April 5, 2025 - Donald Trump presidency news

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Protesters carry signs in protest of the Trump administration's policies and Elon Musk in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday.

Demonstrators across the US protested Saturday against the Trump administration’s recent actions and Elon Musk’s growing involvement in the federal government through his Department of Government Efficiency.

More than 1,400 “Hands Off!” protests were held at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, parks and city halls throughout the country — anywhere “we can make sure they hear us,” organizers said. “Hands Off!” demands “an end to this billionaire power grab.”

Meanwhile, the tech billionaire said he hopes for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and the United States — just days after Trump announced sweeping tariffs, including a 20% levy on goods from the European Union.

Here’s what else you might have missed Saturday:

Protesters in Washington, DC, on Saturday criticized the Trump administration’s recent detention of multiple students over pro-Palestinian protests and called for an immediate arms embargo against the Israeli government.

The demonstration follows the detention of prominent Palestinian activist Mahmood Khalil for his involvement in the Columbia University encampment protests last year and of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, among others. The Trump administration has cracked down on student activists across the country and has revoked student visas over “disruptive protests.”

Jasmine, a friend of Khalil’s who gave only her first name, was among the speakers at the March on Washington for Palestine, where she read a statement from Khalil, who is being detained by immigration officials in Louisiana. Jasmine said she came to the protest on behalf of Khalil as his wife is in the final months of pregnancy and was unable to attend.

“He was targeted for his pro-Palestine speech,” Jasmine said. “He’s in decent spirits, determined to fight his detainment. We really miss him.”

While she understands the fear that those who support the Palestinian movement may have, Jasmine emphasized that as a Palestinian she and her community have no choice but to speak up.

Holding signs demanding the release of the students and chanting slogans of “Free Palestine,” the protesters marched along Independence Avenue to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters.

“We are here because the Palestine movement is a movement for all people,” said Roua Daas, an organizer from the Palestinian Youth Movement.

The Justice Department has placed on administrative leave a government immigration lawyer who in court this week expressed frustration at not being able to answer key questions from a judge over a mistaken deportation case, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Erez Reuveni argued the government’s case in the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who the government has said was sent to his native El Salvador due to a clerical error, despite a court order that he not be deported.

Reuveni said in court of the government’s position: “Our only arguments are jurisdictional. … He should not have been sent to El Salvador.”

Asked why the US couldn’t simply ask for Abrego Garcia’s return, Reuveni said, “The first thing I did when I got this case on my desk is ask my clients the same question,” adding that he did not get a direct answer.

Attorney General Pam Bondi took issue with how Reuveni handled the case in court.

“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences,” she said in a statement to CNN.

Reuveni didn’t respond to a request for comment. On LinkedIn five months ago, he posted that he had been promoted to a new position as acting deputy director at the Office of Immigration Litigation.

The US is suspending the visas of all South Sudanese visa holders, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday.

The order, effective immediately, will also stop future issuances of visas to people of South Sudan.

Rubio alleged that South Sudan, which has been plagued with civil unrest since splitting from Sudan in 2011, is not accepting back its citizens “in a timely manner” as the US “seeks to remove them.”

Under the Biden administration, South Sudanese people were granted temporary protected status until May 3, 2025. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has moved to curb protections for migrants already living in the United States as part of his crackdown on immigration.

The Nimitz Library at the US Naval Academy has removed 381 books related to race, gender and sexuality, according to a list published today by the Pentagon.

One popular book included in the list is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” an autobiography from famous Black author Maya Angelou.

Other works by authors of color have been targeted, including “Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America” by former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. “The Hate U Give,” a popular book-turned-movie written by Angie Thomas, was also removed.

Another book on the list is called “Managing Diversity in the Military: The Value of Inclusion in a Culture of Uniformity.” Its removal reinforces the Trump administration’s clamp down on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government.

The Department of Defense recently faced backlash for purging Pentagon website pages that featured thousands of photos and articles about contributions made to the military by women, LGBTQ+ people, people of color and historical figures.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington on Sunday after being invited to meet with US President Donald Trump, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

A White House official told CNN earlier today that Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

The two leaders will discuss tariffs, efforts to return hostages from Gaza, Israeli-Turkish relations and Iran, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

They will also discuss “the fight at the International Criminal Court,” the office said, in what appears to be a reference to the arrest warrant the court has issued against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes — a move he has described as “absurd and antisemitic.”

“The prime minister appreciates the personal and warm ties with President Trump and thanks him for the invitation to be the first leader to meet with him following the imposition of global tariffs, just as he was the first leader to meet with him following his entering the White House,” the prime minister’s office said.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is expected to take aim at the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days, seeking potentially major staffing cuts across its agencies, including the US Secret Service, multiple sources tell CNN.

DHS is bracing for what could amount to significant layoffs, according to four sources familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity to speak freely, though no final decisions have been made, and the ultimate scale and scope has not been set.

This week, two of the sources said, there was back-and-forth negotiation and lobbying between DOGE, the White House, and Homeland Security leadership.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is expected to be decimated, one of the sources said. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are also facing potential cuts, two of the sources said.

