April 23, 2025 – Donald Trump presidency news

Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order today that could make it harder to challenge discriminatory practices.

The order aims to eliminate use of disparate-impact liability, which allows legal challenges based on discriminatory effect, even if the practices were not motivated by an intent to discriminate.

Trump, in the order, argues that such claims have forced “businesses to consider race” and prevented them “from making hiring and other employment decisions based on merit and skill.”

“Disparate-impact liability imperils the effectiveness of civil rights laws by mandating, rather than proscribing, discrimination,” the executive order says.

The order also revoked past presidential approvals of regulations that apply disparate-impact liability under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and directs the federal government to deprioritize and review enforcement actions and regulations.

The order instructs the attorney general to work with agencies to identify and repeal or amend any such regulations and requires the investigation of ongoing lawsuits based on disparate-impact ideas.

The executive order could significantly change civil rights enforcement by reducing the government’s role in addressing statistical disparities in employment, housing, education and finance.

The National Women’s Law Center condemned the executive order, calling it an effort to “rewrite regulations that have protected the rights of all people for decades.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivers remarks at the Institute of International Finance Global Outlook Forum on sidelines of the IMF and World Bank’s 2025 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, DC,on Wednesday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko today and stressed that the two countries should sign an economic partnership “as soon as possible,” according to a Treasury Department readout of the meeting.

Bessent, according to the readout, also discussed the Ukraine-Russia war and “reaffirmed the United States’ support for Ukrainian sovereignty.”

The secretary also “emphasized the United States’ dedication to secure a lasting, durable peace for the people of both Ukraine and Russia.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen is seen meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in an image that Van Hollen shared via social media

The judge overseeing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has paused the expedited fact-finding process that had been underway for her to determine what the Trump administration has been doing to “facilitate” his return from El Salvador after he was mistakenly deported.

In a brief, two-sentence order issued tonight, US District Judge Paula Xinis said she was pausing the discovery process for a week at “the agreement of the parties.”

It’s unclear exactly why the judge is pumping the brakes on the discovery process.

The Trump administration, in a sealed court filing, asked the judge earlier today to pause the process for one week, as well as another order from her that required the government to provide daily updates on what it was doing to execute her order that it work to secure Abrego Garcia’s return.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys submitted a sealed response opposing that request later today. But the judge’s terse order tonight suggests that his lawyers later consented to the request.

Xinis’ order comes a day after she excoriated the Trump administration for not acting in “good faith” so far during the discovery process, accusing the Justice Department of intentional noncompliance with their obligation to produce information in the matter.

As part of that ruling, she also directed the department to submit by this evening more “specific legal and factual bases” for why the government was invoking various privileges in order to avoid providing some written discovery Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have been seeking and respond to some outstanding discovery requests.

President Donald Trump is planning to travel to Macomb County, Michigan, on April 29 for a rally marking the first 100 days of his second term, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media tonight.

The trip will mark the president’s first visit to Michigan since winning the battleground state in November.

NBC’s Lester Holt interviews Harvard President Alan Garber told on Nightly News on Wednesday.

Harvard University had no choice but to sue the Trump administration and fight back against recent demands that the university give the federal government access to all university reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias made since October 2023, Harvard President Alan Garber told NBC’s Lester Holt.

The Ivy League university sued the Trump administration on Monday, ramping up an ongoing clash that could result in a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze at the school amid a broader push by the White House to bring elite US colleges in line with its political ideology.

When asked if Harvard can win the fight against the federal government, Garber told NBC today, “I don’t know the answer to this question, but the stakes are so high that we have no choice.”

“What we do know is that we cannot compromise on basic principles like defense of our First Amendment rights,” he said.

Gerber said the Trump administration’s recent actions are an overreach of the government’s role in university operations, noting that antisemitism — while a real problem — has nothing to do with university research.

Who Harvard hires — and why — is something the government would like to know, Garber said. That kind of regulation could have implications on what political and social views can be expressed on Harvard’s campus and campuses across the country, he said.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that there are direct talks between the US and China “every day” as the two countries negotiate on trade.

“Yeah, of course, every day,” the president said when asked about direct contact between the US and China.

As a tit-for-tat trade war escalated dramatically over the past couple months, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to at least 145%, alarming Wall Street and economists alike. Many major banks predicted the massive tariffs — as well as China’s major retaliatory tariffs on US goods — would plunge the US and global economies into a recession.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday at a private investment conference hosted by JP Morgan Chase acknowledged that the trade war with China is unsustainable and he expects the battle to de-escalate in the very near future, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN. He said the tariffs are effectively embargoes on each nation, preventing business from taking place.

Trump echoed that sentiment in an Oval Office executive action signing ceremony Wednesday.

“It’s 145%. That’s very high,” Trump said. “But I haven’t brought it down. It basically means China is not doing any business with us, essentially, because it’s a very high number.”

Although he has said the significant tariffs would come down soon, Bessent predicted they wouldn’t be eliminated — a notion Trump echoed.

Stocks surged after Bessent’s remarks Tuesday and continued to rise Wednesday.

Trump also called trade with China “very one-sided” but said he gets “along very well with President Xi.”

“I have to hope we can make a deal, otherwise we’ll set a price,” he added.

President Donald Trump told reporters today that it’s “demeaning” and “degrading” to the Indian population to “erase” a Native American name from sports teams and logos.

“I think it’s degrading to the Indian population, and it’s a great population, and they like when they’re, you know, called by various names,” Trump said when asked about the Washington football team changing its name to the Washington Commanders from the previous Washington Redskins.

“I can tell you that I spoke to people of Indian heritage that love that name,” Trump said, referring to the Washington team. “I think it’s a superior name to what they have right now.”

The president also mentioned other teams who have a history of controversy due to Native American-themed names. Earlier this week, Trump directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to help a Long Island school fight a court order that says it must give up the name Massapequa Chiefs.

“I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School. Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday afternoon.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday that the administration has “a couple of people” traveling to Rome over the weekend to attend the funeral services of Pope Francis.

“We have a couple of people coming — we will announce it probably this evening or tomorrow,” Trump said. “The First Lady’s going, and some people are coming with me from staff, but we’ll have a number of people going.”

The comments could signal that Trump does not plan to bring past presidents to the funeral in Rome. In 2005, then-president George W. Bush invited former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush to join him for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

The president also declined to say if he’d meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — who’ll be on hand for the funeral — telling reporters, “I don’t know — I don’t know that he’s going to the funeral or not.”

Trump first announced his plans to attend the funeral in a post to his Truth Social platform Monday, writing: “Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!”

The president, who had sparred with the pope from afar on issues like immigration and the environment, also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the pontiff’s death.

President Donald Trump declined to say if a proposed ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine would include a provision forcing Kyiv to recognize Moscow’s ownership of Crimea, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “I just want to see the war end.”

The president’s comments come on the heels of a meeting today with the Ukrainians in London, led by Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg. Asked how the London talks went, Trump told reporters, “I think they went well.”

He added: “We’ve got to get two people, two strong people, two smart people, to agree. And soon as they agree, the killing will stop,” apparently referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And Trump lamented the high financial toll of the war in Ukraine, repeating again that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, “should never have let that war happen.”

Some context: A US proposal that has caused deadlock in peace negotiations includes recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow, an official familiar with the framework told CNN. It would also put a ceasefire in place along the front lines of the war, the official said. Any move to recognize Russia’s control of Crimea would reverse a decade of US policy.

President Donald Trump said Elon Musk’s announcement that he’s preparing to step away from the White House and go back to Tesla was expected to happen around this time in his second term.

During remarks in the Oval Office today after signing executive orders, the president praised Musk’s businesses, including Tesla and Starlink.

Musk told investors last night, after a report showed a major drop in earnings for Tesla, that he would step back from his role running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) next month, spending only one or two days a week there. He said he would spend the freed up time running Tesla.

The White House has said he is a “special government employee,” which means he is only supposed to work for the US government for 130 days in a 365-day period.

“He’s just an incredible person, and he’s a friend of mine. And he’s a nice person, too. He’s a very nice person. He really helped the country, saved us a lot of money,” Trump said.

Chrysler Minivans that were assembled at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant sit in a storage lot nearby in Windsor, Ontario, on April 3. Stellantis said April 3 it was pausing production at some plants in Canada and Mexico.

President Donald Trump said there is a potential that auto tariffs in Canada could increase “at some point.”

President Donald Trump looks on, as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump suggested today that he will meet with Russia President Vladimir Putin shortly after his trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next month.

Saudi Arabia has hosted talks between Russia and Ukraine as the two nations discuss a potential ceasefire.

The Middle East swing, planned for May 13 to 16, will mark the second foreign trip of Trump’s second term, following his planned visit to Rome this weekend for the pope’s funeral.

