Congress: The Senate & The House

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? Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called for an investigation into Meta following a report that the company let its chatbot flirt and engage in romantic role-play with children. Go deeper.

Watershed moment on Gaza

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) referred to Israel's war in Gaza as a "genocide" during an event in her district yesterday. Why it matters: Clark is easily the highest-ranking member of Congress to use that word to describe the situation in Gaza. According to the news outlet Zeteo, 13 other House members have used the word "genocide" — a dozen progressive Democrats plus right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Clark is the No. 2 to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has been critical of the Israeli government at times but generally supportive of the country throughout his career. What they're saying: "Whip Clark's position on the war has not changed," Clark spokesperson Joy Lee said in a statement. "Security and peace for the Palestinian and Israeli people can only be achieved through a permanent ceasefire, the immediate return of the remaining hostages, and a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza. "It should not be controversial to say that Israeli children did not deserve to be kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, nor should it be controversial to say that Palestinian children, who bear no responsibility for Hamas' atrocities, do not deserve to be killed by war or starvation." Go deeper. — Andrew Solender

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? Busiest freshmen

Data: Quorum; Chart: Axios Visuals Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has sponsored at least twice as many pieces of legislation as any other freshman senator so far this Congress, according to Quorum data. Why it matters: The freshman class is packed with ambitious senators, from new MAGA leaders like Banks and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) to potential 2028 contenders Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). ? Zoom in: Banks has also sponsored the most bipartisan bills out of the freshman class, working across the aisle on seven. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Penn.) came in second for bipartisan bills, sponsoring four. Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) each sponsored three bipartisan bills. — Stef Kight

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Texas Democrats say they’re ending a two-week walkout over gerrymandered US House map plan August 18, 2025 Democratic leaders say they will return for a second special legislative session after seeing California Democratic leaders proceed with plans to redraw their own U.S. House maps to neutralize Republican gains in Texas.

Read more

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Republican’s Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Derailed by Furious Residents

Sen. Susan Collins attempted to placate the crowd, with little success.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins was confronted at an event by angry protesters who drowned out her speech with loud boos and chants of “shame!”

Collins was holding a press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony in Searsport, Maine, on Tuesday, designed to celebrate the completion of two years of construction on the town’s Main Street.

Initially scheduled to take place on Main Street, the event was moved inside due to the presence of some 200 protesters lining the sidewalk.

Footage posted to YouTube shows that once inside, Collins was confronted with loud boos and chants of ”Shame!” throughout the press conference.

Their protests escalated once Collins walked up to the podium and attempted to speak, with protesters criticizing her votes on Supreme Court nominees—despite being the only Republican to vote against confirming Amy Coney Barrett, she voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh—and accusing her of being complicit in the starvation of civilians in Gaza.

“Susan Collins made it possible for 1/3 of Mainers to lose Medicare. Hospitals are closing. She had the opportunity to stop this bill, and she did not,” Rachel Herbener told Wabi 5 News.

According to local reports, protesters targeted the event because Collins hasn’t held a town hall in years.

“If Susan Collins won’t come and hold a town hall so her constituents can say how they feel, we will come to where she is,” protester Janis Hogan told WFVX. According to the Maine Morning Star, the 72-year-old has not held such an event in 25 years.

“She prefers smaller group meetings or Zooms, rather than holding town halls where very few people get to speak, and the level of civility is often not that high,” a spokesperson told the outlet in June. “These forums were also difficult for people who were more reserved or less comfortable speaking in public.”

Collins offered to meet with protesters after the event if they stopped interrupting the ceremony, pleading with the crowd, “So, what you are telling me is you are rejecting my suggestion that you let the townspeople celebrate a monumental achievement. If you can’t show them the courtesy of that, then this is really bad—this is not the Maine I know.”

The protests continued, however, although one event organizer said that some protesters were “able to mingle with her and ask questions directly one-on-one after the ribbon cutting,” according to the Portland Press Herald.

While Collins is a Republican, her decision to vote against two key pieces of Trump-backed legislation this year drew the president’s ire, prompting him to write on Truth Social, “Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact opposite of Senator Susan Collins. Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong.”

With many Republicans returning to their home states during the August recess, more and more GOP politicians are finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of being confronted by unhappy constituents.

Rep. Mark Alford was told to take his head ”out of Trump’s a--” and denounce his lies at a Monday town hall, while Rep. Josh Brecheen struggled to adequately respond during a Tuesday town hall when asked what the Trump administration was doing to address cost-of-living concerns. In addition, Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman has been confronted at multiple town halls in recent weeks for her support of Trump’s domestic agenda.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-sen-susan-collins-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-derailed-by-furious-residents/?

ps:Of course she will continue to disappoint, she keeps voting with you!!!!!

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?️ Freedom Caucus shrinks

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The House Freedom Caucus — the rabble-rousing, hard-right bloc — is shrinking in size and clout as several prominent members head for the exits, Axios' Kate Santaliz writes. Why it matters: The Freedom Caucus is struggling to reconcile loyalty to President Trump with its own budget-cutting priorities — and the former often takes precedence. That's raising doubts about whether the group can remain an independent force on the party's right flank. ? Zoom in: At least six of the HFC's most high-profile members are eyeing departures, sparking questions about who, if anyone, will fill the void. Rep. Chip Roy, one of the group's biggest agitators, is running for attorney general in Texas. Three other especially vocal members — Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Ralph Norman (South Carolina) and Andy Biggs (Arizona) — are mounting gubernatorial bids. Rep. Barry Moore is running for Alabama's open Senate seat, while there have been reports that Rep. Andy Ogles is jockeying for a Senate appointment if Marsha Blackburn's bid to be Tennessee's governor is successful. Several other HFC members, including Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania) and caucus chair Andy Harris (Maryland), could face tough reelection battles in 2026.

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House committee releases some Justice Department files in Epstein case, but most already public

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, responding to mounting pressure in Congress to force more disclosure in the case.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/02/congress-epstein-maxwell/?

? Epstein files dump

A protester holds up an Epstein case-related sign today. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images After fleeing D.C. to avoid the issue in August, the House Oversight Committee released a redacted tranche of Epstein files tonight. Why it matters: It's not the full, raw release demanded by the MAGA base, a handful of Republican lawmakers, and nearly every House Democrat. But GOP leaders are betting that it will stymie Republican rebels who are pushing their own discharge petition on the files in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) formally filed his long-awaited discharge petition today. If signed by 218 House members, it would force a vote on releasing the files. Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have pushed their respective parties to back the release of the files, but their populist revolt has faced resistance from House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump. Every House Democrat is expected to sign, with Massie telling reporters today he is "pretty confident" they can get the necessary Republican signatures as well. ? The intrigue: Johnson told reporters today he'd describe everything Massie has to say about Epstein as "meaningless." After meeting with a group of Epstein's victims in the Capitol for over two hours today, Johnson called the discharge petition "moot" because of Oversight's progress in its probe. "It was inartfully drafted, it does not adequately protect the innocent victims," Johnson also said of the discharge petition. The other side: Massie told us tonight of the Oversight panel's file release: "My staff has done a quick look at it and it looks like a bunch of redacted documents and nothing new, so it's not going to suffice." Massie said there is a "pressure campaign from the White House" on the 11 Republicans who have co-sponsored his Epstein bill not to sign the discharge petition, but that "there are also ones that the White House is not whipping that may be inclined to sign it." "And then also, eventually, people are not going to be satisfied with what's happening in the Oversight Committee. It's not going to bring the closure they're looking for." The bottom line: The DOJ sent "thousands of pages" of records to the Oversight Committee, with more on the way. But the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), said the majority of the documents shared are already public. Oversight has lined up depositions with Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey. Newly added to the list is former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) also subpoenaed Epstein's estate for records last week, including a "birthday book" reportedly prepared by Ghislaine Maxwell. The deadline for that subpoena is Sept. 8. — Kate Santaliz and Andrew Solender

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House Republicans bolt

Add three more House Republicans to the list of incumbents making a break for higher office. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) is running to succeed Sen. Joni Ernst in the Senate, now that Ernst's planned retirement is official. Over the August recess, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) indicated to allies they were leaning toward gubernatorial bids, according to people familiar with the matter. Neither has made a final decision. Why it matters: The new GOP trio will likely join more than a dozen GOP lawmakers mounting Senate, gubernatorial or attorney general campaigns. The number of House retirements isn't always a clear predictor if the House or Senate will flip parties. But the last two changes in control of the House, in 2018 and 2022, were preceded by above-average retirements. By the numbers: Before Labor Day, four House Republicans and five Democrats had already announced Senate bids. Eight GOP representatives were preparing to run for governor. In Texas, Rep. Chip Roy announced a campaign for state attorney general. Zoom out: The number of House departures in the 2026 cycle is already outpacing the retirement rate in recent years. Party committees like to limit the number of retirements for the simple reason that open seats are more expensive to defend. The bottom line: National Republicans didn't fight to persuade Hinson, Hageman or Tiffany to stay in the House, like they did with Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa). — Hans Nichols

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Epstein files

The House Oversight Committee has released more than 33,000 files related to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that it received from the Justice Department. However, Tuesday’s release of flight logs, court filings, jail surveillance footage, redacted records, depositions and memos may not represent the totality of the Epstein-related documents in the DOJ’s possession, and congressional Democrats have said they largely included previously known information. “After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. “There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims.” As the panel readied the files’ release, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie pushed forward with his bill to compel the publication of the Epstein files in full. ? Dodging the age wars House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is using his signature light touch on the delicate subject of his older members' reelection plans. So far, his strategy seems to be paying dividends. Why it matters: "Everyone knows the last eight people who died in office were Democrats," one House Democrat told us. Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), both 78, dropped their bids for reelection in recent weeks rather than battle younger primary rivals to stay in office. They join Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), 81, Danny Davis (D-Ill.), 83, and Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), 71, all of whom retired in the face of primary challenges. Several House Democrats told us to expect additional retirements. Driving the news: Nadler told the New York Times that the furor over former President Biden's age last year "said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that." Davis told us in an interview about his decision to retire: "On Saturday, I'm going to be 84 years old. Most people have retired. It was just time to go and let my community begin to build up seniority with another member." Nadler, Davis and Doggett told us they did not speak with Jeffries before announcing their retirements and they felt no pressure from leadership to step aside. Jeffries was asked about Nadler at a press conference yesterday. He told reporters: "I think that generational change has been underway in the House Democratic caucus for the last several years." "It's something that every caucus member, regardless of which generation they find themselves in, has embraced." The bottom line: Many House Democrats 70 and older are pushing back against the idea they should make room for the next generation of leaders. "Seniority still counts, experience still matters," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 77. "'Generational change,' what does that mean? That means you start at the bottom in the system of seniority." Larson said of his challengers: "They're not saying what they're running on, other than 'generational change.' God bless 'em." — Andrew Solender

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? Nuclear option time

Fed up with Democratic stalling, Senate Republicans are preparing to expedite the confirmation process before their next recess.

Why it matters: Democrats "will tell you privately they know it's broken, but they can't bring themselves to fix it," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said today.

• Senators emerged from a conference-wide discussion this afternoon united on moving forward with en bloc confirmation votes for non-Cabinet nominees, while discussions continue about judiciary positions.
• En bloc allows batches of nominees to be voted on at the same time.

Zoom in: That's similar to a proposal introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in 2023. But her plan capped the number of nominees in any bloc at 10.

• Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters today there would be no numerical limit in the GOP proposal.
• Barrasso suggested U.S. District Court judges may also be included in the en bloc proposal. He said it would include nominees who require two hours of debate, as opposed to higher-level positions requiring 30 hours.
• Majority Leader John Thune told reporters the conference is "still having conversations about" including judiciary nominations, saying right now the focus is largely on the executive branch.

What to watch: Other rule changes are still under consideration, senators said.

• "En bloc is definitely top of the list," Schmitt told reporters.
• "There's some other things — further collapsing time is another possibility and there's also the recess appointments that [are] on the back end."

— Stef Kight

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Epstein survivors implore Congress to act as push for disclosure builds Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse made their voices heard Wednesday on Capitol Hill, pressuring lawmakers to force the release of the sex trafficking investigation into the late financier and pushing back on President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss the issue as a “hoax.” Read more.

What to know: In a news conference on the Capitol lawn that drew hundreds of supporters and chants of “release the files,” the women shared — some publicly for the first time — how they were lured into Epstein’s abuse by his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. They demanded that the Trump administration provide transparency and accountability for what they endured as teenagers.   It was a striking stand as the push for disclosure of the so-called Epstein files reaches a pivotal moment in Washington. Lawmakers are battling over how Congress should delve into the Epstein saga while the president, after initially signaling support for transparency on the campaign trail, has been dismissing the matter as a “Democrat hoax.”   Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is usually closely aligned with Trump, described her support for a bill that would force the Justice Department to release the information it has compiled on Epstein and Maxwell as a moral fight against sexual predation. Greene is one of four Republicans who have defied House GOP leadership and the White House in an effort to force a vote on their bill.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Survivors of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein rally in front of the Capitol   WATCH: Trump blasts Epstein scandal as a 'Democrat hoax that never ends'   Publisher agrees to changes in Virginia Giuffre’s memoir after family objections

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Left and right are joining forces to ban lawmakers from trading stock An unusual alliance emerged in the House on Wednesday as lawmakers who agree on little else rallied support for a bill that would prohibit members of Congress and their families from owning and trading individual stocks. The group included darlings of the far right, the left, moderates and many in between. Read more.

Why this matters: The ban polls well with voters and appears to be finding new momentum after stalling out in previous sessions of Congress. Congress has discussed proposals for years to keep lawmakers from engaging in trading individual stocks, nodding to the idea that there’s a potential conflict of interest when they are often privy to information and decisions that can dramatically move markets.   A Senate committee has approved legislation from GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri that would also extend the prohibition on stock trading to future presidents and vice presidents — while notably exempting President Donald Trump.   Under current law, federal lawmakers are required to disclose their stock sales and purchases. The bill requiring disclosure, The Stock Act, was signed into law in 2012. At the time, lawmakers and government watchdogs predicted that public disclosure would shame lawmakers out of actively buying and selling stock. That hasn’t happened.

