Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein referred to Donald Trump as the “dog that hasn’t barked” and told his former companion Ghislaine Maxwell that an alleged victim had “spent hours at my house” with Trump, according to email correspondence released Wednesday by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump,” Epstein wrote in a typo-riddled message to Maxwell in April 2011. “[Victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”

“I have been thinking about that … ” Maxwell replied.

That email exchange — which came just weeks after a British newspaper published a series of stories about Epstein, Maxwell and their powerful associates — was one of three released by the Democrats from a batch of more than 23,000 documents the committee recently received from the Epstein Estate in response to a subpoena. 

The names of alleged victims and other personally identifying information were redacted from the messages.

The other newly released email exchanges are between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, who has written four books chronicling the Trump presidency.  Wolff has said he spoke to Epstein at length about Trump during his reporting for the books.

“I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you–either on air or in scrum afterwards,” Wolff wrote to Epstein in December 2015, six months after Trump had officially entered the race for the White House.

“If we were to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” Epstein replied.

“I think you should let him hang himself,” Wolff replied the next day. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”

The third message — exchanged between Epstein and Wolff while Trump was well into his first presidential term in January 2019 — appears to touch on the topic of whether Trump had banned Epstein from membership at Mar-a-Lago years earlier. 

“Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” Epstein wrote, “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop”

The full context of these email exchanges is not clear from the portions released by the committee Democrats. 

Wolff in a phone interview on Wednesday said of the 2015 exchange that he couldn’t remember “the specific emails or the context, but I was in an in-depth conversation with Epstein at that time about his relationship with Donald Trump. So I think this reflects that.”

“I was trying at that time to get Epstein to talk about his relationship with Trump, and actually, he proved to be an enormously valuable source to me,” Wolff said. “Part of the context of this is that I was pushing Epstein at that point to go public with what he knew about Trump.”

None of the documents previously made public as part of civil lawsuits or Maxwell’s trial contain allegations of wrongdoing by Trump. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump in July posted a lengthy social media post that in part blamed Democrats for creating a controversy about files related to Epstein, which he called a “scam” and “hoax.”

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘b——–,’ hook, line, and sinker,” he wrote at the time.

Republicans on Wednesday claimed Democrats were selectively choosing documents to “generate click-bait” and that they’re withholding other documents that name Democrat officials. Republicans said they’re still reviewing the documents related to Epstein to protect potential victims. They called on Democrats to stop politicizing the investigation.

“Democrats continue to carelessly cherry-pick documents to generate click-bait that is not grounded in the facts,” a House Oversight Majority spokesperson told ABC News.

The spokesperson added, “The Epstein Estate has produced over 20,000 pages of documents on Thursday, yet Democrats are once again intentionally withholding records that name Democrat officials. The Committee is actively reviewing the documents and will release them publicly once all victim-identifying information has been appropriately redacted. Democrats should stop politicizing this investigation and focus on delivering transparency, accountability, and justice for the survivors.”

Republicans on the Oversight Committee accused their Democratic counterparts of “trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump.”

In a social media post, the Republicans claim that in the 2011 email between Epstein and Maxwell, the Democrats redacted the name “Virginia,” a likely reference to prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who had made extensive public comments about her exploitation by Epstein, but had never accused Trump of any wrong-doing.  The Republicans said that the Epstein Estate had not redacted Virginia’s name when providing the records to the committee.

“Why did Democrats cover up the name when the Estate didn’t redact it in the redacted documents provided to the committee?” the Republicans’ posted on X. “It’s because this victim, Virginia Giuffre, publicly said that she never witnessed wrongdoing by President Trump. Democrats are trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump. Shame on them.”

Giuffre died by apparent suicide earlier this year. Her memoir, “Nobody’s Girl,” was published posthumously last month. 

The email with Virginia’s name unredacted was provided to ABC News by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.

The publication of the emails comes on the same day that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is scheduled to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who won a special election last month.

Once sworn in, Grijalva is expected to provide the final signature on a discharge petition to force a vote on a House bill that would compel the Department of Justice to release the government’s full investigative files on Epstein. 

The earliest that vote could happen is the first week of December, after the Thanksgiving recess.

“The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the Oversight committee, which is conducting an investigation into the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein.

“The more Donald Trump tries to cover-up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President,” Garcia said.

The Trump administration has been dogged by controversy over the Epstein files since the DOJ — in an unsigned statement earlier this year — announced that the department would not be making its files public, despite earlier promises by members of the Trump administration for transparency.

The statement said that the government had not turned up evidence of a “client list” or credible evidence that “Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”

The Oversight committee issued a bipartisan subpoena to the DOJ in August for all records related to Epstein and Maxwell.

The DOJ has so far produced only a small fraction of the documents and other evidence gathered by federal investigators over the course of multiple investigations into Epstein’s alleged international sex-trafficking operation. 

It’s not clear if the email messages the estate provided to the committee are also in the possession of the DOJ.

After Epstein’s arrest in 2019, President Trump said he hadn’t spoken to him in 15 years. Earlier this year, Trump claimed he ended his association with Epstein in the early 2000s after discovering that Epstein and Maxwell were allegedly poaching employees from Mar-a-Lago.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking young girls and women.

Maxwell, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Texas for child sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Epstein.

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(WASHINGTON) — The House will be in session on Wednesday for the first time in 54 days, with all eyes on a vote to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The House is expected to hold first votes shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government with a final vote after 7 p.m.

Wednesday marks the 43rd day of the shutdown, shattering the previous 35-day record.

Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the “national nightmare” of the shutdown will soon come to an end. He issued an apology to Americans who are dealing with flight delays, food insecurity and those who have missed paychecks as a result of the weekslong impasse — for which he blamed Democrats.

“And I just want to say that we’re very optimistic about the vote tally tonight, and we think this is going to happen, and we’re sorry that it took this long. So Republicans are going to deliver for the people,” Johnson said. 

The Senate on Monday night passed the deal to fund the government through Jan. 30, 2026, plus provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and WIC, its program for women, infants and children; veterans programs and military construction. It also includes language to reverse Trump administration firings during the shutdown and to ensure furloughed workers receive backpay.

It passed in a 60-40 vote, after eight Democrats broke ranks with the party and joined Republicans to bring the weekslong impasse to a close.

Johnson, earlier this week, had advised members to begin making their way back to Washington as travel delays persist across the country. The House has been out of session since Sept. 19.

Once Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva is sworn in, Johnson can only afford to lose two Republican votes if all members are present and voting. There could also be a handful of moderate Democrats who support the legislation, though Democratic leadership is whipping against it.

Despite the fact that it reverses some of his administration’s actions during the shutdown, President Donald Trump signaled he would sign the deal.

“I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good,” Trump said on Monday.

Democrats are now dealing with infighting as the shutdown ends without any of the Democratic demands on health care, but sources told ABC News that Senate Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the Affordable Care Act in December.

Though Johnson notably would not commit to holding a vote in the House on the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“I do not guarantee the outcome of legislation or dates or deadlines or anything,” he said on Monday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the Senate deal, said House Democrats are considering a discharge petition related to the ACA subsidies, but declined to provide specifics on the plan.

“We’ll continue that fight today, tomorrow, this week, next week, this month, next month, this year, next year. We’re going to continue that fight to fix our broken health care system and lower the high cost of living for the American people and the American people know that we’re on the right side of this fight,” Jeffries said on Monday.

Such a move would require 218 signatures to force a vote in the House. There are several House Republicans who have advocated for a one-year extension of the ACA tax credits, though it’s unlikely Johnson would support this effort.

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(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson will swear in Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva — who won a special election seven weeks ago — before the House government funding vote set for Wednesday.

Johnson has previously said he’ll swear in Grijalva — who won her special election on Sept. 23 — when the House returns for legislative session. Johnson’s office confirmed to ABC News that the swearing-in will occur before the House takes votes on Wednesday, the first time in 54 days.

The House will hold first votes as early as 4 p.m. ET on Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government, according to a notice from House Republican Whip Tom Emmer.

Grijalva’s win was four days after Johnson dismissed lawmakers following House passage of the clean continuing resolution to fund the government.

