Donald Trump

By Karen Pearlman

Photo by Emma Palmer: San Diego County Building Industry Association CEO Lori Pfeiler; Lucas Coleman, Director of World Trade Center San Diego; and San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo.

March 26, 2025 (San Diego) -- One week ahead of plans by President Donald Trump to put a 25 percent additional tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10 percent tariff on imports from China, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo and local business leaders  warned of severe economic consequences for the San Diego County region.

Trump said he is taking the action to hold Mexico, Canada and China accountable to their promise to halt illegal immigration and stopping fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into the United States.

Chair of the city of San Diego’s Economic Development & Intergovernmental Relations Committee, Campillo, who represents the Seventh Council District of San Diego (including the Navajo area neighborhoods of San Carlos, Allied Gardens, Del Cerro and Grantville) shared his concerns at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

Joined by business leaders from different San Diego industries expecting to be affected by the tariffs, Campillo urged the federal administration to reverse course before the tariffs stand to damage local businesses and housing affordability.

The tariffs will impact industries that include manufacturing construction and healthcare, plus trade.

Campillo and business leaders are urging the current administration to pursue alternative solutions that would strengthen American industries without hurting consumers.

“San Diego thrives because of trade,” Campillo said.

“From our small businesses and manufacturers to our healthcare providers and construction industry, we depend on strong economic partnerships with Mexico, Canada and beyond. These tariffs threaten the economic stability of our region, putting jobs at risk, raising prices on everyday goods, and making it even harder for working families to afford to live here.”

Economic experts predict that the coming tariffs are expected to cost the average American household up to $2,000 more per year. San Diego families will be among the hardest hit because of an already high cost of living.

While trade accounts for 67 percent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, 73 percent of Mexico’s GDP and 37 percent of China’s GDP, it accounts for only 24 percent of U.S. GDP, according to The White House.

The White House reports that in 2023, the U.S. trade deficit in goods was the world’s largest at over $1 trillion.

Campillo said Trump is calling April 2 “Liberation Day,” and said, “let’s be honest -- there’s nothing liberating about raising prices on hardworking San Diegans and putting local jobs at risk.”

Campillo said the tariffs will threaten everything from groceries to housing to healthcare costs -- at a time when many families are already struggling.

He said the issue “is not about partisan politics -- it’s about protecting San Diego’s economy.”

“As an elected representative, I am standing with San Diego’s business community to say loud and clear -- this trade war is reckless, and it must stop,” Campillo said.

San Diego’s geographic position and close ties with Mexico make the region particularly vulnerable to economic instability caused by tariffs.

With $63 billion in imports and $33 billion in exports flowing through San Diego (2023 statistics), new trade restrictions could create severe economic disruptions.

San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Vice President of International and Public Affairs, Kenia Zamarripa said that tariffs “create unnecessary economic barriers that disrupt cross-border trade, increase costs for businesses and threaten jobs in our region.”

Zamarripa noted that San Diego thrives on seamless trade with Mexico – the region’s top trading partner.

“These tariffs will harm businesses of all sizes,” Zamarripa said.

One particular industry that is expected to be hit hard from the tariffs is housing construction. The cost of materials is expected to rise dramatically with the changes, potentially worsening San Diego’s housing crisis.

San Diego County Building Industry Association CEO Lori Pfeiler said that the new tariffs on America’s largest trading partners – Mexico, Canada and China -- are projected to raise the cost of imported construction materials by more than $3 billion, increasing the price of a new home by $7,500 to $10,000.

“That’s exactly the wrong approach, especially in San Diego, where we’re already facing a severe housing affordability crisis,” Pfeiler said. “We urge President Trump to roll back these tariffs to help build more housing, not less.”

Last November Trump said the tariff will remain in effect until “drugs, in particular fentanyl, and illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of Library Foundation San Diego

March 26, 2025 (San Diego) - On Friday, March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to drastically reduce funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services.

“Without IMLS funding, the 37-branch San Diego Public Library system will lose a significant tool for maintaining, delivering, and developing innovative services for its patrons, said Patrick Stewart, CEO of the Library Foundation SD. “These cuts will impact a wide range of San Diegans — from a parent whose child relies on the Homework Center at their neighborhood library to the entrepreneur learning how to write a business plan at The StartUp center at the Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Common. The library is a core public service and a community cornerstone that needs to be safeguarded for our city’s future.”

The San Diego Public Library system uses federal funding distributed through IMLS to support several local initiatives. Loss of funding will negatively impact San Diegans who participate in programs every day including Lunch @ Your Library, adult literacy programs such as READ/San Diego, youth training and career development, entrepreneur and workforce development programs, Stewart added. 

The Library Foundation SD advocates for the City of San Diego Library Department. San Diegans can learn how to participate in this advocacy by visiting libraryfoundationsd.org/takeaction. 

Dulzura author, editor and children’s book illustrator Clarissa McLaughlin from Santee, in an email to ECM, stated,  “I have relied on libraries my entire life. I have read a plethora of library books since early childhood, I volunteered at my local library in high school, and now as an adult, I'm working to get my own books into libraries. Libraries are both an essential service to the American people and are critical to my professional industry. I have relied on my library as a polling location and I use Libby all the time to listen to audiobooks, both for fun and for my MFA classes, in which I'm studying Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing.”

She added, “My only wish for my library is that it had more funding so it could be open on Sundays again. Normally, I can only visit on Saturdays as I work 9-6, Monday-Friday. My library is well-loved and well-needed. It cannot be defunded.”

Dulzura resident Connie Kirkpatrick notes that libraries today provide more than books, serving as community centers that support education, career and personal development. In an email to ECM, she wrote, ““My library has been a cornerstone of my learning journey, providing books, classes, and programs that have expanded my knowledge and skills. Whether it’s attending author talks, technology workshops, or educational lectures, I have continually benefited from the opportunities my library offers. In today’s digital age, free access to information is more crucial than ever, and my library ensures that everyone, regardless of financial background, can benefit from books, online resources, and the internet.”

Libraries also serve as a community gathering place that welcomes people of all ages to come together for events, discussions and support groups, she observed.  “It has been instrumental in helping individuals with job searches, resume writing, and skill-building programs that empower them in their careers. Whether it’s a student needing a quiet study space or an entrepreneur researching market trends, the library caters to diverse needs.”

In addition, the library plays a vital role in preserving our local history and culture. “Through archives, genealogy services, and historical exhibits, it safeguards our heritage for future generations. Additionally, creative spaces like makerspaces, technology labs, and writing workshops encourage innovation and artistic expression, making the library an incubator of new ideas,” Kirkpatrick stated.

“For those in rural or underserved areas, such as myself, the library is a lifeline. It bridges the digital divide by offering free internet access, computers, and technical assistance, ensuring that no one is left behind in the information age. More importantly, it provides a safe and inclusive environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Kirkpatrick concludes. “In a time when access to knowledge, technology, and community support is more essential than ever, libraries remain a fundamental public good. I urge continued investment and advocacy for these vital institutions so they can continue to serve and uplift our communities.”

By Tesa Balc, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Rep. Sara Jacobs in her congressional office. (File photo courtesy of Jacobs’ office via Facebook)

March 24, 2025 (Jacumba) - A San Diego Democrat said Saturday that Republicans have told her they will not back President Donald Trump if he defies court orders.

"We won't be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," said the head of the nation's largest labor union.

By Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams

March 20, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education.

This article first appeared in Common Dreams and is featured in East County Magazine under a Creative Commons license.

By Miriam Raftery

March 10, 2025 (San Diego) -- As President Donald Trump rolls out hefty tariffs on imported goods from America’s biggest trading partners—Mexico, Canada, and China,  American businesses and consumers are bearing the brunt, with higher prices on everything from steel and lumber to food and consumer products.

The action has drawn opposition even from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally a staunch Republican ally. In a press release, the Chamber warns, “Tariffs on Canada and Mexico will have a real, devastating impact on thousands of small businesses across the nation — and on all Americans in the form of higher prices.”

