House Members Force New Vote on Epstein Files
By CHRIS MARQUETTE
A newly completed discharge petition will pave the way for legislation allowing states to sue DOJ.
The House is set to vote in the coming weeks on a new effort to disgorge Justice Department files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after lawmakers completed a petition forcing the legislation to the floor.
Rep. John Garamendi of California signed the 218th and final signature on a discharge petition Wednesday, triggering a process that sidesteps House Republican leaders and could force a vote later this month.
The underlying bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, allows survivors of Epstein’s abuse and state attorneys general to file federal lawsuits against the Justice Department to force the release of additional materials related to Epstein, among other measures. It also gives members of Congress the ability to demand unredacted files from the department.
Four Republicans previously signed the petition: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
Massie, who introduced the bill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Garamendi.
It is a followup to the original Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed in November 2025 after a long effort by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force the release of DOJ files related to Epstein.
The department subsequently released a large trove of documents, but lawmakers and victims called the disclosure late and incomplete.
2 HOURS AGO
Warren, Coons tell Trump officials to preserve Nvidia chip export records
The request is the latest fallout from an espionage scandal engulfing Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
“This incident raises significant concerns about the federal government’s ability to effectively enforce our export controls and protect our national security,” wrote Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Chris Coons (Del.) in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
The senators gave the officials until Nov. 17 to confirm they have issued preservation directives, and asked them to brief Congress on the risks the suspected Chinese intelligence operation may have posed to national security, according to the letter, which was obtained by POLITICO.
Warren and Coons, who are expected to lead the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations committees when Democrats take control of the chamber in January, said the records would inform their committees’ oversight of export controls and foreign relations.
The letter is the latest fallout from an espionage scandal engulfing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang had two extramarital affairs. One was with Alice Huang, a former senior executive at the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed International, who is suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove Huang as CEO.
The senators claim in the letter that Megaspeed purchased more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips since June of 2024.
Warren and Coons cite reports that officials at the White House, State Department and Commerce Department knew about concerns involving Nvidia, Megaspeed and the suspected operation, “yet did not move to block the continued flow of advanced AI chips to Megaspeed or other companies affiliated with the suspected operative.”
The latest development comes as scrutiny builds on Huang and on the Commerce Department’s role in approving chip sales. Several of Trump’s Republican allies, including Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, have called for Huang to resign.
More than half a dozen Republican lawmakers have also demanded answers, and possibly congressional testimony, from Lutnick and his top deputies over whether they put private tech interests ahead of national security.
“The obvious question is why did he choose to sell advanced chips?” Sen. John N. Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview Wednesday. “Secretary Lutnick needs to answer that in front of God and country. If I were he, I’d call a press conference this afternoon and explain what happened and why he agreed to sell ’em chips, and I would stop doing it.”
Democrats accuse GOP of helping Trump put ‘fox in the henhouse’ at top watchdog
Himes urges Republicans to ‘take the win’ and pass FISA reauthorization during lame-duck session
The warrantless surveillance law is set to expire in March without congressional action.
Himes, who is likely to take over the House Intelligence panel next year, told POLITICO that he recently spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) about reauthorizing the law, which allows the intelligence community to collect data on foreign targets. It is due to expire in March, but intelligence officials have warned that there may be a lag in the needed judicial go-ahead if it isn’t renewed by the end of this month.
“My preference would be, let’s just take the win that’s on the table, get it done in the lame-duck,” Himes said during a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO on Wednesday. “If that fails, we’ll do something in the first quarter.”
Himes acknowledged that the legislation is “controversial” and said it is “always challenging” to push it through Congress when it comes up for renewal because of bipartisan concerns that the warrantless surveillance law inadvertently sweeps up American data.
“I’d love to just get it out of the way so that we’re not burning a lot of time when we need to be laser-focused on the price of gas, food and housing.”
A spokesperson for Thune did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the majority leader’s plans for pursuing Section 702 reauthorization during the lame-duck session.
Critics of the law say it threatens Fourth Amendment privacy protections and have encouraged stricter guardrails. But supporters have stressed that it is foundational to U.S. intelligence efforts, and data collected by the program has long helped inform the president’s daily briefing.
Other lawmakers, including Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), also told POLITICO they supported the swift renewal of Section 702.
Warner told POLITICO on Wednesday that he also hopes for a reauthorization during the lame-duck session, as “it becomes much more difficult in a new Congress” to renew the law without privacy reform.
“We need to get it reauthorized,” Kelly, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told POLITICO. “As soon as possible.”
The statute was on track for renewal this summer before President Donald Trump tapped Bill Pulte as temporary director of national intelligence, scuttling chances for a long-term extension.
7 HOURS AGO
Brian Poindexter disappears from Democratic groups’ endorsement lists
The Ohioan defeated Republican Rep. Max Miller in a closely watched race.
By RILEY ROGERSON
The political arms of two influential Democratic caucuses removed Ohio candidate Brian Poindexter from their endorsement list in the days around his closely watched House election win.
Blue Dog PAC, the campaign wing of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, listed Poindexter among their endorsees as of Oct. 28, and Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC listed him as of Nov. 1, according to webpages cached by the Internet Archive.
It was an unusual feat to earn backing from the two groups, who are seen as representing opposite poles of the House Democratic Caucus. But now neither group lists Poindexter, who defeated embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller in a Cleveland-area district, among their endorsees.
The removals are especially notable given Poindexter’s victory in a high-profile race that garnered headlines due to allegations of domestic abuse against Miller, which he has denied.
Members and aides connected to the two groups did not offer answers about what happened. Spokespeople for Blue Dog PAC and CPC PAC did not return requests for comment.
Two Progressive Caucus leaders, Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Greg Casar of Texas, declined to comment when asked about the endorsements Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, a senior Blue Dogs member, spoke only briefly Wednesday: “I don’t have much to say about it. We decided that it’s not a good fit.”
When asked about the endorsements during a brief interview on Capitol Hill, Poindexter said Tuesday, “My main focus right now is just setting up my office and stuff. There could be time to join ideological caucuses.”
Poindexter did not deny that his name was removed: “I just said I wanted to hold off before I join up a caucus. I wanted to hold off a little while.”
He added, “Nothing to read into that. Just, I’m waiting to learn the political landscape.”
7 HOURS AGO
Lankford positioned to be the top Republican on Senate Homeland
The Oklahoma lawmaker would work alongside incoming Democratic chair Maggie Hassan.
By CHRIS MARQUETTE
Sen. James Lankford intends to become the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the next Congress — as the new Democratic majority is promising an aggressive investigative agenda of the Trump administration.
The Oklahoma Republican said in a statement that the committee can work in a bipartisan manner and that he looks forward to serving with Sen. Maggie Hassan, the New Hampshire Democrat set to be the chair next Congress. Both are expected to assume their new roles in observance of their party’s deference to seniority.
But Lankford also made clear that while he would work with Democrats to conduct legitimate government oversight, he will push back if the majority goes beyond that in his estimation.
“As the only Committee with broad oversight and subpoena authority across the federal government, we have an important responsibility to ask hard questions, get answers, and make sure government is working as it should,” Lankford said in a statement. “However, the job of any Ranking Member is to also push back on a majority that goes too far.
“There is important work done at the Department of Homeland Security by brave men and women and their efforts should not be hampered simply because of partisan politics,” he continued. “Oversight is responsible, but obstruction is unacceptable.”
Senate Homeland is the chamber’s primary oversight entity and, under Hassan’s leadership, is expected to probe the immigration enforcement tactics deployed by the Trump-led Department of Homeland Security. This week, Hassan called on former DHS official Corey Lewandowski to provide all contracting related records from his time at the agency.
