Trump admin updates: Trump says Venezuelan airspace should be 'closed in its entirety'

Trump gave no further details on potential action.

President Donald Trump, who is set to spend the weekend in Mar-a-Lago, this week addressed the Wednesday shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, the administration continues to conduct negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to Russia and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to talk to the Ukrainians.


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White House mum on Trump’s health care plan, Obamacare extensions

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about reports that Trump is delaying the rollout of his health care policy plan, which would also extend the ACA subsidies, after congressional Republicans pushed back against the effort.

According to reports about the plan before the announcement was pushed back, it would have included a two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies, which are due to expire at the end of next month, similar to what Democrats wanted and what led them to shut down the government.

“I will tell you that health care is a topic of discussion that's happening very frequently and robustly inside the West Wing. Right now, the president is very much involved in these talks, and he's very focused on unveiling a health care proposal that will fix the system and will bring down costs for consumers,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt would not reveal any details of the discussions around health care.

“As for the details of those discussions, I'll let the president speak for himself. As you all know, sometimes you report things and then President Trump comes out with an announcement, and those things are not always true, from what you hear from sources inside the building, so I'll let the president speak for himself.”

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie


Bondi says DOJ will appeal Comey and James dismissals

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday the Justice Department will appeal the dismissal of charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“We'll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct,” Bondi said. “I'm not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime. His alleged actions were a betrayal of public trust."

Bondi offered a full-throated defense of acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, whose appointment was the grounds for dismissal, saying she is an excellent U.S. attorney and is confident DOJ will win the case on appeal.

“We have made Lindsay Halligan a special U.S. attorney so she is in court. She can fight in court just like she was and we believe we will be successful on appeal,” Bondi said.

"And I tell you, Lindsey Halligan, I talked to all of our U.S. attorneys, the majority of them around the country, and Lindsey Halligan is an excellent U.S. attorney, and shame on them for not wanting her in office."

-ABC News’ Luke Barr


Leavitt says White House ‘optimistic’ about Ukraine talks

Following Sunday’s meeting in Geneva between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that the White House is optimistic about what took place.

“I spoke with Secretary Rubio at length. I spoke with the president as well. Everybody inside feels optimistic about what happened in, transpired yesterday in Geneva,” Leavitt said.

“And ultimately, the vast majority of these points have been agreed upon. The Ukrainians have worked on language with us together, and you heard that from their delegation directly yesterday. So we feel as though we're in a very good place,” she said.

Asked whether Trump’s self-imposed Thursday deadline for a deal between Russia and Ukraine still stands, Leavitt said that the president wants to see a deal come together as quickly as possible.

Following Trump’s call today with Chinese President Xi, Leavitt was asked whether Trump is seeking Xi's help to put pressure on Putin. Leavitt reiterated the readout Trump provided of the call on his social media platform, where he said the call centered around the framework deal that was agreed upon during his visit to Asia in October.

Asked how flexible Trump is willing to be regarding the peace plan, Leavitt said Trump has been flexible and reiterated his desire to see a deal come together to end the war.

Leavitt also pushed back against those who said the White House is favoring one side over the other.

“The idea that the United States of America is not engaging with both sides equally in this war to bring it to an end is a complete and total fallacy,” she said.

Leavitt told reporters that there are currently no plans for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Washington, D.C.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie


White House supports the investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the White House’s support for the Defense Department investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly following a group of Democratic Senators urging military members not to follow “illegal orders.”

"The White House is supportive of the Department of War's investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly. And I think what Sen. Mark Kelly was actually trying to do was intimidate the 1.3 million active duty service members who are currently serving in our United States Armed Forces with that video that he and his Democrat colleagues put out," Leavitt said at a gaggle on Monday afternoon.


"Sen. Mark Kelly well knows the rules of the military and the respect that one must have for the chain of command," she continued. "And that all orders, lawful orders, are presumed to be legal by our service members. You can't have a functioning military if there is disorder and chaos within the ranks. And that's what these Democrat members were encouraging."

Democrats have defended their message to troops that they can refuse illegal orders, and Kelly on Monday said he won't be intimidated by the push back from the administration.

"I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution," Kelly said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie