What to know today
- President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting this morning with Elon Musk in attendance. The previous meeting, held earlier this month, delved into Musk's efforts to slash the size of government under the administration's Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
- The White House said it is reviewing how a magazine editor was accidentally added to a group text in which people who appeared to be members of the Trump administration were discussing plans for a military strike in Yemen.
- The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments this afternoon over the Trump administration's efforts to deport five Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime law. Trump and the Justice Department spent much of last week in a heated back-and-forth with U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.
- U.S. negotiators are meeting separately with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia to try to broker a deal to end the three-year war. Last week, Trump spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who agreed on terms for a partial ceasefire.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacks Atlantic editor, says 'nobody was texting war plans'
In his first public comments since The Atlantic story broke today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth came out swinging. But rather than address the alleged classified information shared on an unclassified app, Hegseth took aim at journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who wrote the story.
Asked how information about war plans was shared with a journalist and whether the information was classified, Hegseth went after Goldberg, calling him a "so-called journalist."
Asked why military details were shared on Signal and how he found out a journalist was on the chain, Hegseth said: “I’ve heard I was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.”
He then walked away from reporters.
As Trump and his allies push to impeach judges, Speaker Johnson eyes an escape hatch
Reporting from Washington
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., faces mounting pressure from Trump and some of his allies in Congress to impeach judges who are blocking his agenda.
But legislation introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., could provide Johnson with an off-ramp, allowing his members to voice their support for Trump on the issue while avoiding politically perilous impeachment votes that are all but doomed to fail.
Issa’s bill, the “No Rogue Rulings Act,” would bar district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, the sort of rulings that have hampered Trump’s fully enacting his plans on issues from deportation to federal agency cuts two months into the new administration. Johnson, a former constitutional attorney, threw his support behind the bill over the weekend.
“We have a major malfunction in our federal judiciary, and practically every week another judge casts aside the tradition of restraint from the bench and opts to be the Trump resistance in robes,” Issa, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, told NBC News today.
Trump signs executive order imposing tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil
Trump issued an executive order today that imposes a 25% tariff on imported goods from any country that directly or indirectly imports Venezuelan oil.
The tariff will be enacted starting April 2.
Trump previewed the order in a Truth Social post today that described Venezuela as “very hostile” to the United States.
GOP leaders raise alarm bells over a Florida special election in a deep-red district
Republican leaders have grown privately alarmed about the massive fundraising disparity their candidate, Randy Fine, faces in a special House election in a deep-red Florida district and have swooped in to help resuscitate his campaign at the eleventh hour.
House GOP leaders have in recent days been calling donors to plead for financial help in the race to fill the seat previously held by Mike Waltz, who is now Trump’s national security adviser, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. In addition, Fine, a state senator, has made personal pleas to Florida-based lobbyists and donors for a quick infusion of cash, according to two sources familiar with those conversations, ahead of the April 1 election.
While party leaders in both Washington and Florida are ultimately confident that Fine will pull off a victory, Republicans say they’re frustrated that they need to intervene in a district that Trump won by 30 percentage points last year.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who leads the House GOP’s campaign arm, said Fine “needs to do better” on his fundraising. But Hudson was confident Republicans would hold onto the seat, and said he did not expect the National Republican Congressional Committee to spend in the race.
Colorado to take down Trump portrait at state Capitol after president demands removal of ‘distorted’ painting
Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden. Rosie O’Donnell. Trump has a long list of foes, and this weekend he added another: a painting of himself.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted a portrait of him that has been hanging in the Colorado state Capitol and demanded its removal.
“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump claimed in a lengthy post last night.
He added that he “would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
Today, he got his wish.
The plight of boys and men, once sidelined by Democrats, is now a priority
For Democrats, reaching male voters became a political necessity after last fall’s election, when young men swung significantly toward Trump.
But for some — like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — it’s also a personal goal. The first-term governor, who has spoken about his own struggles as a teenager, recently announced plans to direct his “entire administration” to find ways to help struggling boys and men.
“The well-being of our young men and boys has not been a societal priority,” Moore said in an interview. “I want Maryland to be the one that is aggressive and unapologetic about being able to address it and being able to fix it.”
Moore’s not the only Democrat vowing to help boys and men.
Louis DeJoy announces immediate retirement as postmaster general
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement that he will retire today as the Postal Service's top official.
"After nearly five years as America’s 75th Postmaster General, and after informing the Governors in February of my intention to retire, I have today informed the Postal Service Board of Governors that today will be my last day in this role," DeJoy said.
DeJoy said that he has been working closely with his deputy, Douglas Tulino, in preparation for the transition, noting that Tulino will serve as interim postmaster general until the board of governors names a permanent successor.
"The Governors have hired a search firm in support of those efforts, which are well underway," DeJoy added.
