What to know today
- EPSTEIN CASE: President Donald Trump said he was directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of “pertinent” grand jury testimony from the Jeffrey Epstein case after he denied reporting from The Wall Street Journal that said he sent Epstein a letter in 2003 with a drawing of a naked woman.
- TRUMP'S MEDICAL UPDATE: The White House said Trump was diagnosed with a “chronic venous insufficiency” after he was examined for mild swelling in his lower legs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the condition is “benign” and common for people over age 70.
- SPENDING CUTS VOTE: The Senate passed a bill overnight that would make $9 billion in cuts to previously approved funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid. The House voted 216-213 to give final passage to the legislation just after midnight.
Trump’s cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid clear Congress
The Republican-controlled House voted 216-213 to give final passage to a bill cutting $9 billion in spending that had already been approved, sending it to Trump to sign into law.
The cuts aimed at public media and foreign aid passed in another middle-of-the-night vote on Capitol Hill, one day after the Senate voted 51-48 after 2 a.m. Thursday to approve the measure.
The measure cuts $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for NPR and PBS. It cuts $8 billion more from foreign aid, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and programs to promote global health and refugee assistance. But planned cuts to PEPFAR were removed from the package in recent days, leaving funding for the popular Bush-era foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS intact.
House Rules Committee advances rules on spending cuts bill and Epstein resolution
The House Rules Committee approved two rules tonight along party lines: one for the rescission package to codify federal spending cuts and the other a a resolution calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The rule for the rescissions package is now headed to the House floor for debate, followed by a vote. The chamber will not be taking up the Epstein resolution tonight.
If it is passed by the House, the Epstein resolution would not carry the force of the law, as it would not go through the Senate or need the president’s signature.
Trump denies writing letter to Jeffrey Epstein with drawing of a naked woman
Trump this evening denied writing a letter to Epstein more than two decades ago that reportedly included an outline of a naked woman and a “Donald” signature.
The denial came in response to a Wall Street Journal article that said Trump was among dozens of Epstein’s associates enlisted by his then-confidant Ghislaine Maxwell to contribute to a collection of letters she planned to give him in a birthday album.
According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Trump’s letter featured several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman. The outline, according to the Journal, included details meant to depict the woman’s breast. Trump’s signature was drawn across the woman’s waist, meant to mimic the appearance of pubic hair.
NBC News has not independently verified or seen the letter.
Trump directs Bondi to seek release of 'pertinent' grand jury testimony in Epstein case
Trump said on social media tonight that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce "pertinent" testimony tied to the Epstein case.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!"
Bondi responded on X that the Justice Department was "ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."
The White House said earlier today that Trump will not appoint a special counsel to review Epstein's case.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says she is 'criminally referring' Jerome Powell to DOJ
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said on social media today that she is criminally referring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Justice Department over a project to renovate the central bank's headquarters.
“I am criminally referring Jerome Powell to the DOJ to investigate perjury regarding his crazy $2.5BN building,” Luna wrote on X.
The details of the perjury allegation were not immediately clear; a spokesperson for Luna didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve Board declined to comment.
Members of Congress can call on the Justice Department to pursue investigations, even if they aren't convinced that a crime has taken place. According to the Congressional Research Service, a legislative research agency, those referrals don't require the Justice Department to initiate prosecution.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought recently raised concerns over the renovation's costs, prompting Powell to respond in a letter that he has asked the Federal Reserve's inspector general to review the project again. Neither fraud nor abuse had been flagged previously by the internal watchdog.
Luna has opposed Powell's leadership of the Fed, telling reporters yesterday that he should be dismissed.
"If you see the overall opinion on Jerome Powell, I think a lot of people are ready for him to go," Luna said. "I definitely think that he needs to be fired. And I think that I’m not the only legislator that thinks that way."