While the question has followed the speaker throughout the shutdown, Johnson has shrugged off the delay in Grijalva’s swearing-in, arguing that his decision is not about Grijalva’s intent to become the decisive signature on a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on compelling the Department of Justice to release the complete files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

The state of Arizona sued the House of Representatives over the speaker’s decision to not swear in Grijalva during the government shutdown and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed their opposition to Johnson’s decision.

Grijalva said in a statement on Monday that she is traveling back to Washington, D.C., for her swearing in and the shutdown vote.

“While I am eager to get to work, I am disappointed that one of my first votes will be on a bill that does nothing to protect working people from skyrocketing premiums, loss of health coverage, or do anything significant to rein in Trump’s abuse of power,” she said, referring to the Senate funding bill.

When could a vote on the Epstein files discharge petition occur?

Once Grijalva signs the discharge petition, a procedural maneuver to bypass House leadership on forcing floor votes on legislation, it will have reached the necessary threshold for a vote to be forced in the lower chamber. The magic number is 218 votes — a majority of the House’s 435 members. 

Grijalva is expected to sign the petition after she is sworn in.

The petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, would then need to “ripen” — meaning it would receive floor consideration after seven legislative days, according to House Rules. After that, any member who signed the petition could call up the measure and notify of an intention to offer a discharge motion on the floor. 

So the earliest the House will hold a vote on the discharge petition is in early December after the chamber’s Thanksgiving recess.

Speaker Johnson has been opposed to this effort, pointing to the work being done by the House Oversight Committee on Epstein.

The committee has released thousands of records related to Epstein, provided by the Department of Justice. Some of documents released by the committee include public court filings and transcripts from his associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, previously released flight logs from Epstein’s plane, already-public Bureau of Prisons communications the night of Epstein’s death and various other public court papers from Epstein’s criminal case in Florida. Maxwell has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking young girls and women.

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(WASHINGTON) — Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, announced late Tuesday that he would run for Congress in 2026. 

Schlossberg, 32, said he would seek a seat representing New York’s 12th congressional district, which is held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, who announced in September that he wouldn’t run for reelection. 

Schlossberg positioned his run as a response in part to the economic agenda put forth by Republicans and President Donald Trump, including Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Schlossberg said had led to a “cost of living crisis” with historic “cuts to social programs working families rely on. Health care, education, child care.”

“We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives,” Schlossberg, whose full name is John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, said on Instagram as he announced his run.

He added, “With control of Congress, there’s nothing we can’t do. Without it, we’re helpless to a third term.”

The president in late October appeared to acknowledge that he cannot run for a third term, after previously declining to rule out the possibility.

The political heir, a Yale and Harvard alumnus who is running as a Democrat, in a press release also sought to burnish his status as a member of that party.

The release noted that he had “has spoken across the country as a surrogate for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” as well as speaking a the most recent Democratic National Convention.

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(WASHINGTON) — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is close to being over as the House is slated to convene on Wednesday to vote on the federal spending bill.

The Senate passed the measure Monday night with eight members of the Democratic caucus joining Republicans.

President Donald Trump said he supports the deal, and pushed for its passage in the House. If it passes and if Trump signs it, federal agencies and services are expected to immediately return.  

Here’s what to know about the implications of the bill that addresses SNAP benefits, federal workers and more.

When will the government reopen?

The bill reopens the government through Jan. 30, 2026, starting at the time Trump signs the legislation.

Some agencies, like the Department of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, will be funded for the remainder of the fiscal year.

When will SNAP benefits resume?

The bill includes a provision to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of September 2026.

The money will immediately go out to SNAP beneficiaries once the bill is signed.

Federal courts ordered the administration to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown, however, the Supreme Court paused the order as the appeals litigation continued.

When will federal workers go back to work?

At least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed during the shutdown, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Furloughed workers will be expected to return to work after the bill is signed.

When will employees receive back pay?

Federal workers deemed essential, including Capitol Police officers, TSA workers and air traffic controllers, had been forced to work without pay during the shutdown.

During the shutdown, the administration issued layoffs for federal workers in various agencies.

The Senate bill includes language to reverse Trump administration firings due to the shutdown and ensures that furloughed workers receive back pay.

Trump signaled Monday that he would abide by the Senate reversing his administration’s mass firing.

“I will be. I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good,” Trump told ABC News’ Karen Travers.

