White House says some employees were fired by mistake
After taking the recent buyout offer, some employees were fired, a source said.
President Donald Trump's administration, including Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, is continuing its sweeping effort to cut much of the federal government -- but it's being met with legal challenges.
Trump is also making his second administration's first forays on the diplomatic front with calls to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ending the 3-year-old war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
And a day after Hamas released more hostages taken when it attacked Israel in October 2023, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the militant organization needs to be "eliminated."
Latest headlines:
- Some employees who accepted buyout offer were fired by mistake: White House
- Trump asks SCOTUS for permission to fire ethics watchdog
- DOE official warns all schools to end 'discriminatory' DEI policies
- 13 soon to be immigration judges, 2 current judges fired by Trump admin, union says
- US floats proposal to own 50% of revenue of Ukraine's rare earth minerals
Trump doesn't say in what capacity Musk is meeting Indian PM
Addressing reporters in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump did not say in what capacity Elon Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Trump said he didn't know whether Musk met the prime minister as a businessman or as a representative of the U.S. government.
"Well, he's meeting with me in a little while, so I'm going to ask him that question," Trump said.
RFK Jr. is sworn in, Trump outlines 'Make America Healthy Again' commission
Hours after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate along party lines, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in to serve as Trump's health and human services secretary.
Joining the ceremony at the White House was Trump, who called Kennedy a "friend" who will lead "historic reforms" in American health care.
"Immediately after Bobby is sworn in, I will be signing an executive order establishing the President's Commission to Make America Healthy Again," Trump said. "This groundbreaking commission will be charged with investigating what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic illness, reporting its findings and delivering an action plan to the American people."
4th judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship EO
A fourth federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts comes after three similar rulings by judges in New Hampshire, Seattle and Maryland.
"The plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims under the Citizenship Clause," Sorokin, an Obama appointee, said in his ruling. "They are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of relief, the balance of harms tips overwhelmingly in their favor, and the public interest favors an injunction."
The two Massachusetts-based immigrant advocacy groups that filed the lawsuit last month argued that the principle of birthright citizenship is "enshrined in the Constitution" and that Trump does not have the authority to issue the order.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Laura Romero
Trump defends calling Putin first about negotiating end to war in Ukraine
President Trump is continuing to discuss his conversations with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump spoke with Putin first, which Zelenskyy said on Thursday was "not pleasant."
Trump defended the move as he took reporters' questions in the Oval Office.
"We had a good talk with President Putin. I had a good talk with President Zelenskyy. Very good talk. And somebody said, oh, I should have called Zelenskyy first. I don't think so," Trump said. "I mean, we have to find out whether or not Russia wants to make a deal. I know that Zelenskyy wants to make a deal because he told me that. But I now know that Russia wants to make a deal."