President Donald Trump is defending his decision to pause some tariffs to Canada and Mexico for another month -- a notable reversal after imposing historic levies on the key U.S. trading partners earlier this week, causing markets to tumble.
On Friday, Trump signed more executive orders at the White House before he convened a first-ever cryptocurrency summit with industry leaders.
Speaker Mike Johnson's chief of staff arrested for DUI after Trump's speech
Speaker Mike Johnson's chief of staff was arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police on charges of driving under the influence Tuesday night after President Donald Trump's address to Congress, multiple people familiar with the incident told ABC News.
Hayden Haynes backed into a parked Capitol Police vehicle at the Capitol complex, the sources added.
Capitol Police confirmed that "a driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m. We responded and arrested them for DUI."
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson leaves after the House passed the Republican's budget resolution on the spending bill on Feb. 25, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Johnson's spokesman Taylor Haulsee said in a statement to ABC News that the speaker was aware of the incident.
"The Speaker has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress. Because of this and Hayden's esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Hayden's ability to lead the Speaker's office," he said.
Haynes was spotted in the back of the House chamber at the beginning of Trump's address. He was arrested after the speech ended.
-ABC News' Rachel Scott and Jack Date
Mar 05, 2025, 5:54 PM EST
Trump met with eight hostages in the Oval Office, White House says
The president met with eight of the released hostages from Gaza in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.
According to a statement from the press secretary, the eight Americans thanked President Donald Trump for his efforts to bring them home.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Edan Alexander is the last American-Israeli hostage to remain alive in Gaza.
-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh
Mar 05, 2025, 5:53 PM EST
Federal board temporarily reinstates more than 5,000 USDA workers
An independent federal board has ordered the reinstatement of more than 5,000 Department of Agriculture employees, determining the USDA acted illegally when it removed probationary employees.
The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial agency that protects federal employees, is temporarily requiring the agency to reinstate any probationary employees it terminated since Feb. 13 based on "performance."
The board determined that the employees cannot be removed without providing a specific reason for their termination.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seen in Washington, March 18, 2012.
Gary Cameron/Reuters, FILE
"This requirement is not a simple bureaucratic technicality -- compelling agencies to assess the specific fitness of each employee prior to terminating them ensures that outstanding employees are not arbitrarily lost and that terminations are truly in the best interests of the federal service and consistent with merit system principles," the order said.
The legal victory for the USDA employees comes after two separate court cases clarified the authority of the two key actors related to Wednesday’s decision: special counsel Hampton Dellinger and MSPB Chairwoman Cathy Harris. A federal judge on Saturday permanently reinstated Dellinger to his role running the watchdog agency that protects federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, and a separate judge on Tuesday reinstated Harris to run the MSPB, which protects government employees from partisan interference. In both instances, federal judges ruled that President Donald Trump cannot fire either person without cause. Wednesday's decision from the MSPB essentially reached the same conclusion for thousands of probationary employees who had been indiscriminately fired.
"I want to thank the MSPB for granting this important stay," Dellinger said in a statement. "Agencies are best positioned to determine the employees impacted by these mass terminations. That's why I am calling on all federal agencies to voluntarily and immediately rescind any unlawful terminations of probationary employees."
While the Trump administration has rapidly moved to fire thousands of probationary employees, the effort is beginning to hit legal roadblocks, including after a federal judge in California found the directive to fire employees was unlawful.
Some legal challenges to block the firings have been declined because the correct avenue for relief would be the MSPB. With both Dellinger and Harris back in their roles, the agency might provide relief for federal employees.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous
Mar 05, 2025, 5:39 PM EST
VA secretary confirms cutting 72,000 workers
In a video posted on X, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins confirmed the agency's plans to conduct a "thorough and thoughtful" review of spending with the help of DOGE.
He said the agency is planning for a 15% workforce cut, which translates to about 72,000 workers, because Collins says the VA currently has about 470,000 workers. This is lower than the previous figure reported.
"We regret anyone who loses their job, and it's extraordinarily difficult for me as a VA leader, and your secretary, to make these types of decisions. But the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people," he said in the video.
In this Feb. 21, 2002, file photo, the US Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters building is seen in Washington, D.C.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Collins said the VA will continue to hire for open "mission critical" positions while the agency downsizes in other areas, so that "health care and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted."
Collins also said the agency will save $900 million from nearly 600 canceled "non mission critical and duplicative" contracts. He and the VA previously claimed the agency would save close to $1.8 billion to $2 billion by canceling contracts.
"We owe American veterans and hundreds of thousands of amazing employees, solutions. And mark my words that is what we will deliver," he said.
