What we're covering
• Awaiting Trump’s signature: The Senate has sent the bill compelling the Department of Justice to release all of its case files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to President Donald Trump’s desk. The timing of the bill signing remains unclear.
• Next steps at DOJ: Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Department of Justice “will continue to follow the law” amid questions over the timing and scope of the documents’ release. Senators from both parties said the DOJ must comply with the law and release the files within 30 days.
• Trump at US-Saudi summit: A day after meeting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Trump spoke at a Saudi-US investment summit, where he said visas for skilled foreign workers are necessary, bucking criticism from his MAGA base.
White House offers no timeline as Epstein bill awaits Trump’s signature
White House officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and the administration’s press shop, have yet to say when President Donald Trump will sign a bill requiring the Department of Justice to release all case files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, which the Senate formally sent to the president’s desk Wednesday morning.
Trump had not decided Tuesday when he would sign the measure, a White House official told CNN at the time. And a senior White House official also told CNN that “the bill will be signed whenever it gets to the White House.”
But by Wednesday, the White House remained silent as the bill awaits the president’s signature.
When CNN asked whether the president had received the bill or whether any timing had been set, officials did not respond.
“I have nothing to add today,” Miller told reporters when pressed for an update on the bill.
Although the timing remains uncertain, the president said earlier this week that he intends to sign the legislation.
Graham says Trump privately told Thune to "move" on Russia sanctions; Thune says House has to move first
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the GOP cosponsor of a popular bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, said that President Donald Trump told Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the weekend to forge ahead.
Graham’s bill, which now has the support of more than 80 senators, would allow the president to levy a 500% tariff on imports from countries that purchase Russian uranium, gas and oil.
The South Carolina Republican said a call is scheduled this afternoon with members of the House and Senate, and “it’s very important we not screw this up.”
Thune echoed that sentiment, telling reporters, “We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to give the administration the tools that they need to facilitate and bring about a peaceful resolution between Russia and Ukraine.”
He said he’s among the dozens of senators who think that Graham’s bill is “an important tool in making that happen,” though he noted on Wednesday afternoon that it would be quicker to move a sanctions bill through Congress if it originates in the House since it is a revenue generator and would need to be taken up by that body first.
Schumer says Democrats will hold DOJ accountable for fully releasing the Epstein files
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said congressional Democrats will hold the Justice Department accountable “to release the full, unredacted files” on Jeffrey Epstein, after Congress passed the bill mandating their release.
“No hiding, no game playing, no covering up,” he said, adding they would use “pressure to make sure the documents are released in their entirety and not warped by a corrupt DOJ who’s hell bent on hiding the truth, bending the law and protecting Trump.”
Asked about Republicans arguing that Democrats — and their donors — could also be in the files, Schumer replied, “We think every name should come out, everything, everything. There should be no cover up.”
Separately, Schumer poured cold water on GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy’s proposal to deal with health care costs as the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire. “We insist on the — that the ACA tax credits have to be renewed and extended, period. If Cassidy’s proposal would — as I understand, it replaces them, looks like it’s privatizing health insurance, and it looks like it’s really problematic, and particularly problematic to do very quickly,” he said.
He added that he is feeling bullish about Democrats’ chances in the midterms. “I’m boosted by Democrats’ chances nationally to begin with,” he said. “Why? Because the American people are on our side. The issue of health care has been a dramatic cleavage between Democrats fighting to prevent these premiums from going up, and Republicans standing in the way. Even — we’ve seen this over and over again, the American people know we’re on their side, they know the Republicans are opposing them, and that’s going to serve us very well in 2026.”
Epstein survivors were ready to fight for bill to pass Senate — but they didn't need to
After the bill to release the full Jeffrey Epstein case files passed the House yesterday, advocates were gearing up to take their fight to the Senate, one Epstein survivor said today.
But, turns out, they didn’t need to.
After the bill passed nearly unanimously in the House, the Senate adopted it by unanimous consent and it’s now heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
Bensky said she got a “whisper in her ear” that the bill had passed Congress while she and other survivors were attending a vigil yesterday.
“They just passed it that fast. So I think that it’s an amazing act and it just shows what the American people can do,” she said.
Hear more from Epstein survivors:
CNN's MJ Lee follows Jeffrey Epstein survivors, while both the House and Senate voted to release the files regarding Epstein on the same day.
Thune says senators had good conversation about controversial "Arctic Frost" provision
Speaker Mike Johnson said he was “angry” after Senate Majority Leader John Thune included a provision in the government funding bill allowing senators to sue the DOJ if they are investigated without notifying Congress in the government funding package that reopened the government last week.
This language comes after Senate Republicans released FBI records related to an investigation called Arctic Frost, which pertained to the fake elector scheme from 2020, where allies of President Donald Trump pressured GOP electors to register electoral college votes for Trump from states that former President Joe Biden won. Eight current U.S. senators would be eligible to sue the DOJ.
The House is expected to vote on repealing that measure on Wednesday night, but Thune did not say if the Senate will take it up.
Thune said that Republican senators had a “good” conversation about the DOJ provision during their lunch meeting, and defended the measure, insisting that it is a Senate issue that isn’t relevant to the House.
“We strengthened that provision when it comes to allowing a federal government agency, the Justice Department, in this case, to collect information, private information, on individual senators. We think that’s a violation of separation of powers under the Constitution. Obviously, Jack Smith violated the law, and the way he went about that, this is something that needed to be addressed,” he continued.
Thune downplays disagreements with Johnson over Epstein files bill and says he trusts DOJ's judgment
Senate Majority Leader John Thune insisted he and Speaker Mike Johnson are “unified,” despite disagreements over how to handle the bill to release the Epstein files.
“The House and Senate function different differently. We have procedures and rules that we have to adhere to and follow, it makes it – it’s much harder to get things, to pass things, as you all know, through the floor in the Senate. And so, I think sometimes there are differences of opinion or disagreements that are partly related to that — the difference between the House and Senate, their different cultures,” he told CNN.
“But in the end, the speaker and I talk regularly, we communicate on a consistent basis, and we are unified in terms of our objectives and goals, and that is to work with the President of the United States to implement his and our agenda in a way that benefits the American people,” he added.
The speaker had wanted the Senate to amend the Epstein bill, but the Senate chose to pass it unanimously as written.
Pressed on concerns about whether Attorney General Pam Bondi could delay the release of some information, by pointing to an ongoing investigation, Thune said, “I trust the judgment of the Justice Department to ensure that whatever files they release protect the victims clearly, and I think there are other items, perhaps materials, that were acquired through grand jury trials that perhaps they will have to make some decisions about, but I think they’ll make the right decisions.”
McMahon acknowledges Education Department effort to offload work is a "proof of concept" for eventual dismantling
Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon acknowledged on Wednesday that the agency’s recent move to transfer much of its remaining workload to other federal agencies was a “proof of concept” to assure congressional lawmakers the department was no longer needed.
“What we want to do is to show Congress that this implementation works,” McMahon told CNN’s Dana Bash. “It’s a proof of concept and it’s a show and say, ‘Okay, this is how a permanent transfer to this department is going to work.’ We need their vote to do that and we’re not looking at this lightly.”
The department announced Tuesday that six of its offices will be moved to four other agencies under interagency agreements. It’s the latest effort by the administration to build upon President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to shutter the agency - a move which ultimately would require congressional approval.
McMahon noted on Wednesday that those newly minted agreements - made with the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Interior and State - “aren’t ready to implement right away” and that “this is just the beginning stage.”
“And, I think these make very practical common sense moves. And once we’ve had the proof of concept, then we’ll ask congress to approve the permanent move,” she added.
Trump administration agrees to pause steps toward painting a federal building amid lawsuit
The Trump administration has agreed not to take any steps toward repainting the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before the end of the year after a preservationist group filed a lawsuit to prevent President Donald Trump from circumventing a standard review process.
“GSA will not authorize or engage in the physical actions of power washing/cleaning, painting, or repointing the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before December 31, 2025,” Andrew Heller, the acting commissioner of the General Services Administration — which has authority over the building exterior — said in a sworn declaration late Tuesday.
Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in an interview last week that he was putting the wheels in motion to paint the Eisenhower building — a sprawling, Gilded Age structure next to the White House — a bright white, marking his latest effort to impose his tastes upon the capital city’s architecture.
The lawsuit filed Friday by the DC Preservation League and Cultural Heritage Partners asks the US District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Trump and federal officials from making any changes to the building unless they go through the formal process. A hearing has been set for December 8.
Greg Werkheiser, founding partner of the law firm that filed the case, called the temporary freeze a “significant step forward.”
And plaintiff Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, encouraged Americans to contact their lawmakers in the meantime.
“The threat of harm to this National Historic Landmark remains. We ask the public to continue to reach out to your representatives and request that they urge the administration to reconsider its plans,” she said in a statement.
Trump administration still in active talks with Harvard on $500 million deal, McMahon says
The Trump administration is still engaged in discussions toward a deal with Harvard University to restore all federal funding to the university and end ongoing lawsuits, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Wednesday, calling the discussions “active.”
“I hope to have that wrapped up pretty soon,” McMahon told CNN’s Dana Bash on “Inside Politics,” while declining to lay out a timeline.
President Donald Trump said in September that officials are “very close” to a deal and that Harvard would be paying roughly $500 million toward trade schools. The administration has argued it is cracking down on antisemitism on campus, but Harvard has become the epicenter of a broader fight over academic freedom, federal spending and campus oversight.
McMahon pointed to enforcement of Title VI and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act as well as Section 117 of the Higher Education Act as some of the outstanding sticking points.
“We just want to make sure everything is all buttoned up in this deal and I’m looking forward to having a good outcome with Harvard,” she said.
Trump says he will work to end war in Sudan at the request of Saudi crown prince
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would work to end the war in Sudan at the request of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“His Majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan. It was not on my charts to be involved in that. I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control,” Trump said during a US-Saudi investment conference in Washington, DC.
“But I just see how important that is to you and to a lot of your friends in the room. Sudan — and we’re going to start working in Sudan,” he added.
A brutal civil war has raged in Sudan over the last two and a half years. The United Nations and the United States have both said each side has committed war crimes, and each has faced western sanctions.
Saudi Arabia, which sits across the Red Sea from Sudan, sees resolving the conflict as linked to its national security.
Trump suggested Wednesday he hadn’t heard much about the conflict until his meeting with Prince bin Salman the day before.
“He explained the whole culture and the whole history, and it was very interesting to hear, really amazing actually, to hear, and, you know, we’ve already started working on that,” Trump said.
Trump teases he’ll fire Treasury Secretary Bessent if Fed doesn’t cut interest rates
President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested he would fire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if the Federal Reserve doesn’t decrease interest rates.
“The only thing Scott is blowing it on is the Fed because the Fed, the rates are too high, Scott. If you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your ass,” the president said, smirking, during a speech at a US-Saudi investment forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
The president has been a frequent critic of the central bank and its chair, Jerome Powell, throughout his second term as the Federal Reserve declined to cut interest rates this year until September. But he acknowledged on Wednesday that Bessent has been privately urging him not to fire Powell, whom Trump has repeatedly said he wants out of the job.
Trump appeared to suggest that Bessent has been the “voice of reason,” while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “is a little bit more for firing” Powell.
“Please don’t fire him. He’s got three months to go,’” the president said, appearing to repeat what Bessent has told him of Powell.
“I want to get him out,” Trump said, reenacting their conversation.
“I think Howard is a little bit more for firing him. I think Howard would say get him the hell out of there,” the president said
Trump frequently threatened to fire Powell during the spring, but the president eventually backed off from those threats after his closest advisers warned of the chaos in financial markets that could ensue if he were to do so, CNN previously reported.
This post has been updated with more details on Trump’s remarks.
Trump says visas for skilled foreign workers are necessary, bucking criticism from MAGA base
President Donald Trump sought to explain Wednesday his support of visas for skilled foreign workers, an issue that’s drawn fierce backlash from some conservatives and furthered divided his MAGA base.
Trump said certain industries require foreign workers to stand up factories and plants, and that it would be impossible for major new investments to proceed without them.
He suggested those who oppose H-1B visas misunderstood the complex business dynamics.
“You can’t come in, open up a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars, like is being done in Arizona, and think you’re going to hire people off an unemployment line to run it,” Trump said during remarks at a US-Saudi investment event in Washington, DC.
Trump acknowledged there were dissenting voices within his movement that could hurt him politically. But he said he was willing to take the risk.
“The people that are against this are really really smart. They’re unbelievable patriots, but they just don’t understand,” he said. “Our people have to be taught, this is something they’ve never done.”
“My poll numbers just went down, but with smart people, they’ve gone way up,” he added later.
He went on to reference an ICE raid in September on a Hyundai facility in Georgia, which saw authorities detain hundreds of South Korean contractors over their immigration status, as evidence of the country’s need for skilled foreign workers.
“They were told to get out. And I said, ‘Stop it. Don’t be stupid.’ And we worked it out, and now they’re teaching our people how to do it,” he said.
Grijalva says she's concerned Trump will find other ways to keep information in Epstein files "hidden"
Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona said she is concerned that the Trump administration may find other ways to block the full release of the case files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I think, anyone who has been paying attention to this issue and seeing how this administration has tried to block this before, we have to be aware that something is coming, and I just am waiting for, you know, that revelation to come,” Grijalva told CNN’s Pamela Brown.
Grijalva said that some of her concerns come from President Donald Trump asking for an investigation into Epstein’s ties to many other high-profile figures, noting that the Biden administration was unable to release the files due to the probe into Ghislaine Maxwell.
Remember: Grijalva’s swearing-in earlier this month was essential in advancing the discharge petition on the Epstein files. Speaker Mike Johnson had said he would not swear in the Arizona Democrat amid the government shutdown and until the House returned to legislative session — a delay that prompted outrage from Democrats.
Comer subpoenas banks for Epstein financial records and seeks info from US Virgin Islands attorney general
House Oversight Chair James Comer on Tuesday subpoenaed J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank for Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records, as lawmakers continue their investigation into the convicted sex offender.
Comer also requested US Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon Rhea to provide documents since Epstein owned property there, conducted businesses and communicated with high-level officials.
Lawmakers are continuing their investigation into the late financier even after Congress voted to force the Department of Justice to release all of its case files related to Epstein.
“The House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough review of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell. The Committee is committed to providing accountability and transparency to the American people and the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes,” the committee said in a news release.
Republican shrugs off Trump on Khashoggi's murder as Democrat warns against embracing MBS
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt on Wednesday shrugged off President Donald Trump’s insistence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wasn’t involved in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite US intelligence to the contrary.
“There’s a lot of people around the world that we wouldn’t want to marry our sisters, who were in charge of important countries that we have to deal with,” he told CNN. “So, I think you deal with people as they are. We have core national interests, and that’s the most important thing for a president to advocate for.”
He also argued that Trump’s intention is maintain peace in the Middle East by fostering a relationship with Saudi Arabia, who he said will “play a very important role in what comes next in Gaza.”
“I think that his instinct is diplomacy first and that’s a good instinct to have for a president,” he said.
A CIA assessment released in 2021 found the prince approved the assassination of the Washington Post columnist, though he has long denied any involvement.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, meanwhile, criticized the “approval and pomp” that Trump showed the Saudi crown prince yesterday, arguing that it “simply conflicts with our basic values.”
“State craft requires dealing with people who may not share our values, but it doesn’t mean we have to condone or encourage values that are so directly contrary to ours,” Blumenthal told CNN.
“Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, and our intelligence community concluded that MBS ordered that murder. And so, I think the kind of approval and pomp that was accorded yesterday simply conflicts with our basic values. And I regret the president’s comments.”
CNN’s Jenna Monnin and Britney Lavecchia contributed to this report.
Epstein survivor says she’s lost "a lot of respect" for Speaker Johnson
Haley Robson, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, told CNN that she has lost respect for House Speaker Mike Johnson and slammed the delay in swearing in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva — whose vote was essential to pass the discharge petition on the Epstein files.
CNN’s Pamela Brown asked Robson, who is a Republican, about Johnson claiming that the vote to release the files was a political show for Democrats.
Robson said that Johnson left them in limbo by choosing not to swear in Grijalva when the government shut down for 44 days.
“This has been an issue that has been very important to the American people, and something that he campaigned on,” so something could’ve been figured out, she said.
Robson also was critical of President Donald Trump and lawmakers who used the files as a campaign issue.
Robson added that she “absolutely expects” roadblocks in the release of the files.
