Trump’s Gaza, Tariffs, and Pam Bondi
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another week of Politics Explained. We hope you all are having a fantastic start to February. This week in Politics a lot of new news has developed from the White House, including President Trump’s plans to take over Gaza, his proposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, and Pam Bondi becoming Attorney General. With all that to cover, let's get right into it.
Earlier this week, President Trump unveiled his plans to take over the Gaza Strip in the Middle East. Gaza has been an area where Hamas and Israel have been fighting for just a little over a year. In mid-January, a ceasefire was agreed upon by both sides and has started to go into effect. Trump’s plan stated that once Israel captures Gaza, they will give ownership to the U.S., and the U.S. will move all the Palestinians within Gaza out and completely redo the land. Trump wants to transform the land into a very lavish place. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed the President on the matter, stating it was a “remarkable idea.” As we dig deep into the matter, many officials inside the White House said that they were blown away and not informed ahead of time. This is a very surprising proposal from the President and we will keep you all updated on it!
Next up is President Trump’s impending tariffs* that he wants to implement on all Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese goods. Trump planned on enacting a 25% tariff on all Mexican and Canadian imports. That was postponed due to very long conversations with the leaders of both Mexico and Canada. The tariffs have been postponed a month, as both Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen their borders in accordance with Trump’s policies. Mexico will send 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the border, while Canada will invest $1.3 billion in their border control. Meanwhile, for China, a 10% tariff has been enacted and has gone into effect on all imported goods, on top of previous tariffs on Chinese goods. As talks continue with Mexico and Canada, we will keep you updated.
Lastly, Pam Bondi, a former Florida Attorney General (2011-2019), has been confirmed as Attorney General of the United States. Bondi was confirmed with 54 votes, as one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), voted for her. Pam Bondi was Trump’s second choice to be Attorney General after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, dropped out of contention. Bondi has been a big supporter of the President and even helped fend off the previous impeachment attempts against the President in his first term. More nominations will be voted on by the Senate in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!
*Definition of the Week (Tariffs): A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country on imports or exports of goods.
