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Trump administration news: President says he’d sign bill to release Epstein files
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On the Epstein files, Trump heeds John Boehner’s adage: “a leader without followers is just a man taking a walk”
02:28 • Source: CNN
On the Epstein files, Trump heeds John Boehner’s adage: “a leader without followers is just a man taking a walk”
02:28
• Epstein files: President Donald Trump said he would sign legislation compelling the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files if it reaches his desk. This comes a day before the House is expected to vote to release the files and after Trump reversed himself and urged GOP lawmakers to support the measure.
• GOP leaders weigh stance: Speaker Mike Johnson signaled he could support a bill on releasing the files if changes were made to some provisions in the Senate if the measure heads to the chamber. GOP Senate leader John Thune is still mulling whether to schedule a vote, a source said.
• Venezuela tensions: Meanwhile, Trump said today he would talk directly to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as he weighs whether to launch strikes in the South American country.
The House on Monday night advanced a measure that would condemn retiring Rep. Chuy García of Illinois for what some of his Democratic colleagues have described as an attempt to subvert the election of his successor.
This sets up a House vote on the resolution in the coming days.
The move is a blow to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team, who sought to kill the effort, which was led by Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.
Only one Democrat voted with Gluesenkamp Perez — an outspoken centrist — to advance the resolution, as did 209 Republicans, paving the way for a full House floor vote.
García is accused of timing his retirement to ensure his hand-picked replacement would win his seat next year. He has defended his actions, saying that he followed the rules, and party leadership has rallied around him.
The congressman announced his retirement shortly after his state’s filing deadline on November 3 — after his chief of staff had declared her own candidacy. That meant the staffer, Patty Garcia, was the only Democrat running in a primary for a deep-blue Chicago seat the congressman has held since 2019.
A spokesperson for the congressman said in a statement that he “followed every rule and every filing requirement laid out by the State of Illinois.”
Asked whether he had concerns about García’s actions, Jeffries argued that it was not an issue that was important to everyday Americans.
“The American people are focused on the high cost of living in the United States of America. That’s what they’re focused on,” Jeffries said ahead of the vote, adding: “I strongly support Congressman García. He’s been a progressive champion in disenfranchised communities for decades, including during his time in Congress.”
President Donald Trump today said he would sign a bill to make the Epstein files public if it reaches his desk, a stark reversal from his efforts to discredit the effort.
Hear what he said in the Oval Office today:
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Trump explains sudden reversal on his position of Epstein files
President Trump said he would sign a bill to make the files public if it reaches his desk, reaffirming a stark reversal from his efforts to discredit the effort. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports from the White House.
01:24 • Source: CNN
Trump explains sudden reversal on his position of Epstein files
01:24
President Donald Trump has not directed the Justice Department to stand in the way of turning over any of the Jeffrey Epstein files to Congress, should the House and Senate pass the measure compelling their release, a White House official told CNN.
That is significant because Trump ordered the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into various high-profile figures’ connections with Epstein. This might have given the department reason to resist turning over files or convinced some lawmakers to back off.
Generally, the department resists giving Congress files during an ongoing criminal investigation because any public release could jeopardize the integrity of the probe or any resulting criminal case.
It’s unclear how the Justice Department will respond if the measure is passed by Congress and signed into law. The White House official said that the administration is fully anticipating that more documents will be released by the end of the process.
Democrats are not pursuing the release of the Department of Justice’s full case files on Jeffrey Epstein specifically to go after President Donald Trump, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said today.
Ahead of a House vote to release the files, Jeffries was asked if he would “accept the results” if Trump’s name was not in the files.
When pressed on if he was “bothered” that one of his members, Del. Stacey Plaskett, was texting with Epstein during a hearing, Jeffries said he had not spoken with the delegate, who represents the US Virgin Islands, about the matter.
“I haven’t had a conversation with Stacey Plaskett and in fact I believe Stacey Plaskett has issued a statement as it relates to this, and her statement speaks for itself,” he said.
GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said President Donald Trump and Republican leaders should have leaned into efforts to release the Jeffrey Epstein files earlier as the House stands poised to vote to force the Justice Department to release all documents related to the case.
“I think it was always better to just support transparency. I mean, he is the transparency president, he’s been transparent in all other matters,” she told CNN on Monday.
“When the vote does come up, you’ll see an overwhelming number of members from both parties vote in the side of transparency, and I think that’s the right thing to do, as long as we can protect the victims,” she continued, later adding, “I think that we just want to put this issue to rest, offer transparency to the American people. And I think you’ll see that happening when the vote comes up.”
Within the last 24 hours, the president has changed his tune on the Epstein files, which he previously called a “Democratic hoax,” saying he would sign a bill to force the release of the documents if it reaches his desk.
The House was out of session for weeks during the government shutdown as Speaker Mike Johnson put pressure on the Senate to pass a stopgap funding bill. Many questioned if Johnson was keeping lawmakers out of town and refusing to swear in a newly elected Democratic congresswoman to avoid an imminent Epstein vote.
“I think it should just come up,” Malliotakis said, urging a quick vote on the bill and release of the files.
It’s been another busy day in Washington with President Donald Trump weighing in again on the release of the Department of Justice case files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The president today said he would sign a bill to make the files public if it reaches his desk, reaffirming a stark reversal from his efforts to discredit the effort.
Here’s a recap of what he said about Epstein and other topics:
- Latest on Epstein files: Trump said he would sign legislation compelling the release of the full DOJ files if it passes both chambers. He said he does not want the subject to distract from his administration’s successes. Trump furiously resisted the move until yesterday.
- Vote tomorrow: The House is expected to vote on the bill with a growing number of GOP lawmakers expected to support it.
- What Congressional leaders are saying: Speaker Mike Johnson signaled he could support the bill if changes were made in the Senate. GOP Senate leader John Thune, meantime, is still mulling whether to schedule a vote, a source said.
- Latest on Venezuela: Trump said he would talk directly with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro at a “certain time,” as he weighs strikes on the country.
- Efforts to curb drugs: Trump also said that he’d be open to striking inside Mexico and Colombia to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.
- Saudi visit: The president will host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House tomorrow. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said he plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
- World Cup: Finally, Trump issued a veiled threat to Democratic-run cities slated to host World Cup matches next year, saying he might ask FIFA to move games from certain cities if he feels crime is too high or local leadership isn’t cooperating with the federal government.
CNN’s Donald Judd, Kevin Liptak, Alejandra Jaramillo, Manu Raju, Alison Main and Ellis Kim contributed reporting to this post.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he’d be open to striking inside Mexico and Colombia to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, telling reporters he would be “proud” to strike drug facilities in other countries.
The move would mark an escalation of the administration’s approach to curbing the flow of drugs into the US, after weeks of striking boats the administration has claimed were smuggling drugs.
The president went on to say he’d probably seek approval for a Mexico strike from Congress, “and you know what? The Democrats and the Republicans would both agree, unless they’re crazy,” before leaving the door open to a similar strike on Colombia.
“Colombia has cocaine factories where they make cocaine — would I knock out those factories? I would be proud to do it, personally,” Trump said. “I didn’t say I’m doing it, but I would be proud to do it, because we’re going to save millions of lives by doing it.”
President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a controversial step that could alter the military balance in the Middle East.
“We will be doing that. We will be selling F-35s,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when questioned about the sale of the jets, which cost $100 million apiece.
Trump’s comments come as he’s set to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday for a visit with full diplomatic trappings, including a welcome ceremony and a black-tie dinner.
Riyadh has long sought the F-35s, one of the most advanced military jets in the world. But Israel — the only country in the Middle East with the jets — is worried about maintaining its military edge.
Congress could block export licenses for the F-35s to Saudi Arabia, though it’s unusual.
Trump has worked to cultivate a close relationship with the kingdom and its leaders as he looks to expand the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.
On Monday he called Saudi Arabia a “great ally.”
President Donald Trump said Monday he would sign legislation compelling the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files if it reaches his desk, noting that he does not want the subject to distract from his administration’s successes.
“Sure, I would,” the president said when asked whether he would sign the bill, which the House is expected to take up on Tuesday.
“Let the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it, but don’t talk about it too much, because, honestly, I don’t want to take it away from us,” Trump added of what he cast as the GOP’s achievements.
The president said he was “all for” the release of the Epstein files — which he called for in a Sunday night social media post that reversed his previous opposition to the effort in the House to release them.
“So, I’m all for it. You know, we’ve already given 50,000 pages,” he said Monday, going on to allude to the public clamor for more transparency by adding: “But no matter what we give, it’s never enough.”
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the co-sponsors of the discharge petition to force a vote in the House, quickly responded to the president’s comments on X: “Looking forward to attending this bill signing.”
President Donald Trump said Monday he would talk directly with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, as he weighs a decision on launching strikes on the country.
“Yeah, I probably would talk to him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Later, he said he would talk to Maduro at a “certain time.”
