Trump admin live updates: Freedom Caucus chair says 'no way' budget bill passes today

Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris said there is "no way" the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passes in the House on Wednesday.

"We're further away from a deal," Harris said on Newsmax Wednesday morning. "This bill actually got worse overnight. There is no way it passes today."

The Rules Committee hearing to advance the bill is still ongoing, but GOP leaders will try to put the bill on the floor for a vote later Wednesday.

Harris explained conservatives are "upset" over an expected deal on state and local tax deduction cap increase (SALT) that was reached late Tuesday.

Rep. Andy Harris leaves a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol, May 20, 2025.

"We may need a couple of weeks to iron everything out but it's not going anywhere today," he said. "I think we'll get there, but it's just we're not going to get there today,"

--ABC News' Lauren Peller

Rep. Gerry Connolly, the 75-year-old who has served in Congress since 2009, has died, his office announced on Wednesday morning.

"Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family," the statement read.

Connolly last month stepped down from the top Democratic position on the House Oversight Committee because his cancer had returned.

Rep. Gerry Connolly attends a House Rules Committee hearing on the procedures for upcoming votes at the U.S. Capitol, June 28, 2021 in Washington.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

President Donald Trump will participate in a grand military parade and celebration in Washington on June 14 marking the U.S. Army's 250th birthday.

Trump will join veterans, active-duty troops, wounded warriors, Gold Star Families, and patriotic Americans to honor those who have served our country and deliver remarks.

June 14 also marks President Trump's 79th birthday.

President Donald Trump speaks about the Golden Dome missile defense shield in the Oval Office of the White House, May 20, 2025, in Washington.

"The parade will trace the Army's evolution from the Revolutionary War through to the U.S. Army of Tomorrow. Attendees will experience 250 years of Army heritage through historical U.S. Army personnel reenactors, period-accurate equipment, vehicles, impressive flyovers, and military bands participating in this landmark event," according to the press release, which states the event intends to showcase the modern-day military and provide an opportunity for recruitment.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

The House Rules Committee hearing on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is ongoing as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, as a final vote to advance the bill to the floor is still hours away.

Several Republican members left throughout the night as Democrats burned the midnight oil and both parties introduced at least 537 amendments to the reconciliation package.

Overnight, several committee chairs and ranking members have been testifying before the powerful panel including Armed Services, Budget, Oversight, Natural Resources, Financial Services, Judiciary, Homeland Security and Transportation.

The final group of committees -- Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Agriculture and Education -- are expected to get underway soon.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

U.S. envoy for special missions Ric Grenell said Tuesday than an American who had previously been detained in Venezuela- U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair -- had been released.

“Joe St. Clair is back in America. I met Venezuelan officials in a neutral country today to negotiate an America First strategy,” he wrote in a post on X. The neutral country was Antiqua, a U.S. official said.

Family representative Jonathan Franks put out a statement from the St. Clair family, saying they were “overjoyed to confirm the safe release of their son.”

US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell awaits the arrival of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Tegel airport in Berlin, May 30, 2019.

“This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it -- but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” Scott and Patti St. Clair, Joseph St. Clair’s parents, said.

St. Clair had been detained in Venezuela since November 2024, although it’s not clear what he was charged with.

Six other Americans were released by Venezuela in late January after Grenell traveled to the country.

-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston

What is President Donald Trump's favorite ice cream flavor? Or favorite room in the White House?

Those were some of the questions White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded from children seated in the James S. Brady Briefing Room on Tuesday as part of "Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day."

Children raise their hands to ask White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt questions during a press briefing for the Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day event, at the White House, in Washington, May 20, 2025.

Children raise their hands to ask White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt questions during a press briefing for the Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day event, at the White House, in Washington, May 20, 2025.

Leavitt was asked who her favorite president is ("Trump") and whether Trump likes to give hugs ("I think he does.")

Asked by one child in the crowd what advice she'd give to young girls who want to achieve their dreams, Leavitt said, "My best advice would be to work as hard as you possibly can, and just pursue every opportunity that opens up and is given to you and just work, work, work as hard as you can."

Pressed by another on what Trump is going to do about climate change, Leavitt said Trump wants "the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest environment for the world" while also caring about "energy independence."

Children ask White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt questions during a press briefing for the Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day event, at the White House, in Washington, May 20, 2025.

President Donald Trump was asked about the Justice Department's charging of Rep. LaMonica McIver over the incident outside a New Jersey detention center two weeks ago.

McIver, who was at the facility with other New Jersey Democrats, has maintained that the charges are politically motivated.

President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speak to the press after a House GOP Conference Meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, May 20, 2025.

Trump told reporters that the congresswoman "was out of control."

"The days of woke are over. …She was shoving federal agents. She was out of control. The days of that crap are over in this country. We are going to have law and order," he said.

Leaving Capitol Hill on Tuesday after talking with House Republicans about his "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," President Donald Trump said, "it was a meeting of love."

According to a White House official, Trump made direct and clear requests of the GOP conference. He told lawmakers not to let SALT impede the bill's passage and warned them not to touch Medicaid except for eliminating what he claims is "waste, fraud and abuse" within the program,

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he arrives for a meeting with the House Republican Conference at the Capitol, May 20, 2025, in Washington.

The official said Trump also made it clear he's losing patience with all holdout factions of the conference. Though when pressed on that by a reporter after the meeting, Trump denied it.

"I'm not losing patience. We're ahead of schedule," Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the State Department's cuts to foreign aid as he testfied before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday.

Ranking member Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire blasted Rubio and DOGE for dismantling USAID and U.S. programs around the world.

She warned Rubio that China is filling that void and turning more of America's allies to their side.

"Beijing is making the case… that they are a more reliable partner than the United States," she said.

Rubio dismissed her claims and said that the administration's mission is to make the State Department more "holistic" and reduce unnecessary spending.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 20, 2025.

"Mature foreign policy requires a rebalance of interests," he said.

Rubio claimed that the agency will be making changes and discussing cuts and reorganizations with Congress with its 2026 budget proposals.