What to know today
- President Donald Trump defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after NBC News and other news outlets reported that he used his personal phone to send information about U.S. military operations in Yemen. Trump said that Hegseth is "doing a great job" and — in a reference to the targets of the Yemen operation — that people should "ask the Houthis how he's doing."
- Two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that Hegseth sent information about the Yemen strikes to a 13-person group chat that included his wife and his brother. Hegseth blamed the story on "disgruntled former employees" and attacked the media for covering it.
- A group of House Democrats is in El Salvador today to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration says it mistakenly deported.
Florida Republican defends Pete Hegseth over new Signal chat debacle
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., came to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's defense tonight in responding to a question about operational details shared in a Signal chat and whether that violated federal law over the handling of sensitive information.
"The answer is no," Donalds said at a town hall event in his district, adding that Hegseth "did not violate the Espionage Act."
His response elicited a combination of boos and cheers from audience members. Numerous Republicans on Capitol Hill have already defended Hegseth, who continues to have Trump's support.
NBC News and other news organizations reported that Hegseth sent information about U.S. military operations in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and his brother using his personal phone. Last month, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, said he was mistakenly added to a Signal chat with Vice President JD Vance and top national security officials on which Hegseth shared details ahead of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.
Some experts have argued that the incidents may have violated the Espionage Act, which governs how sensitive information is handled.
Rep. Byron Donalds gets into heated exchange with audience member over Israel-Hamas war
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., got into a heated exchange with an audience member over the Israel-Hamas war during a town hall tonight.
Donalds told an audience member that she was disrespecting "everybody in this room" when she stood and loudly protested his pro-Israel stance.
"You think you’re being heard, and let’s be clear, you’re not," Donalds said. "We laid the rules out. You are being rude and disrespectful. You are not the only person who has a point of view in this room."
The exchange came after Donalds responded to a question about the Israel-Hamas war and defended Israel.
Shouts of "Free Palestine!" from a small number of audience members could be heard as the woman left the venue.
Rep. Byron Donalds defends Musk and DOGE during town hall in Florida
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a member of the House Oversight Committee, was asked at a town hall tonight in Estero, Florida, about what the Republican-led panel is doing to ensure oversight of Elon Musk as the Department of Government Efficiency acts to dramatically reshape the government and cut federal spending.
Donalds, a candidate for governor in 2026, said Musk was "essentially the head of the DOGE that Donald Trump has set up in his administration," and that the tech billionaire and DOGE were operating "under the directions" of Trump.
"If you’re going to talk about what Oversight is doing, we actually have to let the DOGE committee, the DOGE department, actually finish its work," Donalds said. "What they are examining right now is an efficiency in the federal system."
Donalds was also asked about DOGE's access to Social Security data and painted any criticism as coming from a partisan point of view. "If you’re just upset because Donald Trump is, Elon Musk doing it, that doesn’t make any sense," he said.
Trump gives a double endorsement in Arizona's GOP primary for governor
Trump has split his endorsement in Arizona's 2026 race for governor, backing two very different Republicans vying to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs next year.
Trump offered support last year to Karrin Taylor Robson, who is running again after having lost the 2022 primary to Trump ally Kari Lake. But GOP Rep. Andy Biggs, a vocal Trump backer, also jumped into the race, leaving Trump with a dilemma he resolved by saying he supports them both.
"I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so," Trump posted today on Truth Social. "When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH."
Trump has previously split his endorsement in several Republican primaries, including a GOP House contest in Arizona last year. Taylor Robson is tied to the more old-line version of the Arizona Republican Party, while Biggs is a House Freedom Caucus member and a MAGA acolyte.
Judge signs off on unusual request by AARP in prominent deportation case
A federal judge in Texas today signed off on an unusual request by AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, to change the name of a hot button court case that the advocacy group has nothing to do with.
The case is one in which Venezuelan asylum-seekers are challenging the legality of Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act against members of the country's Tren de Aragua gang. The lead plaintiff in the case, who denies he's a member of the gang, is identified only by his initials — A.A.R.P. — so the case was captioned A.A.R.P. v Donald Trump in court documents.
In a court filing over the weekend, AARP asked whether the caption could be changed to the co-plaintiff's initials, W.M.M. The advocacy group argued it "'has no connection' to the petitioner A.A.R.P., 'takes absolutely no position regarding the subject matter of this litigation,' and seeks to intervene only to 'avoid confusion.'"
Sarah Lovenheim, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement that “AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan org. dedicated to advocating for Americans aged 50 and older. We’ve had no involvement in recently filed litigation using 'A.A.R.P.' as a pseudonym."
Neither the plaintiffs nor the government objected to the change, so U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix approved the switch in an order today. and we take no position on the matters at issue.”
Harvard sues federal government after Trump administration slashed billions in funding
Harvard University sued the Trump administration today after the federal government said it was freezing $2.2 billion in grants and sought what university officials described as “unprecedented and improper” control over the Ivy League institution.
“The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a message today announcing the lawsuit.
The suit, filed in federal district court in Massachusetts, accuses the administration of flouting the First Amendment and federal laws and regulations.
Last week, the Trump administration announced that it was freezing federal funding after the school refused to accept demands that the administration has said aim to address antisemitism on campus.
Nadine Menendez, wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez, convicted in bribery scheme
Nadine Menendez, the wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez, was convicted today of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez, D-N.J., of many of the same charges last year. He is supposed to begin serving an 11-year prison term in June.
Nadine Menendez’s sentencing was scheduled for June 12, six days after her husband is expected to report to prison.
The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September 2023. Repeatedly during the trial, prosecutors said they were “partners in crime.”
'We cannot give everyone a trial,' Trump says of deportations
Trump complained this afternoon about a Supreme Court ruling temporarily halting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act and said it's not realistic to give deportees due process.
"I’m doing what I was elected to do, remove criminals from our Country, but the Courts don’t seem to want me to do that. My team is fantastic, doing an incredible job, however, they are being stymied at every turn by even the U.S. Supreme Court, which I have such great respect for," Trump said on Truth Social this afternoon.
He also railed against giving due process to the people he wants to deport.
"We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years. We would need hundreds of thousands of trials for the hundreds of thousands of Illegals we are sending out of the Country. Such a thing is not possible to do," he wrote. "What a ridiculous situation we are in."
Major corporate interests and megadonors gave $239 million to fund Trump’s inauguration
Trump’s inaugural committee raised $239 million, a new fundraising report shows, buoyed by million-dollar contributions from major companies and business executives.
The massive haul is more than double the $109 million raised for his first inauguration in 2017 (the record until now). Among those who wrote major checks were people Trump tapped to become government officials, as well as prominent corporations (and their leaders) with business in front of the administration, particularly those in the oil, financial, technology and transportation sectors.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major poultry producer, donated more than any other individual or company, sending $5 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. Just behind was Ripple Labs, the cryptocurrency and blockchain company, which gave almost $4.9 million.
A handful of energy companies gave at least $500,000 apiece — including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Occidental Petroleum Corp., as well as the political arm of the American Petroleum Institute.
GOP-led House panel renews referral of Andrew Cuomo for prosecution over Covid testimony
A Republican-led congressional committee sent a letter today to Attorney General Pam Bondi re-upping its referral of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for prosecution, accusing him of lying during testimony before the panel as it was investigating the pandemic.
The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., had referred its accusations regarding Cuomo to the Justice Department last year during the Biden administration. The Justice Department then led by Merrick Garland, did not publicly respond to the referral.
In it, the committee accuses Cuomo of lying when he testified that he was not involved in reviewing or drafting of a New York state Department of Health report that rebutted criticisms of his administration’s handling of the crisis. It points to evidence that the committee alleges demonstrates that he reviewed, edited and drafted parts of the report, which was supposed to be an independent analysis of his administration’s performance.
“Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account,” Comer said in a statement.
