What to know today
- The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's order in the Alien Enemies Act case, which paused deportation flights under the rarely used wartime law.
- Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance visited Greenland today as part of a U.S. delegation that included national security adviser Michael Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
- In a change to their itinerary, the Vances visited Pituffik Space Base rather than the country's capital, Nuuk, after President Donald Trump's stated desire for the U.S. to take ownership of the Danish territory for U.S. national security purposes sparked controversy abroad.
- Trump participated in a swearing-in ceremony this afternoon for his White House counselor and former lawyer Alina Habba as the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
FDA’s top vaccine scientist, Dr. Peter Marks, is out
Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, has resigned, an official at the Department of Health and Human Services said today.
“If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy,” Andrew Nixon, a senior spokesperson at HHS, said.
A person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Marks was forced out of his position.
In a resignation letter to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Marks wrote that undermining confidence in vaccines is “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.”
The White House’s Barstool problem
One of the most viral responses to the Trump administration’s Signal chat debacle this week came not from a lawmaker or military expert, but from a man who rates pizza slices after taking a single bite.
“We are lucky it didn’t cause the death of American military members,” Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, said Wednesday in a video on X in which he called for the firing of national security adviser Michael Waltz. “Somebody has to go down for this.”
Portnoy interviewed Trump ahead of the 2020 election and publicly supported him in last year’s campaign. Portnoy’s irreverent persona and knack for connecting with sports fans, gamblers and other “bros” allowed him to serve as a conduit for Trump’s message between the president and a key segment of the electorate he was laser-focused on.
But his six-minute, direct-to-camera video on X eviscerated Trump officials for inadvertently adding a prominent journalist, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal app group chat in which they discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen in the hours before launching strikes on March 16.
Taxpayer-funded staffers for Ron DeSantis solicit lobbyist cash as his wife considers a 2026 run
Taxpayer-funded staffers in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office have been making fundraising calls to state lobbyists, asking them to commit to raise money for a DeSantis-aligned political committee as Casey DeSantis considers a campaign for governor, according to five sources who either received the calls or have direct knowledge of them.
The governor’s office and the staffers said to have been on the calls denied that they happened. And Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife, has not yet decided if she will run to succeed him in 2026. But she has openly hinted at the idea, which has increasingly become a point of political intrigue in the state — and prompted DeSantis’ political operation to try to slow the fundraising pace of Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who has already announced his bid for governor and received Trump’s endorsement.
“It’s kind of a no-brainer for most of us. Of course we will give. He’s the governor,” said one person who said they received a call. Like the others who received or were told about the calls, the person spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the conversations without fear of retribution.
“I mean, my kid has to eat,” the person continued.
Judge limits Trump order targeting law firm WilmerHale
A federal judge tonight blocked the Trump administration from enforcing multiple parts of an executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale.
Judge Richard Leon blocked Trump from an enforcing two provisions of the order: terminating all government contracts with the law firm and limiting its employees from accessing federal buildings.
During a hearing earlier today, conservative attorney Paul Clemente, who is representing WilmerHale, outlined the immediate harm he said the firm has faced due to Trump's order, including two canceled meetings with government agencies and security clearances that are beginning to be revoked.
The judge's order did not affect a provision of Trump's order directing federal agency heads "to suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at WilmerHale" pending review.
Wilmer Hale previously employed Robert Mueller, a special counsel who led the Russia investigation after the 2016 presidential election.
The judge said at today's hearing that Trump's executive order was “avowedly based on retaliation for core protected activity.”
Federal judge blocks firing of Voice of America staff
A federal judge today temporarily blocked the Trump administration from efforts to fire Voice of America staff.
U.S. District Judge James Paul Oetken granted a temporary restraining order after a group of journalists and labor groups asked the court to return the U.S. Global Media Agency, which oversees outlets including Voice of America and its employees, contractors and grantees, to its status before Trump signed an order this month to dismantle the federal agency.
The plaintiffs said in a court filing that roughly 1,300 VOA journalists and other employees "had to stop working immediately" because they were placed on administrative leave after Trump's order.
