Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat, speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2025. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic caucus leaders on Tuesday blasted a vulgar deepfake of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted by President Donald Trump on social media.
The chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus, New Democrat Coalition, Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Equality Caucus also refused to back down on their health care demands as the federal government barrels toward a shutdown.
The GOP and Democratic lawmakers are in a deadlock, and funding is set to run out by midnight Tuesday, when the new fiscal year begins.
“We won’t vote for anything that doesn’t restore the cuts to Medicaid and doesn’t protect people that will be paying higher premiums,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, referring to Medicaid reductions made in the “big, beautiful” law enacted by Republicans earlier this year.
The New York Democrat said “we won’t mess around with Americans’ health care — people that are sick that deserve to have a first-quality health care system providing assistance to them in one of the most serious periods of their lives.”
While Republicans want a “clean” stopgap funding bill to keep the government open, Democrats are calling for the extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of 2025 and the reversal of sweeping health care changes brought by the GOP’s mega tax and spending cuts law, including the massive funding cuts to Medicaid.
‘Racist meme’ by Trump slammed
Trump posted the deepfake on his social media platform Truth Social just hours after his White House meeting with Schumer, Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, which failed to yield any funding deal. The Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday that some 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed if the government shuts down.
The 35-second video appears to be AI-generated and uses the setting of Schumer and Jeffries, both New York Democrats, speaking to reporters outside the White House after their meeting with Trump.
The fake video shows Jeffries with a sombrero and mustache and Schumer ranting that “if we give all these illegal aliens free health care, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.”
Espaillat of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus described the video as “insulting,” saying it shows Trump is “out of touch with the health care challenges of the American people.”
The New York Democrat said “with your health care on the line, all he could do is put out this deepfake racist meme — not funny at all, not for any of us here, particularly for people that are ill and fighting for their lives that need health care.”
Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández also blasted the video, saying “that’s not how you get to a deal.” Instead, the New Mexico Democrat said Trump’s decision to post it “looks like a little 6-year-old having a temper tantrum.”
‘Bigotry will get you nowhere’
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, a New York Democrat, said “the juvenile behavior coming out of the White House should not be dignified by any American.”
Clarke noted that her caucus “will not support a partisan spending bill that slashes health care, guts federal jobs and raises costs, all while targeting the very communities that keep this country running.”
In a social media post Monday responding to the fabricated video, Schumer said “if you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.”
People in New York City look at a sign informing them that the Statue of Liberty is closed on Oct. 1, 2013, due to a government shutdown. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The White House has sent guidance to departments and agencies, telling them that if a shutdown begins Wednesday, they’re expected to institute mass firings and layoffs.
The two-page memo, shared with States Newsroom by a Trump administration official, says any programs that received funding in the “big, beautiful” law will “continue uninterrupted.”
But the vast majority of federal departments and agencies need Congress to approve an annual funding bill or a stopgap spending bill before the start of the new fiscal year to keep running.
The memo says the employees who run those programs may receive a Reduction in Force notice if lawmakers don’t broker an agreement before the Oct. 1 deadline.
Those reductions will apply to programs, projects, or activities that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities,” according to the memo.
“RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation,” the memo states. “RIF notices should be issued to all employees working on the relevant (programs, projects, or activities), regardless of whether the employee is excepted or furloughed during the lapse in appropriations.”
Once lawmakers reach a deal and the government reopens, the memo says agencies should rework their reduction in force plans “to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.”
Employee union urges compromise
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement the memo represents “an attempt at intimidation.”
“Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one—not to govern, but to scare. This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government,” Schumer wrote. “These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.”
American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement the memo shows that White House budget director Russ Vought intends “to pursue another DOGE-like round of illegal mass firings in the event of a shutdown, adding to the chaos.”
“The truth is simple: Republicans cannot fund the government without Democratic votes. That means the only path forward is compromise,” Kelley wrote. “The president and congressional leaders must sit down and negotiate in good faith to keep the lights on for the American people. Nothing less is acceptable.”
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen wrote in a statement that “Trump is engaged in mafia-style blackmail, with his threats ultimately harming the American people.”
“He is threatening to double down on the failed actions of Elon Musk and his chainsaw — going after patriotic civil servants that provide Americans with critical services — despite having to rehire many of these workers after Americans experienced the negative impact of those cuts,” Van Hollen wrote. “These dedicated workers have nothing to do with the ongoing political and policy disputes that have brought us to the brink of a shutdown.”
House GOP departs until after Oct. 1
The House voted mostly along party lines to approve a seven-week stopgap spending bill last week before leaving town. GOP leaders were supposed to bring lawmakers in that chamber back to Capitol Hill on Monday, but extended their break and won’t return until after the shutdown deadline.
The move was largely seen as a way to jam the Senate, specifically Democrats, with the short-term government funding bill that they largely oppose because GOP lawmakers wrote it behind closed doors without bipartisan negotiations.
The Senate tried to advance the House-passed Republican stopgap bill but didn’t have the necessary 60 votes to move the legislation toward final passage.
Democrats have maintained for weeks that if Republican leaders want their support on a short-term spending bill, they should have negotiated with party leaders on key issues, including an extension of the enhanced tax credits for people who buy their health insurance on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
Those tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year but Americans who rely on the marketplace for their health insurance will begin purchasing their plans for next year on Nov. 1.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he views negotiations on those tax credits as an issue for December, not this month, despite the open enrollment period ending on Dec. 15.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said repeatedly he views the issue as separate from government funding.
Jeffries says Dems ‘ready, willing and able to have a conversation’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a Thursday press conference that Democrats are “ready, willing and able to have a conversation to see if we can find common ground in a bipartisan way to reach a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people.”
“Republicans have decided they don’t even want to have a conversation with Democrats to reach a bipartisan agreement. No one in America thinks that’s reasonable,” Jeffries said. “It’s an inherently unreasonable position — my way or the highway.”
Jeffries criticized Trump and Republicans for having unified control of government, but not taking action to lower costs for Americans, including on health care.
“Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Costs aren’t going down in America, they’re going up. Inflation is going up,” Jeffries said. “Life has become more expensive under Donald Trump and Republican policies and that includes health care premiums, which are about to skyrocket.”
It would be “foolish,” he said, for Democrats to trust the Republicans will negotiate on the enhanced ACA tax credits later in the year, given their actions so far on health care.
People take photos of the closed signs at the Smithsonian National Zoo, which was closed to the public due to the government shutdown on Jan. 2, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have entered a stalemate over whether to fund the government for seven weeks or begin a shutdown that could last considerably longer, amid high partisan tensions.
Lawmakers, it seems, did not learn from two earlier shutdowns that produced zero results for Republicans who tried to force their policy preferences on Democrats.
The 2013 shutdown that lasted 16 days began with GOP demands to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and ended with it remaining the law of the land.
The 2018-2019 shutdown started when President Donald Trump insisted on additional funding for a border wall, but concluded 35 days later with the same amount of money included in the original appropriations bill.
This time around, however, it’s Democrats making demands ahead of a funding deadline and striking a markedly different tone from just a few months ago.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this year that shutting down the government would cede considerable power to the Trump administration and represented a far worse option than advancing a Republican-drafted stopgap spending bill.
“President Trump and Republican leaders would like nothing more than to pull us into the mud of a protracted government shutdown,” Schumer said in March. “For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift. It would be the best distraction he could ask for from his awful agenda.”
But that has all changed in the six months since.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., walks back onto the Senate floor after speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Schumer, who fielded considerable blowback from the Democratic base in March, now says his party will not help GOP leaders advance a seven-week temporary funding patch ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline, since — encouraged by Trump — they didn’t negotiate the bill.
“Democrats don’t want a shutdown, but Republicans cannot shut Democrats out of the process and pretend like the last nine months have been business as usual,” Schumer said. ”Republicans know that these abuses can’t just continue as if everything is just fine.”
If Schumer sticks to that stance and is joined by enough other Democrats and independents, the Senate will not have sufficient votes for the funding patch.
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress but cannot advance legislation in the Senate without the support of at least 60 lawmakers, which typically forces bipartisanship on major issues.
Schumer on a ‘fool’s errand’?
Republicans and Democrats interviewed by States Newsroom said the most recent shutdowns show that forcing a funding lapse doesn’t lead to policy wins or political victories. But they appeared to acknowledge the increasing likelihood of one beginning next month.
West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito referred to the prior government shutdowns as a “misery march” and deferred to Democrats on how exactly lawmakers would get out of a funding lapse if one begins.
“When a shutdown gets predicated on a policy position that’s never going to work — which I think is what Schumer’s brought to (Majority Leader John Thune) — I think that it’s a fool’s errand, quite frankly,” Capito said. “And it’s unfair to the American people.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters as returns to his office from the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said Schumer should consider what Trump will do in the event of a shutdown, when the president has considerable authority to determine which federal workers and operations are exempt and which are not.
“He will have pretty much unfettered discretion, at least in his mind, to do whatever he wants to do,” Kennedy said. “And I personally think the president will make it very painful.”
Exempt federal employees continue to work during a shutdown and often handle the preservation of life or property, or national security issues. Non-exempt workers are essentially furloughed. Both categories receive back pay once a shutdown ends.
Trump bars negotiations with Dems
Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said that Trump telling Republicans not to negotiate a short-term stopgap bill with Democrats led to the impasse.
“Shutdowns are terrible and they should be avoided. And Donald Trump may or may not know that the only way to avoid a shutdown is to work with both parties,” Schatz said. “And yesterday morning … he said, ‘I don’t need to deal with the Democrats.’ And so, Godspeed.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 2, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said nothing can be accomplished unless Republican leaders begin serious talks over government funding.
“Right now, we don’t even have a negotiation,” Murphy said. “The basic responsibility of a majority party when you’re working on a budget is to negotiate with a minority. You need our votes. So who knows what’s possible because right now, they’re refusing to talk to Democrats.”
Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt said Schumer’s change in stance on shutdowns is largely political and stems from the criticism he experienced from his own party earlier this year after helping advance the March stopgap.
Nearly every House Democrat voted against that six-month stopgap bill and many voiced frustrations after Schumer aided Republicans in advancing the bill through the Senate.
“This is all about political theater because, unfortunately for all of us that are trying to actually get something done, he’s afraid of his own shadow. And that shadow’s name is AOC,” Britt said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is rumored as a potential Democratic primary opponent when Schumer faces reelection in 2028.
Dems want health care subsidy extension
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said there’s still time to avoid a shutdown if GOP leaders begin serious bipartisan negotiations on funding and health care.
“We still have time. We can negotiate a continuing resolution,” DeLauro said. “But there are, as I said, Democratic priorities. And look, the American people are very concerned about what’s happening with health care. It’s already out there. So, you know, they’re going to hear about it. They’ll hear about the fight that we’re going to make on this.”
Democrats have said for weeks that they want Republicans to negotiate an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the calendar year. The credits are used by people who purchase their own health insurance on the ACA market.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, speaks at a press conference advocating an extension of enhanced health care tax credits on Sept. 16, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said earlier this week that he views that as “a December policy issue, not a September funding issue,” even though open enrollment in that health insurance marketplace begins on Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 15.
There are several health policy provisions in House Republicans’ stopgap spending bill, though none addressing that particular issue.
Johnson hopes to pass the legislation this week amid a razor-thin majority and some opposition from within his own party. House approval, which is far from guaranteed, would send the bill to the Senate, where it likely will not get the votes to become law before the deadline.
Complicating matters is a week-long recess for Rosh Hashanah. Both chambers are set to return on Sept. 29, with very little time to broker a bipartisan agreement and hold votes, though leaders could cancel part of that break.
No pay for feds during shutdown
The two most recent shutdowns began after GOP lawmakers believed it was the best way to bring attention to significant policy disputes and force Democrats to back their proposals.
But the status quo remained after both shutdowns.
Despite those experiences, Democrats appear ready to gamble they’ll have better luck amid the unprecedented actions of the second Trump administration to challenge the congressional power of the purse and more, though that’s far from a guarantee.
People in New York City look at a sign informing them that the Statue of Liberty is closed on Oct. 1, 2013 due to a government shutdown. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Any shutdown, especially a prolonged one, would cause considerable financial strain for federal employees and Americans who rely on many government services.
Since none of the dozen annual government funding bills have become law on time, all federal workers would go without pay during a shutdown, including those at the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation.
Staff for members of Congress, who weren’t affected by the last shutdown, would miss their salaries this time around if a shutdown begins with the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin | Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom
WASHINGTON — A trio of Senate Democrats urged Republican lawmakers at a Tuesday press conference to extend and make permanent the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of 2025.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, along with Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, warned that the expiration of these credits would lead to “skyrocketing” costs for millions of enrollees unless the GOP-controlled Congress takes action.
The credits are used by people who buy their own health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
Stopgap spending bill
The extension is among congressional Democrats’ broader health care demands in order to back any stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown before the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
House GOP leadership did not negotiate with Democrats on the seven-week stopgap funding bill released on Tuesday.
Schumer, alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said in a joint statement Tuesday that “the House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis.”
They added that “at a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
At the press conference, Baldwin called for legislation she and Shaheen introduced earlier this year that would make the enhanced premium tax credits permanent to be included in the stopgap government funding bill.
“Time is of the essence — families and businesses are planning for next year, and we need to get this done,” Baldwin said. “The only question is whether Republicans will join us and stand for lower costs for families or not.”
Shaheen said that “as we near the deadline for government funding, I hope that our colleagues here in Congress will join us, that they will act to extend these tax credits and to keep health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.”
Premiums expected to soar without action
The enhanced premium tax credits, established by Democrats in 2021 as part of a massive COVID-19 relief package, were extended in 2022 through the Inflation Reduction Act. They are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Premiums, on average, for enrollees would soar by more than 75% if the credits expire, according to the nonpartisan health research organization KFF.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday at a press conference that “Republicans have concerns” about the credits because they have no income cap and certain high-income people can qualify for them. He also said Congress has until the end of the year to decide what to do.
At the Democrats’ press conference, Schumer said President Donald Trump “has taken a meat ax to our health care system,” adding that “it’s vicious, it’s cruel, it’s mean” and pointing to some of the repercussions of the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law on Medicaid recipients.
Meanwhile, open enrollment begins in November, meaning Congress would have to act before the end of the calendar year to avoid premium spikes.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson answers reporters' questions during a press conference in the Rayburn Room inside the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Also pictured, from left to right, are California rancher and former president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Kevin Kester; Wisconsin Republican Rep. Tony Wied; Republican Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republican leaders released a seven-week stopgap government funding bill Tuesday that’s intended to avoid a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
But GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the legislation with Democrats, who may be needed to approve the bill in the House and will be required to get past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.
Democrats for weeks have called on Republicans to address what they view as critical health care issues, including the expiration of expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits at the end of the calendar year and the effects of the GOP’s “big, beautiful” law on Medicaid recipients.
Speaker Mike Johnson said during a press conference shortly before the bill was released that he views the ACA tax credits as “a December policy issue, not a September funding issue,” even though open enrollment begins in November.
“They don’t expire until the end of the year and so we have until the end of December to figure all that out,” Johnson said. “But I can tell you that there’s real concern. I have concerns. Republicans have concerns about those policies.
“If you look at how much they’ve been abused, in my estimation, in some ways. There’s no income cap on it. People who make $600,000 a year get a government subsidy for their health care. I don’t think that’s going to be a popular measure when people understand how that works. There’s a relatively small number of people that are affected by it. But that policy has real problems.”
The tax credits are used by people who purchase their own health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
Schumer: Republicans ‘want to shut things down’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a floor speech before the bill was publicly released that GOP leaders shouldn’t expect Democrats to help them advance any legislation they didn’t negotiate in a bipartisan way.
“They can try and play the blame game, but their actions tell a different story. Their actions show clearly they want to shut things down because they don’t want to negotiate with Democrats,” Schumer said. “And it’s more than that. It means Republicans don’t want to help the American people with the crisis they’ve created raising people’s costs, particularly their health care costs.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the stopgap spending bill, which would keep the government running through Nov. 21, is needed to give lawmakers more time to work out final, bipartisan versions of the dozen full-year government funding bills.
“The goal here should be to fund the government the way it was intended to be funded — through the normal appropriations process,” Thune said.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., issued a joint statement shortly after the bill’s release, saying they’re ready to keep working with their Republican counterparts — House Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Senate Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine — on a bipartisan stopgap spending bill.
“Instead of continuing to work through important issues with us on the continuing resolution and government funding to help the middle class and the working class, House Republican leadership has walked away from negotiations and are now threatening a shutdown by trying to jam through a funding bill on their terms alone,” DeLauro and Murray wrote.
Security for members of Congress
The 91-page stopgap spending bill also includes $30 million in additional funds to bolster safety and security for members of Congress following an increasingly violent year that included the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the killing and attempted killing of Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota as well as some of their family members and arson at the Democratic Pennsylvania governor’s mansion.
Members of Congress, their staff and their families are subject to thousands of threats each year, according to data from the U.S. Capitol Police.
Johnson told reporters shortly after his press conference that he views the member security funding as a start and that there will be “more to come” in the full-year Legislative Branch funding bill.
Johnson said he expects the House will vote on the stopgap bill before Friday, when both chambers of Congress are set to leave on a week-long break for the Rosh Hashanah holiday week.
Lawmakers aren’t expected to return to Capitol Hill until Sept. 29, with just hours to avoid a partial government shutdown if they cannot approve a stopgap bill in the days ahead.
The legislation includes an additional $30 million for the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for the safety of federal judges and courthouses, as well as $28 million “for the protection of the Supreme Court Justices.” A GOP summary of the bill says the Marshals Service funding will go toward “Executive Branch protective services.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks during a news conference with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanding the release of the Epstein files at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2025. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday stopped a Democratic amendment to the annual defense authorization bill that would have compelled the release of the government’s investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a procedural vote, senators voted 51-49 to table the amendment filed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, effectively stopping the chamber from considering the measure. Republicans Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted with all Democrats to advance the amendment.
The move by Schumer was the latest attempt in Congress to force Republicans on the record about the Trump administration’s announcement in July that it would not release any further materials from the federal sex trafficking case against Epstein.
“If Republicans vote no, they’ll be saying to the American people, you should not see the Epstein files,” Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “I asked my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, ‘Why won’t you vote yes?’”
The financier, who for years surrounded himself with powerful and influential figures, died awaiting trial in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019. He and President Donald Trump had a well-documented social relationship that Trump says turned sour before allegations against Epstein surfaced.
A bipartisan effort in the U.S. House aimed at forcing the Department of Justice to release all investigative materials has not gained enough Republican support to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, for a floor vote.
The discharge petition filed by Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and California Democrat Ro Khanna has the signatures of all Democrats and four Republicans, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina. The petition, which needs a majority of House members to sign to force legislation to the floor, is short two signatures.
Massie, Khanna and Greene stood outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3 alongside women who shared stories of abuse inflicted by Epstein.
The GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is conducting its own probe into the Epstein case. On Tuesday, committee Democrats released an image of a lewd birthday greeting allegedly created by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
Many lawmakers and members of the public, including some in Trump’s voter base, have zoned in on the release of what they refer to as the Epstein files since the FBI declared in a July memo that no more information would be made public.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference with Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee member Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., demanding the release of the Epstein files at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Wednesday began charting a little-known legal path to force President Donald Trump’s administration to release the investigative files on the now deceased Florida sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, requested the “full and complete Epstein files” by Aug. 15.
“After missteps and failed promises by your Department regarding these files, it is essential that the Trump Administration provide full transparency. In 2024, President Trump stated on the campaign trail that he would declassify the Epstein files, with his political account on X stating, ‘President Trump says he will DECLASSIFY the 9/11 Files, JFK Files, and Epstein Files,’” according to the three-page letter led by Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee’s top Democrat.
“We call on you to fulfill those promises of transparency,” the letter, dated July 29, continued.
In addition to Schumer, other co-signers included Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
Five senators
The senators are invoking a nearly century-old law that compels the executive branch to comply if at least five senators on the committee sign on to a request, Schumer told reporters at a Wednesday press conference.
“While protecting the victim’s identities can and must be of top importance, the public has a right to know who enabled, knew of or participated in one of the most heinous sex trafficking operations in history,” Schumer said.
Blumenthal added that any notes and recordings of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s interviews last week in Tallahassee, Florida, with Ghislaine Maxwell should also be made public. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is now serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida federal prison for conspiring with Epstein to secure and transport minors for sexual abuse.
Along with requesting all investigative materials by mid-August, the senators also demanded a briefing for committee staff by Aug. 29.
Schumer said committee Democrats are “still talking” to Republican colleagues to urge them to join the request.
“And that may help get this public, but if not, there’s recourse in the courts. This is the law,” Schumer said.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to States Newsroom that it received the letter but declined to comment further.
Ghislaine Maxwell subpoenaed
The Justice Department’s decision in early July to keep what are described as the Epstein files out of public view sparked uproar and division among Republicans in Congress, administration officials and Trump’s base.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, issued a subpoena for an Aug. 11 deposition with Maxwell. Committee leadership rejected the convicted sex trafficker’s request Tuesday for the condition of immunity, according to media reports.
The continued noise led House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican and Trump ally, to release members early for the six-week August break to avoid votes related to compelling the release of Epstein material.
The DOJ’s unsigned memo on July 7 stated that a review of the files did not reveal an “incriminating ‘client list’” and that no further disclosure of the investigative materials “would be appropriate or warranted.”
Since the memo’s release, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Bondi briefed Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein materials. The context in which his name appears remains unknown.
The Journal also reported the existence of a 50th-birthday greeting that Trump drew and wrote for Epstein that featured the outline of a naked woman with Trump’s signature as pubic hair. Trump has denied he made the drawing and sued the Wall Street Journal.
The reports have further fueled calls for the files to be released.
Falling-out between Trump and Epstein
Trump told reporters Tuesday that he had a falling-out with Epstein after the financier began “taking” spa workers, whom Trump said were young women, from his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump said Epstein “stole” Virginia Giuffre who worked at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort in 2000 at age 16, according to a 2016 deposition.
Giuffre alleged Maxwell and Epstein trafficked her as a teen for illegal sex with influential men, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled with Giuffre and stepped down from his royal duties.
Giuffre became an advocate for victims of sex trafficking. She died by suicide in April.
The Justice Department concluded Epstein harmed more than 1,000 victims.
Epstein was found hanged in August 2019 in his New York City jail cell, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
This story mentions suicide. If you or a loved one are suffering with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988. An online chat option is also available at 988lifeline.org.
U.S. Capitol Police officers stand guard outside of the U.S. Capitol on June 16, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate will gather behind closed doors Tuesday to hear from federal law enforcement officials about protection for lawmakers and the safety of their families, just days after a gunman said to be posing as a police officer targeted state lawmakers in Minnesota.
The briefing from U.S. Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms follows years of increased funding for both entities as threats and attempted assassinations against members of Congress have become part of the job.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Monday on the floor that the suspected shooter had a list of more than 70 public officials he wanted to target, including several members of the Senate.
“My highest priority right now is working with the Senate leadership on both sides, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police, to ensure everyone’s safety,” Schumer said. “This weekend I asked Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to increase security for members, including Sen. (Alex) Padilla and the Minnesota senators.”
California Sen. Padilla moved to the forefront of the public debate about immigration and deportations last week when he was forcibly removed from a press conference after trying to ask Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question while she was still speaking.
Schumer said the briefing would be an opportunity for USCP and the SAA to “convey what they’re doing for members to keep them safe.”
He urged senators to “come together” to oppose political violence in all forms, before criticizing Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee for social media posts. Lee made twoposts that drew condemnation.
“I was deeply disappointed and sickened to see a member of this chamber use the tragedy in Minnesota to take cheap political shots at the other side on social media and risk escalating a perilous moment,” Schumer said. “What the senior senator from Utah posted after the shooting was reckless and beneath the dignity of his office.
“For a senator to fan the flames of division with falsities while the killer was still on the loose is deeply irresponsible. He should take down his post immediately and apologize to the families of the victims.”
On another social media account, Lee wrote, “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America.”
Suspect faces state and federal charges
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the attack on the two state lawmakers and their spouses was clearly motivated by politics.
Klobuchar said she has received additional security and that she was concerned about the possibility of more attacks against lawmakers.
“I have had threats before, as several of our colleagues have had,” Klobuchar said. “And I think one of the things is, we don’t talk about this stuff much because you don’t want to see copycats that copy exactly what they’ve done.”
The U.S. House won’t receive a security briefing this week since its members are out of session on a district work period, typically a time when lawmakers are back in their communities for town halls and other public events, though the shooting has led some members to change their schedules.
Michigan Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten announced Monday she would postpone her town hall in Muskegon, writing in a statement she didn’t want to “divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time.”
“Nothing matters more to me than the safety and well-being of the people I serve,” Scholten wrote. “After being made aware that my name was on a list connected to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota, my office has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned town hall in Muskegon.”
Scholten added she hoped to “reschedule this event as soon as possible.”
Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman released a statement on Monday, announcing that USCP bolstered his security after his name was found among the suspected Minnesota shooter’s possessions.
“On Sunday morning, Capitol Police contacted my office to inform me that the FBI had found my name among the evidence collected during the search for a suspect in Minnesota — who is accused of murdering and seriously injuring lawmakers,” Landsman wrote. “Since the suspect was still at large at that time, we worked very closely with the Cincinnati Police Department to arrange for increased security for my family and me.”
Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar wrote in a statement posted to social media that she was among the people the suspected Minnesota shooter had on his list.
“This was only a day after protestors were shot in Utah, an extremist drove a car into protests in Virginia, credible threats were made against state lawmakers in Austin and a man pointed a gun at protestors here in El Paso,” Escobar wrote.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Democratic Rep. Joseph D. Morelle, ranking member on the Committee on House Administration, wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday, urging him to take action to ensure members’ safety.
“While we differ in many areas related to policy and our vision for America’s future, Member safety must be an area of common ground. Representatives from both sides of the aisle have endured assassination attempts that changed their lives and careers forever,” the two wrote. “Too many other patriotic public servants have left Congress because they no longer felt safe carrying out their duty as elected officials. We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution.”
Threats on the rise over the years
Members of Congress and their families are no strangers to threats, which have steadily risen for years, attacks and shootings.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked in their family home in San Francisco in October 2022 by a man wielding a hammer, who was searching for Pelosi, a California Democrat.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, was shot and severely wounded in 2017 when a gunman opened fire at GOP lawmakers practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Several others were injured during the shooting.
Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords survived being shot in the head during a constituent meeting in a grocery store parking lot in 2011 when a gunman opened fire, killing six people and injuring a dozen others.
Even President Donald Trump, who has extensive Secret Service protection, was shot in the ear last July while campaigning in Pennsylvania. The gunman in that incident killed local fireman Corey Comperatore and injured two others.
The union representing U.S. Capitol Police warned more than a year ago that the federal law enforcement agency was struggling to keep up amid an increasingly hostile political environment and staffing shortages.
“We’ve never seen a threat environment like this,” union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou wrote in a statement. “Given the profound divisions in this country and this year’s elections, people ask me if I’m concerned and I tell them I am worried — very worried.”
Klobuchar, who was chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee at the time of the hearing, said USCP referred 458 threat cases for prosecution during 2021, with 40 of those leading to a court case. That was out of 9,625 total threats.
Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, a USCP spokesperson confirmed to States Newsroom at the time.
Threats against lawmakers have continued to increase ever since.
USCP investigated 8,008 “concerning statements and direct threats against the Members of Congress, including their families and staff” in 2023 and 9,474 in 2024, according to data from USCP.
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