A federal judge ordered the government to reinstate U.S. Agency for International Development systems today, ruling that the accelerated shutdown of the agency led by Elon Musk “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways.”
U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang ordered Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to reinstate access to email, payment, security notification, and all other electronic systems for all current USAID employees and contractors. He also ordered the department to provide written confirmation of compliance to the court within seven days.
“The court will require Defendants, within 14 days, to secure and submit a written agreement among all necessary parties that ensures that USAID will be able to reoccupy USAID headquarters at its original location, in the event of a final ruling in favor of Plaintiffs,” the order said.
He also ordered DOGE and Musk not to take any action regarding USAID without the express authorization of a USAID official with legal authority to do so.
After days of clashes within the party over last week’s government shutdown fight, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries D-N.Y., are trying to get back on the same page.
During separate public appearances today, the two congressional Democratic leaders sought to return their focus to battling Trump and his agenda, particularly the potential Medicaid cuts his Republican allies in Congress are eying in their party-line bill for taxes, immigration and other policy priorities.
The White House said today that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed that the process to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine would begin with an energy infrastructure ceasefire.
“This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts,” the White House said in a readout of the call between the two leaders.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt today confirmed reporting that Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink is providing Wi-Fi around the White House campus, saying it was done to improve internet connectivity.
“Just like the Biden Administration did on numerous occasions, the White House is working to improve WiFi connectivity on the complex,” Leavitt said in a statement this afternoon.
The Starlink service at the White House is the latest in a series of expansions for the federal government’s reliance on the SpaceX-operated internet service provider. Musk, an unpaid Trump adviser who is overseeing the administration’s efforts to sharply downsize the federal government, owns and operates the company.
Musk has received criticism for continuing to oversee his portfolio of private companies — many of which, including Starlink, have federal government contracts — while working in the federal government himself.
Vance will serve as the next Republican National Committee finance chair, marking the first time a sitting vice president has concurrently served in the role, the RNC announced today.
Vance said in a statement to “fully enact the MAGA mandate” and Trump’s vision, “we must keep and grow our Republican majorities in 2026.”
Trump said in a statement that Vance would “do a fantastic job,” adding that “he knows how to fight and win tough races.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., voiced his support this morning for his Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as he faces mounting backlash within his party over his handling of the government funding fight last week.
Schumer led a group of Democratic senators to vote in favor of a Republican-backed government funding bill on Friday in order to avert a federal government shutdown. Schumer argued that advancing the bill, which opens the door for sweeping cuts to Medicaid and other entitlement programs, was less dangerous than allowing the government to shut down as the Trump administration aims to dismantle its workforce.
Jeffries, despite publicly urging Schumer and Senate Democrats to block the GOP funding bill, told NBC News today that “I do” support Schumer’s Senate leadership. The pair “had a good conversation” Sunday “about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice in the effort to stop these Medicaid cuts from ever being enacted into law,” he said.
Schumer canceled several promotional events scheduled this week as part of his tour for his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.” His press team cited “security concerns” amid the backlash that followed Friday’s vote.
Jeffries said today that his members remain united in their effort to fight back on potential Medicaid cuts.
“You know as House Democrats, we stand by our decision to oppose the Republican spending bill, because the partisan Republican spending bill that was not negotiated with Democrats, it was written by Donald Trump and House Republicans, would hurt families, hurt veterans and hurt seniors,” he said.
The Trump administration says it is moving to reinstate more than 24,000 probationary workers it fired as part of its efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce, court documents filed yesterday show.
Officials at 18 departments and agencies submitted signed declarations detailing their teams’ efforts to rehire the fired workers in order to comply with court orders. Last week two federal judges ordered the administration to temporarily reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were fired.
But many of the employees being reinstated won’t be getting right back to work; instead, they’ll be placed on administrative leave.
The Treasury Department announced today that two IRS employees who investigated Hunter Biden for tax evasion will become senior advisers at the department.
“I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the Treasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Bessent said that Shapley and Ziegler will help to “further the agency’s focus on collections, modernization, and customer service, so we can deliver a more effective and efficient IRS experience for hardworking American taxpayers.”
The Treasury Department claimed the two IRS staffers had faced retaliation after speaking publicly about their investigation of Hunter Biden and alleging in congressional testimony that he had received preferential treatment from the Department of Justice.