House Rules Committee plans to advance spending cut measure and one tied to Epstein case
The House Rules Committee plans to advance two separate rules tonight — one on the rescissions package to claw back $9 billion in already approved spending and one on a resolution related to releasing information in the Epstein case, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
The committee has been meeting on the rescissions package for more than two hours. Even though Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member, repeatedly asked Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., whether the committee will also take up something related to Epstein information, Foxx has declined to provide any specifics.
The plan Republican leaders worked on throughout the day with the GOP members of the Rules Committee would allow the rescissions package to make it to the floor tonight while appeasing Republicans who want to show that they support transparency in the Epstein case. The Hill first reported the plans.
The text of the new resolution related to Epstein has not been released publicly.
Fed chair responds to White House official's concerns about building renovation amid Trump criticism
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responded to a letter from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought after Vought raised concerns about the increasing cost of an ongoing renovation to the central bank's headquarters.
Vought has argued that the growing cost of the renovation, currently pegged at $2.5 billion, required additional approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal planning agency. Trump, who has talked about potentially firing Powell, has suggested without evidence that the billion-dollar price tag for the project could be fraudulent.
In his letter today, Powell noted that the renovation had been subject to budget approval and had been overseen in part by an independent inspector general who has not identified any fraudulent spending. He added that the project is "large in scope" because it involves renovating two historic buildings and that the "small number of design changes" that had been made to the renovation since the government planning agency approved it did not warrant further review, according to National Capital Planning Commission guidance.
“Guidance from the NCPC states that agencies should submit revised project information for approved projects only if substantial changes are made in either the design or plan of the project after NCPC review. The Board does not regard any of these changes as warranting further review," Powell wrote.
No changes for Trump after diagnosis, White House official says
A White House official told NBC News that there will be no changes to Trump's schedule or lifestyle related to his recent diagnosis, disclosed today, of chronic venous insufficiency.
The official said Trump has had no discomfort — and said he won’t be taking steps like wearing compression socks or putting his feet up on an ottoman to relieve pressure or swelling.
The White House has not specified when Trump was evaluated and diagnosed, saying only that it was in "recent weeks."
Spending cut package stalls as House GOP lawmakers seek to show support for 'transparency' in Epstein case
House action on the Senate-passed rescissions package is stalled as Republican leaders try to figure out how to appease members of their own party who want to show that they support transparency regarding the Epstein case.
The House was scheduled to vote around 7 p.m. ET on the legislation to claw back $9 billion in already approved funding, but the measure first has to go through the Rules Committee. That panel just scheduled a 6 p.m. meeting on the measure that could go for several hours depending on how many amendments are submitted.
Democrats may offer amendments on any topic. Specifically, Democrats could offer amendments on forcing the release of Epstein information, as Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., tried to do Monday night in the committee. Republicans voted down that amendment, though Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voted in favor of it with Democrats.
The Rules Committee could have met earlier in the day, but members want to show that they support transparency, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
“The House Republicans are for transparency, and they’re looking for a way to say that,” said Johnson, R-La.
Johnson said Republicans on the Rules Committee have faced "criticism because they voted to stop the Democrats' politicization of this, and they’re trying to stick to their job and move the procedural rules to the floor so we can do our work and get the rescission done for the American people."
Throughout the earlier vote series on crypto bills, members of the Rules Committee met with Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. Johnson said they were still working on everything with the committee members.
What is chronic venous insufficiency, Trump’s diagnosis?
Trump has been diagnosed with a condition that causes blood to pool in his legs after he was examined for “mild swelling in his lower legs,” Leavitt said today.
Leavitt said at a briefing that Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a “benign” condition common in people over age 70. He is 79.
Follow-up tests found no evidence of a serious or life-threatening condition like deep vein thrombosis, she said, but they did lead to a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency.
Trump administration shuts down LGBTQ youth suicide hotline
The Trump administration this afternoon officially terminated the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ Youth Specialized Services program, which gave callers under age 25 the option to speak with LGBTQ-trained counselors.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month that the specialized service would be shuttered. The agency said it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services” — notably removing the “T” representing the transgender community — and would instead “focus on serving all help seekers.”
“Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress. Anyone who calls the Lifeline will continue to receive compassion and help,” the agency said at the time.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched in July 2022, two years after Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, making 988 the universal number for the national suicide prevention line. The bipartisan legislation noted that LGBTQ youths “are more than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers and said SAMHSA “must be equipped to provide specialized resources” to high-risk populations, including LGBTQ youths.
House passes major cryptocurrency bill, sending it to Trump's desk
In an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House approved a landmark cryptocurrency bill that would establish the first regulatory framework for issuers of stablecoins, called the GENIUS Act. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, now heads to Trump’s desk.
The vote was 308-122, with 206 Republicans and 102 Democrats supporting the legislation.
The House also approved two other crypto-related pieces of legislation, both of which still need to clear the Senate.
The CLARITY Act would establish “a regulatory framework for digital commodities.” That also got broad bipartisan support.
Meanwhile, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act would prohibit the “Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency.”
Top Trump officials tour Alcatraz Island after Trump demands facility reopen as a prison
Top Trump officials toured Alcatraz Island off California today for a visit aimed at measuring the feasibility of reverting the national park to a prison, a demand Trump made on Truth Social back in May.
Fox News accompanied Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum as they toured the federal facility, which closed as a federal penitentiary in 1963, according to the Bureau of Prisons. It has operated as a national park since 1972.
"It’s a federal property. Its original use was a prison, and so part of this would be to test the feasibility about returning it back to its original use," said Burgum, who oversees national parks.
Trump had directed the federal officials to "to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders."
Bondi echoed the call during the tour, telling Fox News that those housed in the facility, should it reopen, would include "the worst of the worst."
"It could hold middle-class, violent prisoners. It could hold — it could hold illegal aliens. It could hold anything. This is a terrific facility [that] needs a lot of work, but no one has been known to escape from Alcatraz and survive," Bondi said.
During its time as a penitentiary, Alcatraz had a capacity of more than 300 people and was designed to house "the most dangerous criminals." However, difficulties sending supplies to the island, as well as high operating costs, led to its closing.
California officials have doubted the likelihood of the facility's reopening as a prison, with Gov. Gavin Newsom saying in a statement: "Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So... never.”
Sen. Tina Smith back for Senate votes after hospital stay last night
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., is back on Capitol Hill for Senate votes today after she missed last night's rescissions package vote-a-rama.
"With a clean bill of health, I’m ready to get back to work fighting for Minnesotans," Smith said in a post on X this afternoon that made light of her love for doughnuts.
Smith's office said yesterday that she would stay overnight for examination at George Washington University Hospital in Washington “out of an abundance of caution” after having felt unwell.
Murkowski flips her vote on the new FBI headquarters location, allowing it to remain in Washington
Some drama in the Senate Appropriations Committee was reversed today when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, switched her vote to not derail the Trump administration’s plan to put the new FBI headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington instead of in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The issue came to a head last week when an amendment introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill — which would force funding for the new FBI HQ to be used only for a Greenbelt location — passed with the help of Murkowski’s vote.
The vote resulted in Republicans’ defecting from the bill, putting its passage in jeopardy. As a result, the Appropriations Committee went into an extended recess to figure out a path that didn’t result in the death of the entire bill.
The Biden administration announced the decision to move the headquarters out of Washington to Maryland in 2023 after a yearslong selection process in which both Virginia and Maryland vied to house it.
But in July, the Trump administration reversed the decision and said the new headquarters would instead land at the Ronald Reagan complex in downtown Washington, which they described as a cost-effective location that can meet the needs of the agency’s workforce. The FBI’s current headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building has deteriorated since it was opened in the 1970s, requiring either extensive renovations or a whole new campus to be constructed.
Last week, Murkowski said she had concerns about the Trump administration’s plans, so she joined Democrats to pass an amendment that would prohibit funding from being used to divert the new headquarters to Washington. But after she got a briefing from FBI Director Kash Patel this week, she decided to change her vote and instead allow the debate to happen when the bill is considered on the Senate floor later this year.
“I come to this decision based on the conversations that I’ve had with Kash Patel. I would encourage any members, either on this committee or off the committee, to have the same conversations, to have the same discussions,” Murkowski said at the Appropriations Committee meeting today.
Some Senate Republicans irked by OMB director's comments that government funding should be 'less bipartisan'
Some Senate Republicans are frustrated by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought’s suggestion that the appropriations process should be less bipartisan.
Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, said Vought's remark "runs contrary to what, you know, the math tells us around here."
At a Christian Science Monitor breakfast today, Vought said, according to a report in Politico, that “the appropriations process has to be less bipartisan.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Vought's comment “disrespects” the appropriations process.
“I think he thinks that we are irrelevant," Murkowski said, adding that Vought's comments were "pretty dismissive of the appropriations process, pretty dismissive of our role."
Murkowski also discouraged the Trump administration from using rescissions packages again in the future, saying: “I do not think that that should be our path. It’s not legislating. It’s basically the White House saying, 'This is what we want you to do, take it or leave it. Trust us.'”
Senate Republicans this morning approved the Trump administration’s rescissions request, which effectively accepted that the Trump administration did not want to spend the money Congress approved in previous bipartisan spending bills.
Murkowski and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, of Maine, were the only two Republicans to vote against the rescissions package.
Collins echoed Murkowski's sentiment, telling NBC News that in the interest of funding the government, 60 votes are needed and "that means that it has to be a bipartisan process."
"Mr. Vought’s lack of respect and apparent lack of understanding of how Congress operates is baffling, because he’s served in government before,” she added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to reverse Vought at a briefing today.
“I think our Office of Management and Budget director was saying this process should be more bipartisan," she said.
White House says Trump doesn't want a special prosecutor in Epstein case
While his allies have been pushing Trump to name a special counsel in the Epstein probe, Leavitt said he's not interested.
"The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” she said.
Asked why the administration can't simply release more information from the files, Leavitt said that would be up to the Justice Department but that if it includes grand jury information, "a judge would have to approve it. That’s out of the president’s control."
She was also asked what about the Epstein case that Trump now considers a "hoax." "The president was referring to the fact that Democrats have now seized on this, as if they ever wanted transparency on this, which is an asinine suggestion," she said, adding they didn't "do a dang thing" when Biden was in office.
Trump has 'chronic venous insufficiency' in his legs, WH says
Trump has been diagnosed with "chronic venous insufficiency" after he was checked out for "mild swelling in his lower legs," Leavitt said at the briefing today.
Leavitt said the insufficiency is a "benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”
“Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease,” she added.
She said Trump was "thoroughly evaluated by the White House medical unit" after he noted the swelling.
Leavitt also addressed the continued bruising on his hand, saying, as she had earlier this year, that it's the result of "frequent hand shaking" and the "use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen."
"The president remains in excellent health," she said.
Gallego introduces resolution calling for DOJ to release Epstein files
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., introduced a resolution calling on the Justice Department to release its files related to the Epstein probe on the Senate floor this afternoon. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., objected to the resolution after Gallego spoke about Trump’s “total reversal” on releasing the files.
“Trump is straight-up gaslighting the American public. Does he think the American people are that dumb? Did he really think the American people would not forget what he had said for years on the campaign trail?” he asked.
Gallego tied Trump’s avoidance of the Epstein issue to a pattern of helping his “elite” friends at the expense of the American people.
“Trump has chickened out, and it’s because he is one of those elites, and he is taking care of his own. It’s all connected. Just look at his legislative agenda. Tax breaks for his rich buddies, subsidizing private jet purchases. Again and again, he rigs the system against everyday Americans,” he said.
Mullin called the resolution “political theater” and said Democrats care about the Epstein files only because it’s an opportunity “to go after a president that they truly despise.”
