National

(NEW YORK) — Harvard University is launching a new investigation into its former president, Larry Summers, and other individuals affiliated with the school who were associated with Jeffrey Epstein, a spokesperson for the university told ABC News on Wednesday.

“The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted,” Harvard said in a statement to ABC News.

The new investigation was first reported in the Harvard Crimson. The university reviewed its ties to Epstein five years ago, including donations he made to the university.

Harvard did not respond to questions about whether Summers’ teaching position at the university would be affected while the new probe is ongoing. 

In a video obtained by The Associated Press, Summers on Wednesday addressed the topic of his communications with Epstein to students in a class he teaches at Harvard.

“Some of you will have seen my statement of regret, expressing my shame with respect to what I did in communication with Mr. Epstein. And that I’ve said that I’m going to step back from public activity,” Summers told his students, according to the video. “I think it’s very important to fulfill my teaching obligations. So with your permission, we’re going to go forward and talk about the material in the class.”

Early Wednesday, tech company OpenAI released a statement saying Summers, also a former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, has resigned from its board of directors.

“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” a statement from the OpenAI Board of Directors reads.

Summers’ resignation came just two days after he released a statement saying he was “deeply ashamed” of his relationship with Epstein. Summers’ email exchanges with Epstein were released last week by the House Oversight Committee.

No Epstein survivor has alleged wrongdoing by Summers and there is no public record evidence to suggest Summers was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes. 

“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” a statement from Larry Summers said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”

Larry Summers previously announced that he was stepping back from public life after his apparent communications with Epstein were made public.

Summers is currently a member of Harvard’s faculty, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper. But there have been calls, including from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for Harvard to sever ties with him.

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said in a statement on Monday.

He added, “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”

It has been previously reported that Summers maintained a relationship with Epstein for many years, particularly during Summers’ term as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006.

Summers flew at least four times on Epstein’s aircraft, according to flight records made public during litigation against Epstein, and he was the top official at Harvard during a time when the university received millions in gifts from Epstein.

All of those gifts were received prior to Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida in 2008 to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, according to the university’s review of its Epstein connections.

The late financier was charged federally in July 2019 with sex trafficking and conspiracy and died by suicide the following month. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — A federal immigration crackdown dubbed Charlotte’s Web has netted 250 arrests in North Carolina’s largest city, officials said on Wednesday.

The arrests of people allegedly in the country illegally came in a span of just four days, officials said.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal agencies continue to target some of the most dangerous criminal illegal aliens as Operation Charlotte’s Web progresses,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Wednesday. “This immigration enforcement surge in the Charlotte area has led to the arrest of over 250 illegal aliens as of the evening of 11/18.”

The announcement of the arrest tally in Charlotte came a day after Greg Bovino, the commander-at-large of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), blamed North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein for what he said was an increase in violent rhetoric that federal agents are facing in their immigration enforcement blitz in the state.

Bovino took to social media on Tuesday to slam Stein, a Democrat who released a statement over the weekend asking residents of the Tar Heel State to report any “inappropriate behavior” they witness from federal agents.

“If you see any inappropriate behavior, use your phones to record and notify local law enforcement, who will continue to keep our communities safe after these federal agents leave,” Stein said.

In a social media post, Bovino told Stein, “You need to check yourself,” and cited an online video of a woman threatening to use a screwdriver to stab U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents if they pull her over.

“Governor Stein, you caused this,” Bovino said in the post. “Let me say that again, Governor. When you spout lies about a lawful law enforcement operation, you spark something in weaker-minded people like this who may act upon your direction.”

Bovino did not specifically say what statements from Stein prompted his social media response.

On Sunday, Stein issued a statement, saying, “We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling, and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks.”

Bovino’s warning to Stein came after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited two incidents this week in Charlotte in which people allegedly rammed the vehicles of federal agents or drove directly at the agents.

In one case, the DHS alleged that a U.S. citizen allegedly drove a “large van” at agents as they were conducting an immigration operation dubbed Charlotte’s Web.

“He immediately fled the scene, starting a dangerous high-speed chase through a densely populated area,” according to a DHS statement posted on X. “During the chase, he attempted to ram into law enforcement vehicles — posing a serious public safety threat. As agents were boxing him in — the driver proceeded to ram law enforcement vehicles in an attempt to escape.”

