Trump says 3rd term isn't a joke, despite term limit

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to preserve the now-infamous Signal chat related U.S strikes in Yemen.

U.S. Judge James Boasberg ordered during a hearing Thursday afternoon the top cabinet officials named in the lawsuit to retain any messages over Signal between March 11 and March 15.

Benjamin Sparks, a lawyer representing American Oversight, raised concerns that "these messages are imminent danger of destruction," prompting Boasberg to order the Trump administration file a sworn declaration by Monday, March 31 to ensure the messages are preserved.

According to screenshots of the Signal messages published by The Atlantic, the messages were set to disappear after a certain timeframe. Originally, the messages were set to disappear after one week.

Then, according to screenshots of the messages published by the magazine, on March 15 – after Hegseth sent the first operational update – the messages were set to disappear after four weeks.

Judge Boasberg declined, for now, to order the Trump administration to disclose if Signal had been used by the Trump administration in a wider context.

"I don't think at this point that that's something that I would be prepared to order," he said.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders

The Justice Department is considering a major reorganization effort that would include a merger between the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to a memo circulated to department leadership this week.

The memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, reviewed by ABC News on Thursday, seeks feedback from DOJ component heads on the potential for merging the two top agencies tasked with enforcing federal gun and drug laws -- as well as potential staff reductions within the department's tax division.

It also suggests that the U.S. Marshals Service take over INTERPOL Washington, a component in DOJ tasked with coordinating with law enforcement agencies around the globe.

A DOJ official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stressed that none of the proposed changes to the department's internal structure are final -- noting Blanche has requested feedback from officials by next Wednesday. Some of the potential changes could also further require sign-off from Congress.

Reuters was first to report the potential merger between DEA and ATF.

-ABC News' Alexander Mallin

Despite the Signal scandal, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz will still travel to Greenland with the Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance, a White House official confirmed on an X post Thursday.

"He was always going," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a post. "We’ve been confirming it for days."

The White House previously confirmed that Waltz was joining the trip with the second lady.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker and Ranking Member Jack Reed sent a letter Thursday to the Department of Defnese Acting Inspector General formalizing the request for an inquiry into the Signal chat.

"This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know," they said.

Among the requests the senators asked for, were an assessment of Defense Department classification policies, and "assessment of whether any individuals transferred classified information, including operational details, from classified systems to unclassified systems, and if so, how."

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin