Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman.
The cost of imported steel and aluminum is going up.
NPR's Scott Horsley reports President Trump has ordered a doubling of the tariff on the imported metals starting today.
President Trump signed an executive order boosting the tax on imported steel and aluminum from 25 to 50 percent,
making good on a pledge he issued last week
while visiting a steel mill outside Pittsburgh.
Trump says the higher tariffs will help to protect the domestic steel and aluminum industries.
History shows it will also raise prices for the much more numerous businesses that use those metals.
The 50% import taxes could have far-reaching effects on the cost of everything from automobiles to beer cans.
The tariffs are authorized under a 1962 law designed to protect national security.
That's different from the 1977 law Trump has relied on for many of his other tariffs,
which is at the center of an ongoing court battle.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
Billionaire Elon Musk is angry at the proposed government spending bill now before the Senate.
Writing online, Musk mocked the bill as a quote, disgusting abomination.
Some Republicans have hinted they could withhold their support in the Senate,
saying it doesn't cut enough spending.
The U.S.
Agriculture Department says it is suspending a demand for personal data about people who get federal food assistance.
NPR's Jude Jaffe-Block reports there's a federal lawsuit challenging the collection of the data.