One federal agent was injured in the incident, according to the DHS.

The DHS statement said that after the suspect, whose name was not released, was arrested, a firearm was allegedly found in his van. The DHS said the man “has prior arrests for resisting law enforcement, public disturbance and intoxication/disruptive conduct.”

The DHS said another driver arrested in Charlotte on Monday jumped a curb, drove into a parking lot and sped toward agents.

“The driver was warned to stop and back up,” the DHS said in a statement. “The driver then drove the vehicle toward the exit of the parking lot and waited to try and box in Border Patrol. As agents went to confront the driver, the car rammed a law enforcement vehicle and fled the scene.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the DHS said CBP and ICE agents have faced nearly 100 vehicular attacks this year, nearly double the number from 2024.

Charlotte is the latest city targeted by the Trump administration to enforce immigration laws in a nationwide effort that has included Los Angeles and Chicago, which are so-called “sanctuary” cities and states that limit actions their local authorities take to aid the work of immigration agents.

Immigration advocates, elected leaders and lawyers representing people arrested elsewhere in the country on charges of ramming the vehicles of federal agents denied the charges have criticized how masked federal agents have stoked fear.

DHS, in announcing its action in North Carolina, said the state also has “sanctuary” politicians.

Elsewhere in the country where ICE and CBP sweeps have occurred, immigration advocates, elected leaders and residents have criticized the federal operations, saying they were not requested and that they are stoking fear in their communities. Lawyers representing people arrested elsewhere in the country on charges of ramming the vehicles of federal agents have denied the charges.

The lawyer for 30-year-old Marimar Martinez, who was shot in Chicago in October by Border Patrol agents, who accused her of ramming their vehicle, claimed in court that he viewed a body-camera video from one of the agents that proves his client did nothing wrong.

Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, said during an Oct. 6 court hearing that the federal agents appeared to swerve into Martinez’s car after one of them was heard in the footage saying, “Do something, bitch.”

“When I watched the video after this agent says, ‘Do something, bitch,’ I see the driver of this vehicle turn the wheel to the left. Which would be consistent with him running into Ms. Martinez’s vehicle, okay,” Parente said. “And then seconds later, he jumps out and just starts shooting.”

Raleigh, N.C., Mayor Janet Cowell said in a statement on Monday that federal agents were expected to continue their operations in her city on Tuesday after they fanned out across nearby Charlotte over the weekend, detaining more than 130 people within about 48 hours.

Cowell, a Democrat, said the federal action was not requested.

“As the capital city, it is important to us that everyone who lives, works, plays, and learns in Raleigh feels safe,” Cowell said. “We have been made aware that Customs and Border Protection are coming to Raleigh. While [the Raleigh Police Department] is not involved in immigration enforcement, we are committed to protecting our residents and to following the law.”

Federal agents are expected to stay in North Carolina until Friday, according to preliminary information from federal authorities. By the end of the week, about 200 agents are expected to be redeployed to New Orleans to begin “Operation Catahoula Crunch” in the Big Easy, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — Though President Trump was miles away from the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday morning, his words loomed large over the arguments before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff as the government sought to defend its case against former FBI Director James Comey. 

Trump’s Sept. 20 social media post demanding that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”” was at the center of Comey’s argument that the president was using the justice system as a “cudgel to damage and intimidate his political opponents.” 

“It is effectively an admission that this is a political prosecution,” Comey’s attorney Michael Dreeben said.  “The president is underscoring what he wants done here.” 

Dreeben argued that by replacing the prosecutor leading the U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia with his former staffer and lawyer Lindsey Halligan, Trump was “manipulating the machinery of prosecution” and committing an “egregious violation of bedrock constitutional values.” 

“This has to stop,” Dreeben said about Trump’s social media posts targeting Comey, arguing “a message needs to be sent to the executive branch.” 

Comey pleaded not guilty in October to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, amid what critics call Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes. Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.” 

At Wednesday’s hearing, the government’s counsel, Tyler Lemons, repeatedly stumbled and had to take lengthy pauses as he faced pointed questions from  Judge Nachmanoff about the fact-pattern that led to Comey’s indictment — and struggled to make the case that Halligan’s decision to seek charges against him was not at the direct orders of President Trump. 

“Ms. Halligan was not directed to bring this prosecution; it was her decision and her decision only,” Lemons said. “Ms. Halligan was not a puppet.” 

In defending the president’s conduct, Lemons argued that it is “appropriate” for President Trump to publicly accuse his adversaries of breaking the law if he believes a crime was committed. 

“What he has said is, he broke the law,” Lemons said. “That has been the focus of the president’s statement, and that is appropriate.” 

Toward the end of the hearing, Judge Nachmanoff turned his attention to the legitimacy of the indictment itself. 

Drilling down into the details of the charging document, the judge pressed Lemons to explain why two different indictments were issued, going so far as to question why the color of the ink on the documents differed. Lemons struggled to answer his questions, often asking for permission to consult with Halligan and his co-counsel. 

It was at that point that Nachmanoff called Halligan directly to the lectern, and questioned her over the series of events that led to the full grand jury not being provided or voting on a second indictment that was drafted by her office. 

Halligan explained that the second indictment was presented and reviewed by the grand jury’s foreperson as well as another grand juror, and reflected the full grand jury’s full vote on the previously rejected indictment. 

At that point the courtroom fell completely silent, and Judge Nachmanoff simply responded, “Well.” 

Dreeben said the issue with the grand jury indictment clearly required Judge Nachmanoff to throw out the case. 

In his concluding remarks, the judge instructed both parties to provide briefings on a 1969 case decided by the Supreme Court in which a defendant’s conviction was overturned due to defective briefing before a grand jury — and what bearings that decision could now have specifically on Comey’s case.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge Wednesday said he is moving forward with his contempt inquiry into whether Trump administration officials violated a court order by deporting hundreds of men to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act in March.

In a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said he would like to move forward with the inquiry quickly, and ordered the parties to submit a proposal by Monday on how the case should proceed. 

The Trump administration invoked the AEA — an 18th-century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process — to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order and ordered that the planes be turned around, but Justice Department attorneys said his oral instructions directing the flight to be returned were defective, and the deportations proceeded as planned.

The federal judge said Wednesday that the next steps would likely be to hear from witnesses including Erez Reuveni, a DOJ attorney who was fired from the department in April after he appeared in federal court in Maryland and told a judge that the government had mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. 

“I certainly intend to find out what happened that day,” Judge Boasberg said

Boasberg’s earlier finding that the Trump administration likely acted in contempt was halted for months after an appeals court issued an emergency stay. While a federal appeals court on Friday declined to reinstate Boasberg’s original order, the ruling allowed him to move forward with his fact-finding inquiry.

“Class members are still recovering from the serious harm, including trauma, they experienced at CECOT,” the ACLU said in a recent court filing.

In response to the motion for a preliminary injunction, attorneys for the Department of Justice argue in court filings that the Venezuelans’ release from El Salvador “has further undermined their claims.” 

“Petitioners have not shown that they suffer any ongoing injury traceable to Respondents, for they are apparently at liberty in their home country, and any ongoing threats to their health and safety come from third parties not before this Court,” DOJ attorneys said. 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Accused killer Luigi Mangione must be given civilian clothes to wear for his court appearance next month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Mangione is due in a Manhattan courtroom on Dec. 1, but his attorneys said he had nothing to wear.

“Mangione is currently housed in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and does not have civilian clothes to wear for the hearings,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote in a court filing.

On Wednesday, Judge Margaret Garnett ordered the Bureau of Prisons to accept “2 suits; 3 shirts; 3 sweaters; 3 pairs of pants; 5 pairs of socks; and 1 pair of shoes (without laces)” and allow Mangione to wear those items when he is brought to court.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges in the December 2024 shooting death of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson.
He is due in court on the state charges and is expected to argue certain evidence should be suppressed. Judge Gregory Caro may also set a trial date.

This is not the first sartorial matter to be discussed in connection with Mangione’s prosecution. Handwritten notes were secreted inside a pair of argyle socks Mangione was permitted to wear during an earlier court appearance.

At the time, prosecutors complained Mangione was given special accommodations for his “fashion needs.”
 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department unsealed new charges against a former Canadian Olympian snowboarder who is allegedly the “largest distributor of cocaine” in Canada, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The charges allege Ryan Wedding ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a U.S. federal trial in a drug trafficking case, prosecutors said.

Wedding, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is the “leader of a transnational criminal enterprise,” Bondi said.

“Wedding collaborates closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, to flood not only American but also Canadian communities with cocaine coming from Colombia,” Bondi said at a press briefing Wednesday. “His organization is responsible for importing approximately six metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semi trucks from Mexico.”

Wedding was previously indicted in Los Angeles federal court on multiple federal charges, including running a continuing criminal enterprise, committing murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise and assorted drug crimes.

He and his alleged second-in-command, Canadian Andrew Clark, conspired to move hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where it was stored in stash houses before being transported to Canada and U.S. cities in long-haul semi-trucks, authorities said.

The two are also accused of ordering the murders of multiple people in Canada to achieve the organization’s aims, the FBI said.

Wedding is now newly charged in connection with the murder of a witness that occurred in January at a restaurant in Colombia, according to U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Los Angeles Bill Essayli.

The witness was shot five times in the head and died instantly, according to Essayli.

“Wedding placed a bounty on the victim’s head in the erroneous belief that the victim’s death would result in the dismissal of criminal charges against him and his international drug trafficking ring and would further ensure that he was not extradited to the United States,” Essayli said during the press briefing.

Wedding and 14 others, including his lawyer, are charged in the new indictment with orchestrating the murder, according to Essayli.

The lawyer is accused of advising Wedding that if he killed the witness, then criminal charges would be dropped, Essayli said. The lawyer was arrested Tuesday in Canada and will be extradited to the U.S., he said.

Authorities said they do not have the suspect who pulled the trigger in the murder and are currently searching for a suspect. 

Wedding has been on the run for years and his whereabouts are unknown, authorities said.

The State Department is now offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest, officials said Wednesday — up from the previously announced $10 million reward.

The Treasury Department has put sanctions on Wedding and his alleged enterprise, and said he uses a “complex” web of financials to launder money. 

Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he placed 24th in the parallel giant slalom, before allegedly running the billion-dollar cocaine operation from Mexico for more than a dozen years, officials said.

FBI Director Kash Patel called Wedding a “modern-day” Pablo Escobar. He asked anyone with information on Wedding to speak up. 

“Make no mistake, Ryan Wedding is extremely dangerous,” Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office Akil Davis said during the briefing. “He’s extremely violent, and he’s extremely wealthy. He’s being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, along with others in the country of Mexico. We will find him, and we will bring him to justice.” 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Just a week before Thanksgiving, record-breaking heat is hitting parts of the South, with some cities setting daily records as temperatures rise 10 to 20 degrees above average.

Cities across Texas experienced record-high temperatures on Tuesday, with Waco reaching 87 degrees and Austin hitting 86 degrees. Dallas, which hit a high of 87 degrees on Tuesday, has not seen temperatures this warm this late into the year in 20 years.

Houston also shattered records on Tuesday, as it saw a temperature over 80 degrees for a record 245th day this year. The previous record of 243 days was set in 2012. This record could continue to grow, as Houston — which has only had 77 days of weather cooler than 80 degrees — will see temperatures in the low- to mid-80s for the rest of the week.

From Wednesday through Friday, record-high temperatures are possible from Houston to Charlotte, North Carolina, and areas farther south.

Other cities experiencing unseasonably warm weather include Jackson, Mississippi, which could see the temperature reach 81 degrees on Thursday, along with Atlanta, with highs consistently in the high 70s for the rest of the week.

This heat, which will move out of the South this weekend, will allow for a flood threat to develop from Texas to Missouri on Thursday.

While the heat lingers in the South, parts of the Southeast and Northeast will see temperatures “cooler than normal at times,” according to the National Weather Service.

The United States has been getting warmer every season since the early 1990s, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,.

This year, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation — a natural variation of warmer, neutral and cooler waters along the equatorial waters of the eastern Pacific — has been in the cooler pattern, or La Niña, since September and is expected to continue for much of winter.

This likely puts the U.S. in a dominant weather pattern for most of the winter, keeping the southern half of the country warmer and drier and the Pacific Northwest out to the Great Lakes cooler and wetter than average.

ABC News’ Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MIAMI) — Anna Kepner, a teen who died aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship earlier this month, was found dead under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, according to a security source briefed on the investigation.