Democrats questioned whether a GOP-aligned organization was behind the testimony as part of an effort to target President Joe Biden’s son. An FBI agent who oversaw the agency’s probe into Hunter Biden also rejected Shapley’s allegation that there was any interference in the probe.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty last year in the federal tax evasion case. Then-President Joe Biden eventually pardoned his son for those charges as well as federal gun charges.
A Canadian actress says she experienced “inhumane” treatment after being detained by U.S. immigration officials while trying to cross the border from Mexico.
Jasmine Mooney, whose credits include “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love,” said she was trying to renew her work visa when she approached the U.S. border near San Diego on March 3, but was denied entry and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I was put in a cell, and I had to sleep on a mat with no blanket, no pillow, with an aluminum foil wrapped over my body like a dead body for two and a half days,” Mooney, who is also the co-founder of a health drink brand, told local San Diego news outlet KGTV.
Her story echoes those of German nationals and others who have found themselves unexpectedly detained as the Trump administration ramps up border enforcement and tightens immigration policies.
Mooney said she and about 30 other people “were up for 24 hours wrapped in chains” as they were transferred to a private for-profit detention center in Arizona.
“I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane,” Mooney said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to tell KGTV why Mooney had been detained, citing privacy restrictions, but said the agency treats all travelers with integrity, respect and professionalism.
Mooney, who is originally from Vancouver, returned to Canada over the weekend.
“No one deserves to go through that, what I witnessed,” she said, according to Global News.
The Justice Department on Tuesday refused to answer a number of questions from a federal judge who had demanded more information on deportations that were carried out under a rarely used wartime act.
“The Government maintains that there is no justification to order the provision of additional information, and that doing so would be inappropriate,” the Justice Department said in a court filing responding to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s ruling that it provide him with more information.
The filing, however, did include a declaration from an official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement answering some of the questions the judge had posed at a hearing Monday, at which he expressed frustration that the government had appeared to snub his order halting the deportations and its refusal to answer questions about its actions.
A White House official told NBC News the call between Trump and Putin is over. The call lasted over an hour and a half.
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement rebuking Trump and his allies for calling to impeach judges who have ruled against the administration.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said in a statement.
Trump allies have called for various judges to be impeached for blocking administration policies in the first months of his second term.
According to White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, Trump’s call with Putin is still ongoing as of 11:32 a.m. — meaning it has been going on for over an hour and a half so far.
Trump lashed out this morning at a federal judge who has ordered the administration to pause deportations under the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg questioned a government lawyer over the administration’s response to a weekend court order where he demanded that planes carrying deportees under the Alien Enemies Act be turned around. Deportees ultimately arrived in El Salvador, raising questions about the timing of the flights.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY.”
It is unclear how the administration determined that the people deported are members of a Venezuelan gang. It is also unclear whether the deportees had any court hearings ahead of being deported.
Trump did not explicitly name Boasberg in his post, but he appeared to be referring to the deportation case that the judge presides over.
Trump’s allies have pushed for the impeachment of judges, with Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, saying over the weekend that would introduce legislation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Elon Musk’s calls for impeaching judges and answered, “I have not heard the president talk about impeaching judges. I know you mentioned Mr. Musk’s tweet, but I have not heard the president of the United States ask that.”
Lawyers in the Justice Department’s national security division worked all night to review hundreds of pages of classified documents set for release today related to the JFK assassination, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.
This was first reported by ABC News.
Trump said yesterday that the files would be released today.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Trump in January signed an executive order directing the “full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.”
The Kennedy assassination has been a fixation among some of Trump’s closest supporters — Tucker Carlson, for example — including some who believe the CIA played a role.
Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, outlined his vision for the agency in a lengthy memo to staff today, detailing exploratory efforts to implement artificial intelligence and boost anti-fraud efforts as Trump and his right-hand adviser Elon Musk have zeroed in on claims of widespread improper payments at the bureau.
In the memo, which was shared with NBC News by a person who obtained it, Dudek apologized for having made mistakes, said he will continue to make more and pledged to learn from them.
Trump is still speaking to Putin, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino said on X.
“Happening Now—President Trump is currently in the Oval Office speaking with President Vladimir Putin of Russia since 10:00amEDT. The call is going well, and still in progress,” Scavino wrote at 10:54 a.m.
The Trump administration is facing a growing legal battle as a federal judge is now questioning whether his order halting the deportation of undocumented migrants was ignored. The Justice Department is expected to answer key questions about the deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador without due process. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for “TODAY.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, making him among the only world leaders to do so.
