Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove — the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump’s defense attorney — to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove’s lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove’s nomination, but Grassley declined.

“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked Grassley.

“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?” Booker asked.

More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove’s nomination.

He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

Adams and Bove have both denied any such “quid pro quo” arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”

“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”

More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration’s immigration actions.

Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying “f— you” to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.

“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”

Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.

Responding to the former DOJ officials’ letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”

“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate narrowly approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget, including funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting.

The final vote early Thursday morning was 51-48 with Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting with Democrats against the rescissions bill.

President Donald Trump requested the cuts, which include significant cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The passage marks a win for Trump, who called the cuts a priority even though some Republicans voiced opposition.

A number of Republicans that represent states with rural communities — such as Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota — have expressed concerns about cuts to public broadcasting that could affect the ability of certain communities to access emergency alerts.

The bill now returns to the House with a deadline for final passage on Friday. The House must pass the bill on or before Friday in order to meet the deadline on this package.

The final vote happened after an hourslong and slow-moving vote-a-rama — or marathon voting session — during which Democrats offered numerous amendments to the bill. The bulk of Democratic amendments focused on trying to fight back against cuts to both public broadcast and global health that are in the bill.

The Senate’s process to advance the package began on Tuesday night when Republicans narrowly advanced the rescissions package with the assist of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President J.D. Vance.

Three Republicans crossed the aisle on Tuesday night to cast votes against the bill after raising concerns about the lack of detail in the White House’s rescission plan: Sens. Collins, Murkowski and Mitch McConnell.

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(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, met Wednesday with congressional Democrats in Washington as he continues his outreach to members of New York’s congressional delegation, some of whom still have not said whether they’ll endorse him.

Some of those members have pointed to concerns over his progressive policy proposals or how he has declined to criticize the pro-Palestinian phrase “Globalize the intifada,” although he himself has not used the phrase and has emphasized policies to combat antisemitism.

Most members leaving a breakfast meeting organized by key ally Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at a Washington restaurant did not disclose what was discussed, although Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., said the meeting was focused on strategizing after Mamdani’s stunning win in the primary and Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., a Muslim member of Congress, told ABC News that the meeting was focused on skills Mamdani could share and about his background.

“It was a ‘skill-share’ where he just talked about the way in which he’s embodied his experience as an organizer, as a local elected, but also like as a young Muslim man, born and raised in one of the most diasporic cities in the world, and as a Muslim elected, I was not only inspired by it, I learned a lot.”

When asked by ABC News if she thinks Mamdani is appealing to moderates, Simon said, “Listen, he’s winning,” and praised his ability to reach out to people across races and backgrounds.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., continues to hedge on whether he’ll endorse Mamdani but is set to meet with him in New York this week.

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that members showed up in good faith even if they weren’t fully onboard with him.

Asked what she’d say to skeptics, including members of the New York delegation who haven’t endorsed Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez responded, “Get to know him. You know, this is not about having any kind of hard line. I think that, if anybody is skeptical, I would say, get to know him. And once you get into a room with him, kick the tires yourself and make your own assessment, instead of just kind of making assessments from what you may see on television.”

Later, while leaving votes at the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez said discussion around the phrase “Globalize the intifada” did not come up at the event.

Mamdani has faced questions about comments he made about the controversial phrase while speaking on a podcast hosted by “The Bulwark”, where he said he could see that and similar phrases being reflective of “standing up for Palestinian human rights” and that he did not want to discuss the “the permissibility of language.”

He has emphasized hearing and understanding different perspectives on the phrase, which some say is a call for nonviolent uprising by Palestinians against Israeli control; others see it as a call for violence against Israelis and/or Jews. Mamdani has not used the phrase himself.

He has also emphasized policies to protect Jews and to combat antisemitism in New York.

President Donald Trump has attacked the Democratic socialist as a “100% Communist Lunatic” and a “nutjob” and other Republicans have used him to depict Democrats as “radical socialists” and out of step with the country.

Asked by a reporter if she thinks the Democratic Party is moving in a more socialist direction, Rep. Debbie Dingell said, “It’s a question by the media to try to stigmatize the Democratic Party. Every member of Congress runs in a district that is unique, and we all can learn from each other.”

Dingell praised Mamdani as “bright” and praised his campaigning.

“Donald Trump and he both get out and they talk to people, and they listen to people, and they understand how people feel. And he’s using social media the way that Donald Trump has,” she said. “And you know what? All of us in life have different perspectives, different experiences … everybody can learn from — if we take the time to listen to each other, see what they’re doing. Learn. We can all learn.”

Some congressional Democrats said they still had doubts about Mamdani.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, whose New York district partially includes a swath of Queens, told reporters on Wednesday that he was still critical of how Mamdani’s policy proposals could mean higher taxes and that he has not decided if he’ll endorse a candidate in the general election for mayor.

Asked by ABC News if he had considered going to the breakfast hosted by Ocasio-Cortez, he said, “I have other things on my calendar.”

The meeting came two days after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded in the Democratic primary, said he would actively run an independent bid for mayor. Mamdani is also set to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden.

After the meeting organized by Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani went to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a fellow democratic socialist who had endorsed Mamdani during the primary.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting as he prepared to catch a train back to New York, Mamdani said both the meeting with Democrats and the meeting with Sanders went well, and that he and the Democrats discussed “just the ways in which you want to unite the party.”

Asked if he’s winning over House Democrats who are skeptical about him, Mamdani said, “I think that we are continuing to grow our coalition.”Sanders said, “I think the issues that he’s campaigning on, the need to create a city that is affordable for working class people, is exactly what has to happen in New York.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Even after President Donald Trump called some of his followers “stupid” and “foolish” for their persistent calls for his administration to divulge the details of the Jeffrey Epstein files, many of his most prominent MAGA supporters and congressional Republicans continue to demand answers.

Their calls stemmed from years of media prompts from prominent right wing figures, including Trump himself, who have pushed accusations about the convicted sex offender and alleged human trafficker and the “deep state” that’s protecting the elites that were purportedly his clients.

Right-wing influencers such as Michael Flynn have been pushing for the the list that they believe is in the hands of the Justice Department of Epstein’s clients , who they allege, without evidence, are powerful liberals. Flynn, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters who has pushed QAnon conspiracies related to sex trafficking, went on X Wednesday imploring Trump to reconsider his claim that the Epstein controversy was a “hoax,” contending that the allegations against Epstein were too serious to ignore.

“All we want at this stage is for a modicum of trust to be reestablished between our federal government and the people it is designed to serve,” he said in his post.

“With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this. The roll out of this was terrible, no way around that. Americans want America to be successful, therefore, WE NEED YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL,” Flynn added.

Some congressional Republicans who are among Trump’s strongest supporters have bucked the president’s wishes to drop the subject.

Speaker Mike Johnson said told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that he’s for releasing the files.

“I’m for transparency,” Johnson said. “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of Trump’s fiercest supporters in Congress, told the New York Times, “It’s definitely a full reversal on what was all said beforehand, and people are just not willing to accept it.”

GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters Tuesday, “I think it’s reasonable for the American people to ask who [Epstein] sex trafficked these young women to — if anybody besides himself. And if there were others involved, why haven’t they been prosecuted? That’s a perfectly understandable question, and I think the Justice Department is going to have to answer it.”

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said, “This is the worst one, the worst human trafficking rings in American history, run by this scumbag. And I think the more we know about it, the more we get out there, the better it is,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Tuesday.

The MAGA base’s arguments about the Epstein files grew among podcasters, social media posts and other influencers after Trump’s first term ended

For years, Kash Patel, now Trump’s FBI director, pushed conspiracies related to the Epstein investigation and made baseless allegations about the “deep state.”

