atmosphere prevailed on a mild day in Washington, with protesters ranging from the elderly to young couples with infants in strollers.Protesters braved rain and gloomy conditions in New York to voice their anger.A Women’s March protest shortly after Trump’s first election in 2016 drew an estimated half-million people to Washington. Organizers for the latest Washington rally had predicted a turnout of 20,000 but by Saturday afternoon said the number appeared considerably larger. As Trump continues upending Washington, his approval rating has fallen to its lowest since taking office, according to recent polling.But despite global pushback to his sweeping tariffs, and bubbling resentment from many Americans, the White House has dismissed the protests.The Republican president, still popular with his base, has shown no sign of relenting.”My policies will never change,” Trump said Friday.

Panama hopes to maintain a “respectful” relationship with the United States, even as President Donald Trump has repeated threats to retake the Panama Canal, Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said Saturday.His comments came ahead of a visit next week by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a trip made more urgent against the backdrop of Trump’s threats and his allegations of Chinese interference in the canal. “We discussed illegal migration, organized crime, drug trafficking and (other issues),” Martinez-Acha wrote on X of a call Friday with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. “It was a cordial and constructive exchange.””I reiterated that all cooperation from Panama will take place under the framework of our constitution, our laws, and the Canal Neutrality Treaty,” he wrote. “Relations with the US must remain respectful, transparent and mutually beneficial.”The US State Department said Landau had “expressed gratitude for Panama’s cooperation in halting illegal immigration and working with the United States to secure a nearly 98 percent decrease in illegal immigration through the Darien jungle,” an arduous path northward followed by many migrants.The two officials also discussed the sale last month by the Hong Kong company CK Hutchison to giant US asset manager BlackRock of its concession in ports at either end of the Panama Canal, Martinez-Acha added. Panama’s comptroller has been conducting an audit of Hutchison since January.Landau “recognized Panama’s actions in curbing malign Chinese Communist Party influence,” the State Department said.The deal was set to close on April 2 but has been held up as Chinese regulators pursue an investigation.The United States and China are the two biggest users of the Panama Canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade, giving it vital economic and geostrategic importance. It was inaugurated by the United States in 1914 and has been in Panamanian hands since 1999.

Thousands of people descended Saturday on Washington’s National Mall and rallied in other cities across the United States and abroad in opposition to the policies of Donald Trump, in the largest protests since he returned to the presidency.A big “HANDS OFF!” banner stretched across the stage of an outdoor theater just a few blocks from the White House, with protesters holding signs that read “Not My President!”, “Fascism has Arrived,”  “Hands Off Our Social Security” and “Wake Up and Smell the Coup.”Jane Ellen Saums, 66, said she was dismayed to see the Trump administration dismantling America’s long-standing democratic institutions.”It’s extremely concerning to see what is happening to our government, and all of the checks and balances that have been put in place that are being totally run over — everything from the environment to personal rights,” said the real estate worker who came dressed as Mother Nature, wrapped in ivy and holding a globe.At a time of spreading global resentment against the Republican president — heightened by his announcement Wednesday of sweeping tariffs against scores of countries — demonstrators also marched in several European capitals.”What’s happening in America is everyone’s problem,” Liz Chamberlin, a dual US-British citizen living in England told AFP at a London rally. “It’s economic lunacy… He is going to push us into a global recession.”And in Berlin, 70-year-old retiree Susanne Fest said Trump had created “a constitutional crisis,” adding, “The guy is a lunatic.”In the US, a loose coalition of dozens of left-leaning groups like MoveOn and Women’s March organized “Hands Off” events in more than 1,000 cities and in every congressional district, the groups said. The unifying theme: the growing resentment of what another organizing group, Indivisible, has called “the most brazen power grab in modern history,” led by Trump and his close advisor Elon Musk.Trump has angered many Americans by moving aggressively to downsize the government, unilaterally impose his conservative values and sharply pressure even friendly countries over borders and trade terms — causing stock markets to tank.”People here in the United States are really not cool with what’s going on in DC right now,” protester Rachael Nevins told AFP at a rally in New York.Many Democrats are irate that their party, in the minority in both houses of Congress, has seemed so helpless to resist Trump’s aggressive moves.”The Democrat Party is kind of wimping out… and not actually standing up for our rights,” said Abbott Sherwin, 19, a college student from Raleigh, North Carolina who was marching in Washington, adding that “the Republican Party is a cult around Trump.” – Sleeping giant awakened? –  Thousands of people convened on the National Mall, just blocks from the White House, to hear speakers including Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who served as impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment. “They’ve woken up a sleeping giant, and they haven’t seen nothing yet,” activist Graylan Hagler, 71, told the crowd. “We will not sit down, we will not be quiet, and we will not go away.”Saturday’s demonstrations were largely peaceful. A festive atmosphere prevailed on a mild day in Washington, with protesters ranging from the elderly to young couples with infants in strollers.A Women’s March protest shortly after Trump’s first election in 2016 drew an estimated half-million people to Washington. Organizers for the latest Washington rally had predicted a turnout of 20,000 but by Saturday afternoon said the number appeared considerably larger. As Trump continues aggressively shaking things up in Washington and beyond, his approval rating has fallen to its lowest since taking office, according to recent polling.But despite pushback around the globe to his sweeping imposition of tariffs, and bubbling resentment from many Americans, the White House has dismissed the protests.The Republican president, still popular with his base, has given no sign of relenting.”My policies will never change,” Trump said Friday.

