President Donald Trump's administration is continuing its radical effort to cut much of the federal government and crackdown on immigration -- and is being met with dozens of legal challenges.
On the foreign policy front, Trump's press secretary said the White House believes it can reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine this week even as Trump attacks Ukraine's president and blames it for starting the war, which even some in his own party are calling him out over.
Meanwhile, heads of federal government agencies were telling employees not to reply to an email from Elon Musk, Trump's ally who he picked to cut government waste, which asked for them to list their accomplishments for the week or face termination.
Trump says Zelenskyy 'better move fast' or he won't have a country left
President Donald Trump continues to hurl insults at Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again, claiming that he's a 'A Dictator without Elections.'
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 19, 2025, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Tetiana Dzhafarova/via Reuters
"Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump said in a new social media post.
He then touted his administration's peace talks with Russia saying, "In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only 'TRUMP,' and the Trump Administration, can do."
Trump admin cuts to CDC could affect 9/11 responders
The Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce could affect the World Trade Center Health Program, potentially putting the health of 9/11 first responders at risk, critics said.
Sixteen probationary staff members at the World Trade Center Health Program have been fired as part of the layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several other full-time staff members have agreed to take a buyout, according to Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act
A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Sept. 30, 2014.
Tami Chappell/Reuters, FILE
It amounts to a 20% reduction in the staff that supervises and administers the World Trade Center Health Program. There are also cuts to research grants that fund efforts at the FDNY to prove new conditions are related to service at the World Trade Center site on and after 9/11.
-- ABC News' Aaron Katersky
Feb 19, 2025, 9:44 AM EST
Trump opposes Senate budget resolution
President Trump has weighed in with his opposition regarding the Senate budget resolution.
In a new social media post, the president endorses the House resolution because he believes it implements his America First agenda.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to journalists at the Capitol, in Washington, Feb. 18, 2025.
Will Oliver/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
"We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to 'kickstart' the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, 'ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL,'" Trump wrote.
-- ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
Feb 19, 2025, 7:00 AM EST
3 migrants that beat Trump admin in court deported the next day
The future looked bright for Luis Eduardo Perez Parra, Leonel Rivas Gonzalez and Abrahan Josue Barrios last week.
After being held in immigration custody for over a year and facing the possibility of transfer to Guantanamo Bay, the three men asked a federal court to intervene, warning they might have "disappeared into the legal black hole" of Guantanamo.
A Guatemalan migrant is greeted by a family member outside La Aurora Air Base upon arrival on a deportation flight from the United States, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
Cristina Chiquin/REUTERS
Last Sunday, a federal judge in New Mexico handed down a surprise ruling blocking President Donald Trump's administration from sending the men to Guantanamo -- the first successful legal challenge to the policy since it was enacted last month.
But their victory was short-lived.
The very next day, the men were placed on the first deportation flight back to Venezuela in over a year, according to their lawyer Jessica Vosburgh.
"It's hard to imagine that it didn't have something to do with them filing a habeas piece and then stepping forward to challenge these threatened Guantanamo transfers," Vosburgh told ABC News.
"The court's order only applied to transfers to Guantanamo, this is just a slap in the face to get deported the next day."