Democrats challenge whether Emil Bove’s judicial nomination advanced after they walked out of vote
Democrats walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting today to advance senior Justice Department official Emil Bove’s nomination for a federal judgeship, alleging Republicans improperly rushed the process.
A spokesperson for the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that as a result, it is an open question whether the nominations of Bove, who previously was Trump’s personal defense lawyer, and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, whom he has picked to be U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia, are moving forward.
The spokesperson said that the Republican majority broke several rules with its actions and that Democrats would make their case to the Senate parliamentarian that the votes should be voided.
A spokesperson for the committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said that there is no dispute and that Bove’s nomination to the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Pirro’s nomination can move ahead to the full Senate.
Trump Justice Department seeks one day in prison for ex-officer in Breonna Taylor case
The Justice Department is seeking no prison time for a former officer who blindly shot into Breonna Taylor’s home during a botched 2020 raid that sparked a federal inquiry into policing in Louisville, Kentucky.
Brett Hankison, a former Louisville Metro Police Department detective whose shots did not strike Taylor, was convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law in November. Federal prosecutors said he fired 10 shots through a window and a sliding glass door that were covered with blinds and curtains. Multiple bullets traveled through the wall and into an apartment next door but did not hit anyone.
Pam Bondi and Doug Burgum expected to visit Alcatraz today
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to try and reopen Alcatraz to prisoners.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who oversees the Bureau of Prisons, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose department controls the land, are expected to visit the current tourist site today, according to two administration officials familiar with the plans.
A senior Justice Department official said Bondi and Burgum are touring the prison and the surrounding island, discussing facilities with park police on the ground, and directing staff to collaborate on the necessary planning to rehabilitate and reopen the facility.
Reacting to local media reports, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a written statement.
“With stiff competition, the planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administration’s stupidest initiative yet,” she wrote. “It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies.”
In May, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he would direct his administration to reopen “a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
“The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” the president wrote.
Legally, the Trump administration can’t simply do this — at least not right away. Reopening the facility would not be up to the Bureau of Prisons under current legislation that places the island under the control of the Department of the Interior and designates it as part of a national park. A member of Congress would need to propose a bill to change that.
“Should reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before the Congress, Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop the lunacy," Pelosi said.
Durbin calls rescissions bill 'the meanest vote that I've seen'
Republican senators praised the rescissions package they passed early this morning, while Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., slammed the legislation as “the meanest vote that I’ve seen on the floor of the Senate.”
“The glee that some of my colleagues showed when it comes to cutting back on basic food and medicine for the poorest people in the world, I can’t understand it all,” Durbin said.
When asked if he is concerned that Congress will have to undo some of what the rescissions bill does, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, “I think there’s probably going to be some adjustments similar to what is going to have to be done with the bill we passed a couple of weeks ago,” referring to the Republican domestic policy bill.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in reaction to cutting public media, “I was all for cutting those. I wish that we could have cut more,” adding, “sadly, you can’t make a rescissions bill bigger on the floor.”
Johnson says vote on rescissions package still planned for today but could slide to tomorrow
The House is currently scheduled to vote tonight on the Senate-passed rescissions package to cancel $9 billion in previously approved funding, though that timing may slide, Johnson said.
"We’re just looking at all the moving parts and the calendar and the timetable and all that,” Speaker Johnson said as the chamber tries to pack all of the legislation planned for the whole week into one day after a group of Republicans blocked any action on crypto bills for two days. “We know we’ve got a short fuse on rescissions for tomorrow, so we’re figuring it out.”
Congress faces a deadline tomorrow to approve the rescissions package.
“It may be tomorrow, but we’re doing it,” Johnson said when asked if the House could get it done tonight as planned. “We’re moving as fast as we can.”
As of now, the House is scheduled to take up the rescissions package in the 7 p.m. hour. The House previously passed the package but now has to take it up again because it was amended in the Senate. The rules committee will need to meet today on the package and Democrats could slow down the process by offering amendments.
