Congress passes DOGE spending cuts as Trump orders release of ‘pertinent’ Epstein files

Federal grand juries are investigative bodies that hear testimony from witnesses and issue subpoenas, but it’s unclear if the material gathered during this secretive panel would advance the public’s understanding of the Jeffrey Epstein case — as it’s not a complete record of the investigation, just enough to get an indictment.

The Department of Justice is expected to ask a judge to release additional material, which is typically kept secret — but it’s unclear what they will argue that will convince a judge to release additional material that has been held back to protect victims and accusers.

A Justice Department official confirmed the government is expected to file the request in federal court in Manhattan at some point today.

What’s been made public already: Some transcripts related to the 2006 Florida grand jury investigation into Epstein have already been released. The public also received information throughout the course of the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022 for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls.

Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi did not address what might become of FBI notes or interviews conducted outside of the grand jury process. Those are often much more voluminous, and — even if they don’t ultimately become relevant to the criminal case — could enhance public understanding of a matter.

President Donald Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency after being examined for swelling in his legs, the White House announced yesterday.

It’s a condition in which valves inside certain veins don’t work the way they should, which can allow blood to pool or collect in the veins. About 150,000 people are diagnosed with it each year, and the risk goes up with age.

Watch the explanation from CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

Steve Bannon speaks with at Turning Point's AmericaFest in Phoenix in December.

Steve Bannon said Friday that the Wall Street Journal story about a Jeffrey Epstein birthday letter bearing Donald Trump’s name has united the president’s supporters behind him once again on an issue that, up until last evening, had put him at odds with many members of his base.

Bannon was one of several of Trump’s high-profile supporters who had chastised his administration’s handling of the Epstein case and helped keep the issue alive despite Trump’s repeated attempts to dismiss the backlash.

Bannon also praised Trump’s move asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to unseal pertinent grand jury testimony related to Epstein, calling it a “good start.”

“Good start but stay on offense—it’s when Trump is @ his best –attack, attack, attack,” Bannon wrote when asked whether such a move will be enough to quell the pressure for more of the so-called Epstein files to be released.

Bannon is a longtime critic of Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch, whom Trump has vowed to sue — along with the newspaper — over the story about the birthday letter, which he denies is from him.

Rupert Murdoch arrives for the inauguration of President Donald Trump at the Capitol Rotunda on January 20.

President Donald Trump said he would want Rupert Murdoch to testify after vowing to sue the Wall Street Journal and its owner over the outlet’s story detailing a 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump’s name.

A collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday included a note bearing Trump’s name and an outline of a naked woman, according to the WSJ report. The drawing, depicting a woman’s breasts and a “Donald” signature in the place of pubic hair, surrounded several lines of typewritten text, according to the newspaper, which reviewed the letter. It concluded with the line: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump in an interview with the Journal on Tuesday denied that he wrote the letter or drew the picture and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story.

“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third-rate newspaper,” Trump posted on Truth Social last night after the story posted.

Here’s what the president’s day looks like so far today:

We’ll update you with any additional events as we get them.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson would not commit to bringing a non-binding resolution calling for the release of more Jeffrey Epstein-related materials to the floor, after the resolution was advanced by the House Rules Committee. Instead, he argued that the point of that committee vote was to allow his GOP Rules members to go on the record supporting transparency in the Epstein case, since committee Democrats had forced politically tough votes on the issue throughout the week.

“We will see how all of this develops. We’re in line with the White House, there’s no daylight between us,” he said in the early hours of Friday morning.

Johnson emphasized that House Republicans support President Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case.

The speaker also touted the House’s final passage of a package codifying some DOGE spending cuts, saying he was “delighted” to move it to the president’s desk.

The House in the early hours of Friday passed the package of $9 billion in spending cuts, which is part of the White House’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency efforts.

It now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

Effect on public broadcasting and international aid: Roughly $8 billion will be taken from congressionally approved foreign aid programs as part of the White House’s efforts to dismantle the US Agency for International Development. Another $1.1 billion comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund NPR and PBS.

Public television stations will be “forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead,” PBS CEO Paula Kerger said yesterday. Advocates say the entire system of noncommercial media will become weaker without the foundational support from taxpayers, resulting in fewer original shows and less local news coverage.

Government funding: Passage of the bill, however, now raises questions about how and whether Democrats and Republicans will be able to work together to keep the government funded past the September 30 deadline. Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer argued the process has cast doubt on whether Democrats can work in good faith with Republican lawmakers who could agree to a spending deal now and pull future funding later.

CNN’s Brian Stelter contributed reporting.

From left: Donald Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.

The House of Representatives passed the DOGE spending cuts package overnight. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he’d ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “any and all pertinent” grand jury testimony in the case of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Get up to speed here:

• DOGE cuts package: House Republicans gave the final stamp of approval overnight to a package of $9 billion in spending cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting, handing a win to Trump.

Congress passed the package — which is part of Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency efforts — under an obscure presidential budget law used to circumvent the Senate filibuster. The measure will now head to the president to be signed into law.

Trump is the first president in roughly 30 years to successfully use the maneuver.

• Holdup over Epstein: Ahead of final passage, however, the package ran into problems in the narrowly divided House, as some of the same members demanded a separate and unrelated promise from GOP leadership calling for more transparency on the Epstein files.

Ultimately, the committee voted Thursday night to advance the DOGE cuts package as well as a non-binding resolution that calls for the release of additional Epstein files following intense talks from a number of Republicans who asked for more transparency surrounding the case. There is nothing that would compel this to the floor, however.

• Wall Street Journal report: A collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003 included a note bearing Trump’s name and an outline of a naked woman, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The drawing, depicting a woman’s breasts and a “Donald” signature in the place of pubic hair, surrounded several lines of typewritten text, according to the newspaper, which reviewed the letter. It concluded with the line: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump in an interview with the Journal on Tuesday denied that he wrote the letter or drew the picture and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story.

• Epstein files: Trump then announced last night on Truth Social that he’s asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony,” related to Epstein, seeming to bow to pressure to release more material on the case.

Bondi quickly reposted Trump’s comments on X and wrote: “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.” Her department could ask judges to make such material public, but the process could be lengthy as the courts weigh privacy and other concerns.