President Donald Trump hosts the White House Easter Egg Roll hours after Pope Francis dies, and Rep. Maxwell Frost heads to El Salvador amid immigration concerns.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle react to Pope Francis' death
The bells of Notre Dame are tolling today in honor of the late Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88.
That, one day after the pontiff made his final public appearance, greeting the crowds in attendance at the Vatican’s Easter Sunday mass.
At the White House, the American Flag was lowered to half staff in honor of the pope, who was considered a reformer of the Catholic Church, and who often spoke out about the importance of tolerance and love for the poor, for immigrants, and for peace around the globe.
The pope’s passing came just hours after he met with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican, and days after the Associated Press reported that the Vatican’s No. 2 official had an exchange of opinions over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Vance, who is a converted Catholic, posted to social media Monday. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,” he said.
Reactions to the pope’s death have been pouring in from across the political spectrum, with lawmakers praising his legacy.
Former President Barack Obama called him: “The rare leader who made us want to be better people.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered thoughts and prayers to Catholics in Florida and around the world, adding that he hopes for a smooth transition for the church.
While Sen. Ashley Moody remembered Francis as well, specifically how he “impacted millions across the world with his leadership that was marked by service and humility.”
Democratic Rep. Darren Soto said: “Our dear Pope Francis has joined the angels today. He led with humility, passion and faith, expanded the church by inspiring others, and was a relentless advocate for all god’s children. We will miss him.”
And Rep. Kathy Castor highlighted another of the pope’s progressive stances, saying, “Pope Francis urged us all to protect our climate, live a healthier existence, and reduce pollution with a broader, urgently needed perspective.”
Hegseth blames media, disgruntled former employees for second Signal chat leak
A day after The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared with his wife and brother U.S. plans to attack Yemen over the commercially available group chat app Signal, Hegseth blamed the media for what he said were “lies” and “hoaxes.”
“This is what the media does,” Hegseth said of the Times story about a March 15 chat on Signal that shared the flight schedules for U.S. fighter jets targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try slashing and burning people to ruin their reputations.”
Speaking to reporters at Monday’s Easter Egg Roll at the White House, Hegseth said he has talked with President Donald Trump since the story broke.
“We are going to continue fighting on the same page all the way,” the defense secretary said.
Responding to the new Signal allegation, Trump told Spectrum News: "It’s all just the same old stuff from the media. That’s an old one. Try finding something new."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the president’s support during an interview on NBC News on Monday morning.
“The president absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth,” Leavitt said, echoing her comments from a month earlier, after Hegseth was implicated in another group Signal chat on the same day that mistakenly included The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief.
The back-and-forth texts on the app in March included exact warplane launch and bomb drop times before U.S. military personnel began their mission. Signal encrypts communications but is not approved for sending classified information.
Despite the March incident setting off a firestorm of criticism about security protocols within the Defense Department, Leavitt said last month that steps had been taken to “ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again.”
4 Democratic Congress members visit El Salvador to demand Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release
Days after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., met with a wrongly deported man in El Salvador to check on his wellbeing, four more Congress members were in the country Monday as part of a pressure campaign to secure Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release.
Last month, immigration officials took Abrego Garcia into custody, claiming he was a member of the violent MS-13 gang, and deported him to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
After initially saying Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an administrative error, the Trump administration has refused to bring him back to the United States despite a Supreme Court order to facilitate his return.
“Trump is defying the Supreme Court to bring him home," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., wrote on X from El Salvador Monday morning. "We know others are being deported and held with no due process. This must end.”
Garcia was in the Central American country with Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz.; Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore.; and Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.
“Donald Trump and his administration are running a government-funded kidnapping program — illegally arresting, jailing and deporting innocent people with zero due process,” Frost said in a statement Monday. “As members of congress, it is our responsibility to hold the president and administration accountable for defying the constitution of the United States.”
On Friday, the House chairman for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform refused a request from Garcia and Frost to pay for their El Salvador visit. On Monday, the representatives confirmed their trip was not financed with taxpayer dollars.
“It is absurd that you both displayed active hostility for over two years toward the Committee’s oversight of the Biden Border Crisis and the consequences of millions of illegal aliens entering the country, yet now, you are seeking travel at Committee expense to meet with foreign gang members,” Rep. James Comer, R-Tenn., wrote in a letter to the congressmen. “I will not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds for use on the excursion you have requested.”
Abrego Garcia's lawyers and wife have insisted he is not a member of MS-13, and he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes.
Earlier this month, a group of Democratic Congress members said they planned to visit the prison in El Salvador where Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported last month. Van Hollen was the first to visit Abrego Garcia — a native of El Salvador who came to the United States when he was 16 and who was granted protection by a judge from being deported back to El Salvador over fears of gang persecution.
“We’re deeply grateful to the members of Congress and advocates for justice now on the ground in El Salvador, building on the leadership of Senator Van Hollen,” Abrego Garcia’s family wrote in a statement Monday that Garcia posted on X. “We are particularly concerned about Kilmar’s health and hope to receive news about that from the visit. Their presence sends a powerful message: the fight to bring Kilmar home isn’t over.”
