Trump administration live updates: Supreme Court strikes down Colorado's ban on conversion therapy
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A judge in Washington temporarily blocked efforts that are already underway to demolish the East Wing of the White House for Trump's ballroom.
What to know today
- CONVERSION THERAPY REVERSAL: The Supreme Court ruled a Colorado ban on so-called conversion therapy aimed at youths struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity violates the free speech of a conservative Christian therapist.
- TRUMP BALLROOM HALTED: A federal judge this afternoon temporarily blocked further demolition of the White House's East Wing, where President Donald Trump plans to build a $400 million ballroom.
- FBI CEASE AND DESIST: Rep. Eric Swalwell is asking the FBI not to release files related to the California Democrat’s previous association with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative named Christine Fang.
- CHARLES STATE VISIT: King Charles will visit the United States next month to mark 250 years of American independence, Buckingham Palace announced.
Judge's affinity for exclamation points was on full display in ballroom ruling
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon — well known among legal journalists for his frequent use of exclamation points — dotted today's ruling in the White House ballroom case with 18 uses of the punctuation mark.
That surpassed the 14 exclamation points that appeared in his opinion last month that found the Trump administration had “trampled” on Sen. Mark Kelly’s First Amendment rights when the Pentagon targeted the Arizona Democrat over a social media video.
But today's tally fell short of the 26 exclamation points Leon used in his May opinion blocking Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale.
Here are some examples of today's usage:
- “He is not, however, the owner!”
- “This clearly is not how Congress and former Presidents have managed the White House for centuries, and this Court will not be the first to hold that Congress has ceded its powers in such a significant fashion!”
- “A brazen interpretation, indeed!”
- “Please!”
- “How grand!”
- “Without question, Congress has not specifically authorized the ballroom construction!”
- “Please!”
- “Congress means what it says!”
- “Please!”
- “...the Constitution itself vests authority over federal property, including the White House, in Congress!”
- “After all, the White House does not belong to any one man — not even a president!”
- “Please!”
- “...the existence of a ‘large hole’ beside the White House is, of course, a problem of the President’s own making!”
- “Unfortunately for Defendants, unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!”
- “Not a bad outcome, that!”
Federal judge temporarily blocks further demolition of the White House for Trump’s ballroom
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued an order temporarily blocking the further demolition of the East Wing of the White House and the construction of Trump’s expansive new ballroom.
“I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,” U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush, wrote.
The ruling blocks the administration “from taking any action in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the former site of the East Wing of the White House, including but not limited to any further demolition, site preparation work, landscape alteration, excavation, foundation work, or other construction or related work, other than actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.”
Leon paused his order from taking effect for 14 days to allow time for appeal.
Trump says he's working on fixing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall
Trump said in a post on Truth Social this afternoon that he's working on "fixing" the reflecting pool that's located in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
"Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I are working on fixing the absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. This work was supposed to be done by the Biden Administration, but Sleepy Joe doesn’t know what “CLEAN” or proper maintenance is — The President and Secretary do!" he wrote.
Trump made similar comments about fixing the reflecting pool in November.
It's not clear what Trump was referring to when he accused the Biden administration of not following through on fixes or maintenance. Asked for further details about Trump's remarks on his predecessor, the White House responded with a Truth Social post from the president's November comments.
Judge rules Trump executive order on NPR, PBS unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled today that Trump’s executive order on funding for NPR and PBS is unconstitutional.
The case, however, is complicated, since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now defunct and the CPB helped fund NPR, PBS and many local radio and TV stations.
Moss, an Obama appointee, wrote in his decision that no court order declaring the executive order unlawful can lead to meaningful relief for all of these outlets. Trump signed the order in May 2025, which called for the CPB board to halt direct funding to NPR and PBS.
"But that does not end the matter because the Executive Order sweeps beyond the CPB," the judge said, adding that it directs that "all federal agencies refrain from funding NPR and PBS — regardless of the nature of the program or the merits of their applications or requests for funding."
The judge continued, "The message is clear: NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the President disapproves of their 'left-wing' coverage of the news."
Moss issued an injunction to block the federal government from cutting off funding to PBS and NPR.
CPB shut down in January after 58 years of service, after the board of directors voted to dissolve the private, nonprofit corporation. This came after the House and Senate passed funding cuts targeting the CPB that were requested by the Trump administration.
