Trump appoints FEMA Review Council members
Trump announced in a social media post on Monday that he has appointed members of a bipartisan FEMA Review Council that he said will "work hard to fix a terribly broken System, and return power to State Emergency Managers."
In addition to co-chairs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, members of the council include Republican governors Gregg Abbott of Texas and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Tampa's Democratic Mayor Jane Castor, former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz.
Trump has in the past called FEMA a "very big disappointment" and floated "maybe getting rid" of it.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow and Molly Nagle
Johnson meets with Bessent, other administration officials in his office
After meeting with Trump at the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to convene a meeting in his office at the Capitol with top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and leading congressional Republicans grappling over budget reconciliation.
Republicans have begun releasing legislative text to codify their lofty ambitions to cut at least $2 trillion from federal spending over the next decade, with six markups scheduled this week and additional hearings anticipated in the coming weeks as conservatives face the latest test of their narrow majority.
Republicans are heading into a pivotal period in which they hope to sharply reshape federal spending to align with the president’s domestic agenda. The meeting with Trump was a chance for the president and speaker to huddle as Congress returns to Washington following a two-week legislative recess and the president approaches 100 days in office.
-ABC News’ John Parkinson
Trump discussing reconciliation bill with Speaker Johnson: Leavitt
At a briefing with influencers and new media, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that one of President Donald Trump's priorities is to pass reconciliation, and that the president is discussing the bill with House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Oval Office on Monday.
"It's a huge deal. We have to get it done. He's working closely with Congress. In fact, he's meeting with Speaker Johnson, I think, in a few minutes today, in the Oval Office, to discuss this very bill and measure," Leavitt said.
She said they are "very confident" the package will "include more funding for border wall construction and mass deportations."
Trump also wants to see "tax cuts passed in this reconciliation package that includes no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security for our seniors," she added.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Trump to sign executive order directing literacy tests for truck drivers
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Monday that directs the Department of Transportation to "include English literacy tests for our truckers," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing for influencers and new media.
"This is a big problem in the trucking community that unless you're in that community, you might not know, but there's a lot of communication problems between truckers on the road with federal officials and local officials as well, which obviously is a public safety risk," Leavitt said. "We're going to ensure that our truckers, who are the backbone of our economy, are all able to speak English. That's a very common-sense policy in the United States of America."
Leavitt also said Trump will sign an executive order on Monday that will direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to make a list of sanctuary cities for review.
"If those sanctuary cities are breaking federal law, well, then the Office of Management and Budget is going to look at their federal spending again. If you're defying federal law, you are threatening your own federal spending by doing that," Leavitt said.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart