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Trump admin live updates: Trump strikes deals with law firms totaling $600M

The agreements were with five law firms for pro bono work.

Last Updated: April 13, 2025, 11:58 PM EDT

President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting with his top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as Elon Musk, on Thursday.

It follows Trump on Wednesday changing course on his tariff policy, instituting a 90-day pause in higher taxes for most countries while ramping up the rate against China to 145%.

On Capitol Hill, Republican leaders pushed through a budget blueprint to fund Trump's domestic agenda despite some GOP hard-liner opposition.

Apr 13, 2025, 7:16 PM EDT

Trump admin continues to allege deported Maryland man is member of MS-13

President Donald Trump's administration has doubled down on its allegation that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 in the latest status update to the court.

Evan Katz, an official for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), acknowledged that while Abrego Garcia "should not have been" removed to El Salvador, Katz said that because of Abrego Garcia’s "membership in MS-13," he is not eligible for withholding of removal.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have denied this allegation.

Abrego Garcia -- despite being issued a 2019 court order barring his deportation to El Salvador, where his attorneys say he escaped political violence in 2011 -- was sent to that country's notorious CECOT mega-prison in March following what the government said was an "administrative error."

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Apr 12, 2025, 5:12 PM EDT

Trump directs Cabinet to devise plan for military control of public land on southern border

President Donald Trump on Friday sent a presidential memorandum to Cabinet secretaries directing them to devise a plan to take jurisdiction over federal lands to combat illegal border crossings.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, rides a four-wheeler during a tour along the Nogales border wall at the Mariposa Port of Entry, Mar. 15, 2025, in Nogales, Ariz.
Alex Brandon/AP

There are already about 10,000 troops stationed along the border supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and this move could expand the role the troops play at the border.

The directive, sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, will be first implemented on a "limited sector" of federal lands along the border, to be determined by Hegseth over the next 45 days.

The portions of border land occupied by the military might then expand "at any time," the memorandum says.

Border crossings have already descended to low levels since Trump took office and defined ending illegal immigration as a top priority, but officials have told ABC News that efforts at the border will continue until there is "total operational control."

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Apr 12, 2025, 12:58 PM EDT

'If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that': Trump

President Donald Trump weighed in Friday night into the legal battle over Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The government faces a 5 p.m. deadline to provide the judge with more information about Garcia's whereabouts and efforts the United States is making to facilitate his return, following a Supreme Court order.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on April 11, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Trump told reporters he wasn't well versed in the case. However, he reiterated his respect for the Supreme Court.

"If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court," he said.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders

Apr 11, 2025, 10:56 PM EDT

Dominion law firm sues to block Trump's 'blatantly unconstitutional' executive order

After becoming the latest target of President Donald Trump, the law firm Susman Godfrey filed a lawsuit Friday night to block what it says is the president's "blatantly unconstitutional" executive order against it.

"The President is abusing the powers of his office to wield the might of the Executive Branch in retaliation against organizations and people that he dislikes," the lawsuit, filed in Washington D.C., states.

For years Susman Godfrey has represented the voting machine company Dominion, famously securing a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News to settle allegations the network aired false claims about the company rigging the 2020 election. Now, the firm says Trump is trying to "punish" them for their work "defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election."

"If President Trump’s Executive Orders are allowed to stand, future presidents will face no constraint when they seek to retaliate against a different set of perceived foes," the lawsuit states. "What for two centuries has been beyond the pale will become the new normal. Put simply, this could be any of us."

Notably, Susman Godfrey still represents Dominion in its active cases against a number of Trump’s allies -- including Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell and others.

Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order targeting the firm, which seeks to block their access from government buildings and cancel government contracts, among others, over their "previous activities."

In its lawsuit, Susman says that "at least a third" of the firm’s current matters call for their attorneys to appear in federal courts or interact with federal agencies in some way, and that they would be "irreparably harmed" by the order.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

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