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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration yesterday told Congress it believes that President Trump has the constitutional power to summarily fire administrative law judges at will. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could soon fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers in a bid to remove senior leaders seen as either too political or too close to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, sources say. Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky report for CNN; Peter Alexander reports for NBC News.
The CIA has moved to dismiss an unspecified number of employees involved in working on recruiting and diversity issues, former officials say, in what could be one of the largest firings in CIA’s history. Julian E. Barnes and Seamus Hughes report for the New York Times.
The U.S. Marshals Service has deputized at least some of Elon Musk’s private security detail, giving Musk’s security team certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents, law enforcement officials said. Hannah Rabinowitz and Whitney Wild report for CNN.
Trump’s clemency for Jan. 6 Capitol rioters extends to crimes unrelated to the Capitol riot that were discovered by the FBI while investigating Jan. 6 defendants, Justice Department prosecutors argued this week in a court filing. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday rescinded a June 2024 Biden administration extension of temporary legal status for Haitian migrants in the United States, laying the groundwork for potential future deportations. Myah Ward reports for POLITICO.
Trump shut down a nationwide database tracking misconduct by federal police officers, the DOJ confirmed. Tom Jackman and Elizabeth Dwoskin report for the Washington Post.
A list of words “prohibited” in external communications circulating at the Food and Drug Administration that includes words such as “woman” or “disabled” stems from a “misinterpretation” of Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders, a White House spokesperson said. Rachael Levy reports for Reuters.
Trump is expected to issue an executive order firing the U.S. Postal Service governing board and absorbing the agency into his administration as soon as this week, sources say. The board is planning to challenge the move, the sources added. Jacob Bogage reports for the Washington Post.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Senate yesterday voted 51- 49 to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director. Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in opposing Patel’s candidacy. Clare Foran and Morgan Rimmer report for CNN.
Former Senate Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KC) yesterday announced he would not seek another term in 2026 and retire from Congress. Annie Karni reports for the New York Times.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday announced she will not seek to remove New York Mayor Eric Adams from office “at this time” and unveiled a series of “guardrails” she said are meant to prevent undue influence by the White House. Sarah Ellison reports for the Washington Post; Nick Reisman and Joe Anuta report for POLITICO.
The DOJ yesterday filed a motion to dismiss its case accusing Musk’s SpaceX of violating federal hiring antidiscrimination laws. Qasim Nauman reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration has flown all of the migrants detained in Guantánamo Bay out of the facility and through Honduras onto Venezuela and the United States, a senior Homeland Security Department official said. Courtney Kube and Julia Ainsley report for NBC News.
State Department officials will not attend a meeting of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change next week, sources say. Maria Curi and Andrew Freedman report for Axios.
President Claudia Sheinbaum yesterday said she will propose constitutional reforms aiming to reinforce Mexico’s sovereignty following the designation of several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Abel Alvarado and Gerardo Lemos report for CNN.
The United States yesterday sanctioned an M23 rebel group’s spokesperson and a Rwandan government minister over the rebels’ advances in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Treasury Department said. Evelyne Musambi reports for AP News.
Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Elon Musk’s social platform X to pay $1.4 million in fines for failing to comply with judicial orders in a ruling published yesterday. Gabriela Sá Pessoa reports for AP News.
The first flight carrying migrants deported from the United States landed in Costa Rica yesterday, carrying dozens of children on board. Annie Correal and David Bolaños report for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The United States has refused to co-sponsor a draft U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and objected to a G7 statement calling Russia the “aggressor” in the war, senior diplomatic officials said yesterday. Tom Balmforth, Emma Farge, and Sabine Siebold report for Reuters; Christopher Miller, Henry Foy, and Myles McCormick report for the Financial Times.
The Trump administration has given Ukraine an “improved” minerals agreement draft, Ukrainian and U.S. officials say. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
U.S. and Russian participants have met in Switzerland for unofficial talks in the past months, including as recently as last week, sources say. It is unclear whether governments sent the meetings’ attendees and whether Ukrainians were present. Gram Slattery and Emma Farge report for Reuters.
The Trump administration has no plans to impose the terms of a bilaterally negotiated peace deal on Ukraine and the Russia-United States talks were meant to test whether the Kremlin was serious about peace negotiations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European diplomats in a call this week. Michael Schwirtz and Adam Entous report for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Any plan to send European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine would be unacceptable for Russia, a Kremlin spokesperson said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Ukraine has attempted to install tiny bombs in the goggles that Russian soldiers use to control drones in a plan inspired by Israel’s exploding pagers plot, a senior Ukrainian official confirmed yesterday. Kim Barker and Michael Schwirtz report for New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The body believed to be that of a deceased Israeli hostage Shiri Babas is an “anonymous, unidentified body,” the IDF said yesterday, describing Hamas’ failure to return Babas’ body as a “grave violation” of the ceasefire agreement. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Hamas’ parading of hostages’ bodies in Gaza was “abhorrent” and noncompliant with the international law prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said yesterday. Emma Farge reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Three empty buses exploded in Israel’s Tel Aviv late yesterday, with Hamas publishing a statement attributed to the West Bank-based Tulkarm Battalion claiming responsibility. No injuries were reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the IDF to carry out an “intensive operation” in the occupied West Bank in response to the attacks. Alon Rom, Lior Soroka, and Sammy Westfall report for the Washington Post.
The leaders of Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party have announced plans to dissolve the party, after being effectively barred from taking part in the territory’s elections in 2021. Martin Yip and Tessa Wong report for BBC News.
The Somali army and allied clan militias yesterday killed more than 130 Islamist al-Shabaab attackers while repelling raids on villages, a Somali defense ministry spokesperson said. Reuters reports.
Austria’s two main centrist parties are moving towards a coalition deal following the far-right Freedom Party’s failure to form a government, party officials said yesterday. Reuters reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday warned the Trump administration that it must comply with a “clear” court order to unfreeze foreign aid funding, but did not hold officials in contempt of court over failures to disburse money. Shortly after the ruling, aid groups filed a new motion complaining that the funds had remained frozen. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Trump administration can move ahead with mass government layoffs, holding that federal workers’ unions should have brought the challenge before the Federal Labor Relations Authority and not a federal district court. Zach Schonfeld reports for the Hill.
A federal judge yesterday issued an order temporarily barring the Trump administration from deporting eight foreign nationals who say they are facing prosecution or death in their home countries. The DOJ indicated that one of the individuals may already be en route to Ecuador, from which she fled. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
Nine LGBTQ health groups yesterday filed a suit challenging Trump’s executive orders targeting transgender people and DEI initiatives, alleging the ban prevents them from providing critical health services. Brooke Migdon reports for the Hill.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
