A federal judge who blocked Donald Trump's administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ruled that the agency can’t go forward immediately with plans to fire hundreds of employees.
Also, Trump said Thursday that the administration is looking at the tax-exempt status not just of Harvard, but environmental groups and specifically the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. It could be a devastating financial blow to the nonprofit organizations — and his perceived political foes.
Here's the latest:
The federal judge has denied a request by The Associated Press that he take further steps to enforce his order last week that the White House stop blocking AP’s access to cover events because the outlet won’t rename the Gulf of Mexico in its reports.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who handed the AP a victory last week in its efforts to end the ban, said it’s too soon to say the Trump administration is violating his order — as the AP suggests.
“We are not at the point where we can make much of a determination one way or another,” said McFadden, ruling from the bench.
For two months, the White House has essentially banned AP reporters and photographers from their traditional spot covering events in smaller spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One. The AP says it’s a violation of its free-speech rights to punish a news outlet for an editorial decision — an argument McFadden has endorsed.
After days of denying that he knew much about Abrego Garcia, Trump on Friday said he knew Abrego Garcia was “unbelievably bad” and called him an “illegal alien” and “foreign terrorist.”
Trump, while speaking to reporters, had an aide fetch a piece of paper he said had information about Abrego Garcia. He said it came from the State Department and “very legitimate sources.”
“I’m just giving you what they handed to me but this is supposed to be certified stuff,” he said.
He said Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, though Abrego Garcia has never been criminally charged in the U.S. with gang involvement. He also highlighted how the man’s wife admitted she once filed a protective order against him despite now advocating for his return.
“This is the man that the Democrats are wanting us to fly back from El Salvador to be a happily ensconced member of the USA family,” Trump said.
President Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war.
The comments from Trump came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there’s no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.
“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re going to say you’re fools, you’re foolish, and we’re just going to take a pass,” Trump told repor...
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