March 17, 2025: Donald Trump presidency news

Our live coverage of the Trump administration has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or scroll through the posts below.

Just a few miles north of the storied Marine Corps Base Quantico, at a town hall meeting hosted by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, more than 30 service veterans had one burning topic on their minds: the sweeping staff cuts planned at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans worried about delays in services that could arise from the layoffs across the federal government and the jobs their loved ones hold at the VA. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins has said the goal is to terminate around 80,000 employees from the department.

Here’s what they said:

Wakeena Dickens: The former Army transportation officer said she has been waiting for a surgical procedure with the VA since last June. The wait was already problematic, she told CNN, and that was before the staff cuts started to be implemented. Now, she says, “I think it’s going to be even more of a delay. Lucky for me that I can get mine done next week, but I fear for other veterans.”

Sean Spence: The Army veteran who served in Iraq said his wife, a skilled nurse practitioner, who had held a series of good jobs in the private sector took those skills to a new job with the VA about two years ago. “She really wanted to serve her country,” Spence told CNN, and now worries about being laid off. He says he believes the layoffs will affect the VA’s ability to recruit skilled practitioners like his wife in the future.

After the town hall, Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voiced concern about staffing levels at a brand-new VA facility in Fredericksburg, Virginia. “It opened very short-staffed because of the combination of hiring freezes and now more layoffs. And that means that the veterans who live in this area … they need to be served there. Not just see an empty parking lot,” the Virginia senator said.

VA’s response: “New facilities often open with lower staffing numbers and then add staff as enrollment and patient demand increases. The Fredericksburg (Health Care Center’s) current staffing level is on track with its planned growth, and it can be expected to add more staff and services in the future,” spokesperson Peter Kasperowicz said in an email to CNN.

The acting president and CEO of the US Institute of Peace said today that the Department of Government Efficiency “has broken into our building,” after DOGE personnel was turned away last week.

The statement from George Moose did not give further details. CNN has reached out to DOGE for comment.

Personnel from the Elon Musk-backed initiative, accompanied by FBI agents, were turned away from USIP on Friday.

“They were met at the door by the Institute’s outside counsel who informed them of USIP’s private and independent status as a non-executive branch agency,” USIP director of communications Gonzalo Gallegos said in a statement Saturday.

“Following that discussion, the DOGE representatives departed,” he said.

Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden look on after Joe Biden was sworn in during his inauguration at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2021.

President Donald Trump said he is revoking Hunter Biden’s Secret Service detail “effective immediately,” just hours after telling reporters he would “take a look at it.”

Trump also said he’s revoking the detail of Ashley Biden, who is former president Joe Biden’s daughter.

“Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list,” Trump wrote.

CNN has reached out to former President Joe Biden’s office, the US Secret Service and Hunter Biden’s legal team.

A federal judge demanded today that the Trump administration explain what happened with deportation flights it allowed to continue Saturday night after he ordered them to turn around, appearing incredulous as the Justice Department pushed a series of arguments for why his command could be defied.

US District Judge James Boasberg told a DOJ attorney during the tense hearing this afternoon that he wanted the government to submit by tomorrow afternoon answers to a litany of questions about the deportation flights, including the specific times they left US airspace, landed in Central American countries and turned over their occupants to the foreign nations.

The judge also ordered DOJ attorney Abhishek Kambli to explain why he believes that information cannot be shared publicly, as the lawyer claimed in court.

“If you’re saying it’s classified and you can’t show me then you’ll have to make a good showing why that is,” Boasberg said. “I’d be interested to hear what that showing is.”

Some background: The hearing was scheduled shortly after lawyers representing five individuals challenging President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport some migrants whom the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua accused the administration of violating orders from Boasberg that intended to temporarily block the administration’s plans.

The administration is arguing, among other things, that it didn’t violate Boasberg’s order since his oral order from the bench said the government must turn planes carrying individuals subject to Trump’s proclamation around, but his written order did not.

Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama and the current chief judge of the federal trial-level court in Washington, DC, was unhappy with the DOJ’s explanation of things.

He summed up the DOJ’s reasoning as: “‘We don’t care, we’ll do what we want.’”

CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this post.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gestures after a press conference in London, on Monday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country is willing to have discussions with the United States on security and tariffs — while also suggesting new actions that would distance Ottawa from Washington.

He broke with tradition Monday by visiting Europe rather than the United States for his first foreign trip as the country’s leader, with his warm welcome in France and the UK standing in stark contrast to his country’s fracturing relationship with its southern neighbor.

Canada has already announced its own measures on goods coming from the US after President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on nearly all Canadian goods earlier this month, sending markets plummeting and driving Canada-US relations to a new low.

Here’s what else to know:

Bryan Bedford is seen in Denver on July 21, 2011.

President Donald Trump has named Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford as his pick to lead the embattled Federal Aviation Administration.

The role of administrator has been filled in an acting capacity since January by Chris Rocheleau, who Trump named to the post just hours after a fatal midair collision between a passenger jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter killed 67 in the deadliest US plane crash in nearly two decades. In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board said there were warning signs leading up to the disaster over the Potomac River.

Former FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker was confirmed to a five-year term in 2023, but announced last year he would resign following Trump’s inauguration.

President Donald Trump nominated Michelle Bowman, a Republican currently serving on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, to lead the central bank’s regulation efforts as a vice chair. It’s Trump’s first Fed nomination of his second term.

“Our Economy has been mismanaged for the past four years, and it is time for a change. Miki has the ‘know-how’ to get it done,” Trump said today in a post on his platform Truth Social.

If approved, Bowman would be the first woman to serve as Fed vice chair for supervision.

Some background on how a vice chair is nominated: According to Fed rules, the vice chair for supervision must be someone already serving on the Fed’s Board of Governors. Barr surrendered his leadership role, but decided to remain on the board. And since there are no vacancies, Trump was limited to the current pool of Fed governors, most of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden.

Trump nominated Bowman to the Fed’s board in 2018 to a role designated for a former leader in community banking. She was previously the state bank commissioner of Kansas.

President Donald Trump said today that he’ll “take a look” at reports that former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter traveled to South Africa with a Secret Service detail. He told reporters he’d consider revoking Hunter Biden’s detail if that’s the case.

The New York Post reported this weekend that Biden traveled to South Africa with a substantial Secret Service detail. Biden is married to Melissa Cohen, a South African activist and filmmaker.

CNN has not confirmed the Post’s reporting and has reached out to former President Joe Biden’s office for comment.

Trump has revoked security details for a number of former officials, including those who served under his previous administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former national security adviser John Bolton, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller today said the White House believes the Supreme Court will back its efforts to deport migrants the US has accused of being affiliated with a Venezuelan gang under the Alien Enemies Act.

US District Judge James Boasberg held a hearing today after the Trump administration appeared to defy his court order to hold off on carrying out deportations of some migrants the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Earlier today, press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration’s actions, telling reporters that the planes involved in “the judge’s written order, took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday.”

But during the interview, Miller seemed to indicate he didn’t believe Boasberg had the authority to halt deportation flights in the first place.

Judge James Boasberg is seen in Washington, DC, on March 13, 2023.

US District Judge James Boasberg is unhappy with the Trump administration’s arguments for why an order given in federal court on Saturday stopping deportation flights was seemingly ignored until he issued a written order later that evening.

He summed up the DOJ’s reasoning as: “‘We don’t care, we’ll do what we want.’”

DOJ attorney Abhishek Kambli said that isn’t what happened in this case. Earlier, Kambli stressed that “none of this is necessary because we did comply with the court order.”

The hearing has concluded.

This post was updated to indicate the hearing is over.

White House border czar Tom Homan said today that the Trump administration would press on with its immigration crackdown even if judges rule against them, insisting there will be daily immigration arrests and deportation flights.

Some context: Homan’s comments come after US District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked the administration’s ability Saturday to use a sweeping wartime authority to quickly deport some migrants whom the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

US District Judge James Boasberg is holding a hearing after the apparent defiance by the Trump administration of his court order to hold off on carrying out deportations of some migrants the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

He has demanded answers from the Justice Department, which argued in a six-page filing this afternoon that Boasberg’s oral order is “is not enforceable,” and that “an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction.”

