What we covered here
• Voter ID: President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an executive order requiring Americans to show ID at the polls. The president, who has long made false claims about fraud in US elections, also indicated this morning that he’ll target mail-in voting.
• Legal battle over deportations: A judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan children in federal custody. Shelters were notified in the middle of the night to prepare the kids for return to their home country, and some were already on planes when the order came down.
• Expanding crackdown: Chicago is bracing for an immigration enforcement surge as part of Trump’s controversial plans to ramp up federal law enforcement in major US cities, including through potential National Guard deployments.
Our live coverage of Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.
Here's some background on Trump's comments targeting mail-in voting
Earlier today, we covered President Donald Trump’s comments indicating he’ll pursue federal voter ID laws and restrictions on mail-in voting.
The president has a long history of falsely claiming mail-in ballots are fraudulent — despite many Republicans using the method to vote for Trump in the 2024 election.
These are some of his latest comments on the matter:
• Trump falsely claimed on Truth Social that the United States “is now the only country in the world” that uses mail-in voting, which CNN fact-checked. Several countries use mail-in ballots, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Switzerland.
• Later that day in the Oval Office, Trump claimed you could never have a “real democracy” with mail-in ballots, which he called “corrupt,” while acknowledging his claim about being the only country to use them could be wrong.
• Trump has previously called mail-in voting a “disaster” and the “greatest scam in the history of politics.”
But, during the campaign: Trump’s team publicly embraced mail-in ballots, at least to the degree it felt it had to.
Vice President JD Vance gave voice to that on the campaign trail in October of last year, urging Republicans to play the same “game” as Democrats.
“If you can vote early, vote early. If you get your friends to vote, early vote, early vote by mail, do everything that we can,” Vance said. “I don’t love election season. I like Election Day, but as Donald Trump has said, it is what it is, and so we’ve got to use every tool at our disposal to get out there and vote.”
Trump reposts series of apparent AI images of himself, including as a SWAT officer
President Donald Trump is paying attention to what his supporters are up to online, sharing several posts this weekend, including apparent AI-generated images depicting him as law enforcement, including an image of him as a SWAT team officer.
The images were originally posted on August 21, the same day Trump said in a radio interview he would be doing a ride-along with law enforcement in Washington, DC, amid his federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. The president appeared to scrap those plans that afternoon, instead speaking at a US Park Police facility in Southeast DC and handing out pizza and burgers to law enforcement across several agencies.
Trump also reposted an apparent AI TikTok video showing him morphing from a baby to present day, showing various stages of his life in between.
Trump added in a follow-up post, “THIS IS RATHER INCREDIBLE. WHO DID IT??? PRESIDENT DJT.”
In another image Trump shared, the globe is behind him with both his hands raised and a cryptic message in the background: “The world will soon understand nothing can stop what is coming.”
“Q+” is written above his left hand, which some QAnon conspiracy theorists believe is an alias for Trump posts.
While some of the posts are more complex and appear AI-generated, Trump also reposted a good old-fashioned meme of himself smirking with the words: “I DRIVE STUPID PEOPLE COMPLETELY INSANE.”
Some Guatemalan children were already on planes when judge blocked their deportation
Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan received a call around 2:30 a.m. ET notifying her that a group of unaccompanied Guatemalan children in US custody were being processed for deportation.
Sooknanan, who has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting the kids at the urging of attorneys and advocates, appeared at an emergency hearing hours later.
At the hearing, Sooknanan reiterated the order she made this morning, saying the US government is not to remove any of the individual plaintiffs or other unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in US custody — who she ruled were also protected under the order — for two weeks.
During the hearing, Sooknanan asked the Department of Justice’s lawyer to clarify the children’s whereabouts. Some of the kids had already been placed on planes after being roused at their shelters in the middle of the night, but they are expected to be returned to US custody, according to the DOJ.
At least one plane in Texas carrying Guatemalan children was turned around, according to Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law.
Federal judge temporarily blocks deportation of Guatemalan children in US custody
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the US government from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in federal custody, after attorneys and advocacy groups raised urgent concerns.
The Trump administration was expected to begin sending the kids back to their home country today, according to a notice sent to attorneys, prompting a scramble by lawyers.
Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the removal of 10 named plaintiffs — Guatemalan minors ranging in age from 10 to 17 — as well as all Guatemalan unaccompanied minors in federal custody as of early Sunday. The order lasts for 14 days.
What happened overnight: Attorneys say the children were “terrified and confused” after being woken up at their shelters in the middle of the night as the government set its repatriation plans in motion.
The US Office of Refugee Resettlement had notified the shelter providers that certain children had been identified for reunification with parents or legal guardians in Guatemala and had to be ready for discharge within hours, with documentation, medication, belongings and prepared meals.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argue the Trump administration is violating US law, which provides special protections for unaccompanied minors and ensures they cannot be removed without due process or the opportunity to seek relief from deportation. Advocates say the kids could be at risk if they’re returned to the Central American country.
Illinois governor says White House hasn't reached out about plans to send troops to Chicago
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he has had no communication with the Trump administration about reported plans to send National Guard troops to Chicago.
Pritzker called such a move an “invasion” and framed the potential deployment as part of a broader authoritarian push by President Donald Trump.
Pritzker said the administration “ought to be coordinating with local law enforcement. They ought to let us know when they’re coming, where they’re coming — if it’s ICE, or if it’s ATF, or whoever it is.”
Pritzker warned that if the Trump administration were to deploy ICE and the Guard to Chicago, his administration would take swift legal action.
What the White House is saying: In response to a CNN request for comment, spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused Pritzker of trying to “deflect from the terrible crime crisis” in Chicago, saying the city would be safer if Pritzker focused on his job.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Priscilla Alvarez, Alayna Treene, Hannah Rabinowitz and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.
Maryland governor says deployment of National Guard to his state would be "performative"
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore dismissed the idea of deploying National Guard troops in Maryland, saying that while he would love greater federal support for fighting crime in the state, the Guard is ill-equipped to do so.
President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard in both Los Angeles and Washington, DC, despite resistance from local Democrats, and he’s telegraphed plans to do the same in cities across the country, including Baltimore. Trump and Moore have sparred verbally over the issue in recent weeks.
When host Martha Raddatz pushed back, saying the Guard is trained in law enforcement, especially for major disasters, Moore said the troops are specifically not trained for municipal policing, in comparison with agencies like the FBI and ATF.
Moore said he wants federal help in Maryland, but would propose other solutions, if the president asked.
Homeland Security secretary confirms immigration enforcement surge is headed for Chicago
The Trump administration plans to send additional immigration enforcement resources to Chicago this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said today.
CNN reported last week that a major enforcement operation will soon be underway in the city, and Chicago’s mayor laid out plans to resist the federal crackdown yesterday.
Noem declined to provide additional details, saying she was protecting law enforcement.
What we know about the plans: Preparations are underway to send armored vehicles and surge federal agents to Chicago, with the operation expected to kick off by Friday, multiple sources told CNN last week. Those sources cautioned that plans were still in flux.
The operation is expected to be similar to those held in Los Angeles earlier this summer, involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and potentially other agencies. And like in Los Angeles, the Trump administration is preparing the National Guard to respond to unrest.
Noem said today that a National Guard presence is a “prerogative of President Trump” and praised his decision to send troops to LA earlier this year.
Future targets: Asked about expanding beyond Chicago, Noem said the Trump administration has “not taken anything off the table,” and specifically named San Francisco, Boston and Chicago.
Trump says he’ll sign executive order requiring voter ID with “no exceptions”
President Donald Trump says he will sign an executive order requiring Americans to show ID at the polls, and reiterated he will take action to curtail mail-in voting.
“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late last night.
