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announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends, whether you'll fit in, and here i feel like it's so welcoming and such an inclusive place to work, you just feel like you're valued. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" s america. s the trump administration announces a major shakeup of u.s. government's overseas aid agency, a move blasted by democrats. >> these actions severely harm

our national security, but thousands of children around the world at risk of starvation, disease and death, and sidelines some of our finest civil servants. >> u.s. president trump agrees to temporarily cause tariffs on mexican and canadian goods after calls with the country -- countries' leaders. carl: welcome to world news america. the fate of the u.s. overseas aid agency uncertain over fears president trump could stop or pause their work. they intend to merge the u.s. agency for international development with the state department, making senator rubio its administrator and significantly reduce the size of its workforce. >> as acting director of u.s.

aid i have delegated authority to someone, but stay in touch with him. our goal was to align our foreign aid to the national interest, but you go mission after mission, embassy after embassy, in many cases usaid is involved in programs that run counter to what we are trying to do in our national strategy with that country or region. that cannot continue. usaid is not an independent, nongovernmental entity. carl: staff at the agency's washington headquarters were not allowed to enter the building and were locked out of their email accounts. this after two top security officials were placed on leave. two officials refused to grant elon musk and members of his doge access to classified materials. suspending usaid could have a major impact worldwide. they distribute millions in aid

to nongovernmental groups, nonprofits for humanitarian causes around the world. in fiscal year 23 the agency provided assistance to 130 countries with a budget of $40 billion. more than 10,000 people work for the agency. usaid was created more than 60 years after an act was passed by congress, which determines its budget. monday president trump addressed whether it would take an act of congress to terminate the agency. >> will it take an act of congress to get rid of usaid? >> i don't know, i don't think so, when it comes to fraud, these people are lunatics. if it comes to fraud, you would not have an act of congress. we want to do the right thing. it is something that should have been done a long time ago. went crazy during the biden

administration, totally crazy what they were doing. the money they were giving to people that should not be getting it, to agencies and others that should not. it was a shame. tremendous fraud. but we will be doing a report, giving you that report at the appropriate time. >> [indiscernible] pres. trump: i love the concept of it. but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. the concept of it is good, but it is all about the people. carl: joining me now is a former deputy assistant administrator at usaid, overseeing several climates and environmentally oriented centers. great to have you on. you heard the comments from president trump and marco rubio who claimed usaid is completely unresponsive. he said its work is not aligned with national interests or strategy. what is your response from what

we heard from the secretary of state and the president? guest: usaid is the largest development agency in the world, designed to keep americans safe and ensure we are understood by our partners around the world as an agency dedicated to ensuring their ultimate economic self-sufficiency, enabling communities to live and work where they were born, to stem the tide of migration, to reduce the incidents of global terrorism. we are not an agency full of radical lunatics. we are the best and brightest of the american government has to offer. carl: given that and the mission you laid out, what is your sense of what these moves we are seeing today, potentially even being folded into the state department, what could that mean for the future of usaid? guest: it is very concerning. until the acting administrator,

secretary rubio, sent a letter to congress indicating they intended to consult on the matter, it appeared as though we were in the midst of what can be described as an administrative coup. it is unprecedented to have someone who has not been vetted, has not been confirmed by congress, someone like elon musk taking control of treasury's payment systems, locking federal employees out of their offices, firing security personnel who refused to grant him and his colleagues access to classified information when they have not demonstrated security clearance. this is rogue and criminal behavior. usaid was established by order of congress. congress needs to be consulted. there is a balance of powers in this country whereby congress decides, congress, who was elected by the american people, congress decides how our funding

should be spent. usaid and foreign assistance is less than a penny on the dollar here in the united states. carl: less than 1% of the total u.s. budget. you were mentioning it has been a tumultuous week for employees of usaid they have been locked out of their office, work -- losing access to their work computer. even pictures on the walls in the office have been taken down. have you heard anything from former employees or colleagues? guest: of course i have. it is absolute chaos and fear inside that agency right now. everybody is concerned about surveillance. they have signalless communications outside the agency. they have been formally prohibited from communicating, usaid employees, with organizations paid to implement our programs. all those agencies and organizations are facing stop work orders. there are tens of thousands of

layoffs forthcoming. employees have no idea what is next. they have decapitated the agency. they have placed almost 100 senior diplomats and foreign service officers and civil servants on administrative leave. their future is now uncertain. carl: we talk about all these dollars. the u.s., the largest foreign aid donor in the world. what does the moves we have seen over the past 48 hours signal to you about the role america will play going forward? guest: what we are hearing from our foreign government counterparts and allies, the u.s. can't be counted on. we are not a reliable partner. who is going to step into the breach? maligned actors like russia and the prc? i think if president trump is serious about an america first agenda, he should stop taking

actions that will place america last. these actions are extremely concerning. it is a matter of life and death for key allies around the world, that this development assistance continue. carl: c -- gillian caldwell from usaid, thank you for your thoughts. i want to bring in a democratic representative for maryland. chris, great to have you here. i know you were with a group of democrats today outside the headquarters in washington, usaid. i think you are blocked from entering the building. what was the scene outside those headquarters? guest: it is good to be with you. what we witnessed is a takeover of an essential u.s. government agency. the agency for international development, by elon musk and his so-called doge committee. supposedly about government

efficiency, but what we are learning is an instrument to replace civil servants who are hired based on qualifications, with political cronies. what we are seeing at aid is a gift to our adversaries china, russia and others. it is a blatantly illegal way to dismantle an important u.s. federal agency. carl: you call it illegal. why is that? it is unconstitutional? guest: it is a violation of a number of laws including the fact aid was established by statute. if the trump administration wanted to dismantle it or fundamentally restructure it, the way you do that is through congress. you recommend a proposed change, it would go through the congressional process, get a vote. it is illegal because it

violates a number of u.s. laws, including something called the antideficiency act. congress already appropriated funds for a.i.d. and they need to be spent as directed by the duly enacted laws. this is similar in some ways to the court action already taken that throws the earlier trump administration executive order, with respect to lots of federal grants. carl: we are seeing a lot of changes that seem to be instigated by elon musk and his department of government efficiency. what do you make of his role, what seems to be a fair amount of power in his hands, in terms of the shape of government? guest: yes, it appears donald trump is handing the keys to the federal government to elon musk. the treasury department, he has gotten access to the payment systems. the lead senior federal employee quit rather than turn those keys

over. we are seeing this in places like a.i.d. and other federal agencies. you asked about our efforts to go into a.i.d. you are right, i went with colleagues to ask to go into a.i.d. to meet with federal employees who were there. elon musk essentially ordered it to be shut down. we were denied permission to enter, to hear first-hand from any federal employees who remain there as to what was happening. we know they were cut off from their servers, emails. people around the world had been put in danger. not just folks working for a.i.d., but folks they are helping in many lifesaving causes. carl: i wanted to ask you about trump's tariffs. those have now been postponed 30 days, but he is threatening them against mexico and canada. there are others that could be

in place against china. guest: i oppose these strongly. i supported targeted tariffs in strategic areas, but across the board tariffs are only a sales tax increase on the american people. it is pretty simple math. you have that harm done to the american people, and countries are going to retaliate, as they began to do. that puts american businesses that export at a disadvantage. it is a double hit to american consumers and businesses, and a very bad idea. for someone who campaigned promising he would look after working people, this would be a big tax on working people. that would be the effect. carl: senator chris van hollen, senator from maryland, thank you. as he mentioned, mr. trump suspending tariffs on mexico and canada for one month after both

countries' leaders said they would do more to tackle drug trafficking. 25% tariffs on most goods imported into the u.s. were set to go into effect tonight. this after a day of negotiations between mr. trump and his counterparts to the north and south. the first announcement came from president claudia sheinbaum who said she would offer 10,000 additional troops to stem drug smuggling and in return mr. pledged measures to curb trafficking of weapons into mexico. >> then we talked about his interest and our interest in reducing the trafficking of fentanyl, and other drugs. he made proposals and finally we reached the agreement that was put in place to put more national guards on the northern border, to protect the border and prevent drug trafficking. in particular trafficking of fentanyl to the u.s. carl: negotiations with canada were down to the wire.

they had prepared their own tariffs on u.s. goods ranging from live poultry to some works of art. prime minister trudeau warned that while tariffs would hurt canadians, they would also cost americans money and jobs. trump entered ohio two calls monday. after the first call, trump told reporters canada was a quote, tough negotiating partner. pres. trump: we don't need them to make our cars, give us lumber, don't need them for agricultural products because we have all we need. they don't take our agricultural products, our milk, dairy, etc. a little, but not much. we take there's. as far as cars, they took in a big percentage, almost 19% of the market. i would not mind making our cars in the u.s. we have a problem. i would like to make our cars in the u.s. carl: shortly after they spoke a

second time mr. trudeau posted that u.s. tariffs had been halted, at least for now. a 30 day pause. let's go to toronto, our correspondent is there. we are hearing a deal has been struck between trudeau and trump. walk us through some of the details we have been learning. >> it has been a day of suspense in canada, holding their breath to see if a similar deal would be struck with the u.s. as had been done with mexico earlier today. now we know from prime minister trudeau that a deal has been struck. part of the deal, trudeau talked about, renewing canada's commitment to spend over $1 billion to bolster border security and said they would send 10,000 additional personnel to the border, similar to what mexico promised. they also promised to appoint a fentanyl czar, launch a joint

strike force to go after organized crime. those are in addition to funding announced earlier. prime minister trudeau also talks about an additional $200 million to be spent on these efforts. we have not heard from mr. trudeau on the details. we are waiting to hear more. those are the details so far. carl: they talk about appointing a fentanyl czar. a small proportion of fentanyl enters the u.s. across the canadian border. what should we make of these provisions that seem to address problems that hardly exist. reporter: bolstering security at the border, that has been on the table for some time. there have been additional concessions made. what remains unclear is, what the goal post is or the

benchmark the u.s. will use to determine if canada fulfilled its promises. we have heard president trump speak about different issues he has with canada. the trade deficit between the two, and trying to balance trade between the two. the threat is not gone entirely, only delayed 30 days. there seems to be unknowns as to what canada can do to get rid of the threat. carl: if you look on social media you see video of candidate -- canadians booing the national anthem at hockey games recently. there is a movement to avoid buying american-made products. do have a sense of how this is reflecting -- affecting the relationship between the countries? reporter: there is a huge sigh of relief now that tariffs are delayed, but there is uncertainty because that threat looms. and a lot of unease