All federal workers are entitled to back pay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which was signed into law by Trump during his first term in office.

The law covers both furloughed employees and those required to work without pay during a government shutdown.

When will air traffic controllers be fully staffed?

The shortage of air traffic controllers, who were not furloughed, was so dire during the shutdown that the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to reduce flights by 10% at 40 airports — leading to thousands of flights being canceled and delayed across the country.

As many as 15-20 resigned during the shutdown, according to the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Amid the shutdown, Trump said in a social media post on Monday that he was recommending a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who did not take any time off during the shutdown, though he did not provide specifics on how that would be done.

To those who took time off, he said, “I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” and called for them to leave the profession “with NO payment or severance of any kind,” despite ongoing staffing shortages.

Once the Department of Transportation sees staffing levels return to pre-shutdown levels, it will ease the 10% flight cuts.

It is still unknown how the controllers will respond to the shutdown’s waning hours.

When will flights go back to normal?

It is not immediately clear how long it will take for flights return to their normal schedules and capacity once the spending bill is signed.

When asked on Monday by ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers if he could guarantee to Americans that travel will go back to normal once the government re-opens, Trump responded, “It’ll go better than normal,” and talked about upgrading technology in control towers, though he did not address the personnel issues.

Where do ACA subsidies stand?

Affordable Care Act subsidies demanded by Democrats were not included in the Senate bipartisan deal to reopen the government.

The enhanced ACA tax credits don’t expire until Dec. 31, and if no deal is reached, health premiums will jump for over 20 million Americans.

Sources told ABC News Monday that Senate Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the ACA in December.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday that he would not commit to holding a vote in the House on the subsidies.                                                    

– ABC News’ Justin Gomez, Alexandra Hutzler and Sam Sweeny contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations north of the Caribbean Sea as part of the Trump administration’s campaign against drug cartels, the Navy’s Fourth Fleet announced Wednesday.

The carrier’s deployment to assist in operations against Latin American drug cartels was announced on Oct. 24 while it was on a port of call in Croatia. Since then it has made the lengthy transit through the Mediterranean Sea and across the Atlantic Ocean.

Typically the Pentagon’s announcements that a carrier group has entered a regional area of operations occur when they have crossed the furthest limits of that area, which for SOUTHCOM means somewhere in the Atlantic east of Florida and Cuba.

The strike group includes three destroyers that will augment the eight Navy surface ships already in the SOUTHCOM region. The sizable U.S. military presence in the region also includes a submarine, reconnaissance aircraft, 10 F-35 fighters and Reaper drones.

It was disclosed last week through imagery that an AC-130J gunship and two other reconnaissance aircraft have been operating from an El Salvador military base co-located at the country’s international airport, presumably as part of operations against the cartels.

The Ford carries more than 60 aircraft that could be used against the drug cartels.

“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said.

The Trump administration says it has killed 76 people in 19 strikes against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean since it began its campaign in September.

The 4,000 sailors and Marines aboard ships in the Ford strike group join the 10,000 troops already deployed to the Caribbean.

The Pentagon has said that the carrier’s deployment is tied to the operations targeting the drug cartels, but critics have asked if it is intended to be a show of force or potential operations targeting Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro regime.

Experts say that while Maduro is complicit in the drug trade, many of the drugs coming into the U.S. come via Mexico and sea routes in the Pacific, not the Caribbean, which is known more for shipping drugs to Europe.

The administration has flown B-52 bombers near the coast of Venezuela and B-1 bombers over the Caribbean in what appears to be a major show of force by President Donald Trump.

In addition, a special operations aviation unit conducted training exercises in international waters near Venezuela in October, a U.S. official said.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama gave a group of war heroes a surprise they will never forget.

The former president surprised a flight of Korean and Vietnam War veterans on an honor flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Washington, D.C., ahead of Veterans Day, according to a video he posted on X.

“Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC. To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day,” Obama posted alongside the video on X. 

Obama came aboard the flight and shared a special message on the intercom of the plane for the veterans.

“Hello, everybody. As we approach Veterans Day, I wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service. To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored, and we are very grateful,” Obama can be seen telling the veterans upon touchdown in D.C. in the video.

