Trump News at a Glance: State Department Plans Mass Layoffs In Line with President’s ‘America First’ Policy

THE GUARDIAN: Nearly 15% of domestic workforce to be let go in major restructuring of diplomatic corps – key US politics stories from Thursday 10 July

The state department has announced that it plans to move forward with mass layoffs as part of the most significant restructuring of America’s diplomatic corps in decades. Officials say the cuts will align their mission with Donald Trump’s “America First” vision.

The layoffs, which are commonly called reductions in force (or RIFs), along with voluntary redundancies, will affect nearly 15% of the state department’s domestic staff. A senior department official said that was close to 1,800 people. The restructuring will also see several hundred bureaus merged or eliminated entirely. » | Guardian staff | Friday, July 11, 2025

‘America First’ Policy Isolating US from the World: Bart Chilton

The European Union introduced a round of retaliatory tariffs targeting us goods on Friday, a response to the Trump administration’s tariffs against European steel and aluminum. $3 billion worth of American products will be impacted by the tariffs which have already gone into effect. RT America’s Anya Parampil analyzes the impact with Bart Chilton, host of Boom Bust.

Is America under Trump Good for Business? | Inside Story

'America First' has long been one of the most common refrains of Donald Trump's administration.

The US President first used the phrase in his inauguration speech, and he's repeated it over the past year in reference to political and economic policies. Then, it's no surprise that the phrase resurfaced in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday. But this time with the caveat, saying 'America First' does not mean 'America alone'.

So, can the man who's promoted projectionist policies and scrapped trade deals, convince the world the US is open for business?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests: Ann Pettifor - Director of the UK based think-thank, Prime Economics; Michele Geraci - Head of the China Economic Policy Research Programme with Nottingham University; Mark Farha - Economics Analyst and Assistant Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Trump's Gamble: 'America First' Policy Blurs Party Lines