President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt hosted a news conference Monday.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration transferred more than 200 immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order to bar the deportations temporarily.
On Saturday night, District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the administration not to deport anyone in its custody over the newly invoked Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century declaration that has only been used three times in U.S. history, all during periods of war. Trump issued a proclamation that the 1798 law was newly in effect due to what he claimed was an “invasion” by the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.
On Monday, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to halt the deportations and asked a federal judge to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order.
Here's the latest:
White House says peace deal close as Trump prepares for Putin call
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wouldn’t get into details about Tuesday’s scheduled call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But she sounded optimistic that the talks can help push Russia closer to a deal to end it’s three-year war in Ukraine.
“I won’t get ahead of those negotiations, but I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace,” Leavitt told reporters Monday. “And we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done.”
White House press secretary: Administration didn’t violate court order in deportations
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday again said the Trump administration did not violate a court order when it deported more than 200 immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge ordered the deportations to be temporarily stopped.
“All of the planes that were subject to the written order of this judge departed U.S. soil, U.S. territory, before the judge’s written order,” Leavitt said at a news briefing.
Leavitt said there are questions about whether the judge’s verbal order “carries the same weight as a legal order, as a written order.”
VA to phase out medical treatments for gender dysphoria
The announcement Monday from the Department of Veterans Affairs said the change was in response to President Trump’s executive order declaring there are two sexes, male and female. The VA has never offered gender-affirming surgery, but has provided hormones, voice training and prosthetics to a small number of patients.
The VA will continue to offer hormone therapy to veterans already receiving such care and those who become eligible for VA care who were receiving hormones in the military. Veterans with gender dysphoria will continue to receive other types of care.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said transgender veterans “will always be welcome at VA,” but if veterans want “to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime.”
WHO chief says the US has responsibility to ensure an orderly pullout of aid funding
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom said the U.S. has been “extremely generous” over the years and “of course, it’s within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent.”
“But the U.S. also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding,” the U.N. health agency chief told reporters in Geneva.
In his first day back in the Oval Office in January, President Trump issued an executive order announcing a U.S. pullout from WHO — which takes a year to take effect — and called for a pause of U.S. funding for the agency. Sweeping cuts to funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development has hit many aid providers hard.
From France comes a call for Trump’s America to return Lady Liberty
Hey, America: Give the Statue of Liberty back to France. So says a French politician who’s making headlines in his country for suggesting the U.S. is no longer worthy of the monument that was a gift from France nearly 140 years ago.
As a member of the European Parliament and co-president of a small left-wing party in France, Raphaël Glucksmann cannot claim to speak for all of his compatriots.
But his assertion in a speech this weekend that some Americans “have chosen to switch to the side of the tyrants” reflects the broad shockwaves President Trump’s seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policy are triggering in France and elsewhere in Europe.
▶ Read more about the call to return the Statue of Liberty
Canada’s Carney meets with European allies as Trump targets his country’s sovereignty and economy
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday during his first official overseas trip, seeking support from one of Ottawa’s oldest allies as Trump attacks Canada’s sovereignty and economy.
Macron did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada ahead of the talks but noted tariffs only bring inflation.
“In the current international context, we want to be able to develop our most strategic projects with our closest, more loyal partners,” Macron said, adding that “we are stronger together, better able to ensure the respect of our interests, the full exercise of our sovereignty.”
Carney was sworn in Friday. After Paris, his next stop was London, where he was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, the head of state in Canada.
▶ Read more about Canada and its European allies
Fearing deportation, Cornell student and pro-Palestinian activist sues Trump administration
The federal lawsuit seeks to to block enforcement of executive orders Momodou Taal fears could lead to his deportation.
Taal, 31, is a Ph.D. student in Africana studies at Cornell University and is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia.
He was temporarily suspended last fall after participating in a demonstration on the Cornell campus in upstate New York. He has limited access to campus for research, medical and religious reasons as he continues his studies remotely, according to the lawsuit.
The suit filed Saturday by Taal and two of his allies at the Ivy League school cite the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student, as well as a statement by President Trump promising more arrests at universities across the country.
Trump signs measure to kill Biden-era methane fee on oil and gas producers
The measure, approved by Republican majorities in the House and Senate, eliminates a federal fee on companies that release high levels of methane, a planet-warming “super pollutant.”
The fee, which hadn’t gone into effect, was expected to bring in more than $7 billion over the next decade and lower U.S. methane emissions, averting thousands of early deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks and lost school days every year.
Methane is a much stronger global warming gas than carbon dioxide, especially in the short term. Oil and gas producers are among the biggest U.S. methane emitters.
Republicans said the fee would inflate energy prices, reduce domestic energy production and empower U.S. adversaries.
US State Department says South Africa’s ambassador has until Friday to leave the United States
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the move, the department said.
“We made the embassy aware that Ambassador Rasool has been found unacceptable by the United States to be a representative of his country,” the department said.
It said Rasool’s diplomatic privileges and immunities expired Monday and he would be required to leave the United States by March 21. It isn’t clear if he’s in the U.S. now.
Rubio announced his decision in a post on X, accusing Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Trump.
ACLU asks judge to force Trump administration to state under oath if it violated his court order
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to halt deportations under a rarely-used 18th century wartime law invoked by President Trump asked a federal judge Monday to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order by removing more than 200 people from the country after it was issued and celebrating it on social media.
The motion marks another escalation in the battle over Trump’s aggressive opening moves in his second term, several of which have been temporarily halted by judges. Trump’s allies have raged over the holds and suggested he doesn’t have to obey them, and some plaintiffs have said it appears the administration is flouting court orders.
▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s deportations
Irish mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor is visiting the White House for Saint Patrick’s Day
McGregor appeared in the briefing room alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt, where he criticized his country’s government as having “abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland.” He said there was “zero action with zero accountability,” and complained about the “illegal immigration racket.”
His comments come days after Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin visited the White House to meet with President Trump.
McGregor has faced legal problems of his own. He was ordered to pay 250,000 Euros ($257,000) to a woman who sued him for sexual assault. McGregor denied the accusations.
Schumer is postponing several planned events as liberal groups threaten protests
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was planning to promote his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” but is rescheduling after some liberal groups shared plans to stage protests.
A representative for Schumer’s book, Risa Heller, said that the tour would be rescheduled “due to security concerns.”
The cancellations of events in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and other cities came amid widespread criticism from the party’s liberal base over Schumer’s vote to move forward with Republican spending legislation last week.
Schumer said the bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would have been far worse, and difficult to get out of, as Trump has already slashed jobs and funding for agencies across the government.
Americans increased spending tepidly last month as anxiety over the economy takes hold
U.S. shoppers stepped up their spending a just bit in February after a sharp pullback the previous month, signaling Americans are shopping more cautiously as concerns about the direction of the economy mount.
Retail sales rose just 0.2% in February, a small rebound after a sharp drop of 1.2% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday. Sales rose at grocery stores, home and garden stores, and online retailers. Sales fell at auto dealers, restaurants, and electronics stores.
The small increase suggests Americans may be growing more wary about spending as the stock market has plunged and Trump’s tariff threats and government spending cuts have led to widespread uncertainty among consumers and businesses.
▶ Read more about U.S. retail sales
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in New York
The Sunday meeting came two days after Jeffries publicly criticized Schumer over a vote to move forward on Republican spending legislation.
The two New Yorkers met in Brooklyn, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
Schumer announced Thursday that he would join with Republicans on a key procedural vote to move the spending legislation to final passage. He said that the bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would be far worse, and Democrats would not have an “off ramp” to get out of it.
Jeffries strongly disagreed and repeatedly declined to answer questions Friday about whether he has confidence in Schumer.
“We do not want to shut down the government. But we are not afraid of a government funding showdown,” Jeffries said.
The meeting was first reported by Punchbowl News.
— Mary Clare Jalonick
Shopping for a new home? Ready to renovate the kitchen or install a new deck? You’ll be paying more
The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects.
The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales.
▶ Read more about how tariffs are raising building costs
Wall Street holds steadier after its manic roller-coaster ride in recent weeks
But the calm may not last with a decision coming this week on interest rates from the Federal Reserve and worries continuing about President Trump’s trade war.
The S&P 500 was up 0.2% early Monday. The index is coming off its fourth straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.
Stocks have been tumbling on worries that Trump’s rat-a-tat announcements on tariffs and other policies are creating so much uncertainty that they’ll push U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending.
▶ Read more about the financial markets
Trump has ordered airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Here’s why
The Houthi rebels started attacking military and commercial ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors shortly after the war in Gaza began between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.
The Houthis said they were targeting vessels on the Red Sea with links to Israel or its allies — the United States and the U.K. — in solidarity with Palestinians, but some vessels had little or no link to the war.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, until the current ceasefire in Gaza took effect in mid-January. Other missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach their targets, which included Western military ones.
▶ Read more about the Houthi rebels in Yemen
The Alien Enemies Act: What to know about a 1798 law that Trump has invoked for deportations
Trump on Saturday invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself sweeping powers under a centuries-old law to deport people associated with a Venezuelan gang. Hours later, a federal judge halted deportations under Trump’s order.
The act is a sweeping wartime authority that allows non-citizens to be deported without being given the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge.
Trump repeatedly hinted during his campaign that he would declare extraordinary powers to confront illegal immigration and laid additional groundwork in a slew of executive orders on Jan. 20.
His proclamation Saturday identified Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang as an invading force. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, blocked anyone from being deported under Trump’s proclamation for two weeks and scheduled a Friday hearing to consider arguments.
▶ Read more about the Alien Enemies Act
What to know about El Salvador’s mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there
The crown jewel of El Salvador’s aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education aren’t allowed — became the latest tool in Trump’s crackdown on immigration Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.
The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.
Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.
▶ Read more about El Salvador’s mega-prison
Putin and Trump will speak on Tuesday about the war in Ukraine
It’s a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.
Trump disclosed the upcoming conversation to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening, while the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s participation Monday morning.
“We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump said. “A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday morning confirmed the plans for the two leaders to speak Tuesday, but refused to give details, saying “we never get ahead of events” and “the content of conversations between two presidents are not subject to any prior discussion.”
▶ Read more about efforts to end the war in Ukraine
Today’s White House schedule
According to the White House press office, Trump will participate in a board meeting for the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center at 3:00 p.m. eastern.
Trump is currently the chair of the Kennedy Center’s board. He announced his election as chair in February, after he ousted the arts institution’s leadership and filled the board of trustees with his supporters. Some artists have responded by canceling appearances.
Also on Monday’s schedule is the daily White House press briefing, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants even as a judge orders their removals be stopped
The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement Sunday, responded to speculation about whether the administration was flouting court orders: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory.”
The acronym refers to the Tren de Aragua gang, which Trump targeted in his unusual proclamation that was released Saturday
▶ Read more about the deportations
The Associated Press