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RFK Jr. says former CDC director Susan Monarez lied to Americans

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday that former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez lied to Americans when she said she was fired for refusing to endorse vaccine recommendations not supported by science.

https://www.axios.com/2025/09/04/rfk-jr-cdc-director-vaccine-panel-lied?

ps:The only liar is Herr Kennedy!!

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⁉️ Dems in the dark

The USS Sampson, a U.S. Navy missile destroyer, docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama City, Panama, this week. Photo: Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu via Getty Images Leaders on the Senate Intel committee are expecting to receive a bipartisan briefing this week about the deadly U.S. strike on a drug vessel off the shore of Venezuela. Why it matters: Lawmakers want more information from the White House on what Trump officials have indicated is just the start of a broader military campaign. ? Democrats were left in the dark on the operation, multiple sources tell us, and they want answers on the legal basis for the strike. Their leaders raised similar concerns following Trump's airstrikes on Iran in June. U.S. officials said the attack on the ship — which killed 11 members of the Tren de Aragua cartel, according to Trump — targeted drug trafficking. But it's threaded with the hopes of regime change in Venezuela. The big picture: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Intel panel, told us that stopping drugs from reaching U.S. soil is a "positive thing" but said he has not been officially briefed on the operation. "Donald Trump will be gone at some point, and we should not put our service members in a position that they're doing things that are outside of legal boundaries," Kelly said. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also told us he received no briefing, background or information about the strike: "That is concerning." The other side: Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) told us that as a senior member of the Intel committee, he has been briefed on the strike. Risch declined to provide any details on what that briefing looked like or when it took place, given the classification of such communications. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who spent time in South America last month and has family in Colombia, cheered on the strike. "They were bringing drugs that were going to kill Americans, so we killed them first," he said. "We're going to be doing a lot more of that." Moreno said he didn't think Congress needs to be notified ahead of such strikes. Zoom out: Trump announced the stunning strike on Tuesday in his militarized war on drugs. The U.S. has been amassing ships off Venezuela's shores and escalating tensions between the U.S. and the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The administration has labeled Maduro the leader of a drug-trafficking terrorist cartel. — Stephen Neukam and Stef Kight

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? Older members revolt

Some older House Democrats are telling the younger voters who want them to retire to pound sand.

Why it matters: The intraparty generational fight has convinced some older members to step aside instead of fighting back primary challengers. But others argue that members' fitness for office should be judged on a case-by-case basis.

• "Some of the seniors around here are different than some other seniors," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), 80, who indicated he plans to seek reelection even if Missouri Republicans redraw his district.

Zoom in: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) pointed today to his ascension to leadership and the ousters of several older committee ranking members as evidence of generational change happening within his caucus.

• Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her deputies "decided not to seek reelection to their leadership positions voluntarily," Jeffries said. "That's what's called embracing generational change."
• Jeffries has taken a delicate touch with older members who are being pressured to step aside, as we told you yesterday.

But some of his members who have faced considerable scrutiny this term are defiantly saying they're running again.

• Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), 88, told us today that "of course" she is running for reelection despite mounting concerns about her fitness for office (and her office didn't walk it back this time).
• Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 77, who has multiple credible primary challengers after suffering a complex partial seizure on the House floor in February, said he plans to launch his reelection bid soon.
• Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), 80, told us he is still planning to run for reelection despite facing a half dozen primary opponents and persistent concerns about his health.

The bottom line: "Older Democratic leaders can cement their legacies and help usher in a new generation of leadership," said David Hogg, who is working to unseat older, more established Democratic incumbents.

• "If some members of Congress want to spend their twilight years running the most brutal campaign of their careers, so be it."

— Andrew Soldender

ps:I for one agree, the older members need to retire, for both parties!!! It's funny they mention democrats who are over 70, but you have a few republicans over 90 even!!!!!

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? Massie loses steam

Rep. Thomas Massie speaks during a news conference with alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein outside the Capitol on Sept. 3. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is defying Speaker Mike Johnson's warnings and pressing forward with his discharge petition to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein records, even as some of his initial Republican backers are fading away. Why it matters: Just days ago, the discharge petition's success almost looked inevitable. But Republican leadership, White House pressure and the release of Epstein-related files from the House Oversight Committee have blunted the petition's momentum. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also threw cold water on the efforts, telling reporters today there are no plans for the Senate to vote on the legislation. Zoom in: Several Republicans who had backed Massie's underlying bill have reversed course, saying the Oversight panel's release of Epstein files undercuts the need for a petition. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told us yesterday she doesn't plan on signing it, calling the fight "a personal rift between Massie and the president." Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who also won't be signing the petition, dismissed Massie's efforts as "a backhanded slap to the president." Reps. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) also signaled they won't be supporting the measure. They were both cosponsors of the underlying bill. — Kate Santaliz

