Four big things Trump and his team took on this week

US President Donald Trump continued to shock allies this week after his fiery exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

His seventh week in office saw military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine paused, while Zelensky sought to repair relations and a possible peace deal by saying he was “ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership”.

At the start of the week, Trump imposed tariffs on close US allies Canada and Mexico and increased them on key trade partner China. Later, the president signed exempted a number of Canadian and Mexican goods from cost hikes.

At home, the US president delivered the longest presidential speech to Congress on record.

If you are in need of a catch up, here are four big items Trump and his team took on this week.

The dramatic shift in the US’s relationship with Ukraine continued this week. Trump administration officials made two separate announcements: First, that America would pause its practice of providing Kyiv with military aid – and then that they had paused intelligence sharing as well.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters that the Trump administration was pausing and reviewing “all aspects of this relationship”, but did suggest that it could be lifted at a later date.

In the meantime, officials said that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the military to pause its offensive cyber operations against Russia as a diplomatic push continues to end the war in Ukraine.

These pauses could have a significant effect on Ukraine’s ability to the fight the war, though it could be weeks until the cut of aid is felt while existing stocks are used up.

A lack of US intelligence may also hinder Ukraine in planning offensive operations, and giving Kyiv advance warning of incoming Russian attacks.

The cut also hit closer to home in the US in Scranton, Pennsylvania – where there is a plant producing key munition that has been sent to Ukraine, and a community with a “very proud history” of supporting Kyiv.

Since the Oval Office meeting, the Ukrainians have worked to get the relationship back on the right footing. He sent Trump a letter agreeing to “come to the negotiating table”for the rare earth minerals deal and a larger peace agreement.

Meanwhile, European leaders continued to hold discussions about increasing support to Ukraine and bolster their own defence spending, in light of developments in the US.

US stock markets sunk at the start of the week after Trump confirmed he was moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.

In the days that followed, the Trump administration announced that it would be temporarily sparing carmakers from the import levies. The next day, the president signed an executive order that placed a number of other exemptions on various goods – which helped to boost US shares.

There was a notable difference in tone between Trump’s dealings with the US’s neighbours in the north and south.

He said the postponement of some tariffs on Mexico was “as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum”, and described their relationship as “a very good one”.

Though a war of words was evident in dealings with Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the US tariffs “dumb”, but the country’s finance minister said it would hold off on its threatened second round of retaliatory tariffs on US products.

Later in the week, Trudeau said he had had a “colourful” conversation with Trump about the fees and warned that a trade war between the two allies would probably continue.

The White House confirmed it had held direct talks with Hamas over the release of remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Washington had until then avoided direct engagement with the group, and there was a longstanding American policy against contacting entities it had listed a terrorist organisation. It also meant bypassing a close US ally – Israel.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded with a terse statement, saying only that it had “expressed its position” on the talks.

But this was not necessarily a softening of tone toward Hamas. Trump also issued what he called a “last warning” to the group, demanding that they release the remaining Israeli hostages.

“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” he added in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. He did not specify the nature of that support.

Hamas accused the US president of encouraging Israel to break the ceasefire deal currently in effect between the two sides.

It is not the first time Trump has threatened Hamas. In December, he said there would be “all hell to pay” if hostages were not released by the time he took office.

Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in Washington for the first time this week since he returned to power.

In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, he outlined his vision for his second term, as Republicans applauded the president’s first six weeks that has reshaped domestic and foreign policy.

Trump was heckled by Democrats and he goaded them in turn during the rowdy primetime address, claiming that his administration was “just getting started”.

Early in the speech, Texas Democrat Al Green was ejected from the House chamber for disrupting Trump’s address, and Congress later voted to censure him.

Trump spoke of relations with Ukraine, and repeated his desire for the US to acquire Greenland.

Domestically, his speech predicted some economic turbulence because of the tariffs he had imposed. He also stood by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has moved to fire tens of thousands of federal workers, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and slash federal programmes.

Trump has since suggested on social media that he may allow his cabinet to have greater power in an effort to be “very precise as to who will remain, and who will go.”

“We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,'” he added, promising agency leaders and Musk would work together effectively.