Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Wednesday took a step toward approving its first appropriation bill, agreeing to advance military construction and Veterans Affairs spending in a 90-8 vote.

But lawmakers have a long way to go to avoid a government shutdown, with 12 appropriations bills to get through before the Sept. 30 deadline.

The House, which has passed two appropriations bills, saw its legislative session ended early by Speaker Mike Johnson amid turmoil over the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Senate is set to begin its August recess next week, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune has kept open the possibility of canceling the weekslong break at President Donald Trump’s request to advance his nominees.

And unlike many of the things that Republicans have done this Congress, passing any of the 12 appropriations bills in the Senate will require 60 votes to pass.

Thune, during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” said “we’ve got to find a way” to start moving the measures.

“We are going to need to get appropriations done. That will require some cooperation from Democrats and hopefully they will be willing to make sure that the government is funded,” Thune told host Maria Bartiromo.

Democrats seek to strategize on funding

Democrats met behind closed doors on Tuesday to try to hash out a cohesive strategy for approaching government funding ahead of the s
hutdown deadline.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also met with their Democratic appropriators.

At a brief joint press conference afterward, Schumer and Jeffries said Democrats were committed to a “bipartisan, bicameral” appropriations process but blamed Republicans for making a clear path forward to averting a shutdown difficult.

“As has always been the case we are prepared to engage in those discussions in good faith, but House Republicans are not there. House Republicans are in fact marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people. We remain ready, willing and able to have the type of appropriations process that will yield a good result for the American people, but that process must be bipartisan and bicameral in nature,” Jeffries said.

Schumer said Senate Democrats supported the first appropriations bill on military construction and VA funding because it will help veterans and undo some cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency — but that other issues wouldn’t be as simple.

Democrats are weighing a number of considerations as they think about how to deal with government funding, especially with most saying they feel scorned after Republicans struck $9 billion in previously-approved funds from the federal budget.

Republicans were able to pass the rescissions package, which included cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting, without any Democratic support. Democrats say it amounts to a betrayal of a previous agreement that’s left them reluctant about future deals.

“Speaking for myself, I am really hard put to vote for appropriations when I know Republicans are just going to ride roughshod and reverse them down the line on a strictly partisan basis,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said on Monday. “The pattern of partisan betrayal on the part of my colleagues gives me a lot of pause so I am really torn about it.”

Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, echoed those sentiments.

“There’s a trust issue that we have to have to legislate where you reach an agreement and then there’s a switch-a-roo on rescissions and you have 60 votes and it suddenly goes to 50,” Welch said. “What we thought was solid and set in stone suddenly melts away, that is a problem.”

Thune on Tuesday also called for a bipartisan path forward on the appropriations process, but put the onus on Democrats to work with Republicans.

“The Democrats have indicated, because they’re so upset over the rescissions bill last week — which, by the way, cut one-tenth of 1 percent of all federal spending — that somehow they can use that as an excuse to shut down the appropriations process and therefore shut down the government,” Thune said at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership. “We think that would be a big mistake, and hopefully they will think better of it and work with us.”

The White House, though, has made the case the government funding process should be “less bipartisan.”

“It’s not going to keep me up at night, and I think it will lead to better results, by having the appropriations process be a little bit partisan. And I don’t think it’s necessarily leading to a shutdown,” White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told reporters last week.

“Who ran and won on the on an agenda of a bipartisan appropriations process? Literally no one. No Democrat, no Republican,” he added. “There is no voter in the country that’s went to the polls and said, ‘I’m voting for a bipartisan appropriations process.'”

Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said on the Senate floor before Wednesday’s vote that she thought his process should move forward in its historically bipartisan fashion despite Republicans’ recent moves to work on government funding through a rescissions package.

“To be clear, if Republicans continue cutting bipartisan deals with more rescissions, that’s not cooperation,” Murray said. She added, “So for anyone considering the partisan route, you cannot write a bill without talking to Democrats and then act surprised when Democrats don’t support it. You want our votes. You work with us, and this bill today that we’re considering shows that is possible.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Wednesday released its promised “AI Action Plan,” a sweeping set of policy proposals aimed at boosting the United States’ goal for dominance in artificial intelligence through sweeping deregulation.

The plan was developed by the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar, David Sacks, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The 24-page plan outlines over 90 federal actions focused on three areas of focus: increasing private-sector innovation, expanding AI-related infrastructure and exporting American AI. It follows President Donald Trump’s January executive order directing the creation of an “AI Action Plan” within 180 days.

The proposals appear to break from the Biden administration’s more safety-first AI framework, but White House officials cast the strategy as essential to “winning the AI race” against global competitors, especially China.

