Trump 2nd term live updates: Dan Bongino named as deputy FBI director

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, said he could give "100% assurance" that DOGE will not go sifting through taxpayers' records if they get access to IRS data -- arguing the focus would be on “anti-fraud” and protecting taxpayer data.

Asked on Fox News for assurances that DOGE wouldn't randomly sift through the records and maybe come across people’s private records, Miller replied, "I can give absolute, 100% assurance. I give you complete and total insurance on that point. We are talking about performing a basic anti-fraud review to ensure people are not engaging in large-scale theft of federal taxpayer benefits."

Pressed what the plan would be once DOGE has access to the data, Miller said the focus would be on "foreign fraud rings," which he said "use fake Social Security numbers, fake identities, to steal billions in taxpayer benefits," although he acknowledged the administration doesn't know exactly how pervasive the issue is.

"There is no way to know until DOGE gets full access exactly how much money we’re talking about, but over 10 years normal budget window, you could be talking about saving over $1 trillion by clamping down on massive fraud, our tax and entitlement systems, including those by organized fraud and theft rings," Miller said.

Miller pointed out that DOGE staffers are federal employees.

“They are political appointees, just like me, just like anybody else in the White House, that serve and answer to the president. So we are not talking about an outside private entity, we are talking about the exist federal staff of the federal government performing their statutory and constitutional duty," he said.

Miller said the administration is “restoring” neutrality, ethics and security controls at the agency.

"As far as protecting the secrecy of tax records, the IRS has been weaponized at the career level against the American people for years now. This has been one of the most invasive arms of the federal government -- engaging in capricious and politically based audits, leaking taxpayer information for political reasons,” he said.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Trump on Monday nominated longtime loyalist Ed Martin to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, he announced on his Truth Social platform.

In his three weeks serving in the role as acting U.S. attorney on an interim basis, Martin has taken most every step possible to make sure the office is completely aligned with Trump: He's fired dozens of Jan. 6 prosecutors, launched reviews into the Jan. 6 cases and dismissed hundreds of cases of those who stormed the Capitol.

Martin has little prosecutorial experience. He has supported Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen and was previously subpoenaed for his leadership role in the "Stop the Steal" movement. He stood outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and went on to defend many of the Jan. 6 rioters. He's signed onto hundreds of case dismissals or rioters who stormed the Capitol -- some of whom Martin previously represented as a defense attorney.

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He has already fired dozens of prosecutors who investigated Jan. 6 and has initiated a "review" into the office's prosecutions of the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Martin also has suggested he will mount criminal investigations into individuals referred to his office by Elon Musk and his associates at DOGE "even" if they "acted simply unethically" -- a departure from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, Trump's nominee for FBI director, who stated in their confirmation hearings that the department would only investigate and charge individuals when there's a proper predicate to do so.

Martin will need to be confirmed by the Senate to fill the role permanently.

In announcing the nomination, Trump said, “Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again. He will get the job done.”

-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders

Hundreds gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday to protest Trump and Elon Musk's overhaul of the federal government and the terminations of thousands of federal workers.

The chants and signs largely focused on Musk and DOGE, with repeated chants of "Elon Musk has got to go!" and "Protect federal workers!"

Protesters held signs depicting Trump as Musk's puppet. A number of signs referenced Musk's "Fork in the Road" email, with some demonstrators even taping forks to their signs.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Jay O'Brien and Kelsey Walsh

A federal judge in Washington Monday morning appeared inclined to deny an urgent request to temporarily block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from firing employees or accessing sensitive records from a half-dozen federal departments.

After a nearly hourlong virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she planned to issue a ruling within 24 hours on a request by 14 state attorneys general to issue a temporary restraining order that would block DOGE from firing employees or accessing data from the departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation, Commerce, and the Office of Personnel Management.

Describing the states’ request as “prophylactic,” Chutkan expressed skepticism about issuing a wide-reaching order while the plaintiffs struggled to prove a concrete harm stemming from DOGE’s conduct.

“The court can’t act based on the media reports. We can't do that,” Chutkan said. “The things that I'm hearing are concerning indeed and troubling indeed but I have to have a record, and I have to make a finding the facts before I issue something.”

She said that in order to issue such an urgent temporary restraining order, the states would have to prove a threat of “extreme” and “imminent harm” that “can’t be undone,” but having to “scramble to rehire” might be difficult and challenging, but it can be done.

“I’m not seeing it so far,” Chutkan said.

Read more here.

-From ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Mike Levine and Katherine Faulders