It comes as India is also among the few countries to offer pre-emptive trade concessions to the U.S., hoping to avoid tariffs. Modi and Trump have a personal relationship that goes back years, and are seen as having similar worldviews, especially as the U.S. looks to India as a counter to China.
In his first post on Truth Social, the Indian leader posted a picture of himself with Trump during the “Howdy Modi” rally in Houston during his 2019 visit to the U.S., saying he was “delighted” to join the platform.
Modi has been making an effort to appeal to Trump supporters lately, including by appearing on Lex Fridman’s podcast, the link to which was shared by Trump yesterday.
Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, a probationary employee with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who was fired Feb. 14 as part of the cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency, was reinstated today, according to an email shared exclusively with NBC News.
Spitzer-Stadtlander was one of several employees who was working on a warning radar system for Hawaii to detect incoming missiles, through a program that was in part funded by the Defense Department. The program was part of the FAA’s National Airspace System Defense Program and involves radars providing longer-range detection around the nation’s borders.
The email states that the Transportation Department is “rescinding” Spitzer-Stadtlander’s “probationary/trial period termination” and explains that the department is taking this action to be “in compliance with the order issued March 13 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.” The email goes on to say he will be “reinstated with pay and benefits” to his previous position and will receive backpay for the period in which he was previously terminated.
Spitzer-Stadtlander told NBC News he plans to return to his job.
“I’m returning to my job because I love serving the American people and working for national security. It’s an honor of my lifetime,” he said. “I want to be able to do my job without chaos and uncertainty. Public service and national security are not places for politics or instability.”
“Though I’m glad to be reinstated, it’s important to remember that two courts found that the termination of probationary employees en masse and for a false reason of poor performance was unlawful,” he added. “What happened was incredibly hurtful and traumatic. But since I work for the American people and in service of the mission, that’s all that matters and all that I’m keeping my focus on.”
Spitzer-Stadtlander declined to answer how his case will move forward as he has a pending appeal related to his initial termination.
The Trump administration is asking a federal judge to reverse his decision to block the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants.
The move, which came in an overnight filing, is the latest development in the legal battle over whether the administration can deport alleged gang members using the authority of a rarely invoked act.
The administration argued in the filings that the “court lacks jurisdiction” over the claims of the Venezuelan plaintiffs, and that those suing the administration “have not shown the requisite irreparable harm.”
“The alleged harms to Plaintiffs are overwhelmingly outweighed by the President’s interest in using his statutory and constitutional authority to address what he has identified as an invasion or predatory incursion by a group undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare,” the filing said.
The judge had previously ordered any flights carrying deportees subject to Trump’s proclamation to turn around, but it was later revealed that the planes had arrived in El Salvador, raising questions about the timing of the flights and custody handover.
More than half of Americans want the U.S. to help Ukraine regain territory it has lost since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, even if that means prolonging the conflict, new research shows.
An opinion poll from Gallup released this morning found 53% of respondents support the U.S. aiding Ukraine’s defense efforts, compared to 45% who want a quick end to the conflict even if that means conceding land to Russia.
Trump has sharply turned U.S. away from former President Joe Biden’s policy of pledging huge financial and military aid to Ukraine, claiming that he actively supports neither side and is working toward a peace deal. A national NBC News poll found yesterday that a majority of Americans, 61%, support Ukraine over Russia and that most believe Trump favors Russia.
“Looking ahead, this increase in public preference for stronger U.S. involvement may pressure the Trump administration to recalibrate its Ukraine policy, especially if Russia violates potential ceasefire agreements,” Gallup said in its analysis of the figures.
Yesterday’s Gallup poll also showed that a record number of people believe the U.S. isn’t doing enough to help Ukraine in its war effort; 46% said assistance wasn’t enough, a rise of 16 points since December, in a sign some voters are turning against Trump’s self-described neutral stance.
Support for Ukrainian aid is highest among Democrats and independent voters, but the 56% of Republicans who feel the U.S. is doing too much to help Ukraine is a fall of 11 points in the last three months.
Gallup’s research was carried out between March 3 and 11, after the chaotic and divisive meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Feb. 28. That meeting was scheduled to discuss a possible rare-earth minerals deal between the countries but ended in acrimony as the American leaders chastised Zelenskyy for not showing enough gratitude for the billions of dollars in U.S. support to date.
