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.

ByKevin Shalvey, Alexandra Hutzler, Emily Chang, Ivan Pereira, William Mansell, Sarah Beth Hensley, Jon Haworth, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: March 2, 2025, 11:08 PM EST

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Mar 01, 2025, 3:53 PM EST

ACLU sues administration over Guantanamo Bay transfer

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit Saturday against the Trump administration to prevent the transfer of 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay.

The ACLU said the men hail from Venezuela, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries and are not gang members or otherwise considered "high risk." It claimed the men are "at imminent risk of transfer" to Guantanamo Bay.

Migrants are transported to to Guantanamo Bay, Feb. 6, 2025.
DHS

The ACLU argued that the men would be illegally detained in Guantanamo Bay because it believes the government does not have the statutory authority to detain people extraterritorially.

The ACLU also claimed these kinds of transfers violate the Administrative Procedure Act because the government has not provided enough reasons for why it needs to send migrants there.

-ABC News' Armando Garcia

Mar 01, 2025, 3:50 PM EST

Musk says some departments will respond on behalf of employees to 'What did you do last week?' email

In response to news that the State Department had advised employees that leadership would still respond to this week's "What did you do last week?" email, Elon Musk posted on X that some departments, such as the State Department and the Department of Defense, would be "gathering the weekly accomplishments on behalf of individual contributors."

Elon Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Feb. 26, 2025.
Pool via AP

This directive is in contrast to a post made earlier in the day in which Musk posted that responding to the email was "mandatory for the executive branch."

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Mar 01, 2025, 1:16 PM EST

3K active-duty service members to head to southern border

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the deployment of about 3,000 troops to the southern border, the U.S. Northern Command said on Saturday.

There will be 2,400 soldiers from the Army's 2nd Stryker Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in Colorado and 500 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's combat aviation unit in Georgia deployed over the next couple of weeks.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, and Border czar Tom Homan, left, listen to a briefing by Army soldiers while visiting the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park,, N.M., Feb. 3, 2025.
Andres Leighton/AP, FILE

These forces are in addition to the 1,100 announced Friday that brought the total number of active-duty troops on the border to 5,400.

Stryker vehicles are wheeled armored vehicles that are used as troop carriers and can travel on roads or in off-road conditions.

Northcom stressed the troops are only providing support to Customs and Border Enforcement.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Mar 01, 2025, 8:35 AM EST

Federal judge blocks Trump's executive orders on trans youth, gender affirming care

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing two executive orders related to transgender healthcare in some states, determining the policy "rewrites the law" and "run[s] around the separation of powers."

The preliminary injunction prevents the enforcement of an executive order related to medical care for transgender youth and another on federal funding to institutions that provide services to transgender people.

PHOTO: Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown speaks to the media and supporters outside the US District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Feb. 28, 2025.
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown speaks to the media and supporters outside the US District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Feb. 28, 2025. Brown spoke to the press after US District Judge Lauren King announced they are deliberating on whether to extend a pause on US President Donald Trump's executive order attacking gender-affirming care for youth.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

"The Court’s holding here is not about the policy goals that President Trump seeks to advance; rather, it is about reaffirming the structural integrity of the Constitution by ensuring that executive action respects congressional authority," U.S. District Judge Lauren King wrote.

Judge King, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, stopped short of issuing a nationwide injunction, finding that statewide relief would avoid an "overly complex enforcement landscape."

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