Trump criticizes sermon asking him to show ‘mercy’ toward LGBTQ people, immigrants
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(WASHINGTON) — Following a traditional inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, during which an Episcopal bishop called on President Donald Trump to show “mercy” toward LGBTQ people and immigrants, he told reporters the sermon “wasn’t too exciting” and added he “didn’t think it was a good service.”
The National Prayer Service was one of several events presidents attend around being sworn in.
“What did you think? Did you like it? Did you find it exciting? Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service, no,” Trump said to reporters.
In her sermon, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde addressed Trump directly from the pulpit.
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” Budde said.
“They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she continued. “They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Throughout the sermon, Trump, in the front pew, had a stoic expression, flipping through his program and scanning the room.
He looked up only during the hymns, sometimes moving his head to the music. Melania Trump was seen stifling a yawn and shifting around to stay alert.
A majority of Trump family members were seated behind the Trumps.
(WASHINGTON) — The chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C. abruptly resigned Tuesday amid pressure from top Trump Justice Department appointees to freeze assets stemming from a Biden administration-era environmental initiative, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
A resignation letter sent to the office’s employees by prosecutor Denise Cheung did not detail specific reasons for her sudden departure from the office, but encouraged prosecutors to continue adhering to the Constitution.
“Please continue to support one another, to fulfill your commitment to pursuing justice without fear or prejudice, and to be kind to, and take care of, yourselves,” Cheung said. “You are the resource our nation has.”
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that Cheung was under pressure from Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership, including acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, to launch a formal criminal investigation into an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding initiative pursued under the Biden administration, a request Cheung believed lacked the proper predication to initiate a grand jury investigation.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has previously addressed with DOJ their effort to rescind contracts tied to the so-called Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. DOJ’s intervention in the process can only come when prosecutors can credibly allege that the funds are tied to a crime.
Cheung’s resignation letter comes just one day after President Trump announced Martin as his nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. amid a wave of controversial actions and statements by Martin in his weeks leading the office, actions that have led to growing consternation among career prosecutors.
As ABC News has previously reported, Martin has represented defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and was on Capitol grounds himself on that day, though it’s unclear whether he ever entered areas officially designated as restricted.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
Preisdent Donald Trump attends a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, June 12, 2017. (Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump held the first Cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday and In the room, and at times taking center stage, was Elon Musk.
For little more than an hour, Trump sought to tout his administration’s work so far and fielded questions on everything from the status of Musk’s efforts to force federal firings to negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite not being a member of the Cabinet, Musk has outsized influence in the administration as he oversees the Department of Government Efficiency’s work to reduce the size and scope of the government.
“We put together a great Cabinet,” Trump said as he began the meeting. “And we’ve had tremendous success.”
Here are key takeaways from the gathering.
Elon Musk in the spotlight
Musk was the first to speak at the meeting after Trump’s introduction. Donning a “Tech Support” t-shirt and a black “Make America Great Again” cap, Musk stood in the corner of the room to talk about DOGE.
Musk defended the entity’s controversial actions, saying the overall goal is to cut the deficit and warned if cuts aren’t made the country will “become de facto bankrupt.”
“That’s the reason I’m here. And taking a lot of flack, and getting a lot of death threats, by the way,” he said.
His presence among Trump’s agency heads came amid confusion stemming from a Musk-directed ultimatum to federal workers to list their weekly accomplishments or possibly face termination. Senior White House officials were initially caught off guard, ABC News reported, when Musk first posted about the directive and it’s since created tension among Cabinet members as multiple agency heads told employees to hold off on replying.
When Musk was asked by a reporter if any Cabinet members were unhappy, Trump interrupted.
“Is anybody unhappy with Elon?” Trump said to the group, many of whom started laughing.”If you are, we’ll throw him out of here. Is anybody unhappy? They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this,” as members started applauding.
1 million workers ‘on the bubble’
Trump said federal employees who didn’t respond to Musk’s email are on a firing “bubble.”
“I’d like to add that those million people that haven’t responded though Elon, they are on the bubble. You know, I wouldn’t say that we’re thrilled about it,” Trump said. He went on to claim, without evidence, that maybe those employees “don’t exist.”
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump about his interest in doing another round of emails demanding federal workers’ accomplishments and what the requirements would be.
“I think Elon wants to, and I think it’s a good idea because, you know, those people, as I said before, they’re on the bubble,” he responded, emphasizing his desire to find out if workers exist,” Trump said.
Not ‘much’ in security guarantees for Ukraine
Trump signaled the United States will not be providing much in security guarantees to Ukraine — a key factor for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in any agreement to bring the conflict to a close.
“Well, I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond, very much,” Trump said. “We’re going to have Europe do that because it’s in you know, we’re talking about Europe is the next-door neighbor, but we’re going to make sure everything goes well.”
Trump later said the mineral resources deal between the U.S. and Ukraine will be “automatic security” because the U.S. will be investing in the nation, suggesting that would be a barrier to Russia.
“Nobody’s going to be messing around with people when we’re there,” Trump said. “And so we’ll be there in that way.”
Trump says Putin will have to make concessions
After weeks of public statements on what Ukraine will likely have to sacrifice in negotiations, including their goal of returning to pre-war borders, Trump indicated for the first time that Russia’s Vladimir Putin may have to make concessions.
“Yeah, he will. He’s going to have to,” Trump said of Putin.
Notably, he did not elaborate on what those would be.
When later asked what concessions Putin would have to make, Trump shifted toward Ukraine and said they could “forget” about NATO membership.
Medicaid and Social Security to be left ‘untouched’
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump about the budget bill that passed in the House Tuesday night — which includes a goal of at least $2 trillion in cuts to mandatory federal spending — and whether Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security would be cut.
“I have said it so many times … This won’t be read my lips anymore. We’re not going to touch it,” Trump responded, echoing the statement George H.W. Bush famously made about “no new taxes” and then later had to reverse.
Trump claimed that there would be a reduction in fraud in those programs. Trump has echoed false claims stemming from Musk that dead Americans are receiving Social Security.
Experts told ABC News that is not true, and that Musk is misreading Social Security’s network of databases when he claims 200-year-olds are in the system.
Trump vows tariffs on the European Union
Trump stressed that he is still planning to push tariffs on foreign countries to improve the economy and claimed the European Union in particular left the U.S. with billions in debt and was formed to “screw the United States.”
“We have made a decision, will be announcing it very soon and it’ll be 25%, generally speaking, and that’ll be on cars and all other things,” he said.
Trump said the tariffs against Mexico and Canada are expected to go into effect next week on April 2, after a monthlong pause.
But then Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested another pause may be possible based on fentanyl prevention and progress on the border.
“If they can prove to the president they’ve done an excellent job,” Lutnick said. Trump quickly jumped in: “It’s going to be hard to satisfy.”
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Emily Chang contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City are testifying on Wednesday in front of the House Oversight Committee during a blockbuster hearing on sanctuary cities.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are all set to defend their actions on immigration enforcement in their respective cities as Republicans on the committee have already warned they won’t be holding back.
“The mayors here today each lead so-called ‘sanctuary cities,’ and let’s be clear, these policies only create sanctuary for criminals,” Chairman James Comer, a Republican, said in his opening remarks.
“Today, mayors Wu, Johnson, Johnston and Adams will be publicly accountable for their failure to follow the law and protect the American people.”
Sanctuary cities often have limited cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which enforces U.S. immigration laws around the country. Sanctuary cities often have policies that are welcoming to illegal immigrants.
Wednesday’s committee hearing comes as President Donald Trump’s administration officials have ramped up their immigration enforcement efforts with Attorney General Pam Bondi shutting down federal grants to sanctuary cities and multiple threats “border czar” Tom Homan has issued toward these mayors if they refuse to comply.
On Tuesday, Bondi said efforts to crack down on immigration enforcement would increase in Boston, citing a lack of effort from Wu to prosecute undocumented immigrants.
“As a result of the Mayor’s decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to increase efforts in the city of Boston. Criminals will be prosecuted, illegal aliens will be arrested, and justice will be served,” Bondi posted on X.
Democrats immediately criticized the Trump administration, arguing the overreach of federal officials has led to unlawful detentions and created fear in communities.
“Republicans have hauled before us the mayors of four major American cities to frame them as lawless, because those cities have some limits on how intrusively and aggressively their own officials can conduct federal immigration operations and responsibilities,” Ranking Member Gerry Connolly said.
“Let’s be clear, the state and local laws that Republicans have issue with today are in full compliance with federal law. They do not obstruct ICE from carrying out its duties, and they are backed by evidence demonstrating that they keep people safe.”
