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."
President Donald Trump greeted and welcomed American Marc Fogel back to the United States after being imprisoned in Russia.
President Donald Trump greets Marc Fogel at on the South Lawn at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP
Fogel, 63, had been serving a 14-year prison sentence in a Russian prison colony after being arrested in 2021 on drug charges.
"I am not a hero, President Donald Trump is a hero," Fogel said, addressing reporters from the White House.
At times overcome with emotion, Fogel thanked his family, including his 95-year-old mother who pleaded his case to Trump at a campaign rally last year.
He also thanked Steve Witkoff, special envoy, who played a key role in negotiating Fogel's release.
Feb 11, 2025, 8:18 PM EST
Trump announces the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
The White House announced on Tuesday the formation of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, tasked with advising President Donald Trump on national security challenges and advancing the administration's "America First" agenda.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington.
Aaron Schwartz/Pool//EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Devin Nunes, chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social, will serve as chairman. His general counsel, Scott Glabe, will also serve on the board.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy; longtime head of global government affairs for Blackstone Wayne Berman; former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien; and Katie Miller, who’s the wife of Trump's White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, will also join the board.
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
Feb 11, 2025, 7:32 PM EST
Trump admin asks court to weigh in on cutting FEMA's migrant program
Lawyers with the Department of Justice are asking a federal judge to weigh in on whether FEMA can suspend a program that pays for states to house migrants once they are released from federal custody.
According to acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton, the federal government plans to suspend funding of the Shelter and Services Program – which provides state funds to house undocumented migrants – based on concerns that money was “going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities.”
Fire-affected residents meet with FEMA officials, Jan. 14, 2025, in Pasadena, Calif.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Earlier this week, Elon Musk claimed that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency “discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants” and would attempt to claw back the funds.
The DOJ requested the court weigh in by 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous
Feb 11, 2025, 7:26 PM EST
USAID inspector general fired
Paul Martin, the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was fired on Tuesday by the White House's Office of Presidential Personnel.
Martin's firing comes a day after his office released a report saying USAID had lost the ability to track and monitor more than $8 billion in unspent aid and risked $500 million in U.S.-grown food aid spoiling as a result of Trump's changes to the agency.
The flag of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, right, flies alongside the American flag in front the USAID office in Washington, Feb. 3, 2025.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Marc Meyer, assistant inspector general for investigations at USAID, will now take over Martin's role.
"It has been a true honor and pleasure to walk alongside my OIG colleagues around the world as we sought to provide independent and aggressive oversight of USAID programs and personnel," Martin wrote in a Tuesday email to his Office of Inspector General colleagues.
A USAID official told ABC News following Martin's dismissal, "Paul was the most apolitical of apoliticals. He did not deserve this. He had decades of experience as a leader in the IG community and is known for pushing out timely and impactful oversight to make government better, more accountable to taxpayers, and deter fraud and corruption -- whether at DOJ, NASA, or most recently at USAID."
-ABC News' Karen Travers, Ben Siegel and Will Steakin
