Trump admin updates: White House asks court to stay order to ground deportation flights

Video shows deportees in El Salvador after a judge ordered flights to stop.

Last Updated: March 16, 2025, 5:36 PM EDT

The White House has asked a federal circuit court to stay a district court's temporary restraining orderthat blocked President Donald Trump from using the Alien Enemies act to deport noncitizens, including alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Meanwhile, the fallout over Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats voting with Republicans to avert a government shutdown continued, with some in Schumer's party calling for new leadership while others defended him, but said the party needed to use new tactics and new messaging.

And Trump signed an executive order on Saturday that rescinded 19 executive actions issued by former President Joe Biden's administration on gender, labor policies and industry regulations, bringing the number of Biden's actions reversed by Trump to nearly 100.

Mar 11, 2025, 8:16 PM EDT

USDA cuts $1B Biden-era food program for schools, food banks

The Trump administration is ending a $1 billion program that allowed food banks and schools to purchase food from local farmers, the Agriculture Department confirmed to ABC News Tuesday.

The local food programs were created by President Joe Biden as a way to support local farmers and ranchers while also feeding families hit economically during the pandemic.

PHOTO: Two USDA Food Safety Committees Disbanded Under Trump Order
Signage outside the US Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The Trump administration has terminated two food safety advisory committees to the US Department of Agriculture, which were made up of experts from academia, industry, and advocacy groups. Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images

The money continued long after the pandemic ended though, as anti-poverty advocates warned that low-income families in particular continued to struggle with inflation and other lingering impacts from the pandemic.

In a written statement, the agency defended the move as "marking a return to long-term fiscally responsible initiatives." The agency noted some 16 nutrition programs remain in place.

"The COVID era is over—USDA’s approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward," the agency wrote.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Mar 11, 2025, 5:56 PM EDT

House GOP passes stopgap funding bill

House Republicans passed a bill to fund the government until the end of September with a 217-213 vote.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted no despite pressure from the president in the form of a primary threat.

Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat who voted with Republicans.

The bill will move to the Senate, where it will require significant bipartisan support to pass before the March 14 shutdown deadline.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Mar 11, 2025, 5:34 PM EDT

Trump touts tariffs' 'tremendously positive impact' at Business Roundtable

President Donald Trump spoke with major business leaders Tuesday evening, touting Elon Musk's work at the Department of Government Efficiency and the "tremendously positive impact" of his tariffs, claiming more jobs would be created in the United States.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Business Roundtable's quarterly meeting at the Business Roundtable headquarters, on March 11, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

"The tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country. And we've been ripped off for years by other countries many, many decades," he said.

Mar 11, 2025, 5:31 PM EDT

Judge greenlights canceling refugee resettlement contracts

The Trump administration can cancel millions of dollars in contracts for refugee resettlement, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee, denied a request to block the administration from canceling $65 million in contracts between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the State Department's U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, determining the court lacked jurisdiction to intervene.

"The Conference's motion is, at its core, seeking a purely contractual remedy," McFadden wrote, adding the issue should be resolved in the Court of Federal Claims.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is one of 10 organizations that participates in the public-private partnership administered by the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to help settle refugees once they enter the country. They received two contracts valued at $65 million this year, which the Trump administration canceled last month.

In denying the motion, McFadden acknowledged the "emotions" associated with the program but insisted the court cannot intervene.

"This Court is but a creature of the trifurcated structure of its Constitution," he wrote.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

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