March 1, 2025: Donald Trump presidency news

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

A federal judge ruled Saturday that the head of a government watchdog agency whom President Donald Trump is attempting to fire is entitled to remain in the post, setting up a dispute that will almost certainly be decided by the Supreme Court.

The ruling from US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is a win for special counsel Hampton Dellinger, who sued the Trump administration over his firing in a case that has already gone to the Supreme Court once before. The latest decision removes some of the technical legal issues that complicated earlier appeals by the Department of Justice.

Ruling otherwise, she said, would offer the president “a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will.”

The Trump administration is appealing the decision.

Read more about the ruling here.

Signs in Spanish and English are displayed the Brooklyn borough of New York on Friday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday designating English as the official language of the United States.

“A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language,” the order states.

It’s the first time in American history an official language has been designated on the national level. The order rescinds a mandate signed by President Bill Clinton requiring agencies to provide non-English speakers assistance, though those agencies are still allowed to offer services in other languages.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday criticized the expected move, saying that the order may not stand up to scrutiny in court and that encouraging a single language will make the US less competitive on the global stage.

“Like dozens of the other executive orders and actions that have been taken, we’re going to have to examine whether what he’s doing is actually in compliance with the law and the United States Constitution, and to the extent that it’s not, I’m confident that it will be sued,” the New York Democrat said.

‎CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Morgan Rimmer contributed reporting to this post.

Three civilian aircraft inadvertently entered temporary restricted airspace Saturday over Palm Beach, Florida, where President Donald Trump was playing golf at his club near Mar-a-Lago.

The aircraft were “safely escorted out the area by” the North American Aerospace Defense Command, according to the 1st Air Force, which is part of the Air Combat Command and based in Florida.

The three incidents occurred shortly after one another at 11:05 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 12:50 p.m. local time.

While intercepting two of the aircraft, “NORAD aircraft dispensed flares,” according to a statement from the 1st Air Force.

The 1st Air Force urged pilots to be alert to guidance on restrictions from the Federal Aviation Administration, “especially in the Mar-a-Lago region.”

The NORAD commander said in a statement to CNN that there have been “excessive number” of violations to temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, which raises concerns that aircrews are not paying attention to the FAA’s guidance.

A US Secret Service spokesperson told CNN that the agency is “investigating further” into the incidents but that it appeared the aircraft entered the airspace inadvertently. The Secret Service similarly urged pilots to follow FAA’s guidance.

CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with response from NORAD.

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas and Rep. Keith Self of Texas, both Republicans, faced tough crowds at two separate constituent town halls on Saturday, in the latest instances of GOP lawmakers facing criticism from constituents over President Donald Trump’s early actions.

Video Ad Feedback

Sen. Roger Marshall walks out of town hall

00:56 • Source: CNN

Sen. Roger Marshall walks out of town hall

00:56

According to a video posted on Facebook, Self was asked whether he could be trusted to “demand immediate oversight into DOGE and Elon Musk” — a question that received a lengthy applause. The congressman in response made the argument that the vast majority of people who work in the federal government are unelected officials.

Self’s answer was followed by chants of “Vote him out,” at which point he concluded the town hall. The congressman is up for reelection next year.

Similarly, attendees of Marshall’s town hall said they are concerned about DOGE’s mass firings, particularly of veterans, according to a video posted on X. Marshall did not respond and ended the event. His exit was followed by loud boos.

CNN has reached out to Marshall’s and Self’s offices for comment.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin responded to the tense town halls in a statement Saturday, criticizing the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the size of the federal government.

“It comes as no surprise that Republicans like Roger Marshall are hiding from their own constituents, because Americans are rightfully furious about what’s happening in Washington right now,” he said, adding, “Republicans should grow a spine and face their voters.”

This post has been updated with additional information.

President Donald Trump signed an executive action Saturday that directs his administration to investigate potential instances of what he deems unfair trade practices for lumber that the United States imports.

This comes just days after Trump signed a similar action ordering an investigation into copper. The president also ordered a separate investigation earlier this month that’s set to pave the way for what the president refers to as “reciprocal tariffs.”

Trump has previously said, “We have all the trees you need.” However, economists and homebuilders have cautioned that America does not have the industrial capacity to meet the demand and that taxing — or worse, cutting off — Canadian lumber imports in particular could further exacerbate the housing affordability crisis in the US.

