Trump 2nd term live updates: Hegseth stands by comments on Ukraine not joining NATO

1 hour and 52 minutes ago

Judge temporarily blocks mass firing of CFPB employees

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon, in effect holding off on the mass firing of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees, if the order is followed, until March 3. Employees could still be fired individually for cause.

A security officer works inside of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) building headquarters Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The ruling also ordered acting Director Russell Vought not to "delete, destroy, remove or impair any data, database or other CFPB records; terminate any CFPB employee, except for cause related to the specific employee's performance or conduct; issue any notice of reduction-in-force to any CFPB employee; or transfer, relinquish, or return any money from the CFPB's reserve funds."

-ABC News' Soo Youn

3 hours and 33 minutes ago

Judge continues to block DOGE from Treasury Dept. payment systems

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas will continue to block individuals associated with DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury Department records and payment systems.

Vargas did not rule on whether to issue a preliminary injunction yet but opted to extend her temporary restraining order from last week. She suggested her decision would come down over the next few days.

Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump have pointed to court action blocking DOGE from the systems in their broad attacks on the judiciary in recent days.

PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2025. — Elon Musk listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

3 hours and 44 minutes ago

Trump deflects when asked who he blames for Russia-Ukraine war

As his administration begins negotiations to end the conflict, which began in February 2022 with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter who he blamed for the war.

"I think that there were a lot of people to blame," Trump said. "All I can say is, very simply, if I were president, that war would never have happened."

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs an executive order, in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, Feb. 14, 2025.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

Trump on Thursday suggested Ukraine's NATO aspirations were a factor in Russia's decision to invade.

2:46 PM EST

Trump, in largely symbolic move, to prohibit federal funding to schools with COVID vaccine mandates

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that will strip schools of federal aid if they mandate COVID vaccines -- a largely symbolic move considering that no states currently require them.

The order applies to students and not to teachers or staff. In a fact sheet provided to reporters, the White House said the order was necessary because COVID vaccine mandates were "threatening educational opportunities for students."

Trump's directive also calls on newly-confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the incoming education secretary to "provide a plan to end coercive COVID-19 vaccine mandates" and report back on the compliance of schools.