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

President Donald Trump was asked on Wednesday about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell amid reports that Trump had indicated to allies he would fire him. Trump said he talked to Republicans about the "concept of firing him" but denied drafting a letter, as the New York Times had reported.

Trump first said he was "not planning on doing anything" on Powell, though the administration was "very concerned." He again slammed Powell as "too late" to bring down interest rates and called on him to do so immediately.

"So he's doing a lousy job," Trump said. "But no, I'm not talking about that. We get -- fortunately, we get to make a change in the next one eight months or so, and, we'll pick somebody that's good."

Powell's term as the chair of the Fed ends in 2026.

Trump said firing Powell is "highly unlikely" but suggested he could be removed if there is "fraud" found in the Federal Reserve's building renovation. The Federal Reserve has brought in its inspector general to review the expansion.

Just as the Senate began debate on the rescissions package that would strip the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of two years’ worth of its funding, the Trump administration filed a new lawsuit against the three CPB board members whom the president has attempted to fire, but have refused to leave.

Tuesday’s filing, in US District Court in Washington, is the latest volley in a monthslong legal fight between the administration and the entity that funds the nation’s public radio and television stations. It seeks to affirm Trump’s power to remove members of the CPB board -- a power the corporation and its board members insist he doesn’t have.

"As recent Supreme Court orders have recognized, the President cannot meaningfully exercise his executive power under Article II of the Constitution without the power to select—and, when necessary, remove—those who hold federal office," the administration’s filing says. "Personnel is policy, after all."

CPB and its board members argue that while the president has the power to appoint the organization’s board members, there is no provision in law that allows him to fire them.

-ABC News' Steven Portnoy

President Donald Trump will meet on Wednesday with Bahrain's crown prince, hold a bill signing ceremony, then have dinner with the prime minister of Qatar, according to the White House.

Trump is scheduled at 11 a.m. to greet Bahrain's Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the crown prince, who has also served as prime minister since 2020. The pair will hold a bilateral meeting, then have lunch, the White House said.

The crown prince of the Gulf state met on Tuesday with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to Al Khalifa's office. The crown prince announced late Tuesday that private sectors in Bahrain and the U.S. signed agreements worth about $17 billion.

The president will then hold a bill-signing ceremony at 3 p.m., before having dinner with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at 7 p.m., the White House said. The dinner comes as Israeli and Hamas officials are in Doha, Qatar, where they're engaged in discussions about a potential ceasefire.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he plans to pursue a procedural gambit to trigger a House vote on legislation that would force the release of the “complete” Jeffrey Epstein files.

The congressman plans to offer a discharge petition, which requires 218 signatures and allows the majority of the chamber to circumvent GOP leaders. There would only be floor action if the resolution receives enough support.

A waiting period of seven legislative days kicks off once the petition has enough signatures. So this could become a headache for GOP leaders after the August recess.

“We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes. Americans were promised justice and transparency. We’re introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the US House of Representatives on releasing the COMPLETE files,” Massie said in a post on X.

-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie