Trump admin updates: Trump marks 1 year since assassination attempt in Butler, PA

Trump reflected on the death of Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally.

President Trump defended his attorney Pam Bondi on Saturday as leadership at the Justice Department and the FBI face turmoil over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Trump praised Bondi for doing a "fantastic job" and urged his "boys" and "gals" to stop criticizing her. "LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT!" he posted on his social media platform.

On Sunday, the president and first lady Melania Trump are attending the FIFA Club World Cup in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jul 09, 2025, 10:39 AM EDT

Trump to host multilateral lunch with African leaders

President Donald Trump's schedule on Wednesday includes a 12:05 p.m. ET lunch with the leaders of five African nations in the State Dining Room.

Trump reportedly invited the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal to Washington to discuss areas of cooperation, including economic ties.

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Jul 09, 2025, 1:58 AM EDT

Netanyahu, Trump discuss hostage-release efforts at White House, Israel says

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met again Tuesday at the White House, where they focused their discussion on efforts to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas, Netanyahu said.

The pair spoke about Israel "not relenting, even for a moment" in its determination to free those who are still being held, the Israeli leader said in a statement released by his office on Wednesday. Israeli officials said Sunday that Hamas is still holding 50 hostages, including 20 who are thought to be alive.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hands President Donald Trump a folder during a meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP

"But we are determined to achieve all of our objectives: The release of all of our hostages -- the living and the deceased, and the elimination of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, thereby ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said.

The administration hosted Netanyahu at a state dinner on Monday evening. Netanyahu said Wednesday he also met briefly with Vice President JD Vance at the White House.

Jul 08, 2025, 7:09 PM EDT

State Department ‘hopeful’ of Israel-Hamas deal by the end of the week

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to discuss a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas when he met with President Trump on Tuesday.

“We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military,” Netanyahu said speaking to reporters in the Capitol following a private meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson. “And governance capabilities, because Gaza must have different future for our sake, for everyone's sake, and no country will settle for less. We certainly will not. These are all things that I discussed with President Trump. I may discuss further with him later in this visit.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Speaker Mike Johnson meet at the U.S. Capitol, July 08, 2025 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

At the State Department, spokesperson Tammy Bruce repeatedly expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal would be reached “by the end of the week” -- but didn’t say exactly when or exactly what gave the administration confidence in that timeline.

“We are hopeful that by the end of this week we’ll have an agreement that brings us to 60-day ceasefire,” she said, echoing Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.

-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Shannon Kingston

Jul 08, 2025, 2:15 PM EDT

Trump says he approved sending defensive weapons to Ukraine

President Donald Trump commented further on Tuesday about the apparent reversal on sending more weapons to Ukraine.

The Pentagon last week froze the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons to Kyiv and said all munition shipments oversees were under review. On Monday, Trump announced he was planning to send more weapons to the country as it fights Russia's invasion.

"We wanted to put defensive weapons because Putin is not -- he's not treating human beings right. He's killing too many people. So we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I have approved that," Trump said as he met with his Cabinet at the White House on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

A reporter then asked the president, who was flanked on one side by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, "So who ordered the pause last week?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump responded.

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