The new plan comes as consumer advocates warn it gives tech companies outsized influence and effectively lets them write their own rules. Public Citizen called it “a corporate giveaway.

“The Trump administration’s reckless AI agenda prioritizes corporate profits over public safety. The administration plans to give billions to Big Tech so they can burn even more dirty energy, release untested products, and rush into the AI era without accountability to the American public,” the group said in a statement.

Trump is expected to issue executive orders tied to the plan’s priorities. The president on Wednesday will appear at the “Winning the AI Race” event, hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum and the All‑In podcast, which is co-hosted by Sacks.

Key pillars of the White House’s AI plan

The plan aims to accelerate AI Innovation by cutting regulations, pushing for private-sector adoption of AI technologies and relying on the private sector to recommend regulatory barriers to cut.

Building and expanding AI infrastructure in America is also among the priorities of the proposal. This means fast-tracking permits for the creation of data centers, removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and climate requirements, as well as investing in AI-related workforce training.

Additionally, the plan recommends, in the name of protecting “free speech” and “American values,” to remove references to misinformation, DEI and climate change from federal AI safety guidelines.

The plan, however, does not address the use of copyrighted data for AI training, which has emerged as a key issue for AI and the basis for lawsuits. When asked about this, a senior official told ABC News the issue is currently before the courts and beyond the scope of executive action, stating: “Fair use is the law of the land.”

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Florida denied one of three Justice Department requests to unseal grand jury records tied to federal investigations into Epstein, according to a public order released Wednesday.

The request is one of three made by the Justice Department to judges in New York and Florida seeking to unseal records from federal investigations into Epstein.

According to the order by District Judge Robin Rosenberg, the records the department sought to unseal related to grand juries convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007 that had investigated Epstein.

Judge Rosenberg faulted the Justice Department for failing to outline sufficient arguments to justify the unsealing of the records, which are normally protected under strict secrecy rules.

Rosenberg’s opinion states her “hands are tied” given existing precedent in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals which only permits the disclosure of such grand jury materials under narrow exceptions.

She further denied a request to transfer the issue into the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York, where two judges are separately mulling over similar motions from the department seeking to unseal grand jury records tied to Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the order.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in New York denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s request to review grand jury testimony related to Epstein.

“It is black-letter law that defendants generally are not entitled to access to grand jury materials,” U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote.

Maxwell’s lawyers requested access to the sensitive grand jury records to determine if Maxwell would take a position on the records’ release.

Judge Engelmayer wrote that there is no “compelling necessity” for Maxwell to review the records. An objection from Maxwell into unsealing the records could further complicate the process of potentially releasing the records.

“She has not shown, or attempted to show, that the grand jury materials in her case are apt to reveal any deficiency in the proceedings leading to her indictment,” he wrote.

Judge Engelmayer noted that he plans to “expeditiously” review the transcripts himself and would consider providing an excerpt or synopsis to Maxwell’s lawyers.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11.

“The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,” Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.

“What we’re talking about here is someone who’s in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants,” Comer said before the subpoena was issued. “If there are no terms, we’ll roll in there quick.”

The situation will be similar to Comer’s effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP’s impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden.

“I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they’re, they’re all they want to interview someone in prison,” Comer said.

The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards — as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer — so it’s possible there could be handout video from the deposition.

Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the “coming days.”

President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to “release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval.”

Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview.

“There will be so many members of Congress that’ll want to be in that prison,” Comer said. “I would assume that there’ll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both — in both parties that’ll want to be there.”

A congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony.

David Oscar Markus, appellate counsel for Maxwell, said in a statement to ABC News that Maxwell “looks forward” to meeting with Blanche and that meeting will inform how she proceeds with the subpoena.

“As for the congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds,” he said.

Markus also responded to comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier Wednesday questioning Maxwell’s credibility as a witness.

“If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that’s fine. I will note the obvious concern, the caveat that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has that could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?” Johnson said to reporters.

“We understand Speaker Johnson’s general concern — Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th — and that remains a big if — she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed,” Markus said in a statement.

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Florida denied a Justice Department request to unseal grand jury records tied to federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, according to a public order released Wednesday.

The request is one of three made by the Justice Department to judges in New York and Florida seeking to unseal records from federal investigations into Epstein.

According to the order by district judge Robin Rosenberg, the records the department sought to unseal related to grand juries convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007 that had investigated Epstein.

Judge Rosenberg faulted the Justice Department for failing to outline sufficient arguments to justify the unsealing of the records, which are normally protected under strict secrecy rules.