“I intend to use the Committee’s full authorities—including where necessary compulsory process—to expose corruption and waste. I therefore renew my request that you preserve all relevant records,” Hassan wrote to Lewandowski.
9 HOURS AGO | EXCLUSIVE
Duffy, White House, ready lobbying blitz on $30B air traffic control request
The Transportation secretary has been pleading for the money to overhaul the nation’s aging system.
By ORIANA PAWLYK
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that the White House is now helping lobby lawmakers on a push to secure $30 billion for major air traffic control upgrades.
Duffy, who spoke with POLITICO after a Veterans Day event on the National Mall, said he and President Donald Trump met Tuesday to discuss the effort. “The president’s been supportive,” Duffy said. “We have communication going … where the White House is asking for the $30 billion,” Duffy said, adding he plans to hold meetings with lawmakers next week and the week after Thanksgiving to discuss moving the request forward.
“Secretary Duffy has been working tirelessly to modernize America’s aging aviation system and delivering at an unprecedented pace. More controllers and a modernized control system mean safer skies for the American people,” said White House spokesperson Allison Schuster.
Duffy said he is still hopeful he secures the money in the lame duck session. “I’ve asked for whatever vehicle goes, I would like to be part of it,” he said, referring to various legislation that can carry the $30 billion request.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) in September introduced a broad aviation funding package that reflects Duffy’s push for the funding that would go toward additional investment in air traffic control upgrades and aging airport infrastructure. Schmitt on Wednesday said that should a third party-line reconciliation funding package be on the table, “I’m pushing for that” as the way to incorporate DOT’s ask.
Duffy and others at DOT have been spearheading a media blitz in trying to drum up support for the funding.
The DOT secretary echoed earlier comments that he had found bipartisan support for modernizing air traffic control and expects that to continue. He added that he believed Congress has overall been pleased with how FAA so far has been spending the $12.5 billion it received as part of last year’s GOP megalaw to jumpstart the effort.
“I don’t really have anyone who’s like, ‘I don’t want you to do this,’” Duffy said Wednesday. “Everyone tells me they agree, it’s just how do we get it in a bill that’s going to pass?” Duffy has previously said his hope is to do the massive project without losing momentum given the uncertainty of future budget constraints which could lead to program delays.
However, in a brief interview Wednesday, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the incoming chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, threw cold water on the additional funding. He told POLITICO: “I haven’t seen a path yet for another $30 billion.”
The lame duck House remains narrowly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
9 HOURS AGO
Surprise House passage of veterans bill sparks ‘trickery’ accusation
Democrats accused GOP leaders of slipping a controversial measure through by voice vote. Republicans say Democrats were asleep at the switch.
By MIA MCCARTHY and RILEY ROGERSON
10 HOURS AGO
Neal still hopes for year-end tax package
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, wants a “fresh slate” going into 2027.
By BRIAN FALER
If it was up to Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), lawmakers would move a tax package before they quit for the year.
While Democrats would have more leverage in negotiations next year when they take control of the House, Neal, presently the ranking Democrat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, said Wednesday that it would be better to get the issue out of the way now.
“A fresh slate,” he told reporters.
Neal said he spoke with House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) yesterday, and “we’re going to try to catch up to see if there’s anything” they can do.
There are several provisions many in the tax world would like to see lawmakers move by the end of the year, though the odds appear to be long given how many other issues are competing for lawmakers’ time.
Tax writers have been working on a number of relatively uncontroversial tax-administration proposals, and there are several items lawmakers hope to re-up, including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a subsidy for employers to hire people like felons who tend to have trouble finding jobs, and a special credit for semiconductor companies.
If lawmakers can’t move them now, they’ll face pressure to renew them next year, when Democrats will be focused on other, much bigger issues like making good on their campaign promises to address voters’ concerns about affordability.
“There is an incentive to get those things done in the lame duck for both sides,” said Neal. “We’ll see.”
Original source: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/11/11/congress/epstein-files-transparency-act-discharge-01161062
