Trump admin live updates: Trump pardons former entertainment exec indicted by own DOJ

New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, in an interview on Tuesday night with Spectrum News NY1, said that he has spoken with President Donald Trump again since his Oval Office meeting with the president in late November.

"I’ve always kept it a conversation that’s focused on the welfare of New Yorkers,” Mamdani told Spectrum News NY1. “And the fact that New Yorkers are still struggling under a cost-of-living crisis; even though it’s been a few years since it was the focus of national headlines, it continues to be a focus for New Yorkers across the five boroughs."

The mayor-elect said he and Trump spoke before the protest on Saturday against possible ICE action in Chinatown. Mamdani later said he generally expressed to the president that "these raids are cruel and inhumane."

Mamdani also said he shared his condolences for National Guard members who were attacked in Washington, D.C., last week.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

The Trump administration canceled interviews scheduled to begin this week with a group of finalists for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, with President Donald Trump saying his team has narrowed the search and they now "have it down to one" candidate.

The finalists were scheduled to sit down for an interview with Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. The source cited a scheduling conflict with Vance as the reason for the interviews being canceled, though it's unclear if and when the interviews will be rescheduled. The vice president's office declined to comment when asked about the canceled interviews.

In late October, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed there were five main contenders in running to replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell -- whose term ends in May 2026 -- including White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, whom Trump has shown he favors for the job.

"I want to thank you all for being here. It's a great group and I guess a potential fed chair is here too," Trump said during a White House event on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't know, we allowed to say that, potential? He's a respected person that I can tell you. Thank you, Kevin."

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

-ABC News' Hannah DemissieEditor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the number of finalists who were going to be interviewed by Vance.

President Donald Trump was scheduled to make an announcement from the Oval Office at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the White House said.

Further details about the announcement were not released.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

The governors of Oklahoma and Arkansas will send a combined 260 National Guardsmen to Washington, D.C., after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week vowed to bring 500 more to the District after the shooting of two Guard members.

A U.S. Army spokesperson said the number of Guardsmen in the city will begin to tick up over the next several weeks as they arrive, but there's no target date or deadline to reach 500 new troops.

Oklahoma will send approximately 160 Guardsmen and Arkansas will send roughly 100, joining the 2,200 Guardsmen from eight other states and the District of Columbia.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said Tuesday that all 2,200 Guard members in D.C. are now armed and that the additional 500 will also be armed. She confirmed that the Guard in D.C. is now conducting joint patrols with D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.

-ABC News’ Chris Boccia