What's happening today
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump "stands strongly" behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who lashed out this morning after new reporting on his use of the Signal chat app to discuss military plans in a group that included his wife and brother.
- Trump this afternoon eased up on his criticism of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, saying he has "no intention of firing him." Trump's recent attacks on Powell over interest rates rattled markets, which showed signs of improvement after he signaled Powell would remain in his post.
- During oral arguments this morning, the Supreme Court appeared likely to rule for parents who objected on religious grounds to books made available in a school district's elementary schools that feature stories about gay and transgender characters.
Judge rips DOJ for not answering questions in Abrego Garcia case
The judge presiding over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man the Trump administration said it mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador, blasted the Justice Department today for failing to answer questions about the case.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who ordered the Trump administration last week to answer questions about how Abrego Garcia ended up in the Salvadoran prison and the efforts it has taken to get him out, said today that some of the administration's responses are "vague, evasive and incomplete" and a “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”
She said the Justice Department had declined to answer one of the questions because it claimed it was based on the “false premise that the United States can or has been ordered to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador.”
“Defendants—and their counsel—well know that the falsehood lies not in any supposed 'premise,' but in their continued mischaracterization of the Supreme Court’s Order. That Order made clear that this Court 'properly required the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,'” Xinis said.
She also ripped the Justice Department over its refusal to answer other questions by claiming various privileges "without proving any supporting information or analysis" as legally required.
"If Defendants want to preserve their privilege claims, they must support them with the required detail. Otherwise, they will lose the protections they failed to properly invoke,” Xinis wrote in her ruling.
The administration did provide some new information in its filing — it said the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador had been in touch with a Salvadoran "representative" about Abrego Garcia's health and whereabouts. "With respect to any other communications, disclosing any diplomatic discussions regarding Mr. Abrego Garcia could negatively impact any outcome,” the Justice Department said in its filing.
Xinis said that response "does not nearly satisfy their obligation to provide all relevant, nonprivileged information with specificity."
She ordered the Justice Department to provide the specific legal and factual answers by 6 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Trump softens tone on negotiating with China
Asked today whether he plans to play hardball with China amid tariff negotiations, Trump suggested just the opposite, saying the United States will "be very nice."
"I‘m not going to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to play hardball with China. ... I’m going to play hardball with you, President Xi!’ No, no, we’re going to be very nice." Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens. But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States. So we want them involved, but they have to, and other countries have to, make a deal," he added.
Trump also indicated that existing 145% tariffs on Chinese imports “will not be anywhere near that number” after the two trading partners arrive at an agreement.
Musk says his work with DOGE will probably 'drop significantly' starting in May
Elon Musk said on a Tesla earnings call this afternoon that he'll be spending less time working with the Department of Government Efficiency.
"Starting probably in next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly," Musk said, adding that he anticipates continuing to advance DOGE's work for the duration of Trump's term.
"I’ll have to continue doing it for the remainder of the president’s term, just to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back," Musk said. "So I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters, or as long as the president would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla."
The White House has said Musk is functioning as a special government employee. According to a Congressional Research Service report, such employees are restricted to working no “more than 130 days during any period of 365 days.”
Trump told reporters this month that he wants Musk “to stay as long as possible." Asked for a departure date, he said, “I would think a few months.”
Trump says he has no intention of firing Jerome Powell as Fed chair
Trump said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell but insisted that Powell should lower interest rates.
“If he doesn’t, is it the end? No, it’s not,” Trump said, adding that he has “no intention to fire him.”
The exchange-traded funds that track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes jumped after Trump’s comments. Both were up around 1.5% in after-hours trading at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on Powell as he urges him to cut rates, writing on social media this week that the U.S. economy risks slowing “unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.”
Trump says period of economic transition could 'be a little while'
Trump said this afternoon that it could “be a little while” before the economy stabilizes in the wake of the sweeping global tariff agenda he launched this month.
“This is a transition period, and it’s going to be a little while,” Trump said when he was asked about the U.S. trade dispute with China and the progress of talks to lower tariffs between the two countries.
He said the current 145% rate on goods imported from China “will not be anywhere near that number,” expressing confidence that Washington and Beijing would reach an agreement.
Judge orders Voice of America programming to resume
A federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration today to restore Voice of America programming and to let the employees who work for the agency that runs it to go back to work.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said in a ruling that the administration went way too far and that it is “likely in direct violation of numerous federal laws.” It had sought to largely shut down the U.S. Agency for Global Media after Trump signed an executive order that called for trimming the agency to the "maximum extent consistent with applicable law."
“The defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court can discern,” Lamberth wrote. “They took immediate and drastic action to slash USAGM, without considering its statutorily or constitutionally required functions as required by the plain language of the EO, and without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world. It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here.”
The cuts also “reflect a hasty, indiscriminate approach: for example, the Networks received the termination letters on the exact same day that President Trump signed the Third Continuing Resolution appropriating line-item funds to the Networks through the end of the fiscal year,” Lamberth wrote. “Certainly, disbursing congressional appropriations are statutorily required, and the agency axed them the very same day they were enacted.”
The administration had countered in court filings that the Agency for Global Media is “still standing,” an assertion that Lamberth said “strains credulity.”
He wrote that Voice of America "has cultivated an audience of 425 million listeners who rely on VOA’s output—particularly in areas of the world where a free press is otherwise unavailable."
Now, as "a result of the defendants’ actions, VOA is not reporting the news for the first time in its 80-year existence."
Lamberth ordered that Agency for Global Media employees be returned to the status they had before the March 14 executive order, and he ordered the government to restore the grants the agency provides to Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. He also asked for monthly status reports to ensure the government is complying with his order.