The veterans were flying to D.C. on behalf of the Honor Flight Network, a nonprofit that provides flights to veterans and their families to visit monuments in the nation’s capital.

“Participation in an Honor Flight trip gives veterans the opportunity to share this momentous occasion with other comrades, remember the fallen, and share their stories and experiences with other veterans. Honored veterans always travel free of charge, thanks to generous donations to our organization,” their website reads.

The nonprofit has flown over 300,000 veterans to D.C. in the past 20 years, according to their website.

Obama also took to his Medium account to reflect on meeting the veterans and thank all who have served in the U.S. military for their service.

“To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day,” Obama said.

The Honor Flight Network did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. economy is strong and insisted polls showing Americans are feeling economic pain are “fake” during an interview on Fox News that aired on Monday night.

Trump said bad news about the economy amounted to a “con job by the Democrats,” adding Democrats “feed” major news network anchors with the message the economy is bad and then “every anchor” does “exactly what they say.”

“I’ll never forget, they used a word like ‘manufactured,'” Trump said in the interview. “You remember the word ‘manufacture’? It’s a ‘manufactured’ economy. Nobody uses that word. Every anchor broke in ‘manufactured.’ They do exactly what they say. It’s such a rigged system.”

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.8% in the second quarter in the government’s final estimate, besting a 3.3% rate issued in its second estimate and far exceeding a 3% initial estimate. But consumer prices rose 3% in September compared to a year ago, with inflation at its highest level since January, the most-recent government data showed. The inflation reading came in lower than economists’ expectations.

Trump defended his handling of the economy, saying that costs are “way down” across the board.

“So are you ready? Costs are way down,” Trump said. “Gasoline is going to be hitting $2 pretty soon, or around $2. Gasoline is at $2.70 now and it was at $4.50 under Biden, under sleepy Joe. When gasoline comes down, when energy comes down — and everybody agrees energy is down — we drill, you know, drill, baby drill. We’re going like wild.”

The average consumer price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. was $3.072 on Tuesday, according to AAA, which said the average price was $3.083 a gallon a year ago.

Trump was also pressed about a rollout by his administration for a 50-year mortgage option, something that faced criticism on social media as critics pointed out that the extended payoff timeline would mean Americans would pay more in interest than they would through the life of a shorter loan.

Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host, suggested to Trump that longer loans could be construed as a “giveaway to the banks” and would simply be “prolonging the time it would take for Americans to own a home outright.”

Trump pushed back on Ingraham, saying that “all it means is you pay less per month.”

“You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit,” Trump said. “But even with interest rates up, the economy is the strongest it’s ever been. You know, you asked me, just to go back to the beginning of your question, you talked about prices. We’re down on energy. We’re down on interest rates.”

Trump was also pressed about the controversial demolition of the East Wing to make way for the large ballroom that’s being constructed now.

“Well, first of all, the East Wing was a beautiful, little, tiny structure that was built many years ago, that was renovated and expanded and disbanded and columns ripped out, and it had nothing to do with the original building,” he said. “It was a poor, sad sight, and I could have built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been — we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world, by the way.”

“But the East Wing, that building was renovated 20 times, including adding a floor to the top, which was terrible, Trump continued. “It was at a common brick little, tiny windows. It looked like hell. It had nothing to do with the original building, and I didn’t want to sacrifice a great ballroom for an okay ballroom by leaving it right smack in the middle.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Trump met on Monday at the White House with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the White House said.

The visit marked the first time a Syrian president has ever visited the White House and is viewed as a crucial first step in normalizing U.S.-Syria relations.

The White House did not allow reporters and cameras access to the meeting.

Al-Sharaa is the former leader of U.S.-designated terror group al-Qaeda who was once wanted by the U.S. as a terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head. He has even served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

A senior Trump administration official said Trump and al-Sharaa were expected to focus on counterterrorism efforts in Syria, and to discuss the signing of an agreement for Syria to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. The coalition includes some 80 countries working to prevent a resurgence of the extremist group, according to the official.

It’s also the third meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa this year, as the Syrian leader confronts the challenges of rebuilding the country, seeking to restore ties with Arab countries and the West after years of civil war under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The Assad regime’s fall brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war.

Al-Sharaa arrived in Washington on Saturday and held meetings with members of Congress over the weekend, including with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Republican who represents a district in Florida.

Mast shared in a statement that he and al-Sharaa “broke bread” and had a “long and serious conversation about how to build a future for the people of Syria free of war, ISIS, and extremism.”

“He and I are two former soldiers and two former enemies. I asked him directly ‘Why we are no longer enemies?’” Mast revealed.

“His response was that he wishes to ‘liberate from the past and have a noble pursuit for his people and his country and to be a great ally to the United States of America,'” Mast shared in the statement.

The U.S. on Friday removed sanctions on al-Sharaa just one day after the United Nations Security Council lifted similar sanctions ahead of his meeting with Trump.

According to a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department website, the United States removed Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations on Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister, Anas Khattab.

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(WASHINGTON) — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing its end, after senators suddenly advanced a funding deal over the weekend after 40 days of little progress.

The agreement still needs to pass the Senate and the House before going to President Donald Trump’s desk. In the meantime, pain continues to grow for Americans on everything from food assistance to air travel.

Here’s a timeline of major developments from the weekslong impasse.

Oct. 1: The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. after competing Republican and Democratic proposals that would have funded the government failed in the Senate at the eleventh hour. The Democrat bill included extensions for health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act while the Republicans’ “clean” bill would have funded the government at current levels until Nov. 1.

Oct. 10: The Trump administration begins to lay off thousands of federal workers. Agencies impacted include the Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security and Treasury departments.

Oct. 14: Two weeks into the shutdown with virtually no progress, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicts they are headed toward “one of the longest shutdowns in American history.” The House has remained out of session the entire shutdown after Republican members passed a clean, seven-week funding bill in mid-September.

Oct. 15: The Pentagon says that troops have been paid and will not miss a paycheck due to the shutdown after shifting existing funds.

Oct. 24: More than 500,000 federal employees miss their first full paycheck. Days later, the president of the country’s largest union representing federal workers called on lawmakers to pass a short-term spending bill to end the shutdown, a statement seized on by Republicans to ramp up pressure on Democrats.

Oct. 30: President Trump, after weeklong overseas trip, inserts himself in the shutdown showdown by calling on Senate Republicans to terminate the filibuster in order to unilaterally reopen the government. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly rejected Trump’s demand.

Nov. 1: Funds run dry for SNAP benefits, leaving 42 million Americans vulnerable — and setting off a complex legal fight between the administration and states. Plus, open enrollment begins for Affordable Care Act recipients with prices for insurance premiums skyrocketing next year.

Nov. 4: The Senate fails for the 14th time to advance a clean, short-term funding bill.

Nov. 5: The shutdown becomes the longest in U.S. history. Trump brings Senate Republicans to the White House to talk shutdown, after Republican losses in key elections across the country. Democrats capitalize on election wins to argue Republicans should negotiate with them on health care.

Nov. 7: Air travel is even more heavily impacted as the Federal Aviation Administration begins to reduce flight capacity at major airports across the country. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer put on the table a Democratic proposal for a short-term extension of government funding that includes a one-year extension of ACA subsidies. Republicans quickly rejected the offer.

Nov. 8: Thune said he plans to keep the Senate in session until the government is funded, and said Republicans will push forward with a plan to advance a short-term funding bill with a “mini-bus” of three, full-year funding bills for SNAP benefits and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, as well as veterans programs. Schumer calls it a “terrible mistake” for Republicans to have rebuffed Democrats’ offer.

Nov. 9: A sudden breakthrough moment on Capitol Hill as senators reach a bipartisan deal to end the shutdown. Eight Democrats vote with Republicans to advance the measure in a 60-40 vote.

The bill does not include any of the Democratic demands on health care, but sources told ABC News that Republican leadership promised to allow a vote on a bill of Democrats’ choosing related to the ACA in December.

It also includes a new government funding extension of Jan. 30, 2026; language to reverse Trump administration firings during the shutdown; and to ensure furlough workers receive backpay.

Nov. 10: Senate reconvenes to move ahead on the deal, with questions remaining on how fast they can get it done. Speaker Johnson tells House members to start returning to Washington immediately, and says the House will vote as quickly as possible on the funding bill once it clears the Senate to send it to President Trump’s desk.

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