By STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — With President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” of tariff implementation fast approaching, Senate Democrats are putting Republican support for some of those plans to the test by forcing a vote to nullify the emergency declaration that underpins the tariffs on Canada.

Republicans have watched with some unease as the president’s attempts to remake global trade have sent the stock market downward, but they have so far stood by Trump’s on-again-off-again threats to levy taxes on imported goods.

Even as the resolution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offered them a potential off-ramp to the tariffs levied on Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to keep senators in line by focusing on fentanyl that comes into the U.S. over its northern border. It was yet another example of how Trump is not only reorienting global economics, but upending his party’s longtime support for ideas like free trade.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., confer as the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee meets to consider President Donald Trump’s nominations for the director of the National Institutes of Health, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“I really relish giving my Republican colleagues the chance to not just say they’re concerned, but actually take an action to stop these tariffs,” Kaine told The Associated Press in an interview last week.

Kaine’s resolution would end the emergency declaration that Trump signed in February to implement tariffs on Canada as punishment for not doing enough to halt the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. If the Senate passes the resolution, it would still need to be taken up by the Republican-controlled House.

A small fraction of the fentanyl that comes into the U.S. enters from Canada. Customs and Border Protection seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the northern border during the 2024 fiscal year, and since January, authorities have seized less than 1.5 pounds, according to federal data. Meanwhile, at the southern border, authorities seized over 21,000 pounds last year.

Kaine warned that tariffs on Canadian goods would ripple through the economy, making it more expensive to build homes and military ships.

“We’re going to pay more for our food products. We’re going to pay more for building supplies,” he said. “So people are already complaining about grocery prices and housing costing too much. So you raise the cost of building supplies and products. It’s a big deal.”

Still, Trump has claimed that the amount of fentanyl coming from Canada is “massive” and pledged to follow through by executing tariffs Wednesday.

“There will never have been a transformation of a Country like the transformation that is happening, for all to see, in the United States of America,” the president said on social media Monday.

Republican leaders in the Senate have signaled they aren’t exactly fans of tariffs, but argued that Trump is using them as a negotiating tool.

“I am supportive of using tariffs in a way to accomplish a specific objective, in this case ending drug traffic,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters last month. He said this week that his “advice remains the same.”

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While Trump’s close allies in the Senate were standing steadfastly by the idea of remaking the U.S. economy through tariffs, others have begun openly voicing their dissatisfaction with trade wars that could disrupt industries and raise prices on autos, groceries, housing and other goods.

“I’m keeping a close eye on all these tariffs because oftentimes the first folks that are hurt in a trade war are your farmers and ranchers,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said he would prefer to see the U.S. and its trading partners move to remove all tariffs on each other, but he conceded that Trump’s tariff threats had injected uncertainty into global markets.

“We’re in uncharted waters,” Kennedy told reporters. “Nobody knows what the impact of these tariffs is going to be.”

By TARA COPP, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, will face questions from senators during his confirmation hearing Tuesday about his qualifications to become the top U.S. military officer.

Caine is a decorated F-16 combat pilot who served in leadership positions in multiple special operations commands and in some of the Pentagon’s most classified programs. He does not, however, meet the prerequisites for Joint Chiefs chairman, although they can be waived by the president.

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Caine was nominated by Trump in February, one day after the president fired the former chairman, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., in a purge of general officers whom he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth viewed as endorsing diversity, equity and inclusion in the ranks.

Caine met Trump when the president visited troops in Iraq in 2018 during his first term. Trump has told political supporters the encounter left an impression on him — and that Caine put on a red “Make America Great Again” hat at the time, something Caine’s inner circle has said is not true.

Caine has been described by former military colleagues as a deeply serious career officer who has spent the past few weeks meeting with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, said a former U.S. official who has helped Caine prepare for the confirmation process and spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details on Caine’s nomination. Hegseth notably refused to meet with many Democrats when he was going through the confirmation process.

Because he retired in December, Caine would need to be sworn back into active duty. That would take place after he is confirmed, and then he would be promoted to four-star general, the official said.

Caine’s nomination following the ouster of Brown is likely to raise questions from some Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee about whether he will remain independent of Trump.

During Trump’s first term, his relationship with then-Chairman Gen. Mark Milley soured as Milley pushed back and took steps to try to prevent what he saw as an attempt to politicize the office, such as by reminding military service members they take an oath to the Constitution, not to a president.

The relationship soured to the extent that within hours of Trump being sworn in office in January, Milley’s portrait as chairman of the Joint Chiefs was removed from the Pentagon. Trump and Hegseth have subsequently stripped Milley of his security clearance and security detail.

Caine does not meet prerequisites laid out in a 1986 law, such as being a combatant commander or service chief. The law, however, allows presidents to waive those requirements to fill the position with someone they are most comfortable with.

While Caine would be the military’s top uniformed officer, his chief duty would be serving as the president’s top military adviser.

But Caine has spent time inside the Pentagon, leading its Special Access Programs Central Office, which oversees what classified information on weapons programs is shared with foreign governments.

He also served as the commander of the joint special operations task force in Iraq in 2008 and as the assistant commanding general of joint special operations command at Fort Bragg. From 2018 to 2019, he was the deputy commanding general of the special operations joint task force for Operation Inherent Resolve, countering the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

He also was associate director for military affairs at the CIA from 2021 until he retired in December.

Caine transferred into the National Guard in 2009 and began working in the private sector, including as an adviser at an investment firm run by the brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

He has more than 2,800 flying hours in the F-16 and has earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster, among other awards.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official warned the U.S. on Tuesday that the world’s biggest trade bloc “holds a lot of cards” when it comes to dealing with the Trump administration’s new tariffs and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to.

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to roll out taxes on imports from other countries on Wednesday. He says they will free the U.S. from reliance on foreign goods.

He’s vowed to impose “reciprocal” tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on U.S. products, dubbing April 2 “Liberation Day.”

“Europe has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate, but if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

The commission, the EU’s executive branch, negotiates trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member countries and manages trade disputes on their behalf.

“Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market. But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm counter measures if necessary. All instruments are on the table,” von der Leyen said, at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, France.

The commission already intends to impose duties on U.S. goods worth some $28 billion in mid-April in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The EU duties will target steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and farm goods.

A lot remains unknown about how Trump’s levies will actually be implemented, notably the “reciprocal” tariffs, and the EU wants to assess their impact before taking retaliatory action.

“So many Europeans feel utterly disheartened by the announcement from the United States,” von der Leyen said. “This is the largest and most prosperous trade relationship worldwide. We would all be better off if we could find a constructive solution.”

St. Paul police are investigating a fatal stabbing in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood.

Officers responded to 911 calls about a man down in front of a residence at 11:30 p.m. Monday. They found the man, who’d been stabbed multiple times, at Sixth Street near Birmingham Street.

St. Paul Fire Department medics took the victim to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police did not immediately make an arrest, and investigators are working to identify a suspect and determine what led to the stabbing, said Sgt. Toy Vixayvong, a St. Paul police spokesman. He didn’t have information early Tuesday on whether the victim was connected to the residence where he was found.

Officers did not locate a weapon, Vixayvong said. The department’s Forensic Services Unit is processing the scene and police are looking for cameras in the area.

The police department will release the man’s name after it’s confirmed by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the homicide to call them at 651-266-5650.

The homicide was the second of the year. As of April 1 last year, there were seven homicides in St. Paul.

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