• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2026 ABC News
ABC News

White House says some employees were fired by mistake

PHOTO: A view shows the logo of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), after probationary staff at the OPM were fired in a conference call and given less than an hour to leave the building, outside OPM in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025.
2:53
Tierney L. Cross/Reuters
Trump makes appearance at NASCAR's Daytona 500
By Alexandra Hutzler, Emily Chang, Kevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, Julia Reinstein, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth
Last Updated: February 13, 2025, 2:21 AM

President Donald Trump's administration, including Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, is continuing its sweeping effort to cut much of the federal government -- but it's being met with legal challenges.

Trump is also making his second administration's first forays on the diplomatic front with calls to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on ending the 3-year-old war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.

And a day after Hamas released more hostages taken when it attacked Israel in October 2023, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the militant organization needs to be "eliminated."

Latest headlines:

  • Some employees who accepted buyout offer were fired by mistake: White House
  • Trump asks SCOTUS for permission to fire ethics watchdog
  • DOE official warns all schools to end 'discriminatory' DEI policies
  • 13 soon to be immigration judges, 2 current judges fired by Trump admin, union says
  • US floats proposal to own 50% of revenue of Ukraine's rare earth minerals
Here's how the news is developing.

Feb 13, 2025 2:21 AM

Trump meets with American Airlines CEO to discuss aviation safety

President Donald Trump met with American Airlines CEO Robert Isom on Wednesday, marking their first in-person meeting since the airline was involved in a deadly collision with a military helicopter last month in Washington, D.C. The crash left 67 dead on Jan. 29.

PHOTO: CEO of the American Airlines Robert Isom addresses the media in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
CEO of the American Airlines Robert Isom addresses the media, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into Potomac River, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was also present with Trump and Isom to discuss "ways to make investments in a state-of-the-art air traffic system that enhances aviation safety," according to a spokesperson for the airline.

In a statement provided to ABC News on Wednesday night, American Airlines said, "Robert thanked President Trump for his leadership and commitment to take bold action on investments in aviation safety. The American Airlines team will continue to work together with President Trump, Secretary Duffy, Congress and the entire aviation industry to make our systems even safer."

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Sam Sweeney


Feb 13, 2025 2:13 AM

Final vote on RFK Jr.'s nomination for HHS secretary set for Thursday

The Senate has pushed back the time members are scheduled to vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to serve as health and human services secretary to later in the morning on Thursday.

The vote was slated to occur during the early hours, but the change means the final confirmation vote for RFK Jr. will now occur around 10:30 a.m. ET.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray


Feb 13, 2025 3:59 AM

'The Fork in the Road is Closed,' federal buyout email says

After a Boston judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration's buyout program, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to federal employees informing them that the deferred resignation offer is now closed.

The email, with the subject "The Fork in the Road is Closed," was sent from the same hr@opm.gov address that previously informed federal employees across agencies of the offer.

"The Deferred Resignation Program is now closed. Any resignations received after 7:20pmET, February 12, 2025, will not be accepted," the entire message reads, according to an email obtained by ABC News.

One staffer told ABC News they received the email nearly 40 minutes past the stated 7:20 p.m. deadline to respond.

-ABC News' Will Steakin



Feb 13, 2025 2:00 AM

Ethics watchdog fired by Trump warns of 'more corruption' and 'less accountability'

Former U.S. Office of Government Ethics director David Huitema -- who was dismissed by President Donald Trump from his role on Monday -- joined ABC News Live Prime Wednesday, voicing concerns for the future of the agency.

PHOTO: Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, David Huitema speaks with ABC News' Linsey Davis, on Feb. 12, 2025.
ABC News
Former Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, David Huitema speaks with ABC News' Linsey Davis, on Feb. 12, 2025.
ABC News

The agency oversees government officials' compliance with ethics and conflict-of-interest rules.

Huitema was confirmed by the Senate in December for a five-year term, but his dismissal was abruptly announced on Feb. 10 in a single sentence on the Department of Government Efficiency website.

"We're entering a new phase now... where real substantive concerns about ethics and integrity can arise. And my sense is that the president just doesn't want an Office of Government Ethics that's empowered to take those issues seriously and speak to them," Huitema alleged.

-ABC News' Maria Olloqui


Feb 11, 2025 8:19 PM

Johnson says courts should 'step back' and let DOGE work

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a constitutional lawyer, again defended Elon Musk and DOGE, pushing back on court orders blocking the group's moves.

"I think the courts should take a step back and allow these processes to play out," Johnson said in a news conference Tuesday. "What we're doing is good and right for the American people. What DOGE is doing is making sure that your taxpayer dollars, all of us, are spent in the way that they're intended to be spent."

PHOTO: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson departs a House Republican Conference Meeting at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson departs a House Republican Conference Meeting at the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Several judges, including a Trump-appointed judge, have ruled against the administration and argued that its cuts, freezes and other orders may be unconstitutional.

Johnson added he agreed "wholeheartedly" with Vice President JD Vance, who posted this weekend that "judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power."

The speaker then went a step farther, saying he doesn’t feel other branches of government -- namely the legislative branch -- are getting steamrolled by DOGE, even though Trump and Musk have repeatedly limited the spending of congressionally appropriated dollars.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller, John Parkinson, Arthur Jones II and Jay O'Brien


GMA Newsletters

Sign up for our newsletters to get GMA delivered to your inbox every morning!

Up Next in news

PHOTO: Bert Gor and his daughter are speaking out after they say they were victims of an AI scam by a Lyft driver.

Father, daughter speak after Lyft driver is accused of using AI-generated image for damage claim

May 20, 2026
PHOTO: Philadelphia Police Sgt. Thomas Cain is credited with saving a toddler who was choking in a March 2026 incident at FDR Park in Philadelphia.

Police officer speaks out after rescuing choking toddler in incident caught on camera

May 20, 2026
PHOTO: ABC News' Rebecca Jarvis sits down with Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind Technologies, to discuss the future of AI.

Google DeepMind CEO says AI could unlock breakthroughs in medicine, energy and more

May 20, 2026

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2026 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2026 ABC News