3/4 of canadian exports go to the u.s. america is canada's largest customer. there are a lot of jobs on the line and some people are afraid. i think there is a sense of hurt. canada and the u.s. have had strong relations for decades, not just trade relations, but people ties. there is hope a deal can be worked out. carl: nadine, thank you. let's go south of the border. will grant is in mexico city watching sheinbaum s press conference as the other deal was taking shape. walk us through the impact here and what this deal will mean between the u.s. and mexico. reporter: this was shaping up to become the biggest trade dispute between these three partners of north america since they came up

with the north american free-trade agreement in 1994. from her perspective claudia sheinbaum is saying, i helped avert this. we have delayed any imposition of tariffs on exit can goods and we have an agreement from trump to do more on the issue of guns coming south and arming drug cartels. those are the wins in the sheinbaum column. the win in the trump column, she also agreed to send 10,000 national guard troops to the border with the u.s., so trump can say, she agreed to strengthen and deepen security measures at the border, as i asked, particularly on fentanyl and undocumented immigrants and we will see how things go the next month. the truth is, both leaders budged a little to find common ground. carl: on those 10,000 troops

being sent to the border, how much impact do we think they might have and is there focus on drug trafficking or is this a focus on immigration or both? reporter: there are thousands of troops and national guard deployed on both issues. the war on drugs and fight against cartels in mexico, and dealing with the issue of undocumented immigration in mexico. the movement of putting them toward the border, at least temporarily, does not make much difference on the day-to-day operations. what it does do is a show of force. they can strengthen the focus on fentanyl which is such a powerful drug, so small, so easy for cartels to get over the border. difficult to detect by authorities. it is a real problem. the vast majority of fentanyl that comes into the u.s. causes

drug overdose deaths among america's youth, does, from mexico with precursor chemicals from china. trump has a point in that regard and i think this step will be welcomed by both sides as a collaborative effort. carl: briefly, this is a one month pause. do we know what happens next? reporter: i think we will see secretary rubio coming to mexico discussing these steps and, two, the creation of a joint working group with public health officials and security officials on both sides to tackle the fentanyl issue head on. carl: will grant in mexico city, thank you. prime minister netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet president trump since his inauguration. he visits the white house tuesday. netanyahu is already in

washington, meeting to discuss the second stage of gaza's cease-fire. israel and hamas have agreed to talks of the second phase which includes the exchange of all remaining israeli captives held in gaza for palestinians in prisons as well as the complete withdrawal from gaza and a cessation of hostilities. this is the wall street journal reports the trump administration has asked congress to approve an arms sale to israel worth $1 billion. crews working to remove the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed into the potomac river near washington, d.c. the jet collided with a black hawk helicopter as it came to land at ronald reagan national airport. 67 people were killed. recovery crews have recovered and identified 55. they say the wreckage has to be removed from the river to find the remaining victims.

let's take a look at other stories making headlines. the leader of a pro-russian paramilitary group in eastern ukraine has died in hospital after being injured in an explosion in moscow. one of sargsyan's bodyguards was also injured. there have been attacks on high-profile supporters of moscow's invasion of ukraine. former president of spain's football federation luis rubiales has gone to trial over his kiss of a player. hermoso, the first witness in the trial, said that kiss should not occur in any social or work setting and feels disrespected as a woman. she said rubiales forever tainted that moments of the world cup victory. u.s. vice president jd vance visited east palestine, ohio, two years after the train

derailment that spilled toxic materials in 2023. a lawsuit alleging for the first time people died because of the toxic crash. mr. vance said we continue to need to do better on rail safety in this country and he promised the community there would not be forgotten. the greek prime minister appeals for calm after tremors hit santorini. there have been 200 tremors over 3.0 since saturday, but it is not linked to volcanic activity. schools are closed and some tourists have fled the island. ♪ before we go, reminder you can find more on all the day's top stories and headlines online. head to our website, bbc.com/news. of course, we will be covering all the twists and turns when it comes to the tariffs that could be imposed by the trump

administration. you can see on the website there is talk and rumors there could be trade tariffs imposed on the european union and trump refused to rule out tariffs on the u.k. we will continue following that online. you can also check out what we are working on it anytime. head to your favorite social media site. thank you so much for watching world news america. see you next time. ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.

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