Trump administration live updates: U.S. announces trade deal with U.K.; President says he will appoint Fox News host as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

A federal judge challenged the basis for Trump's executive order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey at a hearing this afternoon to decide whether to strike it down as unconstitutional.

Donald Verrilli, arguing on behalf of Susman, said the "pernicious" executive order is designed to prevent lawyers from challenging executive power and silence any legal arguments against the president.

“That’s why it’s such an existential threat to the independence of the judiciary,” he said, calling it “one of the most brazen efforts by a president ever to muzzle” dissent.

Trump today said he plans to appoint Judge Jeanine Pirro interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., continuing a trend of awarding top Fox News talent high-profile official positions.

"Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions," Trump said in a post announcing the appointment.

"In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television," he added.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a Republican and a former Ohio State football coach, confirmed today that he is considering a run for governor in 2026.

Tressel, who previously said he was not thinking about a bid but stopped short of ruling one out, indicated in a statement first shared with NBC News that his thinking has changed.

“What has been a surprise, and it has been humbling, is how many people are encouraging me to run for Governor,” Tressel said after emphasizing how much he was enjoying his current job.

“I have not decided yet, but when I became Lieutenant Governor in February, Ellen told me that it seemed like God had more work for me to do, and she was right,” Tressel added, referring to his wife. “While I have not ruled out a run for Governor — and there will be a time in the future for those conversations — for now, I will remain focused on helping Ohioans get off the sidelines and into our workforce so they can reach their full potential.”

Read the full story here.

Trump called for a 30-day "unconditional ceasefire" today between Russia and Ukraine and threatened "further sanctions" if the truce isn't respected.

"The U.S. calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions," Trump added.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court today to allow it to revoke temporary legal status to more than 500,000 immigrants to whom the Biden administration granted it.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is seeking to end the Biden program that allowed 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to live and work in the United States for up to two years.

Read the full story here.

Trump is strongly considering naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., a source familiar with his thinking told NBC News today.

Trump announced earlier in the day that he was withdrawing the nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin to stay on as the top federal prosecutor in Washington on a permanent basis.

ABC News first reported Trump was considering Pirro to take over the job on an interim basis. Martin’s role as acting U.S. attorney is set to end May 20.

Read the full story here.

FBI Director Kash Patel undercut his own call for additional funding for the bureau after telling the a Senate Appropriations subcommittee today that he supports a White House budget proposal that would slash its funding by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yesterday, Patel told a House Appropriations subcommittee that his department needed $1 billion more than what the White House requested in its most recent budget proposal, framing the bureau's allocation as insufficient to support its operations.

"In order to achieve the mission of the FBI, if we continue on the current trajectory outlined, we will have to not only eliminate 1,100 vacancies currently at the FBI, I'll have to fire 1,300 more," Patel told House lawmakers yesterday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media today that he had spoken with Trump.

"We discussed the need for continued efforts to achieve peace, including concrete steps that could be taken. President Trump inquired about the situation on the battlefield, and I provided a brief overview," Zelenskyy wrote of the conversation on X.

It was not immediately clear how long the two leaders spoke.

Zelenskyy said that he also told Trump that Ukraine is ready for a 30-day ceasefire as soon as today.

During an interview on Fox News, Vice President JD Vance denied reports that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are rivals, amid speculation that the two could go head to head in 2028 for the Republican presidential nomination.

"Not at all," Vance said when asked by Fox News host Martha MacCallum about whether he and Rubio are rivals.

"Look, Marco is actually my, probably my best friend in the administration. We hang out and talk all the time. He’s doing a really good job. And of course, I’m doing the best job that I can," Vance added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, criticized the Trump administration's removal of the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In a statement today, Thompson referred to former FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton's congressional testimony yesterday opposing the termination of the agency, which Trump has said he is considering.

