U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has launched an immigration enforcement operation in Boston, dubbed Patriot 2.0, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Saturday posted a "Apocalypse Now"-themed post, telling officials that "Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR." Trump signed an executive order Friday to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, though the official name change requires the approval of Congress.
Trump plans to attend the U.S. Open men's final tennis match in New York on Sunday, the White House said.
GOP senators sidestep questions over confidence in RFK Jr.
Two Republican senators -- both doctors -- sidestepped questions from ABC News asking if they have confidence in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to continue leading HHS, as Thursday's hearing wrapped up.
When asked if RFK Jr. assuaged his concerns or if the HHS secretary should resign, Sen. Bill Cassidy referred to his questioning in the hearing.
Cassidy pointedly asked the secretary about his COVID-19 vaccine policies.
Sen. Bill Cassidy questions Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. during a Senate Finance Committee, September 4, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and a doctor as well, also avoided questions about his confidence in RFK Jr.
"I have confidence in what the president of the United States is doing and I would not second guess it," he told ABC News.
ABC News' Jay O'Brien
Sep 04, 2025, 5:20 PM EDT
Trump signs executive order implementing trade deal with Japan
Trump signed an executive order implementing his trade deal with Japan, according to the White House.
The deal was reached in July but had to be finalized by both the U.S. and Japan.
“Under the Agreement, the United States will apply a baseline 15 percent tariff on nearly all Japanese imports entering the United States, alongside separate sector-specific treatment for automobiles and automobile parts; aerospace products; generic pharmaceuticals; and natural resources that are not naturally available or produced in the United States," the order says.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Sep 04, 2025, 5:08 PM EDT
Ex-CDC Director Monarez's lawyers push back against how RFK said she was fired
Attorneys representing former CDC Director Susan Monarez pushed back on Kennedy's narrative of the events that led to her firing last week.
The HHS secretary claimed in a hearing on Thursday, “I told her she had to resign because I asked her, 'Are you a trustworthy person?' And she said, 'No.'”
Susan Monarez, nominee to be director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 25, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt/Reuters
Monarez's lawyers call Kennedy's claim "false" and "patently ridiculous."
"Dr. Monarez stands by what she said in her op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, would repeat it all under oath and continues to support the vision she outlined at her confirmation hearing that science will control her decisions," her lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
"I was told to preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric," Monarez wrote in her op-ed published Thursday.
Monarez was also asked to fire senior CDC officials, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Sep 04, 2025, 2:38 PM EDT
Melania Trump hosts AI education task force: 'The robots are here'
First Lady Melania Trump held the second task force meeting on artificial intelligence education, which comes as the White House focuses on utilizing and expanding the use of AI.
"In fact, I predict AI will present the single largest growth category in our nation during this administration and I won't be surprised if AI becomes known as the greatest engine," she said during Thursday's meeting.
"The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction," Trump said.
First Lady Melania Trump speaks, alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (R) and Director of the Office of Science and technology policy Michael Kratsios during a meeting of the White House Task Force on artificial intelligence education in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2025.
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images
The meeting also comes after the first lady launched her Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge, geared towards students in K-12. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attended the meeting, where she shared that grants from the Department of Education can be used for AI tools and technologies.
"We've issued a Dear Colleague letter telling anyone who has received an ED grant that AI, tools and technologies are allowable use of federal education funds. Our goal is to empower states and schools to begin exploring AI integration in a way that works best for their communities," McMahon said.
First Lady Melania Trump, flanked by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, attends a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 4, 2025.