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Kyiv’s NATO aspirations and land will likely be on the table this morning when Trump tries to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders are set to speak on a phone call scheduled for between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET that will go on for “as long as they deem necessary,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today.
The State Department has reauthorized scholarship funding for Afghan women studying in Oman who said they faced persecution by the Taliban if their program was canceled and they were deported to Afghanistan.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. government authorized the continuation of funding to the American University of Afghanistan and Texas A&M University until June 30, a State Department spokesperson said. It is unclear whether funding would then be further extended for the program, which is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The women had appealed for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad, saying that their return to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has severely curtailed women’s rights, “would mean the permanent loss of our education and exposure to severe risks, including oppression, insecurity, and a future without opportunities.”
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, has retweeted a post by a far-right commentator who praised the dismantling of Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded news outlets.
Ian Miles Cheong, a contributor to the Russian state media outlet RT, claimed that Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and other outlets run by the U.S. Agency for Global Media “produced and disseminated far-left propaganda, including media hostile to conservatives in Central European countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary” and perpetuated “pro-war narratives against Russia.”
The U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent U.S. government agency, was one of seven entities Trump designated for elimination in an executive order last Friday, in a move critics said was a win for authoritarian regimes such as China, where state media cheered the decision to shut the outlets known for their reporting on issues such as human rights and religious freedom.
Speaking earlier today, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to comment on Chinese state media reports or U.S. domestic policy, but said “it is not a secret that those U.S. media outlets make biased reporting on China.”
The issue of diversity, equity and inclusion programs is among the most tightly divided and polarizing questions in the United States, with wide gaps emerging along partisan and racial lines, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
Trump has made dismantling DEI programs an early focus of his administration, and voters are split over the future of DEI programs in the workplace, with deep differences depending on their political party.
Half of registered voters (49%) in the NBC News poll say DEI programs should be eliminated “because they create divisions and inefficiencies in the workplace by putting too much emphasis on race and other social factors over merit, skills and experience.”
And 48% say DEI programs in the workplace should continue “because diverse perspectives reflect our country, create innovative ideas and solutions, encourage unity and make our workplaces fair and inclusive.”
Trump is expected to speak today with Putin as the United States tries to mediate a diplomatic solution to end Russia’s three-year war with Ukraine.
“We have tremendous things to report tomorrow, speaking with President Putin of Russia to save some soldiers who are in deep trouble. They’re captured,” Trump told reporters yesterday afternoon.
Trump said that “it’s a bad situation” in both Ukraine and Russia.
“What’s happening in Ukraine is not good, but we’re going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace, and I think we’ll be able to do it. I’m speaking to President Putin tomorrow morning,” he said.
He later posted on Truth Social, “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remain.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at yesterday’s briefing that “we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment.”
Trump said Sunday that he and Putin will discuss “land” and “power plants, because that’s a big question.”
“But I think we have a lot of it already discussed, very much by both sides, Ukraine and Russia. We’re already talking about that, dividing up certain assets. They’ve been working on that,” Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Putin can’t be trusted because Russia hasn’t stuck to its previous agreements with Ukraine. That was the message he communicated to Trump in late February when he clashed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House. Trump, meanwhile, recently threatened to ramp up sanctions on Russia until it reached a peace agreement.
The Democratic National Committee has launched a six-figure investment in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in support of liberal candidate Susan Crawford.
The investment comes exactly two weeks ahead of the technically nonpartisan April 1 election that will determine the state Supreme Court’s ideological balance for the second time in two years and coincides with today’s kickoff of early voting.
The DNC describes the move as the party’s earliest-ever electoral investment after a November election.
Party officials said the investment, which will officially go to the Wisconsin Democratic coordinated campaign, is intended to help counter the millions of dollars spent so far by outside groups with ties to Elon Musk.
“When I went to Wisconsin to knock doors last month, folks told me they don’t want billionaires like Elon Musk running our federal government and they certainly don’t want him buying our elections,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “After what I heard on the ground, we’re investing earlier than ever before. The best way to curb Elon Musk’s influence is to organize everywhere, win races, and stop him in his tracks.”
The investment, which will also aid the Democratic candidate in the battleground’s state school superintendent race, will help fund grassroots organizing efforts aimed at phone and text banking to reach voters.
The race features a face-off between Brad Schimel, a conservative state judge in Waukesha County who previously was the state’s Republican attorney general, and Crawford, a liberal state judge in Madison.
