Thursday Briefing: A Judge’s Pushback Against Trump

A judge threatened to hold Trump officials in contempt

A judge in Washington said yesterday that he would open a contempt investigation into the Trump administration over its deportation flights of migrants unless it gave the deported men a chance to challenge their removal.

The judge, James Boasberg, said that there was “probable cause” the administration had violated an order he gave last month to keep the migrants in the U.S., instead of sending them to El Salvador.

The move toward a possible inquiry was a remarkable attempt by a judge to hold the White House accountable for its apparent willingness to flout court orders. Read the ruling here.

What’s next: Boasberg said that if the White House did not comply, he would order sworn declarations from officials to find who was responsible. If that effort failed, he said he would require depositions or hold hearings under oath. And if that technique was unsuccessful, Boasberg said he would refer the case to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Mission to El Salvador: Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic senator, traveled to El Salvador, seeking to meet with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. and imprisoned.

Trump waved off an Israeli plan to strike Iran

Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was dissuaded by Trump. Nearly every one of Israel’s strategies for the strike would have required significant U.S. assistance, and Trump wanted to try to negotiate with Iran to limit its nuclear program instead, according to officials who spoke anonymously.

Trump’s decision came after months of internal debate exposed rifts in his cabinet. His aides were split between historically hawkish officials and those who were skeptical that an assault could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions and avoid a larger war.

What’s next: Iran said that its foreign minister and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would hold a second round of talks in Rome on Saturday.

Chipmakers are caught in the U.S.-China trade war

The stock price for Nvidia, the American chip giant, tumbled nearly 7 percent yesterday after the company revealed that the U.S. government would restrict sales of some of its chips to China. A congressional committee also opened an investigation into Nvidia, seeking to assess whether the company knowingly helped China develop advanced A.I. technology.

Who would spend hours a day watching moose trudge through northern Sweden? Lots of people, it turns out. For the next three weeks, moose fans are following “The Great Moose Migration” live on the country’s national broadcaster. “This is reality TV at its finest,” the moderator of a Facebook group said.

Lives lived: Richard Armitage, who served as the No. 2 official at the State Department during the 9/11 attacks and the start of America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died at 79.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is finally open

The world’s most anticipated museum is finally open. The Grand Egyptian Museum, outside Cairo, had been announcing and then canceling plans since 2012, delayed by revolutions, wars, financial crises and a pandemic.

My colleague Stephen Hiltner traveled to the colossal complex and was greeted by one of its many showstoppers: a 3,200-year-old statue of Ramses II. Other highlights included a mummified crocodile and a display of figurines left as servants for the dead. Take a look.