While the U.S. Chamber shares concerns about border security and the scourge of fentanyl, unfair trading practices, tariffs on Canada and Mexico won't solve those problems and instead would lead to higher prices for Americans, the business organization states.

Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark, in her annual State of American Business, said pointedly. “"The bottom line is this: tariffs are a tax paid by Americans and their broad and indiscriminate use would stifle growth at the worst possible time.”  She stressed that to boost economic growth, America must participate in the global economy. That includes seizing opportunities to increase trade. 

Trump has justified the tariffs as intended to encourage production of goods made in America and ultimately boost the economy.

He signed an executive order on February 1^st to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on Chinese imports. He did so by declaring a national emergency over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking. Trump later paused the Mexican and Canadian tariffs by 30 days and extended an exemption for the auto industry.

China meanwhile countered by announcing hefty new duty charges on numerous American goods ranging from cars and agricultural machinery to crude oil, coal and liquified natural gas.

Next up in mid-February, Trump announced a whopping 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports,  metals that are used in many consumer products from vehicles to cookware. He also called for reciprocal tariffs on any goods that other countries tax,  a move that economists warn could create chaos for the global business community.

He’s also pledged to soon add tariffs on products from other countries, including a 25% tariff on some goods from our allies in Europe as well as tariffs on imports from India.

On March 4^th,  Trump doubled the tariff on Chinese imports to 20%.

After Trump doubled the Chinese tariffs, China imposed tariffs of up to 15% on numerous American farm exports and levied export controls on some two dozen American companies, Associated Press reports.

Canada slapped tariffs on over $100 billion worth of American goods over just 21 days. One  Canadian province removed all U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from store shelves, replacing them with Canadian liquor.  Canadian travelers have begun cancelling visits to the U.S., harming the American tourism industry.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheibaum has said her country will also impose retaliatory tariffs but has not yet provided details. 

In early March, Trump postponed the 25% tariffs on some Mexican and Canadian imports for a month, crediting Mexico’s president with working to reduce drug smuggling and illegal border crossings, though the U.S. has also ramped up border security under the Trump administration.

The impacts have sent the stock market tumbling, fueling fears of a recession. Trump has said he doesn’t know if a recession can be avoided.

The effects of the Trump tariffs are also being felt locally.

Brent Schertzer, managing director of apartment developer Holland Partner Group, told the San Diego Union Tribune that tariffs on steel and other building materials could add millions of dollars to large construction projects. He said that material suppliers will have no choice but to charge more for steel, or risk going out of business.

Alan Gin, a professor of economics at the University of San Diego, told KUSI Fox 5 that some of the biggest cost hikes for Americans will include vehicles, oil and gas, electronics, and groceries — further fueling the inflation that have already caused hardships for many U.S. households.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  President Donald Trump addresses Congress.  Screenshot from C-SPAN

March 5, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - President Donald Trump told Congress Tuesday that “the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before” and promised that new tariffs on Mexico — despite worrying San Diego businesses — will help achieve that goal.

• Read: Full text of President Trump’s address to Congress

This story was originally published by ProPublica

By Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

Photo:  Malnutrition, cc via Bing

March 3, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - For weeks, some of the federal government’s foremost authorities on global health have repeatedly warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other leaders about the coming death toll if they carried out the Trump administration’s plan to end nearly all U.S. foreign aid around the world.

Enrich told The New York Times he released the memos, which multiple other officials contributed to, after learning he was being placed on leave, as thousands of others at the agency have been. The memos were circulated to the staff and obtained by ProPublica.

 

The documents identify several key senior policymakers behind the scenes while also puncturing the administration’s claims of a careful, deliberative review of USAID programming. The records also represent the government’s most explicit concerns to date memorialized by a senior official from inside Trump’s administration.

 

The State Department, USAID and Elon Musk did not respond to questions about this story. Rubio and Marocco did not respond to a request for an interview.

 

Since the inauguration, Rubio, Musk and Marocco have taken dramatic steps to incapacitate USAID, the largest foreign aid donor in the world, by firing its employees and halting operations. The global health bureau was one of the first parts of the agency targeted for mass layoffs.