US President Donald Trump doubled down Saturday on sweeping tariffs he unleashed on countries around the world, warning Americans of pain ahead, but promising historic investment and prosperity.The comments came as Trump’s widest-ranging trade measures took effect in a move that could trigger retaliation and escalating economic tensions, with the British and French leaders saying “nothing should be off the table” in response.Trump, acknowledging global turbulence, urged Americans to be patient.”We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before,” he wrote on Truth Social.”This is an economic revolution, and we will win,” the Republican president added. “Hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”A 10 percent “baseline” tariff came into place just after midnight, hitting most US imports except goods from Mexico and Canada, as Trump invoked emergency economic powers.But in a potential sign of disagreement between Trump and close advisor Elon Musk, the tech billionaire on Saturday said he hoped the US and Europe could move eventually toward a “zero-tariff situation.” That could effectively create “a free-trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in talks in Rome with Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini.The EU, Japan and China are among around 60 trading partners set to face even higher rates on April 9.Trump’s steep 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods, set to kick in next week, triggered Beijing’s announcement of a 34 percent tariff on US products from April 10.Beijing also said it would sue Washington at the World Trade Organization and restrict exports of rare earth elements used in medical and electronics technology.”China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump said in his post. “They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly.”As other major trading partners eyed possible recession, the French and British leaders said “nothing should be off the table.”At the same time, “a trade war was in nobody’s interests,” French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed in a call, Starmer’s office said.- Markets collapse -Wall Street went into free fall Friday, following similar plunges in Asia and Europe as economists warn tariffs could dampen growth and fuel inflation.Trump’s latest tariffs have notable exclusions, however.They do not stack onto recently imposed 25 percent tariffs hitting imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles.Also temporarily spared are copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber, alongside “certain critical minerals” and energy products, the White House said.But Trump has ordered investigations into copper and lumber, which could soon lead to further levies.He has threatened to hit other industries like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as well, meaning any reprieve might be short lived.Canada and Mexico are unaffected by the latest move as they already face separate duties of up to 25 percent on goods entering the United States outside a North America trade agreement.- Retaliation risk -While Trump’s staggered deadlines allow space for countries to negotiate, “if they can’t get a reprieve, they are likely to retaliate, as China already has,” Oxford Economics warned this week.EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the bloc, which faces a 20 percent tariff, will act in “a calm, carefully phased, unified way” and allow time for talks.But he said it “won’t stand idly by.”France and Germany have said the EU could respond by imposing a tax on US technology companies.Japan’s prime minister called for a “calm-headed” approach after Trump unveiled 24 percent tariffs on Japanese-made goods.Since returning to the presidency, Trump has hit imports from Canada and Mexico with tariffs over illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling claims, and imposed an additional 20 percent rate on goods from China.Come April 9, the added levy on Chinese products this year will reach 54 percent.Trump’s 25 percent auto tariffs also took effect this week, and Jeep-owner Stellantis has paused production at some Canadian and Mexican plants.Trump’s new global levies mark “the most sweeping tariff hike since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the 1930 law best remembered for triggering a global trade war and deepening the Great Depression,” said the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Oxford Economics estimates the action will push the average effective US tariff rate to 24 percent, “higher even than those seen in the 1930s.”

