President Trump was furious at Canada, again. Early last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Gordie Howe International Bridge—a long-awaited project linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario—was set to be opened. A Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority invitation announced a ribbon cutting for June 12.

Months earlier, Trump had threatened to delay the bridge's opening over a long list of U.S.-Canada trade grievances. Now, he was convinced Carney was trying to rush the opening and circumvent him, a U.S. official said.

In a meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the official said, Trump came up with an idea: What if he revoked the presidential permit that allowed the bridge to open?