White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia joins U.S. President Donald Trump as he departs on the South Lawn of the White House, October 13, 2026 in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is “transitioning out” of her role, multiple sources and a senior White House official told ABC News on Friday.
Zacharia started as press secretary on Monday.
President Donald Trump earlier Friday told reporters he asked Zacharia to reconsider whether she wants to stay in the position.
“I said to her, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider,'” Trump said.
“I said, ‘Katie, you know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want,'” the president said. “She said, ‘This is a lot tougher.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the world of Trump.'”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Detainees are transferred from buses operated by the GEO Group to a plane chartered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at King County International Airport on April 15, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that immigrants facing deportation to third countries must be given sufficient notice before being sent to nations where they have no ties.
The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit struck down a Department of Homeland Security policy that allowed the swift deportation of immigrants to third countries.
“An individual’s right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination,” wrote Circuit Judge Seth Aframe.
The ruling on Friday allows migrants to contest deportations to countries other than their place of origin.
According to the lawsuit, immigrants were routinely transferred to third countries with little to no notice when the administration cited “diplomatic assurances” that the receiving nation would not mistreat them.
ABC News previously interviewed a group of Latin American men who were deported to the Central African Republic and were not informed of their destination until several hours into the flight.
“I feel kidnapped,” one of the men, Aristides Fernandez Garcia, said. “They have violated all the rights that exist in life, because we are human beings.”
In recent months, the administration has expanded third-country deportations after securing formal deals with 35 countries, including Liberia, Ghana, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone.
Savi Arvey, director of policy for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First, said the U.S. has spent nearly $50 million on these deportation agreements.
“I think the fact that the administration is sending refugees to the most dangerous countries in the world, to countries run by corrupt autocrats where they’ve been arbitrarily detained and sent back to persecution and torture, shows that the administration has a complete disregard for due process, for international law and for human dignity,” Arvey said.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee during his nomination hearing on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump formally announced the creation of what he called a “Super Intelligence Force,” an artificial intelligence task force that he says will work to promote AI dominance while also protecting American lives and interests.
“The Super Intelligence Force is tasked with coordinating the effort of the Federal Government to ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence, which many say is bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and the Internet, and will protect the interests, and improve the lives, of all Americans,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Sunday.
Trump’s announcement was thin on details, with the president not outlining any specific action or oversight the task force will have on AI development — an issue about which some tech CEOs have raised concerns and called for federal regulation.
“The Super Intelligence Force will coordinate the Federal Government’s engagement with Consumers, Public Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Critical Infrastructure Providers, and Super Intelligence Companies,” Trump added.
An ABC News request sent to the White House for more information about the task force’s objectives did not immediately receive a response.
Last month, Trump said he would create an AI task force amid rising concerns about the technology. Sunday’s formal announcement comes after the president met with top tech CEOs at the White House last week, where he said he and six companies signed a “constitution” establishing standards on how to self-police their technology.
Trump said the task force will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, as well as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, and Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor.
Clayton, who is expected to serve as the White House’s new AI czar, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Saturday that global dominance in AI makes the U.S. more equipped to address risks from adversaries, echoing the president’s support for the technology’s continued growth.
“The risk of not being first is high,” Clayton told The Wall Street Journal. “Not being first increases the identified, and unidentified, risks, particularly from our adversaries. Being first will better enable us to address those risks on behalf of the American people.”
Clayton said of the AI task force, “I expect there will be mechanisms developed in dialogue, just like there are in other industries.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Clayton cited risk models for the financial industry that have been developed in conjunction with the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission. He told the newspaper that the task force would examine current law and discuss possible actions that Congress could take.
Clayton also expressed confidence in the group that the president has appointed to run the AI task force, citing the “diverse skill sets” and “common commitment” of its members.
“These are all serious people who have addressed opportunities and risks in the past and are committed to doing this so that America wins the AI race and we win it through the benefit of the American people,” he added.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 27, 2026, in Washington, DC. Republican senators gathered to introduce legislation to fund construction of a White House ballroom as a secure alternative event space following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC Saturday night. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — National political leaders and prominent figures from around the globe will remember South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham with a ceremony on Capitol Hill and a funeral service in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Graham is first being recognized with a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. His casket was brought to the Capitol, where he is being honored by his fellow senators.
The ceremony includes remarks from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Vice President JD Vance, according to the program.
Graham served more than two decades in the Senate, becoming one of the chamber’s most recognizable Republicans and one of President Donald Trump’s closest friends and advisers. He advised the president on foreign matters, including the recent war in Iran, and was a prominent fixture of the Senate’s powerful Judiciary Committee.
He died suddenly and unexpectedly on July 11 at the age of 71. Preliminary findings from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia said that the senator died due to “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Later Tuesday, there will be a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump is expected to speak at the service, according to the office of Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister who was sworn in earlier this month to finish out the rest of his term.
The cathedral funeral is expected to be attended by a number of world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Graham worked closely with both men as a staunch ally to both nations. Graham spent some of his final days in Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy just before he died.
Graham’s casket will return to South Carolina on Wednesday, where further memorial services are set for Columbia, the state’s capital, and Pickens County, where Graham grew up and part of the district he represented.