Patel called for the public disclosure of the Epstein documents and those of other investigations, arguing in November that Trump “can expose the documents that these folks have written for decades, allowing [their] corrupt activities.”

Dan Bongino, a former Fox News host and now deputy director of the FBI, repeatedly brought up Epstein on his podcast, in interviews and on his social media pages, alleging that the Democrats were covering up the investigation.

“Listen, that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal, please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this,” Bongino said in a 2023 episode of his podcast.

On Wednesday, some of those influencers sounded off on the matter.

Key Trump ally Steve Bannon put pressure on the administration to release more details.

“I’ve argued with the Epstein situation. People want accountability. Even people that are late to this story and don’t know much about Epstein, they think something’s murky here,” he said.

Podcaster Johnson responded to Trump comparing the Epstein case to the other “hoaxes” he frequently cites, arguing that Trump should want all the information on Epstein out there.

“But my point to the president, respectfully, is the only way we know that all those are fake and that that’s all garbage is that the federal is that eventually we got all of the information … So, like, by Trump’s own logic, here, we should be releasing everything, which I think would be a great pressure release valve for all this,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down the nomination of Emil Bove, the controversial top DOJ official who formerly served as President Donald Trump’s defense attorney, to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

“We are all alarmed by DOJ leadership’s recent deviations from constitutional principles and institutional guardrails. We also share a grave concern over the senseless attacks on the dedicated career employees who are the backbone of the Department,” the employees wrote in their letter. “Emil Bove has been a leader in this assault.”

The letter was organized by Justice Connection, a group that has sought to provide legal support for DOJ employees fired or otherwise targeted by the Trump administration.

It comes just one day before Bove’s nomination is set to be voted out of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, where Republican members appear to be unanimous in their approval of him being confirmed for the lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.

He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

Adams and Bove have both denied any such ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”

“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the more than 900 prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”

More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scruitny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump Administration’s immigration actions.

Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying ‘f— you’ to courts who may try to block deportations under the ‘Alien Enemies Act.’

During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.

“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”

Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.

Responding to the letter Wednesday, DOJ official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”

“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump continues to face backlash from his MAGA supporters over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Justice Department and FBI said in a brief memo that a review found no Epstein “client list” and confirmed the disgraced financier died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

The president has tried to shift focus away from the case, urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “whatever she thinks is credible” before going on to claim without evidence the entire thing was what he calls a “Democratic hoax.”

Some Republicans have fueled the Epstein intrigue and conspiracies surrounding the case for years, with Trump himself weighing in several times.

Here’s what Trump has said about Epstein during his first term, on the campaign trail and now as pressure builds on him to release the Epstein files.

2019: Trump distances himself from Epstein: ‘Not a fan’

After Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors in July 2019, Trump was asked about his 2002 comments in which he called Epstein “terrific” in a New York Magazine story.

In response, Trump repeatedly said he wasn’t a “fan” of Epstein.

“Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan. I was not, yeah, a long time ago, I’d say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his.”

In August 2019, after Epstein’s death, Trump retweeted a post that alleged Bill Clinton was connected to Epstein’s death.

When asked about his retweet in an interview, Trump said “what we’re saying is we want an investigation. I want a full investigation, and that’s what I absolutely am demanding. That’s what our attorney general — our great attorney general — is doing.” The attorney general at the time was Bill Barr.

Pressed further on if he really believed the Clintons were involved, Trump didn’t shut it down.

“I have no idea,” he said, but encouraged further questions. “So you have to ask: Did Bill Clinton go to the island? That’s the question. If you find that out, you’re going to know a lot,” Trump said at the time.

Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island.

2020: Trump suggested Epstein may have been killed

In August 2020, during the thick of his reelection campaign, Trump suggested Epstein may have been killed while in federal custody.

The comments went against the findings of then-Attorney General Barr and the New York City medical examiner who ruled the death a suicide.

During an interview with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, Trump was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein who at the time of the interview had just been arrested. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.

“Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out how did it happen,” Trump said. “Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her.”

In August 2023, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump was pressed further on if he believed Epstein committed suicide or not.

“Do you think it’s possible that Epstein was killed?” Carlson asked.

“Oh, sure, it’s possible. I mean, I don’t really believe — I think he probably committed suicide,” Trump said.

2024: Trump asked about Epstein on the campaign trail

In June 2024, Trump was asked if he would release various files — including the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination files and the Epstein files — during an interview with Fox News.

“Would you declassify the Epstein files?” Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy asked. Trump responded, “Yeah, yeah, I would.”

That clip was circulated widely online, including by the Trump War Room — the social media account of Trump’s campaign operation. The account posted it to X with the caption: “President Trump says he will DECLASSIFY the 9/11 Files, JFK Files, and Epstein Files.”

But Trump’s full answer to the question wasn’t shown until it played on Will Cain’s radio show.

Trump went on to say in the exchange with Campos-Duffy: “I don’t know about Epstein so much as I do the others. Certainly about the way he died. It’d be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn’t happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I’d go a long way toward that one.”

In September 2024, Trump made a more firm pledge to release Epstein files during a podcast with Lex Fridman.

Fridman, in conversation with Trump, said “it’s just very strange for a lot of people that the list of clients that went to the island has not been made public.”

“It’s very interesting, isn’t it? It probably will be, by the way, probably,” Trump said.

“If you’re able to, you’ll be –” Fridman started before Trump jumped in.

“Yeah, I’d certainly take a look at it. Now, Kennedy’s interesting because it’s so many years ago,” Trump said. “They do that for danger too, because it endangers certain people, et cetera, et cetera, so Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing but I’d be inclined to do the Epstein. I’d have no problem with it.”

2025: Trump tries to dismiss Epstein files after DOJ, FBI memo prompts GOP backlash

For the first several months of his administration, talk of the Epstein files was mostly left to Trump officials, including Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. In April, Trump said he was unaware of when the files would be released.

Then, after the DOJ and FBI released their memo on July 7, Trump reacted to outrage from his MAGA base.

Trump tried to shut down a question about Epstein during a Cabinet meeting the next day, July 8, right after the deadly flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump shot back to a reporter. “This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking. We have Texas, we have this. We have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”

Trump then turned to defend Bondi in a lengthy social media post on July 12, in which he said his administration and his supporters should prioritize their focus elsewhere.

“We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump wrote in the post.

The story, though, didn’t die down and Trump only appeared to grow more angered by the pushback from his supporters.

On July 15, Trump appeared to put the onus on Bondi for what comes next, saying she should release “whatever she thinks is credible” on Epstein. Later that day, Trump said he didn’t understand the interest in Epstein.

“It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going,” Trump said. He added, “I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going.”

The next day, on July 16, Trump took to social media baselessly blaming Democrats for the files and those who he called “past supporters” of his for the fixation on Epstein.

“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,” Trump wrote on his own conservative social media platform.

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump added.

Trump doubled down on that claim in the Oval Office, calling it a Democratic “hoax.” When asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if the attorney general told him it was a hoax or what evidence he’d seen of that, Trump replied:

“The attorney general, no. I know it’s a hoax. It’s started by Democrats,” Trump insisted. He added “some stupid” and “foolish” Republicans had fallen for it.

ABC News’ Will Steakin contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — A total of 10 Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to reverse its decision to withhold more than $6 billion in federal funds for education programs already appropriated by Congress.

“The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states,” the GOP senators wrote in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought obtained by ABC News.

“This funding goes directly to states and local school districts, where local leaders decide how this funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families,” the letter stated.

Federal aid for schools is typically allocated each year on July 1, but aid was paused on June 30 in an ongoing review of education funding, according to an Education Department memo sent to Congress obtained by ABC News.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., led the group of senators signing onto the letter — a rare rebuke by Republicans of the president’s education policies.

Capito, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), is a staunch supporter of Education Secretary Linda McMahon and her mission to overhaul the Education Department.

