September 4, 2025: Trump administration news

Our live coverage of Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

President Donald Trump is expected to attend the US Open men’s final match Sunday in New York, a White House official tells CNN.

The US Open Tennis Tournament is held annually at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.

It will be just the latest sporting event the president will attend during his second term in office. Earlier this year, he attended both the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 race.

Semafor was first to report on the president’s plans.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are hosting tech leaders at the White House tonight.

Some notable names in attendance: Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and founder Bill Gates, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Here’s what Trump said in front of reporters:

On Russia: Trump said today that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future. He repeated that he thought it would be easier to efforts to secure a peace between Russia and Ukraine because of his relationship with Putin. “This one turned out to be more difficult, but we’ll get it,” he said.

On conspiracy theories: Trump joked that he is “still here” after conspiracy theories about his health circulated on social media last week. “I went to an event and people are coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re still here?’ I said, ‘What do they mean by that?’” the president said.

Jobs report: Trump declined to say whether he would believe the jobs report set to be released tomorrow by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On the New York City mayoral race: “I’d prefer not to have a communist mayor of New York City,” Trump said, referring to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and with reports swirling about whether incumbent Mayor Eric Adams will abandon the race to join the his administration.

Hot mic: Zuckerberg joked with Trump in a hot mic moment that he “wasn’t ready” to answer a question from reporters after the president finished taking questions.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laughs with President Donald Trump during a dinner with tech leaders at the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg joked with President Donald Trump in a hot mic moment that he “wasn’t ready” to answer a question from reporters.

“Sorry, I wasn’t ready,” Zuckerberg said before trailing off, as reporters exited a dinner Trump hosted with tech leaders at the White House.

The president then leaned towards the Meta CEO and laughed before repeating the comment to First Lady Melania Trump, who was seated on his other side.

During the dinner, a reporter asked Zuckerberg if he was concerned at all about the state of free speech in Britain.

“This is the beginning of your political career,” Trump said to Zuckerberg in response to the reporter’s question.

“No it’s not,” Zuckerberg retorted. The president then went on to answer the reporters question.

President Donald Trump said today that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, telling reporters “we’re having a very good dialogue” about ending the war in Ukraine.

The president spoke earlier today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other world leaders, where he told his foreign counterparts that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil and put economic pressure on China to try to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine, according to a White House official.

Trump’s latest comments, made at a White House dinner with tech CEOs this evening, come as the Friday deadline he set for Russia and Ukraine to engage in direct peace talks or face US consequences looms — with no sign of progress on the path to peace.

In a nod to how difficult negotiations have been, the president repeated today his frequent acknowledgment that he thought efforts to secure a peace between Russia and Ukraine would be “easier … because of my relationship with President Putin.”

“This one turned out to be more difficult, but we’ll get it,” he said. “We’re going to get it settled.”

President Donald Trump joked Thursday night that he is “still here” after conspiracy theories about his health circulated on social media last week.

“I’ve never had that feeling before. I went to an event and people are coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re still here?’ I said, ‘What do they mean by that?’” the president said during a dinner with tech leaders at the White House today.

Trump spent several days last week absent from public view, which provoked all sorts of speculation on his health on social media.

As questions arose about the president’s activities and whereabouts, a White House official said Friday he was holding standard policy and staff meetings. He also sat for an hourlong interview with the conservative publication Daily Caller.

CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump during a dinner with tech leaders at the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

President Donald Trump declined on Thursday to say whether he would believe the jobs report set to be released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I don’t know,” Trump said when a reporter asked if he could commit to saying the data will be credible.

Trump last month fired the commissioner of the BLS over a jobs report that showed a deteriorating labor market. Trump accused Dr. Erika McEntarfer, without evidence, of manipulating the monthly jobs reports for “political purposes.”

On Thursday, he said the “real numbers” will come as tech companies invest in building infrastructure in America.

The jobs numbers “come out tomorrow, but the real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now, when these monstrous, huge, beautiful places, they’re palaces of genius, and when they start opening up, you’re seeing, I think you’ll see job numbers that are going to be absolutely incredible,” Trump said at a dinner with tech executives at the White House.

President Donald Trump told reporters tonight that he wants to see the New York City mayoral election be a one-on-one race, encouraging “two people drop out” without clarifying who.

