Trump admin updates: Trump plans to issue executive order to require voter ID

“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS!" Trump wrote.

Last Updated: August 31, 2025, 2:39 PM EDT

President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked the Secret Service detail for former Vice President Kamala Harris that was previously extended by former President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, fallout continues from the White House's attempt to remove Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez.

Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill has been tapped as the interim director of the CDC, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 28, 2025, 5:01 PM EDT

Trump signs EO targeting federal architecture

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that mandates all federal public buildings, including courthouses and government office buildings, "embrace classical architecture to honor tradition, foster civic pride, and inspire the citizenry."

The order requires federal buildings, such as courthouses, should be built "in a classical architectural style" and "in a style that uplifts and beautifies public spaces, ennobles our Nation, and commands respect from the general public."

The order requires that the president be notified about building designs that depart from the classical style, including buildings in the "Brutalist, Deconstructivist, or other modernist" styles.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray and Michelle Stoddart

Aug 28, 2025, 2:51 PM EDT

CDC director's lawyers say she still hasn't heard from the president

After White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's briefing it was President Donald Trump who fired CDC Director Susan Monarez, Monarez's lawyers pushed back that she has still not heard directly from the president on the matter.

Monarez's lawyers also said they have not had any further communications with the White House since Wednesday night, when a White House staffer notified her of her termination, which her attorneys then rejected as "legally deficient."

"WH @PressSec can say whatever she wants because thankfully free speech still exists in this country. But it doesn't make her comments factually true, even when from a White House podium," attorney Mark Zaid said on X after the press briefing.

Susan Monarez, nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 25, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt/Reuters

Zaid and attorney Abbe Lowell have said they would only accept termination from the president given Monarez's status as a Senate-confirmed appointee.

"Our client was notified tonight by a White House staffer in the personnel office that she was fired. As a presidential appointee, Senate-confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her. For this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Monarez has received as legally deficient and she remains as CDC Director. We have notified the White House Counsel of our position," the attorneys said on Wednesday night.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Aug 28, 2025, 1:57 PM EDT

Admin believes in 'individual choice' when pressed on COVID vaccine availability: Leavitt

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if President Donald Trump believes the COVID vaccine should be available to and covered by insurance for all Americans regardless of age or preexisting conditions.

Leavitt said the FDA revoked emergency youth authorizations for some COVID vaccines, but that the decision "does not affect the availability of COVID vaccines for Americans who want them."

"We believe in individual choice. That's a promise both the president and the secretary have made, and it's a promise they have now delivered," she said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, August 28, 2025.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Aug 28, 2025, 1:49 PM EDT

Leavitt says Trump will continue to fight 'battle' as Lisa Cook sues over firing

The White House press secretary was asked why President Donald Trump ordered Fed Governor Lisa Cook fired when she had not been charged with a crime and the allegations of mortgage fraud were still being probed.

Leavitt noted that Cook is challenging the firing and admitted that the Justice Department is still probing the allegations, but backed the president's actions without giving more details.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, August 28, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

"You had these mortgage receipts, very clearly shown to the president, and he has the cause that he needs to fire this individual. He laid out in the letter that he provided to her and to the public as well. And so we'll continue to fight this battle," she said.

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