The letter encourages Vought to release the funding to states, noting it was already approved by Congress in a short-term spending bill this past spring.

The funding that has been paused includes grants for after-school care, student support, English language and adult education, among other programs.

The senators’ letter comes just days after about two dozen state attorneys general and Democratic governors sued the Trump administration over the funding review that’s left many education leaders scrambling as the school year approaches.

“We want to see students in our states and across the country thrive, whether they are adult learners, students who speak English as a second language, or students who need after-school care so that their parents can work. We believe you share the same goal,” the senators’ letter stated.

In Alabama, where Trump won overwhelmingly in 2024, Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey told ABC News that he’s frustrated the administration decided to halt congressionally appropriated funding in the middle of the summer.

“We’re talking about transparency and consistency and making good on a promise,” Mackey told ABC News. “We’re talking about programs that Congress has already authorized and just three weeks before school starts, you just find that the check is not coming.”

The Education Department referred questions about the funding pause to OMB, which told ABC News many of the programs “grossly misused” government funds to promote a “radical leftwing agenda.”

The Impoundment Control Act — a law that states Congress must consider and review executive branch withholdings of budget authorities – requires OMB to specify the duration of proposed partial-year deferrals.

In a statement to ABC News, an OMB spokesman said no decisions have yet been made.

“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the senators wrote in the letter. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to lift an injunction blocking the administration’s efforts to gut the Education Department allowed the administration to take a step toward fulfilling Trump‘s goal of dismantling the agency completely.

Such a move would require congressional approval.

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, one of the senators who signed the letter, introduced legislation, called “Returning Education to Our States,” that would block grant funds to states and redistribute statutory functions of the department to other agencies.

The proposed legislation hasn’t been taken up in the Senate this year and would likely fail without 60 Senate ‘yes’ votes.

The other Republican senators who signed the letter were: Susan Collins, of Maine; John Boozman, of Arkansas; Katie Britt, of Alabama; Deb Fischer, of Nebraska; John Hoeven, of North Dakota; Jim Justice, of West Virginia; Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky; and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Trump asked a group of Republican lawmakers how they felt about him firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and told them he would “likely” fire Powell “soon,” according to two White House officials and sources familiar with the Tuesday evening meeting.

The Republican lawmakers expressed their approval of Trump’s intention to fire him, according to the White House officials and sources on Wednesday.

According to one lawmaker in the room, President Trump made it clear he wanted Powell gone and signaled he could move in that direction, but the president was also responding to the reception from other Republicans who were on board with the idea.

Trump mentioned this meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying he discussed the “concept of firing him.”

“I said, what do you think? Almost every one of them said I should, but I’m more conservative than they are,” Trump told reporters.

This development follows Trump’s ongoing pressure campaign to get Powell to lower interest rates. Powell has said the Fed would have cut rates by now if it weren’t for inflation concerns as the result of President Trump’s tariff policy.

While a decision on Powell could come at any time or not come at all, sources caution that a decision is not final until President Trump makes an announcement publicly.

Trump on Wednesday dismissed reports that he drafted a letter to fire Powell.

“Are you completely ruling out the idea of firing Jerome Powell?” a reporter asked Trump in the Oval Office.

“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,” Trump said.

Trump allies and top White House officials have been raising questions about the $2.5 billion dollar renovation of two historic Fed buildings on the National Mall, with some suggesting it could be weaponized against Powell to remove him from his role.

“We’re very concerned. He’s doing a little renovation for 2.5 billion of the Fed building — building a — a renovation, and they have a close to $900 million cost overrun. And it’s a shame, but the biggest cost overrun is the cost overrun for interest rates,” Trump said.

ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers asked Trump if he’s calling for an investigation into Powell.

Powell has requested a review of the Federal Reserve’s renovation project by the agency’s inspector general.

While many legal scholars argue that Trump does not have the authority to fire Powell, the Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett told Jon Karl on “This Week” on Sunday that he believes Trump can fire Powell if “there’s cause.”

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, took to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon to issue a stark warning against removing Powell.

“The consequence of firing a Fed chair just because political people don’t agree with that economic decision will be to undermine the credibility of the United States government going forward,” Tillis said. “And I would argue, if it happens, you’re going to see a pretty immediate response. We’ve got to avoid that.”

ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans on Wednesday followed directions from President Donald Trump to move forward with a package of legislation that includes three cryptocurrency measures — a day after hard-liners defied the president and tanked it.

The House passed the procedural motion after the hard-liners failed to advance it on Tuesday. Still there was some drama as several Republicans voted against it before changing their votes.

On Tuesday, Trump said he made a deal with the Republicans who voted against the crypto bills — CLARITY, GENIUS and Anti CBDC Surveillance Act.

Trump — who has said crypto is a top priority for his administration — said in a social media post on Tuesday that he met in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 GOP members needed to pass the package and that they “all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule.” Trump did not provide specifics about the deal.

That conservatives who voted against the rule on Tuesday wanted the crypto bills combined into one big package, rather than take separate standalone votes on each measure.

Johnson on Tuesday thanked Trump for helping lock down the necessary votes to advance the crypto legislation.

“I’m thankful for President Trump getting involved tonight to ensure that we can pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow and agreeing again to help us advance additional crypto legislation in the coming days,” Johnson said, referencing the name of one of the bills.

Earlier Tuesday, a dozen House Republicans bucked Trump and Johnson to prevent the legislation from advancing on the floor — joining the entire Democratic caucus — and, at least temporarily, freezing activity in the House. The final tally was 196-223.

Johnson had said earlier that while he anticipated that there may be enough opposition to defeat the effort, he felt that it was “important” to try to advance the bills. Republicans have a narrow majority in the House — with 220 Republicans compared to 212 Democrats.

“This is the legislative process. We have some members who really, really want to emphasize the House’s product,” Johnson said. “They want to, want to push that and merge them together. We’re trying to work with the White House and with our Senate partners on this. I think everybody is insistent that we’re going to do all three, but some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.”

Trump touted the legislation on Tuesday, urging Republicans to advance the bills.

“The GENIUS Act is going to put our Great Nation lightyears ahead of China, Europe, and all others, who are trying endlessly to catch up, but they just can’t do it,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday. “Digital Assets are the FUTURE, and we are leading by a lot! Get the first Vote done this afternoon (ALL REPUBLICANS SHOULD VOTE YES!).”

The vote came during what the White House is calling “Crypto Week” and marks a rare instance when House Republicans have defied Trump’s direction.

Trump, who launched his own crypto meme coin earlier this year, recently said he is a “fan of crypto” and called it a “very powerful industry” that the U.S. has “dominated.”

“I’m president. And what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important,” Trump said last month. “If we didn’t have it, China would.”

Once a crypto skeptic, Trump and his family have fully immersed themselves in the cryptocurrency marketplace, developing not only the $TRUMP meme coin, but also a bitcoin mining firm, a stablecoin firm and a crypto reserve.

ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump continued Wednesday to dismiss calls within his own party for more transparency into the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and made claims, without evidence, that the controversy was designed to undermine him.

In a lengthy social media post, which included references to the president’s previous claims about the 2017 Russian election interference probe, Trump blamed Democrats for creating what 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.

Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have come under fire from conservatives on the Hill and across the country for declining to release the Epstein probe files in their entirety.

The Justice Department and FBI last week stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a “client list” of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Bondi should explain the administration’s handling of the case especially after she told Fox News in February that Epstein’s alleged “client list” was “sitting on my desk now to review.”

Johnson also did not rule out responding to growing calls from Republican lawmakers to have Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, testify before Congress.

“I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent in this,” Johnson said when asked about Maxwell potentially testifying before Congress.

In his post, Trump disavowed those who focus on the Epstein story rather than his accomplishments.

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump said.

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