What to know today
- President Donald Trump announced during remarks at a business forum in Saudi Arabia that he was ordering an end to sanctions on Syria as the country seeks a new start after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government.
- The first major international trip of Trump's second term comes at a crucial moment for diplomacy, as U.S. officials work quickly to make trade deals following Trump's sweeping tariffs. The president's trip includes stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.
- Trump is facing scrutiny, including from some Republican senators, over his administration's plan to accept a luxury jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said this morning that he would put a hold on all DOJ nominees in response to concerns about the gift.
- A grand jury this afternoon indicted the Wisconsin judge accused of obstructing federal authorities who were seeking to detain an undocumented immigrant for deportation. The indictment means the case can move forward against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan.
This liveblog has ended — find the latest coverage here.
9/11 victims' families respond to Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia
A group representing family members of 9/11 victims issued a statement today on Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, saying the Gulf state needs to stop "denying their involvement with the terrorist attacks."
Terry Strada, whose husband died on Sept. 11, said the families will continue to speak out.
“We know the President is enthusiastic about Saudi economic investments in the United States, but the 9/11 families will not stay silent while the Saudis keep denying their involvement with the terrorist attacks that destroyed our families,” said Terry Strada, National Chair of 9/11 Families United.
“The President may want us to ‘move on,’ but there is no chance of that happening until the Saudis cease their decades-long lies about the role that their agents and institutions played in the murder of our loved ones,” Strada said.
Court unseals memo on IRS agreement with DHS to share address information
A federal judge tonight unsealed a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service on sharing addresses on taxpayers living in the U.S.
The document makes clear that the purpose for the information-sharing is to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to obtain addresses from the IRS of people under criminal investigation — as long as it’s unrelated to taxes — and who have final orders of removal from the U.S.
The document was unsealed by court order in a lawsuit where a federal judge yesterday denied an immigration advocate group’s attempt to prevent the IRS from sharing personal tax information with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement purposes. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not proved that any actual harm is imminent.
The memorandum of understanding says ICE will provide the IRS with the name and an address they may be aware of for the taxpayer, along with the taxable period as to which the address they are seeking relates. ICE also agrees to provide the IRS with the federal criminal statute for which the person is being investigated, and the date of the final order of removal of the person. ICE further says it will provide the specific reasons why this disclosure by the IRS may be relevant to its investigation.
The document says the IRS will receive requests for address information from ICE, review each request for validity, search for the last known address of each person and provide ICE with that information. The IRS says it will return to ICE any address requests not meeting the requirements necessary for disclosure, with an explanation as to why.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on April 7.
Pete Buttigieg hammers Trump at Iowa town hall amid 2028 presidential speculation
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took aim at the Trump administration in an Iowa town hall tonight and discussed the Democratic Party’s path forward — amid speculation about a potential Democratic presidential bid of his own in 2028.
Buttigieg opened his remarks at the event, hosted in Cedar Rapids by the progressive group VoteVets Action Fund, by saying that progressives, conservatives, and libertarians should be able to unite around the an understanding that freedom “means freedom from overbearing government.”
“At a moment when the president of the United States thinks he could send you to another country, or shut down the broadcast license of a TV station, if he doesn’t like what it has to say — that is not freedom,” Buttigieg said.
During a Q&A session with attendees, Buttigieg fielded questions on subjects including the Trump administration threatening to suspend habeas corpus, contending that lawmakers who have been silent figure they “have more to fear from the president of the United States than the people of the United States.”
Trump says he could negotiate directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade deal
Trump says he could potentially negotiate directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a U.S.-China trade deal.
“At any point, do you foresee yourself dealing directly with President Xi on the final details of this deal?” Sean Hannity asked Trump during a taped interview that aired tonight on Fox News.
“Yeah, I could see that. I mean, I’m not sure that it’ll be necessary, but that happened with the U.K.,” Trump responded.
NBC News senior political correspondent Steve Kornacki joins "Meet the Press NOW" to discuss the frontrunners in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race and Trump’s endorsement of former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.
Mike Johnson says House will take action against Democrats who were at ICE facility in New Jersey
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters tonight that the House will “have to take appropriate action” against the New Jersey Democrats who the Department of Homeland Security accuses of assaulting federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Newark.
Johnson said he doesn’t know what exactly the action will be, but there’s “talk” of censure.
“There are a number of discussions about that. I mean, I think there’s talk about censure. I think there needs to be an appropriate measure taken. To be very candid, I haven’t had a lot of time to process that," he said. "We’ll have to take appropriate action, but I don’t yet know what that will be.”
The Democratic lawmakers have disputed DHS' account of the events from Friday.
Can Democrats blame all their problems all on Biden?
Party leaders who long tiptoed around Joe Biden’s health and questions around his senility now seem to be settling on a new tack in explaining the 2024 loss to Trump: It’s all Biden’s fault.
At least that was the chief reason put forward by Kamala Harris’ campaign manager David Plouffe in explaining what led to the November loss.
According to the forthcoming book “Original Sin,” obtained today by NBC News, Plouffe called the efforts to defeat Trump on a truncated timeline a “f---ing nightmare.”
“And it’s all Biden. He totally f---ed us,” Plouffe told the book’s authors, according to the excerpt. “We got so screwed by Biden as a party.”
Speaker Mike Johnson says it's up to Trump whether to accept jet from Qatar as a gift
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the decision on whether to accept a plane from Qatar is up to Trump.
“I think the president would agree that we’ve got to do a careful check for security concerns, but beyond that, it’s his decision,” Johnson said as he walked through the Capitol.
“This is an official aircraft, intended for that purpose and will be used for that purpose,” Johnson argued. “It’s an effectively a gift to the United States, not to not to the president as an individual. That’s how I see it.”
Grand jury indicts Milwaukee judge accused of obstructing immigration agents
A federal grand jury today indicted Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested last month by the FBI on charges of obstructing federal authorities seeking to detain an undocumented immigrant.
The indictment will allow the case against Dugan to move forward.
Her arrest in April marked an intensification in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown by going after a judge, sparking backlash and protests.
Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney at June fundraiser: new book
It was June 2024 when then-President Joe Biden saw George Clooney at a Hollywood fundraiser co-hosted by the Academy Award winner and longtime acquaintance. But Biden didn’t recognize him, even when they were talking face to face, according to a new book.
The “Good Night and Good Luck” star was taken aback at how “diminished” the president seemed at the event, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson write in “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” NBC News on Tuesday obtained a copy of the book, which goes on sale next week.
“Biden hobbled out from around the corner. Clooney knew the president had just arrived from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy, that morning and might be tired, but hooooooooooly s---, he wasn’t expecting this,” the book says.