Some background: States have varying requirements for voters, with 36 states already having laws in place requiring or requesting certain forms of ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Trump has long championed a baseless lie that the results of the 2020 election were tainted by widespread fraud.
Want to go deeper? Read our fact check on Trump’s recent voting claims.
Catch up on what's been happening overseas — and what it means for the US
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are meeting today at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin against a backdrop of shared frictions with the United States.
The meeting, the first between the two leaders in seven years, is not the only foreign policy development being closely watched by the White House.
We’ve rounded them up for you below:
- Xi and Modi’s highly-anticipated meeting comes as both nations face stiff US tariffs under President Donald Trump’s global trade war, and Western scrutiny over their relationships with Russia during its war in Ukraine.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin also touched down in Tianjin today as he ignores international pressure to end his onslaught in Ukraine. He praised the China-Russia partnership as a “stabilizing force” for the world in an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
- A large-scale drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region today followed a strike on Zaporizhzhia yesterday and a deadly aerial assault on Kyiv on Thursday. The attacks come as Trump mulls his continued involvement in peace talks.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene today to review plans for seizing control of Gaza City. They are also expected to discuss a diplomatic offensive in response to the recognition of Palestinian statehood at next month’s UN General Assembly in New York.
- A ceasefire deal will not be on the agenda at Netanyahu’s meeting. Hamas earlier this month accepted a 60-day ceasefire proposal, but Israel, in coordination with the White House, has recently shifted strategy and now says he is willing to discuss only a comprehensive deal to end the war — on Israel’s terms.
Minnesota lawmaker criticizes Trump administration cuts to mass shooting prevention program
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota warned this morning that the Trump administration’s cuts to mass shooting prevention programs could hinder efforts to deter future violence.
Omar’s comments come days after two children were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in a mass shooting at a Catholic school in her district.
The Trump administration cut funding in Minnesota for efforts to identify potential mass shooters and head off violence a month before the school shooting in Minneapolis.
Omar accused the Trump administration of wanting to “deflect from the reality” of mass shootings and of neglecting “actual solutions,” like an assault weapons ban and more mental health care.
What the Trump administration is saying: A DHS spokesperson defended the cuts, claiming the grant program was “nothing more than a slush fund for left-wing ideologies, and did next to nothing to combat actual threats in our communities.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union” this morning, White House counterterrorism official Sebastian Gorka also defended the administration’s approach, blaming local authorities in part for establishing so-called gun-free zones, which he said make a soft target for mass shooters. Pressed on the cut funding, Gorka said he doesn’t believe federal funding is the “answer for mental health issues.”
“I would look to the town, to the city, to the county or to the state because they know the threats in their communities better. Don’t wag your finger at DHS,” Gorka said.
Top Republican weighs in: The US needs to address the “root cause” of mass shootings, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said today in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”
But Emmer brushed off questions about why he did not vote for the bipartisan federal gun safety bill that Congress passed in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, saying it could not help identify the Minneapolis shooter as a danger.
This post has been updated with Gorka’s remarks.
Trump is back at his golf club this morning
President Donald Trump arrived at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, a short time ago.
His motorcade pulled up to the club just after 10 a.m. ET, marking the second day he’s spent at the golf course this holiday weekend.
A rare gap in Trump’s schedule this week, with three consecutive weekdays out of the public eye, spawned online conspiracy theories about the president’s health. But he emerged yesterday, alongside his grandchildren Kai and Spencer Trump, en route to the Virginia course.
So, for those keeping track online: That’s what the president is up to again today.
Ruling against Trump tariffs just a "hiccup," trade representative says
An appeals court ruling that said President Donald Trump unlawfully leaned on emergency powers to impose many of his sweeping tariffs was only a “hiccup,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News today.
Though Friday’s ruling stuck down many of the historic tariffs, the import taxes will remain in effect until October 14, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Greer said trade negotiations are continuing despite the court ruling. He added that US trading partners “know that tariffs are now part of the landscape” and noted that the ruling did not strike down section-specific tariffs, such as those on steel and aluminum.