Ecuadorian president announces plans to meet with Trump this weekend
Daniel Noboa, the president of Ecuador, announced today that he will meet with Trump this weekend in Florida.
Noboa said in an interview with Ecuador’s Radio Centro said that he will head to the U.S. this evening to “personally speak” with Trump about “topics related to migration in benefit to [Ecuador’s] migrants” and a “fair trade deal on both sides.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Noboa’s announcement.
Noboa’s government yesterday announced a two-day trip to Miami and Fort Lauderdale for this weekend to “perform official activities.” Trump is scheduled to be at Mar-a-Lago this weekend.
Noboa, who is seeking re-election, recently hired the lobbying firm Mercury for $165,000, according to U.S. Justice Department records.
The contract is to “bolster the political-diplomatic strategies and initiatives pertaining to migration, trade, and security with the U.S. administration” and the specifics include arranging high-level meetings with the White House and other administration officials.
Tulsi Gabbard revokes access to classified info for Trump's political foes
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on social media tonight that she had revoked security clearances from several of Trump's political foes.
"Per @POTUS directive, I have revoked former President Joe Biden’s security clearance, and revoked clearances and access to classified information for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Fiona Hill, and Alexander Vindman," Gabbard wrote on X.
Trump previously announced that he would “immediately” terminate Biden's access to intelligence information and had issued a memo last week that said it was “no longer in the national interest” for Harris, Clinton, Cheney and Kinzinger to have to access to classified information.
Cheney and Kinzinger were the two Republican members of the House Jan.6 Committee. Vindman and Hill gave testimony during Trump's first impeachment inquiry, with Vindman detailing Trump's 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During his first months in office, Trump has pulled numerous security clearances, including for dozens of former national security officials who signed a letter more than four years ago suggesting that Russia might have promoted allegations about Hunter Biden as part of a broader 2020 election interference effort.
Judge orders reinstatement of fired CFPB employees
A federal judge tonight issued a sweeping order affecting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the reinstatement of all employees fired since Feb. 10 and the reinstatement of office space to ensure statutory functions can be completed.
The judge also ordered the rescinding of any contract cancellations with vendors.
Judge says he is 'inclined' to temporarily block Trump's order targeting WilmerHale law firm
A federal judge today said he was “inclined” to grant a temporary restraining order that would block Trump's executive order against the law firm WilmerHale.
Judge Richard Leon said the executive order, which suspends the security clearances of employees at the firm, was “avowedly based on retaliation for core protected activity.”
The firm previously employed Robert Mueller, a special counsel who led the Russia investigation after the 2016 presidential election.
“The president could have done this a different way, couldn’t he?” Leon asked Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson.
No ruling was issued by the judge.
WilmerHale chose influential conservative attorney Paul Clemente to represent the firm. Clemente detailed the immediate harm facing the firm, including two meetings with government agencies that were canceled today, and security clearances that are beginning to be revoked.
On that point, he brought up an issue related to two attorneys at WilmerHale who are also reservists in the military: they were told to report for duty next week but are unsure if they will now be able to due to potential clearance issues.
“This is designed to chill law firms,” Clemente said.
“Some of them are standing tall, and some are making deals,” he said of other firms facing similar executive orders.
The judge was incredulous when discussing a section of the executive order that bans WilmerHale employees from entering federal buildings.
“What possible threat do they pose from having access to government buildings?" he asked.
“This is a government building,” the judge noted, referring to the E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.The courtroom gallery was at capacity, filled mostly with partners and associates of the law firm.
Judge blocks Trump order targeting law firm Jenner & Block, calls it unconstitutional
In a rare Friday night hearing, Judge John Bates blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the president's executive order targeting Jenner & Block, the former law firm of MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann who was once a prosecutor in Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
In granting the temporary restraining order, the judge said the executive order violates the First, Fifth and Sixth amendments of the Constitution.
Trump has targeted other law firms with executive orders, with mixed results.