Trump 2nd term updates: Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics'

President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act Wednesday afternoon, his first piece of legislation since assuming his second presidency.

"It's going to save countless innocent American lives," he said, calling it a "landmark law."

"I want to thank every House Republican, every Senate Republican, as well as the 12 Senate Democrats and the 48 House Democrats who voted to pass this vitally important bill," he added.

"Laken was a brilliant and beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, the best in her class," Trump said. He also addressed her parents who were present for the signing.

The president said that under this law, the "Department of Homeland Security will be required to detain all illegal aliens who have been arrested for theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assaulting a police officer, murder, or any crime that results in death or serious injury."

“There was a short-term pause or funding freeze on certain discretionary spending payments, such as government grants, only for us to quickly look at the scams, dishonesty, waste and abuse that's taken place in our government for too long,” Trump said while delivering remarks prior to signing the Laken Riley Act.

“And, restating right now to correct any confusion that the media has purposely and somehow, for whatever reason, created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have not been affected by any action we're taking in any way, shape or form,” he said.

“We are merely looking at parts of the big bureaucracy where there has been tremendous waste and fraud and abuse,” he added, before divulging into an argument about money sent to Gaza.

Trump said that “these were the payments and types of payments affected by the temporary freeze,” emphasizing that “the American people strongly support these efforts.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the policy on social media, saying Trump still plans to implement a funding freeze without specifying what mechanism the president plans to use.
"This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X defending the administration's announcement to reverse the directive. "It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo."

"Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction," she said. "The President's EO's on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented."

The Trump administration's decision to rescind its Office of Management and Budget directive pausing federal funding comes just hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the directive and told ABC News' Mary Bruce that there was no confusion regarding the pause.

"It's very clear this is a temporary pause on federal funding to ensure that tax dollars are not funding things that this president has signed out of law," she said.

"I would like to double down on the fact that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, which I'd like to be clear on that today, welfare benefits, individual assistance, food stamps, etc., will not be impacted. So the American people should not be confused about this," she added.

When asked by "Good Morning America’s" Michael Strahan if the disruption in the Medicaid system was a sign of a chaotic rollout, she said, "No, absolutely not."

During Leavitt's first press briefing Tuesday afternoon, the White House implied the media were to blame for the confusion.

"Well, I think there's only uncertainty in this room amongst the media. There's no uncertainty in this building," she said.