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(WASHINGTON) — The new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons said the agency will “vigorously” pursue “all avenues to support and implement” the president’s agenda after President Donald Trump said he was wanted to reopen Alcatraz as a “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” prison.

Over the weekend, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was directing the Bureau of Prisons, along with the Department of Justice, FBI and DHS to reopen the facility.

“The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will vigorously pursue all avenues to support and implement the President’s agenda,” said BOP Director William K. Marshall III, who was sworn in last month. “I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and the next steps. USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice. We will be actively working with our law enforcement and other federal partners to reinstate this very important mission.

Alcatraz, which sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, has not been an operational prison since 1963, according to the National Park Service, which has maintained it as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1972. More than 1 million people visit the island each year, according to the BOP.

The facility, which was built as a fort to protect San Francisco Bay then converted to an Army prison before holding federal inmates, has housed notorious prisoners such as mobster Al Capone. Known as “The Rock,” the prison held on average 260 to 275 people, according to the Bureau of Prisons, and many inmates considered the living conditions at the prison to be better than most at the time, the agency says.

It was estimated that it would take $3 million to $5 million for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open in addition to daily operating costs, which were far higher than other federal prisons. Alcatraz’s daily per capita cost in 1959 was $10.10 compared to $3.00 for the federal prison in Atlanta.

A recent inspector general report estimated that the Bureau of Prisons facilities across the country needed $2 billion worth of repairs. The BOP has had to close facilities because of the dire conditions inside some prisons.

Elizabeth Neumann, a former DHS deputy chief of staff, told ABC News Live that the BOP “already has some pretty significant problems with its existing prisons.”

“They’ve closed a number in recent years just because they can’t maintain them. So to try to also turn around something that hasn’t been operational for 60 years, and make it habitable for people to be imprisoned would be a lot of money,” she said.

And it’s not just the cost of getting the facility ready to house inmates, she said.

“San Francisco is a very high cost of living area. Federal employees get paid more if they work in those high cost areas. So it’s not really a cost effective solution,” Neumann said. “If you’re looking to build producer capacity, you would it’s more effective to just build something new in a part of the country where the cost of living is lower.”

Neumann said she wasn’t surprised by Trump’s suggestion. She said during her time at Homeland Security, she was often tasked with researching some of his proposals.

“He has a lot of ideas. People will go off and study them, then they’ll come back with the facts and, and usually it gets dropped at that stage,” she said.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who represents the area in Congress, shot down Trump’s proposal.

“Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago. It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she posted on X.

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(WASHINGTON) — The nonprofit corporation that partially funds NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service is firing back at President Donald Trump’s executive order to stop funding for the two popular media outlets.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting pointed out that Congress controls its funding, not the president.

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority,” Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the CPB, said in a statement Friday. “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.”

She continued, “In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors.'”

Trump signed the executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to “cease direct funding to NPR and PBS” on his way to Florida aboard Air Force One on Thursday.

The order blocks federal funding to NPR and PBS to the maximum extent allowed by law, according to a fact sheet from the White House. It also prevents indirect funding to PBS and NPR by prohibiting local public radio and television stations, and any other recipients of CPB funds, from using taxpayer dollars to support the organizations.

The order mandates that the CPB revise its 2025 General Provisions to explicitly prohibit direct or indirect funding to NPR and PBS. It directs all federal agencies to terminate any direct or indirect funding to NPR and PBS and to review existing grants and contracts for compliance. Additionally, it instructs the Federal Communications Commission and relevant agencies to investigate whether NPR and PBS have engaged in unlawful discrimination.

In the fact sheet, the White House claims the two news organizations “have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars.”

In an interview with ABC News on Friday, PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger said a loss in federal funding would hit audiences in rural communities hard. Kerger said that their access to stations has been historically dependent on government funding and that content from children’s programming to backup emergency alerts could be negatively impacted by cuts.

“They formed PBS as a way that we could bring the dollars together from around the country from all of our stations,” Kerger said. “That would help us create the kids content that people have loved for many decades and that have really raised generations of children.”

For some stations, the situation could be dire, she said.

“For a number of smaller stations, it really could be an existential challenge,” Kerger said. “That means the existence of those very stations.”

Kerger and the head of NPR testified at a House hearing in March about their funding.

“I hear, respect and understand your concerns regarding bias and whether public media is relevant in a commercial landscape,” NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher said at the hearing. “It is critical for NPR’s newsroom to operate with the highest journalistic standards. That means they do their jobs independently, and as CEO I have no editorial role at NPR.”

NPR and PBS are primarily funded through a combination of public and private sources. The CPB provides a portion of the funding, along with private donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. The CPB helps fund dozens of media organizations in addition to NPR and PBS, including everything from American Public Media to Native Public Media and Public Media in Mid-America.

Those in the Senate and House quickly responded along party lines.

“The fact that taxpayers are forced to subsidize far-left propaganda outlets like NPR is an outrage,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. “I commend President Trump for his common-sense order ending taxpayer funding for liberal media outlets.

“President Trump is once again walking us towards authoritarianism, by eliminating funds for PBS and NPR, claiming it will stop ‘biased and partisan news coverage,'” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., wrote on X. “NPR and PBS is how 160 million Americans find their fact-based, impartial news each month.”

“These organizations were created under an act of Congress, and therefore cannot be eliminated in an executive order,” he continued. “We need these programs and must challenge this ruling in the courts.”

ABC News’ Max Zahn, Lalee Ibssa and Docquan Louallen contributed to this report.

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(WASHNINGTON) — It’s been less than six months since the 2024 presidential election, but for some Democrats and Republicans, it’s not too early to plan for the race for the White House in 2028.

Three high-profile Democratic governors, one former Democratic Cabinet member and one Republican Cabinet member weighed in last week when questioned if they will run for president in 2028. Some did not rule out a run.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said on Thursday that he would consider running for president if he felt he was someone who could successfully unite the country.

“If you’d asked me a couple years ago if this is something I’d consider, I probably wouldn’t have. But I don’t want to leave a broken country to my kids. And so if I’m somebody that can bring this nation together, hopefully find some common ground, it’s something I’ll consider,” Beshear told local station WDRB on Thursday.

Beshear rose to national prominence after his statewide gubernatorial wins in a Republican-leaning state and was among those considered to become Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024.

However, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, another Democrat who was considered a potential Harris running mate and who has received praise from some as a rising star within the party, said he’s “not running” for president when asked on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday.

“I am not running,” Moore said, adding that he is “really excited about the work that’s happening right now in the state of Maryland.”

Moore’s term as governor ends in 2026, and he could opt to run for a second term.

Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, had previously said he was not running, including in an interview with the Baltimore Sun in April. However, Moore’s statement comes as he makes more national media and event appearances. He is set to headline the South Carolina Democratic Party’s high-profile Blue Palmetto Dinner at the end of May.

Last week, former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who served under President Joe Biden, said she would consider running for president, responding with a direct “yes” when asked by political analyst David Axelrod at an event at the University of Chicago.

“The Democratic Party has a huge amount of work to do,” she said. “Introspection … where did we go wrong, what are our policies going to be, what is our platform going to be, what will our tactics be.”

Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, said she has served the country for 15 years and that if there is a “big way” for her to serve again, “including running, I’ll do it.” But she offered a caveat: “If I thought somebody else would be better or better able to win, I’d get behind that person in a minute. … For us to have a chance, it has to be just that right person at that right moment to make it happen.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, recently said he was not thinking about a 2028 presidential run, and reiterated that position – “I’m not” – at an event last Monday at the Harvard Institute of Politics.

Asked why, Walz did not offer any specifics about his own decision but pointed again to his ethos of the teamwork he thinks should be shown among Democrats. “I think we, collectively as a party, and those elected officials, should be running this campaign, kind of like the old school mountain climbing expeditions,” Walz said. “You never knew who was going to summit. It was whoever was ready at the last moment. And on summit day, if somebody was in the best shape, push them to the top, and the whole team gets credit.”

Walz, however, recently went on a national town hall tour — which has sparked speculation about his political future– and has spoken openly about reflections on his 2024 run.

On the Republican side, fewer names have been floated so far as 2028 presidential contenders. President Donald Trump has speculated about finding a way to run for a third term in office, which scholars say is barred by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. But in an interview with NBC News aired Sunday, he said he would be “a two-term president” and said he is not looking to run in 2028.

However, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who joined the Republican Party in 2024 after serving as a Democrat in Congress for several years, said in a podcast episode published Thursday that she would not rule out a future presidential bid.

Conservative journalist Megyn Kelly asked Gabbard if she has ruled out ever running again for president after her unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential bid, saying, “Could we potentially see a Tulsi 2028 try?”

“I will never rule out any opportunity to serve my country. … My decisions in my life have always been made around how can I best be of service to God, how can I best be of service to our country,” Gabbard said. “And that is what has led me here. I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I will continue to chase those opportunities where I can make the most positive impact and be of service.”

Her remarks echoed some previous statements she made when under consideration for a presidential ticket.

Gabbard, who is Samoan American, in 2020 became the first woman of color to win a delegate to the Democratic National Convention since Shirley Chisholm in 1972. Four years later, though, in 2024, Gabbard was under consideration to become Trump’s running mate.

The buzz around 2028 contenders continues as some other figures floated as potential 2028 presidential candidates, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, ramp up their public appearances and remarks.

Pritzker and Harris delivered high-profile speeches on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, and Buttigieg is set to headline a town hall in Iowa later in May.

At the same time, some Democrats say the party’s focus, as it regroups after its losses in 2024, needs to be on the 2026 midterm elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate — not on 2028. The Republican Party currently has a trifecta with majorities in the House and the Senate and Trump in the White House.

“I mean, everybody is sort of out there trying to get the touch and the feel [of] like what is actually happening in the country and are the things that Trump is doing, which is now dropping his approval rating, really registering with people,” 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a book talk in New York City on Thursday.

But she added later, “I think that there is going to be a lot of testing of the waters, but we won’t know, really, who decides to run until probably after the midterms, which really underscores the most important message: We have to win the midterms.”

ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.

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