Ex-aide pleads guilty to stealing nearly $23K from congresswoman to pay credit card debt
A former staffer for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, pleaded guilty today to siphoning over $20,000 from her former boss’s bank account to pay her own credit card bills.
Courtney Hruska, 40, admitted to committing felony wire fraud at a court hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but Hruska is likely to receive far less time when she is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in June.
Ex-FBI agents on Trump cases cite Todd Blanche’s remarks in suit over ‘illegal’ firings
Three former FBI special agents who worked on criminal cases against Trump and were then ousted by the administration have filed a lawsuit over their “illegal” firings, citing as evidence comments that the No. 2 official at the Justice Department made at a conservative conference last week.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who formerly served as Trump’s personal attorney, said last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference that FBI Director Kash Patel had “cleaned house” and that there “isn’t a single man or woman with a gun, federal agent, still in that organization that had anything to do with the prosecution of President Trump.”
AFP denies it pulled photo of Karoline Leavitt due to White House pressure
Agence France-Presse said today that it was not pressured into unpublishing an image of Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt from its library after the White House complained about the photo.
The news agency's director of brand and communications, Grégoire Lemarchand, said in a statement that the decision was “an internal editorial one, based on our standard quality and selection criteria.”
The daily news brief Status reported this morning that the White House complained about the photo in question, which showed Leavitt holding her young son as they stood next to a live turkey for a Thanksgiving event.
In his statement, Lemarchand explained that AFP's desk receives a "a large influx of photos" from their photographers' cameras during high-volume events like White House briefings.
"Upon a subsequent review of the day’s production, our editor-in-chief determined that this specific image did not meet our editorial standards," he said. "The angle was poor and, more importantly, we already had a selection of superior images from the same event available on the wire."
While AFP became aware that the White House found the photo "unflattering," he said, “there was no formal request” from the White House to remove it, “nor was there any external pressure involved.”
“Our editor-in-chief had already expressed reservations about the quality of the frame from the start. As a result, the photo was unpublished ... rather than 'killed,' which is a protocol reserved for factual or legal errors," Lemarchand said.
The White House did not respond to NBC News' request for comment.
Colorado leaders assessing 'full impact' of conversion therapy ruling
Colorado's Gov. Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office defended its conversion therapy ban before the Supreme Court, said today that they are evaluating the impact of the high court's decision to overturn a state ban on conversion therapy.
"Conversion therapy doesn’t work, can seriously harm youth, and Coloradans should beware before turning over their hard-earned money to a scam," Polis, a Democrat, said in a statement released by his office. "I am evaluating the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and working to figure out how to better protect LGBTQ youth and free speech in Colorado."
Weiser called the high court's decision to overturn the law "a setback for Colorado’s efforts to protect children and families from harmful and discredited mental health practices."
The Supreme Court's decision "limits the authority states have long exercised to safeguard patients from substandard care," Weiser said in a statement.
“We strongly disagree with the court’s reasoning and are carefully reviewing the decision to assess its full impact on Colorado law and on our responsibility to protect consumers and patients," he said.
Weiser's statement included a message to “LGBTQ youth in this state and beyond: you are valued, you are worthy, and your health and dignity matter. We will continue to stand up for care grounded in science and for the rights of all children to grow up safe, supported, and respected.”
Senators unveil bipartisan bill to tackle housing affordability in rural areas
With Congress gridlocked over Department of Homeland Security funding, other priorities have fallen to the wayside. But with this fall’s midterm elections on the horizon, lawmakers are still pushing solutions for an issue top of mind for many Americans: affording a home.
Sens. Peter Welch D-Vt., and Jim Justice, R-W.Va., are putting forth a proposal to specifically address affordability concerns in rural areas by introducing a two-page bill that would help more Americans qualify for housing assistance. The move comes after a broader bipartisan housing package that the Senate passed earlier this month has stalled in the House.
Line forms early at Supreme Court for birthright citizenship arguments
The Supreme Court arguments on the Trump administration's effort to limit birthright citizenship don’t start for 23 hours, but people are already lined up outside the court to get in.
About a dozen people are in line, mostly paid line sitters, as the court prepares to hear arguments over the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order.
People sit in line outside the Supreme Court today. Gary Grumbach / NBC News
Nina Lin, a special assistant at the American Civil Liberties Union's Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty, has been sitting outside the court since yesterday, and said she is eager to hear the justices affirm that birthright citizenship is important.