Everett Kelley, the president of one of the labor unions involved in the court challenge, hailed the ruling, saying, "This preliminary injunction will allow these employees to get back to work as we continue the fight to preserve their jobs and critical mission.”
GOP Rep. Andy Barr jumps into Kentucky Senate race to replace Mitch McConnell
Republican Rep. Andy Barr announced he’s running for the Senate in Kentucky, pursuing the seat long held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Barr sought to highlight his support for Trump, who hasn't yet made an endorsement in the race, as he launched his campaign in the red state.
“I’m running for Senate to help President @realdonaldtrump save this great country!” he wrote on X, alongside a video announcement. “Together, we’ll deport the illegals, end this DEI nonsense, and lock up the sickos who allow men into girls locker rooms.”
Barr will face at least one opponent in the GOP primary, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Businessman Nate Morris has also said he was "seriously" looking at running for the Senate or governor next year.
The New York Times didn't libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, jury finds
A jury concluded today that The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for an error in a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation.
The jury deliberated a little over two hours before it reached its verdict after lawyers for Palin and the newspaper delivered closing arguments at a Manhattan federal court civil trial that was in its second week.
Palin testified yesterday that death threats against her increased and her spirits drooped after an editorial about gun violence said her political action committee had contributed to political rhetoric that enabled an atmosphere of violence.
The Times corrected the article less than 14 hours after it was published.
Trump must give some Venezuelan migrants 21 days’ notice before deportations, judge rules
A federal judge in Colorado directed the Trump administration today to give Venezuelan migrants detained in the state 21 days’ notice before any deportations under a law historically used only in wartime and to inform them of their right to challenge their removal.
In a written ruling maintaining a temporary block within Colorado on deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney said the administration must tell the migrants in a language they understand that they have the right to consult a lawyer.
During a hearing yesterday, Sweeney expressed skepticism that the 24 hours’ notice the administration had pledged to provide would satisfy the Supreme Court’s order April 7 requiring that migrants be given the opportunity to challenge their removals in court.
In private remarks, Bessent sees China tariff standoff as unsustainable, foresees mutual de-escalation
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a private investor summit today, predicted a near-term de-escalation in the U.S.-China tariff dispute, according to a person in the room. Bessent noted that negotiations with Beijing have not yet begun but described the mutual embargoes as unsustainable, the person said.
According to the person in the room, Bessent said that he was optimistic the two sides could eventually reach a deal but that China needs to be ready to make one.
Bloomberg News first reported Bessent's comments.
Three more prosecutors in Eric Adams case resign, saying they did nothing wrong after suspensions
Three federal prosecutors have chosen to resign instead of admit wrongdoing following suspensions over their handling of the dropped federal corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, saying it is the Trump administration’s handling of the case that was wrong, according to a letter seen by NBC News.
Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom are assistant U.S. attorneys who were suspended after they refused to take part in the Justice Department’s move to drop the prosecution of Adams. A federal judge ordered the case permanently dropped last month so the charges couldn’t be used as “leverage” over Adams, who is cooperating with the Trump administration’s immigration priorities.
Rubio announces major State Department cuts
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a comprehensive reorganization of the State Department, including massive cuts to staffing and closures of offices.
Rubio said in a statement that the department has been "bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition."
"The sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America’s core national interests," he said.
According to a fact sheet shared with State Department staff members, several offices will either be closed or folded into other departments. Among the offices that will be shuttered is the Office of Global Criminal Justice, which focuses “on issues related to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.”
A State Department official said the plan addresses the State Department's headquarters in Washington and doesn't affect U.S. foreign missions.
"This is also not a personnel plan. This is a plan about structure and framework. And I think personnel plans will follow, and I think there will be certain reductions in forces, but those are in subsequent stages of this," the official added.
Press secretary says Trump 'stands strongly' behind Hegseth
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth" amid reports the defense secretary shared military plans related to a strike in Yemen with his wife and his brother in a second Signal group chat.
Leavitt said the reports are a "smear campaign" against Hegseth, adding that "a lot of people" in Washington reject the "monumental change" she said Hegseth is bringing to the Pentagon.
"Let me reiterate, the president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth in the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves," Leavitt said at a briefing this afternoon.
Pressed for details about Hegseth's promise to prosecute former Pentagon employees who he says leaked information to the media, she said: "You have to ask the FBI. You have to ask the Department of Justice on what they plan to do."
Supreme Court appears poised to rule for parents who objected to LGBTQ content in elementary schools
Reporting from Washington
The Supreme Court appeared likely to rule for parents who objected to books made available in a school district’s elementary schools that feature stories about gay and transgender characters.
Members of the 6-3 conservative majority, which often backs religious rights, seemed sympathetic during the lively 2½-hour oral argument toward the parents' claims that the Montgomery County Board of Education violated their religious rights by failing to provide an opt-out for their children.
Some justices indicated that they thought the board’s refusal to provide an opt-out might have been motivated by hostility toward religion.
Republican lawmaker to meet with El Salvador president in May
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., the president of the Congressional El Salvador Caucus, said she has accepted an invitation to meet with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
The invitation says the meeting will be May 8 at the Presidential House in San Salvador. In her post, Luna slammed Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., for drinking “margaritas with a cartel member” and said her visit will focus on “the partnership between our nations, advancing shared commitments to safety, freedom, and national pride.”
Luna's office did not immediately respond to a request for more details. The office of the Democratic co-chair, Vicente Gonzalez, did not immediately respond to a question about whether he received an invitation.