Trump admin live updates: Judge releases Venezuelan couple accused of being gang members, rips government evidence

Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Justice Department on Tuesday for a meeting with multiple top Trump administration officials as part of a task force to investigate claims that the Biden administration unfairly targeted Christians.

The meeting comes as new revelations swirl around Hegseth messaging potentially sensitive information in at least two Signal chats last month -- one of which was created by Hegseth himself and included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

Bondi has brushed off suggestions that the Justice Department would open any investigation into the Signal chat controversy, even as Hegseth indicated in an interview earlier Tuesday that DOJ could seek criminal charges against some of his former Defense Department aides dismissed last week for allegedly leaking information to the news media.

Aides to Bondi quickly ushered reporters out of the room opening remarks from her and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche before they could take any questions.

Bondi said the Justice Department was aggressively investigating events during the Biden administration that conservatives say showed "anti-Christian" bias by senior law enforcement officials. Among those are prosecutions brought against anti-abortion protesters convicted of obstructing patients' access to reproductive health care clinics, many of whom were pardoned in Trump's first days in office or had their cases dropped by the DOJ.

Another accusation from Bondi was that "the FBI spied on traditional Catholics in their parishes" -- a reference to an FBI memo leaked during the Biden administration that warned of possible threats posed by "radical traditionalist" Catholics that stemmed from a domestic terrorism investigation into a suspect in Henrico County, Virginia. An investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general Michael Horowitz later determined there was no "evidence of malicious intent" by officials who had compiled the memo.

Bondi also highlighted what she described as a recent success by the Trump administration in combatting violence targeting churches -- the conviction of an Arizona man who plotted to bomb Christian churches in the state. The man convicted in that case, Zimnako Salah, was arrested by federal authorities in 2024 during the Biden administration.

-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin

President Donald Trump will be departing Friday and returning Saturday for Pope Francis' funeral service at St. Peter's Basilica.

He will also be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 -16.

"The president looks to strengthen the ties between the United States and these countries in which he will be visiting. He'll be having many bilateral meetings and talks and we look forward to the trip," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.

During his first term, the president's first overseas trip was to Saudi Arabia

.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after it was revealed he had a second Signal group chat with family members where he discussed Yemen airstrikes.

"They were Pentagon employees who leaked against their boss, to news agencies in this room," Leavitt said. "And it's been clear since Day 1 from this administration that we are not going to tolerate individuals who leaked to the mainstream media, particularly when it comes to sensitive information."

"And the secretary of Defense is doing a tremendous job, and he is bringing the monumental change to the Pentagon. And there's a lot of people in this city who reject monumental change. And I think, frankly, that's why we've seen a smear campaign against the secretary of defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate."

Leavitt reiterated that Trump stands behind Hegseth. Trump defended his defense secretary on Monday, saying he still had confidence in him.

Rubio’s reorganization of the State Department would involve shuttering 132 agency offices and ultimately lead to the elimination of roughly 700 of the department’s D.C.-based civil and foreign service workforce positions, officials familiar with the proposal told ABC News.

Offices on the chopping block include those under the department’s Energy Resources and Conflict and Stabilization Operations wings, the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary, the Office of Global Criminal Justice, the Office of International Religious Freedoms, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Office of Global Women’s Issues, and the Office of Global Partnerships.

Additionally, the department’s Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability bureau will be merged with its International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau (and now branded Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Stability).

Plus, what was the department’s Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism bureau will see significant reductions and now be known just as the Counterterrorism bureau. Several special envoys and their offices are also expected to be eliminated.

A senior State Department official told ABC News that no layoffs are expected to happen immediately, and that department leaders will have 30 days to analyze and implement the plan.

The official also claimed that the elimination of roles within the department does not necessarily directly translate to the number of employees that will eventually be let go, and that many in eliminated offices will likely be moved to other areas.

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston