The Latest: Trump's deportation orders under scrutiny by courts

Over the weekend, the Trump administration transferred more than 200 immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order to bar the deportations temporarily.

On Saturday night, District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the administration not to deport anyone in its custody over the newly invoked Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century declaration that has only been used three times in U.S. history, all during periods of war. Trump issued a proclamation that the 1798 law was newly in effect due to what he claimed was an “invasion” by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.

On Monday, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to halt the deportations and asked a federal judge to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order.

Here's the latest:

US Institute of Peace board gutted and DOGE arrives

The Trump administration has fired most of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace and sent its new leader into the Washington headquarters of the independent organization Monday.

The remaining three members of the group’s board fired President and CEO George Moose on Friday, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

An executive order Trump signed last month targeted the organization and others for reductions.

Current USIP employees said staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency entered the building despite protests that the nonprofit is not part of the executive branch.

Moose called it “an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch of a private nonprofit.”

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the organization wasn’t complying with Trump’s executive order and that “rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage.”

Trump says he’s nominating Republic Airways CEO to lead FAA

Trump says Bryan Bedford will bring over three decades of experience in aviation and executive leadership to the “critical position” of administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

He said Bedford will work with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to overhaul the agency, safeguard exports and ensure the safety of air travelers.

The position requires Senate confirmation.

US Institute of Peace says DOGE has broken into its building

Employees of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have entered the U.S. Institute of Peace despite protests from the nonprofit that it is not part of the executive branch and is instead an independent agency.

The organization’s CEO, George Moose, said, “DOGE has broken into our building.”

The DOGE workers gained access after several unsuccessful attempts Monday and after having been turned away on Friday, a senior U.S. Institute of Peace official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

It was not immediately clear what the DOGE staffers were doing or looking for in the nonprofit’s building.

▶ Read more about DOGE employees entering the U.S. Institute of Peace building

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Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee contributed.

Trump says he’s ending early Secret Service protection of Biden’s adult children

President Trump said Monday he was ending “immediately” the Secret Service protection details assigned to Joe Biden’s adult children, which the former president had extended for six months shortly before leaving office in January.

Trump, in a social media post, objected to what he said were 18 agents assigned to Hunter Biden’s protective detail while he is in South Africa this week. He said Ashley Biden has 13 agents assigned to her detail and that she too “will be taken off the list” for protection.

Former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection under federal law, but the protection afforded to their immediate families over the age of 16 ends when they leave office, though both Trump and Biden extended the details for their children for six months before leaving office.

What is an autopen, and why is it suddenly an issue?

An autopen is a mechanical device that is used to replicate a person’s authentic signature. A pen or other writing implement is held by an arm of the machine, which reproduces a signature after a writing sample has been fed to it. Presidents, including Trump, have used them for decades. Autopens aren’t the same as an old-fashioned ink pad and rubber stamp or the electronic signatures used on PDF documents.

The Oversight Project at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank recently said its analysis of thousands of pages of documents bearing Biden’s signature found that most were by autopen, including pardons. Conservative media have amplified the claims, which have been picked up by Trump. He has commented for several days running about Biden’s autopen use.

Mike Howell, the project’s executive director, said in an interview that his team is scrutinizing Biden’s pardons because that power lies only with the president under the Constitution and can’t be delegated to another person or a machine. Howell said some of Biden’s pardon papers also specify they were signed in Washington on days when he was elsewhere.

There is no law governing a president’s use of an autopen.

▶ Read more about Trump’s autopen accusations

The president of a federal agency sues Trump administration for firing staff

The president of a small U.S. federal agency that invests in businesses in South America and the Caribbean has sued Monday to block her firing last month by the Trump administration.

After Sara Aviel was fired from the Inter-American Foundation, a Trump appointee declared himself the acting president and laid off almost the entire staff. Since then, the administration has canceled essentially all of the agency’s contracts.

“This wholesale gutting of the IAF by the Government flies in the face of the law,” Aviel said in her suit.

The Trump administration also targeted three other independent federal agencies for closure.

After Trump halted funding for Afghans who helped the US, this group stepped in to help

No One Left Behind helps Afghans and Iraqis who qualify for the special immigrant visa program, which was set up by Congress in 2009 to help people who are in danger because of their efforts to aid the U.S. during the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.

The charitable organization consists of U.S. military veterans, Afghans who once fled their country and volunteers in the U.S. Their efforts come after the Trump administration took steps to hinder Afghans who helped America’s war effort from resettling in the U.S.

Trump lowers authorities needed for launching offensive strikes against Yemen-based Houthis

In a marked departure from the previous administration, Trump gave U.S. Central Command the ability to take action when it deems appropriate.

The Biden administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive strikes such as the ones over the weekend. It did allow U.S. forces to launch defensive attacks whenever necessary, including the authority to take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.

Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said delegating the authority for an offensive mission to the regional commander “allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis.”

He said the expanded authorities also allow the U.S. to hit a broader array of targets.

U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Trump made the decision last week.