The White House on Monday was facing a legal battle over its use of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law, under which the United States began deporting Venezuelans allegedly linked to organized crime.
President Donald Trump also said he planned on Tuesday to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the U.S. president seeks to find common ground for a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump says he looks 'very much forward' to call with Putin
President Donald Trump teased teased his forthcoming phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he looks "very much forward to the call" Tuesday morning.
"Tomorrow morning I will be speaking to President Putin concerning the War in Ukraine. Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains," Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday night.
"Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin," the president added.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Mar 17, 2025, 6:52 PM EDT
Trump pulls Secret Service protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden
Trump announced Monday on Truth Social that Hunter and Ashley Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection.
"Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
“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 said.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Hunter Biden walks out of a bookstore in downtown Nantucket, Massachusetts, Nov. 29, 2024.
Craig Hudson/Reuters
The President was asked earlier Monday who was paying for Hunter Biden’s Secret Service protection and he said he would look into the matter later in the day.
It's not unusual for the children of an outgoing president to receive an extension on their protection as a courtesy extended to the outgoing president and his family. Trump’s four adult children and their two spouses received Secret Service protection for an additional six months after Trump's first term.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Hannah Demissie and Luke Barr
Mar 17, 2025, 6:14 PM EDT
Miller questions judge’s authority over immigration policy
Shortly after Trump’s border czar Tom Homan flat out stated he didn't "care" what judges thought, Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, questioned the authority of a district court judge to rule over the president's immigration policies.
I asked Miller if this administration believes it needs to comply with a verbal court order. He took it one step farther.
“The American people said, to get these terrorist gangs the hell out of our country. The President has plenary authority under the Constitution, under the Alien Enemies Act, under the IMA, under core article, two powers to achieve that and no district court judge, who presides over to some small like little geography of the whole country could possibly presume to have the authority to direct the expulsion of terrorists from our soil, who by the way are also here illegally,” he stated, calling the order “patently unlawful.”
Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Mar. 17, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
The White House has not provided the names of the alleged gang members who were deported or any substantial evidence of the crimes they committed in the United States.
I asked Miller why the White House has released images and videos of the people they deported but has not released their names. He cited "operational security” reasons.
"Well, they are actually foreign terrorists and alien enemies the United States and everything that we do is for operational security reasons. We are dealing with one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations on planet Earth," he said.
He added, "They're even more ruthless and violent than MS-13, and so operational security and public safety and national security always going to guide any decisions that are made in this regard."
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott
Mar 17, 2025, 5:33 PM EDT
Trump says unredacted Kennedy assassination files will be released Tuesday
Trump said Monday during a visit to the Kennedy Center that he will release all of the files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday.
“But while we're here, I thought it would be appropriate. We are tomorrow announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files,” Trump told reporters after attending his first Kennedy Center board meeting after being elected chair by the board he installed.
Trump said there were 80,000 pages of documents and there would be no executive summary.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media after attending a board meeting at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, Mar. 17, 2025.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
“We have a tremendous amount of paper. You've got a lot of reading,” he said.
Trump said the effort is being led by Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence, and that he didn’t think anything would be redacted.
“I said, ‘Just don't redact. You can't redact,’” he said, noting that he was fulfilling a campaign promise.
When asked if he’s seen the files, Trump said he has “heard about them.”