CNN’s Donald Judd contributed to this report

President Donald Trump speaks next to wounded veterans before signing executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump signed several executive orders this afternoon aimed at restructuring and reconfiguring the Education Department the week after his administration announced a sweeping $2.2 billion funding freeze on Harvard University, setting up a major clash over academic freedom, federal funding and campus oversight.

Here’s a breakdown of the executive orders signed:

CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump today signed an executive order to ensure schools train students in the use of artificial intelligence.

“That’s a big deal,” Trump said while signing the order. “We have literally trillions of dollars being invested in AI,” he added.

The executive order ensures that institutions properly train children and young Americans in AI tools so that they can be competitive in the economy as AI becomes more dominant, White House staff secretary Will Scharf said ahead of the signing ceremony.

“Somebody today, very smart person, said that AI is the way to the future. I don’t know if that’s right or not, but certainly, very smart people are investing in it,” Trump said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “emotions have run high today” after talks on the ongoing war in his country were held in London.

Representatives from Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States met for the talks. Negotiations have stuttered recently, causing the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to warn the US could “move on” if progress is not made towards ending the war.

In what seemed to be an indirect response to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of Zelensky being unwilling to recognize Russian control of Crimea, Zelensky vowed Ukraine would abide by its constitution. He also shared a screenshot of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 2018 Crimea Declaration which rejected Russia’s occupation of the peninsula.

“Ukraine will always act in accordance with its Constitution and we are absolutely sure that our partners — in particular the USA — will act in line with its strong decisions,” he said.

UK response: A spokesperson from the United Kingdom’s foreign office said the talks were “productive and successful and significant progress was made on reaching a common position on next steps,” according to a statement.

President Donald Trump is set to take aim at the college accreditation process with a new executive order today, a White House official said, his latest move to exact control over America’s higher education institutions.

The order, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, targets the federal government’s process for deciding what colleges and universities can access billions of dollars in federal student loans and Pell Grants — a significant source of indirect revenue for many of those institutions.

What it does:

The action was spearheaded by Trump’s Domestic Policy Council as part of ongoing efforts by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and others to advance the president’s agenda on higher education, according to the official.

It comes a week after the Trump administration announced a sweeping $2.2 billion funding freeze on Harvard University, setting up a major clash over academic freedom, federal funding and campus oversight.

Education Sec. Linda McMahon will be present in the Oval Office for the 5 p.m. bill signing, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Jiakun, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, answers questions from journalists during the daily press conference on January 21, in Peking, China.

As President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have struck a more optimistic tone on hashing out a trade deal with China in recent days, a Chinese government spokesperson suggested the American approach needs to change.

“Our doors are open, if the US wants to talk. If a negotiated solution is truly what the U.S. wants, it should stop threatening and blackmailing China and seek dialogue based on equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters today, according to a transcript posted online by the Chinese government.

Yesterday, Trump said US tariffs on Chinese goods “will come down substantially but it won’t be zero.” He added, “we’re going to be very nice” with China.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt talks to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk shouted at each other in the West Wing last week, responding to a question about the alleged incident by pointing to a “healthy debate process” among President Donald Trump’s advisers.

Bessent and Musk shouted expletives at each other within earshot of fellow staffers, according to a person familiar with what transpired. The blowup was sparked over leadership questions at the Internal Revenue Service, according to Axios, which first reported the incident.

Trump had initially named Gary Shapley acting commissioner of the IRS, with the support of Musk. But Bessent’s office had reservations, and the Treasury chief was out of the country when Trump appointed Shapley.

Days later, after Bessent intervened, the White House said Shapley would no longer serve in the role. Instead, Michael Faulkender, the deputy secretary of the Treasury, would be taking on the position.

Steve Witkoff attends an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 18.

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, is expected to meet with Russian President Vladmir Putin in Russia on Friday as the administration continues efforts to end the Ukraine war, a US official said.

Witkoff’s meetings come on the heels of a meeting with the Ukrainians in London, which was led by Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg. Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided not to attend.

More on the London talks: The Trump administration did not feel that they were at a decisive point in the ongoing talks with Ukraine which led to Rubio canceling his participation today, according to a separate US official and two European diplomats familiar with the matter.

Given the expectation that the US, Ukranians and Russians were not on the verge of agreeing to a framework to drive an end to the conflict, Rubio did not feel it was a productive use of his time to engage in the talks, the sources said.

Asked about Kellogg leading the delegation to London by himself and Witkoff being expected to go to Russia later this week, a US official said: “the Russians are the ones we need to move.”

Despite no apparent imminent deal, US officials see this as decision time for Ukraine and Russia, with negotiators trying to get them on the same page if a deal is going to be made.