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RFK Jr. Testifies

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee to discuss recent turnover at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   Much of the testimony centered on vaccine policy, following Kennedy’s decision last week to fire CDC Director Susan Monarez. (Several senior CDC officials subsequently resigned in protest.) Monarez contends she was pressured to preapprove recommendations from an advisory panel considering vaccine recommendations for COVID-19, RSV, and measles, among others. That panel—recently reconstituted to include vaccine skeptics—is due to meet Sept. 18-19, with expected implications for insurance coverage. Kennedy yesterday disputed Monarez’s version of events, saying she was fired for answering “no” when asked whether she is trustworthy.    Kennedy also addressed his agency's decision to pull funding for mRNA vaccine research and restrict approval for the updated COVID-19 vaccine, among other decisions. He separately criticized lawmakers on the committee for accepting donations from pharmaceutical companies.

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Takeaways from RFK Jr.'s contentious hearing before Senate lawmakers A three-hour hearing between U.S. senators and Robert Kennedy Jr. devolved into multiple screaming matches Thursday as the nation’s health secretary fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership. Read more.

Key points: Democratic senators pressed Kennedy on recent changes narrowing the approval of annual COVID-19 shots. He repeatedly disputed or denied their accusations. “I’m not taking them away from people,” Kennedy said, noting that healthy Americans who want a shot should still be able to get one if a doctor prescribes one. Typically, Americans do not need to see a doctor for annual vaccine updates.   Kennedy could not be pinned down on basic facts and statistics, particularly when it came to vaccines and COVID-19. In an exchange with Sen. Mark Warner, Kennedy claimed nobody knows how many Americans have died from COVID-19 because of a lack of government data. Both the CDC and the World Health Organization have concluded that approximately 1.2 million Americans have died from the virus.   Vaccine concerns were bipartisan. Senate Republicans were more aggressive with Kennedy than they have been with most of Trump’s top officials, with several asking pointed questions about his efforts to limit access to vaccines.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Operation Warp Speed was one of Trump’s biggest achievements. Then came RFK Jr. and vaccine skeptics   FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims made by RFK Jr. during Senate hearing   What polls show about Americans’ views on childhood vaccine mandates

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? Coming fights: Crunch time on noms

Senate Republicans are impatient to get through the nominations backlog ASAP, even as they stare down a possible government shutdown on Oct. 1.

Why it matters: There are also some new and notable nominees — just entering the Senate pipeline — who'll draw loads of attention.

• Stephen Miran: The Fed governor pick is expected to get a vote in the Senate Banking Committee as soon as next week, setting him up for confirmation. Miran would replace Lisa Cook, who Trump fired — with bipartisan concern. Cook has sued Trump over the firing.
• E.J. Antoni: The choice to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics will have to face Trump GOP skeptics like Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in the Health, Labor and Pensions committee. Antoni would also be replacing an official fired by Trump.
• Antoni's paperwork is in, and the committee is working on scheduling and details for a hearing, according to a panel spokesperson. Expect questions about reports by CNN today about Antoni's social media history of derogatory comments.

What's next: Senate GOP leadership is readying the "nuclear option" to start allowing big batches of nominees to be voted on all at once. Some details are still being hashed out.

• Senators said this week they want to get this done before their next recess, scheduled for the week of Sept. 22.

— Stef Kight

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Trump note to Epstein that he denies writing is released by Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released on Monday a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Donald Trump, which he has denied.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-epstein-letter-democrats-12c17f4c94cf14727062331526680ade?

? Three spicy showdowns

Discharge petitions are threatening to rip House Republicans apart, making life harder for Speaker Mike Johnson as he works to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month.

Why it matters: Johnson has had the numbers on his side to play for time. But that's about to change, thanks to a pair of special elections that favor Democrats.

• In Virginia's race to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Democrat James Walkinshaw is expected to win easily.
• In Arizona, Democrat Adelita Grijalva is the favorite in the race to succeed her late father Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

Zoom in: With Johnson's tighter new margin, the three deadlines look like spicy showdowns.

1. ? Epstein files: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is all but certain to force a House vote on the Epstein files by the end of this month, unless the White House can flip away one of the Republicans who've already signed. Walkinshaw and Grijalva say they'll sign when they take office.
2. ? Stock trading ban: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has given Johnson an end-of-the month deadline on a congressional stock trading ban discharge petition, which President Trump praised on Truth Social.
3. ? Government shutdown: Government funding runs out at the end of the month. House Democrats are in no mood to help.

Zoom in: Many House Republicans are torn between their base's demand for transparency around the Epstein case and Trump's insistence that the matter be dropped.

