What to know today
- Former President Joe Biden gave his first major speech since he left office in January and criticized President Donald Trump's approach to Social Security.
- A federal judge held a hearing this afternoon on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man the Justice Department said the United States mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The judge told the government's lawyer that the Trump administration has done "nothing" to help bring back Abrego Garcia, despite court orders to do just that.
- Trump signed more executive orders this afternoon, including one designed to lower drug prices.
- Members of Congress are back home in their districts for a two-week recess, and they are holding town halls. Many Republican lawmakers are avoiding in-person events with constituents, though Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene held one tonight that resulted in multiple arrests and two demonstrators getting tased.
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Police stun 2 demonstrators at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s town hall
Several audience members were escorted out of a town hall tonight in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Georgia district, with police stunning two attendees.
Video from the event shows a man being wrestled to the ground as he is escorted out of the event by a group of officers before an officer deployed a stun device as the man rose to his feet. Some members of the crowd can be heard cheering.
Greene had warned the audience against protesting during remarks shortly after an audience member interrupted her at the beginning of the event at a community center in Acworth.
“This is a town hall; this is not a political rally. This is not a protest. If you end up in wanting to protest, if you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed, just like that man was thrown out. We will not tolerate it,” Greene said.
Abrego Garcia's attorney says Trump administration 'can't hide the ball anymore'
The attorney who represented Kilmar Abrego Garcia today in court told MSNBC tonight that the Trump administration “can’t hide the ball” anymore, adding that she is perplexed by the administration’s lack of answer.
“I think when confronted with very specific questions where they can’t just file a report saying we’re not required to say anything will hopefully return results,” the attorney, Rina Gandhi, told Rachel Maddow about the judge’s order, in which depositions and documents requests are now in play.
“They can’t hide the ball here anymore, you know, and this, this hearing today really helped us move forward, move towards bringing Mr. Abrego Garcia back home,” Gandhi added.
Gandhi argued that the Trump administration lacked answers about Abrego Garcia because it does not plan to do anything about bringing him back.
“There’s no reason, no argument for why they can’t at least show what they have done and what they plan to do,” she said.
Iowa farmer says he's concerned about tariffs but optimistic farmers will 'adapt'
Fifth-generation Iowa farmer Jarad Weber spoke with NBC News this afternoon at his 2,500-acre farm in Lees County, where he expressed concerns about the effects Chinese tariffs will have on his business but overall was optimistic that his soybean, corn and beef farm and others in the region will survive.
“I’m concerned about the tariffs, the current tariffs that are proposed or taking place,” Weber said. "I don’t think we know enough yet to know how they’re truly going to affect us."
Still, Weber was confident that Midwestern farmers like him will ultimately “adapt” to any damage the tariffs may cause, noting that several factors, such as weather-related disasters, could upend a year of business the same way tariffs could.
“This is 120-year farm, and this administration, what they do, is not going to make or break this farm,” Weber said. “It may be tough. There may be some bumps. There may be some years where we don’t make any money. So we will adapt to whatever hand is dealt and move on from there.”
Weber also said he thinks it’s too early to measure the true impact of the 135% Chinese tariffs on American goods on his business and neighboring farms. Soybean planting will begin over the next few weeks, and China consumes more than half of all soybeans exported from the United States.
During the previous Trump administration, $28 billion in aid was given to bail out farmers amid Trump's trade dispute with China. But Weber said he and other farmers don’t want to make their living off government subsidies — they just want to sell their products.
“I want to drive a tractor, raise corn, raise beans without government, you know, without the government putting their fingers on it,” Weber said. “The last thing we want to do as farmers is take our money from a government subsidy or government program.”
Weber, a Republican who voted for Trump last year, wasn’t sure whether he would like the tariffs to be reversed, but he was frustrated with lawmakers' lack of understanding in Washington about farms in general.
“What we do is very rewarding, and it is nice to be a farmer in the middle of the country. And we love doing what we do. But with being a global economy, what happens in Washington, D.C., affects us greatly here, and I feel like sometimes we don’t have a lot of say in what does happen in Washington, D.C. Even though I get my vote, it just seems like we don’t have a lot of leverage,” he said.