“It’s telling that Mr. Hamilton was fired when he told the truth and refused to toe the administration line with its plans to eliminate FEMA. Clearly this brainless idea — that Trump and Kristi Noem keep touting — is not faring well even in MAGA world,” Thompson said in a statement.

Trump privately pressed Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., during a phone call yesterday to add two additional proposals to the massive package for his agenda: raising the tax rate on the highest earners and closing the so-called carried interest loophole, according to a Republican leadership source as well as two other GOP sources familiar with the call.

The eleventh-hour requests from Trump add a new wrinkle to an already complicated process for Republican lawmakers as they desperately try to find enough savings for the bill, which seeks to extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts, boost funding for immigration enforcement and defense, and raise the debt limit.

The White House has kicked around the idea of hiking the top tax rate for the wealthiest Americans for the past few months, and it now believes it is close to finalizing a topline number for the bill, according to one of the GOP sources familiar with the call.

Read the full story here.

Trump told reporters this afternoon that he's received a call from the new pope's team.

"They’ve already called. They have already spoken to us and we’ll see what happens," Trump said when asked whether he planned to meet the pope.

Vice President JD Vance also posted a congratulatory message on X on Pope Leo XIV's election this afternoon.

"Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election! I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!" Vance wrote.

Trump announced plans today to modernize the nation's air traffic control system, saying that it's "long overdue" for an overhaul.

"I’m thrilled to announce the complete rebuilding and modernization of America’s air traffic control system ... that’s what we’re doing, and we’re going to make it the best," Trump said on speaker phone during an event where Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolled out the announcement.

Trump continued, "We’re confident that the system remains extremely safe, and the passengers are, you know, we’re going to take good care of everybody. A complete modernization is going to soon be taking place. We’re going to be going all brand new, all with the best company."

Cameron Hamilton, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been removed from his job. 

Hamilton's removal comes one day after he testified at a congressional hearing that he did not believe FEMA should be eliminated, which is something the president has said he is considering.

“I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton said at the hearing, while also saying he supported reform and cost-cutting at the agency.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told NBC News that Hamilton's removal was not a response to his testimony.

Trump’s fight against the Houthis never dealt a crippling blow to the militant group, but it has cost America more than $1 billion since March, including the thousands of bombs and missiles used in strikes, along with seven drones shot down and two fighter jets that sank, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the cost. 

After weeks of operations by the United States, the Houthis seemed to still be able to strike outside Yemen, launching an attack that targeted Israel’s main international airport just this week. But the surprise deal that Trump announced Tuesday, in which the U.S. would suspend strikes and other operations against the Iran-backed Houthis in exchange for the group halting its attacks on U.S. ships, might be enough to declare mission accomplished, for now.

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Trump this afternoon congratulated Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on being elected pope.

"It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!" Trump wrote.

The president recently joked that he wanted to be pope himself.

Biden denied he suffered cognitive decline while serving in the White House, saying allegations trickling out since he departed his position were off base.

“They are wrong,” Biden said on an episode of ABC’s “The View” on Thursday. He was asked about “deeply sourced” books that indicated a sharp decline in his last year in office. “There’s nothing to sustain that.”

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A group of Wisconsin voters represented by a prominent Democratic law firm is asking the state Supreme Court in a new lawsuit to toss the state's congressional maps.

Wisconsin's congressional delegation is currently made up of six Republicans and two Democrats, despite statewide elections being among the closest in the nation. The lawsuit argues "the map condemns the party that regularly splits or wins the statewide vote to permanent minority status."

The voters, who are represented by Elias Law Group, claim the map is an unlawful partisan gerrymander and asks the court to void the current congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

After Trump was elected president, Craig Souser was preparing for a surge in business for his Pennsylvania-based manufacturing company, which makes robotics systems used in food packaging. Instead, he’s now facing higher costs and falling demand that have caused him to delay investments in his business —and look at adding manufacturing outside the United States. 

