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 28, 2025, 11:21 AM EST

Federal workers expected to get 2nd email asking to list accomplishments: Sources

Some federal workers are expected to receive a second email as early as Saturday asking them for bullet points on what they did in the past week, three sources familiar with the plans told ABC News.

The sources caution that timing can slide. This time around, the email is expected to come from the human resources leaders of the corresponding agencies rather than the Office of Personnel Management, according to sources.

Two sources said the administration floated the idea of making the emails a weekly requirement.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Will Steakin and Ben Siegel

Feb 28, 2025, 9:52 AM EST

Trump expected to sign order making English official language of US

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order designating English as the United States' official language, a White House official confirmed to ABC News

The order rescinds a Clinton-era mandate that required agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide extensive language assistance to non-English speakers, though it allows agencies to keep current policies and provide documents and services in other languages.

President Donald Trump waits to greet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington.
Carl Court/Pool via AP

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Feb 28, 2025, 9:09 AM EST

Vance, at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, touts Trump's policy of 'peace'

Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Vice President JD Vance called Trump a "good president" for Catholics and their administration as "defenders of religious liberty" at home and abroad.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at the 20th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, Feb. 28, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

"We very often ignore the way in which our foreign policy is either an instrument or an impediment to people all over the world being able to practice their faith," Vance said.

"When President Trump talks about the need to bring peace, whether it's in Russia and Ukraine, whether it's in the Middle East, we of course have to recognize that as a policy oriented to saving lives and carrying out one of Christ's most important commandments. But I think we also must recognize it as an effort to protect the religious liberty of Christians," he added.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at the 20th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, Feb. 28, 2025.
Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images

The comments come just ahead of Trump's high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.

Feb 28, 2025, 6:13 AM EST

Trump set for high-stakes meeting with Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump is preparing for a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday as the two begin negotiations regarding security guarantees and "crucial" aid for Ukraine.

Kyiv is maneuvering to win a U.S. security agreement as part of the proposed minerals deal, a "preliminary framework" of which Ukraine has been working on, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

But Trump said he would not offer any security guarantees to Ukraine "beyond very much," as part of any agreement. "We're going to have Europe do that," he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

The negotiations come amid tensions over the war with Trump attacking Zelenskyy earlier this month, calling the Ukrainian president a "dictator without elections."

Trump said Wednesday that he expects to sign the minerals deal with Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, adding that his administration is "happy" with the deal. Trump has framed the agreement as a means to recoup American wartime aid to Ukraine.

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