Take a look at CNN’s minute-to-minute timeline of Saturday’s order and flights.

How CNN is covering the hearing: The hearing is audio-only. No video or recording in any format is allowed. CNN reporters will be present in court.

President Kennedy's casket lies in state in the East Room of the White House on November 23, 1963.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center today that he plans to release the unredacted files associated with John F. Kennedy’s assassination tomorrow, following a longtime campaign trail promise.

Pressed on if the White House had prepared an executive summary for his perusal, Trump said, “No way — I’m not doing summaries.” The president said the total document release was “approximately 80,000 pages.”

Some background: One of Trump’s first actions after taking office in January was to sign an executive order to release files related to the assassinations of Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. The FBI said in February it had discovered about 2,400 new records related to the JFK assassination from a new records search following Trump’s executive order.

In 2023, the National Archives concluded its review of the classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of JFK, with 99% of the records having been made publicly available, as CNN reported.

Despite previous pledges from presidents, including Trump, to release those records, the CIA, Pentagon and State Department still have documents they’ve refused to release. The justification for those documents remaining classified largely stems from efforts to protect the identities of confidential sources who are still alive, or might be alive, and protecting methods.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

Days after a Maryland federal judge ruled that terminated probationary workers must be temporarily reinstated, multiple federal agencies have told their staffers that they are complying with the decision — but by placing the employees on paid administrative leave.

Workers at the Internal Revenue Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Food and Drug Administration, among other agencies, received emails that said they are being reinstated. However, they are being put on administrative leave and essentially being paid not to work.

Separately, at least one US Department of Agriculture probationary employee who was terminated received notice late last week that they would be reinstated and placed on paid administrative leave initially. But this decision stems from an earlier order by the Merit Systems Protection Board, which said that nearly 6,000 probationary workers who lost their jobs in mid-February had to be reinstated for at least 45 days. The agency told staffers it is developing a phased plan to return these staffers to duty.

CNN has viewed the emails from multiple agencies.

Some agencies specified that the workers will receive retroactive pay. While the IRS’ email to employees did not mention back pay, a separate email sent to agency managers said probationary workers will receive it.

Workers interviewed by CNN said they were pleased that they would be reinstated but expressed frustration that they cannot return to their jobs.

“I’m ready and raring to go,” one USDA probationary worker told CNN.

Andy Hazelton, a hurricane hunter with NOAA who was fired as a probationary employee, told CNN the letter left him with “a lot more questions than answers.” While Hazelton said he’s relieved to be getting back pay, the letter he received notes he could be re-fired at any time, depending on how the court case goes.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday morning, amplifying disputed claims from Putin that Russia has “surrounded” troops in the Kursk region.

“Tomorrow, I’m speaking with President Putin of Russia to save some soldiers who are in deep trouble — they’re captured, essentially, they’re surrounded by Russian soldiers,” Trump said during a tour of the Kennedy Center. “But it’s a big deal, they’re surrounded by Russian soldiers, and I believe it was, if it wasn’t for me… they wouldn’t be here any longer.”

Although Kyiv is now on the back foot in Kursk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and military analysts have questioned Putin’s claims, echoed by Trump in a Friday post to Truth Social, that Russian forces have surrounded Ukraine’s soldiers.

“Reports of the alleged ‘encirclement’ of Ukrainian units by the enemy in the Kursk region are false and fabricated by the Russians for political manipulation and to exert pressure on Ukraine and its partners,” Ukraine’s military said.

Pressed on if he thought the decision to pause aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine might’ve caused Ukraine’s forces to pull out of the Kursk region, Trump balked, telling reporters, “Really the opposite.”

“A lot of people are being killed over there, and we had to get Ukraine to do the right thing, it was not an easy situation,” he said. “You got to see a little glimpse at the Oval Office, but I think they’re doing the right thing right now, and we’re trying to get a peace agreement done.”

