In a briefing in North Carolina, Trump commented on his plans to visit California later today and the water situation in the state. He said his goal with his visit today is two-fold, as he may withhold disaster aid to California if both are not accomplished.

"I have a condition. In California, we want them to have voter ID so the people have a voice, because right now, the people don’t have a voice because you don’t know who’s voting, and it’s very corrupt," he said. "If they released the water when I told them to, because I told them to do it seven years ago, if they would've done it, you wouldn’t have had the problem."

The Guatemalan vice president’s office posted a video on Instagram of a military plane that transported migrants who were deported from the U.S. landing in Guatemala this morning.

“Accompanying returned compatriots with humanitarian support and the assistance they need, from the national immigration authority,” the Instagram story’s caption read in Spanish.

The Guatemalan Migration Institute wrote in a press release that 79 Guatemalans returned, all of whom were adults, including 31 women and 48 men.

Two U.S. military plane flew immigrants to Guatemala last night, according to three U.S. defense officials and a source familiar with the situation. Another flight that was supposed to fly to Mexico never took off after Mexican authorities denied it access to land, the officials said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in an X post earlier today that migrant deportation flights have begun.

Trump said during a briefing in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he'd love to see Canada become the 51st state.

"We take care of their military. You know, we ordered about 40 Coast Guard, big icebreakers, big ones, and all of a sudden Canada wants a piece of the deal," Trump said.

He continued, "They’ve been very nasty to us on trade. Historically, Canada has been very, very bad to us, very unfair to us on trade. So we’ll see how it all works out. I would love to see Canada be the 51st state. The Canadian citizens, if that happened, would get a very big tax cut, tremendous tax cut, because they’re very highly taxed."

Trump has made similar comments in the last month or so, saying that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada. Meanwhile, Canada has rejected his remarks about joining the United States.

Trump said today in North Carolina that he is planning to sign an executive order to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, otherwise known as FEMA. He went further to say that he might recommend eliminating it entirely.

Trump told reporters today that he was “surprised” Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — both moderates and sometime critics of Trump — planned to vote against former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Defense Department.

“I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters.

The president also hinted that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has had at times a contentious relationship with Trump, could vote no in today’s highly anticipated vote.

After landing in Asheville, North Carolina, Trump told reporters that he wants OPEC to cut the price of oil, saying that he thinks it would immediately bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

"We want to see OPEC cut the price of oil, and that will automatically stop the tragedy that’s taking place in Ukraine. It’s a butchering tragedy for both sides," Trump said.

He continued, "One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money and to drop the price of oil." He said that if OPEC drops oil prices, then the "war will stop right away."

Trump made similar comments yesterday during the World Economic Forum.

Trump is visiting Asheville, North Carolina, which was devastated by flooding resulting from Hurricane Helene last fall.

The storm wiped out towns and neighborhoods in the western part of the state in late September.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, as of Dec. 23, officials verified that 104 people died in the state as a result of Helene.

During the presidential campaign, Trump promoted false claims about FEMA disaster aid not being distributed to communities affected by the storm and said it was instead diverted for use on undocumented people.

Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both of California, are staying in Washington for the confirmation vote of Hegseth for defense secretary while Trump visits their state today to survey wildfire damage.

A Schiff spokesperson said the senator “greatly appreciates the President’s visit to see the devastation of these wildfires firsthand and the invitation to accompany him, and regrets that he’s unable to join the President in Los Angeles due to scheduled nomination votes."

Trump, however, said before leaving the White House this morning that he didn't invite Schiff to accompany him on Air Force One, saying someone else must have.

"Senator Padilla regrets not being able to join President Trump in Los Angeles due to the Senate vote schedule," a spokesperson for the senator said. "He welcomes the President’s support for federal disaster aid to assist the thousands of families and businesses impacted by these devastating fires."

A written response from Hegseth to senators reportedly shows he paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. Hegseth’s attorney previously said the former Fox News host had paid that settlement because he “strongly felt he was the victim of blackmail.” Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and said the encounter was consensual. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."