Trump admin live updates: Supreme Court gives DOGE access to Social Security data
A bitter public feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk erupted on Thursday, with the Tesla billionaire agreeing to calls for Trump's impeachment while Trump suggested ending Musk's government contracts.
Musk showed some signs of softening his tone, but Trump on Friday told ABC News Musk was a "man who has lost his mind" and that he was "not particularly" interested in talking to him right now.
The spat began in part because of Musk's criticism of Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a sweeping immigration and tax bill that would fund much of the president's domestic agenda.
Latest Developments
Trump criticizes Democrats for defending Abrego Garcia
Speaking to reporters during a flight on Air Force One, President Donald Trump criticized Democrats for defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the federal charges unveiled Friday show "this was not the man from Maryland."
Trump said, "For the Democrats who backed him, this was not the man from Maryland, this wonderful father from Maryland. This is a pretty, pretty bad guy."
Trump declined to say whether he personally spoke to the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from the CECOT prison.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Trump says he's too busy running country to think about Musk
Asked how serious he was about cancelling government contracts with Elon Musk in light of their feud , President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One he was going to "take a look at everything."
Trump added, "Only if it’s fair for him and the country, I would certainly think about it."
But he also said he wasn’t thinking about Musk because he was busy running the country.
"Honestly, I've been so busy working on China, working on Russia, working on Iran, working on so many things, I'm not thinking about Elon Musk. I just wish him well," Trump said.
On the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk previously led, Trump said that the White House would be taking over much of its work and commended what it had done so far.
"Many of those people remain with us, and they're going to remain with us," Trump said.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Abrego Garcia's attorney says his client will 'vigorously' defend charges
In a virtual press conference, one of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said that “what happened today is an abuse of power,” referring to the charges in federal court in Tennessee against Abrego Garcia.
“They'll stop at nothing at all,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “Even some of the most preposterous charges imaginable just to avoid admitting that they made a mistake which is what everyone knows happened in this case.”
“Mr. Garcia is going to be vigorously defending the charges against him,” he added.
Sandoval-Moshenberg also said he will be travelling to Tennessee to hopefully meet with Abrego Garcia.
“He is one of the first, if not the first person to leave the CECOT prison,” Moshenberg said. “So it's going to be very interesting to hear what he has to say about the way in which he was treated in that prison by the Salvadoran authorities.”
Ama Frimpong, the legal director of CASA, the advocacy group representing Abrego Garcia’s wife, said the government is “still delaying family reunification.”
“They are continuing to play games with the lives of Jennifer and with the lives of these three children,” Frimpong said. “Let him talk to his wife. Let him talk to his children. This family has suffered enough.”
-ABC News' Laura Romero
Abrego Garcia indictment led top federal prosecutor in Tennessee to resign: Sources
The decision to pursue the indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia led to the abrupt departure of Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Tennessee, sources briefed on Schrader’s decision told ABC News.
Schrader’s resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said.
Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville, and was most recently the chief of the criminal division, did not respond to messages from ABC News seeking comment.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders
Trump can bar AP from certain parts of White House, appeals court says
The Trump administration can limit journalists from accessing certain areas of the White House based on their viewpoints, a federal appeals court said on Friday.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overruled a decision from a federal judge requiring the White House give the Associated Press full access to covering the president.
"The White House is likely to succeed on the merits because these restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion. The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted," the decision said.
Judges Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas – both Trump appointees – said that forcing the White House to give the Associated Press full access "impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces."
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Cornelia Pillard said her colleagues' decision may leave lasting damage to the freedom of the press and prevent "factually accurate journalism unflattering" of the president.
"Purporting to respect the First Amendment while allowing exclusion of journalists from the Press Pool based on viewpoint will quickly erode the independence of any press outlet hoping to retain the chance to cover the White House at close range," she wrote.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Steven Portnoy
Supreme Court sides with Trump in DOGE FOIA case
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision on Friday, granted the Trump administration's request to effectively block efforts by a left-leaning watchdog group to access DOGE records and plans for overhauling the government.
The three liberal justices dissented.
The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has sued DOGE under the Freedom of Information Act for public access to its records and plans for overhauling the government.
The administration has claimed executive privilege, insisting that DOGE, as a presidential advisory board, is not subject to FOIA.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority says the judge inappropriately tailored his order for discovery.
"Any inquiry into whether an entity is an agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act cannot turn on the entity’s ability to persuade," the Court wrote in an unsigned order.
-- ABC News' Devin Dwyer
Supreme Court gives DOGE access to Social Security data
The Supreme Court's conservative majority on Friday granted DOGE the ability to access sensitive data inside the Social Security Administration, lifting a lower court injunction and affirming the Trump administration's broad assertion of power over the executive branch.
"The factors in this case warrant granting the requested stay," the Court wrote in an unsigned order. "We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work."
A federal employee union, which brought the challenge, accused DOGE of moving to expose Americans' highly personal information to unauthorized and untrained staffers in violation of federal law.
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
"Today, the Court grants a stay permitting the Government to give unfettered data access to DOGE regardless—despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access," Jackson wrote.
-ABC News' Devin Dwyer
Van Hollen reacts to Abrego Garcia return
Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who flew to El Salvador and met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia shortly after his deportation, is responding to the news that he is on his way back to the United States where he is set to face criminal charges.
Van Hollen is claiming the Trump administration has "relented" to his "demands" of bringing the Maryland resident back-- compliant with court orders.
"As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights - and the rights of all. The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along," he said.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Bondi says US presented El Salvador with arrest warrant for Abrego Garcia
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke briefly with the press after it was announced that Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been returned from the U.S. from an El Salvadorian prison.
"Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country," she said.
Bondi said if Abrego Garcia is convicted of the charges, upon the completion of his sentence he will be deported back to his home country of El Salvador.
A reporter asked Bondi about what circumstances have changed since Abrego Garcia was pulled over in that 2021 traffic stop in Tennessee where he was not taken into custody.
"What has changed is Donald Trump is now President of the United States, and our borders are again secure, and thanks to the bright light that has been shined on Abrego Garcia," she said
-ABC News' Pierre Thomas and Alexander Mallin
Former inmate pardoned by Trump tapped to be Bureau of Prisons deputy director
A former inmate who was previously pardoned by President Donald Trump has been tapped to be the No. 2 at the Bureau of Prisons, according to an internal memo sent to BOP staff on Thursday.
Josh Smith, who spent five years in federal prison for drug trafficking and received a pardon during the final days of the Trump's first term, will become the deputy director, a position which does not require Senate confirmation.
Smith, according to the Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall, turned his life around after leaving jail, founding a multimillion-dollar company that helps people kick drug addiction.
"Josh brings to this role something our agency has never had before at this level: a perspective shaped by lived experience, proven innovation, and national impact," Marshall said in a message to staff. "Josh has spent more than two decades working with corrections leaders across the country and internationally to transform prison culture, support staff development, and reduce recidivism."
-ABC News' Luke Barr
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