What we're covering
• Epstein files: The Senate is officially sending 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 for his signature.
• Trump expected to sign it: The president has said he’ll sign the bill and will do so “whenever it gets to the White House,” a senior administration official said. It’s unclear if the DOJ would release the files if the measure is signed or whether they will remain tied up in investigations.
• Stark reversal: The speed with which the legislation moved through both chambers of Congress yesterday marked a stark reversal after months of Trump and GOP leaders working to quash it.
• Meanwhile: After hosting Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman at the White House yesterday, Trump will make remarks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum today.
"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.”
Thune doesn't dispute Trump; says we may never know what happened to Khashoggi
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said we may never fully know the “absolute narrative” of what happened to the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said he believes the Saudis are making a “sincere effort to modernize” that could help stabilize the Middle East.
“That chapter is a sad chapter,” Thune said when asked by CNN if he agreed with President Donald Trump, who said Tuesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wasn’t responsible for the murder. “That’s what he said publicly. I’ve met with him in Riyadh. I don’t know that will ever fully know the absolute narrative of what happened there.”
CNN asked if he disagrees with a CIA assessment that MBS was directly responsible.
“I’m not going to wade into that. All I know is that they, the Saudis that is, are making a very, I think, sincere effort to modernize. You can see it in a lot of the aspects of their society, the way they treat women and obviously they’ve become an important military ally to the US,” he said.
“And I’m hoping at some point we’ll normalize their relationship with Israel, which would be incredibly useful and helpful when it comes to securing a long-term peace in the Middle East.”
Johnson says he was "surprised and disappointed" Senate didn't make changes to Epstein files bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the Senate’s decision to advance the Epstein files bill without changes, but acknowledged that the bill has passed and said that President Donald Trump “will process” the bill.
“But overall, I mean, the bill has passed. Congress has spoken, and, you know, we did what was necessary. I hope it brings comfort to the victims and the survivors,” he added.
He said he prays that the Epstein victims who haven’t been identified aren’t “unmasked and they don’t have to suffer more harm” because of the bill.
Asked if he’d recommend that the Epstein survivors be in the Oval Office for the bill signing, he said, “Well, I would imagine, I mean, obviously he is very sympathetic to the victims.”
The Senate is officially transmitting the House-backed bill forcing the Department of Justice to release the government’s Epstein case files to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
“You know, the president will process that and there’s no delays in this at all. I mean, it’s moving forward,” said Johnson, who had been opposed to the bill for months.
GOP Sen. Tillis demands Trump admin “release the damn [Epstein] files”
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis demanded the Trump administration release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The bipartisan bill to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files officially passed the Senate on Wednesday morning. It’s not yet clear when President Donald Trump will sign it, though he has said that he will.
Survivor of Epstein's abuse says she feels vindicated after Congress passes bill to release files
Alicia Arden, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, told CNN that she felt vindicated to see that the legislation to release the Epstein files passed through the House nearly unanimously.
“I feel a little vindicated and very, very happy to see that that passed 427 to 1,” Arden told CNN’s Kate Bolduan this morning, adding that she hopes President Donald Trump signs it into law today.
Arden also said that she feels like a “weight lifted” for her. “I wasn’t even thinking it was going to go that far,” she said.
Arden filed a report against Epstein in 1997 and said that she would like to be at any signing ceremony for the bill.
Some Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about whether the Department of Justice will go through with the complete release of the files, which Arden said would be a “slap in the face.”
Arden’s attorney, Gloria Allred, echoed similar sentiments about the Justice Department and president. She said that the DOJ is viewed as “no longer a neutral branch of the government in terms of this department, that it’s more like the arm of the president.”
“’I’m very cautious about this, but I’m glad that we’ve gotten to this point; restoring trust is extremely important,” she said.
Senate officially sends Epstein files bill to Trump’s desk
The Senate is officially transmitting the House-backed bill forcing the Department of Justice to release the government’s Epstein case files to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
The Senate on Tuesday agreed through unanimous consent to deem the Epstein bill passed by the Senate as soon as it was received from the House, which happened this morning. Majority Leader John Thune said it would then be sent to Trump.
The Epstein transparency measure sped through both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, marking a stark reversal from recent months when Trump and GOP leaders worked furiously to quash it.
But, as pressure mounted within the Republican Party for transparency around the case, the president ultimately allowed his party to back the measure.
