Trump admin updates: Trump teases 'big day' at White House

President Donald Trump also said Zelenskyy can end the war "almost immediately."

Last Updated: August 18, 2025, 12:09 AM EDT

President Donald Trump returned from Alaska after his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the president's crime-reduction push in Washington, D.C. continues.

National Guard are in Washington as part of Trump's plan to reduce violent crime in the city.

On Friday, an order by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi designating the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration Terry Cole as the District's "Emergency Police Commissioner" was retooled after a legal challenge by local officials.

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Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 13, 2025, 9:32 AM EDT

Trump and Putin to meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will have their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets visit with members of the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 28, 2025.
Alejandro Pena/Alaska National Guard, FILES

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart

Aug 12, 2025, 1:46 PM EDT

Fines, jail time possible for those who don't comply with DC encampment cleanup: WH

As President Donald Trump vows to rid D.C. of homeless encampments, individuals who do not comply could be subject to fines or jail time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, referencing D.C. laws.

"For far too long, these laws have been completely ignored, and the homelessness problem has ravaged the city," she said during Tuesday's briefing. "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services -- and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time."

After Trump said this week that homeless individuals will be given places to stay "far from the capital," Leavitt said the administration is also still looking into that.

"We're exploring how we could do that," she said, adding that homeless shelters, addiction and mental health services, or jail "are the options on the table right now."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Aug 12, 2025, 1:37 PM EDT

Trump considering a lawsuit against the Fed's Powell

President Donald Trump is weighing a possible lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing on Tuesday.

"He's considering a lawsuit and I won't speak or on it any further. I will allow the president to do that himself," Leavitt said.

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tour the Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project, July 24, 2025 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Earlier Tuesday, Trump threatened legal action against Powell on his conservative social media platform.

"The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable," Trump wrote. "Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we've blown through Powell and the complacent Board. I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings. Three Billion Dollars for a job that should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up. Not good!"

Aug 12, 2025, 1:34 PM EDT

30-day timeline on DC takeover to be reevaluated, Leavitt says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration will "reevaluate and reassess and make further decisions" on its federalization of the D.C. police force once the 30-day period is up.

"Within these 30 days, our entire focus is making sure that this is the most efficient operation possible and that we are removing as many criminals from the streets, and we are cleaning up D.C. as best as we can, and working with the Metropolitan Police Department to do that," she said during Tuesday's briefing.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, August 12, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

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