White House says some employees were fired by mistake
After taking the recent buyout offer, some employees were fired, a source said.
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."
Latest headlines:
- Some employees who accepted buyout offer were fired by mistake: White House
- Trump asks SCOTUS for permission to fire ethics watchdog
- DOE official warns all schools to end 'discriminatory' DEI policies
- 13 soon to be immigration judges, 2 current judges fired by Trump admin, union says
- US floats proposal to own 50% of revenue of Ukraine's rare earth minerals
Trump administration begins mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies: Sources
The Trump administration has begun mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies, a move that is expected to affect thousands of employees across the government, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News on Thursday.
The firings initially affected probationary employees, recent hires who joined the federal workforce within the last one to two years, depending on the agency, who have fewer protections.
Among the agencies experiencing layoffs are the Department of Education, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Office of Personnel Management, the Environmental Protective Agency, the General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration.
Additional agencies were directed to begin their layoffs Thursday, sources said. At some agencies, workers received written notice via email that they had been let go.
At OPM, workers joined a call with a prerecorded message from the acting director notifying them of their firing, according to someone familiar with the call. There were about 200 probationary workers on that call, the sources said.
Prior to the layoffs, agencies had been directed by OPM to compile lists of probationary employees at their agencies, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
-ABC News' Will Steakin, Ben Siegel and Katherine Faulders
Trump speaks with Indian PM Narendra Modi in Oval Office
Trump is hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office.
Trump said they'd be talking about trade, including the possibility of India buying more American oil and gas.
"We've had a wonderful relationship, and we kept the relationship during the four year period," Trump said.
Modi has been prime minister of India since 2014. Reflecting on Trump's first term, Modi said, "We will continue to advance the India-U.S. strategic partnership with the same aplomb, with the same trust and with the same excitement."
Trump EO banning transgender care for youth blocked by judge: ACLU
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19, according to the civil liberties groups behind the legal challenge to the order.
Read more here.
-ABC News' Kiara Alfonseca
Alexander Vinnik back in Moscow
Alexander Vinnik is now back in Moscow as part of an exchange for American teacher Marc Fogel.
Fogel arrived back in the U.S. on Tuesday after being held in Russia for three-and-a-half years on drug charges.
Vinnik was the owner and operator of one of the world's largest currency exchanges, and was allegedly instrumental in facilitating the transfer of billions of dollars for criminals across the globe, supporting drug trafficking rings, ransomware attacks and the corruption of public officials.
-ABC News' William Gretsky