The Latest: House committee chairs endorse Donald Trump

Republican Donald Trump's presidential campaign is announcing new endorsements from several House committee chairs ahead of his trip Thursday to Washington.

In a press release posted on his Facebook page Wednesday evening, Trump announced the backing of House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia, Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas, Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas, and Lamar Smith of Texas, who chairs the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Michael Bloomberg says he will "think about" whether to endorse either of the two presidential candidates likely to face off in the November election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Bloomberg earlier this year decided not to pursue the White House as an independent, and in announcing that decision blasted Trump for running "the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember."

The "Patriots Reception" event, which cost $200 a ticket and was expected to draw about 2,000 people, is to raise money for the Nassau County GOP.

The 2012 GOP presidential nominee is suggesting the real reason Trump is not releasing his tax returns is that the billionaire is hiding "a bombshell of unusual size" in the documents.

The accusation came in a pointed Facebook post Wednesday as likely Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton slammed Trump over the transparency issue.

Trump said in an AP interview Tuesday that he doesn't believe he has an obligation to release his tax returns and won't release them before November — unless an ongoing audit of his finances is completed before Election Day.

Mnuchin would not share details of the event, but he tells The Associated Press that he's had a "very good reception" and that it will be hosted by a "high-profile" donor.

T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire oil investor, is feeling bullish about presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Pickens, one of the party's most prolific donors, says Trump called him on Monday and the two had a chuckle about how he'd given big money to GOP rivals Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina before Trump beat them.

GOP Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa says he doesn't believe Donald Trump would try to pay America's creditors less than full value on the government debt they hold, as the presidential candidate last week suggested.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee suggested recently that he would buy U.S. debt back at a discount from investors in hopes of refinancing them at lower rates.

Economic experts have criticized the idea, arguing it would send rates soaring, slow economic growth and undermine confidence in the world's most trusted financial asset.

Clinton says in Blackwood, New Jersey, that Trump would add trillions to the debt in exchange for tax cuts for people earning more than $1 million a year.

The Democratic presidential candidate says Trump should also release his tax returns.

The Republican candidate told The Associated Press in an interview that he doesn't plan to do that until an audit of his finances is complete.

Clinton says releasing tax returns is "kind of expected" by the presidential nominees of each party and she notes she has put out more than three decades of returns.

Ryan spoke to reporters Wednesday morning ahead of his Thursday meeting with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Donald Trump says he may set up a commission to study his immigration policies and his proposed ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. The man he may ask to lead the commission is the former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who's called Trump's idea of a Muslim ban unconstitutional.

Trump floated the idea of a commission Wednesday on Fox News and addressed it only briefly, not saying if this would happen if he wins the White House or during his Republican presidential campaign.

Overall, Trump now has 1,135 delegates, 92 percent of what he needs for the Republican presidential nomination.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he'll live up to his pledge to the Republican Party to support the GOP's presidential nominee.

Donald Trump says he understands why the Bush family "is sitting out" the Republican presidential campaign.

A key House Republican is brushing aside talk of a possible third-party candidacy in the presidential election campaign.