Senators from both parties say DOJ must fully comply and release Epstein files with bill set to become law
Senators on the Judiciary Committee are insisting that the Department of Justice must comply with the law and fully release the Jeffrey Epstein files within 30 days, after both the House and Senate passed a bill yesterday demanding their release.
Here’s what we are hearing from lawmakers on Capitol Hill:
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who has previously backed releasing the files, said “I’m glad it’s law, and I think that the president is in the right position on this.” Hawley dismissed the possibility that the DOJ refuses to release all of the information, and argued that they can’t do so during an ongoing investigation. “I’d be really surprised if they tried that, given the huge bipartisan for this and the president’s support,” he said.
GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt also said it’s time for the files to come out. “I think I’ve been seeing for a long time that all the credible information that can be released should be released, and so that’s where we’re at. So, I think it’s a positive development.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for a “complete disclosure” of the files, when asked what their options are if DOJ delays their release. “I hope that doesn’t happen because that would of course defy the act of Congress and the stated intention of the president to release this information,” said Durbin. “He should do so in a timely fashion, and do make a complete disclosure.”
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that they will pursue information through other avenues if the Justice Department does not fully comply, saying they need to “follow the money.” Blumenthal added that the files can’t stay hidden forever. “At the end of the day, it will all come out because those investigations will be concluded and then the present leadership” of the DOJ “will be held accountable if it fails to disclose what needs to be revealed.”
Epstein survivors hope passage of bill to release files is turning point that brings accountability
The vote in Congress to release the Justice Department’s files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was welcomed today by survivors who said the move represents what they hope is a turning point that will bring accountability.
Epstein survivors Lisa Phillips and Sharlene Rochard told CNN’s Audie Cornish that watching the win in Congress last night was an “amazing” feeling.
Asked what they want the public to understand, Rochard emphasized that attention has often focused on the wrong thing.
When asked whether they trust the Justice Department to release all the documents, Rochard was cautious. “Yes and no. I’m hoping they’re going to do the right thing, and release everything (…) We really do want proof that this actually happened to us.”
Phillips added that many survivors still lack clarity about their own experiences and “don’t have all the answers.”
And when asked whether President Donald Trump owes them an apology or some kind of recognition, both women said they would welcome it.
“We want to feel seen and heard by him as well,” Phillips said. Rochard agreed: “If he wants to do that with us, that would be great.”
Watch a portion of the interview below:
"I’m moving forward": Plaskett responds to failed censure effort over 2019 Epstein texts
Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat who represents the US Virgin Islands in Congress as a delegate, told CNN that she is “moving forward” following a failed effort to censure her over a text exchange she had with Jeffrey Epstein in 2019 during a congressional hearing.
The Washington Post first reported that Plaskett was texting with Epstein on February 27, 2019 — the day President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified to the House Oversight Committee about payments to Trump’s alleged mistresses to silence their stories before the 2016 election. The texts were released as part of roughly 20,000 pages of documents made public by the House Oversight Committee last week.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown pressed Plaskett on why she reached out to Epstein the morning of the hearing, even though he was a known sex offender.
In one text exchange, Epstein suggested Plaskett question Cohen about Rhona Graff, a longtime Trump assistant. She did end up bringing up Graff in her line of questioning following Epstein’s text.
Asked whether she would have asked about Graff without Epstein suggesting it, Plaskett said, “probably not,” noting that she questioned Cohen about other individuals within Trump’s orbit too.
Plaskett went on to call Epstein a “reprehensible person.” Asked if she has any regrets about the text messages, Plaskett said, “I’m moving forward.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Kaanita Iyer and Ellis Kim contributed to this post.
Warren: "Larry Summers should not be trusted in a position of responsibility"
Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized Larry Summers over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, telling CNN he “should not be trusted in a position of responsibility or in the position of teaching our students.”
Warren’s comments came after Summers announced he would step down from the board of OpenAI on Wednesday. The Massachusetts senator, a former Harvard Law School professor, also has called on Harvard to sever ties with Summers, who is a professor at the elite university.
Warren also criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
And taking aim at the president’s embrace of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Warren said she’s “deeply concerned that the president of the United States honors a man that our own intelligence reports show was involved in the murder of a journalist.
“The United States once led, not just on economic issues around the world but on moral issues around the world and Donald Trump’s just burning that to the ground.”
