Trump administration deports 8 migrants to South Sudan
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration deported eight migrants to South Sudan, according to a Department of Homeland Security official, after the administration had to halt their deportation to a base in Djibouti.
“A district judge cannot dictate the national security and foreign policy of the United States of America,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said to ABC News. “This Independence Day marks another victory for the safety and security of the American people.”
The plane landed in South Sudan just before midnight EST on Friday.
The eight migrants, who DHS has alleged have serious criminal convictions, were the subject of a lawsuit that had halted their deportation to South Sudan and diverted them to a U.S. military base in Djibouti.
The conditions at the base, according to court filings, were both challenging for the detainees and ICE officials who were tasked with watching them.
The lawsuit made it all the way up to the Supreme Court and the court ruled that the Trump administration was not bound by a lower court order to keep them at a military facility in Djibouti.
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that the noncitizens the Trump administration moved to deport to South Sudan — and has since held temporarily in Djibouti in legal limbo — is not bound by a lower court order to keep them there as legal proceedings play out.
The decision is another win for the Trump administration and its unprecedented effort to deport immigrants to countries with which they have no ties and where they may face mistreatment.
In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court explained that when it lifted judge-imposed due process requirements for third-country removals last month the government can no longer be held to account for allegedly violating the requirements.
One of the lawyers representing the group of men called their deportation to South Sudan “punitive and unconstitutional.”
“Because of the Supreme Court’s procedural ruling, these men were denied an opportunity to contest their deportations to South Sudan based on their fear of torture or death,” said Trina Realmuto in a statement to ABC News. “The U.S. State Department warns Americans against all travel to South Sudan yet deported these men there without any due process. Make no mistake about it, these deportations were punitive and unconstitutional.”
-ABC News’ Laura Romero contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday continued to stand by President Donald Trump during his public feud with Elon Musk, but is notably not criticizing the Tesla billionaire directly.
Vance first weighed in hours after the explosive exchange began on Thursday, offering only a brief post on X.
“President Trump has done more than anyone in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I am proud to stand beside him,” Vance wrote.
On Friday morning, Vance turned his attention to the news media while still staying silent on Musk’s accusations against the president.
“There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he’s impulsive or short-tempered. Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that’s ridiculous,” Vance wrote on X. Musk on Thursday had not made any claims about Trump being “impulsive” or “short-tempered.”
Musk lobbied for Vance to be Trump’s 2024 running mate. Back in late February, Musk had posted to X that Vance was the “Best VP ever and our future President.”
Tensions between Trump and Musk, largely stemming from Musk’s relentless criticism in recent days of Trump’s signature legislation, reached a fever pitch on Thursday.
Trump in the Oval Office offered his harshest words yet for his former close adviser, saying he was “disappointed” in Musk. Musk hit back in real time, going on a X rampage that included suggesting Trump would have lost the 2024 election without him and even claiming Trump was “in” the Epstein files regarding the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors.
At one point, he agreed with one user calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. Vance has not responded to that, either.
Trump hit back on his own conservative social media platform, claiming Musk had gone “CRAZY” and floated the possibility of ending Musk’s government contracts.
The president told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl on Friday morning that Musk “has lost his mind” and that he was “not particularly” interested in talking to him right now.
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles sent Monday, repeated his calls for the White House to issue a full disclosure of financial transactions from senior officials.
The new ask comes after the California senator — along with 25 other Democratic members of Congress — sent a separate letter to Wiles in April that outlined his concern surrounding potential ethics violations, asking for a commitment from all senior White House and executive branch employees to “expeditiously” transmit all reports related to their securities transactions since the start of Trump’s term to the Office of Government Ethics, and that the reports be made public.
That April letter was sent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s sudden pause that month of his sweeping set of tariffs, which triggered widespread concern from Schiff and other Democrats that those close to the president might have engaged in insider trading as markets rose following the pause.
In his Monday letter, addressed to Wiles like the first but also including White House Counsel David Warrington, Schiff notes that senior executive White House officials are “now beyond the maximum allowable filing period for individuals who began their service at the outset of the Administration” under federal ethics laws, which mandate that they file public annual financial disclosure documents, including a new entrant report, within 30 days of assuming their duties.