Two Hegseth aides escorted out of Pentagon amid leak investigation
Defense Department Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick was suspended and escorted out of the Pentagon today in connection with an investigation into the leaking of sensitive military information, according to two defense officials and a former defense official.
The investigation, announced weeks ago by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, is ongoing, two defense officials said.
Reached for comment, a senior defense official said, “We don’t have anything further to offer at this time.”
A source familiar with the matter said more people may be implicated as interviews continue, with some being questioned as witnesses and others as potential subjects. The source said it is not a targeted investigation.
Politico was first to report on the two Hegseth aides.
Housing agency refers N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James to the DOJ for investigation over alleged mortgage fraud
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said today that it is referring New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Justice Department to be investigated over allegations of mortgage fraud.
The agency is led by Bill Pulte, a former private equity executive who frequently praises Trump on X.
A spokesperson for James said she will not be “intimidated by bullies.”
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimated by bullies — no matter who they are,” the spokesperson said in a statement tonight.
James, a Democrat, has previously been in charge of adjudicating legal issues related to Trump. After Trump's election win in November, she rejected his request to drop a $486 million civil fraud judgment against him.
Trump has repeatedly called for jailing his perceived political opponents, including during a speech at the Justice Department last month.
Biden goes after Trump on Social Security in his first public post-presidency speech
Former President Joe Biden used his first public remarks since he left office in January to rebuke the Trump administration’s approach to Social Security, saying its cuts were already putting the institution in peril for millions of deserving Americans.
In roughly a half-hour of remarks today before disability advocates, Biden — often speaking in a subdued, hushed tone — did not mention Trump by name, referring to him instead as “this guy,” and held back from robust criticism of the administration.
Biden more broadly took aim at Trump’s tenure so far, saying that in “fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much ... damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking.”
“We can’t go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are. Like I said, I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s never been this divided,” Biden said. “Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart.”
Pentagon suspects Hegseth aide may not have acted alone in alleged leak of top secret documents
The Pentagon suspects that Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who was placed on administrative leave over an alleged disclosure of top secret documents to the media, may not have acted alone, a senior administration official told NBC News today.
The official noted that Caldwell’s alleged involvement was not identified through a polygraph test, which would not be admissible in court. Caldwell was informed of the findings this morning.
The Defense Department is expected to refer the case to the Justice Department for further action, the official said.
In a memo announcing the probe, Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, wrote that “information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure” would be referred for criminal prosecution.
Former Texas GOP congresswoman hospitalized on day she announces a comeback bid
Mayra Flores, the former Texas congresswoman who served one year in the House in 2022 after winning a special election, has been hospitalized, according to a message from her campaign that came hours after Flores announced another bid for Congress.
Flores had just launched her bid against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, in a different district than the one she represented in Congress. Cuellar was indicted last year but won re-election months later.
While her campaign has posted no additional update or information since the initial statement confirming Flores' hospitalization, the Texas Tribune reports that Flores' sister said she's been discharged.
Biden describes 'damage' of Trump's first 100 days in Social Security speech
Biden today delivered his first major public remarks since he left office at an event about efforts to preserve Social Security.
"Many of these beneficiaries, it’s their only income. If it were cut or taken away, it would be devastating, devastating for millions of people. And the psychological pressure we put people under by having this debate, it’s absolutely devastating," Biden said at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled conference in Chicago.
“Look what’s happened now, fewer than 100 days this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” he added.
Biden spoke for a little less than 30 minutes and did not directly name Trump, but he criticized Trump's tax cuts for the super wealthy during his first term.
Trump announces a ‘self-deportation’ program that would provide a stipend and a ticket to leave the U.S.
Trump said in an interview today that his administration is creating a “self-deportation” program.
Under the program, the United States would provide a stipend and a plane ticket to leave the country, Trump said in an interview on Fox Noticias.
He went on to say the government would work with immigrants to come back to the United States “if they’re good.”
Administration officials have been urging immigrants to self-deport, and the Department of Homeland Security has launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