The 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was reported dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Nov. 8. The Miami-Dade medical examiner has not specified a cause or manner of her death.

Among the avenues investigators are looking at is whether there might have been some sort of altercation with her stepbrother prior to her death, the source told ABC News. Investigators are also looking at other possibilities, including a medical emergency or an overdose, the source said.

Investigators are poring over ship security records, including security camera footage and access-card swipes, to get a picture of who was where at the various times prior to her death, the source said.

A court filing in an unrelated family court matter noted Kepner’s stepsibling could face charges.

The filing said the FBI is conducting an investigation “arising out of the sudden death of 18 year old Anna Kepner.”

Shauntel Hudson — Kepner’s stepmother, who was also on the cruise along with her children and Kepner’s father — requested a delay in her custody hearing because one of her minor children may face criminal charges, according to the filing.

“The Respondent has been advised through discussions with FBI investigators and her attorneys, that a criminal case may be initiated against one of the minor children of this instant action,” the filing stated. “Any testimony the Respondent may give, either written or oral, could be prejudicial to her or her adolescent child in this pending criminal investigation, therefore the Respondent cannot be compelled to testify.”

The FBI declined to comment.

Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement after Kepner’s death, “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”

Kepner’s family did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and the former president of Harvard University, has resigned from the board of the tech company OpenAI, according to statements released Wednesday.

“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” a statement from the OpenAI Board of Directors reads.

Summers’ resignation came just two days after he released a statement saying he was “deeply ashamed” of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Summers’ email exchanges with Epstein were released last week by the House Oversight Committee.

No Epstein survivor has alleged wrongdoing by Summers and there is no public record evidence to suggest Summers was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes. 

“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” a statement from Larry Summers said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”

Larry Summers previously announced that he was stepping back from public life after his apparent communications with Epstein were made public.

Summers is currently a member of Harvard’s faculty, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper. But there have been calls, including from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for Harvard to sever ties with him.

Harvard has announced that it will begin a new investigation into Summers’ association with Epstein, according to the Harvard Crimson. The university reviewed its ties to Epstein five years ago, including donations he made to the university.

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said in a statement on Monday.

He added, “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”

It has been previously reported that Summers maintained a relationship with Epstein for many years, particularly during Summers’ term as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006.

Summers flew at least four times on Epstein’s aircraft, according to flight records made public during litigation against Epstein, and he was the top official at Harvard during a time when the university received millions in gifts from Epstein.

All of those gifts were received prior to Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida in 2008 to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, according to the university’s review of its Epstein connections.

The late financier was charged federally in July 2019 with sex trafficking and conspiracy and died by suicide the following month. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — According to the official White House government shutdown clock, the historic impasse ended on Tuesday.

While the federal government shutdown actually ended a week ago, the White House’s shutdown clock continued to tick on Tuesday until it was pointed out to the White House by ABC News.

The shutdown clock on the White House’s website had reached 48 days despite President Donald Trump signing funding legislation in the Oval Office on Nov. 12 to reopen the government.

The shutdown clock was removed shortly after ABC News asked the White House why the clock was still running. The clock was replaced with a page headlined, “Democrats Shut Down the Government for a Record 43 Days.”

The Trump administration’s shutdown clock was featured on a White House webpage as late as early Tuesday afternoon ET, right above a headline reading, “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government.”

The White House did not explain to ABC News why the clock had continued to run and be displayed online until Tuesday.

The federal government shutdown was the longest in U.S. history, officially lasting 43 days.

The impasse between Republicans and Democrats over a spending bill to reopen the government prompted widespread turmoil for thousands of furloughed federal employees and cut off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to millions of Americans.

The shutdown was prolonged by a fight between Democrats and Republicans over the fate of enhanced tax credits for millions of Americans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Those credits are set to expire at the end of the year.

An extension of the enhanced tax credits was not included in President Trump’s massive spending bill that he signed into law in July.

The tax credits were part of the original ACA legislation passed during the Obama administration and were enhanced in 2021 under the Biden administration to expand eligibility and lower income contribution caps.

To get enough Democrats to vote in favor of the spending bill to reopen the government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to schedule a floor vote in December on extending the ACA tax credits. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has repeatedly refused to commit to a vote on the ACA subsidies, leaving the issue in limbo.

ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.