• The White House has been privately pressuring Republican lawmakers not to sign onto the discharge petition, according to Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
• Johnson has also publicly opposed the discharge petition, which would undermine his control of the floor.

Between the lines: Trump and Johnson aren't out of options on Epstein.

• The White House could try to pressure one of the four Republicans who have signed on to the petition to withdraw their signatures.
• Johnson has in the past tucked language in party-line procedural measures to kill discharge petitions. He faced blowback when he employed the tactic to quash a proxy voting discharge petition in April, but he used the ensuing stalemate to negotiate a quiet end to the issue.

Go deeper: House Oversight receives Epstein birthday book

— Andrew Solender

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Caution on Obamacare extenders

Convincing Republicans to extend the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges will be "very, very hard," House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith told us.

• "There's never been a Republican in the House or the Senate that has voted for those premium tax credits, either in committee or any time throughout the process," Smith said.

Why it matters: It will be a much easier pill to swallow if Trump demands they do it.

• "I know that the Democrats are asking for it," Smith said about attaching the health care subsidies to a year-end spending bill in a grand bargain with Democrats.
• "I don't know what's going to happen to fund the government," Smith said. "So that's why I have to hedge, because the administration may negotiate something,"
• "The president's the best whip in Congress," he added.

State of play: The issue pits the GOP's deep ideological antipathy for Obamacare against three immediate political realities for the party.

1. Some 24 million Americans rely on the Affordable Care Act exchanges to purchase health insurance.
2. Those premiums will skyrocket by an average of 75% for enrollees if Congress doesn't reauthorize the enhanced tax credits, according to a study by KFF.
3. Republicans continue to defend the "one, big beautiful bill," against persistent Democratic attacks that it will cut Medicaid benefits across the country.

The enhanced subsidies, which former President Biden initially included in a 2021 pandemic package and then re-upped in the Inflation Reduction Act, are set to expire at the end of the year.

• It will cost some $335 billion over 10 years to extend the subsidies.
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on health insurers to warn their enrollees about the coming price hike for some of the enrollees.

Driving the news: Johnson opened the door to reauthorizing the subsidies in an interview last week after 10 vulnerable House Republicans called for the tax credits to be extended.

• One of Trump's pollsters has warned that the expiration is the GOP's "greatest midterm threat."
• "I don't love the policy, OK? But I understand the political realities and the realities of people on the ground. And this is real to folks," Johnson told Punchbowl News.

What's next: Smith said on Friday that he hadn't spoken to Trump about a potential deal yet.

• The White House has yet to take an official position.

— Hans Nichols

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? "Ruthless" hits the Hill

House Conference Chair Lisa McClain will bring the "Ruthless" fellas to the GOP conference tomorrow to discuss how to connect with the conservative base and younger voters. Why it matters: The "Ruthless" podcast has done a "College GameDay"-style show ahead of a GOP presidential debate. Now they are going inside the Capitol to talk to GOP lawmakers about new media. Zoom out: Earlier this summer Fox News reached a business and editorial licensing deal with the "Ruthless" podcast, a variety program hosted by veteran Republican staffers. The show uses a combination of irreverence and insider knowledge to break down campaigns, the news of the day, often hitting stories that are ignored by the mainstream media. There's also sports and family talk. Fox News has created a "new media" division that will house all of its opinion and non-news podcasts, as it invests more in that type of audio programming. The other side: Democrats have also brought in their media darlings to brief lawmakers, with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson discussing their "Abundance" book at a Senate Democratic retreat. — Hans Nichols

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? First look: Shaheen speech at CFR

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is calling for a foreign policy refresh that seizes the mantle of reform from President Trump.

Why it matters: "There is no going back to the world of January 2025," she will say at the Council on Foreign Relations tomorrow morning, according to excerpts obtained by Axios.

• Her speech amounts to a frank acknowledgment that the Democratic Party, and the foreign policy community, need to rethink their approach to global affairs.
• But the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will also defend many features of the post-war international architecture. And she will double down on her commitment to free trade.
• "I've supported free trade for decades and I believe we shouldn't be afraid to say that," she will say.
• "Trade, when done right, lowers costs, creates jobs and provides critical geopolitical advantages."

Zoom in: In tomorrow's remarks, Shaheen appears to acknowledge that some targets of Trump's cuts made it hard to defend them, though she didn't mention any specific institutions, like USAID, which Trump has slashed.

• And she also suggested that foreign policy leaders need to rethink the military aid the U.S. sends to Israel, given that Israel is now "one of the world's most powerful militaries."

Go deeper.

— Hans Nichols

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Epstein Friends Spilled Sick Secrets in 238-Page 50th Birthday Book

Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of photos of semi-clad women.

Jeffrey Epstein’s sexually suggestive 50th birthday book is filled with personal letters and memories from his famous friends, including Bill Clinton, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and even Donald Trump, among others.