NBC News reported last month that the board is preparing for a possible takeover of the USPS. Trump told reporters last month that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would be "looking" at the Postal Service, which has been a target of Republican criticism for years.
Trump taps acting CDC director to permanently lead the agency after White House withdraws previous nominee
Trump announced this afternoon that he is nominating Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to permanently lead the public health agency.
The White House withdrew the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a Republican for congressman from Florida, shortly before his Senate confirmation hearing three weeks ago.
“Dr. Monarez brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that Monarez will “work closely” with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if she is confirmed.
NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kube explains the alleged breach of protocol by top national security officials who discussed upcoming military strikes on the messaging app Signal, which inadvertently included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief.
Trump administration is reviewing how its national security team sent war plans to a magazine editor
The White House said it was reviewing how the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine was accidentally added to a group text in which people who appeared to be members of the Trump administration discussed plans to launch airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen.
“At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” the National Security Council said in a statement.
The statement was in response to an article published today by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, a veteran national security and foreign affairs journalist. Goldberg reported he had been added to a group chat called “Houthi PC small group” on March 13 via Signal, an encrypted messaging service widely believed to be more secure than other commercial texting applications.
Trump says Hyundai is opening a new steel plant in Louisiana
Trump said in remarks from the White House Roosevelt Room this afternoon that the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is opening a steel plant in Louisiana.
Trump said that Hyundai is announcing a $5.8 billion investment in American manufacturing by building a new steel plant in the state, which he said would produce more than 1,400 jobs.
"This will be Hyundai's first-ever steel mill in the United States, one of the largest companies in the world, by the way, supplying steel for its auto parts and auto plants in Alabama and Georgia, which will soon produce more than 1 million American made cars every single year," he said. "The cars are coming into this country at levels never seen before."
The automaker's factory was part of a broader investment in the U.S. Trump claimed that the announcement is a "clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work." South Korea had requested an exemption from the tariffs the administration has imposed on other major trading partners.
India says overseas nationals must 'comply with local laws' after Georgetown graduate student is detained
Reporting from New Delhi
India said its overseas nationals must “comply with local laws and regulations” after reports last week that a Georgetown University graduate student from India had been taken into custody and targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.
“When it comes to visa and immigration policy, it is something that lies within the sovereign functions of a country,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters on Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security has accused Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow who teaches at Georgetown, of making pro-Hamas and antisemitic comments, which his lawyer denies, calling Suri’s detention “beyond contemptible.”
Suri’s deportation has been blocked by a federal judge in Virginia who has ordered that he not be removed from the country without court approval.
Judge in Alien Enemies Act case defends ruling ahead of key appeals court hearing
The judge presiding over the Alien Enemies Act case today denied the government’s request to lift his hold on deportations under the rarely used wartime law, despite President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on him and his order.
Denying the government’s order to vacate his rulings, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found that the Venezuelan nationals the administration wants to deport under the law should likely be given the opportunity to challenge allegations that they’re members of the Tren de Aragua gang first.
The decision came just hours before a federal appeals court is set to hear arguments that the deportations should be allowed to continue while it considers the government’s appeal of Boasberg’s ruling.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown forms nonprofit organization focused on the economy
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced this morning that he's launching a nonprofit group called the Dignity of Work Institute.
The Democrat, who lost his re-election bid in November for a fourth Senate term, said in a post on X that the group's goal is to create an economy where people are rewarded for their work.
"Whether you punch a clock or swipe a badge, work for tips or a salary, care for a child or for an aging parent, your work has dignity," he said. "Today I’m launching the Dignity of Work Institute to create an economy where Americans’ work is valued, where they benefit from the wealth they create, and where everyone can afford a decent living. Let’s make workers the winners in our economy."
In a video launching the group, Brown argued that Americans aren't rewarded for their work appropriately as corporate profits increase and wages remain flat.
"While workers are more productive than ever, costs keep rising and it's impossible to get ahead. The system is rigged," he said.
Former acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, who served under Biden, will sit on the group's advisory board.
Liberal candidate in Wisconsin Supreme Court race reports huge fundraising haul
The campaign for Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, said today it raised more than $17 million in the latest reporting period.
Crawford’s latest haul will bring her overall fundraising total to $24 million, which the campaign says is a record-high for any judicial candidate in U.S. history.
The April 1 contest will determine the court’s ideological balance for the second time in two years, and likely the future of several issues related to abortion rights, unions and congressional maps.
The race is already the most expensive state Supreme Court campaign ever. More than $80 million had been spent as of Friday, according to WisPolitics.com. The majority of that has been spent by outside groups or disseminated through the state’s political parties.
The Crawford campaign released its totals early; the deadline for the latest reporting period (from Feb. 4 to March 17) is tonight. Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in the technically nonpartisan race, has not yet announced his latest fundraising haul
Schimel received an endorsement last Friday from Trump and has been the beneficiary of millions of dollars spent in the race by groups affiliated with Elon Musk.