“I’d prefer not to have a communist mayor of New York City,” Trump said in the White House tonight.

National Guard troops with sidearms stand near Union Station in Washington DC, on August 27.

Local leaders and residents are preparing for Chicago to possibly be the next US city to see National Guard troops rolling through its streets.

Here’s where things stand right now:

Sentiments on the ground:

Jared Isaacman, an ally of Elon Musk whose nomination to lead NASA was withdrawn in May, will attend Thursday night’s dinner with tech leaders at the White House, two people familiar with the matter said.

Isaacman, a tech billionaire himself, had his nomination to lead NASA withdrawn just days before Musk and President Donald Trump’s relationship collapsed in a bitter public feud. Trump said on Truth Social that a “thorough review of prior associations” precipitated the move.

Records on OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in politics, show Isaacman donated to Democrats as recently as the 2024 election cycle, though he donated to Republicans in prior years.

Musk, a staunch Trump ally before their falling out, is not expected to attend, though he wrote on X that he was invited but could not make it and was sending a representative instead.

The guest list for the event is also expected to include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to a White House official.

Members of the National Guard patrol inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on August 28.

The orders for the DC National Guard troops mobilized in the city as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime efforts has been extended through November 30, the DC National Guard announced today.

The DC National Guard account on X, which shared Blanchard’s video message, said the orders were being extended through November 30.

CNN was first to report that the orders, which had not yet been finalized, were expected to be extended through December to ensure continuity of benefits for guard members on the mission. A senior official familiar with the plans previously told CNN that the extension does not necessarily mean the mission itself would go on for that long, and that orders could be cut short if the mission ends earlier.

The senior official said orders are also expected to be extended for the supporting states who have sent troops to DC, though that is a decision made by each state’s leadership.

As the federal government continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, the Justice Department announced today that it would surge resources to the US-Canada border to combat an uptick in human smuggling operations in the north.

The surge will include sending agents from the joint DOJ and Department of Homeland Security “Task Force Alpha” to Canada’s border with both New York and Vermont, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news conference today in Tampa, Florida.

Task Force Alpha was charged in 2021 by the Biden Justice Department with combatting human smuggling and trafficking groups from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It was expanded in 2024 to also include Colombia and Panama.

Among those increasing their efforts in New York and Vermont are the same cartels operating along the southern border that the Trump administration designated as foreign terrorist organizations, Bondi said.

While the cartels have always been operating on the northern border, “it’s gotten much worse, much more prevalent,” the attorney general said.

Data from the US Customs and Border Protection show an increase in trafficking efforts across Canada’s border with New York and Vermont — the two states in which the DOJ is expanding the task force to cover — since 2023. CBP data also reflects an increase in attempts over the summer.

A senior department official told CNN the individuals running the smuggling operations are largely from South and Central America — not Canada — and are flying north. The shift is in part given “progress that’s been made on dismantling some of the organizations at the southern border and shutting off some of their routes to the US,” the official said.

National Guard soldiers block protestors during an ICE immigration raid at a cannabis farm near Camarillo, California on on July 10.

A federal appeals court panel today paused a judge’s ruling that said President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles this summer was unlawful following an emergency motion filed by the Justice Department.

The original ruling: Judge Charles Breyer this week barred the administration from using Marines or National Guard members from performing police duties, including crowd control measures and arrests. Breyer concluded that Trump’s use of these resources ran afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th Century law that generally prohibits the use of troops for domestic law enforcement purposes.

Today: A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals paused Breyer’s ruling as the case plays out, saying that its action was not a comment on the merits of the arguments.

Lawmakers in the Missouri House of Representatives open a technical session on the floor of the chamber, at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on Thursday. Missouri is following Texas with a plan to redraw congressional maps more favorable to Republicans before the 2026 midterm elections.

If you’re just joining us, it has been a busy day for the Trump administration. We’ve had extensive coverage of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy testimony on Capitol Hill.

But you can catch up below on all the other developments involving the US administration today.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. answered questions from senators today during a heated committee hearing.

He discussed everything from vaccines to recent staffing changes and increasing calls for him to resign — oftentimes firing back at lawmakers.

