Trump administration briefing: judge incredulous at deportations defense; Doge workers break into building
The Trump administration claimed to a federal judge on Monday that it did not turn around the deportation flights of hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members over the weekend despite his specific instructions because that was not expressly included in the formal written order.
The administration also said that even if James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington, had included that instruction in his formal order, his authority to compel the planes to return disappeared the moment the planes entered international airspace.
An incredulous Boasberg at one stage asked the administration: âIsnât then the better course to return the planes to the United States and figure out what to do, than say: âWe donât care; weâll do what we wantâ?â
Here are Mondayâs key US politics stories:
White Houseâs defense for not reversing deportations âone heck of a stretchâ, says judge
The showdown between the administration and James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington, reached a crescendo over the weekend after the US president secretly invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport, without normal due process, Venezuelans over age 14 who the government says belong to the Tren de Aragua gang.
Trump says he and Putin will discuss land and power plants in Ukraine ceasefire talks
Donald Trump is to speak to Vladimir Putin on Tuesday â with the two expected to discuss territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant â after the Russian president last week pushed back on a US-brokered plan for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with a series of sweeping conditions he said would need to be met.
Trump pulls out of US body investigating Ukraine invasion
The Trump administration is withdrawing from an international body formed to investigate responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine in the latest sign that the White House is adopting a posture favoring Vladimir Putin.
US Institute of Peace says Doge workers have broken into its building
Employees of Elon Muskâs so-called âdepartment of government efficiencyâ (Doge) have entered the US Institute of Peace despite protests from the non-profit that it is not part of the executive branch and is instead an independent agency.
The Doge workers gained access to the building after several unsuccessful attempts Monday and after having been turned away on Friday, a senior US Institute of Peace official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Trump makes unsupported claim Biden pardons âvoidâ
Donald Trump claimed, without offering evidence, that pardons signed by Joe Biden were âvoid, vacant and of no further force and effectâ because they were signed with an autopen.
Black Medal of Honor winner web page returns after outcry
On Saturday, the Guardian reported that US army Maj Gen Charles Calvin Rogersâs Medal of Honor webpage led to a â404â error message â and that the URL had been changed, with the word âmedalâ changed to âdeimedalâ. By Monday, however, the site was operational once more â and the URL had returned to its original formulation, with the letters DEI no longer present.
Democrats demand Musk corruption investigation
Leading Democrats demanded an investigation of possible criminal corruption involving Elon Musk. The investigation should involve âthe Federal Aviation Administrationâs decision to cancel a $2.4bn contract with Verizon to upgrade air traffic control communications, and to pay ⊠Muskâs Starlink to help manage US airspaceâ, senators Chris Van Hollen, Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren wrote to Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Mitch Behm, acting inspector general of the transportation department.
Will Trump strand rural US with bad internet to help Musk?
Small-town USA is facing a âsignificant riskâ that the Trump administration is going to abandon key elements of a $42.45bn Biden-era plan to connect rural communities to high-speed internet so that Elon Musk can get even richer, a top departing commerce department official warned in an email.
French politicians jokes US should give back Statue of Liberty
A French European parliament member has quipped that the US should return the Statue of Liberty, which it received as a gift from France about 140 years ago, after Donald Trumpâs decision âto side with the tyrantsâ against Ukraine.
What else happened today:
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer postponed several stops on a his book tour as he faced intensifying backlash over his vote to support a Republican-drafted spending bill to avert a government shutdown.
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The leader of a prominent Jewish group has condemned Leo Terrell, the head of Trumpâs official antisemitism taskforce, for sharing a post by a white supremacist.
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Irelandâs prime minister has denounced anti-immigration comments made by Conor McGregor as he visited the White House for a Saint Patrickâs Day meeting with Trump.
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