Trump admin updates: White House asks court to stay order to ground deportation flights

Vice President JD Vance arrived at House Republicans' closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, but did not respond to questions including what his message is to members on the funding bill.

The vote is scheduled to take place in the 4 p.m. ET hour.

The White House has played an outsize role in the talks, as Trump is urging Republicans to support the measure. The president even placed phone calls on Monday to some lawmakers who are on the fence in an attempt to shore up the votes, according to a White House official.

Trump also lashed out at a hardline Republican who is expected to oppose Johnson's plan. In a social media post, Trump vowed to "lead the charge" to oust Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

House Republicans are slated to vote Tuesday on their spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, that would fund the government at current levels through Sept. 30, 2025. The vote represents a major test for Speaker Mike Johnson -- as it remains unclear if the Trump-backed legislation can even pass in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Meanwhile, top Democrats late Monday night rolled out a long shot alternative plan to fund the government after voicing opposition to Johnson's funding bill. Their plan would fund the government through April 11 and "includes only a handful of necessary adjustments to prevent funding issues in the interim and to extend essential health authorizations."

Read more about the shutdown showdown here.

A U.S. pardon attorney was fired after refusing to recommend actor Mel Gibson have his gun rights restored following a domestic violence conviction years ago, a spokesperson told ABC News.

Elizabeth G. Oyer, the attorney, said in an interview with The New York Times that she was not given the exact reasoning for her dismissal but said she believes it was because she refused to bless Gibson’s rights to purchase, own or use guns.

A spokesperson for Oyer confirmed her comments to ABC News. A DOJ official told ABC News the disagreement over Mel Gibson played no role in the dismissal.

Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge in Los Angeles in 2011.

-ABC News’ Pierre Thomas

A federal judge on Monday determined that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, handing a win to an independent watchdog group that sought to shed light on the budget-slashing agency.

U.S. District Judge Chris Cooper determined that DOGE must respond to an information request that sought to learn more about the group’s role in perpetuating mass firings and restructuring the federal government, ordering the agency to preserve any relevant records.

President Donald Trump’s executive orders, his public statements about DOGE, and the agency’s “substantial authority over vast swathes of the federal government” were enough to prove to Judge Cooper that the group should be subject to FOIA, which gives the public the right to access records from the federal government.

The ruling could open the door to the public, media entities and nonprofits to begin accessing records to better understand DOGE's unprecedented influence across the federal government.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous