President Trump held a private meeting in the Oval Office with one former Hamas hostage and the family of another Israel-American whose body is believed to be held by the terror group.

Edan Alexander, a New Jersey native, was released in May after 584 days of captivity. Omer Neutra, an IDF platoon commander, was killed during the Oct. 7 attack.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the White House will use tariff revenue to avoid shutting off food benefits for about 7 million mothers, pregnant women and young children.

"The Democrats are so cruel in their continual votes to shut down the government that they forced the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children to run out this week," Leavitt said in a statement.

"Thankfully, President Trump and the White House have identified a creative solution to transfer resources from Section 232 tariff revenue to this critical program. The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats' political games."

The WIC program provides funds to low-income families to supplement food purchase until a child's fifth birthday.

President Trump claimed Tuesday that Democrats "have no leader" with whom he can negotiate an end to the government shutdown — a clear jab at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"We have a lot of things that we're going to eliminate and permanently eliminate" if the seven-day shutdown continues, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"The Democrats have no leader. They remind me of Somalia," he said.

"I don't, I just don't know if Schumer has any power anymore. I look at your, your leadership. I don't know who to speak to."

Asked how many permanent job cuts could happen, Trump said, "I'll be able to tell you that in four or five days if this keeps going on."

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President Trump called the ongoing partial government shutdown a "kamikaze attack" by Democrats when asked about his current message to the public.

"It's almost like a kamikaze attack by them. You want to know the truth, this is like a kamikaze attack," Trump said in the Oval Office.

"They have nothing to lose. They've lost the elections. They've lost the presidential election in a landslide. I saw the other day where Kamala said, 'This was a very close election' ... this was one of the biggest sweeps that anybody's ever had."

Trump swatted at Senate Democrats after indicating Monday that he was willing to potentially make a deal on health care policies at the center of the nearly week-long funding lapse.

President Trump promised he would "straighten" out Chicago when asked if he intends to invoke the Insurrection Act to facilitate a federal law enforcement crackdown.

"They probably had 50 murders in Chicago over the last five, six, seven months. Many people were shot. And then the governor gets up and he says, 'Well, we can handle it.' They can't handle it. They don't know what they're doing," Trump said.

"The mayor is grossly incompetent. He's at a 4% approval rating in Chicago. They said a 4% -- lowest approval rating, lower than even [former New York City Mayor Bill] de Blasio had, which is hard to believe."

Trump, who is facing a court battle over his attempt to deploy Texas National Guard troops to Chicago, went on: "We have cities where there's tremendous crime, and Chicago is one of them, and if the governor can't straighten it out, we'll straighten it out."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called President Trump a "transformative" leader ahead of private talks in the Oval Office.

"Mr. President, if I may, you kindly hosted me and some my colleagues a few months ago, and I said at the time you were are a transformative president," Carney said in public remarks before reporters.

Carney hailed Trump for "the transformation in the economy, unprecedented commitments of NATO partners to defense spending" and the prospect of peace in the Gaza Strip.

"Canada stands foursquare behind those efforts, and we'll do whatever we can to support."

President Trump couldn't resist a crack about the "merger of Canada and the United States" while hosting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office.

Carney was listing the world conflicts that Trump had helped resolve, noting, "India-Pakistan through to Azerbaijan-Armenia, disabling Iran as a force of terror. And now, and I'm running out of time, but this is, many respects, the most important —"

Trump's humorous interjection recalled his taunts that former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could become "governor" of the "51st state" if he wanted tariff exemptions.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pulled up to the White House about 25 minutes late.

He is greeted by President Trump before the two leaders duck inside the West Wing.

We are expecting to hear from both men in the Oval Office shortly.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted the FBI and Justice Department under former President Joe Biden during this morning's Senate hearing, claiming agents "secretly investigated" lawmakers to target President Trump in an effort to "take him off the playing field" during the 2024 presidential election.

Bondi, 59, vowed to end the “weaponization of justice” and refocus on fighting violent crime.

President Trump will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House later Tuesday for a closely watched bilateral meeting.

The schedule calls for Trump and Carney to meet in the Oval Office starting at 11:45 a.m., with lunch to follow at 12:15 p.m.

The agenda is likely to be dominated by trade between the two nations as well as the status of cease-fire talks to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The White House revealed Monday that Edan Alexander, the American who was held hostage by Hamas for 584 days, will meet with President Trump at the White House to mark the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. 

Alexander, an Israeli-American citizen from New Jersey, was freed by the Palestinian terror group in May and was believed to be the last surviving US hostage. 

The president will meet with Alexander, 21, in the Oval Office at around 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the White House. 

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US Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before a Senate committee today in DC, where she faces grilling from lawmakers who claim the Justice Department is under pressure to prosecute cases based on the White House's agenda.

Watch the hearing live: