Trump 2nd term live updates: Trump defends tariffs, declines to comment on Ukraine aid

A federal judge denied a request on Thursday from USAID contractors to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the mass termination of their contracts.

The Personal Service Contractor Association, an advocacy group for U.S. personal services contractors employed by USAID, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last month after the secretary of state issued a stop-work order for all foreign assistance and contracts.

The contractors alleged the stop-work order prevented the association's members from carrying out work for "which their positions were created and exist by law and from overseeing often lifesaving humanitarian relief."

According to the complaint, the contractors were "irreparably injured" because they say the stop-work order cut "essential communication and network access, endangering their personal safety and security" and water and electricity for their homes overseas due to the funding freeze.

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick suggested Thursday that President Trump could decide Thursday if all USMCA-compliant products would be exempt from tariffs placed on Canada and Mexico for one month.

Lutnick told CNBC this comes in recognition of Canada and Mexico for their work on dealing with fentanyl, and said he and Trump are speaking to their Mexican counterparts later Thursday.

"So we think this ... likely outcome, will be sort of in the middle, so USMCA-compliant goods and services will be excluded," he said later clarifying the reprieve is just for one month.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez, Molly Nagle and Oren Oppenheim

A federal judge issued a nationwide injunction on Thursday blocking the Trump administration from freezing federal funding without going through Congress, offering a scathing critique of what he said was the White House's attempt to disrupt the separation of powers.

When President Donald Trump attempted to unilaterally freeze billions in federal funding to states, local governments, and nonprofits during his first week in office, the president unlawfully attempted to undermine the balance of power that has defined American governance, U.S. District Judge John McConnell said.

"The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance—but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the Executive put itself above Congress," he wrote

The order prohibits the Trump administration from "reissuing, adopting, implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name" a short-lived directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget that froze billions in funds.

McConnell, an Obama appointee, noted that his order is "not limiting the Executive's discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds" but rather reiterating the limit of Trump's power.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

With more than 100 federal lawsuits filed since the inauguration, President Donald Trump and his administration have effectively been sued three times for every business day he has occupied the Oval Office.

Approximately 30 of the 100 lawsuits relate to Trump's immigration policies, while more than 20 of the cases directly challenge the actions of Musk's DOGE.

With Trump signing more than 75 executive orders since taking office, the unprecedented flood of litigation has yielded mixed results in blocking the president's unilateral efforts to reshape the federal government.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous