Trump Touts Historic Admin Wins During High-Stakes Cabinet Meeting

President Donald J. Trump convened his ninth Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, setting the stage for what officials say will be one of the administration’s most aggressive efforts yet to reassert control over U.S. immigration policy and national security. With the meeting held at the White House, immigration enforcement and border integrity dominated the agenda after a rapid series of directives issued over the past week.

The renewed push comes as the Department of Homeland Security accelerates plans for what senior officials describe as a “full travel ban” targeting high-risk nations whose vetting systems remain unreliable or compromised. The policy shift was catalyzed by the November 26 shooting in Washington, D.C., where two National Guard members were wounded by an Afghan asylee — a case that the White House argues reflects the failures of the previous administration’s lax vetting systems.

Since the attack, the administration has moved swiftly. The State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have halted visa processing and immigration benefit adjudications for Afghan nationals both abroad and inside the United States. The freeze extends to Special Immigrant Visas for former military partners and other categories previously carved out of the June 4 travel restrictions, signaling a sweeping reassessment of the entire Afghan pipeline. Officials confirmed the freeze took effect immediately and is now active across all relevant government offices.

Beyond Afghanistan, the administration has ordered a comprehensive review of green cards issued to individuals from the 19 nations included under the existing travel ban — a list that includes countries such as Somalia, Iran, Libya, Yemen, and Afghanistan. The directive centers on green cards approved during the Biden years, with officials seeking to verify that every prior issuance meets the national security standards re-established during Trump’s second term. While the exact number of cases remains undisclosed, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed new guidance on handling “discretionary benefits” is underway.

At the same time, asylum officers nationwide have been told to pause all pending affirmative asylum cases until updated vetting protocols are finalized. Defensive asylum claims in immigration court will proceed, but the move effectively halts new asylum approvals within USCIS, marking another decisive shift toward heightened scrutiny.

The policy momentum follows President Trump’s Thanksgiving weekend announcement outlining his intent to “permanently pause migration from third-world countries,” an approach that prioritizes merit, self-reliance, and national cohesion over legacy admissions systems. Senior officials say the coming reforms will build directly on Trump’s June 4 executive order tightening entry standards for the 19 nations already designated as high-risk.

Taken together, the administration argues these measures reflect a necessary restoration of sovereignty, law, and order after years in which foreign nationals exploited weak screening rules — sometimes with tragic results. During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, President Trump was expected to press for updates on visa screening reform, interior enforcement priorities, and coordination between federal and local authorities.

The Cabinet also reviewed ongoing U.S. operations in the Caribbean, where a September military strike targeted a suspected drug-smuggling vessel that ignored repeated commands to stop. Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley authorized the strike under established counter-narcotics authorities, and a follow-up strike on the same target has since undergone internal review. On Monday, the White House reaffirmed that Bradley acted “within his authority and the law.”

President Trump also expressed full confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who oversaw the mission. Bradley is set to brief congressional defense committees in closed-door sessions later this week.