The meeting with Carney comes after the head of Canada’s Liberal Party won an election campaigning against Trump policies for tariffs and annexation.
‘Just getting started’: Trump speech on DOGE, budget and border
President Donald Trump used his remarks before a joint session of Congress to spell out his vision for the next four years.
- Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, testifies about border security at a House Appropriations subcommittee.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies about tariffs and a huge cut in IRS funding at another House Appropriations subcommittee.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s agenda for tougher border security and tariffs on foreign imports is set to be scrutinized in congressional hearings on May 6 just before a White House meeting with Canada’s newly-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Trump’s abbreviated spending blueprint for the year starting Oct. 1 aims to cut $163 billion from nonmilitary programs. But the Department of Homeland Security is one of the places where Trump would bolster spending, if Congress agrees.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee will be questioning Trump’s Cabinet secretaries about his spending proposals for DHS and the Treasury Department in separate hearings.
After the legislative hearings get started, Trump will host Carney at the White House. The Canadian leader’s Liberal Party victory April 28 was credited to opposing Trump’s tariffs and the U.S. president’s calls to annex the country as the 51st state.
Here is what to know about the meetings on Trump’s priorities:
DHS draws spotlight to immigration enforcement
Despite steep cuts to other domestic programs, Trump proposed to spend $43.8 billion more on DHS in the next year, as part of a $175 billion boost over four years.
Trump told reporters May 5 that his administration is deporting undocumented immigrants by the thousands but that “it’s a very difficult thing with the courts.” Judges temporarily blocked removals under the Alien Enemies Act and ordered him to “facilitate” the return of a Salvadoran immigrant who was deported through an administration error.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who carries out the immigration policy, is set to testify at 10 a.m. EDT at a House Appropriations subcommittee. Noem on May 5 began offering migrants $1,000 stipends and free plane tickets to deport themselves.
Tariffs and IRS enforcement
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been a prominent defender of Trump’s tariffs. But Bessent said privately in April that Trump’s 145% tariffs on China aren’t sustainable, and the president has said he expects to negotiate lower figures.
In another vein, Trump’s budget aims to cut the department’s budget 19%, mostly from a nearly $2.5 billion cut to the Internal Revenue Service. After Trump has gone through a handful of IRS directors, the budget said the cut would end the weaponization of the agency that allegedly targeted conservative groups and small businesses while protecting taxpayer services.
Bessent is set to testify at 10 a.m. EDT before another House Appropriations subcommittee.
Trump and Carney to discuss US relations with Canada
Carney’s first visit to the White House after winning his election comes at an uneasy time when Trump has threatened the longstanding alliance of the countries with a trade war over imports.
But after repeatedly proposing to annex Canada as a new state, Trump softened his stance. He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on May 4 that he doesn’t envision using military force.
“I don’t see it with Canada,” Trump said with a laugh. “I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you.”
Carney, for his part, has said decades of steady integration with the U.S. since World War II are over. Liberals, who had been in power for more than nine years, were behind in polls in January before the previous prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced he was quitting and Trump proposed tariffs and annexation.