White House says some employees were fired by mistake

A federal judge in Rhode Island said in an order Wednesday morning that he will not block the Trump administration from cutting off funding to a FEMA program that pays for states to house migrants once they are released from federal custody.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell technically denied the Trump administration’s request for permission to cut off the funding, instead opting to clarify that his earlier order does not prohibit the government from limiting funding “on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.”

The ruling effectively gives the Trump administration a green light to cut off the funding based on their concern that money was “going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities.”

-- ABC News' Peter Charalambous

Eight of the inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump last month have filed a federal lawsuit claiming their firing was illegal and are asking a judge to reinstate them to their positions.

The independent, nonpartisan watchdogs, whose offices oversee trillions in government spending, were abruptly removed from their positions on the first Friday of Trump's term and received short emails from the head of the White House personnel office removing them from their positions.

-- ABC News' Peter Charalambous, Katherine Faulders, Ben Siegel

In a new Truth Social post, President Donald Trump responded to the inflation numbers saying only: "BIDEN INFLATION UP!"

Lowering prices was one of Trump's campaign promises, but with Wednesday's less-than-rosy economic report, Trump is punting blame onto his predecessor.

-- ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Delivering remarks before the NATO Ukrainian Defense Contact Group in Belgium, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the goal of "returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective."

He added that "chasing this illusory goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."

On Tuesday evening after touching down in Europe, Hegseth signaled the Trump administration wants European nations to take on more responsibility for their own defense and said "we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine."

"The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland, we must and we are focusing on security of our own borders." Hegseth also said Wednesday morning.

Read more about Hegseth's remarks here.

-- ABC News' Joseph Simonetti