Federal judge orders halt to White House ballroom construction

(WASHINGTON) — White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told ABC News that officials are “evaluating” why Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis “may not have been following” protocol in the events that led to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

The comments appear to be a shift from Miller, who hours after the shooting, called Pretti, an ICU nurse for the Department of Veteran Affairs, a “domestic terrorist” and “a would-be assassin” without providing evidence. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti’s conduct “the definition of domestic terrorism” — also without evidence — which sparked backlash.

Miller’s comments come as the Trump administration grapples with the fallout of Pretti’s shooting — as well as the death of Renee Good, a mother of three, who was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 7.

“The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground,” Miller said in a statement.

“Additionally, the White House provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors. We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” Miller told ABC News.

The administration has sought to create some distance from Miller and Noem’s earlier characterization of the shooting.

Earlier this week, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, walked back the comments that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist.”

“I don’t think anybody thinks that they were comparing what happened on Saturday to the legal definition of domestic terrorism,” Blanche said on Fox News.

Asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if the president agreed with the characterization of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt distanced the president from those comments.

“Look, as I’ve said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way,” Leavitt said during the White House press briefing on Monday. “However, I have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.”

DHS did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — There are signs of progress with negotiations over funding for the Department of Homeland Security ahead of a partial government shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday.

Talks are intensifying in the final hours between the White House and Senate Democrats to reach an agreement over how to advance a package of bills necessary to fund the government — including Democrats’ request to separate the bill that funds DHS.

Democrats want DHS removed from a package that includes five other government funding bills so that changes to the DHS bill aimed at reining in Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be made without affecting the other agencies that still need to be funded.

There were Democratic calls to separate the DHS funding following the deaths of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, and became more urgent after the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting by federal agents over the weekend.

As of now, there is no firm deal yet, and there is plenty of time for things to fall apart.

Negotiations are centered around that request from Democrats, sources told ABC News. This would allow the military and critical programs like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Head Start — a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and families — to be funded through September.

A deal would temporarily extend funding for DHS through a short-term bill, which would give Democrats and the White House more time to discuss any possible policy changes.

Coming into the negotiations, Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands including: ending roving patrols, ensuring federal agents are held to the same use of force policies that apply to state and local law enforcement, preventing agents from wearing masks and requiring body cameras.

Republicans need the support of at least seven Democrats in the Senate to avert a partial shutdown.

The White House has not yet commented on the ongoing negotiations.

While sources indicate Democratic leadership is optimistic that things are headed in their direction, that same level of optimism has not been shared from the White House, sources told ABC News.

It is likely that even if a deal is reached, there will still be a short partial shutdown. Any changes to the government funding bill passed in the Senate would have to go back to the House.

The Senate is still slated to take a test vote on the larger package to fund the government (without any of the Democratic demands) Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Democrats have said they intend to block this vote unless modifications are made to meet their demands.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday defended the ongoing U.S. attack on Iran as necessary because of Tehran’s missile arsenal and nuclear ambitions, calling it “our retribution” for its yearslong role in sponsoring terrorism.

Hegseth declined to say how long the operation would last or rule out the potential of sending U.S. troops on the ground.

“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth’s press conference was his first since the large-scale operation began two days ago. The attack resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader and some of its senior leadership.

President Donald Trump in recent days told reporters he expect the operation could last four to five weeks — a timeline Hegseth wouldn’t commit to.

Four U.S. service members have died, with several more severely wounded, according to U.S. Central Command. 

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who also briefed reporters on Monday, said the U.S. is sending additional forces into the region, primarily aviation assets.

“We expect to take additional losses and, as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said, later adding, “this is major combat operations.”

When pressed on the missions objectives, Hegseth insisted the goals were clear. 

“The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused,” Hegseth said. “Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons. We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically.”

Critics of the administration have questioned the timing of the operation though because of U.S. intelligence that has found the threat from Iran was not imminent. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran is working on developing a missile capable of reaching the U.S. by 2035.

The U.S. also bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites last year. Experts say there are recent signs of Iran trying to rebuild its program and begin again enriching uranium, but that there was no evidence they were close to building a bomb. 

Trump said over the weekend that a preemptive attack on Iran was justified by “imminent threats” from the Iranian guard, though he provided no evidence, and to topple the Iranian regime.

Hegseth said Monday that Iran was “stalling” during recent negotiations with U.S. officials to buy time to build up its ballistic missile program and restart its nuclear ambitions.

“Their goal: hold us hostage, threatening to strike our forces. Well, President Trump doesn’t play those games,” Hegseth said.

Iran has responded with a massive attack on U.S. allies across the Middle East, targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations. Four U.S. service members have been killed, which Hegseth said occurred when Iran hit a tactical operations center that had been fortified.

The attack resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader and some of its senior leadership.

In a phone call with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump said the “attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates” to lead Iran.

Hegseth, though, on Monday said the operation was not a “so-called regime-change war.”

“Turns out the regime who chanted ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’ was gifted death from America and death from Israel. This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth said.

The defense secretary rejected that the U.S. would be involved in another “forever war” in the region, though he gave little detail on what comes next.

Hegseth declined to give a timeline on how long the military operation could last, after Trump told ABC News the attacks could last four or five more weeks.

“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take. Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up, it could move back. We’re going to execute at his command the objectives we’ve set out to achieve,” Hegseth said.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.