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.
Trump says US could move on from Russia-Ukraine peace talks 'very shortly'
President Donald Trump was asked on Friday to comment on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's suggestion the administration would drop Ukraine-Russia peace talks if no progress is made in a matter of days.
"Yeah, very shortly," Trump said, though he added that he believes they can reach a deal.
"How many days is that?" the reporter asked him.
"No specific number of days. But quickly, we want to get it done," Trump responded.
President Donald Trump arrives at a swearing in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in the Oval Office of the White House, April 18, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump added, "Now, if for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'You're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won't have to do that."
Asked if he was prepared to walk away from peace efforts completely, Trump said, "Well, I don't want to say that, but we want to see it end."
Apr 18, 2025, 12:50 PM EDT
Mehmet Oz sworn in to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service
President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday swore in Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Oz, a former television host who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2022, will now oversee healthcare systems relied upon by over 160 million people.
Dr. Mehmet Oz attends his swearing in ceremony to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in the Oval Office of the White House, April 18, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump said Oz "will work tirelessly to strengthen and protect Medicare for our nation's seniors and Medicaid for the needy" and continued to promise "no cuts" to the programs -- though Republicans are hunting for more than a trillion dollars in savings in Trump's budget.
Oz said in his remarks that he wants to "modernize" Medicare and Medicaid.
Apr 18, 2025, 12:41 PM EDT
Judge denies Associated Press' motion to enforce order on press access
Judge Trevor McFadden has denied the Associated Press' motion to enforce his order restoring the outlet's access to the press pool, saying senior White House officials are entitled to the presumption of good faith as they work to follow the directive he issued last week.
Associated Press White House Editor Nancy Benac, AP Washington Bureau Chief Anna Johnson and AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller depart the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Court House, April 18, 2025 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The ruling comes despite arguments from Associated Press lawyer Charles Tobin that Trump aides have already violated the order by delaying its implementation for several days and relegating the wire service to what Tobin called a "vastly inferior" status, in a rotation whose bounds and participants aren't clear.
"They're playing games," Tobin argued, pointing to a White House memo dated Tuesday that eliminates the dedicated pool slot for wire service reporters and moves them into a broader collective of print outlets.
Department of Justice lawyer Jane Lyons insisted the White House has already abided by the order, pointing to the memo's terms as evidence, as well as the inclusion of an Associated Press photographer in the pool starting on Thursday. Lyons urged the court to allow the matter to play out.
In issuing his ruling on Friday, McFadden said he was "not inclined to see anything wrong" with the new White House pool policy but added that the record would indicate whether his order is being followed.
"The proof is in the pudding," McFadden said, nodding to the Associated Press' fear that it may only be assigned pool days when the president is going golfing. The Associated Press said it expects its first day back in the pool will be tomorrow, in the "Secondary Print" slot.
-ABC News' Steven Portnoy
Apr 18, 2025, 12:21 PM EDT
Judge says Trump cannot deport noncitizens to third countries without due process
A federal judge is blocking the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens to countries other than their places of origin without due process.
Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Friday issued an injunction that bars the Trump administration from deporting any noncitizen to a country not explicitly mentioned in his or her order of removal without first allowing them to raise concerns about his or her safety.
President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, April 17, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
"Defendants argue that the United States may send a deportable alien to a country not of their origin, not where an immigration judge has ordered, where they may be immediately tortured and killed, without providing that person any opportunity to tell the deporting authorities that they face grave danger or death because of such a deportation," Murphy wrote. "All nine sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, Congress, common sense, basic decency, and this Court all disagree."
The ruling throws a roadblock in the Trump administration's frequent policy of removing noncitizens to countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Panama even if the noncitizens lack an order of removal to those countries.
