Trump 2nd term updates: Trump excludes low-value shipments from looming tariffs

The amendment exempts imports valued at less than $800 from Canada and Mexico.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government to his liking suffered a loss in court when a federal judge blocked his administration from firing the head of a federal watchdog agency without cause, likely triggering a lengthy appeal that could end at the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Justice Amy Berman Jackson determined the move was unlawful and issued a permanent injunction that reinstated special counsel Hampton Dellinger to his position.

Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration said it will cut 7,000 jobs and six of its 10 regional centers as part of the president’s downsizing of the federal workforce.

And Trump’s physician announced the president will have his annual physical next month, days after reporters raised questions about a bruise they saw on the back of his hand.

Feb 25, 2025, 1:41 PM EST

Musk to attend Cabinet meeting Wednesday: Leavitt

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Elon Musk will be meeting with the Cabinet Wednesday with the president.

"This entire administration will be in attendance tomorrow just to talk about DOGEs efforts and, how all of the cabinet secretaries are identifying waste, fraud and abuse at their respective agencies," she said.

Feb 25, 2025, 1:38 PM EST

Leavitt says Musk's email request seeks to 'ensure federal workers are not ripping off' Americans

Speaking about Elon Musk's email request for federal workers to list five things they accomplished last week, press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated her support for what she called a "very simple idea."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 25, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

"Again, this is to ensure that federal workers are not ripping off American taxpayers, that they are showing up to the office and that they are doing their jobs," Leavitt said when asked whether this is an effort to see who is working or if it is an effort to cut jobs.

Feb 25, 2025, 1:35 PM EST

White House claims Musk and Trump are 'unified' amid email confusion

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued to claim President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and agency heads are acting as one as confusion mounts over competing guidance to federal workers.

"The president defers to his Cabinet secretaries, who he's obviously entrusted, to pursue the guidance relative to their specific workforce," Leavitt said. "And for some of the agencies that you've seen who have said, please don't send these emails, it's in their best interest for that specific agency and the president supports that."

"And let me be very clear, the president and Elon and his entire Cabinet are working as one unified team, and they are implementing these very common sense solutions," she said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 25, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Feb 25, 2025, 1:32 PM EST

Federal judge determines Trump admin violated court order, forces them to pay millions in foreign aid

A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to dole out millions of dollars to multiple nonprofit groups after the president signed an executive order freezing foreign aid on his first day in office, determining the Trump administration violated the terms of a temporary restraining order issued two weeks ago.

Judge Amir Ali, a Biden-era appointee, also signed an order to enforce a temporary restraining order he signed two weeks ago, ordering the groups be paid by midnight Wednesday.

Elon Musk speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 20, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Ali excoriated Trump administration attorneys during a lengthy hearing on Tuesday over its failure to pay the groups for work they conducted prior to President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing all foreign aid for 90 days.

-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman and Peter Charalambous

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