In a statement, Crawford tied her fundraising total to the role those groups have played in the race.
“I’m grateful for the historic outpouring of grassroots support across Wisconsin from folks who don’t want Elon Musk controlling our Supreme Court," Crawford said in the statement. "I’m humbly asking Wisconsinites for their vote on April 1 as we fight back against Musk and Schimel’s corruption and extremism.”
Hegseth to make first trip to Asia as defense secretary
Pete Hegseth will make his first trip to Asia as defense secretary this week, visiting key U.S. allies the Philippines and Japan, the Pentagon said.
In the Philippines, which is facing growing military aggression from China in the South China Sea, Hegseth will meet with his Philippine counterpart as well as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., local media reported. In Japan, he will meet with Japanese leaders and U.S. forces and participate in a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the fiercest battles in World War II.
“These engagements will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Before arriving in the Philippines, Hegseth will travel to Hawaii to meet with leaders of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, as well as the U.S. territory of Guam to tour military facilities.
China’s premier warns pro-Trump senator that trade war has no winners
Reporting from Hong Kong
There are no winners in a trade war between the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest economies, the Chinese premier told a group that included seven U.S. executives and a pro-Trump senator.
“China always welcomes companies from all over the world, including the United States, to share development opportunities in China, and will actively address their legitimate demands, treat domestic and foreign companies as equals, and continue to foster a sound business environment,” Premier Li Qiang, China’s No. 2 official, said at a meeting yesterday in Beijing.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who is the first member of Congress to visit Beijing since Trump returned to the White House, emphasized Trump’s call for China to stop the flow of fentanyl precursors and to end their “devastating” impact on Americans, a spokesperson for Daines said. Trump has cited the fentanyl crisis as justification for tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico.
The Chinese premier’s comments echoed those made over the weekend by Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng, who told a U.S.-China relations forum by video link that "weaponizing tariffs would be a boomerang that only backfires," according to the Chinese embassy website.
Trump announces plans for ‘secondary tariffs’ on Venezuela
Trump posted on social media that he plans to implement “secondary tariffs” on Venezuela that would require any country purchasing oil or gas from them to face a 25% tariff on goods imported to the United States.
Second lady Usha Vance to visit Greenland as Trump pushes for ownership of the Danish territory
Second lady Usha Vance will travel to Greenland this week, the White House announced Sunday, becoming the latest U.S. official to visit the Danish territory as Trump ramps up calls for U.S. ownership.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Mike Waltz will join Vance, the vice president’s wife, as part of the U.S. delegation, two administration sources confirmed to NBC News.
Man charged with assault at Tesla dealership after driving car at protesters
A man was arrested and charged with assault for driving his car toward a crowd of people protesting outside a Florida Tesla dealership and narrowly avoiding them, authorities said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said deputies went to a planned protest at a West Palm Beach dealership on Saturday, where suspect Andrew Dutil drove onto the curb and slowly toward the protesters. There were no injuries.
Trump says lawyer Alina Habba will be interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
Trump announced to Truth Social that Alina Habba, who is serving as counselor to the president, will be the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
"Alina will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career, and she will fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both 'Fair and Just' for the wonderful people of New Jersey," he said in the post.
The move is "effective immediately," Trump said. He said John Giordano, the current interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, is being nominated as the ambassador to Namibia.
Sen. Angus King slams Elon Musk: ‘Social Security is not social media'
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a mild-mannered moderate, issued a fiery statement slamming Elon Musk and the Trump administration for recent actions curtailing the Social Security Administration, which include the removal of workers and office closures.
“The Trump Administration’s callous indifference to the millions of Americans who rely on the monthly Social Security checks they have earned — and the millions more Americans who are relying on social security for their planned retirements — is the most direct assault on this vital program in its almost 100 year history. It is disrespectful, destructive, and dangerous,” King said.
“Social Security is not social media; this ‘move fast and break things’ approach they seem to be following is a betrayal of the public trust,” King said in a statement. “The President has said repeatedly, during the campaign and since, that he would protect social security — but what’s happening now in his name is anything but protection, and he should put a stop to it.”
Musk’s actions on Social Security have sparked an elevated level of concern among Republicans, who have looked the other way on various other “DOGE” activities. It’s particularly salient in King’s home state of Maine, where the agency initially issued — then rescinded — an order that would make it harder for parents to register newborns for Social Security numbers at hospitals.
King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, added: “When the Trump White House and its corporate-suite cabinet sends reckless DOGE computer engineers into the Social Security networks, threaten cuts to the committed workforce who carefully manage this system, make it harder for citizens to interact with that workforce, or scoff at older Americans justifiably worried about late payments — as one of his billionaire cabinet members did just this week — this dismissive public stance frightens the very people who literally built this country, and who deserve a hell of a lot better.’