Here’s a quick recap. You can click on the links to read more:

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

The White House praised Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s combative testimony on Capitol Hill today, signaling it remains firmly behind the top health official amid criticism over his efforts to restrict vaccines and shake up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Today’s hearing showed exactly why President Trump put Secretary Kennedy in charge of HHS: to fix this broken system that has overseen America’s unprecedented chronic disease crisis,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “While Democrats play street theater and call for blindly throwing even more money at the problem, the Trump administration is focused on using evidence-based Gold Standard Science to truly Make America Healthy Again.”

A bipartisan group of staffers on the House Oversight Committee are expected to travel to New York City next week to meet with lawyers representing Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and view unredacted documents related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The committee subpoenaed Epstein’s estate last month for the financier’s “birthday book” – a reported collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday that included a note bearing President Donald Trump’s name. The subpoena also demands all non-disclosure agreements executed by Epstein, his financial documents and “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking” facilitated by Epstein.

The estate is expected to begin producing materials on September 8, but that production is expected to have redactions, the source said. The staffers traveling to Manhattan next week are expected to be able to view the unredacted versions of that tranche of documents, which could include the names of victims, the source added.

A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.

CNN has reached out to representatives for the Epstein estate.

Trump has repeatedly denied writing a letter for Epstein’s so-called birthday book and sued The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on it, for defamation.

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said he does “not yet” regret his vote to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but warned of the impact of the “rhetoric” coming out of the agency that he now leads.

Tillis told CNN that HHS messaging under Kennedy is “part of the inspiration” for Florida moving to eliminate childhood vaccine mandates, and “it wouldn’t surprise” him if taking that step becomes a “price of admission” for red states.

“It’s dangerous,” he said, explaining that he reminds his colleagues that “we walk around this building in suits” and have access to the internet and scientific research to help make informed decisions, “but the people I grew up with may not. They may actually look at somebody saying the scientists are lying, the vaccines are dangerous.”

“That is a very dangerous perception for people who don’t have the resources or what’s necessary for them to make informed decisions and there are people that grew up at the lower end of the strata, which I’m pretty certain over the life of Mr. Kennedy’s, he’s never been in that strata,” he continued.

The North Carolina Republican, who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection, said he would have a more definitive answer on whether he regrets backing Kennedy’s nomination after he has responses from the secretary to “about five or six very, very, very important issues.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. greets Sen. Bill Cassidy before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune would not say whether he has confidence in Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest in a string of prominent Senate Republicans who have refused to throw their support behind the Health and Human Services secretary.

Asked by CNN if he has confidence in Kennedy, Thune said it’s “not exactly what I think. It’s the president ultimately to whom he answers. So the president has confidence.”

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican and a physician, also declined to explicitly say whether he has confidence in Kennedy.

“I support the president,” Barrasso told reporters. “I have full support of the president. Not going to second-guess him.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican doctor from Louisiana who chairs the HELP Committee, responded similarly – despite having been the decisive vote in Kennedy’s confirmation.

“I’ll let the exchange today speak for itself – as I said, and will say again, I’m sure say again – we’re in a process in the Health Committee. I’m not pre-judging. It’s about children’s health. It’s incredibly important, and about radical transparency,” he said when asked by CNN whether he has confidence in Kennedy after today’s hearing.

Cassidy, when asked about whether he regrets his vote to confirm Kennedy, said he has been asked before and “you know my answer.”

Asked whether the HELP committee would be investigating Kennedy’s recent actions, Cassidy said, “Well, we are planning to conduct oversight. Yes.”

CNN’s Adam Cancryn contributed to this report, which was updated with more reaction from GOP senators.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy enters the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday, the day of a summit of the "Coalition of the Willing."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a “long and very detailed conversation” with his US counterpart Donald Trump following the “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris today.

The call involved several European leaders and was focused on “how to push the situation toward real peace,” Zelensky said on X.

Zelensky and Trump agreed to have further discussions, the Ukrainian leader said.

Stalled peace talks: Trump said on August 22 that he would give Russian President Vladimir Putin “a couple of weeks” before enacting potential consequences against Moscow, after urging Putin and Zelensky to meet directly in hopes of ending the war. There has been no sign that the Putin-Zelensky meeting the White House has pushed is happening.