Trump admin updates: Trump wants Senate to cancel August recess to work on nominees

Trump also suggested the Senate cancel long weekends.

Last Updated: July 20, 2025, 5:25 PM EDT

President Donald Trump continues to face backlash from his MAGA supporters over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi "to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval" related to the case.

On Friday, Trump signed the GENIUS Act -- the first major federal cryptocurrency bill -- into law.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jul 15, 2025, 12:46 PM EDT

White House lawn cleared after incident

At the White House on Tuesday, Secret Service cleared everyone off the White House North Lawn driveway as Education Secretary Linda McMahon was just about to appear for an interview on Fox News. USSS approached the Fox News tent and alerted McMahon and her staff, ushering her into the White House West Wing.

"Everyone go to the press briefing room please," one USSS police officer said to the press gathered on the North Lawn waiting to gaggle with McMahon.

The White House was situated a short time later and press was allowed back outside.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Michelle Stoddart and Tierra Cunningham

Jul 15, 2025, 10:53 AM EDT

White House confirms Trump, Zelenskyy discussed strikes on Moscow but pushes back on reports

The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed whether Ukraine would be able to strike Moscow and St. Petersburg with U.S.-supplied weapons, but the White House is taking issue with the framing of the conversation in news reports.

"President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He's working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News.

Leavitt said that a report from The Financial Times was taking the discussion "wildly out of context." The Financial Times reported that Trump had signaled his backing for the idea of striking deep inside Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, citing two people briefed on the call.

Donald Trump delivers remarks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Jul 14, 2025, 11:23 PM EDT

Federal judge bars Trump admin from ending TPS for Afghans

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily barred President Donald Trump's administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Afghans living in the United States.

The appeals court’s move comes just as the work permits and deportation protections were set to expire today for nearly 12,000 TPS holders from Afghanistan.

In May, the Department of Homeland Security announced that they were ending the protections for Afghans as well as Cameroonians. The announcement sparked anger from immigrant advocates who said many Afghans who helped support American troops during the war would be forced to return to Afghanistan.

The appeals court has paused the termination of TPS for seven days and has ordered the government to file a response no later than July 16.

-ABC News' Armando García

Jul 14, 2025, 6:16 PM EDT

Bondi and Patel spotted at White House

FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were all spotted on the White House grounds Monday afternoon.

Sources told ABC News that Patel, Bondi and Blanche spent hours at the White House for meetings amid backlash from Trump’s core supporters following the decision by the DOJ and FBI to not release any additional information from their review of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, July 8, 2025.
Evan Vucci/AP

It was not immediately clear who the group met with and whether they saw the president.

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino wasn’t present for the meetings, but sources tell ABC News that Bongino did come to work on Monday.

Patel was spotted arriving at the White House slightly before 3 p.m. and Blanche and Bondi were seen leaving just before 5:30 pm.

-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Lalee Ibssa

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