But if the ruling is upheld, Greer claimed it would be “disastrous,” citing the US trade deficit.
“All these countries know that we have to rebalance … that’s why people are moving forward with their deals, regardless of what this court may say,” he said.
Watch: How Trump drives countries into China's orbit
President Donald Trump is not on hand today for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China, but key world leaders are, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi.
Here’s a look at the way Trump is pushing countries closer to Beijing:
US expected to start sending Guatemalan children back to their home country today, attorneys say
The Trump administration’s removal of Guatemalan children in US government custody is expected to begin today, according to a notice sent to attorneys.
The notice prompted a scramble among lawyers who say kids were woken up in the middle of the night and are at risk if they are returned to their home country.
CNN first reported that the Trump administration was moving to repatriate hundreds of Guatemalan children who arrived to the US unaccompanied, in coordination with the Guatemalan government.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the removals of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in US custody early Sunday, though plans appeared to still be underway, according to an immigration attorney representing Guatemalan children who were transported out of their shelter after the judge’s ruling.
Who’s being targeted? The children, ranging in age, are believed to not have a parent in the US, though they may have a relative, and have a parent or legal guardian in Guatemala. The criteria also includes children who do not have a pending asylum case and won’t be trafficked upon their return, according to the notice.
But attorneys who represent some of the kids say those who have been identified are at risk if returned to Guatemala and are in ongoing immigration proceedings.
CNN reached out to the White House, as well as the departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security for comment.
Your morning briefing: Key headlines from the last few days
It’s Sunday morning, and we’ll be bringing you the latest news on the Trump administration as we look ahead to another busy week for the president. But first, here’s a brief recap of top headlines if you’ve been out of the loop:
- Trump was seen for the first time yesterday since a three-plus-hour Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, after a rare gap in his public schedule spawned online conspiracy theories about his well-being. He was spotted by reporters on the way to his Virginia golf club with his grandchildren.
- Trump is preparing to effectively dare Democrats to shut down the government in a matter of weeks, taking a hard line against any major concessions ahead of negotiations over a must-pass funding bill.
- The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a so-called “declaration of dissent” criticizing the agency’s leadership under Trump and Administrator Lee Zeldin.
- Chicago’s mayor outlined his plan yesterday to resist an expected surge of federal immigration enforcement in the city, as Trump’s deportation push and use of the National Guard prompt growing legal battles.
- A federal appeals court struck down many of Trump’s historic tariffs on Friday, saying he overstepped in his use of emergency powers. But the import taxes remain in place until October, giving the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
- The US is denying a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for next month’s UN General Assembly — a significant and controversial move ahead of the global summit where multiple countries are expected to recognize a Palestinian state.
- The Trump administration has approved the sale of 3,350 extended-range missiles to Ukraine, providing a potentially powerful tool to Kyiv as it faces Russia’s relentless assault.
Trump casts doubt on a Putin-Zelensky meeting but suggests all 3 leaders will meet
President Donald Trump has cast some doubt on the likelihood of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but he expressed confidence that a trilateral meeting — in other words, a sitdown between all three men — would happen.
How we got here: Following a summit with Putin in Alaska and hosting Zelensky and European leaders at the White House earlier this month, Trump said he began arranging a bilateral between Putin and Zelensky as the next step toward reaching peace.
But Putin has not signaled he is willing to come to the table with Zelensky. Just days ago, Russia launched its second-largest air assault of the war on Ukraine, killing at least 25 people and damaging buildings belonging to the European Council and British Council, as well as several residential high-rises.
Hear from the CDC leaders who resigned in alarm over the leadership of RFK Jr.
We spoke this week with three former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leaders who resigned after decades of public service following Director Dr. Susan Monarez’s acrimonious departure from the agency.
The doctors spoke about interference in the CDC’s work by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies, and the evolving clashes over vaccine policy under RFK Jr.’s leadership.
Watch the interview by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins below:
