What we covered here
• Immigration policies: President Donald Trump unveiled a long-promised “gold card” program that looks to fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for a hefty fee. He is also imposing a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, a key pathway for high-skilled foreigners to work in the US.
• TikTok deal: Trump says he has “approved a deal” to spin off TikTok from Chinese ownership after speaking on the phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping today.
• Free speech concerns: Trump said he disagreed with GOP Sen. Ted Cruz saying the Federal Communications Commission is deploying “mafioso tactics,” offering praise to FCC Chair Brendan Carr. Earlier, Trump suggested networks’ broadcast licenses should be revoked if they are overwhelmingly critical of him.
Our live coverage of the Trump administration has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.
Here’s what you should know before heading into the weekend
It’s Friday and between a potential deal on TikTok, executive orders from President Donald Trump and movement in Congress, there’s plenty for you to catch up on.
Here’s the rundown of what you should know before starting the weekend:
- Immigration policies: Trump signed an executive order this afternoon that imposes a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas in an effort to curb overuse of the program. The visa is the popular pathway for high-skilled foreigners to work at companies in the US. The president also unveiled a long-promised “gold card” immigration policy that he said would fast-trick visas for certain immigrants in exchange for a hefty fee.
- Autism news conference: Trump announced this afternoon that his team will hold a news conference on autism causes “early next week.” He claimed that autism is “out of control. And I think we maybe have the reason why.”
- TikTok deal: The call between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping started at 8 a.m. today and after the conversation, Trump said he had “approved a deal” to spin off TikTok from Chinese ownership. The next step would be to sign the agreement. Trump also noted that the two made progress on trade and ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- Government funding: The House passed a Republican plan to fund the government through November 21, as Congress scrambles to avert a looming shutdown. But the Senate rejected both the House-passed short-term measure and a Democratic alternative. Trump commended the House GOP, but acknowledged he will need support from Senate Democrats.
- Trump lawsuits: A federal judge rejected Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. Meanwhile, a different federal judge ordered the Trump administration to turn over documents related the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Washington, DC.
- COVID vaccine update: People who want to receive a Covid-19 vaccine can do so, but they must first consult with a health care provider — a process known as shared clinical decision-making, according to a recommendation passed unanimously by vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Tori B. Powell, Sarah Ferris, Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett, Samantha Waldenberg, Max Saltman, Yong Xiong, Brian Stelter, Hadas Gold, Alejandra Jaramillo, Devan Cole, Brenda Goodman, Samantha Delouya and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed reporting.
US Attorney Erik Siebert, under pressure from Trump, tells staff he will be resigning, source says
US Attorney Erik Siebert — who has been under pressure from President Donald Trump — told staff today he will be stepping down, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s not clear when his resignation will take effect.
Siebert’s expected resignation comes as Trump has called for him to be removed as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“Yeah, I want him out, yeah,” Trump told reporters today.
Siebert has been under pressure to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.
Trump raises fee of $100K on H-1B visas in new immigration action
President Donald Trump signed an executive action today, imposing a $100,00 application fee for H-1B visas in an effort to curb overuse of the program.
“We need workers. We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
Alongside the president was Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who explained the measure.
“These big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers,” Lutnick said, explaining how, now, they will have to pay the government $100,000 “then they have to pay the employee.”
“In some cases, companies are going to pay a lot of money for H-1B visas,” the president later said.
The move marks the latest in a series of efforts from the administration to crack down on immigration and could significantly impact industries that depend heavily on H-1B workers.
The H-1B visa is a work visa that’s valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.
Prosecutors rest in trial of man charged with trying to assassinate Trump
After 38 witnesses, US attorneys prosecuting the case against Ryan Routh have rested their case.
Routh is facing five federal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, felony possession of a weapon and possessing a weapon with an obliterated serial number.
The government’s final witness, FBI Supervisor Kimberly McGreevy, told the jury that Routh “stalked” then-candidate Donald Trump for weeks. She pieced together phone records, bank records, text messages and video surveillance for the jury.
McGreevy shared cell phone records that placed Routh at and around Trump International Golf Club for as many as 16 hours some days leading up to the alleged assassination attempt.
Routh will begin to present his case on Monday morning when he calls the first of what is expected to be three witnesses. Routh is representing himself and has told Judge Aileen Cannon that he is considering testifying as well.
Trump unveils "gold card" program fast-tracking immigrant visas for a hefty fee
President Donald Trump today unveiled a long-promised “gold card” immigration policy that he said would fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for a hefty fee.
The new pathway will allow foreigners to pay $1 million to expedite their visa application, or have companies pay $2 million to sponsor a foreign worker they want to bring into the US.
The so-called gold card program is meant to reorient a major part of the nation’s immigration system toward allowing mainly high-earning foreigners into the US, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
He criticized the traditional green card process that allows immigrants to live and work permanently in the US, arguing it forced the country to take in the “bottom quartile” of immigrants.
“We’re going to only take extraordinary people at the very top,” Lutnick said.
Trump says October 7 was "genocide at the highest level"
President Donald Trump said he hasn’t seen the recent independent United Nations inquiry that concluded for the first time that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
He told reporters today that the events of October 7 were genocide.
“That was genocide at the highest level,” Trump said of October 7. “That was murder, genocide. You can call it whatever you want.”
CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting.
Trump defends Covid-19 vaccination after CDC advisers vote
President Donald Trump praised the Covid-19 vaccines that were first developed under his watch, saying “I had the vaccine, I was very happy with it,” after vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted today that patients must consult a health care provider for Covid-19 vaccination.
“So, I don’t know exactly what the final determination is, but I had the vaccine. I was very happy with it.”
Vaccine advisers to the CDC voted unanimously on Friday to shift away from a broad recommendation for Covid-19 vaccines to say that people who want one must consult with a health care provider, however, the committee was split on whether to recommend that a prescription for a Covid-19 vaccine should be required.
The committee now says people 65 and older should make the decision about whether to get a Covid-19 vaccine with a doctor or another health care provider. It should be the same for people ages 6 months to 64 years, the vaccine advisers voted, but with “an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.”
The president has continuously touted what he has at times called his greatest accomplishment — the rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine in 2020 during his first term.
Trump previews news conference on causes of autism "early next week"
President Donald Trump announced that his team will hold a news conference on autism causes “early next week,” previewing what he described an announcement on “why” autism rates have increased.
“I think we’re going to have something very, very big coming up soon on autism. … One of the most important things that, in my opinion, I had to do, is to see what’s going on with autism. And we’re going to have a news conference early next week on autism, and I think you’re going to see some things that are amazing that we’ve learned,” Trump told reporters during an event Friday in the Oval Office.
He added that autism is “out of control. And I think we maybe have the reason why.”
Trump said he installed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has espoused debunked claims about vaccines, as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services because “I want the facts.”
Research has shown no link between vaccines and autism.
Trump confirms he wants to fire US attorney who declined to charge a political enemy with mortgage fraud
President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that he wants to fire a top federal prosecutor in Virginia after he objected to charging New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.
“Yeah, I want him out, yeah,” Trump said in response to a question about firing US Attorney Erik Siebert, adding he also disliked that Virginia’s two Democratic senators had voted to appoint him. “When I learned that they voted for him, I said, I don’t really want him.”
The Trump administration has pressured Siebert to charge James with a crime, however, CNN previously reported prosecutors in Virginia believed they’ve not gathered enough evidence to indict her for mortgage fraud.
The effort to target James comes after she won a business fraud case against Trump and his company.
Asked whether he wanted Siebert to charge James, Trump on Friday said “it looks to me like she’s very guilty of something,” but didn’t offer any specifics.
Trump says he disagrees with Ted Cruz's assessment that the FCC is deploying mob tactics
President Donald Trump offered praise to Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chair, when pressed on scathing remarks from Sen. Ted Cruz, a political rival turned ally.
The Republican senator from Texas warned in his podcast today about the FCC threats to pull network broadcast licenses, comparing Carr’s efforts to “mafioso” tactics.
He added that Carr is a “courageous person” who “doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly and purposely horribly.”
The president continued to lament what he described as “dishonesty” from network broadcasts that are critical of him, suggesting again their licenses could be in jeopardy for negative coverage.
“We’re talking about, I assume you’re talking mostly about the networks, but they have a licensing procedure, and you can read it as well. They have to show honesty and integrity,” he said.
Asked who decides if they exhibit those qualities, Trump responded: “Well, I think the people decide. That’s why I’m president.”
Trump says Russian jets entering Estonia’s airspace today “could be big trouble”
President Donald Trump weighed in today after NATO intercepted three Russian jets that violated Estonia’s airspace, saying he will get briefed soon but does not like “when that happens,” adding that it “could be big trouble.”
“They’re going to be briefing me in a short while, so I’ll let you know about it tonight or tomorrow,” Trump said from the Oval Office when asked if he sees this as a threat from Russia to NATO.
“ I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble. But I’ll let you know later,” the president added.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes, the Estonian foreign ministry said Friday.
Italian F-35 fighters that were stationed in Estonia as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry operation, in addition to Swedish and Finnish aircraft, responded to the intrusion, NATO Allied Command Operations headquarters said.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the North Atlantic Council will convene early next week to discuss the incident in more detail.
Comment from Russia: Russia denied claims by Estonia and NATO that its jets violated the European country’s airspace. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the jets conducted a scheduled flight “in strict accordance with international rules” and “without violating the borders of other countries.”
The ministry said the jets flew over the “the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea” on their way from Karelia, a republic in northwest Russia, to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region, a Russian exclave situated between Poland and Lithuania.
Moscow said the aircraft were more than 3 kilometers from the island of Vaindloo, the northernmost point of Estonia’s territory.
This post has been updated with a response from Russia.
CNN’s Darya Tarasova and Mitchell McCluskey contributed reporting.
Trump: TikTok deal is "well on its way"
President Donald Trump said he had “approved a deal” to spin off TikTok from Chinese ownership after speaking on the phone with China’s President, Xi Jinping on Friday.
“I had a great call with President Xi and, as you know, we approved the TikTok deal,” Trump said in the Oval Office following the call on Friday,” adding that the deal was “well on its way.”
Trump said the conversation lasted “almost two hours,” and the next step would be to sign the agreement.
The announced deal could cap a yearslong effort to separate TikTok from its Chinese parent, ByteDance, after the Trump administration repeatedly delayed a deadline to ban the popular video streaming app.
The deal agreed upon by Trump and Xi would sell most of TikTok’s US assets to American investors.
On Friday, Trump said he was confident such a deal would release TikTok from Chinese government control, though ByteDance has denied that the Chinese government had interfered with the app.
“We’re going to have a very tight control and look, it’s an amazing thing that’s been created, this tremendous value with TikTok,” he said.
Trump says country could be closed "for a period of time"
President Donald Trump praised the House GOP for the passage of a seven-week stopgap bill to keep the government funded till November 21, but acknowledged he will need support from the Democrats to pass it in the Senate.
“The Republicans want to keep government open. But in the Senate, we have 53 Republicans total, and we need 60 votes. That means we need Democrat votes. I want to thank Sen. John Fetterman. He wants to keep the country open,” Trump said today in the Oval Office.
CDC vaccine advisers recommend Covid-19 vaccines for people who want them — with doctor consultation
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously today to recommend that people who want to receive a Covid-19 vaccine can do so, but they must first consult with a health care provider, a process known as shared clinical decision-making.
That applies to adults 65 and older. The vaccine advisers voted it should be the same for people ages 6 months to 64 years, but with “an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.”
The US Food and Drug Administration has already made significant changes to this season’s shots by limiting approval to adults 65 and older as well as younger people who are at higher risk of severe Covid-19.
The vote by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices carries additional implications for vaccine access since some states adhere closely to the committee’s recommendations. The result may be a patchwork of vaccine access from state to state, depending on who is able to administer vaccines.
The vaccine committee’s recommendation is not final. It goes to Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill for approval. O’Neill, a Kennedy deputy, has led the agency since Dr. Susan Monarez was ousted abruptly as head of the agency last month.
Turkish president will meet with Trump at White House next week
President Donald Trump will host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House next Thursday, he said in a social media post today.
The president said the two leaders are working on many trade and military deals, including the purchase of Boeing aircraft and a deal on multi-role fighter jets.
“President Erdoğan and I have always had a very good relationship. I look forward to seeing him on the 25th!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Judge orders Trump administration to turn over records related to National Guard deployment in DC
A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to turn over documents related the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in Washington, DC, as part of the District’s challenge to the troops’ ongoing presence in the city.
The decision by US District Judge Jia Cobb is a partial win for DC’s attorney general, whose office wants to get a look under the hood of the deployment operation as it presses the court for an order that would limit what the troops can do in DC and block the administration from exercising control over troops sent to DC by Republican governors.
Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, is requiring officials at the Departments of Defense and Justice to hand over documents pertaining to the chain of command for all troops deployed to DC, instructions given to the troops on how to operate in the city and orders for what they are to do while serving in the District.
But the judge has declined to order officials to answer questions under oath about the troops, as attorneys for DC had wanted.
The documents must be turned over by October 10.
Trump to impose $100,000 fee on H-1B visas in new immigration action
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive action today that would impose a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas — an effort to curb overuse of the program, a White House official told CNN.
The action claims that “abuse of the H-1B pathway has displaced US workers” and will restrict entry under the program unless accompanied by the payment, the official said.
The move marks the latest in a series of efforts from the administration to crack down on immigration and could significantly impact industries that depend heavily on H-1B workers.
What is the H-1B visa: The visa is the popular pathway for high-skilled foreigners to work at companies in the United States.
Companies ranging from health care to media use H-1B visas to help fill their workforces. But tech companies are most commonly associated with the program.
Fetterman defends supporting House-passed stopgap government funding bill
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman defended his decision to vote with Republicans on a House-passed stopgap government funding bill, telling reporters he won’t risk a shutdown.
“My vote to the Republican CR is a statement saying it’s only inappropriate to shut our government down. We can’t, we can’t, I would not ever risk the kind of chaos to shut our government down,” Fetterman said ahead of his vote.
Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote to advance the House-passed package and supported the separate vote on the Democratic alternative.
Asked if both parties would share blame if the Senate fails to pass a funding bill and the government does shut down, Fetterman said, “I guess we’ll see.”
“It’ll turn it into a political football, but for me, I’m never going to be attached for any withholding votes or voting to shut our government down,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said.
“[I] absolutely don’t support the cuts for the Medicaid, and I would love to restore those tax credits, but for me, I refuse to be a part of plunging our nation to chaos,” he added. “Now we can continue the conversation to extend those tax credits, but I refuse to ever be a part of putting our government opening as hostage. It’s wrong, you know, I was very critical if the Republicans wanted to do that, so it’s wrong if we would do that as well now.”
Democrats dismiss Acosta as “not credible” amid closed-door interview
House Oversight Democrats are dismissing former US Attorney Alex Acosta as “not credible,” as he’s been defending behind closed doors his decision negotiate a 2008 plea agreement with Jeffrey Epstein.
Garcia also said that Acosta “wouldn’t really answer” when asked by investigators if his handling of that plea deal came up in his vetting to be President Donald Trump’s labor secretary during his first term.
“I don’t think we got a clear answer,” Garcia said.
Acosta, the Democrats said, told investigators he didn’t see sufficient evidence to move forward with the case even though approximately 40 women had come forward to share their accounts of sexual assault. The lawmaker told reporters they left the first round of questioning with more questions than answers.
“He seems to be pretty dug into the decisions that he made,” Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said of Acosta.
Reacting to the interview, Democratic Rep. David Min described Acosta as “not credible” and Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury said “something doesn’t smell right here.”
Meanwhile, House Oversight Chairman James Comer told reporters it was too soon to make a judgement on former Acosta as the interview was ongoing.
Comer also criticized Democrats for using their time to ask Acosta about President Donald Trump.
“They were batting around so many questions about Trump. the members were talking over each other. It was all about Trump,” he said.