“Children of migrants really belong in this country and have a place here just like anyone else,” Lin told NBC News.
Lin and her colleague are using fold-up chairs, wearing several layers of clothes and sharing a few power banks to make it through the next 24 hours on the sidewalk. They get food delivered and have been taking turns going to nearby coffee shops to refuel and use the bathroom.
Nina Lin, a special assistant at the American Civil Liberties Union's Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty, and her colleague sit in line outside the Supreme Court today. Gary Grumbach / NBC News
TSA officer callouts have dropped about 30%, DHS says
TSA officer callouts have dropped by about 30%, according to Lauren Bis, the acting assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS.
Yesterday, about 8.6% of TSA officers called out of work. At several major airports, the callout rate was higher. The callout rate was 28.8% in Atlanta, 20.7% in Baltimore and 19.5% in Houston.
TSA officers began receiving paychecks yesterday after having gone weeks without pay.
Pete Hegseth to testify to House Armed Services Committee next month
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will testify to the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, a source familiar with the plan confirmed to NBC News.
His appearance will be part of the committee’s annual oversight hearing of the Defense Department, focused on its budget request, according to the source.
This will be the first opportunity for members of Congress to publicly question Hegseth about the war with Iran.
MS NOW first reported the date of Hegseth's testimony.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissent: Ruling 'risks grave harm to Americans health'
The sole dissent to this morning's Supreme Court ruling against Colorado's conversation theory ban, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote that her colleagues' ruling “threatens to impair States’ ability to regulate the provision of medical care in any respect."
"It extends the Constitution into uncharted territory in an utterly irrational fashion. And it ultimately risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing,” Jackson wrote.
“The majority finds, at bottom, that Colorado likely cannot legislate to protect the children of its State if, by doing so, it happens to keep state-licensed healthcare providers from saying what they want to say to minors. And the majority’s holding means, in effect, that just because Chiles is a talk therapist—and not, say, a surgeon—a State can be prevented from incidentally imposing reasonable restrictions on the treatments she provides. Our precedents do not compel this conclusion,” she wrote.
“I cannot agree with the majority’s analysis or its conclusions in this case,” the dissent said.
Vice President JD Vance says he's writing a new book about 'finding my way back to faith'
Vice President JD Vance is writing a new book about "finding my way back to faith," he announced in a post on X.
"I’ve been writing this book for a long time, and I’m honored to finally be able to share the full story with you all," Vance wrote. "Communion is about my personal journey and how I found my way back to faith."
The book will be released June 16.
The book's description on Amazon says it is "a spiritual exploration of what it means to be a Christian in all the seasons of life JD Vance has experienced — as a child, a young man, a husband, a father, and a leader."
Vance previously wrote the book "Hillbilly Elegy," which tracked his childhood and young adulthood.
It's rare for a sitting vice president or president to write a book, though writing a book is more common for former presidents and vice presidents, as well as prospective presidential candidates. Vance is widely considered to be a potential presidential candidate in 2028, though he has not made an announcement.
He told NBC News in December, “I try to not wake up and ever think, ‘What does this mean for my future?’ I always try to think, ‘How can I do a good job right now,’ right? And that’s one of the reasons why I’ve tried to steer away from the 2028 conversation. … I never want the focus on the future to come at the expense of this job.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell sends cease and desist letter to FBI director over old investigative files
Rep. Eric Swalwell is asking the FBI not to release files related to the California Democrat’s past connections to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative named Christine Fang, known as “Fang Fang.”
In a cease and desist letter sent by Swalwell’s lawyers to FBI Director Kash Patel yesterday, Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate in California’s governor’s race, asked that Patel and the FBI agree in writing by tomorrow not to release the files.
Supreme Court rules against Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy aimed at LGBTQ youth
WASHINGTON — In a blow to LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy aimed at youths struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity violates the free speech rights of a conservative Christian therapist.
The 8-1 decision in favor of therapist Kaley Chiles on her claim brought under the Constitution’s First Amendment is likely to have national implications — more than 20 states have similar laws. It could also have an impact on other forms of medical treatment that involve speech.
Trump confirms King Charles will travel to the U.S. for a state visit April 27 to 30
Trump confirmed on his Truth Social account this morning that King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit the U.S. for a state visit at the end of next month.
"Melania and I are pleased to announce that Their Majesties, the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, will visit the United States for a Historic State Visit from April 27-30th, which will include a beautiful Banquet Dinner at the White House on the evening of April 28th," he wrote.