Any tariffs on lumber the investigation deems appropriate could come on top of other tariffs Trump enacts on other countries’ imports.

Vice President JD Vance, center right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on Friday.

European leaders are gathering Sunday in a clear show of unity and support for war-torn Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. But the White House views President Donald Trump’s handling of Friday’s historic and heated meeting with Zelensky as a win.

Since the tense talks, the press office has sent multiple emails amplifying rave reviews and messages of support from key Republican allies on Capitol Hill, members of Trump’s Cabinet and other top White House officials.

National security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were both in the Oval Office during the extraordinary meeting, were dispatched to television and radio appearances to praise Trump.

Some context: Trump often criticized US aid for Ukraine on the campaign trail, reflecting waning support among Americans for Kyiv and Zelensky more broadly over the past three years of the war.

Trump views the conflict through an economic lens, seeking to rebuild a partnership with Russia and recoup some of the economic support the US has provided Ukraine.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a key Sunday summit in London will give European leaders the chance to push toward a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with US President Donald Trump derailed diplomatic efforts.

The summit in London will see Starmer and Zelensky meet with leaders from across Europe, including the heads of the European Union and NATO.

“The Prime Minister has been clear that there can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine, a determination he reiterated when he warmly welcomed President Zelenskyy to Downing Street on Saturday evening ahead of the summit,” Downing Street said.

The summit will have three goals, according to Starmer’s office:

• “Strengthening Ukraine’s position now – including ongoing military support and increased economic pressure on Russia”

• “The need for a strong lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace in Ukraine and ensures that Ukraine is able to deter and defend against future Russian attack”

• “Next steps on planning for strong security guarantees”

Zelensky arrived in London Saturday for initial meetings with Starmer, who said in a statement that the world has arrived at a “turning point” three years after Russia first launched its full-scale invasion.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski heads to the Senate chamber in Washington, DC, on January 22.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski accused President Donald Trump on Saturday of “walking away from our allies and embracing Putin” after Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a tense back-and-forth in the Oval Office on Friday.

During both of Trump’s terms, Murkowski has been an increasingly rare elected Republican who has shown willingness to publicly break with the president on certain issues.

Other GOP senators, including longtime Ukraine supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham, praised Trump for the exchange with Zelensky. “I have never been more proud of the president,” Graham said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, along with other immigrants’ rights advocates, sued the Trump administration on Saturday in an attempt to stop the transfer of migrants to Guantanamo Bay.

The lawsuit looks to stop the transfer of 10 people in the US to Guantanamo Bay, whose nationalities include Venezuela, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Plaintiffs do not challenge the government’s authority to detain them on U.S. soil or to directly remove them to their home country or another statutorily authorized country. What they challenge is the government’s unprecedented and unlawful decision to transfer and detain them at Guantánamo, which under the INA (The Immigration and Nationality Act) is Cuba. That is per se illegal, even apart from the horrific detention conditions and the lack of meaningful access to counsel or the outside world,” the lawsuit reads.

The groups filing the lawsuit include the ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, International Refugee Assistance Project, and ACLU of the District of Columbia.

Remember: The Trump administration began sending migrants to Guantanamo Bay on US military aircraft last month. It sparked backlash from immigrant advocates and led to another lawsuit from the ACLU over migrants’ lack of access to legal representation.

Protesters hold signs as Vice President JD Vance's motorcade arrives in Warren, Vermont, on Saturday.

Vice President JD Vance received praise from GOP allies after castigating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, but he got a chillier welcome Saturday while arriving in Vermont for a planned family ski trip.

Video showed dozens of people lining the sidewalk in Warren, Vermont, awaiting Vance’s motorcade arrival at Sugarbush Resort.

One person waved a “Go ski in Russia traitor” sign, while another poster read, “Shame on you Vance.”

Some protesters held Ukrainian flags, while others held signs that said, “Zelensky is a hero,” “I stand with Ukraine,” and, “The whole world is watching,” according to video from CNN affiliate WCAX.

The protests did not appear to be solely related to Ukraine and the confrontation with Zelensky in the Oval Office. WCAX also captured video of protesters with Palestinian flags and a large “Free Palestine” banner.

Supporters hold signs and flags as in Warren, Vermont, on Saturday.

On the other side of the street, supporters waved Trump flags and American flags. One man held an “America First” sign, while another woman waved a “Welcome Vance” sign.

Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP primary before ultimately voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, issued a statement Thursday reminding Vermonters to be “respectful” during Vance’s visit.

“I welcome the Vice President and his family to Vermont and hope they enjoy their weekend here,” Scott said. “I hope Vermonters remember the Vice President is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement on Saturday to accelerate $2.8 billion (2.26 billion pounds) worth of loans to Ukraine.

The loan will be paid off by revenues from frozen sovereign Russian assets, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said. The agreement is part of the UK’s “unwavering and ongoing support for Ukrainian people,” Reeves said.

Zelensky said the loan will go “toward the production of weapons in Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko, who joined the meeting remotely via video link, said Ukraine was “so grateful” for the “very necessary” agreement.

The loans are in addition to the UK’s ongoing funding of about $3.7 billion (3 billion pounds) per year to Ukraine, Reeves said.

Reeves added that she was struck by the “cross-party support” for the agreement while bringing it through Parliament.

More on Zelensky and Starmer’s meeting: Zelensky called his meeting with Starmer “significant and warm” and said they spoke about “reliable security guarantees.”

“We discussed the challenges currently facing Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with partners, specific steps to strengthen Ukraine’s position, and the pursuit of a just peace to end the war, along with reliable security guarantees,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Zelensky said Starmer offered “principled words of support” and Ukraine is “happy to have such strategic partners and share the same vision for a secure future for all.”

This post has been updated with comments from Zelensky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street in London on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United Kingdom for its unwavering support when he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Saturday.

“I saw a lot of people and I want to thank you, people of the UK, (for) such big support from the very beginning of this war,” Zelensky said while sitting next to Starmer.

“And I’m very happy that his majesty, the King, accepted my meeting tomorrow and thankful that you organized such great summit for tomorrow and we are very happy in Ukraine that we have such strategic partners,” he added, referring to an emergency gathering of European leaders scheduled for Sunday.

Starmer told Zelensky that Ukraine has “full backing across the UK” and reiterated his country’s commitment to support Ukraine for “as long as it will take.”

Starmer said the UK is determined to stand with Ukraine to achieve their common goal, which is “a lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security.”

According to an official readout of the meeting from Downing Street, Starmer spoke of his determination to find a solution that “ends Russia’s illegal war and ensures a just and lasting peace that secures Ukraine’s future sovereignty and security.”

“The leaders looked forward to continuing these discussions at tomorrow’s leaders’ summit in London,” a spokesperson said.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Starmer.

The Trump administration is sending additional active-duty service members to the US southern border, according to the US Northern Command, as President Donald Trump continues to make border security and curbing undocumented immigration a priority.

Nearly 2,400 soldiers from Fort Carson in Colorado and around 500 service members from Fort Stewart in Georgia will assist in machine operation, medical evacuation and “administrative support.” They will not be tasked with carrying out deportations, according to a statement from the US Northern Command.

Stryker vehicles will be deployed to transport some of the troops, the statement said. Strykers are large, armored combat vehicles.

The deployment was first reported by the Washington Post.

Some background: This move is part of the president’s efforts to fulfill his campaign promise of a strict immigration crackdown. Within days of taking office, Trump quickly mobilized wide swaths of the federal government to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants. The administration also used military aircraft to repatriate recent border crossers.

Read more on Trump’s immigration enforcement machine.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.

Britain's leader Keir Starmer meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street in London on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in London for crucial talks with Britain’s leader Keir Starmer, one day after his extraordinary public argument with US President Donald Trump over Russia’s war and peace talks.

Zelensky was warmly greeted by Starmer outside Downing Street on Saturday afternoon, a few hours after arriving in the country.

The pair will talk before Europe’s leaders descend on London Sunday for a full summit, where they will hope to revive the prospects of a fair ceasefire deal, shore up military support for Kyiv and pave a path forward if the US ends its assistance to the country.

Meeting with king: Britain’s King Charles III and Zelensky are also expected to meet Sunday, according to Britain’s PA Media news agency.

CNN has reached out to Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.

Starmer met with Trump earlier this week in Washington. The UK leader presented the US president with an “unprecedented” state visit invitation from King Charles. Trump described the king as a “beautiful man.”

Federal agencies are beginning to respond to last night’s “What did you do last week? Part II” email from the Trump administration, aiming to craft clear instructions for workers.

Government employees were sent into a panic when they were sent the original “What did you do last week?” email last weekend, and Elon Musk threatened they could lose their jobs if they did not respond. That saga ended with the Trump administration deeming responses optional, but only after chaos and confusion spread across federal government as leaders issued differing guidance to their workers.

Now federal employees at multiple government agencies are once again being told in an email from the Office of Personnel Management to report their recent accomplishments by the end of the day Monday — and that this will now be a weekly requirement.

Here’s what some agencies are telling workers:

State Department: Department leadership told staff in an email Saturday morning that it will handle responding to the emails, rather than asking workers to do so individually.

The State Department was among those that also instructed staff not to respond to the initial OPM email sent last week. Work done by State Department employees can be highly sensitive, and the email had raised security concerns.

Homeland Security: Department of Homeland Security leadership sent out an email to workers, obtained by CNN, saying it would be collecting its own list of accomplishments.

DHS employees were given until Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET to submit their bullet points to an internal department email address.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2024.

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has launched an initiative to support the federal workers fired as part of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal government, highlighting some of the challenges even red state governors are facing with the job cuts.

With a significant number of federal workers living in Virginia, the initiative launched earlier this week aims to employ the laid-off workers to jobs within the commonwealth. It comes ahead of the gubernatorial race in the state, which could serve as an important measuring stick for both parties ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Youngkin’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is a top contender for the seat.

In Maryland: Democratic Gov. Wes Moore also introduced a similar initiative Friday to support the large number of federal workers who reside in his state and were impacted by the firings, which the state estimates is around 10,000 people.

Moore’s campaign aims to recruit those federal workers to education jobs or opportunities within the state government. The governor also said his plan will include “job fairs across the state” and building out the Maryland Public Servants Resource website.

Democrats are fundraising off President Donald Trump’s confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the episode a “disgrace” in a new solicitation Saturday.

Sent from the “Harris Fight Fund,” which is associated with the campaign of former Vice President Kamala Harris, the email tells supporters that Friday’s Oval Office meeting offered “a clear demonstration of what Kamala Harris warned us about during her debate with Donald Trump: How quickly Trump – after everything the American people have done and sacrificed to preserve Ukraine’s ability to fight for the independence – would give in for the sake of favor and what he thinks is a friendship with Vladimir Putin.”

It asked supporters to donate for “a Congress that can be a check on this administration.”

Democrats have roundly slammed the heated talks.

Trump campaigned on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine as Americans’ support for the war and Zelensky has waned in recent years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office in Washington, DC on Friday.

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Saturday called the heated meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump on Friday “very unfortunate.”

In an interview with BBC News, Rutte said he has spoken with Zelensky twice since the meeting, and he told him that the US, Europe and Ukraine need to “stick together” to bring “durable peace” to the country.

While Rutte would not disclose specifics of what he discussed with Zelensky, he said he told the Ukrainian leader that “we really have to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine.”

The NATO leader praised Trump for his 2019 decision to approve the provision of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, as well as for talking to Russia in his current presidency and “basically (breaking) the deadlock when it came to peace negotiation.”

Rutte said he is “friends” with Trump and knows he is “committed” to bringing peace to Kyiv. He also said that Trump is committed to NATO.

For his part, Zelensky said Saturday that it’s “crucial” for Ukraine to have Trump’s backing and expressed his gratitude to the US, while also saying he remains ready to sign the minerals agreement he had traveled to Washington to hammer out before the diplomatic breakdown.

President Donald Trump hosts a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump is set to receive a routine physical next month, his doctor announced Saturday, the first for his second term.

“President Donald J. Trump will complete his routine annual physical exam next month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” physician to the president Dr. Sean Barbabella said in a statement.

Barbabella said the date of the exam “will be released publicly in the next few weeks.”

At 78, Trump is among America’s oldest presidents, second only to former President Joe Biden, for whom age and physical health became a major issue to voters. Trump would be the oldest president in history at the conclusion of his second term.

Trump received his annual physical at Walter Reed each year of the first term of his presidency.

After Trump’s first presidential physical, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported that Trump has a common form of heart disease. Trump’s doctor at the time recommended an increase in the dose of his cholesterol-lowering medication and certain lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet and exercising.

Trump himself had expressed that health factored into his decision to run for president a third time, telling the Washington Post in 2022, “You always have to talk about health. You look like you’re in good health, but tomorrow, you get a letter from a doctor saying come see me again. That’s not good when they use the word again.”