Here's what Epstein survivors said about the move to release the DOJ files on him
CNN spoke with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse who witnessed the House pass the bill to compel President Donald Trump’s Justice Department to publicly release all of its investigative files into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The House will formally transmit the bill to the Senate, and then it heads to Trump’s desk.
Here’s what some of them had to say:
- Annie Farmer, who said she was 16 when Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell abused her, told CNN it was impossible for her now to imagine going through this experience alone. “Every time a large group gathers, it completely changes the dynamic and the experience,” she said. “It really does move us from feeling fearful to feeling like we are feared. We have power together.”
- Her sister, Maria, is one of the earliest known Epstein accusers. After the House passed the bill to compel the Department of Justice to release the files, Annie called Maria. “It was just incredible to hear her voice and to be able to tell her it passed and it happened and you were such a big part of it,” Annie said.
- Dani Bensky, who met Epstein when she was a young ballerina, said she had managed to get just a few hours of sleep the previous night. She had spent the evening with the family of the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. “It kills me that she’s not here to see it,” Bensky said. “It’s so wrong that she’s just not here. It’s kind of devastating to think that we’re doing this without her.”
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.
Congressman describes what he thinks is concerning about Trump's position on the Epstein files
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois tells CNN’s Elex Michaelson what he thinks should be concerning when it comes to President Donald Trump’s position on releasing the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Harvard to investigate former president Summers’ ties to Epstein
Harvard will open an investigation into former university president Larry Summers’ relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a trove of emails released last week showed years of personal correspondence between the two men, a Harvard spokesperson told the school newspaper, The Crimson.
The probe will also examine the roles of other people associated with the university who are implicated in the tens of thousands of pages released by the House Oversight Committee – including Summers’ wife and nearly a dozen current and former Harvard affiliates – the paper said.
CNN has reached out to Harvard for comment.
The investigation comes after Summers announced Monday he would withdraw from public engagements but continue teaching at the university.
For context: Summers served as Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary and Barack Obama’s director of the National Economic Council and was president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006. He currently serves as the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard.
The released emails include numerous exchanges between Summers and Epstein dating from at least 2013 to 2019, which include Summers making sexist comments and seeking Epstein’s romantic advice. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
Education secretary convening White House roundtable on college affordability
Elsewhere today, Education Secretary Linda McMahon is expected to convene a roundtable at the White House on the topic of college affordability — signaling the latest effort by the administration to send a message on economic issues, but also to put its mark on higher education.
The roundtable, titled “Administrative Bloat and Low-Value Programs: How US Universities are Failing American Families and How They Can Reform,” will discuss what an administration official described as “wasteful and low-value academic programs.”
President Donald Trump is not expected to attend the event.
It comes one day after the Department of Education announced a further dismantling of the agency by transferring much of its remaining workload to other federal agencies in a bid to convince Congress the department is no longer needed.
For context: The event also comes as the Trump administration wages a broader battle for academic freedom and institutional sovereignty, taking aim at elite colleges and universities through aggressive efforts to freeze federal funding and extract — in some cases — high-dollar settlement deals.
Trump hosted the Saudi crown prince at the White House yesterday. Here's what happened
President Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House yesterday with an elaborate diplomatic display and black-tie dinner with a high-profile guest list.
Here’s what to know about the meeting:
- On the Abraham Accords: The crown prince said that while his country does “want to be a part of the Abraham Accords,” which normalizes ties between Arab states and Israel, it also seeks Palestinian statehood.
- On F-35 jets: Saudi Arabia will be buying the long-sought fighter jets from the US, Trump said. The sale still needs US government review and Congressional oversight. Read more here about why the deal is likely to shift the balance of power in the region.
- On a military partnership: Trump said the US would designate Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, joining 19 countries with that status. Read more about what that means here.
- On human rights: Trump praised the crown prince’s record on human rights. Human rights groups also criticized the kingdom for its extensive use of the death penalty and restrictions on free expression.
- On Khashoggi: Trump angrily dismissed a question about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, claiming the Saudi dissident journalist was “extremely controversial” and insisting the subject was only raised during his meeting with the crown prince to embarrass his visitor. The crown prince defended his country’s investigation into the murder.
- On Trump’s business interests: Trump downplayed potential conflicts of interest, saying he has “nothing to do with the family business” and what his “family does is fine.” The Trump Organization, run by the president’s sons, is involved in major real estate projects in Saudi Arabia.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Kevin Liptak, Oren Liebermann, Tal Shalev, Becky Anderson, Nic Robertson and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this post.
What's next after Congress voted to release the Epstein files?
Congress will send a bill compelling the Department of Justice to release all of the case files on Jeffrey Epstein to President Donald Trump today.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN yesterday the House will formally transmit the measure this morning, meaning it would then officially be approved by the chamber and sent to Trump’s desk for his signature.
It’s unclear why the bill was not sent over to the Senate last night, but Speaker Mike Johnson has latitude on when to send bills to the Senate after his chamber passes them. His office hasn’t given a reason yet.
After the House passed the bill on a 427-1 vote Tuesday afternoon, the Senate unanimously agreed to pass the measure as soon as the paperwork is formally received from the House, a rare move and stunning turnabout for GOP leaders and the White House.
Johnson has been sharply critical of the Epstein bill and demanded changes to it — including what he said are more protections for Epstein’s abuse victims. But he ultimately capitulated and voted for the bill on Tuesday.
Asked why he wouldn’t listen to the speaker’s demands to change the bill, Thune told CNN that he has spoken to Johnson and the White House — and that the House’s near-unanimous approval convinced them to move quickly in the Senate.
“I think the conclusion was when it came out of the House 427-1, it was going to pass in the Senate,” Thune said. He said he had consulted with lawyers and had concluded “that the bill was sufficient to accomplish what needed to be done here: And that is to get the information out as quickly as possible.’
Here's a look at Trump's schedule for today
President Donald Trump will speak later at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, DC, according to the White House, in a further strengthening of ties between the countries.
We’ve seen the president’s schedule for today, which shows he will leave the White House for the summit at 11:35 a.m. ET. This will be open to the press pool.
His speech at the forum is slated to start at noon ET, before he returns to the White House at 1:15 p.m ET, again in front of the press pool.
Remember: Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House yesterday with an elaborate diplomatic display and black-tie dinner with a high-profile guest list.
The leaders reached an agreement on the sale of F-35 fighter jets, and Trump said the US would designate Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally.
Musk, Ronaldo and FIFA's Infantino attended White House dinner in honor of Saudi crown prince
An array of high-profile guests filled the White House East Room yesterday for a black-tie dinner in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Taking the microphone as he entered the room, Trump nodded to the star-studded crowd. “This room is loaded up with the biggest leaders in the world, business, sports,” he said.
CNN spotted Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, mingling alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, greeting attendees as the room filled ahead of the president’s entrance.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk was also seen seated in what appeared to be a deep conversation. Trump and Musk, the former “first buddy,” had a public falling-out earlier this year, though they spent time together at Charlie Kirk’s funeral in September.
Other notable figures in attendance included Fox News host Bret Baier, Donald Trump Jr., FIFA President Gianni Infantino, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and US Administrator of the Small Business Administration Kelly Loeffler.
Trump singled out one guest he said his youngest son admires, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in the Saudi Pro League: “You know, my son is a big fan of Ronaldo, wherever Ronaldo is.”
The Epstein files legislation was greenlit yesterday by Congress. Here's what happened
Welcome back to our coverage of the latest developments from the Trump administration.
A bill to order the Department of Justice to release all of its case files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is expected to head to President Donald Trump and gain his signature today.
Congress is sending the measure — which won support from all but one Republican in both the House and the Senate — to the president’s desk once it’s formally transmitted between the chambers this morning.
Despite months of calling the issue a “Democratic hoax,” Trump has said he’ll sign the bill.
Here’s what happened yesterday:
- The House voted 427-1 to pass the measure, with GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana being the only member who voted against it. Here’s what he said.
- Now, the bill will be sent to the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune said the House will formally transmit it to his chamber today. But, when it gets there, we already know it’s going to pass. The Senate unanimously agreed yesterday to pass the bill as soon as it’s received.
- The Senate will not have to take any further action, and the bill will be transmitted to the president’s desk as soon as it arrives in the chamber.
- A senior administration official told CNN that the bill “will be signed whenever it gets to the White House.”
Stay with us today as we bring you the latest on this and other updates from Washington.
CNN’s Sarah Ferris, Ellis Kim, Aileen Graef, Veronica Stracqualursi, Alejandra Jaramillo, Morgan Rimmer and Kaitlan Collins contributed reporting to this post.
