Trump responds to Boulder attack, seizes on suspect’s immigration status
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(BOULDER, Colo.) — President Donald Trump on Monday responded for the first time to the attack against a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, seizing on the that the suspect was in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
“Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” the president added.
Eight people were injured on Sunday in what the FBI is calling an “act of terror.” Boulder police said the motive for the attack still has not been established.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was allegedly heard yelling “Free Palestine” while throwing a “makeshift flamethrower” at a demonstration to raise awareness about the remaining hostages in Gaza, according to authorities.
Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents. He allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said Soliman is in the U.S. illegally. He entered the country on a B2 visa, which is typically a tourism visa, in August 2022 and in September 2022 applied for asylum. The B2 visa expired in February 2023.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
Trump sought to cast blame over Soliman’s immigration status on former President Joe Biden, criticizing his predecessor’s policies and saying “he must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy.”
While Trump seized on the fact that the alleged attacker was in the country illegally, the president did not mention antisemitism in his statement.
Though a White House senior official said Trump was briefed on Sunday, his first public comments came nearly 24 hours after the attack.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement Monday in which she condemned “vile anti-Semitic violence.”
“The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” Bondi said.
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday reacted to the revelation he discussed details about an imminent attack on Houthis in Yemen in March in a second Signal group chat — one that included his wife and brother.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Easter Egg Roll, which he attended with his family, Hegseth attacked those he said were “disgruntled” former employees and the media for what he said was “anonymous smears.”
“I have spoken with the president and we are going to continue fighting. On the same page all the way,” Hegseth said.
Sources told ABC News that Hegseth shared information about a forthcoming attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen in a Signal message chat that included his wife Jennifer, who does not work for the Defense Department, as well as his brother and his personal lawyer.
The chat reportedly occurred around the same time that top Trump officials, including Hegseth, discussed a strike on Houthis over the commercially-available app. That text chain came to light because inadvertently added to the chat was The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The Pentagon’s independent inspector general is currently reviewing Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss military actions.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, pressed on the latest revelation on “Fox & Friends” on Monday, said “the president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth” and said Hegseth “is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon.”
The use of Signal to discuss sensitive military operations may complicate ongoing investigations into potential leaks involving the first known group chat, which included top aides and other members of Hegseth’s team — at least three of whom have been since fired in relation to the inquiry.
Those officials — Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick — have since spoken out against what they say are baseless accusations against them.
“At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with,” they said in a joint statement on X on April 19.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A new legislative push led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., is seeking to bar special government employees like tech billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk from communicating with government agencies that interface with their companies, and would require federal employees like Musk to meet new ethics requirements.
Warren and Stansbury introduced a bill this week in the Senate and House, respectively, that would prevent special government employees (SGEs) like Musk – who lead companies worth $1 billion or more – from interacting with federal agencies that interface with his companies.
SpaceX and Tesla together have received billions of dollars in government contracts over the past ten years.
While the legislation introduced by Warren and Stansbury does not mention Musk or his companies by name, Musk’s proximity to Trump in the early days of Trump’s second term has made him a clear target of Democrats who have been outspoken about their opposition to Musk’s key role in orchestrating massive cuts to the federal government, with little input from lawmakers.
The bill, titled the SGE Ethics Enforcement & Reform (SEER) Act of 2025, would create what the lawmakers are calling a “bright-line rule” that makes new provisions explicitly applicable to owners of a “large company,” which the bill defines as any for-profit company making over $1 billion.
Democrats, including Warren, have also raised concerns that Musk’s companies could be unfairly benefitting from Musk’s influence over Trump’s policies.
Since 2015, Musk’s companies SpaceX and Tesla have been awarded at least $24 billion in federal contracts, according to government spending data and public announcements. SpaceX has won nearly $23 million worth of contracts, which includes nearly $6 million that the Space Force recently awarded SpaceX for launch missions.
“No special Government employee, as defined in section 202 of title 18, United States 23 Code, who is not on an advisory committee or a chair or vice chair on an advisory committee may have direct or indirect communications in their official capacity with an agency or office that contracts with, regulates, or has a pending enforcement action against a large company – (1) that the special Government employee owns; or (2) for which the special Government employee serves as a senior executive or director,” the bill reads.
The new bill would also implement a new requirement for government employees designated as “special government employees” to resolve conflicts of interest between their private-sector and governmental work during their service.
Unlike other cabinet and high-level positions that are subject to congressional scrutiny via the Senate confirmation process, Musk, in his advisory role, is designated a “special government employee,” a status Congress created in 1962 for temporary executive branch hires to perform limited duties for no more than 130 days.
“Unelected billionaire Elon Musk should not be acting as co-president of the United States and making $8 million a day from government contracts while he’s at it. My new bill would crack down on conflicts of interest and create stronger ethics rules for Elon Musk and all Special Government Employees. Government should work for the American people, not billionaires lining their own pockets,” Sen. Warren said in a statement provided to ABC News.
Those working for the government as special government employees are not paid by the federal government and can continue to collect payment from outside entities while performing their work for the government, which Warren and Stansbury say runs the risk of creating possible conflicts of interest.
The legislation aims to address those concerns by applying the same standard ethics rules that apply to regular federal employees to special government employees after they render 60 days of government service. These rules guide federal employees to avoid using their office for personal gain, to steer clear of conflicting financial interest, to maintain impartiality, to avoid outside activity or employment that could raise conflict of interest questions, and more.
The new legislation would also apply tougher scrutiny to the process of acquiring a conflict of interest waiver for this kind of work.
Musk has appeared alongside Trump as recently as Thursday, when he was present at a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
ABC News has previously reported that Musk could be taking a step back from his current role in the administration. His term would be up around the end of May but it had been widely rumored that the White House could take steps to keep him on or extend his employment status in some way.
“Elon has done a fantastic job. Look, he’s sitting here, and I don’t care. I don’t need Elon for anything other than I happen to like him,” Trump told reporters during the meeting.
Trump has acknowledged that Musk will eventually need to return to Tesla to run the company. However, when reports that Musk could depart the White House in May surfaced, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted them.
“Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at [the Department of Government Efficiency] is complete,” Leavitt said earlier this month.
The bill introduced by Warren and Stansbury faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill. It does not currently have a Republican co-sponsor and it’s unlikely to get the GOP support it would need to move through either chamber of the Republican-controlled Congress. Many Republicans have praised Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending and have remained hesitant to criticize Musk’s work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Still, the bill comes as Democrats are looking to demonstrate that they are fighting against the Trump agenda on all fronts. Warren has been particularly focused on the Musk-led effort to dismantle federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that she was instrumental in creating.
(NEW YORK) — Days after attacking a megabill that advances President Donald Trump’s agenda, Elon Musk slammed it again on Tuesday calling it a “disgusting abomination” in a post on X.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
