Evening Report — Trump digs in on deportations

Presented by Ericsson — Trump on Monday hosted President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador at the White House, the latest foreign leader to be brought into the Oval Office for a conversation with Trump and senior officials in front of the press.

View Online Evening Report  PRESENTED BY  Monday, April 14 | By Jonathan Easley TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS © AP Trump finds an ally in El Salvador's Bukele PRESIDENT TRUMP IS DIGGING IN on deportations, insisting alleged gang members in the U.S. illegally will continue to be sent to El Salvador's mega-prison despite court orders mandating the return of a wrongly deported man.   Trump on Monday hosted President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador at the White House, the latest foreign leader to be brought into the Oval Office for a conversation with Trump and senior officials in front of the press.   The U.S. is paying $6 million to El Salvador to house alleged gang members at a maximum security prison. The Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca (CECOT) has a capacity of 40,000.   The U.S. has so far sent about 250 Venezuelan nationals to CECOT, including 10 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said were transferred over the weekend.   Trump and Bukele made news Monday by insisting they would not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported to the mega-prison despite an earlier determination by an immigration judge that he must not be deported to El Salvador because his life would be in danger.   The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 last week that the U.S. must "facilitate" Garcia's transfer back to the U.S. — though the ruling did not say the U.S. must "effectuate" his return.   "That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him," Attorney General Pam Bondi said when Trump put the question to her in front of reporters on Monday afternoon. "That's not up to us."   The question then went to Bukele.   "How could I return him to the United States?" he asked. "I smuggle him to the United States? Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous."   The Trump administration has acknowledged a "clerical error" resulted in Garcia's deportation to El Salvador, but they say the courts have no jurisdiction over the foreign policy implemented by the Executive branch.   Administration officials have also argued the same immigration judge that said Garcia should not be deported to El Salvador for safety purposes acknowledged there was some evidence he was a member of the MS-13 gang.   "I don't understand what the confusion is," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. "This individual is a citizen of El Salvador. He was illegally in the U.S. That's where you deport people, back to their country…no court in the U.S. has the right to conduct the foreign policy of the U.S."   Trump on Monday went further, saying he'd be open to sending American citizens who are violent criminals to El Salvador.   "If they're criminals, and if they hit people with baseball bats over the head that happen to be 90 years old, if they rape 87-year-old women in Coney Island, Brooklyn, yeah," Trump said. "Yeah that includes them." DEMS FUME Democrats are irate, saying it's the latest instance of the Trump administration ignoring court orders.   Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Monday sent a letter to El Salvador's ambassador to the U.S. seeking to arrange a meeting with Bukele. Van Hollen signaled he might visit the prison directly if Garcia is not returned back to the U.S. soon.   Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also floated potentially traveling to El Salvador to ensure Garcia's wellbeing.   "Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will never stop the fight in the United States to secure his return," he wrote in a letter to Bukele. TRUMP FINDS NEW GLOBAL ALLY IN BUKELE Trump and Bukele had a warm meeting, often smiling at each other and making cutting remarks toward the reporters shouting questions at them in the Oval Office.   Bukele is seen by some as a Trump-like figure for his crackdown on gangs, which has led to a dramatic plunge in crime in El Salvador while also provoking questions about his tactics and concerns about wrongful imprisonments.   Bukele, who enjoys widespread support back home, praised Trump's efforts to restrict border crossings and his crackdown on crime, saying it's being done to protect the 350 million law-abiding Americans.   "To liberate 350 million, you have to imprison some," he said. 💡Perspectives: • The Hill: Trump is blowing up the oligarchy. • The Guardian: The new world order is being demolished. • The Hill: Trump is pushing America to its limits — who will push back?  • The Atlantic: Trump has found his class enemy. Read more:  • Trump defends deportation in testy Oval Office appearance. • Trump administration sued after taking down public spending tracker. • Trump authorizes military to take control of federal land along US border. • Immigration judge allows Mahmoud Khalil deportation effort to proceed. • AP says journalists blocked from Oval Office after judge's order. CATCH UP QUICK Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Monday, as his social media company faces off against the Federal Trade Commission in a case that could determine the fate of the tech titan's empire.  Harvard University on Monday rejected demands from the Trump administration as it threatens the school's federal funding as part of a broader clampdown on higher education. Seven U.S. service members exhibited "COVID-19-like symptoms" during or after their return from the 2019 World Military Games in Wuhan, China, according to a Pentagon report recently made public. CONTENT FROM OUR SPONSOR Celebrating 5 Years of Manufacturing 5G in the United States In 2020, Ericsson made a bet on American manufacturing, opening its $150 million 5G smart factory in Texas. That commitment is upskilling workers and creating a more secure, resilient 5G supply chain. Learn more.  NEWS THIS AFTERNOON ©  AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough Biden to give first address since leaving office Former President Biden will deliver his first public address since leaving the White House in Chicago on Tuesday at the 2025 national conference of Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled.   Biden, who has kept a low profile since his one term in office ended, will discuss "safeguarding and strengthening Social Security for the generations to come."   However, the content of Biden's speech might be secondary to an analysis of his presentation.   Biden dropped out of the 2024 race amid questions about his fitness for office. Since then, reporters have detailed how Biden's inner circle shielded him from public scrutiny and admonished those who questioned his mental acuity.   The Hill's Amie Parnes and NBC's Jonathan Allen lay out in detail here the lessons they learned while writing "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House," which is currently at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list.   This comes as Democrats seek new leaders and a cohesive message in Trump's second term.   One bright spot: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have been pulling massive crowds for their "anti-oligarchy" tour.   Over the weekend, more than 35,000 people attended their rally in Los Angeles and more than 20,000 turned out in Salt Lake City.   Sanders also made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Music Festival, where he introduced the artist Clairo.   "The country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation," Sanders said to the thousands of young people in the crowd. "Now you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up to fight for justice."   Congressional Democrats are planning town hall events across the country over recess.   Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) spoke to supporters at an event in Tucson on Sunday, where they warned that Republicans are looking to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.   "They're going to take money out of the pockets of people that don't have a lot of money, take away their health care, to give it to the wealthiest of Americans," Kelly said.   MEANWHILE…   Fears of political violence are once again on the rise after a man was arrested for using Molotov cocktails to start a fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D) residence over the weekend.   Pennsylvania State Police charged 38-year old Cody Balmer with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and other crimes. Officials said Balmer wanted to find Shapiro and beat him with a sledgehammer.   Shapiro and his family were in the residence at the time of the fire, which gutted portions of the house. The governor said he and his family woke up to the sound of police banging on their door early Sunday morning.   "We were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police," Shapiro said in a statement. "Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished."   Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) writes for The Free Press:   "The pictures of the damage to the residence are horrifying. Yet even more frightening is the trend that this attack is a part of. And if left unchecked, this trend—of using political violence to settle our differences—has the potential to destroy our republic."   Also over the weekend, the FBI said that a Wisconsin teenager accused of killing his parents also planned to assassinate Trump, who faced two foiled assassination attempts during his run for president in 2024. 💡Perspectives: • Working Life: Bernie has great vision. He's a terrible organizer. • The Liberal Patriot: The gerontocracy continues to hurt Democrats. • Unherd: Bill Maher shows liberals how to deal with Trump. Read more:  • GOP frustrations with conservatives rise after budget fight. • Spotlight shifts to Medicaid, a make-or-break issue for Trump. • What has Trump down about housing costs? IN OTHER NEWS ©  AP Photo/Seth Wenig Trump mulls tariff exemptions as lawsuit hits President Trump on Monday mulled tariff exemptions for some car parts and tech products as his administration faced its first major legal challenge over the "Liberation Day" levies.   The lawsuit, brought by the Libertarian public-interest firm Liberty Justice Center, cites a 1977 law in contesting Trump's ability to impose the tariffs unilaterally.   "Our system is not set up so that one person in the system can have the power to impose taxes across the world economy," Liberty Justice Center senior counsel Jeffrey Schwab told The Hill. "That's not how our constitutional republic works."   MEANWHILE…   Trump said Monday he's considering tariff exemptions to "help some of the car companies" he said are rapidly looking to move their manufacturing back to the U.S.   "They need a little bit of time," Trump said.   The White House said over the weekend it would offer a "reprieve" on tariffs for electronics made in China amid fears of a price spike on smartphones and computers, although Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the pause would only be temporary.   "I'm a very flexible person…I don't want to hurt anybody," Trump said Monday when asked about Apple products.   Nvidia announced Monday it would manufacture up to $500 billion of artificial intelligence chips and supercomputers entirely in the U.S. over the next four years. This comes as Trump threatens new tariffs on the semiconductor industry.    China has halted imports to the U.S. of rare minerals used to make high-tech products used by automakers, aerospace engineers and semiconductor companies, The New York Times reports.   Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a letter:   "Trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere." 💡Perspectives: • The Wall Street Journal: How the U.S. lost its place as a powerhouse. • The Free Press: Apple is too big to fail. • BIG: Is this the end of U.S. financial exceptionalism? • American Greatness: China would lose a trade war with the U.S. Read more:  • Fed governor Waller sees stagflationary impact of tariffs. • Iran, US complete first round of 'constructive' nuclear talks in Oman. • Trump calls Russian attack on Ukrainian city 'a mistake'. • Trump blames Zelensky for Ukraine war after '60 Minutes' interview. Stay Engaged Someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up to get your own copy: TheHill.com/Evening. Did I miss a story? Drop me a line. See you next time! Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 © 1998 - 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.