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 17, 2025, 1:34 PM EDT

Bondi goes to Alcatraz for briefing after Trump's order to reopen infamous prison

Attorney General Pam Bondi is going to Alcatraz on Thursday to receive a briefing on the facility.

Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will tour the prison and surrounding island, discuss facilities with Park Police and direct staff to collaborate on necessary planning to reopen the facility, according to a Justice Department official.

PHOTO: Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California, U.S. July 17, 2025.
Attorney General Pam Bondi on a boat to visit the Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, July 17, 2025.
KGO

President Donald Trump announced on May 5 that he was ordering federal agencies to rebuild and reopen the notorious maximum security prison. Alcatraz closed more than 60 years ago, in part because it was considered too expensive to maintain.

"The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote in the May announcement.

Jul 17, 2025, 9:01 AM EDT

Attorney General Pam Bondi visiting Alcatraz: Officials

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are in California Thursday making a visit to the notorious former federal prison Alcatraz, officials confirmed to ABC News.

It’s unclear whether they will open up their visit to any media, but Bondi is being accompanied by a Fox News correspondent on the visit.

The visit comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s directive to reopen Alcatraz as a prison 60 years after it was shuttered, a move Democrats have attacked as a massive waste of money and resources at a time where the federal Bureau of Prisons is already under major strain to maintain existing facilities.

-ABC News' Alex Mallin

Jul 17, 2025, 4:58 AM EDT

Senate narrowly approves $9 billion budget clawback for foreign aid and public broadcasting

The Senate narrowly approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget, including funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting.

The final vote on Thursday morning was 51-48. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted with Democrats against the rescissions bill. Sen. Tina Smith did not vote after being admitted to the hospital.

PHOTO: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, heads to the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, heads to the chamber as Senate Republicans push President Donald Trump's request to cancel about $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting spending, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The bill would rescind funding allocated for the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, related agencies and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The bill now returns to the House with a deadline for final passage by Friday.

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Jul 16, 2025, 8:56 PM EDT

Trump says he’s ending funding for California high-speed train

In a post on his social media platform, Trump announced he is ending federal funding for California's High-Speed Rail project.

“The railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,” Trump wrote. "Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again," Trump continued.

President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony to sign the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act," in the East Room of the White House, July 16, 2025.
Evan Vucci/AP

In a statement, Duffy said the Federal Railroad Administration terminated approximately $4 billion in unspent funding for “California’s High Speed Rail Boondoggle,” saying the $135 billion projected cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and Los Angeles resident nearly 200 round trip flights between the cities.

“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check -- they come with a promise to deliver results,” Duffy said. “It’s time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.”

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie and Sam Sweeney

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