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Trump admin live updates: Trump calls Tesla dealership vandals terrorists

"You didn't have anything like that on Jan. 6, which is sort of amazing.

Last Updated: March 21, 2025, 6:17 PM EDT

Billionaire Elon Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday for an 80-minute meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A U.S. official told ABC News that Musk would attend a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff that, among its topics, would touch on China. However, instead of meeting with the Joint Chiefs, Musk met with Hegseth and staffers. Trump and Hegseth denied that Musk was going to be briefed on China war plans after a report from the New York Times.

Meanwhile, fallout continued after Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education. Plus, the legal battle continues over the administration's use of the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans allegedly linked to organized crime.

Mar 20, 2025, 9:48 AM EDT

Trump administration targeting Georgetown University fellow: Lawsuit

The Trump administration appears to be targeting a Georgetown University fellow due to his wife's identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech, a lawsuit alleges.

On March 17, Badar Khan Suri, a visiting scholar with lawful status, was arrested outside of his apartment building and charged with removability and detained, according to a complaint obtained by ABC News.

"This was done pursuant to a policy to retaliate against and punish noncitizens like Mr. Suri solely for their family ties to those who may have either expressed criticism of U.S. foreign policy as it relates to Israel," attorneys representing Suri said in the complaint.

On Monday, according to the complaint, law enforcement agents who identified themselves as members of the Department of Homeland Security, told Suri that the government had revoked his visa and did not permit Suri's wife to hand over his passport and other documents.

The complaint likened Suri's treatment to that of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who was recently arrested by federal immigration agents at Columbia University.

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Mar 20, 2025, 8:47 AM EDT

Trump expected to sign EO to dissolve the Department of Education

Trump at 4 p.m. ET today is holding an education event at the White House and will sign an executive order.

The president's order will direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps permitted by law to dissolve the Department of Education, sources told ABC News.

President Donald Trump attends a board meeting at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, March 17, 2025.
AP

The move has been months in the making and will help the president fulfill his campaign promise of returning education power and decisions to the states.

Read more here.

Mar 20, 2025, 6:27 AM EDT

Trump administration considering plan that would give broader authorities to US troops on Mexico border

The Trump administration is proposing that a swath of land along the United States border with Mexico be designated as federal land where military troops could carry out jurisdiction authorities, including temporarily holding migrants until federal law enforcement arrives, officials said.

The administration official said the proposal would make it easier for troops to operate along a border that is a mix of federal, state, public and private land.

Declaring it a federal designated area would make that easier to operate for military engineering teams that might be building temporary walls and would allow temporary detention of migrants.

The new proposal is not a use of the Insurrection Act, but instead would essentially be declared federal land like on a military installation, allowing military personnel to have the authority to protect their base.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Mar 19, 2025, 6:01 PM EDT

Trump flaunts reported copy of Declaration of Independence in Fox News interview

In his interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Trump showed off what appears to be a copy of the Declaration of Independence that is now hanging in the Oval Office.

The document was initially covered by the blue curtains, which Trump said was to protect the document.

"It's been in the vaults for many, many decades, and they said, we have to do something like drapes or something because the light eventually affects it," Trump claimed.

A photo posted to the POTUS X account of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, March 17, 2025.
POTUS

The original engrossed version of the document is on permanent display at the National Archives and Records Administration because it is extremely fragile and kept in very strict preservation conditions.

However, there are several historical printings and facsimiles of the document.

ABC News has asked the National Archives for more guidance on the origins of the document hanging in the Oval Office but has not received a response.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

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