“He’s done tremendous damage to our country,” Trump said, adding it was a “tricky question” of whether there was any scenario in which Maduro could remain in power.
A day earlier, Trump suggested a diplomatic window was opening with Caracas amid a massive US military buildup in the region.
Trump on Monday declined to rule out sending US troops to Venezuela, saying he doesn’t “rule out anything.”
An audibly hoarse Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he was “feeling great,” but that he strained his voice while yelling at people over trade.
“I feel great — I was shouting at people, because they were stupid about something having to do trade in a country, and I straightened that out,” Trump told a reporter who asked about his raspy voice. “But I blew my stack at these people.”
The president was hosting a meeting of the White House FIFA World Cup 2026 task force in the Oval Office, and his voice appeared strained throughout his remarks.
Pressed in a follow-up exchange for more details about the “shouting” that led to losing his voice, the president told reporters, “A country wanted to renegotiate the terms of their trade deal, and I wasn’t happy about it.”
But he refused to say which country inspired his ire.
“Why would I say that to you?” he said.
President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will prioritize visa appointments for foreign travelers holding tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Trump encouraged visitors who intend to travel to the US for the World Cup “to apply right away” as he announced “the FIFA prioritized appointment scheduling system” in the Oval Office alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the call for early action, urging ticket holders to apply “as soon as possible.”
“Your ticket is not a visa. Doesn’t guarantee admission to the US. It guarantees you an expedited appointment,” Rubio added.
Rubio said in May that the State Department may increase staffing at certain embassies to enable increased visa processing before the World Cup and Olympics in the United States. He said Monday the State Department had deployed more than 400 additional consular officers around the world, “in some cases, doubling the size of the consular presence in our embassies in certain countries.”
CNN has asked the State Department for more details about the “FIFA prioritized” appointments.
More about the World Cup: Next year’s tournament is expanding for the first time to 48 teams and will span across the US, Mexico and Canada. Eleven American cities will host games.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday declined to criticize President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says has put her safety at serious risk.
Speaking to CNN, Johnson took no issue with Trump’s attacks against Greene, whom the president spent the weekend attacking and calling a “traitor.”
Asked if he would advise Trump to stop calling her a traitor, after she said her safety and her family’s safety were at serious risk, Johnson took no issue with Trump’s comments.
“Look, it’s not surprising that the president was frustrated because some of the criticisms that Marjorie had been out stating to the media,” Johnson told CNN. “And of course, she criticizes me all the time. But look, I work on unity in the party, and my encouragement of everybody is to get together. We’ve got to do that in order to deliver for the people.”
Speaker Mike Johnson signaled he could support a bipartisan bill to release the Jeffrey Epstein case files if changes were made in the Senate if the legislation heads there next after the House votes.
Speaking to CNN, Johnson said his support was contingent on whether the Senate will make changes to some of its “terrible provisions” — suggesting the measure needs to do a better job of protecting victims’ names.
And despite taking steps to deny the bill a vote for months, he claimed he was simply opposed to the drafting of the discharge petition, a maneuver used to force a vote on the bill over his objections.
“I haven’t tried to kill it,” Johnson said. “We had lots of opposition to the discharge because it’s dangerous in the way it’s drafted. My support will be conditioned upon an agreement in the Senate that if indeed they process it, they’ve got to fix the terrible provisions in it. I also believe it is entirely moot point, because, as you know, the Oversight Committee is doing all their deliberate work,” referring to a probe by the panel.
Johnson’s comments came after Trump, in a major reversal Sunday night, called on Republicans to back the bill, ahead of an anticipated House vote Tuesday with scores of Republicans expected to vote for a bill he has derided for months. Senate GOP leaders have not said how they would handle the bill.
Johnson said he has spoken to Trump “quite a bit” on the topic but declined to comment on the substance of their interactions or whether he advised Trump to change course. He contended that Trump “never had anything to hide.”
“He and I had the same concern – that we wanted to ensure that victims of these heinous crimes were completely protected from disclosure,” Johnson said of the president. “And I’m not sure the discharge does that and that’s part of the problem.”
Supporters of the bill say that it effectively protects the victims, who have voiced their support for the measure.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene used to be one of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies. Their recent falling out marks the end of a long history of mutual support and advocacy.
Greene has criticized Trump on a number of fronts lately. It spilled into a messy exchange as the controversy around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein took center stage. Trump on Friday said he was withdrawing his endorsement of Greene in a Truth Social post, saying she had “gone Far Left.”
But before the rupture:
- The Georgia lawmaker helped promote Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election were riddled with fraud and stolen from him,
- Before the January 6 insurrection, she fanned the flames by telling her supporters on Twitter to ”FIGHT. FOR. TRUMP.”
- On January 6, she joined some of her Republicans colleagues in objecting to counting electoral votes.
- When she was kicked off her committee assignments by Democrats and some Republicans for past racist and antisemitic remarks that appeared to promote violence, she said she had spoken with Trump and was “so grateful for (his) support.”
- Greene also previously embraced and spread the baseless conspiracy theory about a “deep state” working to usurp Trump’s agenda. She once suggested on Facebook that FBI agents disloyal to Trump were traitors.
- She consistently defended Trump during his impeachments, calling the charges politically motivated and introducing bills to expunge them from the historical record.
And now:
Despite Trump’s denunciation, Greene told CNN she still does “support him and his administration, and I support them in delivering the campaign promises we made to the American people.”
See more from her interview with CNN’s Dana Bash:
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‘That’s fair criticism’: Dana Bash presses Marjorie Taylor Greene about past divisive comments
After years of stoking partisan fights, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tells CNN’s Dana Bash she has changed and now wants to model a less divisive kind of politics in the US. This is the representative’s first interview since President Donald Trump withdrew his endorsement and criticized her online, calling her a “traitor.”
02:04 • Source: CNN
‘That’s fair criticism’: Dana Bash presses Marjorie Taylor Greene about past divisive comments
02:04
CNN’s Clare Foran, Daniella Diaz and Annie Grayer, Veronica Stracqualursi, Jamie Gangel, Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck contributed reporting to this post.
We mentioned the rift earlier between President Donald Trump and his long-time ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, worsened by her decision to push in the House to release investigative files about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump furiously resisted the move until yesterday evening, when he encouraged House Republicans to vote to release the files.
CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst Ron Brownstein has analysis:
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Analysis: What’s next for the Marjorie Taylor Greene-Trump alliance?
01:02 • Source: CNN
Analysis: What’s next for the Marjorie Taylor Greene-Trump alliance?
01:02
The embattled acting chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency will step down after hurricane season following months of public controversy and internal frustration.
David Richardson submitted a resignation letter today to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, giving two weeks’ notice, the department told CNN.
However, plans were already in the works at the agency to oust him from the role, three sources told CNN.
CNN has reached out to Richardson for comment.
Richardson was tapped to lead FEMA largely because of his loyalty to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the department.
But his time in charge there has been punctuated by some eyebrow-raising moments — like in a June meeting where he told staff he was unaware the US has a hurricane season, a comment DHS later insisted was a joke.
His impending dismissal raises the stakes for FEMA — the agency responsible for helping Americans recover from the nation’s worst disasters — as Noem and DHS prepare for sweeping reforms that could fundamentally reshape its future.
Last night President Donald Trump publicly shifted his stance on the release of the files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The president is now urging House Republicans to vote to release more files related to the convicted sex offender.
CNN’s Jake Tapper says this is unnecessary and explains how Trump could order the release of the documents immediately.
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Tapper: Trump’s Epstein reversal is an “exercise in theater”
President Donald Trump made a stark reversal and encouraged House Republicans to vote to release more files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CNN’s Jake Tapper argues this is unnecessary and explains how Trump could order the release of the documents immediately.
02:29 • Source: CNN
Tapper: Trump’s Epstein reversal is an “exercise in theater”
02:29
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said today that she hopes talks will take place between the Trump administration and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government amid heightened tensions between the two nations.
“We are a country that always seeks peace, dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. We are not in favor of invasions,” Sheinbaum said when asked for her opinion on the possibility of dialogue between the countries during a news conference.
The Mexican president offered her country’s “help in any way it can” to achieve peace.
Remember: US President Donald Trump has yet to make a decision on whether to attack Venezuela on land, according to a White House official and a senior US official, as he hints a window may be opening for diplomacy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is considering options as he weighs scheduling a vote on a bill demanding the government release the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a GOP leadership aide.
That bill is expected to pass the House this week. Thune is not expected to announce anything until after the House votes on it, the source said. His position is critical because the measure would have to pass the Senate before becoming law and prompting the release of the files.
More on Thune’s stance on the matter: In the past, the Republican Senate leader has said he trusts President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to handle the Epstein matter appropriately. But he has also cast doubt on the need to pass legislation to force the release of the files because DOJ had already released thousands of pages.
In September, he was asked by CNN if he believes legislation to force the release of the Epstein files should get a vote in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the president made a stark reversal last night on his position and encouraged the House to vote to release the files.
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