Trump administration live updates: Pam Bondi expected to face grilling about Epstein files at House hearing – NBC News

A former deputy to ex-special counsel Jack Smith, J.P. Cooney, announced thismorning that he is launching a congressional bid in Virginia.

“I don’t want my children, friends, or community to have any doubt about where I stand in this moment,” Cooney said in a post on LinkedIn. “Today, I am announcing my candidacy for Congress in Virginia’s proposed new Seventh District.”

Cooney shared an article from The New York Times, which first reported his election bid, and said he was running as a Democrat.

In his time working with Smith, Cooney served as “a lead prosecutor in both criminal prosecutions of President Trump for obstruction of justice and conspiracy,” his LinkedIn account says, referring to the federal indictments of the then-former president on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and alleged mishandling of classified documents. 

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Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify before lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee this morning.

Lawmakers are likely to press her on top issues involving the Justice Department, including the failed attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video they appeared in telling members of the military and intelligence community not to comply with illegal orders and the department’s handling of the Epstein files.

The department recently released millions more pages of documents related to Epstein, but critics are urging more transparency in releasing additional documents and uncovering certain redactions.

There are 44 lawmakers on the committee, and each member will receive five minutes for questions.

Survivors of Epstein are also expected to attend the hearing.

In newly released documents from the Epstein files, it was revealed that a former Palm Beach police chief said Trump called him two decades ago to warn about Epstein. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports.

A sizable majority of Americans want significant changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement — but while they largely disapprove of ICE and say its tactics have gone too far, the country is divided over just how much to reform the agency and how to handle immigration policy broadly, according to a new survey.

The new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey finds nearly 3 in 4 U.S. adults support some changes to ICE, with 29% saying it should be abolished outright. Approval of Trump’s sweeping deportation policies dropped steeply after federal agents killed two Americans last month in Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, Congress is debating federal funding for the agency, and a potential shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security looms at the end of the week, with congressional Democrats taking issue with agents’ tactics, clashes with protesters and questions surrounding due process for the targets of immigration enforcement.

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Support for Trump’s immigration agenda is in free fall in early 2026 after federal immigration agents shot and killed two Americans last month, according to the new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.

The administration’s aggressive tactics and deportation goals have dragged down Americans’ views of Trump on the very issue that helped sweep him into office, the survey shows.

Immigration and border security had long stood out as a strength for Trump in polls, both as he ran for a second term in 2024 and in the first year of his new administration. Now, Trump’s ratings on the issue have sunk to the same level as his overall job approval rating.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Trump at the White House today about U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles, and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement over the weekend, referring to Tehran’s support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Trump and Netanyahu last met in December.

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