Congress last week overwhelmingly approved a measure to force the Department of Justice to release all files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump signed the legislation on Wednesday night, starting the clock on the 30 days the DOJ has to release the documents.
Trump says he doesn’t want to extend ACA subsidies but that it 'may be necessary'
Asked whether he’s looking to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, President Donald Trump said he would rather not, but added that an extension might be necessary.
“Somebody said I wanted to extend it for two years," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday. "I don't want to extend it for two years. I'd rather not extend them at all. Some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done, because the 'unaffordable care act' has been a disaster. It's a disaster, and I said it was when it first got put in."
The issue of extending ACA health care was at the heart of the dispute between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill during the 43-day government shutdown.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Nov 25, 3:01 PM
Trump sending Witkoff to meet with Putin 'in hopes of finalizing' peace plan
In a social media post on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said there are "only a few remaining points of disagreement" when it comes to the peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, adding that in the hopes of finalizing the plan, he has directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and that Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll meet with the Ukrainians.
"The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement," Trump wrote on Tuesday.
"In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians," Trump continued.
Trump does not say in his post when the meetings with Russia and Ukraine will take place.
Trump, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, will be briefed on the progress that has been made. Trump also said he hopes to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but only when a deal to end the war is finalized.
"I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages," Trump said.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Nov 25, 1:42 PM
Trump says Ukraine peace deal is 'close'
In the Rose Garden on Tuesday, President Donald Trump hinted that a possible Ukraine peace deal is on the horizon, but offered no timeline or concrete details.
"I think we're getting very close to a deal. We'll find out. I thought that one would have been done quicker," Trump said during his speech ahead of the Thanksgiving turkey pardon tradition.
"We did eight. I thought that would have been an easier one, but I think we're making progress," Trump added.
Trumps remarks come after a U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday that a Ukrainian delegation has agreed with the United States on the terms of a potential peace deal.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Nov 25, 1:34 PM
Vance to visit Fort Campbell to celebrate Thanksgiving with troops
Vice President JD Vance will travel to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to celebrate with service members ahead of Thanksgiving and will give remarks.
Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the 5th Special Forces Group and other Army units, the White House said in a press release.
President Donald Trump is expected to spend Thanksgiving in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Nov 25, 12:33 PM
Trump talks immigration, crime before pardoning turkey
Before pardoning a turkey at the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump spoke about immigration, sending the National Guard to Memphis and the Russia-Ukraine war.
During his remarks, Trump also called Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson "incompetent" and said that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker should "invite us in" and "make Chicago safe."
Top officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, were also in attendance for the turkey pardoning.
Nov 25, 11:35 AM
White House says US has made progress with Russia and Ukraine during peace talks
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted in a statement on Tuesday that a few "delicate, but not insurmountable" details need to be sorted out between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. ahead of a finalized peace deal.
She said in her post on X that over the past week, however, "the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table."
No meeting has been scheduled between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump, a White House official told ABC News.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Nov 24, 8:06 PM
Trump takes step toward designating Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organization
Trump signed an executive order on Monday that took a step toward designating parts of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations.
Although the order does not take any immediate actions, it does direct the Trump administration to consider whether to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan or elsewhere as foreign terrorist organizations.
The order gives Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 30 days to submit a report and 45 days after that to "take all appropriate action."
The order claims that the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan has “long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas.”
In 2019, Trump looked to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization following a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who urged the president to label the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Nov 24, 6:22 PM
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
Nov 24, 5:55 PM
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
Nov 24, 5:41 PM
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.
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