Justice Department officials told a federal judge that they plan to begin removal proceedings to deport Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a third country as early as this month — just one extraordinary admission of many heard by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in a wide-ranging, hours-long hearing on Monday that ended with little in the way of satisfactory answers for all parties.

Xinis ordered the Trump administration to produce a government official to testify under oath Thursday about plans to take Abrego Garcia into ICE custody upon his release from criminal custody in Tennessee and begin deportation proceedings to a third country. 

Lawyers for the Trump administration ultimately conceded Monday that Abrego Garcia could be removed from the U.S. as early as July 16 — just nine days from today. 

The admission capped a remarkable day in court, and a frustrating one, which Xinis described as akin to "trying to nail Jell-O to a wall," as she attempted to ascertain the government's next steps. She repeatedly questioned how officials could pursue immediate deportation while simultaneously mounting a federal criminal case against Abrego Garcia. 

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE TO RULE ON MOTION TO DISMISS IN HIGH-STAKES ABREGO GARCIA CASE HEARING

Asked by Xinis whether the government planned to hold Abrego Garcia in ICE custody until his criminal case in Tennessee is over, lawyers for the administration did not mince their words.

"No," Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn answered simply. 

"There’s no intention to just put him in limbo in ICE custody while we wait for the criminal case to unfold," Guynn told Xinis. "He will be removed, as would any other illegal alien in that process."

The fast-paced timeline by which Justice Department officials plan to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country was just one of many issues heard by Xinis, the Maryland judge who has been presiding over his civil case since March, when Trump officials erroneously deported him to El Salvador.

Xinis last week ordered both parties to appear in court for the first time since May, to consider a flurry of dueling motions that the Trump administration and lawyers for Abrego Garcia had submitted after his return to the U.S. last month.

The judge did not immediately rule on each of the motions on Monday. 

FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

She did, however, flatly reject two of the government's motions to dismiss the civil case, rejecting the Trump administration's previous claims that it had no "power to compel" El Salvador to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. as "meritless." 

She also pressed Justice Department officials for details as to when they opened a federal investigation into Abrego Garcia in a separate district for actions stemming from a 2022 traffic stop, and how the timing of the investigation and federal indictment squared with the government's testimony in her own court. 

'WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT': US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO

Xinis honed in on these dueling timelines Monday, noting that, by the government’s own admission, it began investigating Abrego Garcia in the Middle District in Tennessee on April 28, 2025 — the same time officials were telling the court that the administration was powerless to order a foreign government to return Abrego Garcia, in compliance with the court order.

"At the same time that [the government] was saying it had ‘no power to produce’" Abrego Garcia in the U.S., Trump administration officials had "already secured an indictment against him in the Middle District of Tennessee, right?" Xinis asked Justice Department lawyer Bridget O'Hickey.

"Yes your honor," O’Hickey replied. 

An incredulous Xinis noted that, just six days later, the government testified they had no power to bring him back to the U.S.

"Now I have real concerns — as if I haven't for the last three months," Xinis noted in response.

SUPREME COURT FREEZES ORDER TO RETURN MAN FROM EL SALVADOR PRISON

Xinis ended the hearing Monday by ordering the Trump administration to produce a witness from the Department of Homeland Security to testify in court Thursday as to the government's plans to deport Abrego Gacia, again, from the U.S. and to a third country.

She said this official must have personal knowledge of the government's plans, and testify under oath as to the "who, what, when, and where" of the government's plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country.

"Given the series of unlawful actions" here, I feel like it’s well within my authority to order this hearing — perhaps more than one — to hear testimony from at least one witness with firsthand knowledge, who can answer these questions about the immediate next steps" from the government pending Abrego Garca's release from custody, she said.

Another point of contention was the matter of jurisdiction. Trump officials argued Monday that Xinis no longer has a say over Abrego Garcia’s custodial status, or in any future immigration proceedings involving Abrego Garcia — a point refuted sharply and repeatedly by the judge.

"No, I do have jurisdiction," she shot back at one point. "That ship has sailed," she said.

"Without any indication that the same conduct will not repeat itself, I cannot find that the defense has met its formidable burden." 

1. Measles cases hit highest level since it was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000  USA Today
2. Measles cases surge to record high since disease was declared eliminated in the US  CNN
3. What to Know About Measles When Traveling  The New York Times
4. More measles outbreaks put US total within single digits of modern-day record  CIDRAP
5. Measles cases in the U.S. approach 25-year high. See which parts of N.J. are at risk.  NJ.com

1. New Horizons conducts first-ever successful deep space stellar navigation test  Phys.org
2. Stellar Cartography: A Demonstration Of Interstellar Navigation Using New Horizons  astrobiology.com
3. New Horizons conducted the first interstellar navigation experiment in history  Universe Space Tech
4. New Horizons images enable first test of interstellar navigation  New Scientist
5. New Approach For Interstellar Navigation Was Just Tested On A Spacecraft 9 Billion Kilometers Away  IFLScience

President Donald Trump’s agenda appeared on life support as defectors in the House GOP, for a time, appeared ready to torpedo it. But in the end, only two Republicans voted against the bill, and it's now heading to the president's desk.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were the sole defectors against Trump’s "big, beautiful bill." House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could only afford to lose three Republicans, given that no Democrat was willing to cross the aisle to support the $3.3 trillion megabill.

CONGRESS SENDING TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' TO HIS DESK AFTER DRAMATIC ALL-NIGHT HOUSE VOTE

While he did vote to support the procedural hurdle to get the bill on the floor, Massie’s decision to vote against the bill was seemingly predetermined. He has continually argued that the colossal tax, border, defense and energy package would add trillions to the nation’s debt and do little to actually curb Washington’s spending addiction.

And he was not among the many conservatives who Trump and Republican leadership tried to pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, nor as the floor stayed open into early Thursday afternoon.

"[Trump] reaches out every day on Twitter, reaching out with a million dollars of ads in my district with a picture of me and the Ayatollah," Massie said. "So, that's the only sort of reaching out I've seen so far."

TRUMP CALLS OUT REPUBLICAN HOLDOUTS AS HOUSE PROCEDURAL VOTE ON MEGABILL REMAINS OPEN: ‘COSTING YOU VOTES!’

While Trump did not directly single him out, the president did call on holdout Republicans to stop holding the bill hostage late Wednesday night, and declared on Truth Social that "MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!"  

Trump had previously threatened Massie with a primary challenger, as he did with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., before his retirement announcement, for defecting against the bill. 

But senior White House officials told reporters on a call just after the bill passed that the president had not threatened a primary against lawmakers to earn their vote, and that lawmakers "well understand the President's political power, and ultimately, they want his political power to be used for their benefit."

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' STALLS IN HOUSE AMID CONSERVATIVE MUTINY THREATS

Fitzpatrick had raised concerns about changes the Senate GOP had made to Medicaid reforms in the bill but had not publicly staked a position until the procedural vote.

He was the only ‘no’ vote on the rule, and that resistance carried into the final vote that ultimately saw House Republicans largely unify and pass the legislative behemoth.

Fitzpatrick said in a statement just minutes before the bill passed that he had voted to "strengthen Medicaid protections, to permanently extend middle class tax cuts, for enhanced small business tax relief, and for historic investments in our border security and our military," but that the Senate’s tweaks soured him to the bill.

"However, it was the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our PA-1 community," he said. "The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard."

"I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community," he continued. "It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions." 

American tennis pros were bounced early from Wimbledon this year, with several top-ranked players dropping in the first and second rounds of the tournament at the historic All England Club this week.

Frances Tiafoe, the 12th-seeded men’s player, exited the Grand Slam after losing a tough battle to Cam Norrie in the second round on Wednesday. The British tennis player, who entered the tournament unseeded, advanced to the third round after a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory. 

But Tiafoe wasn’t the only American to suffer a stunning defeat. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula — the top-seeded American women’s players — were both out after suffering upsets in the first round on Tuesday. 

"I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing," Gauff, the reigning French Open champion, said after losing her match in straight sets to an unseeded Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. "The main thing I’m sure my team and everyone is going to tell me (is): 'You did well at Roland-Garros. Don't be so upset.' Things like that."

AMERICAN TENNIS PRO JESSICA PEGULA SUFFERS STUNNING EARLY WIMBLEDON EXIT

Earlier in the day, Pegula also lost in straight sets to 116th-ranked Italian tennis player Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It followed just days after victory over five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek on grass courts at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.

But the Americans weren’t the only ones to have their Wimbledon dreams abruptly end. 

Three-time Grand Slam finalist and the No. 3 seed, Alexander Zverev, lost his first round match to 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech in five sets. 

No. 7 seed Lorenzo Musetti was sent packing by 126th-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, and major finalists Zheng Qinwen, the No. 5 seed, and Karolina Muchova, the No. 15 seed, were also gone after their first round matches. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

1. Space Cargo of Human Remains And Cannabis Lost at Sea Following Mission Failure  ScienceAlert
2. A Spacecraft Carrying Human Remains and Cannabis Crashes into the Ocean  Universe Today
3. Human remains lost after memorial spaceflight capsule crashes into the sea  Space
4. Space burial company loses 166 human remains in failed mission  Boing Boing
5. Space Funeral Craft Crashes, Ejects 166 Remains At Sea  Jalopnik