If it's Wednesday, the White House faces signs of public frustration with the president's economic

agenda as new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports take effect, and Canada and Europe retaliate

with tariffs of their own. Plus, with just days to go before government shutdown, Senate Democrats

are facing a major dilemma.

Will they reject Republicans' funding bill and force a shutdown or support it and risk a backlash from their base?

And the Department of Education begins a drastic reduction in its workforce as it moves to cut half its staff,

firing roughly 1,300 career employees with the ultimate goal of shuddering the entire agency.

Welcome to meet the press now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington.

We're escalating trade wars and mixed messaging from the White House continue to raise concerns about the fate of the U.S. economy. The markets just ended today's session with Dow relatively flat.

The other major indices slightly up.

After a key inflation report came in cooler than expected, which was welcome news for the White House,

as new 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect today, putting new price

pressure on U.S. consumers.

Also, today, more tariff retaliation from top trading partners,

including Canada, which announced tariffs on $21 billion in U.S. goods, and the European Union,

which announced tariffs on $28 billion in goods as well. Here's Canada's foreign minister

earlier today. This is much more than about our economy.

It is about the future of our country.

Canadian sovereignty and identity are non-negotiable.

Canadians have had enough, and we are a strong country.

In an effort to cool some of the tensions between the U.S. and Canada, a Canadian delegation

is coming to Washington tomorrow to meet with top Trump administration officials, including

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