Trump to hold another Cabinet meeting with Elon Musk in attendance
Trump will gather his Cabinet secretaries for a third known meeting Monday morning with Elon Musk expected to attend, according to a senior administration official.
The official described the 11 a.m. gathering as a “follow-up on the last DOGE meeting,” in reference to a meeting on March 6 where Trump placed limits on the billionaire tycoon’s authority amid backlash to new cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Tiger Woods confirms relationship with Vanessa Trump, president's former daughter-in-law
Golfing hero Tiger Woods on Sunday confirmed his relationship with Vanessa Trump, the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, by declaring that “love is in the air.”
Woods posted a picture of him alongside Trump to his Instagram and X accounts, with the caption: “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”
Vanessa Trump was married to Donald Trump Jr. from 2005 to 2018.
Poll: Most Americans are rooting for Ukraine. But nearly half think Trump prefers Russia.
A majority of American voters say their sympathies lie more with Ukraine than Russia in the war between the two countries. At the same time, nearly half say they think Trump favors Russia, while most of the remainder believe he favors neither, according to the new national NBC News poll.
Sixty-one percent of registered voters choose Ukraine when asked which of the two countries has their sympathies more, while just 2% say Russia. Another 35% say they are more sympathetic to neither side, while 2% are not sure.
Supreme Court hears Louisiana racial gerrymandering claim
The Supreme Court hears an unusual case today in which civil rights groups are in a tentative alliance with Republican officials in defending a Louisiana congressional map that includes two majority Black districts for the first time in decades.
The justices took up an appeal brought by the state over its efforts to draw a map while being sued from the left and right about whether it appropriately considered race in doing so.
U.S. and Russia start new Ukraine peace talks on a tricky footing, with few points of agreement
The United States and Russia began a new set of talks aimed at a partial Ukraine ceasefire Monday — even as the two sides disagreed over how well the talks in Saudi Arabia were going and after another night of drone strikes.
American negotiators say they are hopeful of achieving “real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned of “difficult negotiations.”
Trump targets lawyers who he says file ‘frivolous’ lawsuits against his administration
A new memo from Trump that authorized the attorney general and the homeland security secretary to sanction law firms that file lawsuits they deem “frivolous” is a major escalation of his intensifying assault on law firms, legal experts and former Justice Department officials told NBC News.
The presidential memorandum, “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court,” also ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to recommend revoking attorneys’ security clearances or terminating law firms’ federal contracts if she deems their lawsuits against the administration “unreasonable” or “vexatious.”
Appeals court to hear arguments in Alien Enemies Act case
A federal appeals court panel of three judges will hear arguments today over the Trump administration’s deportation of five Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will listen to arguments by both sides on the government's request to reverse U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's temporary restraining order, which effectively blocked the administration from deporting more people under the rarely used wartime law.
The arguments will take place at 1:30 p.m., and each side will be allotted 30 minutes to make their case.
Trump continued attacks on Boasberg over the weekend, calling him a "constitutional disaster" in a post to his Truth Social platform yesterday.
Former Utah Rep. Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman elected to the U.S. House, has died
SALT LAKE CITY — Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday.
She was 49.
Love’s family posted news of her death on Love’s X account.
She had undergone recent treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Her daughter said earlier this month that the former lawmaker was no longer responding to treatment.
Four hurdles facing Republicans as they shift focus to a bill to pass Trump’s agenda
The Republican-led Congress returns today after a weeklong recess with plans to shift focus to the party-line bill to pass Trump’s multitrillion-dollar agenda after having dispensed with a separate government funding deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has set a target of passing the legislation through the House in April before the Easter recess, which leaves Republicans in the House with three weeks — and a lot of work. And then the bill would go to the Senate, which has a different idea of how to proceed.
Ukraine and U.S. teams met in Saudi Arabia yesterday
Yesterday, Ukrainian and U.S. delegations discussed proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure, Ukraine’s defense minister said, part of a diplomatic push by Trump to end three years of war.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia, which preceded talks today between the U.S. and Russian delegations, came as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about the chances for ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
“I feel that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants peace,” Witkoff told Fox News yesterday.
NAACP, NEA and others sue Trump administration over efforts to dismantle the Education Department
The NAACP and the National Education Association, along with other groups, announced this morning that they are suing the Trump administration over its efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
"Eliminating or effectively shuttering the Department puts at risk the millions of vulnerable students, including those from low-income families, English learners, homeless students, rural students and others who depend on Department support," the groups said in a press release.
The groups said that the lawsuit urges the court to "immediately halt the government’s attempt to dismantle the Department."
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the Education Secretary to start dismantling the department. Eliminating the department entirely requires an act of Congress.