Trump updates: US president suggests Russia-Ukraine deal is close

For more of our coverage on the Trump administration, read our story on why the US president has moved to dismantle the Department of Education here.

Read more here about how US strikes on Yemen are splitting Trump’s base.

And find out more here about the library on the Quebec-Vermont border that has become the latest flashpoint in Trump’s face-off with Canada.

This live page will be closed soon. Here are today’s top events:

• US President Donald Trump unveils a new fighter jet programme, the F-47, at an Oval Office event with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• The US State Department confirms the administration is still reviewing its sanctions policy on Syria as lawmakers call for a reprieve.
• Trump expresses optimism about reaching a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
• The US imposes sanctions against former Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over corruption.
• A federal judge rebukes Trump administration lawyers arguing against his order barring the deportation of Venezuelans under an 18th century law.
• Trump outlines which agencies would take over Education Department programmes, a day after starting the process of dismantling the cabinet-level agency.

The latest ruling rejects Trump’s push to lift a judge’s order for the US administration to reinstate workers at 18 agencies who were fired as part of a purge of federal employees.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said there was no reason to pause the decision.

The Trump administration conducted a mass firing of probationary workers shortly after taking office. Probationary employees typically have worked less than one year and sometimes less than two years in their current roles.

That makes them more vulnerable to termination.

The 18 agencies involved in the case include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department.

We reported earlier that the Trump administration is cutting off Canada’s main access point to a historical library that sits on the border between Quebec and Vermont.

In an email to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that the Trump administration was rolling out a new, “phased approach” to library access amid a “rise in illicit cross border activity”.

Read the full story here.

In a court filing, a lawyer for Mamadou Taal says the Cornell University doctoral student has received an email from a Department of Justice lawyer saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “invites” him to surrender to ICE custody.

Taal has filed a lawsuit against Trump’s executive orders that critics said are aimed at stifling free speech, particularly pro-Palestine advocacy on US campuses.

“This lawsuit is aimed at reversing the chill on speech and making people feel confident to stand up,” said Taal, a dual Gambian-United Kingdom citizen who has taken part in Cornell University pro-Palestine protests.

In the latest filing, Taal’s lawyer said it was “not yet clear what grounds for removal the government alleges exists here”. He said the pending detention appeared to be “in reaction” to Taal’s lawsuit.

The State Department has imposed sanctions on Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and former Minister of Planning Julio Miguel De Vido over what it calls “involvement in significant corruption”.

Fernandez de Kirchner served as Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015 and vice president from 2011 to 2015. She has been sentenced to six years in prison and banned from holding public office in Argentina over a corruption case. But she has not been jailed as she appeals and claims immunity.

“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “These designations reaffirm our commitment to counter global corruption, including at the highest levels of government.”

The sanctions restrict the entry of Fernandez de Kirchner and De Vido to the US.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) underscores that US law prohibits military aid from going to countries that block humanitarian assistance.

Israel has imposed a total blockade on Gaza for weeks with the Trump administration’s support.

“Trump doesn’t care about following US law, so Congress must now step up. Tell your member of Congress to stop weapons to Israel,” the IMEU Policy Project said in a social media post.

Federal Judge James Boasberg has begun a hearing on the Trump administration’s use of an 18th century law to deport Venezuelans from the US by taking aim at how government lawyers have been handling the case.

Boasberg told Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign that language in some of the government’s court filings had been “intemperate” and “disrespectful”. He added he could not recall ever having experienced that approach from government lawyers.

The judge added he often advises his law clerks that their most valuable assets are their reputation and their credibility. “I would just ask you to make sure that your team maintains that lesson,” Boasberg told Ensign.

The statements are likely to escalate a war of words between Boasberg, who has barred the Trump administration from using the law for further deportations, and the president, who has called for the judge to be impeached.

The Pentagon chief will visit Japan and the Philippines next week as well as the US state of Hawaii and the territory of Guam.

The trip will be his first to the region, which has been a US priority as it seeks to counter China. The Biden administration had strengthened diplomatic and military ties with both Manila and Tokyo.

The Pentagon said Hegseth will “advance security objectives” on the trip.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says the Trump administration has still not made a determination on lifting sanctions on Syria.

Syria’s interim government has repeatedly called for the removal of Western sanctions since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December. US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Joe Wilson sent a letter to the State Department this week warning that “sanctions inertia would undercut Syria’s path to stability.”

“We are monitoring the Syrian interim authorities’ actions in general across a number of issues as we determine and think about the future US policy for Syria,” Bruce told reporters.

“We also continue to call for an inclusive, civilian-led government that can ensure national institutions are effective, responsive and representative.”

Mark Pocan suggests that the billionaire Trump ally should pay more attention to his businesses and quit politics after a recall of tens of thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks due to an exterior panel that can detach while driving.

Hey @ElonMusk, now might be a good time to focus on your cars (and company) that are falling apart before you continue to f*ck up our country too. pic.twitter.com/OfZKrrZbC4

— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) March 21, 2025

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warns the US against attacking Iran after Trump’s repeated threats against Tehran.

“The US must know that when facing Iran, threats will never achieve anything,” he said, as reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “The US and others must know that if they commit any malicious act against the Iranian nation, they will receive a severe blow.”

Trump has said he would like to reach a diplomatic deal with Tehran over its nuclear programme, but he has also suggested that the US is ready to take military action against Iran.

It is now 3pm in Washington, DC (19:00 GMT). Here are the latest developments:

• US President Donald Trump says he will soon discuss tariffs with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
• The US president also expresses optimism about the prospects of reaching a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
• The US president announces other agencies will take over basic functions of the Department of Education as he pushes to dismantle it.
• The Pentagon says it is developing a new generation of fighter jets, the F-47, saying it will give the US air dominance in the years ahead.
• The Justice Department says it is considering invoking the president’s state secrets privilege in a standoff with a federal court over the deportation of Venezuelans.
• Billionaire Elon Musk visits the Pentagon as Trump and other officials deny reports he would be briefed on top secret plans for any future war with China.

On the final day of his re-election campaign, Trump stood in front of a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and made a pledge: “I will restore peace in the world.”

But since Saturday, Trump – now two months into his second term – has carried out a series of large-scale military actions against the Houthi armed group in Yemen, killing at least 53 people in the initial volley of air strikes.

The attacks have exposed a fracture within Trump’s base.

On one hand, the Republican Party has long promoted a muscular foreign policy that leans towards aggressive action abroad. On the other, there is a vocal constituency among Trump’s voters, many on the far right, who seek to withdraw the US from costly entanglements abroad.

Read more here.

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith rebukes Trump’s plan to have other agencies take over the tasks of the Education Department.

Smith hit out at shifting programmes related to nutrition and students with disabilities to the Health and Human Services Department, which is headed by Robert Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic.

“None of these efforts will help our classrooms [sic] more effective at instructing students, nor will it make our government more efficient,” Smith wrote in a social media post. “Our students deserve the best, regardless of their abilities when they step into the classroom.”

.@HHS will now manage programs for students with disabilities and special needs following President Trump's executive order to eliminate the Department of Education yesterday. Secretary Robert Kennedy has no business overseeing education programs for our most vulnerable students.…

— Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) March 21, 2025

We know that teams from both Ukraine and Russia will be in Saudi Arabia for discussions on Monday. They’ll be held in separate rooms, and effectively, the US negotiators will shuttle between both of them

Of course, the Ukrainians have agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. The Russians provisionally agreed to stop attacking infrastructure and energy facilities, but none of that has materialised.

And so, the first priority will be to get a ceasefire of some kind, and then Donald Trump says that they are close to a “contract” – as he calls it – being negotiated, which he has previously said would mean dividing up land.

This has been a red line for the Ukrainians. They say that they’re not prepared to reward Russia for its aggression.

Certainly, it is something that Vladimir Putin has talked about, how perhaps if the front lines were frozen in place now, then the Russians could take control of the four provinces in Ukraine it currently controls.

Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), expresses gratitude for Trump after he shifted responsibility from student loans to her agency as part of his effort to dismantle the Education Department.

“The SBA stands ready to take the lead on restoring accountability and integrity to America’s student loan portfolio,” Loeffler wrote in a social media post.

Thank you, Mr. President.

The SBA stands ready to take the lead on restoring accountability and integrity to America's student loan portfolio. pic.twitter.com/FciAn8pz6n

— Kelly Loeffler (@SBA_Kelly) March 21, 2025

The National Weather Service says it is limiting the number of weather balloon launches across the US, citing the Trump administration’s staffing cuts.

Weather balloons carry devices that measure temperature, dew point, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, allowing officials to closely monitor and forecast conditions.

Before cuts to hundreds of jobs at the agency under the Trump administration, the National Weather Service had launched balloons twice a day from more than 100 locations.

In an update, the agency said launches would be cancelled in Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota. The number of launches in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan and Wyoming will also be reduced.

Amid reports of arson and vandalism against Tesla cars and dealerships, US Vice President JD Vance has joined other Republicans in calling the perpetrators of such actions “terrorists”.

“The people attacking Teslas are trying to send the message that if you support President Trump, they will commit acts of violence to try to intimidate you,” he wrote in a social media post.

“Our message to them? Terrorists in this country will be brought to justice.”

The people attacking Teslas are trying to send the message that if you support President Trump, they will commit acts of violence to try to intimidate you.

Our message to them? Terrorists in this country will be brought to justice. https://t.co/c2bKamgrH1

— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) March 21, 2025

In the latest court filing, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says there are “ongoing cabinet-level discussions” about invoking state secrets privileges in responding to a judge’s order for more information on the deportation of a group of Venezuelans.

Judge James Boasberg had ordered the Trump administration to provide further information on its justification for invoking the 1789 Alien Enemies Act, which has only ever been used in wartime.

Trump claims the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang has “invaded” the US through undocumented migration. Boasberg has barred the administration from using the law to deport more people although many of the more than 200 deported Venezuelans were already in the air on deportation flights to El Salvador when he issued his order.

The state secrets privilege generally refers to the executive branch’s ability to withhold some information in court proceedings if it may harm national security.