The scandalous tome, as assembled by accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, was allegedly gifted to Epstein for his milestone birthday in January 2003.

“Jeffrey, the idea behind the book was simply to gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places and people and different events,” reads a note at the beginning of the book that appears to be from Maxwell. “Some of the letters will definitively achieve their intended goal — some well … you will have to read them to see for yourself.”

“I know you will enjoy looking through the book, and I hope you will derive so much pleasure looking through it as I did putting it together for you,” she added.

The 238-page book contains countless photos of near-naked women as well as salacious recollections from Epstein’s childhood friends.

The book was released on Monday by the House Oversight Committee as part of a document dump from the Epstein files, although many faces, names, and passages are redacted.

The release has infuriated Republicans, who are still insisting Trump’s infamous letter in the book, where a drawing of a naked woman has a scrawled signature seemingly replicating pubic hair, is fake. Trump has denied his involvement in the book and sued The Wall Street Journal after it reported on the letter in July. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed the denial again on Monday on X after the latest file drop, “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”

The book, obtained from the convicted sex offender’s estate, paints a sordid picture of the life of Epstein and his inner circle. It is split into sections featuring messages from “girlfriends,” “assistants,” “friends,” “family,” and “business.”

Trump’s name appears more than once in the book. In the “friends” section there is a photograph of Epstein with three people, two with their faces obscured or partially obscured by a black box, holding a novelty-sized large cheque for $22,500 with ‘DJTRUMP’ scribbled in the signature box.

The caption under the photo reads, “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500.”

The hand-written birthday letter allegedly from former president Bill Clinton is in the “friends” section states “It’s reassuring isn’t it... To have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures.” Clinton has since distanced himself from Epstein.

There is also a letter on the letterhead of lawyer Alan Dershowitz that includes a mock magazine cover Vanity Unfair, with Nicole Kidman on the cover, where the fake headlines include ‘Who was Jack the Ripper? Was it Jeffrey Epstein?"

Also in the “friends” section, one uncredited drawing depicts a male figure in 1983 handing balloons and a lollipop to three girls in pigtails. The other side of the picture shows a man in 2003 being massaged by topless or near-naked females, one with “I love JE” tattooed on her backside. The caption reads, “What a great country.”

Another letter that appears to be signed by disgraced former Victoria’s Secret founder Leslie Wexner includes a sketch of a set of breasts with the note, “I wanted to get you what you want.”

Also in the “friends” section, Peter Mandelson, a former British politician who is now U.K. ambassador in Washington, also appears to have signed a letter with a photo of Epstein’s private island with the caption, “one of his glorious houses he likes to share with his friends (yum yum).” He added, “he remains my best pal!”

When questioned by Sky News U.K., the British embassy in Washington referred to earlier statements from Mandelson, where he claimed, “My knowledge of him is something I regret, I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”

In the “girlfriends” section, one woman writes about their meeting while Maxwell was allegedly scouting for “breast photos” for the disgraced financier. That “girlfriend” penned a personal letter where she called Epstein “a collector of more than ‘beautiful minds’.”

It continues, “I came to see you some months later, you told me to take off my top. With the usual Epstein smile you looked at my breasts and said ‘Yeah, I was right’.” It also includes a photograph of a bra.

Another letter from a “girlfriend” with a redacted signature talks about being taken to Epstein’s apartment to meet him, where she claims he told her, “You are a virgin, right?” He then took her shopping at Bloomingdale’s, where he “started tickling and kissing me all over.”

A separate two-page handwritten letter from another “girlfriend,” framed by purple and pink paint, recalls being scouted to meet Epstein while massaging Maxwell. The unsigned letter says when meeting him at his New York home office on March 22, 1993, she noticed Epstein’s feet were “the most beautiful that I had ever seen” and compared him to “a more handsome Ralph Lauren.”

The letter alleges that while massaging her feet (at the same time as Maxwell massaged his shoulders), Epstein “moaned a bit” and asked the woman he’d just met 10 minutes ago to go with them to Florida that night. While she had a prior engagement, Epstein’s secretary contacted her later, and “my life was forever changed.”

The letter notes that Epstein had “given, given, given to me, taken care of my friends and family members.” It concludes: “With you, dear Jeffrey, I laugh like a little girl and feel like a woman, I love you.”

In a section from his “assistants,” one writes that before meeting Epstein she was a 22-year-old divorcee working as a hostess, and lists a string of famous people she had met, including Prince Andrew, President Clinton, the Sultan of Brunei, Donald Trump, Naomi Campbell, Kevin Spacey, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson.

It ends with “what else can I say butt...” with a handful of risqué photos, including a picture of an unidentified man with his hand down the back of a woman’s jeans.

