PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and House Speaker Paul Ryan have been allies (Wikipedia photo).

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and others on Monday sought to get President Donald Trump to recant on his pledge to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

But the president vowed, “We’re not backing down.”

Trump’s plan is to impose a 25 percent duty on steel imported from certain other nations, and 10 percent on aluminum. Ryan said he was “extremely worried” the move would trigger a trade war with some of America’s leading trading partners.

The president cited the North American Free Trade pact, which he said were to the advantage of Canada and Mexico, but “bad deals” for the United States.

Former Trump aide refuses to testify, but then …

Sam Nunburg, a former aide to President Donald Trump, said on Monday he would refuse to honor a subpoena requiring him to appear before a federal grand jury and release thousands of e-mails sought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

But later in the day, he reversed himself and told The Associated Press “I’m going to end up cooperating with them.

In an interview with CNN, Nunberg said, “Arrest me,” and added, “I’m not cooperating.” Later in the interview with the 24-hour news network, Nunberg said that he believes that Trump “is the Manchurian candidate,” referring to the fictional tale of an American working on behalf of a hostile nation.

STRIKING TEACHERS in West Virginia (Wikipedia).

W. Virginia teacher strike headed to 9th day

Public school teachers in West Virginia on Monday continued their strike through its eighth day. The educators had won a promise of a 5 percent pay hike from the governor, but the state legislature was willing to only grant a 4 percent increase.

The initial offer was 1 percent, later raised to 2 percent.

West Virginia, one of the poorest states, also pays among the lowest wages to educators. The strike began last Tuesday and has affected the 277,000 students attending public schools in the Mountain State.