"This momentous occasion will be even more special this year, as we commemorate the 250th Anniversary of our Great Country. I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!"
This trip will be Charles' first U.S. visit as monarch. The 77-year-old has met most of the presidents who have held office during his lifetime, starting with President Dwight Eisenhower in 1959 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Charles was 10 years old at the time.
ICE agents will be stationed outside Marine Corps graduation events in South Carolina
ICE agents will be stationed outside graduation events for the nation’s newest Marines to identify whether any of their family members are undocumented, according to the Marine Corps.
As the U.S. continues the war in Iran, the Marine Corps has boosted protection measures on bases, requiring everyone to present REAL IDs, U.S. passports or U.S. birth certificates to access any sites.
The world economy is experiencing the most severe oil shock in decades. The worst could still be on the way.
Surging oil prices continue to ripple through the global economy because of the war with Iran. Now, some analysts say the worst could still be ahead as the conflict drags on.
The concern is that beyond immediate knock-on effects from rising gasoline prices, the war’s disruption could come in waves — ones that will play out over weeks and months and leave few parts of the global economy untouched.
King Charles to make state visit to the U.S. next month
King Charles III will make his first state visit to the United States next month to mark 250 years of American independence, Buckingham Palace announced this morning.
Charles' trip in late April "will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States," the palace said in a statement.
His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S.: 1957, 1976, 1991 and 2007. As prince, Charles visited the United States numerous times since his first trip in 1970 to meet President Richard Nixon. His last visit was in 2018 for the funeral of President George H.W. Bush.
The king will then travel onto Bermuda, his first visit to a British overseas territory, a remnant of the British empire whose defense and foreign policy is dictated by London.
The visit comes amid strained political relations between Downing Street and the White House because of the war with Iran. Trump has been highly critical of the U.K’s position on the war after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government decided not to join the U.S. and Israel in attacking Iran. Several senior politicians in the U.K. had called on the king to delay the trip because of the war.
The president has also disparaged British military forces. Charles is commander in chief of the U.K. military.
State visits by the royal are decided by the British government and not by the king.
Charles will also arrive during a delicate time for his family. He remains estranged from his youngest son, Prince Harry, who moved to California with wife, Meghan Markle. And the king's brother, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested and stripped of his titles following revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has called on the king to meet with the survivors of the late financier and convicted sex offender.
In a letter to the king yesterday, Khanna said that such a meeting "would also ensure that survivors are heard directly and that these matters are addressed with transparency, seriousness, and accountability."
Charles has previously said that his "sympathies have been, and remain with, the victims of any and all forms of abuse."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill to rename Palm Beach airport after Trump
Trump’s name might soon land on yet another public building.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis yesterday signed into law a bill passed by the Legislature that would rename Palm Beach International Airport as President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
The name change, scheduled to take effect July 1, must still be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the bill text.
The FAA said in a statement today that while changing an airport name is a “local issue,” it “must complete some administrative tasks to include updating navigational charts and databases.”
Jan. 6 rioters accuse police of excessive force in class action lawsuit
Several participants in the Jan. 6 riot have filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government, seeking millions of dollars in damages over their claims that police used excessive force against the pro-Trump mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
The lawsuit, filed in Florida on Friday, alleges that police “indiscriminately launched explosive munitions, chemical agents, and impact projectiles into a peaceful crowd and physically assaulted members of the crowd” as rioters stormed the Capitol to contest the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.
Medicaid cuts threaten hundreds of hospitals, new report finds
More than 400 hospitals across the United States are at high risk of closing or cutting services because of the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” according to an analysis from the progressive watchdog group Public Citizen.
The fallout could make it harder for millions of people to get care and put thousands of health care workers’ jobs at risk as hospitals lose a key source of federal funding. Medicaid covers about a fifth of all hospital spending.
Trump posts video with design plans for his presidential library
Trump last night posted a video of what appear to be AI-generated plans for his presidential library.
The video on Truth Social shows a large skyscraper with a golden entrance and gold lettering on it. Inside is a lifesize replica of Air Force One, a golden statue of Trump raising his fist.
The end of the video says “Designed by Bermello Ajamil, a Woolpert Company.” Bermello Ajamil is a Miami-based architecture and engineering firm.
Along with the video, Trump posted a link where people can donate to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc.
