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Trump admin live updates: Trump says Hamas will release hostage Edan Alexander

Trump did not provide any timing on when Alexander is expected to be released.

Last Updated: May 11, 2025, 7:01 PM EDT

The White House said on Sunday that it reached a trade deal with China as the two countries negotiated for a second day in Switzerland. China has yet to comment on Sunday's talks.

"We’re confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters in Geneva. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "substantial progress" had been made but stopped short of touting a full deal.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom -- the first in what the White House said it hopes will be a flurry of agreements while the reciprocal tariff pause is in effect. With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speaker phone in the Oval Office, the leaders conceded that they are still working out the details of the agreement.

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May 11, 2025, 8:46 AM EDT

New acting FEMA chief to employees: ‘Don’t get in my way’

Newly appointed acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson told employees during his first all-hands meeting not to get in his way when he is trying to achieve the president's objectives.

“Don’t get in my way if you’re those 20% of the people,” he told employees on Friday. “I know all the tricks.”

“Obfuscation. Delay. Undermining. If you’re one of those 20% of the people and you think those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will not because I will run right over you,” he said, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting. “I will achieve the president’s intent. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq.”

Cameron Hamilton, a republican candidate for Virginia's 7th congressional district, speaks to voters at Hartwood Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on June 8, 2024.
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Richardson was appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the Department fired the prior acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, according to sources familiar with the decision. Hamilton was fired after he told Congress that he didn't support dismantling the agency.

Richardson was the assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction prior to being appointed acting FEMA administrator. Sources have described Richardson as having an insular leadership culture.

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

May 10, 2025, 7:35 PM EDT

Trump calls US-China meeting 'a total reset'

As conversations between the United States and China will resume on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, Trump reacted to the initial discussions, saying, "GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"

In a new social media post, the president calls the meeting a "total reset" between the two countries without providing further details.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

May 09, 2025, 8:23 PM EDT

Trump says he thinks Mayor Adams came to White House to thank him

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump are giving slightly different accounts of their meeting on Friday.

In a video posted on X on Friday afternoon, Adams -- strolling outside the White House -- said he spoke with Trump about important issues for New York City and investments for manufacturing, among other initiatives.

"It is my obligation to deliver for the people of New York," Adams said. "And as a city that's the largest city in America, we must have a dialogue with the White House, and that's what we're going to do."

When asked about the meeting during a spray in the Oval Office, Trump said that he and Adams discussed "almost nothing."

"He came in to say hello. He was very nice. I think he came in to thank me, frankly," Trump said without elaborating.

Asked if Adams is complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement like Trump would like, the president deferred to border czar Tom Homan.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

May 09, 2025, 6:33 PM EDT

Empty DC office buildings to house Army soldiers for June military parade

The Army will rely on unused federal office space, including at the Department of Agriculture and the General Services Administration, to house an estimated 6,600 soldiers coming to Washington, D.C., on June 14 for its 250th birthday celebration.

Army officials told ABC News the soldiers will be sleeping on Army-issued cots inside empty federal office buildings.

The Army is also considering putting up some soldiers in buildings near Arlington National Cemetery and at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.

"This will not displace any federal workers," Army spokeswoman Heather J. Hagan said.

Soldiers from every Army division were expected to begin arriving in the Capital on June 12, although Hagan said arrivals and departures would depend upon each individual unit.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

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