News

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transported 177 migrants from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras for final removal to Venezuela, according to a post on X from the agency.

Most of the migrants being housed at Guantanamo Bay were Venezuelan.

In court filings, the government contended the Guantanamo Bay operation was “meant to be a temporary stopover” on the path to repatriation. The migrants left on two flights on Thursday.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a brief video earlier in February that she visited the base and checked out the operations the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense were standing up.

“I’m down here on Guantanamo Bay, checking out some of the operations we’re standing up to house the worst of the worst, and illegal criminals from the United States of America they won’t be there for long” she said in a video on X.

“ICE intends to use [Naval Station Guantanamo Bay] as a temporary staging facility for aliens being repatriated and expects the average length of stay at the MOC to be as limited to the time necessary to effect the removal orders,” an ICE official wrote on Thursday.

There were 10 U.S. military flights that originally transported all the migrants to Guantanamo Bay, with the first carrying 10 migrants arriving on Feb. 4.

“These 10 high-threat individuals are currently being housed in vacant detention facilities,” the Defense Department said in a statement at the time. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking this measure to ensure the safe and secure detention of these individuals until they can be transported to their country of origin or other appropriate destination.”

And Noem added in a post on X at the time, “President @realdonaldtrump has been very clear: Guantanamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst. That starts today.”

While some of the migrants were suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the charges they faced were unclear.

“Where are you going to put Tren de Aragua before you send them all the way back?” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked. “How about a maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay, where we have the space?”

Guantanamo Bay’s Migrant Operations Center was designated by President Donald Trump in a Jan. 29 executive order to house migrants without legal status living in the United States. The Migrant Operations Center, separate from the high-security prison facility that has been used to hold al Qaeda detainees, was set to be operational at “full capacity,” according to the order.

The removal of the migrants from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras follows the migrants being granted access just this Thursday to speak to their attorneys over the phone.

DHS said at the time that it was determining “feasibility and necessity” for in-person visits from the migrants’ attorneys.

“There’s a lot of space to accommodate a lot of people,” Trump said on Feb. 4. “So we’re going to use it.

“The migrants are rough, but we have some bad ones, too,” he added. “I’d like to get them out. It would be all subject to the laws of our land, and we’re looking at that to see if we can.”

It is unclear whether there will be future migrant flights to Guantanamo Bay.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Laura Romero and Stacey Dec contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — In an unprecedented move both Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top admiral, were fired from their posts by President Donald Trump, marking the first time that two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been dismissed from their senior military roles.

As a retired military officer, Caine will be brought back onto active duty and will have to be confirmed by the Senate in order to assume the role of the president’s senior military adviser and the nation’s top military officer.

Caine retired after serving 34 years in the Air Force where he served as an F-16 pilot, the assistant commanding general at Joint Special Operations Command, and the Central Intelligence Agency’s associate director for military affairs.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump announced on his Truth Social account. “He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.”

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brown became the president’s top military adviser in October 2023 and was to complete a four-year term at the end of September 2027. He was the second African American to serve in the role and Franchetti was the first woman to serve as the Navy’s top admiral.

The role of chairman is intended to be apolitical and by design the chairman’s four-year term overlaps presidential election years meaning someone serving in the role could serve in two different presidential administrations.

Trump as president has the authority to remove generals and senior officers from their positions and reassign them, but if forced out of a role, officers may not find another opening available to them.

“Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Trump wrote. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a “warfighter” with significant interagency and special operations experience.”

“During my first term, Razin was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate,” said Trump, repeating praise of the three-star general that he had placed since his first term after meeting him during a tour of U.S. military troops in Iraq.

“It was done in record-setting time, a matter of weeks,” said Trump. “Many so-called military ‘geniuses’ said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General  Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered.”

“Despite being highly qualified and respected to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the previous administration, General Caine was passed over for promotion by Sleepy Joe Biden,” said Trump. “But not anymore! Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military.”

Defense officials told ABC News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called both Brown and Franchetti to advise them that they were being removed from their posts. At the time both Brown and Franchetti were traveling outside of Washington, Brown having completed a tour of U.S. military troops on the southern border with Mexico, and on his way to California to link up with Franchetti where both of them were to participate in a conference.

Hegseth later said in a statement that he would request nominations to replace Franchetti; Gen. James Slife, the Air Force’s Vice Chief of Staff; and the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Earlier this week both Brown and Franchetti appeared on a list of generals and admirals provided by the Trump administration to Congressional Republicans that Hegseth was considering firing or removing from their positions.

“General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment. I look forward to working with him,” said Hegseth in a statement issued after Trump’s announcement.

“The outgoing Chairman, Gen. Charles ‘CQ’ Brown, Jr., USAF, has served with distinction in a career spanning four decades of honorable service,” said Hegseth. ‘I have come to know him as a thoughtful adviser and salute him for his distinguished service to our country.

“Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars,” he added.

In a statement provided to ABC News Slife said “The President and Secretary of Defense deserve to have generals they trust and the force deserves to have generals who have credibility with our elected and appointed officials.”

“While I’m disappointed to leave under these circumstances, I wouldn’t want the outcome to be any different,” said Slife. “I wish the President, the Secretary, and the Airmen of the USAF the very best as they serve our nation in challenging times.”

The removal of some of the nation’s most senior military officers drew criticism from a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Our military has accepted the principle of civilian control of the military for 236 years. What may seem like an arcane principle to most Americans, is essential to the healthy civil-military relations that drive effective national security decision-making,” retired Gen. George Casey, a former Army Chief of Staff told ABC News in a statement.

“Firing officers for following the directives of the previous civilian leadership of the Department of Defense will undermine that principle and is completely unnecessary. Change the policy, not the people,” he added.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee thanked Brown “for his decades of honorable service to our nation” and expressed confidence that “Hegseth and President Trump will select a qualified and capable successor for the critical position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said he was “troubled by the nature of these dismissals” and said they appear “to be part of a broader, premeditated campaign by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to purge talented officers for politically charged reasons, which would undermine the professionalism of our military and send a chilling message through the ranks.”

Brown was nominated to be the first Black chief of staff for the Air Force by Trump during his first term, in early 2020.

However, he received criticism from Hegseth in the leadup to his confirmation as defense secretary, as well as from Trump following his 2024 election win.

Both Brown and Franchetti’s names appeared on a list circulating through Republican offices in Congress of top Pentagon officials that Hegseth was said to be considering having removed from their posts.

“First of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth said in a November appearance on the “Shawn Ryan Show.”

“But any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the DEI woke s— has got to go,” he continued. “Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about.”

“We’ll never know, but always doubt — which on its face seems unfair to C.Q.,” he wrote in his book “War on Warriors.” “But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it really doesn’t much matter.”

Hegseth also called into question Franchetti’s qualifications to be the Navy’s top Admiral.

In the same book he wrote: “If naval operations suffer, at least we can hold our heads high. Because at least we have another first! The first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — hooray.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON)– Some Republicans are facing pushback in their hometowns as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency make severe cuts across the federal government, both through sweeping employee terminations and looming budget cuts.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., faced a grilling from his constituents on DOGE’s and Trump’s massive cuts at a town hall Thursday night.

“We are all fricking pissed off about this — you’re going to hear it,” a constituent told McCormick.

McCormick was interrupted multiple times as he tried to defend Trump and Musk’s efforts to overhaul the federal government and the thousands of firings across the United States.

“By and large, the president has great purview over where this money goes,” McCormick said at one point, before the crowd started to shout him down. “You can go and yell whenever you want, but I can’t understand 10 people, let alone 100 people, at once.”

A main point of contention was the firing of hundreds of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta and roughly 20 miles from the town of Roswell, where the meeting was held.

“It is a fact of budgets, based on whose in control of the government, where that money goes,” McCormick said, prompting more shouting.

“The conservative approach is to take this in a slow and methodical way so that you make sure you do it right, and that’s not happening,” a constituent shouted back.

DOGE wasn’t the only tense topic the Georgia congressman faced. Some voters also brought up Trump’s recent comments on Ukraine.

When asked about Trump claiming Ukraine was responsible for its own invasion, McCormick said, “I want Ukraine to win, and President Trump said he wants Ukraine –,” before he was cut off by more shouting.

Another constituent, who introduced herself as Virginia and said she was a direct descendent of Revolutionary War orator Patrick Henry, said she took issue with a recent Trump post in which he promoted a photo of himself in a crown.

“Tyranny is rising in the White House, and a man has declared himself our king, so I would like to know … what you, congressman, and your fellow congressmen are going to do to reign in the megalomaniac in the White House,” she said, leading to a standing ovation from the crowd.

“When you talk about tyranny, when you talk about presidential power, I remember having the same discussion with Republicans when Biden was elected,” McCormick responded, to boos and shouts from the audience.

McCormick arguably faced the toughest crowd so far this week, though Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wisc., also heard strong objections from his constituents about Trump’s collaborations with Musk.

“How can we be represented by you, if you don’t have a voice in Congress?” a woman asked Fitzgerald, according to video from WTMJ-TV’s Charles Benson.

“The end result of the fraud and abuse that has been discovered already –” Fitzgerald began answering before being shouted down by the disappointed audience.

“Certainly the discussion in and around DOGE and with the probationary moves that have already been done, they’re going to have be scrutinized at some point,” Fitzgerald said.

In a town hall on Wednesday, Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, was pressed repeatedly on where he would draw the line with Trump and Musk’s federal overhaul.

“Is there anything that Trump and Elon could do that you would not support?” a constituent asked. “Tell me, tell me what you would not support.”

“They’re going through the government in way that’s never been done,” Mann responded, avoiding detailing what he would not support.

Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, also was grilled by his constituents during a virtual town hall Monday night. However, due to the virtual format, Begich’s team was able to maintain control over the town hall, though the livestream received more than 2,000 comments.

“I’m a lifelong Republican,” one constituent named Joel said, according to Alaska Public Radio. “But I am in the majority, I think, with a lot of Americans, a lot of Alaskans, that are really concerned that we have an executive branch that is more than willing to push or remove the guardrails that are on the executive branch, and what we need from Congress and from the courts is to play that checks and balances role.”

“Look, the Congress has certain roles and responsibilities. The executive does as well,” said Begich, who noted he is a member of the “DOGE caucus.”

“And if the Congress or the executive branch steps outside of its constitutionally defined boundaries, the courts step in and realign and say, ‘Hey, you’re out of bounds,'” he added. “To the extent that the executive branch may or may not have exceeded that authority, there will be an opportunity in the courts for that to be challenged, and I would expect many of these challenges to be brought to the Supreme Court.”

Another constituent pressed Begich on this, asking in a post on the livestream, “When are you going to express your authority to hold the president accountable to the Constitution?”

In the wake of the pandemic, many lawmakers haven’t returned to holding traditional in-person town halls, preferring to reach a larger audience virtually while having more control over situations that melt down.

While some voters in these town halls have supported DOGE, even constituents in deep-red districts, who say they’re Republican voters, are upset with what they’re seeing.

“I’m a registered Republican voter, and this administration has gone absolutely off the tracks long ago,” remarked one man on a telephone town hall with Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. “All of these things really concern me.”

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, noted that some of his constituents were fired then rehired, and he told locals to come to him if they have any problems.

“We had seven researchers that had gotten caught up in the cuts. They’re back to work — we just had to make the calls. … With offices in USDA, there were some cuts — they’re getting restored,” he said. “If you have concerns, please come to me.”

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, was questioned by a constituent on how the federal firings were carried out.

“I’m all for fiscal responsibility and downsizing the government, and we’ve been through downsizing before. And you can do it in a way that is humane and treats people with dignity and doesn’t fire them on the spot for performance when we all know how hard these people work,” a woman said with tears in her eyes.

Bentz didn’t directly respond to the remark, instead thanking the woman and the audience and encouraging people to share thoughts or comments with his team.

When asked by ABC News’ Mary Bruce on Friday what response he has to those who voted for him who are concerned after his first month in office, Trump touted that he has the highest poll numbers “of any Republican president ever.”

“They like the job that we’re doing. They like the job that Elon is doing. He’s doing something that a lot of people wouldn’t have the courage to do,” he added, refusing to address those who spoke out in the town halls. “So, it’s actually just the opposite. … People are thrilled. They can’t even believe it’s happening.”

Earlier Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about growing criticism from the public on DOGE and Trump’s executive orders, including among conservatives.

“I love how the media takes a few critics when the overwhelming response from the American people is support for what this administration is doing. If you look at the public polling, 70% of Americans, according to CBS, believe that President Trump is delivering on the promises he made,” Leavitt said, adding that Trump’s actions amount to precisely what he campaigned on.

“There should be no secret about the fact that this administration is committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse,” she added. “The President campaigned on that process campaigned on that promise. Americans elected him on that promise, and he’s actually delivering on it. And this is something that Democrats promised they would do for decades. President Trump is just the first president to get it done.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has rescinded a stop-work order it issued earlier this week that cut off funding to organizations that provide pro bono representation and other legal assistance to unaccompanied migrant children, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.

“This letter cancels the Stop Work Order issued February 18,2025,” according to the memo, which was sent to organizations by the Department of Interior.

Earlier this week, the Acacia Center for Justice and its subcontractors were told to halt “all activities” related to the work they do to support migrant youth facing deportation. The organization serves about 26,000 migrant children.

Groups like Acacia and Kids in Need of Defense had called the stop-worker “devastating.”

“To expect a child, you know, especially a five- or six-year-old, to try and figure out their immigration case and how to navigate that system in a language that they don’t speak, it’s virtually impossible,” Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, told ABC News.

There are still thousands of unaccompanied minors representing themselves at immigration courts across the country.

In 2023, only 56% of unaccompanied minors in immigration courts were represented by counsel, according to data from the Department of Justice.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.