French far-right leader Jordan Bardella canceled planned remarks at CPAC Friday, after ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon made a "gesture referring to Nazi ideology," according to a statement to French news agency Agence France-Presse.
Why it matters: Bardella's change of plans is the strongest rebuke yet of Bannon, who, during his remarks at the annual conservative conference made a gesture that appeared to mimic a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
"This is a lie … It's a wave … I acknowledged a crowd after the best speech @ CPAC," Bannon told Axios.
Bannon added that he sees Bardella as "gutless ... not tough enough to be a leader of France — he's a spokesmodel."
A CPAC representative did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Driving the news: "At this forum, (Thursday), while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers allowed himself, out of provocation, a gesture referring to Nazi ideology," Bardella said in a statement to AFP.
"As a result, I have taken the immediate decision to cancel my speech scheduled for this afternoon at the event."
The big picture: TheBannon incident comes about a month after Trump-ally Elon Musk also made a hand gesture that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute.
Despite blowback, Musk dismissed the criticisms, writing on X: "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she will propose constitutional reforms to crack down on foreigners involved in gun smuggling in the country.
Why it matters: The move came after the U.S. State Department formally announced it has designated eight drug cartels — including six in Mexico — as global terrorist organizations that pose a threat to national security.
The designations prompted worries in Mexico about the U.S. military crossing the border to target the cartels, AP reported.
Trump allies prior to his inauguration reportedly discussed a "soft invasion" of Mexico to target cartels with cross-border special forces operations or drone strikes.
Driving the news: Sheinbaum said at a press conference Thursday that the proposed reforms would shore up Mexico's sovereignty by ensuring foreign agents can't operate in Mexico without the permission and collaboration of the Mexican government, per AP.
The reforms would also include calling for the highest penalties to be applied to foreigners who are found guilty of smuggling and distributing guns.
Zoom out: The U.S. is a major conduit for the flow of weapons into Mexico each year, helping fuel gun violence in the country.
Earlier this month, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) introduced legislation aimed at curbing the supply of guns from the U.S. to Mexico.
Roughly 200,000 to 500,000 American-made guns are trafficked into Mexico each year, primarily from sources like unlicensed gun dealers and straw purchasers, they said.
Reality check: Updating the country's constitution is just a first step in a long road towards prosecuting offenders of gun smuggling.
The Mexican justice system has a large case backlog that can lead to delays in prosecutions. Statistics show that only about 40% of incarcerated people in Mexico have actually been convicted of a crime.
Mexico is threatening to sue Google over the tech giant's use of President Trump's "Gulf of America" (renamed from Gulf of Mexico) label on its maps.
Why it matters: It's the latest fallout over Trump's executive order to rename the body of water.
Driving the news: During a press conference Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum argued that Google's decision to change its map labels was "incorrect" because Trump's order only applied to the U.S.' continental shelf in the Gulf, CNN reported.
"What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump's decree...We do not agree with this," she said.
Mexico's foreign minister had sent Google a new letter regarding the issue.
"We will wait for Google's response and if not, we will proceed to court," Sheinbaum added, per AP.
Google did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Tuesday.
The big picture: Google began rolling out updated map labels last week to reflect the name change in official government sources.
Google Maps users in the U.S. will see "Gulf of America" over the body of water but people in Mexico will continue to see "Gulf of Mexico" on their maps.
Everywhere else around the world, users will see both names, denoted as "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)."
Reality check: The U.S. does not exclusively control the body of water and doesn't have full say over what it's officially named.
The U.S. has jurisdiction over roughly 46% of the Gulf, while Mexico controls 49% and Cuba 5%, per AP.
Already engulfed in a political firestorm, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) appeared on "Fox & Friends" alongside Trump administration border czar Tom Homan Friday morning.
Why it matters: Adams, who is facing calls for his removal from his fellow Democrats after receiving a legal lifeline from Trump's Department of Justice, publicly solidified his alignment with the new administration and pledged collaboration on its immigration crackdown.
Driving the news: Appearing together on "Fox & Friends" Friday, Adams and Homan touted their partnership.
Adams said the executive order would work toward "getting dangerous people off our streets."
The appearance followed an announcement from Adams Thursday that he had met with Homan and was working on implementing an executive order that would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) to operate at Rikers Island jail.
Adams said in an X post that the shift would allow ICE to assist in criminal investigations, particularly "those focused on violent criminals and gangs."
Adams was indicted last year on charges of bribery and fraud following a federal investigation into allegations that his campaign had illegally conspired with wealthy foreign businesspeople and Turkish officials to collect donations.
Adams' collaboration with Homan is also a litmus test for Adams' relationship with the Trump administration, after it ordered the case against him dropped, the New York Times noted.
The big picture: Adams has faced mounting pressure to resign for months.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) did not rule out the possibility of removing Adams from his post during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday.
Asked about the possibility of removal, Adams told "Fox and Friends" that Hochul "has her role, I have my role."
Elon Musk and the State Department pushed back on reports Thursday that the agency was slated to purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla Cybertrucks.
Why it matters: Musk, arguably the most powerful bureaucrat in the Trump administration, has faced mounting questions about his potential conflicts of interest while working inside the government.
As the head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), Musk is leading the Trump administration's efforts to radically reshape the federal government.
At the same time, Musk's companies — like SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink — receive lucrative government contracts.
Driving the news: Musk took to X early Thursday morning to refute the alleged contract, responding to a user who had posted about it.
"I'm pretty sure Tesla isn't getting $400M. No one mentioned it to me, at least," he wrote.
A State Department official also denied the reports to Axios, saying that "no government contract has been awarded to Tesla or any other vehicle manufacturer to produce armored electric vehicles for the Department of State."
Zoom in: The Biden administration had explored interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles, but the plan never reached the stage of an official solicitation, the official said.
"The solicitation is on hold and there are no current plans to issue it," the official added.
State of play: The State Department's 2025 procurement forecast states that the administration is set to purchase $400 million worth of "armored electric vehicles."
The entry on the procurement forecast — which was initially published last December, before Trump took office — shows that it was edited Wednesday evening.
Yet a previous version of the forecast viewed by Axios showed an entry for the same amount listed as "Armored Tesla (Production Units)." The description appeared to point toward Tesla's steel-covered Cybertrucks.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The big picture: Musk, the world's richest man, is a bonafide Republican megadonor and gave at least $288 million to help elect Trump and other GOP candidates in the 2024 election.
Musk waved off questions about his potential conflicts of interest during a Tuesday press conference with Trump, touting the transparency of his actions heading up DOGE.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the House's DOGE subcommittee, called on Elon Musk to testify before the body during its first meeting Wednesday.
Why it matters: Stansbury delivered a blistering criticism of the new Department of Government Efficiency, accusing President Trump and DOGE head Musk of wielding the new department to break the law.
Driving the news: Stansbury said during the hearing she supported the goal of ensuring the government works better and more efficiently for Americans, but said lawmakers "can't just sit here today and pretend like everything is normal."
"While we're sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government," Stansbury said.
She went on to accuse Republicans of shielding Musk and Trump as they break the law and took aim at Vice President JD Vance for purportedly undermining the judiciary.
State of play: If Musk is as committed to transparency as he claims to be, he should testify before the subcommittee, Stansbury said.
"Come and testify in front of the American people under oath, because we want to know what you're up to," she said.
The big picture: The DOGE Subcommittee on Oversight is the congressional arm of the new department, and Stansbury had previously vowed to use her position on the committee to fight back against the dismantling of federal agencies.
In the first weeks of the new Trump administration, DOGE has swept through federal agencies, gutting programs and career civil servants in the name of cost cutting.
Eight of the federal agency watchdogs abruptly fired by President Trump last month filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging their terminations.
Why it matters: The group of inspectors general argue that their firings violated federal law and that they should be reinstated to their posts.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., joins a tsunami of other legal challenges that hope to stop Trump's bid to radically reshape the federal government.
Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general just days into his second term.
Driving the news: The lawsuit was brought by the former inspectors general of the Departments of Defense, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and Agriculture, as well as the Small Business Administration.
The plaintiffs argued that their terminations violated federal statutes meant to protect them from interference in carrying out their "critical, non-partisan oversight duties."
This includes a 2022 law stipulating that the president must notify Congress at least 30 days before firing an inspector general and provide "substantive, case-specific rationale" for the decision.
The big picture: Calling their firings "unlawful and unjustified," the lawsuit noted that the Trump administration revoked the inspectors general's access to their government-issued phones, email accounts and computer systems, and even "physically disabled" them from entering the buildings where they worked.
The lawsuit calls on the court to declare their firings "legally ineffective" and allow them to remain the inspectors general of their respective agency "unless and until" Trump removes them in a way that complies with federal law.
Between the lines: Inspectors general are tasked with identifying fraud, waste and corruption and are intended to be "non-partisan officials."
The lawsuit disavowed Trump's claim that such firings are "common," instead noting that "since 1980, there has been a bipartisan consensus that it is improper for a new presidential administration to remove IGs en masse."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information throughout.
Alexander Vinnik, the Russian co-founder of a bitcoin exchange, was handed over to Russian authorities in Moscow on Thursday after being repatriated as part of a prisoner swap that freed American teacher Marc Fogel, a U.S. official told Axios.
Why it matters: President Trump has hailed the exchange as a "fair deal" after panning past prisoner exchanges with Russia as imbalanced or otherwise poorly negotiated.
The latest: The Trump administration released Vinnik as part of the exchange for Fogel, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Vinnik, the co-founder of the bitcoin exchange BTC-e, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was due to be sentenced this coming June.
Vinnik had been in U.S. custody in California.
Driving the news: Earlier Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to identify the Russian prisoner by name at a press briefing, though he confirmed a swap would occur, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The swap's order of events varies from typical prisoner exchanges, in which prisoners are released simultaneously, with their identities revealed at the same time, AP reported.
State of play: Fogel, 63, is from the Pittsburgh area and was a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
He was arrested in 2021 while he tried to enter Russia with a small amount of medical marijuana in his luggage. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Fogel arrived back in the U.S. Tuesday night.
Zoom out: Trump has been critical of prisoner exchanges in the past.
"Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals," Trump wrote, adding that offering other countries something in exchange set a "bad precedent."
He was also sharply critical of the Biden administration's prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner, which saw Russia receive a notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange.
Flashback: While Trump did manage to secure the release of some American detainees without an exchange during his first term, he also presided over at least four prisoner swaps, CNN reported.
Pope Francis denounced the Trump administration's plan to carry out mass deportations of migrants in a letter to U.S. bishops Tuesday, while appearing to take a direct jab at Vice President JD Vance.
Why it matters: Vance — a devout Catholic — has invoked Catholic theology to justify the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.
Driving the news: Pope Francis wrote in the letter that he has been following the "major crisis" in the U.S. concerning the mass deportations program.
While the pope acknowledged countries have the right to defend themselves and keep their communities safe, he urged all his followers "not to give in to narratives that discriminate" against migrants and refugees.
"The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness," he wrote.
The pope also drew a distinction between legal regulation of immigration and wholesale deportation. "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly," he wrote.
The big picture: The Trump administration has already taken a number of steps to curb immigration.
These include reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, aiming to end "birthright citizenship" for children born to undocumented immigrants, and allowing federal officials to arrest undocumented immigrants in "sensitive" spaces, like churches.