New Hegseth Signal chat shows issue is widespread, watchdog suit says
Reports that Hegseth was involved in a second Signal group chat in which he shared information about U.S. military operations in Yemen shows that the issue is widespread — and that the Trump administration is flouting federal recordkeeping laws, a government watchdog group argued today in an amended lawsuit.
"This case concerns a clear and urgent threat to the preservation and recovery of unlawfully destroyed federal records posed by the heads of the Executive Branch’s largest agencies and their regular use of a commercially available electronic messaging application to conduct government work without adequate recordkeeping programs that safeguard the creation, retention, and destruction of such records," American Oversight said in the suit.
Citing the newly disclosed chat group, the group contends: “It is now clear that the use of Signal to conduct official government business by administration officials is widespread: senior administration officials used, and likely continue to use, a commercially available text message application with an auto-delete function and no apparent mechanism to fully preserve federal records on government record-keeping systems."
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg last month ordered members of the Signal group chat first reported by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to preserve records from those chats. The suit noted that in response, "no Defendant claimed that they had preserved the Houthi PC Small Group Chat in its entirety, with some Defendants even claiming to 'preserve' portions of their messages by taking screenshot images of their phones."
Screenshots "are not methods of preservation that meet the legal requirements for recordkeeping," the suit says.
The amended lawsuit seeks a declaration that the Trump administration’s messages sent and received over Signal are federal records subject to the Federal Records Act.
As a nationwide push to ban cellphones in schools grows, Congress looks to get involved
Reporting from Fairfax, Virginia
A bipartisan duo of senators is looking to back the efforts a growing number of states are taking to ban or limit students’ use of cellphones in classrooms.
A recent Associated Press study found that nine states have already implemented statewide restrictions related to cellphones in schools, while 39 more are exploring them. That has caught the attention of Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., who have proposed a bill to provide federal funding to give incentives to restrict cellphones in classrooms.
“It’s an issue where we can come together and try to empower parents and school districts to make the right choices for their kids and their students,” Cotton said.
The legislation would provide up to $5 million to school districts nationwide to study and develop pilot programs to lay the groundwork for long-term cellphone bans.
Republican leaders slam Democrats' El Salvador trip
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sharply criticized House Democrats' trip to El Salvador.
"Today, House Democrats travel to El Salvador as part of their obsession to bring a violent illegal alien and member of MS-13 BACK INTO the United States," he wrote on X. Abrego Garcia's lawyers have denied that he is a gang member.
"Could the contrast be more clear? House Republicans remain committed to doing everything we can to protect American families and keep dangerous gang members OUT of our country."
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the House GOP, also said in a statement that it will “pay for the plane tickets” of House Democrats “eager to hang out with their new poster child in El Salvador.”
House Democrats in El Salvador: 'This could happen to any one of our constituents'
A group of House Democrats is in El Salvador today to raise awareness, they say, about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case and to demand his release.
“This could happen to any one of our constituents, any one of my constituents, in Orlando, Florida, tomorrow or the next day,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., told NBC News. “And so it’s important that we draw the line here with Kilmar and we ensure that he gets taken home, brought back home, where he can go through a process and go through due process, and that we’re also defending the Constitution.”
Frost was joined by Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., and Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz. NBC News was the first outlet to speak to the group on the ground.
“And this issue is more than about Kilmar. It’s about due process in the U.S., and it’s about following what the Supreme Court is saying and bringing him back home,” Garcia said.
The group also visited the U.S. Embassy here in El Salvador for meetings and had plans to meet with local human rights organizations.
Trump to meet with retail executives today about tariffs
A White House official confirmed Trump is set to meet with top executives from major retailers at the White House today to discuss the impact of his tariffs on their businesses.
The meeting includes representatives from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Target.
Trump says 'loser' Jerome Powell is waiting too long to cut interest rates
Trump lobbed a fresh series of insults at Fed Chair Jerome Powell and reiterated a call for lower interest rates, a move meant to address concerns about a slowing U.S. economy but one that risks reigniting inflation.
In a post on Truth Social at 9:41 a.m., Trump claimed that “preemptive cuts” were being called for “by many” now that the economy was facing what he described as “virtually No Inflation.” He didn’t say who has called for the pre-emptive cuts, which the Fed rarely performs.
Without the cuts, Trump said, the economy now risks slowing, “unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.”
Supreme Court wrestles with challenge to Obamacare preventive care panel
The Supreme Court grappled with a complex challenge to a panel set up as part of the Affordable Care Act to recommend preventive care services that insurers have to provide at no cost to patients.
The issue of whether the statute’s requirement that the panel be independent and whether that creates constitutional issues by limiting the HHS secretary’s power to supervise it was heavily debated during the argument.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan told Jonathan Michell, the lawyer representing the challengers, that his argument “really does rise or fall on how we read that independence language.”
Homeland Security Secretary Noem's bag was stolen last night, spokesperson says
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's bag was stolen last night, including a large amount of cash, a DHS spokesperson told NBC News.
CNN was first to report that Noem's bag was stolen, reporting that $3,000 was taken.
Asked why Noem was carrying that much cash, the DHS spokesperson told NBC News: “Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren — she was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts.”
NBC asked Noem about the incident at the White House Easter Egg Roll but she said she couldn't comment on it yet.
"It's not resolved yet," she said, adding that she hadn't spoken about it to U.S. Secret Service personnel, but said they are aware that it happened.
Trump defends Hegseth: 'Just ask the Houthis how he’s doing'
Trump said that Hegseth is doing a "great job."
"Pete's doing a great job," the president told reporters at the Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn in response to reports that Hegseth shared sensitive information about U.S. military operations in Yemen with his wife and his brother on another Signal chat.
"Just ask the Houthis how he's doing," Trump said, referring to the Iranian-backed group in Yemen that was targeted by U.S. airstrikes.
Trump said that the latest report on Hegseth was "fake news" and that it "sounds like disgruntled employees."
"We have the highest recruitment numbers, I think, we've had in 28 years," Trump said.
Rep. Maxwell Frost says he and three other House Democrats have arrived in El Salvador
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., wrote in a post on X this morning that he and three other House Democrats have arrived in El Salvador.
Frost, along with Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., are there to demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
"Trump is illegally arresting, jailing, & deporting people with no due process," Frost wrote. "We must hold the Administration accountable for these illegal acts and demand Kilmar’s release. Today it’s him, tomorrow it could be anyone else."
Democrats call on Hegseth to resign
Democrats reacted quickly to reports that Hegseth used his personal phone to discuss military plans in a Signal group. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted on X that Hegseth “must be fired.”
“The details keep coming out,” Schumer said. “We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him.”
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on X: “The latest story about Pete Hegseth’s carelessness with sensitive information is yet another alarming example in this administration’s unbroken pattern of incompetence. He should resign.”
Sen Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a military veteran, called Hegseth “a threat to our national security” in a statement.
“Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered,” she said.
Supreme Court rejects Minnesota effort to revive ban on young adults from carrying guns
The Supreme Court delivered a blow to Minnesota’s attempt to prevent young adults from obtaining permits to carry firearms in public.
The court, which frequently backs gun rights, rejected the state’s appeal of a ruling that said a law banning 18-to-20-year-olds from applying for such permits violated the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms.
Although the court did not issue a ruling in the case, it sends a signal that similar laws, including one at the federal level, could be under threat in future.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife says House Democrats' trip to El Salvador 'sends a powerful message'
The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said in a statement today that the visit by a group of House Democrats to El Salvador to advocate for the release of her husband "sends a powerful message."
“We’re deeply grateful to the members of Congress and advocates for justice now on the ground in El Salvador, building on the leadership of Senator Van Hollen," she said.
She said that she and her family are concerned about his husband's health and hope to hear news about the lawmakers' visit.
"Their presence sends a powerful message: the fight to bring Kilmar home isn’t over," she said. "I’m fighting for Kilmar and for all the other Kilmars who have been unjustly deported without due process. We need Congress to keep showing up, both here and abroad, until justice is served and the rights of everyone are protected.”
Hegseth blames Signal group chat story on 'disgruntled former employees'
Hegseth suggested that disgruntled former employees who were recently fired leaked the information about his use of Signal group chats to the media.
“You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax," Hegseth told reporters at the White House when asked about the latest revelations.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that Hegseth shared information about military strikes in Yemen in a Signal group chat that included his wife and his brother. The New York Times was the first to report the news, citing four unnamed sources.
"This is what the media does," Hegseth said this morning. "They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me."
Several top Pentagon aides working for Hegseth were fired in recent weeks. John Ullyot, a former aide, wrote in an op-ed for Politico that officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the fired aides, "claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an investigation ordered earlier this month ... none of this is true." Ullyot said he "was not a victim of this purge" and had left voluntarily.
Trump 'has confidence' in Hegseth, White House press secretary says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump "has confidence" in Pete Hegseth following new reporting yesterday about the defense secretary's use of Signal to discuss military plans.
“The president absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth," Leavitt said outside the White House. "I spoke to him about it this morning and he stands strongly behind him."
Supreme Court weighs challenge to Obamacare preventive care panel
The Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to a panel set up as part of the Affordable Care Act to recommend preventive care services that insurers have to provide at no cost to patients.
The case arose from a challenge brought by Christian employers Braidwood Management and Kelley Orthodontics, in addition to several individuals, who objected on religious grounds to the Preventive Services Task Force approving no-cost coverage for the HIV prevention medication known as PrEP.
Trump hopes Russia and Ukraine will reach a peace deal this week
Trump said yesterday on Truth Social that he hopes Russia and Ukraine will reach a peace deal this week, putting pressure on the two countries to come to an agreement as U.S.-brokered peace talks seemed to stall.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Paris on Friday that the U.S. will “move on” from facilitating the deal if it’s not struck soon, adding that the administration will not “continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
Trump later said of Rubio’s comments, “Marco is right,” adding that “if for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass.”
Vice President JD Vance appeared to strike a more hopeful tone that same day, saying during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that the administration feels “optimistic” it can bring the war to an end.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary Easter ceasefire over the weekend, citing humanitarian reasons. The holiday was an uneasy one in Kyiv, as both sides accused the other of launching attacks during the truce period.
Four House Democrats travel to El Salvador to demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Four House Democrats are traveling to El Salvador to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to the Central American country by the Trump administration.
The lawmakers, Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., and Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., are expected to meet with officials at the U.S. Embassy this morning in El Salvador, receive classified briefings and speak with local human rights organizations and advocates.
The group of Democrats wants to "bring attention to President Trump’s illegal defiance of the binding and unanimous Supreme Court decision" that said that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S., according to a press release about their trip.
Their visit comes days after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., traveled to El Salvador, where he was able to meet with Abrego Garcia.
Pete Hegseth shared information ahead of Yemen strikes in a Signal chat with wife and his brother
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his personal phone to send information about U.S. military operations in Yemen to a 13-person Signal group chat, including his wife and his brother, two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed to NBC News.
He did so after an aide had warned him to be careful not to share sensitive information on an unsecure communications system before the Yemen operation, the sources said.
White House Easter Egg Roll will take place today, farmers to shell out 30,000 real eggs for festivities
The White House Easter Egg Roll will take place on the South Lawn today. Trump said yesterday he’ll be there, adding that he is expecting 40,000 people to attend. He said all funds from the event will go to the White House Historical Association.
The event, a tradition dating back to 1878, uses real eggs — a plan that the White House won’t be scrambling this year despite concerns over egg prices. The White House is expected to use around 30,000 eggs for decoration and games in the festivities, and this year marks the first time it will exclusively use small and medium eggs that are not sold at markets.
American Egg Board president Emily Metz previously said in a statement to NBC News that those 30,000 eggs “represent a very small percentage of the nearly nine million dozen eggs sold at grocers and other retailers across the country each day.”
The White House posted a video on X yesterday showing a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the egg roll.