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Trump 2nd term live updates: Trump falsely claims Ukraine started war with Russia

White House team meets with delegation from Russia to end the war it started.

Last Updated: February 18, 2025, 7:08 PM EST

President Donald Trump's administration is continuing its radical effort to cut much of the federal government -- and is being met with dozens of legal challenges.

The Department of Government Efficiency is taking aim at agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration, as the administration argues in court that Elon Musk is not the administrator of the newly-formed entity despite public comments from Trump to the contrary.

Trump, meanwhile, attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while speaking at his Mar-a-Lago home as U.S. officials hold talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine that started when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded its neighbor. Zelenskyy was not invited to the talks with Russia.

Feb 18, 2025, 8:36 PM EST

Catholic bishops sue over Trump administration's refugee policy

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is suing the Trump administration over its sudden suspension of funding for refugee resettlement, accusing the federal government of trying to "pull the rug out from under" the nonprofit group.

Under a preexisting agreement with the federal government, the USCCB received approximately $65 million in federal funding annually from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to support the integration of refugees into the United States, but the group learned that their cooperative agreement was suspended four days into the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 18, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

The USCCB alleged that the funding pause has been "devastating" for the 6,700 refugees still within their 90-day transition period, cost the nonprofit millions in unpaid bills and prompted the group to lay off 50 employees.

The group asked the court to order the federal government to restore the funding because the sudden pause violated the Administrative Procedures Act and undermined the separation of powers.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

Feb 18, 2025, 8:29 PM EST

DOGE sued over access to IRS files

A group of unions and taxpayer groups are suing the Trump administration to block the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive records maintained by the Internal Revenue Service, warning that the breach of IRS data could result in "catastrophic" outcomes.

The groups alleged that untrained DOGE employees may be able to access highly sensitive data from the IRS, including bank account information, complete tax returns and Social Security numbers.

Elon Musk leaves after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

"This case seeks to protect the privacy and the legal rights of millions of Americans, and thousands of small business owners, who depend upon the IRS," the lawsuit said.

The filing highlighted the unique conflict of interest created by Elon Musk’s potential access to IRS information, including reports into the Telsa CEO's own businesses and competitors.

“No other business owner on the planet has access to this kind of information on his competitors, and for good reason," the lawsuit said.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Soo Rin Kim

Feb 18, 2025, 7:07 PM EST

Senate continues to fly through Trump Cabinet confirmation process

The Senate is continuing with its fast-paced confirmation process, voting 51-45 to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday night. All Republicans voted in favor of the nomination. All Democrats voted against it, though two Democrats missed the vote.

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary, during his Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing in the Russell Senate Office Building, Jan. 29, 2025 in Washington.
Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Lutnick's confirmation marks the 17th member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet to be confirmed in 30 days, surpassing the pace of Biden's Cabinet nominee confirmations. By this point in 2021, the Democratic-led Senate had only confirmed seven of Biden's Cabinet nominees. It took 56 days for the Senate to confirm 17 Biden Cabinet nominees.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

Feb 18, 2025, 7:07 PM EST

USDA rescinds terminations of employees working on bird flu

Several employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture working on bird flu were notified they had been fired over the weekend.

Now, the USDA is working to rescind those termination letters and "swiftly rectify the situation," the USDA told ABC News in a statement.

In the statement, the USDA noted that "Food Safety and Inspection Service [FSIS] frontline positions are considered public safety positions." The FSIS is a section of the department that works to "ensure food safety and food defense," according to its website.

Amid the spread of bird flu among animals, officials have remained confident the food supply is safe. They have found no evidence of any human getting infected from food and continue to recommend safe food practices such as cooking meat to appropriate temperatures and have recommended avoiding unpasteurized milk.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud

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