Trump 2nd term updates: Trump attends the Super Bowl

Trump becomes the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl.

Last Updated: February 9, 2025, 7:18 PM EST

President Donald Trump's second administration continued its swift recasting of the federal government, prompting pushback from Democrats and legal challenges.

The president said Sunday that he will announce tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum on Monday but didn't say when they'll take effect.

Trump, meanwhile, is at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday night to take in the Super Bowl. Trump picked the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in an interview aired before the game on Fox.

Key headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Feb 06, 2025, 10:55 PM EST

Senate tees up final votes on Gabbard, RFK

The Senate took procedural steps late Thursday night to tee up final confirmation votes on the Senate floor for two of Trump's most closely watched nominees.

The actions set up votes in the Senate next week for both Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to serve as the director of national intelligence and RFK Jr.'s nomination to serve as health and human services secretary.

Gabbard’s nomination will get a test vote Monday night, with a final confirmation vote likely late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday.

RFK's final vote will likely take place late Thursday or early Friday.

Based on their performance with key senators during committee votes earlier this week, it's likely both RFK and Gabbard will get the simple majority of votes they need to be confirmed when their votes come up on the floor.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was being watched as a potential Democratic backer of both nominees, announced in a post on X Thursday night that he does not intend to support Gabbard or RFK.

Republican leadership also took steps to tee up future confirmation votes on Howard Lutnick's nomination for secretary of commerce, Brooke Rollins' nomination for secretary of agriculture and Kelly Loeffler's nomination to head the Small Business Administration. Those votes will occur after Gabbard and RFK.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Feb 06, 2025, 10:43 PM EST

Pam Bondi touts friendship with Trump in 1st interview as attorney general

Attorney General Pam Bondi gave her first interview since taking office on the White House North Lawn -- a seemingly symbolic move as she touted her close personal relationship with President Donald Trump.

"You know, Donald Trump has created an incredible team of people who truly -- we were pre-existing friends, so many of us," Bondi said to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday.

President Donaldf Trump and Pam Bondi pose with a certificate after she was sworn in as US Attorney General in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 5, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Bondi was also asked about U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon's ruling throwing out former special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents case against Trump.

Hewing to a popular conservative narrative that Smith's prosecution was politically motivated, Bondi answered, "Judge Cannon is a brilliant judge. She followed the law that will be upheld and the weaponization of government will end. No more special counsels out there targeting anyone."

-ABC News' Alexander Mallin

Feb 06, 2025, 9:12 PM EST

At least 50 Environmental Protection Agency staffers placed on leave: Sources

At least 50 staff members focused on environmental justice inside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were told by their leadership during a Thursday meeting that they are being placed on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, sources tell ABC News.

The staff members were told the decision was part of the agency’s efforts to comply with President Donald Trump's DEI executive order, according to the sources, who also say they were given few specifics about exactly how many staff would be impacted or how long the leave would last.

PHOTO: Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: A bronze sign marks an entrance to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters building on January 30, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
J. David Ake/Getty Images

Another person familiar with current operations at the EPA told ABC News that some environmental justice employees in regional field offices were told earlier this week not to come to work.

Additionally, sources say around 1,000 other EPA staff members have received notices about being on probation with guidance that they could lose their jobs.

-ABC News' Kelly Livingston, Mary Alice Parks and Matthew Glasser

Feb 06, 2025, 9:12 PM EST

Trump sued over effort to dismantle USAID

As the Trump administration attempts to shrink the workforce of USAID from 14,000 employees to just 300 employees, two foreign service unions are now suing the federal government to block Trump’s attempt to dismantle the organization.

The American Foreign Service Organization and American Federation of Government employees filed the lawsuit in D.C. federal court Thursday, alleging that Trump engaged in a series of "unconstitutional and illegal actions."

The flag of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, right, flies alongside the American flag in front the USAID office in Washington, Feb. 3, 2025.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

"These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests,” the lawsuit said.

The unions argued Congress is the only entity with the authority to dismantle USAID.

The lawsuit said contractors and employees have been laid off, leading medical clinics, soup kitchens and refugee assistance programs across the world to be "shuddered to an immediate halt.”

The lawsuit alleges the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk -- who boasted about "feeding USAID into the woodchipper" -- made the final move to gut the agency, locking thousands out of their computers and accessing classified material improperly.

The plaintiffs asked the court to declare Trump’s actions unlawful and issue an order requiring the Trump administration to "cease actions to shut down USAID’s operations in a manner not authorized by Congress."

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

Sponsored Content by Taboola