The Justice Department made an extraordinary argument to a federal judge today that an oral order he issued during a court hearing Saturday afternoon “is not enforceable.”

The Trump administration is defending itself against accusations that it violated an order to hold off on carrying out deportations of some migrants whom the US has accused of being affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The argument — submitted in a 6-page filing to US District Judge James Boasberg shortly before a hearing on the issue is set to get underway later today — argued that “an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction.”

Though the judge’s order from the bench said any planes in the air carrying some of those migrants must turn back to the US, his brief written order contained no such language about planes and instead just said the administration was enjoined from removing the individuals while the temporary restraining order remained in effect.

“The narrower written order may well represent a more considered judgment by the court about the proper exercise of its powers,” the attorneys wrote, referring the judge’s order that was posted shortly after he announced his decision from the bench. “In accord with this well-established law, the written minute order governed.”

“The Court’s written injunction, which issued at approximately 7:25 PM EDT, properly did not seek to interfere with the President’s Article II powers to conduct military operations overseas by directing the return of aliens associated with a designated foreign terrorist organization who had already been removed from United States territory — even though the written order did memorialize other, narrower oral directives from the hearing,” the DOJ wrote.

Boasberg has ruled that the hearing will proceed at 5 p.m. ET as scheduled, rejecting DOJ’s request for a delay.

Singer Lee Greenwood performs during the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20.

President Donald Trump told reporters it would have costed $30,000 for Lee Greenwood to perform at the Kennedy Center board meeting he attended today.

“Lee Greenwood wanted to sing a little song today, and because of the cost of the union structure, for him to sing a song just for the board, just a board meeting, it was going to cost $30,000. That doesn’t sound too good. They wanted $30,000 to move a piano. So you can’t have that,” Trump said.

The meeting, which Trump is attending, included members of his newly selected board, including second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Interim Executive Director Ric Grenell. Cameras were brought in briefly for the meeting, held on stage at the Opera House.

Greenwood, who sings “God Bless the U.S.A.” – a favorite at Trump campaign rallies – performed inside Capitol One Arena at Trump’s “Victory Rally” ahead of Inauguration Day.

Presidents use an autopen — or a device used to automatically sign a signature — to sign official documents. And the president’s pardon power has few limitations. Those two things are still true, even after now-President Donald Trump posted overnight on social media that he wants to declare as “void” the clemency Joe Biden gave to members of the House Select Committee that investigated the 2021 US Capitol attack because they were signed with an autopen.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Trump’s statement on Monday:

Neither Trump nor Leavitt have offered any evidence that Biden was somehow unaware of the actions, that an autopen was actually used on the clemency document or whether the use of an autopen is somehow open to legal dispute.

The Justice Department in 2005, during the second Bush administration, looked at the legality of the president’s use of the autopen, endorsing it.

A president doesn’t have to physically sign his signature to a bill for it to have the power of law–and this “well-settled legal understanding,” the Justice Department said, dates back to the founding of the country. As long as the president personally makes the decision to approve and sign a bill, he’s using his authority appropriately, the Office of Legal Counsel opinion says.

Trump is “just having fun at Biden’s expense,” John Yoo, the conservative law professor and Bush-era Office of Legal Counsel attorney, told CNN on Monday. The Bush Justice Department’s conclusion was thorough, Yoo added. “I cannot see the courts rejecting this — it builds on centuries of practice and a long legal tradition of allowing agents to sign on behalf of their principals.”

Biden and former President Barack Obama used autopens to sign legislation at times, but the issue has never been tested in court.

French President Emmanuel Macron said President Donald Trump is committed to ensuring Russia meets the necessary conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

After speaking today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said on X that it is “up to Russia to prove it truly wants peace.”

Among the conditions mentioned by Macron are stopping “abuses and sabotage” and reuniting deported Ukrainian children with their families.

The French leader added that all partners should move forward by presenting a “concrete peace plan” that provides security guarantees for Ukraine and lasting peace in Europe.

Last week, Ukraine accepted a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the proposal with further demands and conditions.

Trump announced that he will speak with Putin tomorrow.