“It’s been the most bizarre roller-coaster ride, where our enthusiasm going into this year was sky high, and then it was just like the air came out of the balloon,” said Souser, CEO of JLS, which his family started 70 years ago. “Nobody saw the magnitude of this coming. I don’t know if it was his plan or not, who knows, but it took what we thought was going to be a rebound year and made it really bad. We have some business but it’s nowhere near what we expected. And we’re not alone.”

It’s an experience that cuts against one of the stated goals of Trump’s policies: Since taking office, Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on imports that’s he’s said will revive American manufacturing by protecting businesses from cheaper overseas competition and incentivizing companies to move their production to the U.S.

Yet, while some companies, including in the pharmaceutical and auto industries, have announced plans to expand manufacturing in the U.S. following Trump’s tariff announcements, others already making their products in the U.S. say they aren’t feeling a benefit from the tariffs. Instead, the tariffs have led to higher import costs for the materials and machinery they need to make their products in America, as well as falling demand from customers and a climate of uncertainty that have made it difficult to invest in expanding their U.S. operations.

Read the full story here.

In interview this morning, former President Joe Biden blasted Trump's leadership during the first few months of his second term, pointing to recent polls showing a low approval rating.

“He’s had the worst 100 days that any president has ever had," said Biden in a live interview on ABC's "The View."

Biden later added of Trump, “I think he has done, quite frankly, a very poor job in the interest of the United States of America.” 

Trump ally Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., jumped into the Georgia Senate race today, becoming the first major Republican candidate to mount a challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

"Georgians will have a very simple choice in 2026: Do you want a MAGA warrior for you or do you want a trans warrior for they/them?" Carter said in a post to X. "I’m with you. You can guess where Jon Ossoff is."

Carter released an advertisement this morning, bashing Ossoff on issues including the border and transgender athletes playing in girls and women's sports. The ad also featured clips of Trump praising Carter and branded the representative as a "MAGA warrior."

"Buddy helped Trump secure our border and put America first, and he knows the difference between a man and a woman," the ad's narrator said.

Carter's announcement comes days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp decided to pass on a Senate bid, igniting concerns among some Republicans that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could seek the party's nomination and hurt the party's chances to flip the Senate seat.

After toymaker Mattel said it would move some production from China to India to dodge 145% tariffs on China, Trump said he could hit the company with 100% tariffs.

Referring to the planned move that Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz announced, Trump said, "I've heard them say ... we're gonna try going somewhere else. That's OK. We'll put 100% tariff on his toys."

"And he won't sell toys in the United States, that's their biggest market," Trump added.

Shares of Mattel briefly took a sharp drop on Trump's comments, and the stock remains lower by around 2%.

Trump remarked on his criticisms of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in his U.S.-U.K. trade announcement.

"If the chairman of the Fed, Jerome, would lower interest rates like China did, like I think U.K. did, but like numerous other countries have done, it would be ... like jet fuel," Trump said.

The Bank of England, European Central Bank and People's Bank of China have all cut interest rates recently because their economies are either suffering from faltering growth or slowing consumer spending.

"He's not in love with me. I think that's all right," Trump said. "It's sort of a crazy reason, but that's the way life is."

Trump said that he plans to announce a replacement for Ed Martin, a loyalist whom he had nominated as the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

It comes after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he wouldn't support Martin. Martin does not have prosecutorial experience and has defended people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"I was disappointed," Trump said in remarks to reporters in the Oval Office. "A lot of people were disappointed, but that’s the way it works, sometimes, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we'll be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great."

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U.S. stocks soared to the highs of the day after Trump seemed to indicate he could be open to lowering China tariffs, among other remarks on the administration's trade plans. The S&P 500 rose more than 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 600 points, and the Nasdaq traded higher by about 1.7%

The U.S. still has 145% tariffs on Chine products, which is the country's largest trading partner and source of many key goods and materials that consumers and businesses rely on.

Trump reaffirmed his plan to impose tariffs on films produced outside of the United States, saying the import taxes will encourage domestic movie production.

"A lot of them have left this country," Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon after announcing a new trade deal with the United Kingdom. "The money comes from here. Everything comes from here, but they make them in other countries, so we’re going to do something to bring them back, maybe to a large extent."

Trump joked with British reporters that "James Bond has nothing to worry about," adding he considered the late actor Sean Connery a friend.

"He was a great guy, Sean Connery," Trump said. He did not elaborate on the specific aspects of the film production process his administration plans to impose duties on.

Trump foreshadowed tariffs on Chinese imports could go down, telling reporters, “you can’t get any higher” on the 145% tariff rate.

“Well, it could be,” he said. “I mean, we’re going to see. Right now, you can’t get any higher. It’s at 145. So we know it’s coming down.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with their Chinese counterparts this weekend in Geneva.

Trump said "we intend to make a deal with Europe" when asked about trade with the 27-nation bloc.

"And they very much want to make a deal," Trump added. "We'll be dealing with them. We are dealing with them currently."

Earlier today, the E.U. announced plans to implement retaliatory tariffs on 95 billion euros ($107 billion) worth of U.S. goods if trade talks fail. The bloc is also working on litigation against the U.S. with the World Trade Organization.

The Republican-led House passed a bill this morning that seeks to codify Trump’s executive order that renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Though all Democrats and one Republican — Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska — opposed the bill, Republicans narrowly passed the measure, 211-206, sending it to the Senate for a vote.

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also announced a major purchase of U.S. aircraft, saying "there's going to be an announcement that the U.K., they are buying $10 billion worth of Boeing planes later today."

Lutnick would not disclose which companies were involved, saying, "I'm going to let the ... airline announce it, because that's theirs to do it."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlined some of the points in the trade agreement with the U.K. during Trump's Oval Office announcement.

"So here's what we've got," Lutnick said. "We've opened up new market access, ethanol, beef, machinery, all the agricultural products. They've agreed to open their markets, and that will add $5 billion of opportunity to American exporters."

Lutnick added that the U.K. will still be under the 10% baseline tariff that Trump has applied to dozens of countries. However, tariffs on vehicles will fall from 25% to 10% to match that baseline.

"They could send 100,000 cars into America and only pay a 10% tariff, and that protects their car industry," Lutnick said.

U.S. stocks fell to their session low as Trump spoke in the Oval Office, describing the trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

The S&P was about flat, the Nasdaq was up only about 0.3%, and the Dow was higher by around 100 points.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised the deal with the U.S., calling it "truly historic" and touting the two countries' close alliance.

"We've always had a fair and balanced arrangement between our countries. This builds on that," he said.

Starmer, who called into Trump's news conference, also drew parallels to the deal being announced 80 years after Allied troops achieved victory in Europe during World War II.

Trump says the U.S. has reached a "historic agreement" with the United Kingdom on trade that will reduce nontariff barriers for U.S. exports.

Trump added that the agreement, which will be written up in the coming weeks, increases U.S. access to markets for selling beef and ethanol fuel.

Trump says the U.K. will fast-track goods through its customs processes as the U.S. receives new market access for machinery and chemicals.

Senators are expressing concerns about an escalating standoff after a terrorist attack in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir last month, which prompted India to retaliate with strikes on the Pakistan-administered areas of Kashmir and Pakistan itself.

Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, both emphasized to NBC News the necessity for both countries to de-escalate, and senators from both parties pointed to India's and Pakistan’s nuclear status as reason for concern.

Other senators took a more definitive position criticizing Pakistan.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and member of the Armed Services Committee, called Pakistan a “known harbor of terrorist organizations,” pointing to Osama bin Laden’s compound and assassination in the country. Sheehy also said the escalation tensions between the two countries are “not our problem.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., similarly said "our hands are full, the world is on fire, you know?” But Cramer clarified there would be nothing to gain with two nuclear powers getting involved in a potential war.

Upon hearing the first reports of the strikes, Trump called them “a shame” and said he hoped the fighting “ends very quickly.”

Two important House committees overseeing contentious policy issues are eyeing markups of their portions of the massive bill for Trump's agenda Tuesday.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee is planning to meet at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday to consider its part of the legislation, which will include an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, as well as other politically difficult issues like the state and local tax deduction (SALT).

And the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and is tasked with finding $880 billion in savings, is planning to begin its markup Tuesday, though it’s unclear when it will finish, according to two lawmakers.

Former Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., has thrown her support behind Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw in the race to replace retiring Rep. Gerry Connolly in Virginia’s 11th district.

Connolly, who has esophageal cancer, announced last month that he would not seek re-election. He then endorsed Walkinshaw, his former chief of staff. 

In a statement first obtained by NBC News, Wexton said Walkinshaw first encouraged her to run for Congress in 2018, when she flipped a Republican-held district. Wexton said she believes Walkinshaw is ready to take on the fight against Trump. 

The full U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled overnight that the Trump administration must return funds and staff to government-supported media outlets such as the Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty while litigation continues.

A three-judge panel of the court previously ruled any re-funding and re-staffing should be paused while legal appeals are underway; the full court's overnight order reversed that previous decision.

Three judges who were appointed by Trump and one appointed by George H.W. Bush dissented from the full court's ruling, with one of the Trump appointees calling the decision a "gambit" that "is an abuse of the court’s remedial discretion."

Trump signed an executive order in March to try to gut the U.S.-funded media outlets.

Trump tiptoed away this week from the idea that he might try to win a third term, opening the door to a fresh round of intrigue: Who does he see as his successor?

In practically the same breath in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump suggested national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — in that order — as potential candidates.

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Analysts at JPMorgan said the trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom that Trump is announcing this morning would likely have a "limited" impact.

"It remains to be seen whether the UK can arrange an exemption from the baseline tariff following subsequent negotiations," they wrote.

"If there is no further breakthrough on the US baseline tariff, that would significantly limit the economic upside from continued negotiations and further concessions," the analysis said. "With the UK having broadly balanced goods trade with the US, a reasonably good political relationship, no real threat of retaliation from Westminster and extensive bilateral negotiations having taken place, it is not clear where the UK can go from here."

The U.K. was the top buyer of U.S. services in recent years, but ranked fifth behind Canada, Mexico, China and Japan as a buyer of actual goods. While Britain is a key ally, the country does not even rank in the top five sources of imports for the U.S.

Trump will return to familiar ground in Saudi Arabia next week, choosing the kingdom as the destination for his first major foreign trip of his second term, just as he did in 2017 — once again bypassing the traditional allies who have usually hosted presidents.

The decision underscores a broader Trump White House strategy, prioritizing the Middle East’s economic and strategic influence over North America’s deep-rooted trade and security ties.

With an eye on blockbuster deals, a Nobel-worthy diplomatic breakthrough and the Middle East’s role as a geopolitical fulcrum, Trump is chasing defining moments in a region that he has treated as a diplomatic and economic cornerstone. Meanwhile, his unpredictable tariffs and diplomatic approach has cast a shadow over partnerships with Canada and Mexico.

Read the full story here.

The Republican-led House is expected to vote today on legislation that would make Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America federal law.

The GOP bill, authored by Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, follows an executive order signed by Trump in January that ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “take all appropriate actions to rename the Gulf” and update a database of the “official names for geographic features in the 50 states.”

While Trump does not need congressional approval to ensure the name change is reflected across the federal government, the bill would prevent a future president from easily reversing the move through executive action.

“As the previous administration made it painfully clear, executive orders can be undone and overwritten, and that’s why we have to move it through the legislative process — and we are,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday. “We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.”

Read the full story here.

Trump said this morning that he will sign a trade deal with Britain that will be America’s first since he announced sweeping global tariffs that hammered markets and threaten to upend the global economy.

In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote: “This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10A.M. Thank you!”

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