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Trump admin live updates: Trump strikes deals with law firms totaling $600M

The agreements were with five law firms for pro bono work.

Last Updated: April 13, 2025, 11:58 PM EDT

President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting with his top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as Elon Musk, on Thursday.

It follows Trump on Wednesday changing course on his tariff policy, instituting a 90-day pause in higher taxes for most countries while ramping up the rate against China to 145%.

On Capitol Hill, Republican leaders pushed through a budget blueprint to fund Trump's domestic agenda despite some GOP hard-liner opposition.

Apr 08, 2025, 1:03 PM EDT

IRS, Homeland Security sign data sharing deal for tax data of undocumented taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service and Department of Homeland Security have reached a data sharing agreement to support the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, according to a court filing late Monday night.

Under the terms of the agreement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would submit names and addresses of undocumented immigrants with final removal orders, which would be used to check against the IRS’s taxpayer records.

"As laid out in the [memorandum of understanding], DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it," according to a court filing.

The Department of Homeland Security seal is pictured as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Mar. 17, 2025, in Kodiak, Alaska.
Alex Brandon/AP

“Each request will attest that [redacted] information will only be used by officers and employees of ICE solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings or investigation that may lead to such proceedings,” the memorandum of understanding said.

The IRS said in a statement that it would continue to protect the privacy of taxpayers' data.

Veterans of the IRS have raised concerns about the unprecedented use of tax data, and the use of exceptions to the strict laws governing its use, some of which are meant to help law enforcement in criminal investigations.

Current and former agency officials also worry the new policy could impact tax collections and discourage undocumented immigrant workers who do pay taxes.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel and Luke Barr

Apr 08, 2025, 10:45 AM EDT

DHS cancels parole status for 900,000 paroled through government app

The Department of Homeland Security revoked parole status for those who used the CBP One App to obtain the status. The move puts over 900,000 migrants up for deportation.

Parole status is a two-year temporary authorization to be in the United States due to circumstances in the home country.

President Donald Trump answers a reporters question during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.
AP

The CBP One App was a cornerstone of the Biden administration's immigration policy to limit the flow of migrants along the southwest border. Migrants who used the app could apply for parole status, and in some cases, were successful in getting it.

"The Biden administration abused the parole authority to allow millions of illegal aliens into the U.S. which further fueled the worst border crisis in U.S. history," a senior DHS spokesperson claimed.

Migrants received a formal email notification from DHS letting them know their parole was canceled, and that they should self deport. The termination does not apply to Operation Allies Welcome parolees and Uniting for Ukraine, according to DHS.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Apr 08, 2025, 10:23 AM EDT

Trump to meet with GOP holdouts on Senate budget plan: Sources

President Donald Trump is slated to meet with several House Republicans who are opposed to or skeptical of the Senate-approved budget blueprint at the White House Tuesday at 1 p.m ET, according to multiple sources.

This comes as House GOP leaders are trying to rally their conference around the budget blueprint so lawmakers can start drafting legislation and outline spending and tax cuts. The budget is central to Trump's domestic agenda.

President Donald Trump answers a reporters question during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

"The president has been our best advocate to help get it passed," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told ABC News as he entered a closed-door House Republican conference meeting on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, President Trump endorsed the measure and urged House Republicans to approve the plan "quickly." Speaker Mike Johnson is not expected to attend the White House meeting today, according to a source.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller, Katherine Faulders and Arthur Jones II

Apr 08, 2025, 4:31 AM EDT

RFK Jr. walks back comments on HHS cuts

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that certain programs at HHS had been mistakenly cut in the effort to reduce the workforce by 10,000 roles, adding that the administration was willing to acknowledge when it made mistakes and remedy them.

But officials soon walked back Kennedy's comments and no significant numbers of employees have been hired back.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks on during a press conference on April 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City.
Melissa Majchrzak/AP

Asked on Monday whether any reinstatements were planned, Kennedy instead sought to describe programs as "consolidated" and insisted no "core" roles had been cut.

He didn't say, as he did last week, that roles were mistakenly cut or that they would be reinstated.

"We didn't cut any core programs or any critical care programs or any scientific programs," Kennedy said in response to a question from ABC News. "Those programs are being consolidated in the new agency that is going to make America healthy again."

Last week, when asked why a CDC program that monitored lead exposure among children was almost entirely gutted, Kennedy told ABC News that the department's work with DOGE meant "80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstalled, because we'll make mistakes."

"And one of the things that President Trump has said is that if we, if we make mistakes, we're going to admit it and we're going to remedy it, and that's one of the mistakes," Kennedy said.

But soon after, an HHS official clarified that the specific program Kennedy was asked about was not going to be brought back. The work would be moved to the newly-formed Administration for a Healthy America, the official said.

And later that week, a source confirmed that there were not, in fact, any further plans to hire back HHS employees agency wide, despite Kennedy's comments implying wider efforts to reinstate people.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

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