APPLENEWS - STORY ADD

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

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

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.


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Senate confirms new chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Overnight, the Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Caine was nominated to the post after the sudden firing of his predecessor Gen. CQ Brown who had been in the job for a little under a year and a half of what was supposed to be a four-year term.

The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25.

To be the chairman, Caine is now called back to active duty and will receive a fourth star.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez


Trump calls for lawmakers to end daylight saving time

Amid the ongoing trade war, President Donald Trump called for lawmakers in Congress to "push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day" in a new post on Truth Social on Friday.

"Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!," Trump said in the post.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart


Trump to undergo annual physical Friday

President Donald Trump will have his annual physical at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. on Friday at 11:00 a.m., according to his official schedule.

The president is expected to depart Walter Reed en route to Joint Base Andrews at 3:45 p.m., from which he will fly down to Palm Beach International Airport and travel on to Mar-a-Lago.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie


DOJ terminates contract that provides legal support for migrants at detention centers

The Department of Justice has terminated the contract for legal orientation programs and other work intended to support migrants at detention centers and immigration courts, according to a notice of obtained by ABC News.

“The following task orders are terminated for the convenience of the government, effective at 12:01 a.m. on April 16, 2025,” the notice said.

The programs listed in the notice include the Legal Orientation Program, the Immigration Court Helpdesk, the Family Group Legal Orientation Program and the Counsel for Children Initiative.

Legal service providers had previously received a stop-work order in January.

The groups are usually present at immigration courts and detention centers across the country to help individuals navigate immigration court proceedings and handle legal paperwork.

-ABC News' Laura Romero