May 21, 2025 - Donald Trump presidency news

Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

House member panel participants switch out during a House Rules Committee meeting on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, at the US Capitol, earlier in the day on Wednesday.

The House Rules Committee voted late this evening to advance President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda after marathon proceedings that lasted almost 22 hours, setting up a high-stakes vote in the full House and a showdown between warring wings of the Republican conference.

The bill that contains the president’s core campaign-trail promises — along with a massive overhaul of the tax code and deep spending cuts — is expected to get a vote soon on the floor. The House Rules Committee adopted the rule, which sets the parameters for floor debate, in an 8-4 vote.

The full House must also vote to adopt the rule first before taking up the underlying bill.

The sweeping tax and spending cuts package still faces a significant test in the House — where Trump can’t afford to lose more than three Republican votes. Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority in the chamber leaves little room for detractors and party hardliners and moderates have failed so far to see eye-to-eye on key issues like changes to Medicaid, federal clean energy programs and tax breaks to states.

An amendment to the package included changes demanded by various wings of the conference, including speeding up work requirements for Medicaid to the end of 2026. The language also formalizes one of Johnson’s biggest deals this week: The so-called SALT cap. It would allow people to deduct state and local income taxes up to $40,000 for certain income groups. GOP leaders had initially proposed a cap of $30,000 but key New York, New Jersey and California Republicans had refused to support it.

Key GOP hardliners are now meeting to decide whether to fall in line behind President Donald Trump’s policy bill or continue to hold out.

CNN has seen some House Freedom Caucus members begin to gather behind closed doors after text detailing negotiated changes to the bill was released late Wednesday.

Rep. Chip Roy told CNN’s Manu Raju he was “still looking to review more provisions and have more conversations.”

Asked if he is feeling better about the outcome, he said “ehhh.”

Rep. Andy Harris told CNN he has not yet read the text of the changes.

Asked if he plans to support the bill, Rep. Keith Self said he’s “looking at it now.”

Rep. Josh Brecheen said the White House and Speaker Mike Johnson’s team have “addressed a lot of things that I’ve had an issue with.”

House Republicans tonight released a package of major changes to President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda that reflect days of negotiations to win over key GOP holdouts.

House Speaker Mike Johnson in recent hours has been holed up in meetings with factions of his conference to finalize a deal that would win over both GOP hardliners, who’ve been threatening to block the bill, as well as centrist members who have been wary of some of the right-wing’s proposed changes to tax and spending cuts bill.

The House Rules Committee will now take up those changes, known as the manager’s amendment, as part of a rule that sets the parameters for floor debate on the bill. That is expected to pass out of committee. Johnson then plans to bring the bill to the floor overnight.

The amendment to the package includes changes demanded by various wings of the conference, such as:

MEDICAID: Speeding up work requirements for Medicaid to the end of 2026. It also tightens the definition of a “qualified alien” who is eligible for the program. It also creates a new incentive for states that have not already expanded Medicaid under Obamacare. It allows those states to pay 110% of Medicare rates for state directed payments — a Medicaid financing mechanism.

“TRUMP” ACCOUNTS: The bill renames a new kind of child savings accounts from “MAGA accounts” to “TRUMP accounts.”

WINNING ZINKE: The bill strikes language that would allow the sale of federal lands in Nevada and Utah. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a former Trump Cabinet official, strongly opposed this.

SECOND AMENDMENT WINS: The bill removes a tax on silencers, also known as firearm suppressors, as demanded by Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia.

NIXING ENERGY CREDITS: Republicans decided to phase out Biden-era energy tax credits sooner than planned. For instance, new projects must break ground within 60 days or be “in service” by the end of 2028 to qualify for the credits.

Rep. Andy Biggs talks with members of the media after leaving a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

Some House Freedom Caucus members leaving a closed-door meeting tonight signaled they’re prepared to fall in line behind President Donald Trump’s massive domestic policy bill.

“Yeah, I’m going to vote for it,” Rep. Andy Biggs told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Rep. Ralph Norman said hardliners want to see language of the final legislation and contended there were changes made to the bill that he could get behind.

Rep. Keith Self, who previously said he did not support the bill, said he had no comment when asked if he would vote for it now. Several other members also declined to comment.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

What was supposed to be a conversation focused on trade engagement between two world leaders instead turned into a tense exchange about claims of “genocide” today.

President Donald Trump met with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office and launched into what amounted to an ambush of his guest by screening a video he claimed was evidence for his false suggestion that White South Africans are being subjected to persecution and “genocide.”

A shocked Ramaphosa, who had just been exchanging pleasantries with Trump about golf, watched silently.

At a news conference later in the day, Ramaphosa said he had “in-depth exchanges” with Trump after the meeting. And in response to a reporter’s question, the South African president said unambiguously: “There is no genocide in South Africa.”

Here’s what happened in the Oval Office:

House Freedom Caucus members, from left, Rep. Keith Self, Rep. Scott Perry, Rep. Chip Roy, HFC chair Rep. Andy Harris and Rep. Clay Higgins speak to reporters about the reconciliation package in the US Capitol on Wednesday.

The fate of President Donald Trump’s agenda in the House could rest on several meetings happening this evening.

A group of key GOP hardliners in the House Freedom Caucus have been huddling since returning from the White House. They include Reps. Chip Roy, Scott Perry, Keith Self, Clay Higgins, Ralph Norman, Andy Ogles and Andy Biggs.

Separately, House Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team are holding court with more moderate members of the conference: Reps. Mike Lawler, Gabe Evans, Juan Ciscomani, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, David Valadao, Young Kim and Jen Kiggans.

Those meetings could be the final step to getting Trump’s agenda over the finish line in the House.

Johnson and his team have said they want to vote in the coming hours in the House but have yet to detail what changes – if any – party leaders and GOP hardliners agreed to make in the White House meeting earlier.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters after returning to the Capitol Building following a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, in Washington, DC.

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he is barreling ahead with a vote on President Donald Trump’s massive domestic policy bill later tonight or tomorrow morning, without sharing details of how he would win over a key group of GOP holdouts.

Johnson spoke after returning from a high-stakes White House meeting, in which he and many of those conservative holdouts huddled with Trump and his team.

Johnson did not say exactly what changes to Trump’s bill had been discussed but predicted that GOP leaders would “resolve” the concerns of the Freedom Caucus, potentially with the help of executive orders. But he made clear he would stick to his strict timeline of passing the bill through the House by Memorial Day.

Still, he downplayed any possible tweaks to the bill: “There’s not much changing here.”

He said he had not yet decided whether to proceed with the vote in the coming hours, or wait until tomorrow.

The White House described today’s meeting with President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and several holdouts on the GOP’s tax bill as “productive.”

US Institute of Peace acting President George Moose talks during a news conference outside the Institute, on Wednesday, in Washington, DC.

After a federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s effort to take over and cripple the US Institute of Peace, the independent agency’s chief said today he’s concerned about its systems after nearly two months without access.

Acting President George Moose told reporters at a news conference marking his return to office that while he did not see “any destruction” during ” a quick walkthrough” of the building, “We are concerned about the integrity of all the systems that maintain the building.”

Beginning tomorrow, the USIP will have a team surveying the state of the building, Moose said.

Today’s return to the office comes after the Department of Government Efficiency in late March made drastic workforce cuts to the nonprofit agency, which focuses on international peace and conflict resolution.

On Monday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully removed the USIP board and that subsequent actions taken by DOGE officials were “null and void.”

Moose added that most of the agency’s employees will work remotely “for the foreseeable future” as it rebuilds.

“The next stage is to reclaim control of all of our systems, our IT systems, our financial systems and our human resources systems,” which he shared his team has been planning for “for weeks.”

When asked by a reporter whether the agency can continue working with the Trump administration, which sought to dismantle it, Moose said: “Certainly it is our intention to continue to do what we have done for 40 years, which is to work in collaboration with the executive branch and Congress to pursue projects, ideas that are – we believe – of interest to the American people.”

Members of the House Freedom Caucus met with White House staff after discussions with President Donald Trump earlier this afternoon, a White House spokesperson tells CNN.

Trump’s meeting with lawmakers started around 3 p.m. ET, the spokesperson said. He left to speak at an event in the East Room celebrating the Florida Gators’ 2025 NCAA basketball championship at around 4:30 p.m. ET, according to the White House.

The spokesperson said after Trump left, Republican holdouts on the tax and spending cuts bill stayed and continued to talk with White House staff.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on May 14.

The Trump administration is planning to hold a “Make America Healthy Again” event on tomorrow tied to the release of a report from a commission led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a source familiar with the plans told CNN.

The event is expected to feature President Donald Trump, Kennedy and other health officials working on the MAHA commission, which was set up by Trump via executive action in February.

The report will offer a comprehensive view on toxins in food, vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs, the source said, though details of the event and the final version of the report are subject to change.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends a press conference, after his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had “in-depth exchanges” with US President Donald Trump after a tense meeting in the Oval Office earlier on Wednesday.

During the earlier meeting in the Oval Office, Trump accused Ramaphosa’s government of persecuting White South Africans. The South African politician and his delegation pushed back against Trump’s claims, repeatedly pivoting the conversation back to the US and South Africa’s commercial ties.

Later, Ramaphosa said his delegation “harped on” about US investment in South Africa in their private meeting, and noted that South Africans were concerned that the meeting might have ended with Trump imposing harsh economic penalties on their country

Ramaphosa added that the reset was needed after diplomacy between the US and South Africa was “contaminated” by disagreements over South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in international court and, of course, Trump’s belief that White South Africans are being oppressed.

Later, in response to a reporter’s question, Ramaphosa said unambiguously: “There is no genocide in South Africa.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters as he departs for the White House on Wednesday.

As they left for a meeting at the White House, Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP Leader Steve Scalise continued pressing for a vote on their tax, spending cuts and immigration bill — rejecting hardliners’ demands to delay any vote until after Memorial Day.

Earlier, Johnson told CNN that his goal was to pass the bill on the House floor tonight, despite key conservatives calling for more time to wrap up negotiations.

Johnson said he was “working through” the “deliberative slow process,” acknowledging with such a narrow margin he must “work with every member and hear their concerns and work with them and try to try to meet the equilibrium point with as many people as you can.”

“It’s moving right along on schedule and I’m very optimistic,” he said

Scalise said they were going to meet with President Donald Trump “to finalize everything, and then we’re going to move forward with the vote later on.”

He stressed House lawmakers need to keep the bill moving forward “because there’s a lot more steps in this process. I mean, the Senate, of course, has to go and do their work. You know, you’ve got other things like the debt ceiling in the bill that do have timelines.”

While leaving the White House, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters his meeting today with President Donald Trump “went very well.”

The two met privately in the Oval Office after speaking to reporters beforehand. During the public portion of the meeting, Trump repeated conspiracy theories on “White genocide” in South Africa.

Ramaphosa pushed back against the claims. He acknowledged “criminality” in the country but insisted that “people who do get killed, unfortunately through criminal activity, are not only White people, majority of them are Black people.”

When CNN asked as he left the White House if he believed Trump heard him, Ramaphosa responded, “Yes, he did.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as he leaves for a meeting at the White House on the budget, on Wednesday, on Capitol Hill.

House GOP leaders are scrambling to get enough support to advance President Donald Trump’s massive GOP tax and spending cuts package.

Speaker Mike Johnson is engaged in last-ditch negotiations over several unresolved issues involving Medicaid, green energy tax credits and the state and local tax deduction.

GOP holdouts are set to meet with Trump soon at the White House as the president aims to get them on board. Trump warned the House GOP yesterday while on Capitol Hill that they should stop pushing for changes and simply accept the current version of the bill.

Here’s what we know so far about what is in the bill:

Read more about the package here.

South African lawmaker Julius Malema issued a sarcastic response on social media after US President Donald Trump showed clips of him chanting “Kill the Boer” during a meeting with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

After Trump showed a montage of Malema and another opposition politician leading crowds and chanting “Dubul ‘ibhunu,” an apartheid-era chant translating to “Kill the Boer,” Ramaphosa’s Agriculture Minister John Henry Steenhuisen swiftly condemned them as extremists.

Steenhuisen noted that his Democratic Alliance party had joined Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) in a coalition to keep Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) out of government.

“We cannot have those people sitting in the Union Buildings making decisions,” Steenhuisen said, referring to the South African executive offices in Pretoria. “That is why, after 30 years of us exchanging barbs across the floor in parliament and trying to get one over on each other, we’ve decided to join hands precisely to keep that lot out of government.”

US President Donald Trump hands papers to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

Today was a good day for South Africa’s White supremacists. They got the highest validation they could have ever dreamed of from the Oval Office.

Most of the information that US President Donald Trump used to try to prove that “White genocide” is happening in South Africa has repeatedly been disproven.

Of the laundry list of conspiracy theories brought out at Trump’s meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa today, almost everything has been debunked. Some South Africans have said that they believe that the information is “AfriForum propaganda” — a White Afrikaner lobby group criticized as being a White nationalist group.

CNN has looked at data from the South African police and has found no evidence of a “White genocide.” A video played by Trump purports to show thousands of White farmers buried along the side of the road — but Ramaphosa said that he did not recognize the video, and there is no evidence that it showed what Trump claimed it displayed.

Though Ramaphosa brought his best diplomatic self to the meeting, nothing could have prepared him for the multimedia ambush that Trump laid out for him.

I expect the next meeting between the two leaders — without any cameras present — is going to be extraordinarily tense.

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump look on as a video plays in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sat in awkward silence in the Oval Office today as he listened to a video President Donald Trump played that included a clip of opposition politician Julius Malema chanting “Dubul ‘ibhunu,” a Zulu phrase meaning “Kill the Boer.”

Afrikaners, also known as Boers, are the descendants of predominantly white Dutch settlers in South Africa. A discriminatory apartheid government led by Afrikaners lost power in the mid-1990s.

Malema, who was expelled from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) more than a decade ago, leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.

The song was made popular again by the radical politician and his left-wing EFF party.

It has been accused by Afrikaner advocacy group AfriForum as instigating violence against White South Africans.

It had previously been described as a form of hate speech by a South African court in 2010. That ruling was however overturned in 2022, and in March South Africa’s Constitutional Court reaffirmed the 2022 decision, saying the words of the song should not be taken literally.

Sustained inequality in South Africa has, in part, given rise to populist parties like the EFF, which helped drive the agenda on land expropriation in the country.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday, in Washington, DC.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio took questions from lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier today, including on the war in Ukraine, immigration and more.

He’s testifying before the House Appropriations Committee this afternoon.

Here are some of the key things he discussed in his testimony earlier today: