Trump administration live updates: Border czar says ‘I don’t care what judges think’ as Venezuelan deportations may have violated court order

Donald Trump’s first eight weeks back in the White House have been a whirlwind but the president has still found time for one of his passions: interior decoration.

Not content with firing out executive orders, raising and lowering tariffs and unnerving the stock markets and America’s allies alike, the president has been busy redesigning the Oval Office, ensuring its furnishings, fixtures and ornaments are more in-keeping with his personal taste.

And for Trump, that means gold. And plenty of it.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

President Donald Trump has arrived at Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a board meeting, after ousting its leadership, taking over as chair, and seeking to put his stamp on the renowned arts institution.

“We have to straighten it out,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after spending the weekend in Florida, referring to an arts organization that has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades.

Last month Trump became chair of the Kennedy Center and fired its longtime president, Deborah Rutter. He installed his former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, as interim president.

Among a flurry of early morning Truth Social posts early on Monday, the president shared a screenshot of a meme posted by a supporter on X, which they captioned “Kings!” It included a lion sporting a tuxedo and a crown overlaid with the acronym “MAGA” on its chest.

The post also teased the Republicans and Democrats with the big cat nestled between an elephant labeled with “GOP” and, furthest in the background, a donkey staring down at the sand branded “DNC.”

Trump offered no caption nor further context about the AI-generated image.

James Liddell has the story.

President Donald Trump will discuss a “power plant” bordering Ukraine and Russia in his call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the White House said on Monday.

The White House gave no details but may have been referring to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia facility in Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of risking an accident at the plant with their actions.

Fox News host Trey Gowdy criticized Republicans on Monday for railing against a federal judge who issued a court order blocking the Trump administration from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century law, noting that conservatives had previously praised this same judge.

“So you can’t pick and choose what day you like a judge and what day you don’t!” Gowdy declared during a Fox News appearance.

Brown Medicine’s Dr. Rasha Alawieh will remain in Lebanon, for now, while a federal judge hears arguments to determine whether Donald Trump’s administration intentionally defied a court order to halt her deportation.

District Judge Leo Sorokin ordered officials with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to court in Boston Monday to explain why the Ivy League doctor was deported last week, apparently in defiance of his court order.

Rhian Lubin and Alex Woodward report.