5 takeaways from the week — from a softer approach on trade to Hegseth in hot water

We’ll be recapping what you need to know every Friday morning for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Get more updates and analysis in the NPR Politics newsletter.

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After weeks of volatility because of Trump’s trade war, the stock markets this week responded positively to Trump softening his tone toward China and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has been wading in hot water; Trump looks to live up to the dealmaker reputation he has sought to project, trying for a nuclear deal with Iran, while also growing irritated with the inability to get a peace plan agreed to between Russia and Ukraine; and he continues to mix politics and money.

Here are five takeaways from week 14 in our continued look at Trump’s first 100 days in office:

1. A softening toward China and Powell. 

Trump doesn’t need to focus on public opinion because he’s constitutionally barred from running for a third term — even though several polls this week showed his approval ratings on the decline and vulnerable congressional Republicans might wish he took their findings to heart.

But one thing he has always reacted to is investors. The stock market was on track for its worst performance at the beginning of a presidency since the Great Depression. But then Trump ditched the hot rhetoric toward China and the Fed chair. He said 145% tariffs remain in place toward China but that the White House and China are in talks to find a different, reasonable number. On Monday, Trump on social media called Powell a “major loser.”

But a day later, he said he had “no intention” of firing Powell. As a result, the markets are up. But it has been a bumpy ride since the beginning of the month — and the uncertainty hasn’t been cleared up, not just for Wall Street, but small businesses and farmers, who operate on very slim margins.

2. Hegseth in hot water.

The number of stories in the past week about problems in Hegseth’s Defense Department has been extraordinary. Here’s a look at some:

• The New York Times reports on Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of the U.S. strikes on Yemen in a message group with his wife, brother and personal lawyer.
• A former Pentagon spokesman, John Ullyot — someone who was close with Hegseth and worked in the first Trump administration, too — writes an op-ed the same day in Politico describing “a month of total chaos” and predicts Trump will fire Hegseth. 
• The next day, at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Hegseth blasts the media for using “anonymous sources” from “disgruntled, former employees” in its reporting about him. 
• NPR and others report on Tuesday that Hegseth was cutting and pasting information from a secure channel sent by the head of U.S. Central Command, Erik Kurilla, to the Signal chat groups.

• CBS News reports on Wednesday that Hegseth had a makeup studio installed at the Pentagon. 
• CNN reports that Jennifer Hegseth, his wife, put in papers for a security clearance despite not having a job in the Pentagon. 

Few Republicans have been critical or have been willing to speak out. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she fears “retaliation.” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., did raise concerns, saying if he were president he wouldn’t “tolerate” Hegseth’s behavior. “He’s acting like he’s above the law,” he said, “and that shows an amateur person.”

But Murkowski and Bacon are unique figures. Murkowski has a famous last name in her state and has been tested before, winning a statewide write-in campaign after conservatives tried to oust her. Bacon is one of the few Republicans in a district that Democrat Kamala Harris won. There has been a decreasing number of swing districts, only a few dozen now.

So for most other Republicans, there’s no incentive for them to speak out because of the power Trump has with the base and risk of a primary challenge.

That insulates Hegseth to an extent because often divisions within a president’s party are leading indicators for a Cabinet member’s ouster. At the end of the day, few people last in Cabinet positions for the entirety of a president’s term, but dismissing one this early would be highly unusual. Only 13 Cabinet members in history have served less than 100 days. Trump’s is coming up on Wednesday.

The White House said it is firmly behind Hegseth, contending that the “entire” Pentagon is resisting him. NPR reported that the White House is, however, looking at potential replacements if the president changes his mind — or things get even worse.

3. Trump really wants to make international deals, but so far, they’ve been elusive.

The man, who wrote The Art of the Deal and considers himself the dealmaker of all dealmakers, really wants them made to end the Russia-Ukraine war and with Iran over its nuclear program.

But it hasn’t proved to be so easy.

Trump has promised to quickly put an end to the war in Ukraine — 24 hours, in fact. But, this week, Trump lashed out at Ukraine’s president — again — saying he was harder to deal with than Russia and accused him of derailing negotiations. The U.S. wants Ukraine to officially cede Crimea and to pledge never to join NATO. Trump was critical of Russia’s Vladimir Putin on social media for continuing to bombard Ukraine, but there have been no concessions the Trump administration has publicly asked of Russia.

Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have threatened that the U.S. would walk away from the table if a deal isn’t reached.

Asked whether the U.S. would, indeed, walk away, Trump said to ask the question again in “two weeks.”

As for an Iran deal, Trump said Thursday it was “well on its way.” Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran deal struck under President Obama, which he called at the time “the worst deal ever.” But it’s not clear if that’s the case, and it’s easy to forget that Trump promised to forge one with Iran during his first term — one that looked similar to the original Obama deal.

4. The commodification of politics.

Unlike any past president, Trump is mixing money and the White House. He sold lots of tchotchkes during the campaign, from boots to Bibles, gold sneakers, victory medallions, NFTs and more.

That’s continued into his presidency. He had billionaire CEOs on the dais at his inauguration. He raised a record amount of money for the inauguration, more than $200 million. There’s a “Trump Store” website, where people can also buy any number of Trump-branded products, from hats, including one for Trump 2028, to luggage tags to golf apparel, even candles.

This week, he held the White House Easter Egg Roll, which, for the first time, included corporate sponsors other than the American Egg Board, which has traditionally backed the event. He was also promoting his crypto meme coin with a contest for the top 220 holders of it to win a dinner with the president next month. The top 25 would get “VIP access.” His meme coin’s value jumped after the contest announcement.

It’s just the latest example of Trump doing something that is far outside the norm for president. — and raises all kinds of questions about conflicts of interest and ethics.

Here’s a day-by-day look at what happened in the past week:

Friday, April 18:

• The State Department has changed what it defines as human rights. Despite decades of bipartisan agreement on American values, the State Department removed, according to  NPR reporting, “longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process.”
• Secretary of State Rubio says the U.S. could pause its Russia-Ukraine peace deal efforts. “So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” Rubio said after talks Thursday with European and Ukrainian officials. “If it is, we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on.”
• The U.S. strikes a Houthi oil port overnight, killing more than 70 people.
• Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she fears retribution from the Trump administration for speaking out. “We are all afraid,” Murkowski said, taking a long pause. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

Saturday:

• The White House is soliciting corporate sponsorship for the White House Easter Egg Roll for the first time.  
• There were more anti-Trump protests across the country. 
• The Washington Post reports that cuts at Health and Human Services are impacting “programs that help people compare IVF clinics, monitor safety in fertility and make sense of health data. … in a move some maternal health experts predict will have an enduring effect on women and children.”
• Is the country in a constitutional crisis? NPR’s Nina Totenberg writes, “Think of the country right now as the pot on a stove. A week ago, one might have said that the flame controlling the temperature was on medium. But in the days since then, the pot has been inching closer to high, and a full-on clash between the Supreme Court and the president.”

Sunday:

• The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. is waiting on Ukraine for its response to a peace plan with Russia. It includes Ukraine’s recognition of the annexation of Crimea and that Ukraine will never join NATO. 
• Reuters reports that Ukraine reported almost 3,000 violations during Russia’s own Easter “ceasefire.”
• El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, proposes sending imprisoned U.S.-deported Venezuelans to Venezuela for a prisoner swap.
• The New York Times reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of the U.S. strikes on Yemen in a message group with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. 
• John Ullyot, a former Pentagon spokesman writes an opinion piece in Politico – with his name on it – describing “a month of total chaos” and predicts Trump will fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 
• Trump shattered a record, raising $239 million for his inauguration. 
• Vice President Vance met with Pope Francis. Francis has been critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. 
• The New York Times reports on a draft proposal that would drastically reduce the size of the State Department. It would eliminate almost all U.S. footprint on the African continent, shutting down embassies and consulates, as well as offices related to climate change, human rights and democracy at State Department headquarters in D.C.
• Four more House Democrats travel to El Salvador to call attention to the deportation and imprisonment of Kilmer Abrego Garcia — Reps. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. and Robert Garcia, D-Calif. 

Monday:

• Pope Francis dies. 
• Vice President Vance and his wife, Usha, are in India. Vance and India’s prime minister, Modi, say they’re making “significant” progress” in trade talks.
• Thousands attend the White House Easter Egg Roll event. 
• Harvard sues the Trump administration.
• Trump says in a social media post that due process for all immigrants in the U.S. without permanent legal status is not possible. “We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years,” he says.
• NPR reports the White House is looking at potential replacements for Hegseth. The White House says Trump still backs Hegseth and that the “entire Pentagon” is resisting him. 
• At the White House Easter Egg Roll, Hegseth blasts the media. “This is what the media does,” he says. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled, former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not gonna work with me. Because we’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter.” The former Pentagon spokesman, who wrote his opinion piece in Politico was not anonymous, and he had previously been close to Hegseth.
• The Education Department says it will resume collections of student loans of those who have defaulted. 
• The U.S. imposes a 3,521% tariff on solar panels from Southeast Asia, Bloomberg reports. 
• The stock market is off to the worst start for any presidency since 1928. 
• Colorado is fighting Trump administration pressure to help a county election clerk convicted of allowing Trump supporters to access election equipment after his 2020 defeat.
• Detained pro-Palestinian Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil was denied release for the birth of his first child. 
• Israeli airstrikes kill 17 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment, like bulldozers provided by mediators, to clear rubble. 
• Six, plain-clothes private security officers were charged with misdemeanors, including battery, for the forcible removal of a woman from a Republican Party meeting in Idaho.
• Another female commander was suspended, this time because her base failed to post photos of President Trump and Vice President Vance, per Fox News. 
• The New York Times reports that the White House is looking at ways to try and persuade women to have more children.
• Trump calls Fed Chair Powell a “major loser” on social media. 
• Trump announces that he will give the commencement addresses at West Point and the University of Alabama. 
• Trump met with CEOs, who warned about potential costs of tariffs, bare shelves by summer and shortages of key products, Axios reports.
• Army recruitment is up, according to Military.com. 
• Venezuela’s Maduro rejects El Salvador’s proposal for a prisoner swap that would have included detainees in El Salvador, who had been deported from the U.S.

Tuesday:

• The AP reports on the infighting that’s starting to emerge out of the Trump administration’s second term. 
• NPR and others report that Hegseth was cutting and pasting information from a secure channel sent by the head of U.S. Central Command, Erik Kurilla, to Signal chat groups.
• Trump attends a dinner hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent honoring the Amir of Qatar.
• Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., raises concerns about Hegseth, saying if he were president he wouldn’t “tolerate” Hegseth’s behavior. “He’s acting like he’s above the law,” Bacon tells Politico, “and that shows an amateur person.”
• The Washington Post reports on a major proposed reorganization of the State Department that includes the elimination of 132 offices and 700 jobs, many of which focus on global human rights. It also would create a Bureau of Emerging Threats to focus on cybersecurity and AI.
• The Environmental Protection Agency has let 450 employees know they will be reassigned or fired. They had worked on environmental justice or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, The Washington Post reports. 
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announces his intention to phase out petroleum-based food dyes. 
• Bessent tells investors that trade war with China is unsustainable and that he expects a de-escalation soon. 
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the president has the right to express his view that interest rates should be lowered. 
• Rubio is no longer going to a planned meeting with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy in London.
• Trump says he has no intention of firing Fed Chair Powell. 
• Trump reiterates that due process is not possible for all immigrants. “We’re getting them out,” Trump says, “and a judge can’t say, ‘No, you have to have a trial.’ The trial is going to take two years. We’re going to have a very dangerous country if we’re not allowed to do what we’re entitled to do.”
• With Tesla profits plunging 71%, Elon Musk says he’ll spend less time on DOGE. 
• The International Monetary Fund warns of Trump’s tariffs and its potential effect on the U.S. economy.
• A survey of some 500 political scientists shows they believe the U.S. is lurching toward authoritarianism. 
• CBS News reports on a “registry to track Americans with autism” and compiling data from their medical records and commercially available databases at the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.

Wednesday:

