Trump admin updates: White House officials hold prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk
Republican lawmakers gathered at the Kennedy Center.
White House officials and Republican lawmakers gathered at the Kennedy Center at 6 p.m. to hold a prayer vigil in remembrance of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On Saturday, after long promising to impose consequences on Russia in an effort to get President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump pressed NATO nations to join him before he imposes potential sanctions.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that there is an appetite in Congress to impose sanctions on Russia, which he said are "overdue."
Latest headlines:
Hegseth and Caine visit counter-cartel troops in Puerto Rico
The Pentagon’s top two officials were in Puerto Rico on Monday visiting with U.S. troops operating in a key area of the Trump administration’s operations against South American drug cartels.
Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were greeted by Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón, who posted photos of their arrival on her social media account. After speaking to some U.S. military personnel at an undisclosed airstrip, they traveled to the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault vessel, which is located off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico and carries MV-22 Ospreys, AV-8 Harrier jets, and 2,200 Marines.
The three-ship USS Iwo Jima amphibious ready group are some of the eight vessels that have been made available to U.S. Southern Command for counter-cartel operations. The Iwo Jima and the other two ships are participating in an exercise off Puerto Rico.
Reuters published a recent photo of an MQ-9 Reaper drone armed with Hellfire missiles as it taxied on a runway at the airport in Aguadilla, which is located on the western part of Puerto Rico. It is believed the boat targeted by a U.S. airstrike last week in the Caribbean may have been struck by a missile fired from a drone like the MQ-9 Reaper.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Pritzker's office said it hasn't heard from Trump admin on ICE operation
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded to ICE beginning an expanded operation in Chicago on Monday.
"Once again, this isn't about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination -- yet we've experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks," Pritzker wrote on X. "Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration's focused on scaring Illinoisians."
A spokesperson for Pritzker also said that the governor's office "has received no formal communication or information from the Trump Administration" about the operation and is learning about any developments over social media.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
ICE begins 'Midway Blitz' operation in Chicago
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun an expanded immigration operation in Chicago.
The crackdown, dubbed "Midway Blitz," will "target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets," according to a DHS press release.
The move comes as President Donald Trump repeatedly threatens to send troops to Chicago to take on crime.
Dispute over Trump firing of Dem FTC commissioner lands at SCOTUS
President Donald Trump's removal of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Republican-majority Federal Trade Commission, is now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday issued a temporary administrative stay of lower court orders that Slaughter should be allowed to remain on the job pending litigation over the lawfulness of her termination. The justices are considering whether to take up the case.
Slaughter contends her firing is illegal.
Congress created the five-member FTC in 1914 with members appointed to seven-year terms and removable only for cause. Trump fired Slaughter purely at his discretion, arguing the law is an unconstitutional infringement on executive authority.
A landmark high court decision from 1935 — Humphry's Executor — upheld the constitutionality of the FTC removal provision; however, many of the current justices have indicated the ruling should be overturned.
--ABC News' Devin Dwyer