A senior DHS official told CNN the department is “determined to eliminate government waste that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer. Across DHS, we will be eliminating non-mission critical positions and bureaucratic hurdles that undermine our mission to secure the homeland.”

CNN has reached out to DHS and DOGE for comment.

Cuts to the Secret Service would come at a particularly challenging time for the agency, which has been strained by what top officials have cast as an unprecedented and dynamic threat environment, including two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump last summer.

Read more on the expected DHS cuts here.

A protester holds a sign in support of federal workers at a demonstration in Washington, DC on Saturday.

Two federal employee union presidents spoke out today against President Donald Trump and his policies targeting federal workers as part of a “Hands Off!” protest in Washington, DC.

NFFE and the American Federation of Government Employees are part of a coalition suing the Trump administration over its attempt to end collective bargaining rights for many federal employees.

Erwin called the move by the Trump administration “the biggest assault on collective bargaining that we have ever seen in this country.”

More from the DC rally: The protest at the Washington Monument has drawn rallygoers from across the country in a show of force at the nation’s capital.

Demonstrators on the National Mall are chanting, “Hey ho, Trump’s gotta go,” holding signs reading, “Protect our constitution,” and, “Hands off our rights.”

Vince Gardina, a retired engineer from Baltimore, told CNN he’s concerned about the administration’s scope of power.

Gardina likened Trump to a “dictator,” saying he is “enacting policies without the approval of Congress, laying off people without some due process, implementing policies that have profound impacts on people’s lives, on veterans, on the environment, without any deliberation.”

“Because of what Trump has done, people’s livelihood has been at stake,” Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida told CNN, minutes before taking the stage to speak to the crowd.

This post has been updated with more details on the rally.

People hold signs during a "Hands Off!" demonstration in Paris on Saturday.

Protesters are rallying not only in the United States but across the world today as part of coordinated “Hands Off!” demonstrations against US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Crowds have gathered in Portugal, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada.

In London’s Trafalgar Square, Reuters reports, around 200 people protested Trump administration policies on human rights, the economy and more, holding signs reading, “Keep your tiny orange hands off the world,” and, “Make lying wrong again.” Many were Americans.

In Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany, there were several hundred protesters, according to Reuters. Videos showed people holding signs reading, “Hands off social security.”

“People in Germany, people in Europe need to know that. This is not something that is happening with our approval. And we need to get up, onto our feet and out in the streets to show that this is something that will not pass,” Kautz added

A protester wears an anti-Trump sign in London on Saturday.

People protest against Donald Trump in New York on Saturday.

Over 1,400 protests against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are expected across all 50 states today, organized by a pro-democracy movement in response to what organizers call a “hostile takeover” and attack on American rights and freedoms.

The “Hands Off!” mass-action protests are taking place at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, Social Security’s headquarters, parks and city halls throughout the entire country, organizers say.

Crowds of demonstrators can be seen on social media and in aerial video from local news stations in Boston, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago and Philadelphia. Additional protests are currently underway in New York, Colorado, New Hampshire, Arizona, Maine and beyond.

Demonstrators gather for an anti-Trump protest near the Washington Monument on Saturday in Washington, DC.

The movement has also spread to protests outside the US, especially in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcements this week.

Nearly 600,000 people have signed up to attend the events, according to Indivisible, one of the organizations leading the movement in collaboration with a nationwide coalition including civil rights organizations, veterans, women’s rights groups, labor unions and LGBTQ+ advocates.

Organizers say they have three demands: “an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration; an end to slashing federal funds for Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs working people rely on; and an end to the attacks on immigrants, trans people, and other communities.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for a statement.

Read more about the protests here.

CNN’s Graham Hurley contributed to this report.

The Trump administration filed an emergency stay today to block an order to return a man to the US who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month — the latest move in the fraught legal battle over the Maryland man’s fate.

“The United States does not have control over (Kilmar Armando) Abrego Garcia. Or the sovereign nation of El Salvador,” reads the filing, which was submitted to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. “Nevertheless, the court’s injunction commands that Defendants accomplish, somehow, Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States in give or take one business day. That order is indefensible.”

Judge Paula Xinis of the US District Court in Maryland on Friday directed the federal government to return Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, to the US no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 7. The Trump administration appealed the lower court ruling on Friday.

Some background: The Trump administration conceded in a court filing Monday it mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia “because of an administrative error,” but said it could not bring him back because he is in Salvadoran custody.

An immigration judge had in 2019 granted Abrego Garcia withholding of removal, meaning it was determined he could suffer persecution if removed from the US to El Salvador. He was still considered removable; it just couldn’t be to El Salvador.

Xinis said in her ruling Friday that the father of three was apprehended last month “without legal basis” and deported “without justification of legal basis.”

Black plastic covers the USAID sign at the shuttered office in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

The Trump administration last night canceled more US Agency for International Development funding for lifesaving programs, sources told CNN.

A humanitarian official familiar with the matter said it impacted programs in Syria, Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen. The funding supported things like emergency assistance to civilians affected by war, they said.