• Politico looks at the rivalries inside the Pentagon among those surrounding Hegseth, including a controversial departing chief of staff.
• Trump tells reporters he’s putting up two American flag poles on the White House grounds that will be 100 feet high and “paid for by Trump.”
• Democrats send a letter to the Social Security inspector general wanting an investigation into Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s restructuring and cuts at the agency, The Washington Post reports.
• A Harvard Youth Poll finds that just 15% of 18-29-year-olds think the country is heading the right direction; just 25% say the country is better off under Trump than Biden. Trump gets a 31% approval rating. But Democrats fare even worse. More young voters now approve of the job Republicans are doing in Congress (29%) than Democrats (23%). Since 2019, the percentage approving of the job congressional Democrats are doing dropped 19 points.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio says of a potential deal with Iran: “If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one.”
• The Trump administration is shutting down the women’s health initiative, a major long-term study of women’s health. It was started because much of the research that had been conducted for decades was focused on men’s health. 
• Trump slams Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for rejecting a U.S. peace proposal with Russia. Vice President Vance says the U.S. will walk away if it can’t get a deal soon. Trump also accuses Zelenskyy of derailing negotiations. 
• Trump signs executive orders on education and says too many schools are focused on “diversity” instead of “discipline.” 
• The U.S. is sending signals that it’s ready to negotiate with China. “China isn’t doing any business” in the U.S., Trump contends and says he didn’t bring down the 145% tariff. But he adds that there will hopefully be a deal and a fair number agreed to soon, but if there isn’t, “that’s OK.”
• Treasury Secretary Bessent takes a softer tone toward China in a speech, saying the U.S. wants to help China rebalance trade rather than be reliant on exports. 
• Trump also softens his tone toward Fed Chair Powell. He was critical of rates being too high, but without fiery rhetoric.
• CNN reports that Jennifer Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s wife, put in papers for a security clearance despite not having a job in the Pentagon. 
• Trump says there’s a deal with Russia but not with Ukraine. “I thought it would be easier to deal with Zelenskyy,” Trump says, “but so far, it’s been harder, but that’s OK.” He adds that because oil prices are down, Russia might want a deal. 
• CBS News reports that Hegseth had a makeup studio installed at the Pentagon. 
• Vice President Vance says that the U.S. issued a “very explicit proposal” to Ukraine and Russia, that the U.S. has been “trying to understand both sides’ perspective” and that it’s “time to say yes.” If not, the U.S. will walk away from the process, he says.
• Politico reports that the White House is debating lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets and a key oil pipeline with Trump Special Envoy Steve Witkoff advocating for the idea and Secretary of State Marco Rubio against it. Rubio, however, says that it is “unequivocally false” and that there have been no discussions of lifting those sanctions.

Thursday:

• Several polls find Trump’s approval ratings in decline, including Fox News, Reuters/Ipsos, the Pew Research Center and AP/NORC
• A YouGov/Economist finds by a 50%-28% margin say Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States. 
• The Wall Street Journal editorial page criticizes Trump’s proposed Ukraine deal: “Mr. Trump’s current offer looks more like an ultimatum than grounds for a durable piece.” It adds that Trump “has applied pressure only on Ukraine.” And: “[T]he current ‘final’ settlement offer looks like it would set up Mr. Putin to win the war now or later. The world’s rogues will notice, and Mr. Trump’s headaches will have only begun.”
• Later in the day, in an Oval Office meeting that included Norway’s prime minister, Trump says he will solve the Russia-Ukraine war “in two weeks.” He also says he invited Norway to the White House because he likes the country, the government, and, “I like your king. He’s very well respected.”
• Trump also disputes the idea that he isn’t pressuring Russia. “You have no idea what pressure we’re putting on Russia,” he says in the Oval Office. Asked what concessions he’s asking for from Russia, he says: “Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concession.”
• Trump on Truth Social says, “Vladimir, STOP!” and that he is not happy with the continued Russian bombings on Ukraine. 
• Asked if he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize if he gets a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, he said, “Maybe for the Abraham Accords.”
• Trump also calls an Iran deal “well on its way.”
• Trump contends “I did” get prices down. He pointed to oil and also groceries, specifically eggs.
• Politico reports that Trump will host a dinner with “top owners” of Trump’s crypto meme coin May 22. The invitation describes it as “The most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World. Only for the TOP 220$TRUMP Meme Coin Holders.” Politico notes: “The top 25 will meet the president at a private VIP reception and ‘Special VIP’ tour.” CNBC reports that after Trump’s invite went out, his meme coin went up 50%. The coin had lost 70% of its value since its peak in January.
• The controversial former Hegseth chief of staff will no longer transition to another position inside the Defense Department, but be a special adviser.
• Trump issues executive orders. One targets ActBlue, a platform for people to contribute to Democratic causes and campaigns. Another “strengthens probationary periods” for federal workers.
• China says there have been no talks or negotiations to end the trade war, despite Trump’s contentions that there have been.