What to know today
- A federal judge heard arguments this evening in a tense hearing on the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang. The judge chided a Justice Department lawyer for refusing to answer certain questions about the deportations.
- President Donald Trump this morning baselessly claimed then-President Joe Biden's pre-emptive pardons of members of the House Jan. 6 committee are invalid because they were done by autopen. The now-defunct committee investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol and Trump's role in events leading up to it.
- Trump met with the Kennedy Center's board of trustees this afternoon. Numerous shows have been canceled or rescheduled since Trump appointed White House officials and allies to the Washington performing arts center's board of trustees and became its chairman.
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Irish deputy prime minister says Conor McGregor 'doesn't speak for Ireland' after White House visit
Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said on social media today that an Conor McGregor, the MMA fighter who visited the White House and suggested that Ireland was "at the cusp" of losing its identity because of illegal immigration, does not speak for the country or its citizens.
"Conor McGregor is not in the US representing Ireland, he doesn’t speak for Ireland, or its people," Harris wrote on X.
In a video accompanying the post, Harris said McGregor had taken the trip "in a personal capacity."
In addition to his White House comments on immigration, McGregor likened the United States and Ireland to siblings. “We wish to be taken care of by the big bro,” he said.
Trump appoints Charlie Kirk and Michael Flynn to boards at military academies
Michael Flynn, a national security adviser during Trump's first term, will serve on the West Point board of visitors, Trump a said tonight on Truth Social.
Trump also appointed Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Trump ally, to the board of visitors for the Air Force Academy.
In 2020, Trump pardoned Flynn after he pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Israel consulted U.S. on its strikes in Gaza, White House says
Israel consulted the United States on its strikes in Gaza tonight, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News.
“The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight. And as President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran — all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America — will see a price to pay,” Leavitt said.
Israel’s military said it was conducting “extensive strikes” against Hamas targets in Gaza, despite a ceasefire announced in January.
“All hell will break loose, and all of the terrorists in the Middle East — again, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iranian-backed terror proxies and Iran themselves — should take President Trump very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people. He is not afraid to stand up for the United States of America and our friend and our ally Israel,” Leavitt added.
Trump taps Republic Airways chief executive to lead the FAA
Trump announced Bryan Bedford, the CEO of Republic Airways, as his nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration.
If he is confirmed, Bedford, a pilot for over three decades and former head of two other airlines, would helm the FAA following a series of aviation crashes and incidents, including a deadly midair collision over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., in January.
“Brian brings over three decades of experience in Aviation and Executive Leadership to this critical position,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The top post at the FAA has been vacant since Jan. 20, when Mike Whitaker stepped down. Chris Rocheleau has been serving as acting administrator.
Trump to end Secret Service protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden
Trump said today that he is terminating Secret Service protection for his predecessor’s two adult children: Hunter and Ashley Biden.
“Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that Ashley Biden also “will be taken off the list.”
A Secret Service official said the agency was aware of Trump’s decision.
“The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible,” the official said.
‘We’re not stopping’: Trump officials raise the stakes in showdowns with judges
Trump and his allies have launched a multipronged attack on the judiciary, punctuated over the weekend by his decision not to comply with a federal judge’s order to halt the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador.
It was not the first time the two-month-old Trump administration had not complied with a federal court. Judges have said Trump has brushed aside their orders to unfreeze spending on a variety of foreign and domestic programs.
Battling the judiciary could face its ultimate test if the Supreme Court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, rules against the administration. So far, the court has stayed largely on the sidelines.
Semisonic blasts use of ‘Closing Time’ in White House deportation video
Semisonic said it did not authorize and does not condone the White House’s using its hit “Closing Time” in a video that appears to depict deportation, the band said in a statement today.
The video, posted on the White House’s official social media accounts today, features a handcuffed man being patted down while the song plays in the background: “Closing time, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
In the next shot, the audience can see “BORDER PATROL” in capital letters as people climb up stairs to an airplane in the background, seemingly to be deported from the United States. The rest of the song’s verse continues: “I know who I want to take me home.”
The Minneapolis rock band was quick to denounce the use of its 1998 hit.
Judge in Alien Enemies Act case chides DOJ lawyer over refusal to answer key questions about deportations
A federal judge pressed a Justice Department lawyer today over why the Trump administration did not comply with his order to temporarily halt deportations under an 18th century law and asked why key information about the flights from over the weekend was being withheld.
In a tense hearing, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., summarized the administration’s position on his court order Saturday as “we don’t care, we’ll do what we want.” Boasberg had directed any planes in the air carrying deportees to return to the United States.
The Justice Department attorney, Abhishek Kambli, said the administration had complied with the written order, which came hours after Boasberg’s oral ruling at an emergency hearing Saturday. Kambli argued the written ruling took precedence over the one issued from the bench, adding, “We believe that we’ve complied with the order.”
The judge said an order is an order.
Trump says he 'never liked' the hit play 'Hamilton' after the show cancels its run at the Kennedy Center next year
Ahead of his first board room meeting at the Kennedy Center today, Trump said he was never a fan of "Hamilton," which recently canceled its scheduled run at the arts institution next year.
"I never liked 'Hamilton' very much," Trump said. "But we are going to have some really good shows."
A reporter had question about programming plans for the Kennedy Center, where Trump recently overhauled the leadership and appointed himself as chairman of the board of trustees.
“Hamilton,” a Broadway hit, canceled its run at the Kennedy Center for 2026 after Trump ousted the existing leadership.
“The thing that does well are Broadway hits, and we have some beauty, I guess we have 'Les Mis' coming, and we have some others, but the Broadway hits have done very well," Trump said.
White House dismisses French official's request to return the Statue of Liberty to France
The United States won't be returning the Statue of Liberty to France, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at today's briefing following a request from a French member of the European Parliament.
Raphaël Glucksmann said yesterday that the United States should return the statue — a gift from France in 1884.
Leavitt said the United States will “absolutely not” return the statue.
“My advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now. So they should be very grateful to our great country,” Leavitt said.
Glucksmann said that the statue had been a gift but that the United States did not appreciate its meaning.
“We are going to tell the Americans who have chosen to take the side of tyrants, to the Americans who turned away researchers for their scientific freedom, we are going to say two things to the Americans: First, return to us the Statue of Liberty. We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you don’t appreciate it. So she will be just fine here, with us,” Glucksmann said in a speech before members of his political party.