 

Then, last week, they abruptly cancelled 10,000 foreign aid projects, which account for 90% of USAID’s humanitarian operations and about half of the State Department’s. Lifesaving programs that were still operating around the world were forced to close down immediately.

 

Following a series of lawsuits challenging their constitutional authority to lay off or place on leave thousands of employees and freeze nearly all foreign aid, Rubio and Marocco have defended their actions by arguing that the president has the right to cancel programs, and that they were conducting a careful review of the government’s foreign aid programs to make sure they aligned with Trump’s agenda. The administration says it is rooting out waste and fraud, while Musk has publicly vowed to destroy USAID altogether.

 

However, as ProPublica reported Saturday, officials throughout the government say the process was actually cursory and haphazard, so much so that the programs’ contract officers, who have oversight of individual programs and are aid groups’ primary contacts, had no idea what had been canceled or why.

 

Enrich’s memos offer additional evidence calling into question the administration’s claims in court while projecting the dire consequences that will play out for both the U.S. and vulnerable people around the world.

 

One of the documents said that the sweeping cuts to foreign aid promise to reignite outbreaks of preventable, deadly illnesses; fuel instability in war-torn areas; and put the U.S. at risk for outbreaks of infectious disease. “This will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale,” it says.

 

Take tuberculosis, which kills more than 1.25 million people a year and is already the deadliest infectious disease on the planet. New infections are expected to surge by 30% more as a result of the terminations, and disruptions to treatment will cause people to develop drug resistance, making any future treatment options far more difficult and costly, the memo said.

 

That global surge will inevitably lead to more cases in the U.S. USAID staff forecast there would be around 80 additional cases of multi-drug-resistant TB here each year because of the cuts across USAID, the memo added. Even a few dozen cases would cost the U.S. millions in tax dollars; it takes nearly $500,000 on average to treat someone with the most drug-resistant forms of the illness, the memo notes.

 

Enrich’s bureau also warned that the foreign aid cuts will destabilize entire regions around the globe. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.S. withdrawal of aid has led health services to collapse as an ongoing conflict flares, the memos noted. They said more than 400 mpox patients were left stranded and that more than a million people face critical shortages of food and water, supplies the U.S. has promised to provide. Malnutrition, cholera and measles are all projected to increase as well.

 

Across the Sahel, the transition zone between Africa’s northern deserts and southern savannahs, malaria season is fast approaching. The U.S. has already purchased mosquito nets, diagnostic tests and treatments that cannot be delivered, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the programs. Canceled programs there and elsewhere are expected to cause between 12 million and 18 million additional malaria infections over the next year, the document estimates.

 

And those infections are likely to be more deadly. Spread via mosquito, malaria is particularly lethal for children under 5. The U.S. was paying to help roll out drugs that are highly effective at preventing children from getting sick or dying. Those programs have been canceled.

 

The potential for death and the spread of disease is not new to Rubio or his top aides who ordered the mass termination of nearly all foreign aid programs, according to the documents and interviews.

 

USAID staff repeatedly lobbied to keep the most critical programs running, sharing specifics about patients served for individual programs and the likely harm of cutting them with political appointees, sometimes on multiple occasions. In response, political leadership “wholly prevented” staff from implementing Rubio’s promise to continue lifesaving aid, according to Enrich’s memo.

 

In public statements and court filings, Rubio and Marocco have said there was a waiver exemption process in place for lifesaving programs to remain funded and online.

 

But behind the scenes, the few employees remaining at USAID struggled to get basic information, like how to submit waivers to Marocco for approval. And when organizations did get an approved waiver, they couldn’t restart work because the administration still hadn’t paid them. (The Trump administration has refused to reimburse almost $2 billion to foreign aid contractors for work they’ve already completed.)

 

Agency staff had no way to send payments to organizations because their access to the financial systems had been severed, one memo said.

 

On Feb. 8, global health staff learned that Rubio planned to cancel many programs the bureau had identified as lifesaving. Those in the bureau appealed to Borkert and Mark Lloyd, an assistant administrator at the agency, to keep those operations alive. (Borkert and Lloyd did not respond to questions about this story.)

 

Lloyd asked for more information. But that same day, staffers in the bureau also received a response from DOGE. “I am hearing that Global Health is conducting supplemental reviews of awards slated for termination by Secretary Rubio and Acting Deputy Administrator Marocco,” DOGE adviser Jeremy Lewin emailed Enrich, according to one of Enrich’s memos. “This is delaying the timely processing of these termination notices and is unacceptable. … Bureaus should not be conducting their own policy and program reviews before acting on these termination instructions.” (Lewin did not respond to questions for this story.)

 

Enrich also said he received written instructions to pause approving waivers for lifesaving humanitarian assistance, a directive he passed along to the rest of his bureau, which had been working to identify the programs that needed money the most.

 

In a subsequent exchange spelled out in one memo that illustrates the frequently conflicting guidance, Enrich said that two political appointees, Tim Meisburger and Laken Rapier, along with Bokert, shouted at him during a Feb. 13 meeting that there had never been a pause, and instructed him to draft another memo to correct the “false narrative in the media that there had ever been a pause” on the bureau’s waivers for lifesaving programs. (Meisburger and Rapier did not respond to questions about this story.)

 

During a meeting on Feb. 24, Meisburger and Lloyd told those in the bureau to not bother trying to submit waivers for programs involving infectious diseases like mpox, polio and Ebola because they wouldn’t be approved, according to Enrich.

 

Then, two days later, the administration suddenly terminated about 10,000 programs across the State Department and USAID. Agency staff responsible for maintaining those contracts say they were not consulted before the move. Enrich immediately reached out to Borkert and others to warn them of the “grave impacts on lifesaving activities,” he said in the memo.

 

Borkert responded, indicating that many of the programs were terminated by mistake. “There is an acknowledgement some may have been sent out in error and we have the ability to rescind,” Borkert wrote to Enrich. “We need to identify what those are.”

 

In recent days, government officials and aid groups have told ProPublica that the administration appears to be trying to reverse-engineer its most sweeping actions to figure out which lifesaving operations were canceled. Staff have been told to report information about terminated contracts to agency leaders. It’s not clear what programs, if any, will be restored.

 

“It is an incompetent mess,” one official said.

 

ProPublica plans to continue covering USAID, the State Department and the consequences of ending U.S. foreign aid. We want to hear from you. Reach out via Signal to reporters Brett Murphy at 508-523-5195 and Anna Maria Barry-Jester at 408-504-8131.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Zelensky in 2022

March 2, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - Rep. Mike Levin said President Trump effectively sided with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the acrimonious meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The meeting today between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office was nothing short of an internationally embarrassing failure of American leadership,” said Levin, D-Dana Point, whose district includes Camp Pendleton.

East County News Service

March 2, 2025 (San Diego) – Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer held a public briefing this week to inform the community on how the Trump Administration is disrupting essential local services in San Diego County. This includes active federal funding freezes, administrative delays, and policy changes that are “making it harder for us to protect public health, provide housing assistance, and respond to emergencies,” Lawson-Remer warns.

Problems she highlighted include, in her words:

FEMA is refusing to release disaster relief funds—even after a federal court told them they had to. That includes funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which forced the closure of the Migrant Shelter run by Jewish Family Service (JFS)—leaving more people without a safe place to go and adding strain to our homelessness services.

The CDC has stopped regularly communicating with us about critical public health data. They haven't released the results of a federal study on chemical exposures in the TJ River Valley (ACE survey), leaving us without key information we need to protect public health. If there’s a toxic exposure risk, we don’t even have the data to act.

HUD has frozen grants for Public Housing Agencies and removed essential resources that local housing programs rely on. That means delays in rental assistance and real risks for affordable housing projects that were already in progress.

“This isn’t just frustrating—it’s dangerous,” Lawson-Remer states. “The Trump Administration is blocking federal funding that San Diegans already paid for, and instead of those dollars coming back to our community, Washington is playing games with the services people rely on.”