Zoom in: Vance recently defended the administration's actions by invoking on X the Catholic theological concept of "ordo amoris."
Translated from Latin, "ordo amoris" means"order of love" or "order of charity," AP reported.
Vance argued that the concept denotes a hierarchy of obligation — that one's responsibility to one's family is greater than the obligation to a "stranger who lives thousands of miles away."
"You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world," Vance posted, per AP.
Other Catholic figures, like Jesuit priest James Martin, pushed back on Vance's interpretation. "Jesus's fundamental message is that *everyone* is your neighbor," Martin wrote on X last month.
Pope Francis weighed in on the concept in his Tuesday letter.
"Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," Francis wrote.
"The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating ... on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception," he added.
A spokesperson for the Vice President did not immediately respond Tuesday to Axios' request for comment on the Pope's letter.
Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan hit back at the pope Tuesday, telling reporters that Francis "ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us," The Hill reported.
Zoom out: It's not the the first time Christian groups have rebuked the administration over its immigration policies.
A group of Quaker congregations filed a lawsuit against the administration in January over its policy to allow arrests at houses of worship and other sensitive spaces.
After Trump first took office, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde implored him to "have mercy" for undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.
Why it matters: The speed at which USAID, the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid arm, has been gutted has stunned U.S. allies and humanitarian groups around the world.
The teardown of USAID, coupled with the administration's freeze on foreign aid, is posed to endanger millions of lives around the world and diminish U.S. influence.
Driving the news: Ranking member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and committee member Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) on Friday outlined the scope and goals of the probe in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the new acting administrator of USAID.
The letter accused the Trump administration of engaging in an "opaque and Orwellian effort to dismantle" USAID, noting the illegitimacy of eliminating the agency without Congressional authorization.
It also urged the administration to reverse course on its foreign aid freeze and to "restore the functions, leadership, and employees of USAID."
Zoom in: The letter requested that Rubio provide documented answers by Feb. 20 to a series of questions about Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's activities and the aid freeze.
This would include a "comprehensive explanation of the legal authorities" used by Musk and the DOGE team to dismantle USAID, as well as details about Musk and DOGE staffers' "federal employment status."
It also requested further details about the exemptions carved out of the foreign aid freeze, the criteria being used to determine which programs should be eliminated, and how the freeze has impacted different foreign aid programs.
The big picture: Both President Trump and Musk have railed against USAID, which has been targeted by Musk's DOGE, which is not an official government entity but has rushed through the federal bureaucracy looking for spending cuts.
Republicans have sought to portray USAID as overly-aligned with liberal values and ideologies.
Earlier this week it was announced that all direct hires at the agency, abroad and at home, would be placed on administrative leave by the end of Friday.
The Trump administration intends to only keep a few hundred employees on at the agency, a vast reduction from the more than 10,000 it previously employed, Reuters reported.
Why it matters: President Trump has moved to swiftly gut critical agencies in order to reshape the federal workforce and cut costs from foundational portions of the federal government.
Driving the news: While the Trump administration has targeted the National Weather Service's (NWS) parent agency, the NWS had the highest approval rating among the agencies respondents were surveyed about (76%).
Elon Musk's DOGE has set its sights on remaking the U.S.' air traffic control system, butmost Americans favorably view the Federal Aviation Administration (62%) and Transportation Security Administration (59%).
While disaster relief has become increasingly politicized, 55% of Americans said they favorably view the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
As Trump has sought to purge the FBI of agents who investigated Jan. 6 cases, 57% of Americans said they view the bureau favorably.
Zoom in: While the new administration could radically reshape food and vaccine safety, most Americans say they approve of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (63%) and Food and Drug Administration (61%).
State of play: Trump's overhaul of the federal bureaucracy has been wide-reaching and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Trump administration's widely criticized overhaul of the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid agency has drawn some international praise — from Russia and Iran.
Driving the news: Iran's government has seemingly welcomed the agency's overhaul and freezing U.S. foreign aid, with state media reports suggesting the moves will cut off support pro-democracy activists, AP reported.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Elon Musk — Trump's righthand man who has led the charge against USAID — for "trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat."
Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin praised the USAID's takedown as a "critical blow to globalism" in the right-wing outlet Arktos.
USAID was "aimed at the worldwide imposition of liberal democracy, market economics, and human rights, while dismantling sovereign states and overthrowing regimes capable of resisting this on a global scale," he added.
The big picture: USAID — the world's single largest humanitarian donor —has historically administered programs that fight disease outbreaks, reduce poverty and provide relief to people impacted by conflicts and natural disasters.
Since Trump returned to the White House, the agency was thrown into disarray after a funding freeze on foreign aid ground much of the humanitarian sector to a halt.
Trump, meanwhile, railed against USAID, saying the agency was run by "radical lunatics."
On Tuesday night it was announced that all direct hires at the agency, abroad and at home, would be placed on administrative leave by the end of Friday.
A U.S. federal judge on Monday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration's spending freeze.
Why it matters: District Judge Loren AliKhan expressed concern in her order that the Trump administration was still enforcing the spending freeze despite the temporary restraining order.
Catch up quick: The White House ordered a "temporary pause" on federal funding on Tuesday that prompted intense confusion and backlash.
AliKhan issued an initial temporary pause on the order last week, which was due to expire Monday.
The Office of Management and Budget rescinded the memo on Wednesday, following AliKhan's order. However, the White House said pulling back the memo didn't mean withdrawing the funding freeze.
Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's social media posts claiming the freeze was still in effect despite withdrawing the order were grounds for the lawsuit to continue.
What they're saying: AliKhan said in her order that plaintiffs had proven certain funding sources outside of executive order parameters were inaccessible even after the OMB rescinded its memo.
The government, AliKhan wrote, had "offered no rational explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance."
AliKhan added that the plaintiffs had proven that the injuries caused by the freeze were "sufficiently concrete" and "potentially catastrophic."
"Each day that the pause continues to ripple across the country is an additional day that Americans are being denied access to programs that heal them, house them, and feed them," she added.
The Trump administration has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for potential shut down, the latest in its broad and escalating push to radically reshape the federal government.
Why it matters: USAID is the U.S. government's lead humanitarian aid arm and administers a wide array of programs around the world focused on fighting disease, reducing poverty and providing relief to people impacted by conflicts and natural disasters.
The U.S. government is the world's single largest humanitarian donor, per the United Nations.
The big picture: In the 2023 fiscal year, USAID disbursed roughly $44 billion of aid across 160 countries and regions around the world, per the agency's foreign assistance dashboard.
Ukraine was the top recipient of foreign assistance funds in FY 2023, with over $16 billion issued. Israel received more than $2.2 billion in disbursements, while Ethiopia and Jordan each received over $1 billion.
Other top recipients also included Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
State of play: From virtually the start of the new Trump administration, USAID's ability to carry out its work was thrown into disarray after a funding freeze on foreign aid ground much of the humanitarian sector to a halt.
Elon Musk, head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said Monday morning that President Trump had "agreed" to "shut" USAID down.
This followedreports that two senior USAID officials were placed on administrative leave after barring DOGE representatives from internal systems during a recent visit.
Trump himself has railed against USAID, telling reporters this weekend the agency was run by "radical lunatics."
Case in point: USAID's website and X account have both been taken down.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday announced new leadership and a potential restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),the agency that leads foreign aid programs around the world.
Why it matters:President Trump's administration appears poised to dramatically overhaul, or attempt to shutter, the critical foreign aid agency, in a move that Democrats are sounding the alarm over.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head ElonMusk said Monday that Trump had "agreed" to "shut" USAID down. Musk railedagainst the agency over the weekend, labeling it as corrupt and wasteful.
The latest: The State Department announced Monday that Rubio had been appointed as USAID's new the acting administrator.
In a letter to lawmakers from both parties Monday, Rubio accused USAID of having "conflicting, overlapping, and duplicative" activities with the State Department, which result in "discord in foreign relations," Punchbowl News reported.
Rubio said he had appointed Trump loyalist Peter Marocco to oversee a review of the agency and "potential reorganization," which he said could include eliminating or downsizing certain programs.
Catch up quick: Employees of the agency were barred from entering its headquarters on Monday, AP reported.
That came after two senior USAID officials were placed on administrative leave for barring DOGE representatives from internal systems during a recent visit.
Dozens of career officials were also put on administrative leave last week, the Washington Post reported, over accusations they tried to sidestep Trump's foreign aid freeze.
Here's what you need to know about the agency:
Why was USAID founded?
President John F. Kennedy founded USAID via executive order in 1961 to implement the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which CRS describes as the "cornerstone" of the country's foreign assistance programs.
USAID brought together several existing foreign assistance programs under one umbrella, per an archived version of the USAID website.
Building on the Marshall Plan, which assisted postwar Europe's recovery, USAID's early focus was on "technical and capital assistance programs," per its archived site.
Through the decades, it expanded its scope to promote "human needs" — like nutrition and education — as well as democracy and free markets.
What does USAID do?
Its workforce of 10,000 managed some $43 billion in appropriations and assisted approximately 130 countries with disaster relief and economic development in fiscal year 2023.
Thetop funding recipients included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health programs were the largest USAID funding sector since the 1990s, according to CRS.
USAID and its partners supported HIV and AIDs testing for more than 79.6 million people as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2019.
Health remained the top USAID sector until fiscal year 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humanitarian assistance surpassed health for a time and was then passed by governance in FY 2023, a result of U.S. support for Ukraine.
By the numbers: The over $40 billion USAID managed in FY 2023 was still less than 1% of the federal budget.
Zoom in: It's not just other nations that benefit from USAID assistance.
For example, the USAID Food for Peace Program, which provides emergency food assistance around the world, purchased 1.1 million metric tons of food from U.S. farmers of ranchers in fiscal year 2023.
What has Trump said about it?
Trump told reporters Sunday evening USAID was run by "a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out."
Responding to a report that two senior agency officials were put on leave after trying to stop DOGE reps from accessing restricted spaces, Musk wrote on X, "USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die."
Zoom out: The State Department ordered a freeze on all U.S. foreign assistance funded through the State Department and USAID earlier this month to review whether programs are "efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda" in accordance with an order from Trump.
After widespread confusion, Secretary Marco Rubio signed a waiver Tuesday allowing "existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs" to continue work.
Yes, but: In the wake of the freeze, USAID partners and contractors were directed to halt work supplying critical drugs treating HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, Reuters reported.
And in Pakistan, officials were ordered to cease working on several projects, including reconstructing police stations damaged by flooding, NPR reported.
What we're watching: Trump has yet to make an official statement on USAID's future but told reporters Sunday the administration would "make a decision."
Democratic lawmakers, after reports Trump was considering merging the agency with the State Department, urged the administration in a letter to the USAID acting director to respect USAID's independence and life-saving work.
The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
The Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid threatens to derail global efforts to fight disease outbreaks, counter terrorism, and provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict.
Why it matters: President Trump's desire to shape an "America first" foreign policy — which was also a focus of his first term — could alter America's posture on the world stage and impact communities around the world.
The U.S. government is the single largest humanitarian donor in the world, according to the United Nations.
The foreign aid freeze undermines the U.S.' standing as a "reliable and credible partner" for its allies when they face crises, Michelle Strucke, director of the Humanitarian Agenda and Human Rights initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Axios.
Driving the news: The State Department issued the freeze on all foreign assistance for 90 days last week, effectively implementing an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office.
The freeze also includes a review of all federal assistance programs to ensure they align with Trump's foreign policy agenda.
The only initial exemptions were for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt were exempted from the freeze, per AP.
Zoom in: Amid widespread confusion and upheaval across the humanitarian sector, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had signed an additional waiver for "life-saving humanitarian assistance."
The waiver signed Tuesday claimed that the exemptions would apply to "core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance."
It specified that it would not include areas targeted by the Trump administration, such as "activities that involve abortions, family planning conferences … gender or DEI ideology programs, transgender surgeries, or other non-life saving assistance."
Between the lines: Despite the State Department's efforts to clarify the terms of the freeze, confusion persists among international aid workers.
Many humanitarian organizations are still seeking clarity on what qualifies as "life-saving" assistance, the Washington Post reported.
Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, an advocacy organization focused on HIV treatment that collaborates with groups impacted by the freeze, told Axios the new waiver was "meaningless" and that "massive disruptions are still in effect and threatening literally millions of lives."
"People are right to be confused, because there's only been a two paragraph communication," she said, denouncing the lack of guidance of how to implement the waiver in practice.
Even once a guidance is issued, the chaos is likely to continue. "When you trigger massive ... programs to fire their staff, they can't start back up again overnight," Russell noted.
The State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
What is foreign assistance?
Foreign assistance is a conduit for helping the U.S. achieve its foreign policy goals.
This foreign aid is often distributed by the government in the form of grants to support projects implemented by NGOs, businesses, foreign governments, or even U.S. government agencies, per a Nov. 2024 report from the Congressional Research Service.
Foreign assistance can also come in the form of direct budget assistance — essentially, cash — to foreign governments and multilateral organizations, like the UN, per the report.
By the numbers: The U.S. spent roughly $70 billion in foreign assistance in the 2022 fiscal year, the latest year for which comprehensive data is available, the CRS report stated.
This accounted for about 1% of the total federal budget.
What kinds of humanitarian aid is included?
U.S. foreign assistance is critical to sustaining a plethora of humanitarian and relief efforts around the world.
In 2024, the U.S. provided more than 40% of the UN's humanitarian aid budget.
Foreign assistance grants are also critical to sustaining the work done by public health organizations and demining organizations.
The big picture: In the wake of the freeze, public health partners and contractors that work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were ordered to haltthe supply of critical drugs for the treatment of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as part of the freeze, Reuters reported.
This includes programs like the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created by former President George W. Bush.
The State Department's backpedaling with the issuance of a humanitarian aid waiver has still led to disruptions for PEPFAR, with many health clinics in southern Africa remaining closed amid the confusion, the New York Times reported.
For some clinics, there has been "absolute chaos" around the dispensing of HIV-related medications and the processing of blood samples, Russell noted.
Former USAID official Atul Gawande warned in an X post Saturday that the freeze would do "serious damage to the world and the U.S.," noting that the freeze would impact global efforts to fight Marburg virus, monitor bird flu outbreaks, and eradicate polio.
What else does foreign assistance cover?
Some U.S. foreign assistance falls outside of the scope of traditional humanitarianism.
Charles Lister, director of the Middle East Institute's Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs, pointed out in an X post Monday that the freeze would also impact security at camps in northeast Syria where ISIS members and their families are held.
In the wake of the aid freeze, some camp guards stopped showing up for work. The State Department quickly worked to push through an exemption and resume funding Tuesday, Lister posted on X.
"We narrowly escaped disaster and it just shows this team has no idea what they're doing," an unnamed U.S. official told Politico.
State of play: Counterterrorism is an "objective of a significant amount of U.S. foreign assistance," Strucke told Axios.
Foreign assistance can also include funding for counternarcotics operations in places like Colombia, an initiative that the first Trump administration prioritized, she added.
Cutting off funding for such operations could lead to increased drug trafficking, including into the U.S., she noted.
For Ukraine, while the freeze doesn't impact U.S. military aid, it could hit funding for humanitarian assistance, such as for programs that promote accountability for Russian war crimes, Strucke noted.
President Trump and his allies are blaming diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for contributing to the tragic plane crash outside of D.C. Wednesday night, without providing any evidence of a link between the two.
Why it matters: Trump repeatedly cited DEI policies, a favorite boogeyman, at the Federal Aviation Administration as having some role in the plane collision during White House remarks. He also blamed Democrats who advanced inclusive workplace policies.
While the cause of the crash isn't yet known, Trump implicitly equated racial, gender and other forms of diversity with a lower-quality federal workforce.
Officials said Thursday that there hadn't been anything unusual about the flight paths for either aircraft leading up to the collision, nor had there been a breakdown in communications.
Asked Thursday if he was getting ahead of the official investigation by blaming DEI initiatives, Trump disagreed, even while acknowledging it was still unclear what caused the collision.
Reality check: Aviation experts have focused on a shortage of air traffic controllers, rather than any DEI initiatives, as a safety concern.
There are simply not enough people at present, of any identity, making it through the long, arduous qualification process.
State of play: Other Trump administration officials echoed the president's sentiments about the connection between DEI and the quality of the federal workforce.
"We can only accept the best and the brightest in positions of safety that impact the lives of our loved ones, our family members," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the press conference after Trump spoke.
Duffy also promised reforms after Trump's comments. "We are going to take responsibility at the Department of Transportation and the FAA to make sure we have the reforms that have been dictated by President Trump in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again and again."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struck a similar note at the briefing. "The era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department and we need the best and brightest — whether it's in our air traffic control or whether it's in our generals, or whether it's throughout government," he said.
Vice President JD Vance claimedthat over the past decade, hundreds of people had sued the government because they wanted to be air traffic controllers but had been "turned away because of the color of their skin."
"That policy ends under Donald Trump's leadership, because safety is the first priority of our aviation industry," Vance added.
Trump also announced Thursday that he was appointing a new acting administrator of the FAA. Former FAA administrator Michael Whitaker stepped down earlier this month after Musk pressured him to resign.
Zoom in: Trump claimedthe FAA's DEI policies had included "hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities."
People with such severe disabilities — including missing extremities, hearing and vision loss, and dwarfism — all qualified for air traffic controller positions under the DEI policies, Trump added.
Trump did not offer specific examples of when such hires had occurred. The FAA did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
After slamming groups that had previously determined the FAA as being "too white," Trump added: "We want the people who are competent."
Driving the news: Trump wasted little time blaming former Presidents Obama and Biden for allegedly lowering safety standards at the Federal Aviation Administration at a press conference Thursday.
He also railed against former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying the former Biden administration official had run the FAA "right into the ground with his diversity" initiatives.
Buttigieg hit back at Trump's accusations in an X post, calling them "despicable" and noting that one of Trump's first acts in office was to "fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe."
The big picture: American Eagle Flight 5342 was en route from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C. when it collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter late Wednesday.
The passenger jet was carrying 64 people on board while the helicopter was carrying three soldiers.
No survivors are expected after an American Airlines passenger flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair on Wednesday night, near Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
The big picture: While the cause of the crash is being investigated, details are emerging about the people who were aboard the aircrafts.
American Eagle Flight 5342 had 64 people on board, while the helicopter was carrying three soldiers.
State of play: The flight was en route from Wichita, Kansas to Washington, D.C., when the plane and helicopter collided.
The American Airlines flight attendants were based out of Charlotte, an Association of Flight Attendants spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, confirmed at a briefing Thursday that "to the best of their knowledge" 14 skaters were on board the flight, returning home from a development camp put on in Wichita by U.S. Figure Skating.
United Association, a union representing plumbers and other service technicians, said Thursday that at least five members were on the flight. Four of them were members of Maryland-based Steamfitters United Association Local 602. They were not immediately identified by name.
Zoom in: Two Chinese citizens were also on board, China's state media reported the country's embassy in D.C. as saying.
Rebecca M. Lobach, one of three pilots onboard the Black Hawk, is remembered by her family as "a servant, a caregiver, an advocate," per a statement shared by the U.S. Army.
She had served as an aviation officer since July 201 and received several awards, including an Army Commendation Medal and an achievement medal.
Her family said she began her career as a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina and was within the top 20% of cadets nationwide. She also served as a certified Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Victim Advocate.
Cory, Roger and Stephanie Branton Haynos
Cory Haynos, a young skater, was killed in the plane crash alongside his parents, Roger and Stephanie Branton Haynos, a family member wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.
"Roger has always inspired me by his absolute love for his family," Matthew Alan LaRavier, Roger's cousin, wrote, adding that Roger "was excited about his son's future."
"Cory was an amazing skater ... We all were expecting Cory to represent our country in the US Olympics in the future," he added.
Jonathan Campos
The captain of the American Airlines commercial jet, Jonathan Campos, 34, had dreamed of being a pilot since he was a toddler, his aunt told the New York Times.
"I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird," she said.
Epic Flight Academy, where Campos had served as a flight instructor, praised Campos in a Facebook post as a "skilled and dedicated pilot with an undeniable passion for flying."
Police Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr.
Col. Pergentino Malabed Jr., 51, was the chief of the Philippine National Police Supply Management Division and "on official travel," officials told Filipino reporters.
"His untimely passing is a profound loss to the PNP, where he served with honor, integrity and dedication throughout his career," the PNP said in a media statement.
Sarah Lee Best and Elizabeth Anne Keys
Law firm Wilkinson Stekloff paid tribute to its D.C.-based associates Sarah Lee Best and Elizabeth Anne Keys in a media statement.
"We are heartbroken by this terrible tragedy. Liz and Sarah were cherished members of our firm — wonderful attorneys, colleagues and friends," the statement said.
Casey Crafton
"Salem has lost a dedicated father, husband, and community member," said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont in a post to X confirming Casey Grafton was on the flight.
Montville Youth Soccer Club said on Facebook the coach "was a valued volunteer," who "helped to enrich the lives of all those that he came in contact with."
Vikesh Patel
GE Aerospace employee Vikesh Patel was remembered as a "cherished" colleague by Larry Culp, the company's chair and CEO said to WXIX Channel 19.
"This is a tragedy not only for our industry, but also for the GE Aerospace team," the company said on X.
Grace Maxwell
Cedarville University student Grace Maxwell, a mechanical engineering major who was due to graduate next year, was on board the plane, per a statement from the college that's northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, to WLWT.
"As you can imagine, the past 24 hours have been very difficult for the Maxwell family and the Cedarville University community. As a university, we do not desire to turn this tragic event into anything more than a way to honor Grace, her family, and Jesus," the statement added.
Alydia, Everly, Donna and Peter Livingston
Donna Livingston and Peter Livingston and their daughters, Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11, from Ashburn, Virginia, "were among those lost on AA5342," The Skating Lesson said on Instagram.
The sisters were members of the Washington Figure Skating Club and had over 14,000 followers on their Instagram account, where they shared their love for skating.
Brielle and Justyna Beyer
"Brielle Beyer, 12, of Aldie, Virginia, was a spunky skater who was said to live on the ice," The Skating Lesson said on Instagram.
Andy Beyer told ABC News his wife, Justyna, and daughter, who overcame cancer at four months old, had been away for six days for a figure skating camp, adding: ""I missed them… Figure skating at that level, it's a lifestyle."
Wendy Jo Shaffer
Charlotte mother-of-two and "incredible" wife Wendy Jo Shaffer was a passenger on the plane, Fox News' Los Angeles-based correspondent Bill Melugin said in a post to X about his friend, which also carried a statement from her husband, Nate.
"Her love, kindness, and strength touched everyone she met. We will miss you more than words can express, Wendy Jo," her husband's statement said.
Alexandr "Sasha" Kirsanov
Delaware skating coach Alexandr "Sasha" Kirsanov was "more than just a coach — he was a mentor, a friend, and a light in the skating world," per a Facebook post by the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club confirming its former coach and "two incredible skaters from our rink" were on the plane.
He is survived by his wife, Natalia Gudin, who also teaches students, and daughter, Nicole.
Natalia Gudin confirmed to Delaware Online that the two child skaters were also on the plane.
"This young team — Sean Kay and Angela Yang — they were so amazing. All the judges were so proud and they had such a big future," Gudin said. "For me, it's a triple [loss]."
Angela, 11, and Sean, 11, "were undefeated in juvenile ice dance this season," The Skating Lesson said on Instagram.
Ryan O'Hara
Ryan O'Hara, the crew chief of the helicopter, was remembered by Parkview High School Marine Corps JROTC in Lilburn, metro Atlanta, "as a guy who would fix things around the ROTC gym as well as a vital member of the Rifle Team."
He leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son, per a school Facebook post.
Andrew Eaves
Brooksville native Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves was one of three pilots in the Black Hawk, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on X.
Eaves was Central Academy graduate who grew up in the Brooksville area, per the Macon Beacon.
Eaves is remembered as "one of the finest, most disciplined, committed trainers," Josh Muehlendorf, Chief Warrant Officer 5 with the US Army, told CNN in an interview.
Asra Hussain Raza
Asra Hussain Raza was traveling home from a work trip when the crash occurred, according to Indianapolis' WISH-TV.
The 26-year-old graduate of the University of Indiana and Columbia University had recently moved to D.C. with her husband for a consulting job, per CBS News.
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov
The two Russian skaters aboard the American Airlines flight were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, TASS reported.
The pair were married and former world champions, having won the pair title in 1994. They competed together at the Olympics in 1992 and 1994.
They moved to the U.S. in 1998 to coach at the International Skating Center in Connecticut, per Radio Free Europe.
The Skating Club of Boston lists both Shishkova and Naumov as coaches.
Their son, Maxim Naumov, is a skater at the club, but returned home earlier in the week, Zeghibe said.
Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov performing at the Pairs event at the Figure Skating Championship finals in Paris, France, in 1996. Photo: Pierre Verdy/AFP via Getty Images
Jinna Han and Jin Han
Jinna Han was one of the athletes aboard the American Airlines flight, the Boston Skating Club confirmed Thursday.
Zeghibe described her as a "wonderful kid" and a "great competitor" who was "loved by all."
Her mother, Jin Han, was accompanying her during her time at the development camp and was also killed in the crash.
Spencer Lane and Christine Lane
Spencer Lane was another skater from the Boston Skating Club who died in the crash.
Lane was a "highly talented" skater "rocketing to the top of the sport," Zeghibe said.
His mother, Christine Lane, was also on the plane.
Inna Volyanskaya
Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam confirmed on X Thursday that one of his constituents, Inna Volyanskaya, was aboard the American Airlines flight.
Volyanskaya was a coach at the Washington Figure Skating Club, which said in a statement Thursday that it was "devastated" to hear of the crash but did not confirm details about any potential victims.
Inna Volyanskaya was a former professional skater who had competed for the Soviet Union, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Sam Lilley
One of the American Eagle flight pilots was 28-year-old Sam Lilley, who started started his pilot training in 2019, his father told FOX 5 Atlanta.
"He was engaged to get married in the fall," Timothy Lilley said of his son in a Facebook post. "Sam was the First Officer on the flight that crashed in DC last night. It is so devastating to lose someone that is loved so much."
Ian Epstein
Charlotte flight attendant Ian Epstein was "full of life," his family said in a media statement.
"He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. But his true love was his family. He was a father, a stepfather, a husband and a brother! He will be truly missed."
Michael Stovall and Jesse Pitcher
Michael Stovall, 40, and Jesse Pitcher, 30 were on a hunting trip with their friends in Kansas, the New York Times reported. Stovall was a steamfitter and Pitcher owned a plumbing business.
"He said he'd see me when he got back," Pitcher's father, Jameson Pitcher, told the NYT.
Editor's note: This story will be updated with additional information as it is available. This story has been updated to correct the ages of Everly and Alydia Livingston.
Investigators have recovered the black boxes of the passenger jet involved in a collision with an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside D.C. — the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. in more than 20 years.
The big picture: The American Airlines passenger jet with 64 people on board and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers collided on Wednesday night, sending both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River. There are no known survivors.
The rescue mission shifted to a recovery operation early Thursday, but at least a dozen people were still missing by day's end. Investigators are working to determine the exact cause of the crash.
The airport resumed flight operations Thursday morning, but dozens of flights have been delayed or cancelled since. Passengers were advised to check with their airlines for specific flight information.
Reagan National Airport has the country's busiest runway — which has long caused concerns about overcrowding at the airport and understaffing among air traffic controllers, Axios D.C.'s Mimi Montgomery reports.
Situation report: The National Transportation Safety Board intends to have a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days, board member Todd Inman said during a briefing Thursday afternoon.
"We do not know enough facts to be able to rule in or out human factor, mechanical factors," Inman said.
President Trump delivered remarks from the White House earlier Thursday afternoon, briefly calling for national unity before attacking his Democratic predecessors and blaming DEI policies for the crash.
Reality check: Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and IPUMS show air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists are predominately male and white. Go deeper.
Zoom in: The president later signed a memorandum in keeping with an earlier one ordering the Transportation secretary and FAA administrator "to review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols" made during the previous four years.
It also directs them "to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards," Trump added in the memo.
Catch up quick: Remnants of the two aircraft discovered included the fuselage of the American Airlines commercial plane, which was found in three sections in "waist-deep" water, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a briefing Thursday morning.
Rescue operations along the frigid river began soon after the crash, around 9pm ET. Some 300 people were involved in those efforts, perJohn Donnelly, chief of D.C. Fire and EMS.
Speculation mounts on "absolute tragedy"
"Everything was standard in the leadup to the crash," Duffy said, while declining to speculate about where things went so tragically wrong.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video statement Thursday the Army unit involved in the collision, the 12th Aviation Battalion, was placed on a 48-hour operational pause while the incident is reviewed.
Army Secretary nominee Dan Driscoll called the incident an "absolute tragedy" during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. "We might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk and it may not be near an airport like Reagan," he added.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the helicopter flew outside its approved flight path and that the air traffic controller was juggling two jobs.
How the crash happened
American Eagle Flight 5342, traveling from Wichita, was approaching DCA, sometimes described as having America's busiest runway.
Visibility was good at the time of the crash, with winds blowing out of the northwest. An advisory for high winds had expired earlier in the evening.
Both the jet and the helicopter were following "standard flight patterns," Duffy told reporters.
Hegseth noted the helicopter was manned by a "fairly experienced crew" that was appropriately equipped with night vision goggles.
Data: FAA, FlightAware; Chart: Axios Visuals
The U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter was on a training exercise out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
The helicopter was told to maintain visual separation with the plane — essentially, "see and avoid," Axios aviation expert Alex Fitzpatrick notes. That's not an unusual procedure, despite a Truth Social post from Trump questioning why the control tower hadn't given more direct instructions.
It's also not unusual to see Black Hawks flying low along the Potomac. This is some of America's busiest airspaces due to the presence of both military and commercial aircraft.
What remains unclear is why the helicopter did not divert from its path and collided with the jet as it made its final descent.
"Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely," Duffy said, without offering specifics.
Wreckage can be seen on the river. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty
Who was on board
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed "several" of its members were on board, as well as family members of some athletes returning from a development camp in Wichita.
The Kremlin confirmed Russian figure skaters and other citizens were on board and China's state media reported two Chinese citizens were on the plane, which was carrying 60 passengers and four crew.
Officials and family confirmed Ryan O'Hara, the crew chief of the helicopter, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves were two of the three service members aboard the helicopter.
Recovery operations continue
Recovery efforts are ongoing in and around the Potomac. Based on an initial count, around 30 people had yet to be recovered as of Thursday morning.
Dive teams scoured the site as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in a methodical search for bodies, per AP.
Emergency response teams including Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS, D.C. Police and others, respond to helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Deadly plane crashes in the U.S.
Fatal crashes of commercial aircraft in the U.S. have become a rarity.
The last was in 2009 near Buffalo, N.Y. All 49 passengers and crew above Colgan Air Flight 3407 were killed when the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane crashed into a house. A person on the ground also was killed.
Other than the Pentagon attack on 9/11, last night's collisionis the worst air tragedy in the D.C. area since the Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982, which killed 78 when it hit the 14th Street Bridge and crashed into the Potomac.
This story has been updated throughout and will continue to be updated as new information comes in.
An American Airlines regional passenger jet carrying 64 people collidedwith a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in midair near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday night, officials said, citing preliminary reports.
The latest: Emergency respondents were now "switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," D.C. Fire and EMS Department chief John Donnelly said at a press briefing Thursday morning.
"At this point, we don't believe there are any survivors from this accident, and we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter," Donnelly added.
Remnants of the two aircrafts have been discovered, including the fuselage of the American Airlines plane, which was found in three sections, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said at a press briefing Thursday morning.
State of play: Duffy added that the U.S. still "absolutely" had the safest airspace in the world.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. "Something went wrong here," Duffy acknowledged, though he stressed that both aircrafts' flight paths in the lead up to the collision were standard for the D.C. airspace and that there hadn't been a communication breakdown.
A little over 14 hours after the collision, the airport can "safely" reopen at 11am, said Jack Potter, head of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
The big picture: The American Eagle Flight 5342 was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., with 60 passengers and four crew members on board, per a statement on American Airlines' website about the incident involving its subsidiary airline.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a statement on X just after midnight Thursday from a Defense Department spokesperson saying the U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter was on a training exercise out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, when the incident happened.
Zoom in: The collision prompted a ground stop and Reagan Washington National Airport said on X all takeoffs and landings had been "halted at DCA."
A figure skating group said on X that skaters, coaches and their families were on the flight following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Telegram that Russian figure skaters and other citizens were on board.
What they're saying: President Trump thanked first responders in an emailed statement late Wednesday and said that he'd been "fully briefed on the terrible accident," adding: "May God Bless their souls."
Trump made clear on Truth Social early Thursday that he's seeking answers on how the collision happened, saying: "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."
What we're watching: Donnelly said at an early Thursday morning briefing some 300 responders were at the scene, where temperatures were expected to be below freezing overnight.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X her department was "deploying every available" U.S. Coast Guard resource for search and rescue efforts.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, with the latter leading the probe.
Background: Reagan Washington National Airport is owned by the federal government and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which serves the D.C. metropolitan area.
It's an American Airlines hub that provides nonstop flights to 102 domestic destinations and six international destinations, per the airport's website.
Flashback: Wednesday's collision is the worst air tragedy in the D.C. area since the Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982.
The plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge after take off from Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 70 passengers, four crew members and four people in vehicles on the bridge over the Potomac River.
