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

The Internal Revenue Service expects to lose approximately 20% of its workforce -- or roughly 18,000 employees -- by May 15 as part of staff cuts directed by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, two sources familiar with the plans told ABC News.

That figure includes the probationary workers already dismissed and those who accepted the administration's "buyout" offer.

This unfolds as a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump's administration to rehire the fired workers at the IRS and five other agencies on Thursday — though the administration has filed a notice to appeal the ruling.

Amid tax season, the agency's taxpayer services and compliance departments will likely lose thousands of workers in what could be the first of several waves of firings, one of the sources said.

The Treasury Department and IRS did not return requests for comment on the potential cuts.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel

The Trump administration is upping financial pressure on Russia by letting a Biden-era short-term sanction waiver on Russian energy expire overnight. The decision comes as Trump administration officials are in Russia to try to secure a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the administration let General License 8L expire at 12:01 a.m. on March 12.

"The Administration remains focused on ending the fighting and fostering negotiations to end the war," a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. "We continue to implement our sanctions, which remain one of the levers to facilitate these goals."

The license allowed some transactions with Russian banks for certain energy transactions.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

Whitmer called the one-on-one "productive" and said they spoke about tariffs and economic opportunities for her state.

"I had a productive meeting at the White House today with President Trump where we discussed bringing good paying jobs to Michigan," Whitmer said in a statement. "We also discussed tariffs, the importance of keeping our great lakes clean and safe, and additional defense investments in the state. I'm grateful for his time today and I’ll always work as hard as I can with anyone for the the state of Michigan and its people."

In a letter to Congress, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the Postal Service plans to trim its workforce by 10,000 with voluntary buyouts in the next 30 days.

The agency has roughly 600,000 workers and has been exempt from the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government and its workforce.

DeJoy also said the USPS has signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency "to assist us in identifying and achieving further efficiencies."

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, criticized the agreement and raised concerns the that it could lead to future privatization of the USPS, which Elon Musk has floated.

"The only thing worse for the Postal Service than DeJoy's 'Delivering for American' plan is turning the service over to Elon Musk and DOGE so they can undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans' loss. This capitulation will have catastrophic consequences for all Americans," Connolly said. "Reliable mail delivery can't just be reserved for MAGA supporters and Tesla owners."

--ABC News' Benjamin Siegel