The State Department and USAID had previously approved the funding to continue, but in notices last night, USAID told organizations their awards were being terminated.

The notices said the decision was made in response to directives from Jeremy Lewin, an official who worked with the Department of Government Efficiency and is now in charge of USAID, which the Trump administration has moved to dismantle.

A review determined the awards were “inconsistent with the Administration’s priorities,” said the notice, which was seen by CNN.

The humanitarian official called the termination of the funding “completely cruel and short-sighted.”

The official said the aid community is bracing for more contract terminations Saturday.

CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

New cars from Jaguar Land Rover are stored in Stone, England, on November 15, 2024.

British car maker Jaguar Land Rover said it will pause shipments to the United States for a month as it addresses “new trading terms” of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff.

Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, has over 200 dealerships in the United States, according to the company’s website.

“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands,” a spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover told CNN. “As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are enacting our short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The tariffs, which apply to all cars assembled outside the United States, began Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s bid to revive American manufacturing jobs.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs at the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria offered a blunt assessment of President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement, saying it is the “opposite of what the American economy … is supposed to be.”

“This may be the biggest economic policymaking error of my lifetime,” Zakaria told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

“You are seeing the verdict already in from the markets,” he said. “Everybody is signaling that this was a disaster, and it’s going to be more pain to come,” Zakaria added.

Zakaria argues that Trump is creating an economy where everyone will have to go to Washington to curry favor with politicians, “whether you’re a country, whether you’re a company.”

Watch here:

Members on the Senate floor on Friday in Washington, DC.

Key House conservatives are publicly rejecting a Senate budget resolution today, just hours after the chamber passed their budget blueprint, raising questions for House Speaker Mike Johnson as he attempts to formally kickstart drafting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris said in a post on X that he could support the resolution if he’s shown it can “deliver real deficit reduction in line with or greater than the House goals.” But “I am unconvinced that will happen,” he wrote.

The conservative caucus leader said he cannot support the House’s passage of the Senate changes to the budget resolution “until I see the actual spending and deficit reduction plans to enact President Trump’s America First agenda.”

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas also warned in a post on X that, “If the Senate’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ budget is put on the House floor, I will vote no.”

Remember: Both chambers must agree to the same budget blueprint to unlock the next step toward legislation implementing Trump’s agenda, using special filibuster-proof powers known as budget reconciliation. Johnson has said he plans to bring the Senate proposal to the House floor next week.

CNN asked folks across the US and world how President Donald Trump’s tariffs have already changed their spending, savings habits, work and all other aspects of their lives.

Here’s a sample of what they said (quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity):

Matt, 30, Miami, Florida:

Male, 62, Chicago, Illinois & Pontotoc, Mississippi:

Michael Delgado, 41, Lake Havasu City, Arizona:

Rick, 78, Ontario, Canada:

Here’s what else people have to say.

President Donald Trump arrives at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida on Saturday.

President Donald Trump has arrived at one of his South Florida golf properties for the third day in a row, visiting Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, this morning amid significant economic upheaval.

The president has roiled markets with his historic and disruptive tariff policy, taking aim at the global trade structure. But his activities during the deepening economic turmoil have fallen into familiar patterns.

One day after his tariffs announcement in the Rose Garden, the president traveled to South Florida on Thursday, where he attended a LIV Golf dinner at his Doral property. He spent yesterday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and hit the links at the nearby Trump International Golf Club before attending a MAGA, Inc. candlelight dinner fundraiser.

As his motorcade pulled into the Jupiter club this morning, he posted on social media, touting his tariff plans and calling on supporters to “HANG TOUGH.”

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House on February 4.

President Donald Trump is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, a White House official tells CNN.

The visit, first reported by Axios, comes as the US slapped 17% tariffs on Israel. CNN has reported that Trump is actively negotiating with Israel — among other countries — on a bespoke trade deal, according to a senior adviser.

It also comes as Israel expands ground operations in northern Gaza, following the collapse of a two-month old ceasefire with Hamas last month.

Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone Thursday, and while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after the call, the president said Gaza is a “big problem” he hopes to resolve.

“That’s another thing we’d like to get solved,” he said.

“Gaza is a very important thing. It’s been under siege for many, many years,” Trump added.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

China’s foreign ministry slammed the United States for using tariffs as a weapon for “extreme pressure and self-interest,” saying US “economic bullying will ultimately backfire.”

China was slapped with an additional 34% tariff on goods imported into the US by President Donald Trump on Wednesday. In response, China said yesterday it would impose 34% reciprocal tariffs on imports of US goods.

The ministry said the US is “attempting to subvert the existing international economic and trade order through tariffs, prioritizing U.S. interests over the common good of the international community.”

“The market has spoken”: The charged response came after an earlier statement today in which ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun wrote in a statement that “the market has spoken,” alongside an image showing all three major US indexes down.

Guo called on the US to reverse course and resolve differences with its trading partners through “equal-footed consultation.”

Chinese chambers of commerce representing a range of industries, from raw materials to finished products, have condemned the new round of US tariffs, calling for international cooperation and unity to counter the levies, according to Chinese state media on Friday.