President Donald Trump continues to take sweeping executive actions in his second term, including an order this week targeting a senior official from his first administration who became one of his critics.
Focus continues on the legal battle regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was living in Maryland when he was wrongfully deported by the administration.
The United States' top diplomats were in Paris on Thursday for discussions aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to talk "with European counterparts to advance President Trump's goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed," a spokesperson for Rubio said.
French President diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne meets with the Trump administration's special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on April 17, 2025.
Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters
"While in Paris, [Rubio] will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region," the spokesperson said.
Apr 16, 2025, 10:00 PM EDT
Trump admin terminates additional $2.7 million in grants to Harvard
Amid the ongoing freeze in federal funding to Harvard University, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Wednesday the cancellation of two Department of Homeland Security grants to the university totaling over $2.7 million.
Noem is also demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ "illegal and violent activities" by April 30, or the university will face "immediate loss" of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, she announced.
The department's action follows the Trump administration's decision on Monday to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, "proposing the revocation of its tax-exempt status over its radical ideology," Noem said.
Apr 16, 2025, 9:38 PM EDT
Sen. Van Hollen shares update on trip to El Salvador
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, standing in front of a backdrop of palm trees, posted a video to social media with an update on his trip to El Salvador on Wednesday.
The Democratic lawmaker hopes to get answers about the wrongful deportation of a Maryland migrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, by the Trump administration.
Van Hollen said he's had "back-to-back meetings" in the country -- with members of the American Embassy and human rights groups. He also mentioned again his meeting with the vice president of El Salvador.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks during a press conference in Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador, April 16, 2025.
Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images
"And the entire purpose has been to bring Abrego Garcia home," the senator said.
Van Hollen also said that he called the government of El Salvador to provide evidence that Abrego Garcia was involved in MS-13 -- they could not.
"They said they had no evidence," he claimed.
"So this is not about MS-13. I know President Trump wants to make this about gang violence. I have been fighting MS-13, probably longer than Donald Trump even knew about MS- 13. I care about every victim of crime. That's why we have a court system to hold people accountable when they commit crimes, to make sure they get the punishment they deserve," Van Hollen said.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Apr 16, 2025, 8:58 PM EDT
DOJ appeals judge's decision on Trump admin's deportation flight
The Department of Justice is appealing the decision from a federal judge who found probable cause that the Trump administration acted in contempt of court when officials last month defied his order to turn around two planes carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.
The administration's "willful disobedience of judicial orders" without consequences would make "a solemn mockery" of "the Constitution itself," U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote Wednesday.
President Donald Trump in Washington, April 14, 2025 and James Boasberg, chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
AFP via Getty Images/Reuters
In a separate filing Wednesday, lawyers with the ACLU representing the noncitizens removed to El Salvador are urging Boasberg to keep the case in D.C. following the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively threw out the case.
They asked Boasberg to issue a nationwide order that requires the Trump administration to provide a 30-day notice before attempting to remove anyone else under the Alien Enemies Act. They argued the relief is urgent because some noncitizens might be deported with less than a day’s notice, “making it virtually impossible” to practice their due rights.
-ABC News' Katherin Faulders, Alexander Mallin and Peter Charalambous
