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PRESIDENT TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN, senior members of Congress and leaders from around the world will gather Saturday in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral.
The somber event comes amid a tense period for global relations, with a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine heading toward a potential make-or-break moment and Trump’s trade war rattling economies globally.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the funeral in Rome, and he says he hopes to meet with Trump there, even as anger and frustration has exploded to the forefront between the two and threatens to derail delicate negotiations.
Trump in a Time magazine interview published Friday blamed Ukraine for the war, saying if they had never sought membership in NATO “there would have been a much better chance that it wouldn’t have started.”
The president said Ukraine must be willing to acknowledge Russia’s occupation of Crimea as a part of any peace deal, which Zelensky has said he will not do.
“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump said. “And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time. It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
During his flight to Rome, Trump seethed at Zelensky over Truth Social, saying the Ukrainian leader is “three weeks late” signing a minerals deal with the U.S.
“Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted. “Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!”
RUSSIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE
Russia has pressed ahead with its attacks on Ukraine, even as Trump has demanded Russian President Vladimir Putin pull back.
Ukrainian officials said three people were killed by a Russian drone attack early Friday, less than a day after Trump told Putin to “stop” the attacks and focus on a peace deal.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on Friday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday before the attacks that Russia is “ready to reach a deal” with the U.S., although he said some elements need to be “fine tuned.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was in Washington this week, told reporters he believes “Trump’s leadership could bring this to a positive end” but he’s not certain that Putin wants peace.
“I think the ball is clearly on the Russian court now,” Rutte said.
“I don’t know [if Putin wants peace],” he added. “I worked with him for four years between 2010 and 2014 when I was Prime Minister in the Netherlands and I’ve stopped trying to read his mind.”
The U.S. has repeatedly warned it will walk away from negotiations if a deal isn’t reached soon.
MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON…
Washington is preparing for a dramatically scaled back White House Correspondents’ Association dinner weekend, as the media puts on its annual gathering amid tense relations with the Trump administration.
The president will not be on hand and the association canceled the comedy act this year.
The Hill’s Judy Kurtz writes:
“As Washington gears up for the annual buzzy gala amid a touchy political climate, recession fears and sharp tensions between the press and the Trump administration, the District is going lighter on the glitz, dialing down the glam and cutting back on the number of related bashes in general.”
💡Perspectives:
• The Wall Street Journal: A moment of truth in Ukraine.
• The Guardian: Catholics at a crossroads.
• UnHerd: Time for Trump to walk away from Russia-Ukraine?
• USA Today: 100 things Trump has changed in 100 days.
• The Hill: A damning indictment of Netanyahu’s leadership.
Read more:
• Trump blames Ukraine for initiating war, says Crimea ‘will stay with Russia’.
• Negotiations between Iran and the US return to secluded Oman.
• Kilmeade: Putin ’embarrassing’ Trump with Kyiv bombing.
• Five takeaways from Trump’s wide-ranging Time interview.
• Pope Francis’s funeral: Who is attending?
CATCH UP QUICK
- Former Rep. George Santos was sentenced Friday to seven years and three months in prison, putting a bookend on the more than two-year scandal that captivated Washington and brought the New York lawmaker from a GOP trailblazer to an embarrassing stain on the party.
- The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing the federal workforce, is slashing over half of its staff around the country, pinning the blame on President Trump and his executive actions.
- Coming up on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and legal expert Jonathan Adler.
NEWS THIS AFTERNOON
Federal authorities arrest Wisconsin judge accused of aiding illegal immigrant
Federal agents arrested a Wisconsin-based judge, accusing her of helping an immigrant in the country illegally avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom.
Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday, with officials saying they planned to charge her with alleged obstruction and concealing an individual to shield them from arrest.
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X:
“I can confirm that our @FBI agents just arrested Hannah Dugan – a county judge in Milwaukee – for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest by @ICEgov. No one is above the law.”
The arrest marks an apparent escalation between the Trump administration and the judiciary over President Trump’s deportations.
The story is still developing and details are emerging, but Democrats have expressed alarm, with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) calling it a “gravely serious and drastic move” that threatens to “breach” the separation of powers.
“This action fits into the deeply concerning pattern of this president’s lawless behavior and undermining courts and Congress’s checks on his power,” she said.
FBI Director Kash Patel defended the action, saying the person alleged to be in the country illegally, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, was later “chased down…on foot.”
“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” Patel said in a since-deleted post on X.
Dugan has been released and will face an arraignment on May 15.
The FBI alleges that Dugan helped Flores Ruiz exit her courtroom from a side door after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials came to the courthouse with an arrest warrant for him.
The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch has the full story here.
Related: Who is Hannah Dugan, judge arrested by FBI in Wisconsin?
ELSEWHERE…
A former New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested after federal law enforcement learned that their tenant, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member, was arrested at the judge’s home.
The special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations says former Doña Ana County Magistrate Joel Cano and his wife Nancy Cano were taken into custody at their home in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Thursday.
💡Perspectives:
• The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s 100 day opportunity.
• The Hill: China is teaching Trump some tough lessons on trade.
• The Guardian: Is a US recession on the horizon amid Trump’s tariffs?
• Whole Hog Politics: Voters fear competence more than bungling from Trump.
• The Hill: Democrats love to hate Musk.
Read more:
• China seeks to leave Trump twisting in the wind.
• China’s rare-earth mineral squeeze will hit the Pentagon hard.
• What P&G, Pepsi and other companies are saying about tariffs.
• Housing market stalls as homeowners struggle to sell.
• Airlines’ muddy outlook sparks anxiety across travel industry.
IN OTHER NEWS
China exempts some goods from U.S. tariffs
China will reportedly exempt some goods from U.S. tariffs, in a sign the country is feeling some pain from the trade war with the U.S.
Reuters reports the Chinese government has asked companies to identify items they need shipped from the U.S. without levies.
Bloomberg reports that ethane and liquified petroleum gas are among the goods that could potentially get an exemption, while CNN reports that China has quietly rolled back tariffs on semiconductors.
China may also be considering lifting tariffs on some medical equipment.
This comes as Trump insists the two countries are in dialogue about the trade war, while China disputes that claim.
“They had a meeting this morning,” Trump told reporters before heading to Rome, while declining to say who participated in the meeting. “It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, responded:
“The United States and China are not engaged in consultations or talks on the tariff issue.”
MEANWHILE…
• China cancelled 12,000 metric tons of U.S. pork shipments.
• Consumer sentiment plummeted in April to its lowest level since the U.S. experienced peak inflation at the tail end of the pandemic.
• NBC News reports that retailers are warning of empty shelves from a supply chain disruption if the trade war continues.
• The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has the rundown on how the trade war could impact the battle for the Senate in 2026:
“Republicans are heavily favored to keep control of the Senate in next year’s midterm elections, but President Trump’s sinking approval rating and Americans’ frustrations over the direction of the economy and inflation could reshape the battleground map in favor or Democrats.”
💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: Dems need to build coalitions, not primary their own members.
• The Hill: David Hogg’s Democratic Party shake-up should model Ocasio-Cortez.
• The American Spectator: AOC 2028? Yes, please.
• USA Today: We should thank Musk for his sacrifice.
Read more:
• Trump targets major Democratic donor platform ActBlue.
• Trump pardons Las Vegas GOP firebrand convicted of fraud.
• Trump signs order seeking to jump-start mining of the ocean floor.
• Campus communities rally around international students.
• Bondi orders gender-affirming procedures to be investigated.
Trump says he doesn’t ‘believe in loopholes’ to run in 2028
Is President Trump trolling when he muses about seeking a third term in the White House or is he serious?
The campaign merch store is selling “Trump 2028” hats and the president’s children are proudly showing them off, while allies such as Steve Bannon say they’re laying the groundwork for it to happen.
But Trump on Friday seemed to throw cold water on the idea in an interview with Time magazine.
“As you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known,” he said. “But I don’t believe in loopholes. I don’t believe in using loopholes.”
One issue where Trump says he isn’t trolling? Making Canada the 51st state.
“I’m really not trolling,” Trump said. “Canada is an interesting case.”
Trump made other news in the interview, saying he would “absolutely” sign a ban on congressional stock trading. Democrats have accused Republicans of capitalizing off the wild swings in the stock market since the trade war began, while Republicans have long accused Democratic leaders, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), of building wealth through privileged political information, though representatives have long denied wrongdoing.
Trump also broke with conservative orthodoxy, saying I “love the concept” of a millionaire tax hike. However, he said the hike “may not be acceptable to the public” right now.