The Latest: White House says Trump and Putin are speaking to discuss ceasefire in Ukraine
The Latest: White House says Trump and Putin are speaking to discuss ceasefire in Ukraine
The White House says President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun a highly anticipated call as the U.S. administration looks to persuade the Russian leader to sign-off on a 30-day ceasefire proposal as a possible pathway to end the war.
The White House is optimistic that peace is within reach even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains skeptical that Putin is doing much beyond paying lip service to Trump.
Here’s the latest:
Social Security Commissioner nominee to receive a confirmation hearing
The Senate Finance Committee Chairman will hold the hearing to consider Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration on March 25.
The hearing comes as the agency institutes across-the-board cuts, which have prompted questions about the possible effects on benefits for tens of millions of recipients.
Among the changes at the agency are layoffs for more than 10% of the workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the country. It’s all part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
Judge orders Trump administration to restore federal grants for teacher training programs
The order applies to more than 100 teacher preparation and training programs the administration canceled in February.
The judge in Maryland issued the preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the National Center for Teacher Residencies.
The administration cut $600 million in grants to teacher training programs, saying they ran afoul of its policies against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Grantees rejected the notion that their work was tied to DEI. Many programs used the money to hire teachers, to pay for college scholarships, and to address retention issues leading to staff shortages.
Trump and Putin hold a call as US seeks Russian sign-off on plan to end Ukraine war
The White House says President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun a highly anticipated call as the U.S. administration looks to persuade the Russian leader to sign-off on a 30-day ceasefire proposal as a possible pathway to end the war.
Tuesday’s call comes after Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the American proposal during talks in Saudi Arabia led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, remains skeptical that Putin is ready for peace as Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine.
Trump, before the call, said he expected to discuss with Putin land and power plants that have been seized during the grinding three-year war.
▶ Read more about Trump’s call with Putin
Vance says lower taxes, regulations and energy prices will help bring back manufacturing
The Trump administration’s “great plan” to jumpstart a resurgence of manufacturing in the United States is simple, the vice president said.
“We’re going to cut your taxes, we’re going to slash regulations, we’re going to reduce the cost of energy so that you can build, build, build,” he said at a summit on American dynamism in Washington.
Vance said innovation will be a key component and there’s too much fear that artificial intelligence will replace jobs. He recalled early concerns that ATMs would replace bank tellers.
People in the US illegally should use new app and ‘self-deport,’ Trump says
“People in our country illegally can self-deport the easy way, or they can get deported the hard way. And that’s not pleasant,” Trump said in a video posted to the White House account on the X social media platform.
He said his administration is repurposing a Customs and Border Protection app first launched under the Biden administration into one people can use to voluntarily leave the country and avoid being forcibly removed as he executes on his promise of mass deportations.
Trump said anyone leaving the country on their own could potentially return legally at a future date.
But if they don’t, he said “they will be found, they will be deported and they will never be admitted again to the United States ever, ever again.”
Trump escalates his attacks on the judiciary
On Tuesday, the president called for the impeachment of a federal judge who has tried to stop deportations to El Salvador.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Republican president’s latest post aligns him more with allies like Elon Musk, who has made similar demands.
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “I have not heard the president talk about impeaching judges.”
Trump administration set to release a trove of JFK files with no redactions
Shortly after taking office, Trump directed his national intelligence director and attorney general to come up with a plan to release the sought-after records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The killing has spawned countless conspiracy theories.
Trump said Monday that some 80,000 files will be released, but it wasn’t clear how many of them are among the millions of JFK records that have already been made public.
He said his instructions to his staff were, “don’t redact.”
Trump hangs a copy of Declaration of Independence in Oval Office
Trump has hung a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office, according to images he shared on social media.
The Republican president’s official account on X showed two images Monday of a framed copy of the historical document hanging on the wall not far from the president’s desk.
It was not immediately clear where the copy came from and when it was installed.
“The Nationals Archives delivered the Declaration of Independence to the White House at the President’s request. It is displayed in the Oval Office where it will be carefully protected and preserved,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The original version of the Declaration of Independence is very faded and displayed in the Archives’ building. On the version hanging in the White House, according to the images posted, the words are clear and legible.
The White House and National Archives did not respond to messages inquiring what version of the document was in the White House.
▶ Read more about Trump’s new Oval Office decor
Vance to speak at American Dynamism Summit
Vice President JD Vance’s speech will focus on support for American industry and workers, according to his office.
The summit is taking place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington. It used to be a Trump hotel when Trump was president the first time.
Tuesday’s White House schedule
According to the White House press office, Trump plans to sign executive orders in the Oval Office at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The White House has also confirmed Trump and Russian President Vladamir Putin will hold a call to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine on Tuesday, which is expected to happen between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET.
Trump administration guts board of US Institute of Peace. Group says DOGE arrives
The Trump administration fired most of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace and sent its new leader into the Washington headquarters of the independent organization on Monday, in its latest effort targeting agencies tied to foreign assistance work.
The remaining three members of the group’s board — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Defense University President Peter Garvin — fired President and CEO George Moose on Friday, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.
An executive order that President Donald Trump signed last month targeted the organization, which was created by Congress over 40 years ago, and others for reductions.
Current USIP employees said staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency entered the building despite protests that the institute is not part of the executive branch. USIP called the police, whose vehicles were outside the building Monday evening.
▶ Read more about the gutting of USIP
Judge questions Trump administration on whether it ignored order to turn around deportation flights
District Judge James E. Boasberg was incredulous over the administration’s contentions that his verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed, that it couldn’t apply to flights that had left the U.S. and that the administration could not answer his questions about the deportations due to national security issues.
“That’s one heck of a stretch, I think,” Boasberg replied, noting that the administration knew as the planes were departing that he was about to decide whether to briefly halt deportations being made under a rarely used 18th century law invoked by Trump about an hour earlier.
Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli contended that only Boasberg’s short written order, issued about 45 minutes after he made the verbal demand, counted. It did not contain any demands to reverse planes, and Kambli added that it was too late to redirect two planes that had left the U.S. by that time.
▶ Read more about the Trump deportation flights
Trump and Putin get ready to discuss ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The leaders are scheduled to speak between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET, a spokesperson for Putin said.
The talks are part of Trump’s effort to push the two sides into ending the three-year conflict by getting Putin to agree to a U.S. plan for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted last week.
Zelenskyy said late Monday in his nightly video address that Putin is the one who is dragging out the war.
Trump said Washington and Moscow have begun discussing “dividing up certain assets” between Ukraine and Russia as part of the conflict-ending deal.
By The Associated Press