Rosenberg’s opinion states her “hands are tied” given existing precedent in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals which only permits the disclosure of such grand jury materials under narrow exceptions.

She further denied a request to transfer the issue into the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York, where two judges are separately mulling over similar motions from the department seeking to unseal grand jury records tied to Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the order.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — As a new school year approaches, multiple school systems around the country told ABC News that a Department of Education funding freeze is causing confusion.

Some school districts told ABC News education cuts are illegal and will hurt students, but others said they support the Trump administration’s decision to reevaluate the department’s funding.

“Of course states and programs rely on these federal funds but we also rely on the president’s leadership to ensure they are aligned with our values,” Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said in a statement to ABC News.

Alaska’s largest school district, a collection of Democratic states ranging from California to Rhode Island, and advocacy groups across the country have sued the Trump administration over the $6 billion funding freeze of valuable education programs.

“There’s going to be a direct impact in every single school in our nation. And I think people forget that,” Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green told ABC News.

“I am here today because of the teachers, the education that I got, and it actually is a game changer,” Infante-Green, who is a first-generation American and learned English through school, said. “It changes the lives of not just the students, but the community as a whole. They can participate in the American dream.”

Although some states support the administration’s decision, Infante-Green has called it “illegal.”

“These are dollars that were appropriated by Congress, and this [pause] hurts kids.” she said.

A pause on the total $6 billion funding happened on July 1, when federal aid for schools is typically allocated each year. However, states were notified on June 30 that an ongoing programmatic review of education funding would occur, according to a Department of Education memo sent to Congress, obtained by ABC News. School districts and programs have been concerned that programs and staff could be eliminated if funding isn’t restored.

These funds are used to aid after-school programs, English learning acquisition, adult basic education, and many more important initiatives. States received a letter from Congress that said there would be a programmatic review to ensure the legitimacy of each program as the Office of Management and Budget suggested these programs have become misused to promote “radical left wing agendas.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaksa, and nine other Republican senators signed onto a letter last week requesting the Trump administration reverse the funding pause, which they said prompted the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to unfreeze more than $1 billion in after-school and summer learning funding.

However, OMB did not indicate whether it would be unfreezing the rest of the roughly $6 billion in federal funds for programs.

Despite the uncertainty caused by the education funding freezing, the Montana Office of Public Instruction Superintendent, Susie Hedalen, is supportive of the funding pause and feels confident that Montana will see its funding soon.

“I appreciate that they’re [the funding] being evaluated and that we’re taking a close look, because we don’t need federal funds with the strings attached. We don’t need the bureaucracy, and we need to make sure that we can use our funding to align to our values, not the agendas from the bureaucrats in DC,” Hedalen told ABC News.

Echoing other conservative education leaders who’ve spoken with ABC News about the pause, Hedalen believes there is a need to reevaluate the funding.

“I appreciate the President’s approach to take a critical look at our funding streams. That’s long overdue,” Hedalen said. “We are optimistic in Montana that those will continue to flow. But we do think it’s important that we take a close look, and we are looking forward to having education returned to the state agencies,” Hedalen added.

While there is ultimately a divide regarding the funding, Infante-Green suggested most states are concerned that the pause potentially hurts kids, “everybody understands that this is not a political issue,” she said, “this is about our students.”
ABC News

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(WASHINGTON) — Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she’s worried the Trump administration’s federal education funding freeze could mean “closing schools” in her home state.

“Many of our school districts have already made really hard decisions about closing schools,” Murkowski said in the wake of three of Alaska’s school districts suing the Trump administration for freezing more than roughly $6 billion in congressionally authorized federal education funding nationwide.

“Both in Fairbanks and Anchorage, we’ve seen layoffs,” Murkowski said.

Earlier this month, the Anchorage School District announced in a letter to the community that the district had already begun laying off some staff members after $46 million was impacted by the pause. The district receives about a third of the state’s federal education funds, according to Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt.

“I wish I could say that we were really solid on the state level, but we’re not. And now there’s questions on the federal level as well,” Murkowski added.

Murkowski and nine other Republican senators signed onto a letter last week requesting the Trump administration reverse the funding pause, which they said prompted the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to unfreeze more than $1 billion in after-school and summer learning funding.

However, OMB did not indicate whether it would be unfreezing the rest of the roughly $6 billion in federal funds for programs, such as English language learning, educator development and adult education, among others.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., led the group of 10 senators signing on to the letter. She told ABC News that she hopes the administration can successfully restore all education funding to states by time school starts.

“I’d like to see some of the other programs released, but, you know, we haven’t heard one way or the other,” Moore Capito told ABC News.