“The White House has yet to disclose any financial disclosure or transaction reports, even after widespread concern of potential insider trading following President Trump’s sudden pause of sweeping tariffs in early April,” Schiff writes in the letter, first shared first with ABC News.
“According to OGE’s disclosure database to date, no new entrant reports for any senior White House officials have been made available for public disclosure, despite legal requirements under the Ethics in Government Act and the clear public interest in the financial disclosures of senior executive branch leaders, raising questions as to whether the required public reports have yet to be submitted to OGE for certification,” he added.
Asked by ABC News for comment on the letter, White House spokesman Kush Desai said on Monday, “The American people remain highly concerned about Nancy Pelosi’s long, documented history of insider trading and eagerly await Adam Schiff refocusing his political stunt on serious issues, like Pelosi’s portfolio.”
Pelosi has faced allegations of trading on inside information during her time in Congress but has denied any impropriety.
Copied on Schiff’s letter is also Jamieson Greer, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, and Scott Gast, the ethics attorney in the White House counsel’s office.
In their April letter, the Democrats requested a response from Wiles no later than May 9, 2025, and for a “detailed plan” for how the administration plans to address any officials and employees who might have failed to file required disclosures from the start of the administration.
A spokesperson for Schiff said that they received from the White House an acknowledgement that they had received the letter, but provided no answers to their demands.
In the newest letter, Schiff asked for Wiles and Warrington to send, no later than on June 10, a list of all White House officials required to file new entrant reports; an explanation for the failure to transmit any new entrant reports to OGE for second-level review and certification; the current status and anticipated timeline for the submission and public posting of all overdue disclosures; a list of any filing extensions requested and granted by designated White House ethics officials and the duration of those extensions; and whether any late filing fees have been imposed for delinquent filings, as required by law.
“Transparency and compliance with ethics laws are essential. The American public deserves to know that those serving at the highest levels of government are free from financial conflicts of interest and have complied with the laws designed to safeguard the integrity of public service. I look forward to reviewing your responses,” the senator concluded.
Trump’s tariffs have faced a number of court challenges. An appeals court reinstated Trump’s tariffs this week after a Wednesday court order blocked them. The appeals court decision stands for the time being.
The block on the tariffs came after the Court of International Trade decided that the administration’s evocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president the right to set “unlimited” tariffs. The Trump administration argued that the court order may harm their progress in negotiations.
Schiff has been a critic and target of Trump since his days in the House. Former President Joe Biden, during his last hours in office, issued a preemptive pardon for Schiff in connection with his work on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee. Schiff has called that pardon “unnecessary” and “unwise.”
The U.S. and China issued a joint statement on Monday announcing an agreement to cut reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with both sides “recognizing the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship.”
U.S. and Chinese representatives convened for talks in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend in a bid to establish the basis for negotiations in a broader potential trade deal. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff measures announced in April touched off a spiralling trade war between the two economic giants, roiling markets and prompting fears of a recession in the U.S.
“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially move down the tariff levels,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a Monday press conference in Geneva. “Both sides, on the reciprocal tariffs, will move their tariffs down 115%,” Bessent said.
U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the U.S and China will maintain 10% reciprocal tariffs as part of the agreement.
“Today, with this agreement, we come to agreement that though that our reciprocal tariff rate will go down to 10% on the United States side,” Greer said. “The Chinese on their side also go down 115% to 10% and they remove the countermeasures that they have in place.”
Greer confirmed that during the pause, the effective tariff on Chinese goods entering the U.S. will be 30%. He also said that China’s effective tariffs will be at 10% for the duration of the pause. The changes will come into force by Wednesday, the joint U.S.-China statement said.
“What matters for the agreement today is that we each agreed to come down on the reciprocal tariff and related retaliation to 10%,” Greer said.
Monday’s announcement followed two days of talks that both sides described as successful.
In a media briefing on Sunday, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said trade talks with the U.S. “achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”
Earlier Sunday, the White House said that it reached an agreement without providing any details.
While Greer called it a “deal,” Bessent said only that “substantial progress” had been made.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Lauren Minore, Hannah Demissie and Alex Ederson contributed to this report.
