President Donald Trump's administration, including Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, is continuing its sweeping effort to cut much of the federal government -- but it's being met with legal challenges.
Trump is also making his second administration's first forays on the diplomatic front with calls to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ending the 3-year-old war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
And a day after Hamas released more hostages taken when it attacked Israel in October 2023, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the militant organization needs to be "eliminated."
In another preview clip from his interview with Fox News that will air this evening, Trump said Vice President JD Vance is not his successor.
When asked if he views Vance as his successor, potentially becoming the Republican nominee in 2028, Trump responded, "No, but he's very capable."
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance participate in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 7, 2025 in Washington.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
"I mean, I don't think that it, you know, I think you have a lot of very capable people," he continued. "So far, I think he's doing a fantastic job. It's too early. We're just starting."
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Feb 10, 2025, 3:35 PM EST
Judge says he will continue to block the buyout until he issues a ruling
A court officer confirmed that U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr. does not intend to return to the bench Monday afternoon to make a decision on the federal buyout deadline.
Earlier Monday, a federal judge in Boston said he would continue to pause the Trump administration from carrying out its deferred resignation offer for thousands of federal employees until he issues a ruling on a preliminary injunction.
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 9, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
For now, the temporary restraining order from last week blocking the enforcement of the buyout offer remains in effect. If Judge O'Toole, Jr. does not issue a decision by midnight, OPM would not be permitted to enforce the deferred resignation plan.
-- ABC News' Peter Charalambous
Feb 10, 2025, 3:07 PM EST
'Cruel': Former government contractor on personal impact of USAID overhaul
Jacqueline Devine, a behavioral scientist who worked with USAID on HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment as a contractor, lost her job on Jan. 28. She received no advance notice and no severance.
"We all want to be more efficient and more effective. Yeah, nobody's contesting that, but an outright stop before you do any kind of critical review, just seems ... honestly, I got to use the word cruel," Devine said in an interview with ABC News.
USAID contract worker Priya Kathpal, right, and Taylor Williamson, who works for a company doing contract work for USAID, carry signs outside the USAID headquarters in Washington, Feb. 10, 2025.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Devine worries about the "trickle down" impact for global health as USAID is dismantled. But she also worries for her own career prospects, saying there are some moments where she's "freaked out, and I wake up and I can't fall back asleep because I'm thinking about, you know, what do I do at 65? My sector, my entire field, is gone. Where do I find work?"
Devine also said she's tried to avoid seeing Elon Musk's rhetoric about USAID.
"It would be laughable if it weren't -- the human impact to hear some of this," she said. "But it's hurtful to be called … 'crooks, we're crooks,' and, I'm sorry. I've, you know, put in an honest day's work, and everybody I know puts in more than an honest day's work, too."
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett and Meghan Mistry
Feb 10, 2025, 2:07 PM EST
Judge says White House violated temporary restraining order on funding freeze
A federal judge in Rhode Island granted a "motion for enforcement" of a temporary restraining order he signed last month that blocked the Trump administration's spending freeze.
"The States have presented evidence in this motion that the Defendants in some cases have continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds," Judge John McConnell Jr. wrote on Monday.
"These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the TRO," he added.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America aboard Air Force One, as it flies over the Gulf enroute to New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
In the filing, McConnell said the administration "must immediately end any federal funding pause" until he decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
"The Defendants now plea that they are just trying to root out fraud," McConnell added. "But the freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud. The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country."