In a section on Epstein’s early life called “Brooklyn,” one letter goes into explicit detail about his parents, Paula and Seymour, conceiving the dead sex offender. Other handwritten letters seemingly from childhood friends include horrific tales, including one which alleges, “we picked up girls on beach-went out on boat. I tell them with knife in my hand to take suits off.”

The next page reads, “I was porking some girl in bed and Jeff brings in the maid to make the bed.” It continues “were (sic) both in bed porking some girls, I said what do you think while he’s shoving penicllm (sic) down my throat.”

In the “business” section, a typed letter mentioned meeting Epstein in the mid-’70s, when Elliot Wolk was “running an account for Bob Maxwell,” aka British media baron Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine’s father. The letter ends, “Was that when you first discovered the Maxwell teen-age daughter.”

The book ends with what appears to be Maxwell stating, “The next fifty years will be even more wonderful.”

After the release of the birthday book, Republican Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer attacked the Democrats for daring to release the Trump letter to Epstein, saying they were “cherry-picking documents and politicizing information received from the Epstein Estate.”

Comer added, “Oversight Committee Republicans are focused on running a thorough investigation to bring transparency and accountability for survivors of Epstein’s heinous crimes and the American people. President Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing and Democrats are ignoring the new information the Committee received today. The Committee will pursue additional Epstein bank records based on this new information. Democrats must decide if their priority is justice for the survivors or politics.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-friends-spilled-sick-secrets-in-238-page-50th-birthday-book/?

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? Chuck vs. Bernie

The fight for the future of the Democratic Party will take place in nearly every Senate primary this cycle, pitting party leaders against progressive icons.

? Why it matters: 2026 Dem-on-Dem battles will also provide an early look at the broader showdown the party will have in its 2028 presidential primary.

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have preferred candidates in Michigan, Maine and Iowa.
• But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), still the vanguard of the American left, is having none of it and campaigning for insurgents on a megawatt scale.

? Zoom out: Schumer is reported to prefer Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan. In Maine, he is urging Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) to run. And in Iowa, leaders are partial to state Rep. Josh Turek.

• The new group of progressive darlings includes former public health official Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner in Maine, and car mechanic and Marine veteran Nathan Sage in Iowa.
• "Any serious candidate, from school board to president of the United States, has got to address the massive levels of income and wealth inequality that we are seeing," Sanders told us.
• A number of those progressives have left it as an open question as to whether they'd back Schumer for leader.

? Zoom in: "When they go low, we don't go high," El-Sayed told a cheering crowd of roughly 2,000 people last month at a Sanders "Fighting Oligarchy" rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

• "We take them to the mud and choke them out," El-Sayed said.
• "I think what the Democratic Party is starting to realize is that unless you are aggressively for working people, it is nearly impossible to win an election at a time when it's getting way too damn hard to survive," El-Sayed told us.

Just last week, Platner joined Sanders for another tour stop in Maine, with more than 6,500 people in attendance.

• Platner raised over $1 million in the first nine days of his campaign. El-Sayed raised nearly $2 million in the second quarter of the year (versus $2.5 million for Stevens.)

Between the lines: Schumer also has to deal with Democrats who crave a more confrontational approach to Republicans like President Trump.

• Mallory McMorrow in Michigan is one example. She says she wouldn't vote for Schumer as leader.

— Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols

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? House Dems "don't want to get screwed again"

House Democrats' weekly caucus meeting this morning featured something of a vent session toward Schumer on government funding. Why it matters: House Democrats still feel that Schumer betrayed them in March by supporting a Republican funding measure that they almost unanimously opposed — and they're worried he'll do it again. "There was anticipatory anger rooted in what went down in March ... Schumer was named explicitly," one House Democrat told us on the condition of anonymity to offer details of the private meeting. "The overriding concern was that Senate Democrats will get cold feet. Schumer can't sh*t the bed," the lawmaker told us. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have signaled they want a reversal of some health care provisions in the "one big, beautiful bill" in exchange for Democratic votes. What we're hearing: Some House Democrats aren't buying Schumer's sincerity. "We don't want to get screwed again by the Senate," a second House Democrat who was in attendance told Axios. Several moderates, including Reps. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), stood up to express the views of their constituents that the party should put up a fight over government funding, according to several lawmakers. "Lots of concern ... that we aren't sending a message that fights enough," is how a third House Democrat described the overall message. (A Schneider spokesperson disputed that he criticized leadership.) Zoom in: Jeffries told his members he's willing to reach a solution to the government funding impasse but not at the expense of Americans' health care, according to lawmakers and leadership sources. Members broadly agreed that Democrats shouldn't give in without any of their demands being met, though there was debate about what the party's conditions should be specifically. The bottom line: Any concessions may cost more votes from Republicans than they gain from Democrats, making them a risky proposition. Go deeper. — Andrew Solender