US senators on Saturday approved a budget blueprint unlocking trillions of dollars for sweeping tax cuts promised by President Donald Trump, despite bitter infighting among the majority Republicans over the savings that will be needed to fund them.Working deep into the night, lawmakers voted 51-48, mostly along party lines, to approve the resolution, with two prominent Republicans opposing the measure. It now moves to the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority, and where hard-liners and fiscal hawks have criticized the Senate version. The Senate vote came at a time when Trump’s sweeping tariffs imposed on dozens of trading partners sent global stocks plummeting, with Democrats arguing that now is not the time to be entertaining significantly reduced government spending.”President Trump’s tariff tax is one of the dumbest things he has ever done as president, and that’s saying something,” CNN quoted Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer as saying.Schumer submitted an amendment targeting Trump’s tariffs, but it did not receive enough support for adoption.Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky joined the Democrats in opposing the budget resolution.But nearly every Republican stood by the president, with Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana saying in a brief statement: “President Trump wants to balance the budget and decrease our debt. I agree.”- Depth of cuts -Senate and House Republicans have been at loggerheads over how deeply to wield the knife, with lawmakers already wary of public anger over an unprecedented downsizing of the federal bureaucracy led by Trump’s tech billionaire advisor Elon Musk.Both chambers need to adopt identical versions of the budget blueprint — a task that has proven beyond them during months of fraught talks — before they can draft Trump’s giant bill to extend his first-term tax cuts and boost border security and energy production.”This bill lays the groundwork to provide additional funding to keep the border secure, grow our energy dominance, build a strong national defense, cut wasteful spending and prevent a tax increase on families and small businesses,” Republican Senator James Lankford said after the vote.Senators spent much of the all-night session voting on dozens of proposed tweaks to the plan — in a so-called “vote-a-rama” —  with some proposals aimed at forcing Republicans onto the record over Trump’s tariffs on imports from countries around the world.Having made it through the Senate, the spending plan still needs approval by the House, with Republican leaders desperate to get it to Trump’s desk before Congress begins a two-week Easter break next Friday.Democrats have slammed the framework, claiming it will trigger further major cuts to essential services.- ‘Dead on arrival’ -The proposal would raise the country’s borrowing limit by $5 trillion to avoid a debt default this summer, staving off the need for a further hike until after the 2026 midterm elections.Experts say the tax cuts — which would greatly expand the relief agreed in 2017 — could add in excess of $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.The libertarian Cato Institute called the resolution a “fiscal train wreck” that “actively worsens our nation’s debt trajectory.”Trump, who has talked up the plan on social media, offered his “complete and total support” for the text at a White House event earlier in the week.But Senate and House Republicans have been oceans apart on spending cuts, with the upper chamber looking for modest savings of $4 billion, while House leadership is demanding a reduction of $1.5 trillion. Republican Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a hard-line conservative, was asked about supporting the Senate resolution and told reporters: “To me, it’s dead on arrival.”

US senators were set to vote Saturday on unlocking trillions of dollars for sweeping tax cuts promised by President Donald Trump, despite bitter infighting among the majority Republicans over the savings that will be needed to fund them.The row comes with Wall Street leading a global markets bloodbath as countries around the world reel from Trump’s trade war, and Democrats argue that now is not the time to be entertaining significantly reduced government spending.But the Senate’s Republican leadership was just as concerned with friendly fire from its own disgruntled rank and file as it prepared for the make-or-break vote on a Trump-backed “budget resolution” that kick-starts negotiations on how to usher the president’s domestic agenda into law.Senate and House Republicans have been at loggerheads over how deeply to wield the knife, with lawmakers already wary of public anger over an unprecedented downsizing of the federal bureaucracy led by Trump’s tech billionaire advisor Elon Musk.Both chambers need to adopt identical versions of the budget blueprint — a task that has proven beyond them during months of fraught talks — before they can draft Trump’s giant bill to extend his first-term tax cuts and boost border security and energy production.”This resolution is the first step toward a final bill to make permanent the tax relief we implemented in 2017 and deliver a transformational investment in our border, national, and energy security – all accompanied by substantial savings,” Republican Senate leader John Thune said. Senators were locked in an all-night session to vote on dozens of proposed tweaks to the plan — some of which were aimed at forcing Republicans onto the record over Trump’s tariffs on imports from countries around the world.- ‘Vote-a-rama’ -They hoped to move to a vote on final passage later Saturday morning, although the timetable depends on how quickly the upper chamber of Congress can get through its marathon so-called “vote-a-rama” on the amendments.If the plan gets through the Senate, it will still need approval by the House, with Republican leaders desperate to get it to Trump’s desk before Congress begins a two-week Easter break next Friday.Democrats have slammed the framework, claiming it will trigger further major cuts to essential services.The proposal would raise the country’s borrowing limit by $5 trillion to avoid a debt default this summer, staving off the need for a further hike until after the 2026 midterm elections.Experts say the tax cuts — which would greatly expand the relief agreed in 2017 — could add in excess of $5 trillion to national debt over the next decade.The libertarian Cato Institute called the resolution a “fiscal train wreck” that “actively worsens our nation’s debt trajectory.”Trump, who has been talking up the plan on social media, offered his “complete and total support” for the text at a White House event on Wednesday.But Senate and House Republicans are oceans apart on spending cuts, with the upper chamber looking for modest savings of $4 billion, while House leadership is demanding a reduction of $1.5 trillion. Republican Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina was asked about supporting the Senate resolution and told reporters: “To me, it’s dead on arrival.”