What to know today
- EPSTEIN CASE: President Donald Trump said he was directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of “pertinent” grand jury testimony from the Jeffrey Epstein case after he denied reporting from The Wall Street Journal that said he sent Epstein a letter in 2003 with a drawing of a naked woman.
- TRUMP'S MEDICAL UPDATE: The White House said Trump was diagnosed with a “chronic venous insufficiency” after he was examined for mild swelling in his lower legs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the condition is “benign” and common for people over age 70.
- SPENDING CUTS VOTE: The Senate passed a bill overnight that would make $9 billion in cuts to previously approved funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid. The House voted 216-213 to give final passage to the legislation just after midnight.
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Trump’s cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid clear Congress
The Republican-controlled House voted 216-213 to give final passage to a bill cutting $9 billion in spending that had already been approved, sending it to Trump to sign into law.
The cuts aimed at public media and foreign aid passed in another middle-of-the-night vote on Capitol Hill, one day after the Senate voted 51-48 after 2 a.m. Thursday to approve the measure.
The measure cuts $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for NPR and PBS. It cuts $8 billion more from foreign aid, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and programs to promote global health and refugee assistance. But planned cuts to PEPFAR were removed from the package in recent days, leaving funding for the popular Bush-era foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS intact.
House Rules Committee advances rules on spending cuts bill and Epstein resolution
The House Rules Committee approved two rules tonight along party lines: one for the rescission package to codify federal spending cuts and the other a a resolution calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The rule for the rescissions package is now headed to the House floor for debate, followed by a vote. The chamber will not be taking up the Epstein resolution tonight.
If it is passed by the House, the Epstein resolution would not carry the force of the law, as it would not go through the Senate or need the president’s signature.
Trump denies writing letter to Jeffrey Epstein with drawing of a naked woman
Trump this evening denied writing a letter to Epstein more than two decades ago that reportedly included an outline of a naked woman and a “Donald” signature.
The denial came in response to a Wall Street Journal article that said Trump was among dozens of Epstein’s associates enlisted by his then-confidant Ghislaine Maxwell to contribute to a collection of letters she planned to give him in a birthday album.
According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Trump’s letter featured several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman. The outline, according to the Journal, included details meant to depict the woman’s breast. Trump’s signature was drawn across the woman’s waist, meant to mimic the appearance of pubic hair.
NBC News has not independently verified or seen the letter.
Trump directs Bondi to seek release of 'pertinent' grand jury testimony in Epstein case
Trump said on social media tonight that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce "pertinent" testimony tied to the Epstein case.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!"
Bondi responded on X that the Justice Department was "ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."
The White House said earlier today that Trump will not appoint a special counsel to review Epstein's case.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says she is 'criminally referring' Jerome Powell to DOJ
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said on social media today that she is criminally referring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Justice Department over a project to renovate the central bank's headquarters.
“I am criminally referring Jerome Powell to the DOJ to investigate perjury regarding his crazy $2.5BN building,” Luna wrote on X.
The details of the perjury allegation were not immediately clear; a spokesperson for Luna didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve Board declined to comment.
Members of Congress can call on the Justice Department to pursue investigations, even if they aren't convinced that a crime has taken place. According to the Congressional Research Service, a legislative research agency, those referrals don't require the Justice Department to initiate prosecution.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought recently raised concerns over the renovation's costs, prompting Powell to respond in a letter that he has asked the Federal Reserve's inspector general to review the project again. Neither fraud nor abuse had been flagged previously by the internal watchdog.
Luna has opposed Powell's leadership of the Fed, telling reporters yesterday that he should be dismissed.
"If you see the overall opinion on Jerome Powell, I think a lot of people are ready for him to go," Luna said. "I definitely think that he needs to be fired. And I think that I’m not the only legislator that thinks that way."
House Rules Committee plans to advance spending cut measure and one tied to Epstein case
The House Rules Committee plans to advance two separate rules tonight — one on the rescissions package to claw back $9 billion in already approved spending and one on a resolution related to releasing information in the Epstein case, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
The committee has been meeting on the rescissions package for more than two hours. Even though Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member, repeatedly asked Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., whether the committee will also take up something related to Epstein information, Foxx has declined to provide any specifics.
The plan Republican leaders worked on throughout the day with the GOP members of the Rules Committee would allow the rescissions package to make it to the floor tonight while appeasing Republicans who want to show that they support transparency in the Epstein case. The Hill first reported the plans.
The text of the new resolution related to Epstein has not been released publicly.
Fed chair responds to White House official's concerns about building renovation amid Trump criticism
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responded to a letter from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought after Vought raised concerns about the increasing cost of an ongoing renovation to the central bank's headquarters.
Vought has argued that the growing cost of the renovation, currently pegged at $2.5 billion, required additional approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal planning agency. Trump, who has talked about potentially firing Powell, has suggested without evidence that the billion-dollar price tag for the project could be fraudulent.
In his letter today, Powell noted that the renovation had been subject to budget approval and had been overseen in part by an independent inspector general who has not identified any fraudulent spending. He added that the project is "large in scope" because it involves renovating two historic buildings and that the "small number of design changes" that had been made to the renovation since the government planning agency approved it did not warrant further review, according to National Capital Planning Commission guidance.
“Guidance from the NCPC states that agencies should submit revised project information for approved projects only if substantial changes are made in either the design or plan of the project after NCPC review. The Board does not regard any of these changes as warranting further review," Powell wrote.
No changes for Trump after diagnosis, White House official says
A White House official told NBC News that there will be no changes to Trump's schedule or lifestyle related to his recent diagnosis, disclosed today, of chronic venous insufficiency.
The official said Trump has had no discomfort — and said he won’t be taking steps like wearing compression socks or putting his feet up on an ottoman to relieve pressure or swelling.
The White House has not specified when Trump was evaluated and diagnosed, saying only that it was in "recent weeks."
Spending cut package stalls as House GOP lawmakers seek to show support for 'transparency' in Epstein case
House action on the Senate-passed rescissions package is stalled as Republican leaders try to figure out how to appease members of their own party who want to show that they support transparency regarding the Epstein case.
The House was scheduled to vote around 7 p.m. ET on the legislation to claw back $9 billion in already approved funding, but the measure first has to go through the Rules Committee. That panel just scheduled a 6 p.m. meeting on the measure that could go for several hours depending on how many amendments are submitted.
Democrats may offer amendments on any topic. Specifically, Democrats could offer amendments on forcing the release of Epstein information, as Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., tried to do Monday night in the committee. Republicans voted down that amendment, though Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voted in favor of it with Democrats.
The Rules Committee could have met earlier in the day, but members want to show that they support transparency, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
“The House Republicans are for transparency, and they’re looking for a way to say that,” said Johnson, R-La.
Johnson said Republicans on the Rules Committee have faced "criticism because they voted to stop the Democrats' politicization of this, and they’re trying to stick to their job and move the procedural rules to the floor so we can do our work and get the rescission done for the American people."
Throughout the earlier vote series on crypto bills, members of the Rules Committee met with Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. Johnson said they were still working on everything with the committee members.
What is chronic venous insufficiency, Trump’s diagnosis?
Trump has been diagnosed with a condition that causes blood to pool in his legs after he was examined for “mild swelling in his lower legs,” Leavitt said today.
Leavitt said at a briefing that Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a “benign” condition common in people over age 70. He is 79.
Follow-up tests found no evidence of a serious or life-threatening condition like deep vein thrombosis, she said, but they did lead to a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency.
