APPLENEWS - STORY ADD

Trump 2nd term live updates: Dan Bongino named as deputy FBI director

He hosts the popular right-wing and pro-Trump podcast "The Dan Bongino Show."

President Donald Trump's administration is continuing its radical effort to cut much of the federal government and crackdown on immigration -- and is being met with dozens of legal challenges.

On the foreign policy front, Trump's press secretary said the White House believes it can reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine this week even as Trump attacks Ukraine's president and blames it for starting the war, which even some in his own party are calling him out over.

Meanwhile, heads of federal government agencies were telling employees not to reply to an email from Elon Musk, Trump's ally who he picked to cut government waste, which asked for them to list their accomplishments for the week or face termination.


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Top Social Security official steps down after clash with DOGE: Sources

The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down after a clash with DOGE employees over access to sensitive personal records, two sources told ABC News.

Michelle King, a career official who served at the agency for more than 30 years, was serving as acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration but left the agency after she was replaced with Leland Dudek this weekend.

Sources said that DOGE employees were seeking access to an internal data system that houses the sensitive, personal information of Americans.

It's not clear if DOGE employees ultimately gained access to the system following the dispute with King.

Read ABC News' full coverage here.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott, Will Steakin, Katherine Faulders and Molly Nagle


Judge rules DOGE can access student loan data

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied a request to temporarily bar individuals associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive student loan records maintained by the Department of Education.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss determined that the risk of harm from DOGE’s access to the records was “far from likely” and denied a request for a temporary restraining order made by the University of California Student Association.

The decision is yet another legal win for DOGE following a Friday decision allowing it to access sensitive records at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Health and Human Services.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Arthur Jones II


USAID worker sues Trump administration over wife's pregnancy scare

A U.S. foreign service officer deployed overseas blamed President Donald Trump administration's "cruel and harmful shutdown" of USAID for threatening the lives of his pregnant wife and unborn child, according to court documents filed Monday night.

Identified in an affidavit only as Terry Doe, the foreign service officer explained in vivid detail how the emotional strain, financial burden and logistical hurdles brought on by the administration's "rushed, haphazard" attempt to dismantle the aid agency left him and his wife in a "life-threatening emergency."

After a local physician and the embassy's medical unit advised her to be medically evacuated out of the country, Doe continued, the State Department twice refused Doe's request, along "with a message stating that 'there is no USAID funding for medivacs.'"

Read ABC News' full coverage here.


White House claims Elon Musk does not run DOGE in new filing

As its influence within the federal government grows daily, one question routinely emerges about the Department of Government Efficiency: Who is in charge? That answer continues to evade the lawyers tasked with defending President Donald Trump's administration in court.

In an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday, a White House official clarified that Elon Musk is not the administrator of the newly formed entity -- seemingly contradicting public statements by Trump. Since announcing DOGE in December 2024, he has routinely referred to Musk as its leader.

However, according to Office of Administration Director Joshua Fischer, Musk is a “non career special government employee” who serves as a senior adviser to the president. The filing compared Musk’s role to that of Anita Dunn, a longtime political advisor who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.

The filing did not provide any information about who oversees DOGE, other than ruling out Musk.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous