Live Updates

Latest on Trump’s presidency: Government overhaul, Patel confirmed and tensions with Ukraine

still_21399954_23313.956000000002_still.jpg
Trump's National Security Advisor says the president is 'obviously' frustrated with Zelensky
01:36 - Source: CNN

What we covered here:

Mass firings court ruling: A federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to carry through with mass firings of probationary federal workers. Separately, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, while the Internal Revenue Service was expected to fire about 6,000 workers today.

Patel confirmed as FBI director: The Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI chief, installing a staunch Trump loyalist as the head of the top US law enforcement agency. GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in voting against his confirmation.

Strained relationship: Amid a widening rift between Washington and Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today’s meeting with a Trump envoy was “productive.” Separately, US national security adviser Mike Waltz declined to answer a question about whether President Donald Trump believes Russian President Vladimir Putin or Zelensky is more responsible for the ongoing war.

46 Posts

Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

Trump touts first month of his administration, projects "big surprise" for 2026 midterms

Addressing a Republican Governors Association dinner Thursday night, President Donald Trump touted his administration’s first 30 days, including his efforts to crack down on immigration, impose aggressive tariffs and deliver on culture war issues like barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.

Looking ahead to 2026, he predicted a “big surprise” for the GOP in the midterms, despite the history of the party in the White House typically losing congressional seats.

Trump championed his administration’s deportation efforts and the tariffs he’s already imposed or threatened, specifically his push for balanced trade with reciprocal tariffs. And he repeated his desires to make Canada the “51st state” and take over Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Praising Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Trump said their impact in his administration will help bring prices down for Americans. “If we can bring energy down, everything’s coming down,” Trump said, going on to claim, “The eggs are coming down and the bacon’s coming down.”

Consumer prices, however, rose much more than expected last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week — buoyed in particular by surging fuel and egg prices.

Bringing prices down immediately was a key part of Trump’s campaign pitch — and his ability to deliver on that promise may shape his administration’s success.

Nodding to the midterms and the Republicans who currently control Congress, Trump said, “The better I do, the better you do.”

He claimed he’d “raised $608 million in three weeks” — although Federal Election Commission reports for the first quarter of this year won’t be due until March — and suggested he’d be using the money to help elect fellow Republicans.

Musk hails DOGE at conservative gathering after wielding his "chainsaw for bureaucracy"

Elon Musk wields a chainsaw as he leaves the stage alongside Newsmax anchor Rob Schmitt in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Thursday.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk touted his efforts to shrink the federal workforce in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency during an on-stage interview today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

As Musk stepped on the stage, drawing a rock-star welcome, he was joined briefly by President of Argentina Javier Milei, who handed him the chainsaw — a symbol Milei uses in his country to promote his approach of cuts to the public budget. Musk waved it in the air, describing it as “chainsaw for bureaucracy.”

The Argentine leader and the SpaceX founder met earlier today in Washington, DC. They both agreed on “the urgency of deregulating the economy” because, in their opinion, state regulations have damaged “the development of countries and their growth,” according to a statement from Milei’s office.

Throughout his conversation at CPAC that lasted a little over a half an hour, Musk was loose and informal, joking about his critics and breezily defending steep cuts to federal services that have provoked an outcry from Democrats and prompted some Republicans to express unease.

Musk was asked repeatedly about his efforts to find waste and fraud in the federal budget, which he likened to throwing darts in a room full of targets. He also returned to claims about Social Security fraud, a repeated point of emphasis from the tech billionaire and his DOGE partners.

But Musk also rebuffed the suggestion that the Trump administration and Republicans were ultimately looking to cut entitlement programs.

CNNE’s Federico Jofré and Mauricio Torres contributed to this post, which was updated with Milei’s statement on his meeting today with Musk.

Trump says he will endorse Byron Donalds if he runs for Florida governor

President Donald Trump said he intends to back Rep. Byron Donalds in the 2026 race for Florida governor, should the Republican congressman run.

Donalds hasn’t officially jumped into the race to succeed GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term. But the congressman teased shortly after Trump’s endorsement that an announcement will be “coming soon.”

Trump’s decision to endorse before any candidates had declared their intentions to run — including the person he is backing — speaks to his interest in ensuring his adopted home state is led by a close ally.

Potential contenders: Several prominent Republicans were known to be mulling gubernatorial bids, including state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Lately, there is increasing speculation that DeSantis’ wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, could also mount a campaign.

Trump’s post — and his enduing popularity in the Sunshine State — could cause some Florida Republicans to reconsider their own political ambitions.

Meanwhile: DeSantis for months has been mulling a succession plan that would allow him to pass the torch to a close ally. For a time, it appeared that could be Donalds. But the two had a public falling out when Donalds endorsed Trump in the presidential primary just as the governor was planning to launch his campaign, an act that blindsided and embarrassed DeSantis, who thought he had Donalds’ backing if not an assurance to remain neutral until he jumped into the race.

Judge won't hold Trump administration in contempt, but rejects attempt to keep foreign aid frozen

A federal judge rebuffed attempts by the Trump administration to maintain its halt on nearly all foreign aid assistance, despite an order from the judge last week to restart some contracts.

US District Judge Amir Ali, in a new order Thursday evening, nonetheless declined a request by legal challengers to hold the administration in contempt.

The nonprofits bringing the case against the foreign aid freeze had sought a contempt order Wednesday, after the Trump administration pointed to a carve-out Ali had put in his previous temporary restraining order to justify keeping the bulk of the funding on ice.

The earlier order said the administration could pause funding for agreements that had contractual language allowing the government to suspend payment in certain circumstances.

Ali said Thursday that the administration could make “individualized” assessments over whether certain agreement could be paused under the law and the terms of the contract. But he made clear that the exemption was not an invitation for the government “to continue the suspension while they reviewed contracts and legal authorities to come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension.”

Senate begins marathon vote series as GOP takes first step to advance Trump agenda

Senate Republicans kicked off a marathon vote series this evening as they push to adopt their smaller and more narrowly focused budget blueprint — despite the House and President Donald Trump calling for a larger, more complex version.

Trump has endorsed a competing plan from House Republicans so the move by Senate Republicans to forge ahead tonight sets up a clash with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Ahead of adoption of the budget resolution, senators can offer any amendment they would like and force votes on the floor. Typically, the minority uses this as an opportunity to force the majority to take politically tough votes on hot button issues. This marathon vote series is known as a “vote-a-rama” and is expected to go late into the night and potentially into early Friday morning.

The budget resolution does not carry the force of law and neither do the amendments, but adoption of the budget resolution is significant as it is the first step needed to unlock the ability for Republicans to use the reconciliation process to pass Trump’s agenda without the support of Democrats in the Senate.

There is no limit on the number of amendments that can be offered, meaning senators continue voting to the point of exhaustion.

NASA says job cuts will be "performance-based or voluntary" as it strikes a deal over layoffs of recent hires

NASA confirmed Thursday that the space agency may have sidestepped the sweeping layoffs it was expected to implement this week, potentially saving hundreds of newly hired employees and career professionals.

In a statement, the agency said it worked with the Office of Personnel Management — which has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce — on “a careful evaluation of our workforce and mission requirements.”

Those discussions led to a determination that job cuts for probationary employees, typically those hired within the past year, will be “performance-based or voluntary in accordance with agency policy.”

That move stands in contrast to orders at some other federal agencies in which probationary employees were ordered to be cut across the board.

Read more on NASA’s job cuts here.

The latest on the US relationship with Ukraine after envoy meets with Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky is seen before a meeting with Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

US special envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Kyiv.

The visit comes as a rift between the two countries is widening. The long-fraught relationship between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart ripped apart publicly this week surrounding diplomatic efforts toward peace talks.

Zelensky suggested today was a step in the right direction, saying in his nightly address that the meeting “is one that restores hope, and we need strong agreements with America, agreements that will really work.”

Here’s where things stand:

  • Remember: Trump escalated his criticism of Zelensky on Wednesday, calling the Ukrainian leader “a dictator” and blaming him for strong-arming the US into spending billions of dollars “to go into a War that couldn’t be won.” Zelensky, in turn, has accused Trump of repeating Russian disinformation on the war, saying the US president “unfortunately lives in this disinformation space.”
  • US envoy meeting: A day later, Zelensky said he had a “productive meeting” with Kellogg and said “strong Ukraine-US relations benefit the entire world.” The Ukrainian leader said the two men talked about “the battlefield situation, how to return our prisoners of war, and effective security guarantees.” In recent days, Ukraine has rejected a deal in which the White House proposed taking 50% of the country’s rare earth mineral revenues as payment for past aid to Kyiv — with no guarantee of future assistance.
  • G7 statement: The United States is resisting a reference to “Russian aggression” in a joint statement from the Group of Seven countries marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Envoys from Washington have voiced concern at how the war is framed in the document, two Western officials familiar with the matter said. Trump has also suggested Russia be allowed to rejoin the G7 after it was ejected for annexing Crimea in 2014.
  • What administration officials are saying: Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz didn’t answer a question on Thursday about whether Trump believes Russian President Vladimir Putin or Zelensky is more responsible for the ongoing war in Ukraine, pointing to what he called the president’s “frustration” with the Ukrainian president. And Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s approach to peace talks with Russia at the conservative gathering CPAC, saying Trump “doesn’t take anything off the table” while negotiating.
  • GOP lawmaker’s reaction: Republican Sen. Thom Tillis pushed back on Trump’s recent comments during a speech on the floor Thursday. He called President Vladimir Putin a “cancer” that cannot be given “any space.” Tillis railed against the Russian leader for using “terrorist tactics” against Ukrainian civilians and said the Russian president is to blame for the war.

US deports Venezuelan migrants from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras, sources say

The United States deported more than 170 Venezuelan migrants from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to Honduras on Thursday, ahead of their expected transfer to Venezuela — appearing to have nearly emptied out the base of migrants.

The deportees were flown from Guantanamo to the city of Comayagua in Honduras and will now be sent to Venezuela on a special flight by the state-owned Venezuelan airline Conviasa, multiple sources told CNN. It’s the first deportation flight from Guantanamo Bay since the Trump administration began transferring migrants there from the United States.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on X it had “transported 177 Venezuelan illegal aliens from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras today for pickup by the Venezuelan government.”

The Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Venezuelan migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay have ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

Earlier Thursday, Honduras said it had facilitated the transfer of up to 170 Venezuelan migrants from the United States to Venezuela, but would not confirm the group was traveling from Guantanamo.

“The Venezuelan government requested the transfer, it’s a Conviasa flight and they are paying for this,” one of the sources told CNN.

Like several state-owned Venezuelan companies, Conviasa is currently under sanctions from the US Treasury.

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it requested the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who were “unjustly taken to the Guantanamo naval base” and thanked Honduran President Xiomara Castro for the “collaboration provided in rescuing these compatriots.”

The Venezuelan government said if any of those repatriated were found to have committed a crime, “the competent authorities will act according to the laws of the Republic and in strict protection of human rights.”

Flight tracking records indicate a Conviasa aircraft from Venezuela landed in Comayagua, Honduras, on Thursday. Less than an hour later, two GlobalX aircraft from Guantanamo Bay arrived at the same airfield.

Deporting alleged Tren de Aragua members back to Venezuela was one of the issues US envoy Richard Grenell discussed with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro when he visited Caracas in January, the first high-profile visit of a US diplomat to Venezuela in years.

Trump announces Alice Johnson as his "pardon czar"

Alice Johnson is greeted by US President Donald Trump at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, on October 25, 2019.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that Alice Johnson, whom he pardoned in 2020, would serve as a “pardon czar” for his administration, calling her “an inspiration to people.”

Trump’s 2020 pardon for Johnson followed a 2018 commutation for non-violent drug charges shortly after Kim Kardashian West pleaded her case for Johnson’s release during an Oval Office meeting with Trump.

Trump greatly overstates percentage of the Black vote he earned in 2024

President Donald Trump on Thursday greatly overstated the percentage of the Black vote he earned in 2024, claiming that he won “almost 40%,” when in reality he won 13%, according to CNN exit polls.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris received 86% of the Black vote last November, according to CNN exit polls.

More than 50,000 probationary employees of the Defense Department are at risk of firing, sources say

More than 50,000 people across the Defense Department could be impacted by the firings of probationary civilian employees, a US official and source familiar with the matter told CNN. The official number may be less than that as exemptions are considered.

The Defense Department has roughly 55,000 probationary employees, sources said. It’s unclear how many people will receive an exemption, which CNN previously reported defense officials have been scrambling to request for personnel in roles like intelligence, cybersecurity, foreign military sales, and more.

There are more than 900,000 civilians who work for the Defense Department.

The firings are expected to begin as early as Friday. They come as the Pentagon is also bracing for potential firings of some senior military leaders, and looming policy on transgender service members.

One defense official said there had been plans to release guidance on discharging currently serving transgender service members as early as this week. The US official also said it’s likely that currently serving transgender service members will be discharged. In the first Trump administration, transgender troops who were serving before the ban took place were allowed to continue serving.

The US official said there has been a concerted effort within the Pentagon to move forward on all three efforts — firing senior military officials and probationary civilian employees, and the discharge of transgender troops — in one sweep, though it’s unclear if that will be accomplished.

Federal judge clears the way for Trump administration to carry out mass firings of federal workers

President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, on Tuesday.

A federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to carry through with mass firings of probationary federal workers.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper rejected a request from several unions that represent federal workers for a court order that would indefinitely block the administration from carrying through with plans to fire scores of employees who have been on the job for less than a year.

The judge said the claims must be brought through administrative processes available to terminated employees and that he lacked jurisdiction to review the case.

But Cooper appeared sympathetic with the workers’ plight, writing in his 16-page ruling that judges “are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent — no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people.”

Pfizer's CEO booed at Trump event

President Donald Trump’s welcome to the chief executive of drugmaker Pfizer was met with a chorus of boos at a White House event Thursday.

“We also have the head of Pfizer here, so I want to thank him,” Trump said, singling out Albert Bourla in the crowd at an event marking Black History Month. “One of the great, great people, one of the great businessmen.”

Trump’s crowd in the East Room evidently had a different view. They loudly booed at the mention of the company, which has been the subject of right-wing ire for producing one of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Bourla was at the White House on Thursday along with the executives of other major pharmaceutical companies for talks with Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long spread false and misleading claims about vaccines.

Among the topics was the industry’s push to scale back certain Biden-era policies allowing the government to negotiate certain drug prices.

Trump walks out with Tiger Woods at Black History Month event

President Donald Trump speaks alongside golfer Tiger Woods during a reception for Black History Month in the East Room of the White House on February 20, in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump walked out to an event at the White House celebrating Black History Month with professional golfer Tiger Woods.

Trump and Woods were barely in view with people lifting their phones up for pictures and videos as they walked out in the East Room.

“Let me ask you, is there anybody like our Tiger?” Trump said, as the audience cheered.

Trump asked Woods to say a few words, but he at first declined. The crowd chanted “Tiger.”

“It is an honor to be here. It’s honor to be here with you, Mr. President, and an honor to be here with all of you,” Woods said. “Thank you so much.”

Trump, an avid golfer, also said Australian professional golfer Adam Scott was in attendance and thanked PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

Employees describe chaos, heightened emotions and added security at IRS offices following firings

Following thousands of firings, Internal Revenue Service workers described chaotic scenes, heightened security and charged emotions playing out at tax agency locations across the country Thursday.

CNN spoke with four IRS employees in Memphis, Atlanta and Dallas who are also warning of the potential for delayed tax refunds for Americans set to file their tax returns in the coming weeks. The employees, who continue to work for the IRS, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

At the IRS campus in the Atlanta area, two IRS employees described a heightened security posture in and around the buildings. One of them said federal police officers and officers from the Department of Homeland Security are within and outside the agency’s building.

“Employees are crying. Managers are crying. We are losing really good employees. It’s very gloomy, and everyone is very angry,” another employee said.

But the employees CNN spoke to said it’s not just the workforce that will be impacted.

Americans awaiting and depending on their tax refunds could also feel the effects of the agency’s mass firing in the middle of the tax filing season.

In the meantime, the Memphis employee told CNN IRS employees have been communicating with the union that represents them outside of the usual government email channels.

CNN previously reported that the agency was firing about 6,000 probationary workers.

CNN reached out to IRS for comment.

Trump administration rolls back deportation protections for Haitian migrants

The Trump administration is rolling back extended deportation protections for Haitian migrants, reversing a Biden-era decision and clearing the way for more deportations, Homeland Security announced Thursday.

It’s the latest in a series of actions that strips protections from immigrants in the United States — this time, targeting another population that came under increased scrutiny during the presidential campaign: Haitians.

The move stands to affect thousands of Haitians already residing in the United States who have been shielded from deportation under a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Late Wednesday, immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a similar decision to vacate a decision by the previous administration to extend protections to Venezuelans.

Haiti’s TPS will end on August 3 unless extended, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Temporary Protected Status applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters. Republicans have long argued that protections have been repeatedly extended, betraying its intention as providing temporary protections.

The State Department warns against traveling to Haiti, citing kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care.

Key GOP senators skeptical about Hegseth's list of generals to be fired

Several Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Commitee, including its chairman, said they were unaware of a possible list of generals and admirals that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may be preparing to fire.

“I just don’t know where these rumors come from. I can tell you that I have not been informed about anything about it,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi who chairs the committee and called the talk of the firings “rumor and speculation.”

Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who serves on the committee, said he too had not seen any list, but reached out to the administration to say he thought Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. CQ Brown was doing a “very good job”in his position. Rounds also said he was concerned that if the reports are true about a purge at the Pentagon, the military could lose experienced leaders.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama doubted Hegseth would circulate a list of people he was considering firing.

“I wouldn’t put a lot of credence in that. Now, there’s gonna be people that he’s obviously gonna be looking at. He said that,” he said. “President wants to cut 8% so somebody’s going to be going.”

Asked about Brown possibly being forced out, Tuberville said, “CQ is all right. He made some (DEI) statements I didn’t like back when he was voted in.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri who is on the committee also has raised concerns about Brown’s views on racial quotas but seemed skeptical about a list circulating.

Not all migrants sent to Guantanamo Bay are considered "high threat," despite administration's claims

Senior Trump administration officials have said that Guantanamo Bay is reserved for the “worst of the worst” of migrants, but new court filings reveal that not all those who are being sent to the facility are high threats.

The administration has been carrying out daily flights transferring migrants from the United States to Guantanamo Bay.

According to newly filed court declarations: 127 are considered high threat and are being held in the base’s maximum-security prison, while 51 are low-to-medium threat and are being held at migrant operations center. All are from Venezuela.

The declarations from administration officials are part of an ongoing lawsuit over the lack of legal access to migrants held at the facility.

One of those migrants, Luis Alberto Castillo Rivera, 29, was unable to access legal counsel until 13 days after arrival, according to the court documents. Castillo Rivera arrived in the United States on January 19, presenting himself at a port of entry along the US-Mexico border.

He was placed in fast-track deportation proceedings and transferred to Guantanamo Bay. The government argues he’s a suspected associate of the gang Tren de Aragua.

Potential DOGE checks to Americans are "absolutely not" inflationary, top Trump economist says

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Thursday he is not worried that potential Department of Government Efficiency checks could be inflationary.

President Donald Trump’s potential plan to give taxpayers 20% of savings identified by DOGE, similar to the stimulus checks millions of Americans received during the Covid-19 pandemic, has sparked fears of reigniting inflation, especially since progress has been made in reversing the upward pressure on prices that has lingered since the pandemic.

When pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a White House news briefing about whether a so-called “DOGE Dividend” could potentially be inflationary, Hassett said it would “absolutely not.”

“When the government spends a lot, that’s what creates inflation. We learned that from Joe Biden,” Hassett said, taking a jab at the previous administration.

“And if you give people money, then they’re going to save it, and when they save it, that also reduces demand and reduces inflation,” he told Collins.

Some context: While multiple factors have led to America’s recent bout of inflation — including supply chain disruptions, pandemic-induced demand shifts and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — some economists blamed substantial government spending, including on stimulus checks, for overheating the economy.

Trump promised to tackle inflation on “Day One” of his presidency, but economists warn some of his other signature economic policies, such as tariffs and mass deportations, could also stoke the price of everyday goods and services.

CNN’s Samantha Delouya contributed reporting to this post.