A presidential decree instructing the Justice Department to scrutinize whether a former official broke the law crosses a new line.

Trump's targeting of Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security official in Trump’s first term, and Chris Krebs, a former top cybersecurity official, came as the president has sought to use the powers of the presidency to retaliate against his adversaries,

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the customized tariffs leveled on handful of countries were paused so President Trump can be "personally involved" in the negotiations.

Trump's turnabout, which came less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on most trading partners, followed the most intense episode of financial market volatility since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a 90-day pause on tariffs of more than 75 trading partners who did not retaliate in the hours after it went into effect. However, the tariff on Chinese goods continues to rise.