School district leaders are now scrambling due to the uncertainty, according to state officials who’ve spoken to ABC News. At least two dozen states, several school districts and education advocacy groups have now sued the administration over the funding freeze.

An OMB spokesman said the funds are under review for “grossly” misusing programs that promote “radial leftwing agendas.”

But Murkowski slammed the administration for contending that districts in Alaska pushed programs with radical ideology. She said the programs are not “woke or ideologically out of line.”

Murkowski fears the programmatic review from the OMB — the stated reason for the freeze — could stretch into the school year, suggesting it would harm adult and English language learners the most. The delayed funding could in turn impact the workforce, according to Murkowski.

“If your literacy skills are weak, if you’re working on your English skills, I mean, these are all things that are keeping people out of the workforce at a time when we’re trying to get people into it,” Murkowski said, adding “So I am very worried.”

Since the funding pause ensued on July 1, North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven said he has been hearing from concerned educators in his state as well.

Hoeven was relieved when the after-school and summer learning grants were unfrozen because they, too, help the workforce, he said.

With funding for those programs secured, parents won’t have to make other arrangements for their children, potentially missing work to do so, Hoeven told ABC News. “That was the one that was most timely.”

Hoeven and Murkowski said they’re reaching out to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, hoping she can help release the additional funding to schools. OMB hasn’t made a decision yet on how long its review will take.

ABC News has reached out to the Education Department for comment.

Meanwhile, Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman said at this point unfreezing any aid is a positive first step.

“The good news is that we are moving in the right direction,” Boozman told ABC News.

“Hopefully we can get them [the rest of funding] restored as soon as possible.”

As the school year approaches, Murkowski stressed that the administration must move quickly.

“I don’t want to call it cuts yet, because my hope is that they’re just unpaused and that they are going to materialize,” she said.

The senator, who grew up in Alaska and raised her children there, told ABC News that she is hopeful McMahon understands that rural communities will suffer without critical education programs.

“It’s just kind of making it real to her,” Murkowski said, adding, “I know we’re worried in Alaska, and I have to assume it’s the same all over the country.”

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Miami elections could proceed this year as originally planned, after a judge ruled that city officials could not push elections back to 2026 without voter approval.

The ruling comes after the Miami city council voted 3-2, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez signed off, to cancel November’s elections and hold them in 2026 instead. They argued the alignment with statewide elections would lower costs and increase turnout. The decision was met with pushback for being done via ordinance rather than a vote from the public.

Suarez and council members faced accusations, including from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, of deciding to extend their own time in office, some beyond legal term limits.

Mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez filed a lawsuit on June 30, challenging the decision, calling it “unconstitutional” and a “blatant power grab.”

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Valerie R. Manno Schurr ruled in favor of Gonzalez on Monday, saying the city did not have the authority to shift elections without voter approval.

“The Court declares that the City of Miami cannot change the dates of municipal elections or the terms of offices for the City’s elected officials without amending the City of Miami Municipal Charter … which requires approval by the electorate,” Schurr wrote in her opinion.

DeSantis lauded Monday’s decision. He previously called the attempt to postpone the elections “wrong” and said he hoped to see “a swift legal response.”

“City of Miami politicians voted to defy term limits, cancel this year’s scheduled election, and extend their own terms in office — all without voter approval. Today, a judge has put the kibosh on the scheme,” DeSantis wrote on X. “Great to see the law and common sense prevail.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who had issued a legal opinion on June 11 supporting Gonzalez’s argument, also weighed in on social media.

“Thrilled that the Court agreed with our legal opinion on the City of Miami’s unconstitutional attempt at moving back an election without voter approval,” Uthmeier wrote.

Another amicus brief supporting Gonzalez’s came come from former Miami mayor and current Commissioner Joseph Carollo. Carollo was one of the two commissioners who voted against shifting the elections.

The court’s ruling offers declaratory relief but not injunctive relief, meaning Miami is legally in the wrong but has not been explicitly ordered not to postpone its elections. However, Florida State University Law Professor Michael Morley said “if push comes to shove, the court can just enter injunctive relief” at any time.

The city is appealing Schurr’s decision.

“While we respectfully disagree with the trial court’s decision, we are confident in the strength of our case and remain optimistic about the outcome on appeal,” City Attorney George Wysong wrote in the appeal notice.

Morley said he thought the appeal was “extremely unlikely” to succeed.

Speaking prior to the ruling, University of Miami Law Professor Charlton Copeland said due to the nature of the dispute, the suit would be able to move through the courts “fairly quickly.”

“These are clean legal arguments about what law governs… these aren’t procedurally complicated issues,” Copeland said.

Aubrey Jewett, a professor at the University of Central Florida, said the choice to hold elections on even or odd years involves a “trade off.”

Odd-year elections might have lower turnout, but “a greater emphasis on local issues that people are actually looking at and voting on.” In even years, local concerns might be drowned out by state or federal issues despite a higher turnout, Jewett told ABC News.

Even as elections could go forward this year as planned, Jewett said harm has been done to Miami’s political culture already because the postponement decision was pushed without voter input.

“The local politics has long had a reputation for being sort of an insider’s game, and that a relatively few number of people have a lot of influence,” Jewett said. “I think that for a lot of Miami residents, it will breed even more cynicism and distrust.”

 

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and the White House are already working behind the scenes on next year’s midterm elections, where Trump will play a heavy role in recruiting, fundraising and messaging, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

The White House plans to spend this year and next selling the president’s massive tax and spending bill to voters ahead of the midterm elections, the White House official told ABC News.

Trump and members of his Cabinet will travel to battleground states to promote the bill. Just last week, Vice President JD Vance was in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, to tout the signature legislation.

The White House is also planning a retreat in August for congressional staffers to discuss how to promote the bill and is seeking candidates to run in several key races. Trump is also expected to get involved if a prospective candidate is hesitant to enter the race.

According to the White House official, aides of the president are working to recruit someone to run in New Hampshire for the state’s open Senate seat. The effort comes after the state’s popular former governor, Chris Sununu, who had been mulling a run for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said in early April that he had decided not to run.

White House political director Matt Brasseaux also has been attending House candidate recruitment meetings organized by Georgia GOP Rep. Brian Jack.

Trump’s political operation has continued to raise money and the president has told congressional Republicans that he plans to spend money on their races. The president’s political operation will also soon establish fundraising vehicles for candidates in several notable races, allowing Trump’s team to raise funds for them. Trump is also planning to headline a major fundraiser organized by the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., in the fall.

The president and the White House are also working to keep Republicans in key races from retiring or seeking other offices.

The White House is working to prevent Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst from retiring, the White House official said. The efforts come after she received criticism, telling voters during a town hall, “We all are going to die,” in response to concerns about cuts to Medicaid in Trump’s megabill. Ernst has not announced her 2026 plans.

As the most powerful person in the Republican Party, Trump plans to use his political clout to influence the primaries to ensure that the party nominates the candidate he views as the most electable or to punish Republicans who have angered him.

Trump recently met with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to discuss the state’s Senate primary for the seat now occupied by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The White House aims to avoid a messy primary in the critical battleground state and is determining how to engage in the race.

Trump has pushed for Republicans to redraw congressional districts in Texas to create more GOP seats to pick up in the midterms. Trump encouraged members of Texas’ congressional delegation during a recent call to support his plan and his team is also exploring other states for possible redistricting opportunities. If successful, Republicans could gain five new seats, but the move comes with risks.

California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that he has spoken to state lawmakers about calling a special session to initiate changes to state law to redraw districts in response to developments in Texas.

“If we’re gonna play fair in a world that is wholly unfair, we may have the higher moral ground, but the ground is shifting from underneath us. And I think we have to wake up to that reality,” Newsom said.
 

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(NEW YORK) — The federal judge now overseeing the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case said in a new order Tuesday that he plans to rule “expeditiously” on the matter but requires more information before he can do so.

“The Court intends to resolve this motion expeditiously,” District Judge Paul Engelmayer said in a four-page order, filed Tuesday. “However, the Court cannot rule on the motion without additional submissions,” the order also said.

Engelmayer is asking for further briefing from the Justice Department after he said their initial motion “does not adequately address” what the filing said is a “non-exhaustive list of factors for district courts to weigh in considering applications for disclosure” of such secret grand jury information.

Engelmayer gave the government until July 29 to submit a brief further outlining their justification for seeking the release of the records, which he said should address whether they have already reviewed grand jury transcripts from Maxwell’s case and whether they provided notice to victims prior to their motion to unseal the records.

The order also directs the government to file under seal an index of Maxwell grand jury transcript materials, the transcripts themselves and a proposed redacted set of the transcripts, as well as other items.

Separately, Judge Engelmayer set a deadline of Aug. 5 for Maxwell’s attorneys and victims in the case to address their positions regarding the disclosure of the grand jury transcripts.

President Donald Trump announced last week that he’d ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of additional Epstein material following pushback from conservatives and others for more transparency in the case.

Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell sometime in the “coming days.”

“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in a statement posted by Bondi on X.

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