Trump administration briefing: Judge halts bid to use 18th-century wartime act for deportations

Alien Enemies Act used only three times in history, including during two world wars

In the lawsuit against the Alien Enemies Act, the ACLU and Democracy Forward argued the act has been invoked only three times in the history of the US: the war of 1812, first world war and second world war.

“It cannot be used here against nationals of a country – Venezuela – with whom the United States is not at war, which is not invading the United States and which has not launched a predatory incursion into the United States,” the lawsuit stated.

“The government’s proclamation would allow agents to immediately put noncitizens on planes without any review of any aspect of the determination that they are alien enemies,” the lawsuit added.

The president had previously ordered his administration to designate Venezuela’s Tren De Aragua gang as a foreign terrorist organization.

With Trump characterizing the Tren de Aragua gang as a foreign force that is invading the US, civil liberties organizations such as the ACLU feared Trump would use the act “unlawfully during peacetime to accelerate mass deportations, sidestepping the limits of this wartime authority and the procedures and protections in immigration law”.

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Trump orders airstrikes on Yemen

Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, days after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

The US president promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.

At least 13 civilians were killed and nine injured in the US strikes on Sana’a, the Houthi-run health ministry said on Saturday evening.

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Trump order to end DEI support is allowed to proceed on appeal

The Trump administration has succeeded in one legal battle to end government support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, after an appeals court lifted a block on executive orders seeking to roll back DEI support.

Two of the judges on the fourth US circuit court of appeals wrote that Trump’s anti-DEI push could eventually raise concerns about first amendment rights but said the judge’s sweeping block went too far.

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Voice of America employees put on administrative leave

On Saturday, government-employed journalists at Voice of America (VoA) were put on administrative leave, a day after Trump signed an order eliminating the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VoA’s parent company, along with six other federal agencies.

Reporters at VoA were placed on “administrative leave with full pay and benefits until otherwise notified”, according to an internal memo obtained by the Hill, adding that it is “not being done for any disciplinary purpose”.

It comes a day after VoA’s parent moved to terminate contracts with the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, and told its journalists on Friday to stop using material from the wire services.

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Analysis: can Trump push Putin into peace?

Vladimir Putin says he accepts the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, albeit with a few “nuances”. But Putin’s so-called nuances are bigger than mere wrinkles, and at the end of an intense week of diplomacy around Russia’s war in Ukraine, a ceasefire – never mind a sustainable peace – still looks to be something of a distant prospect.

While Trump has proved very willing to pile the pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his ability or desire to force concessions out of Putin are less clear. The decisive question will be whether or not Trump is ready to really push Moscow when the scale of Putin’s “nuances” becomes clear.

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Tesla bears brunt of people’s ire against Musk

As the protests against Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s administration have multiplied, so has vandalism against Tesla’s brick-and-mortar business and individual vehicles.

The Guardian has tracked at least three separate incidents involving molotov cocktails, the coordinated theft of nearly 50 Tesla tires and spray-painted swastikas on Tesla facilities from New York to New Mexico. Nearly 20 Tesla showrooms and charging stations have seen deliberate fires set, while dozens of owners have had their cars egged, pooped on and hit with Kraft cheese singles.

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Pete Hegseth pushes his beliefs on Pentagon

The Department of Defense is already rapidly transforming into the image of Trump’s secretary, Pete Hegseth, with many of the rants and opinions common during Hegseth’s Fox News career coming to policy fruition.

“What are we seeing in the Pentagon right now? What are we hearing about the future of warfare? What are we hearing about the transformation that is necessary, right now, as we come out of the last two decades of warfighting?” said the retired Brig Gen Paul Eaton, a veteran of the Iraq war. “We’re hearing of DEI purging.”

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What else happened today:

• At least 32 people have died after tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, with more violent storms expected.

• Travel restrictions are being considered for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.