Live updates: Government agencies reopen; new prosecutor will replace Fani Willis in Trump election interference case
This version of Live Updates Rcna242801 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Airlines say they are ready to ramp up to full flight operations once they get government clearance.
President Donald Trump signed a bill to reopen the government late Wednesday night. Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg / Getty Images
What to know today
- GOVERNMENT REOPENING: Federal employees are returning to work after Congress passed a short-term bill to reopen the government Wednesday, but the effects of the record-long shutdown could linger.
- CHECKS ON THE WAY: Paychecks for federal workers are expected to go out today through the middle of next week, a senior administration official said, while airlines announced they're ready to ramp up to full flight operations as soon as they get government clearance.
- GEORGIA ELECTION CASE: A new prosecutor has been named to replace Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and his allies over their efforts to overturn the 2020 results.
- EPSTEIN FILES: Victims of Jeffrey Epstein are urging Congress to compel the Justice Department to release all the files in the case of the late convicted sex offender, whose powerful friends included President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and others.
If Democrats regain the White House, Trump’s ballroom could be an early casualty
The East Wing that President Donald Trump tore down last month stood for decades.
The ballroom he’s building in its place could be gone not long after the first wave of guests sit down for dinner, depending on the outcome of the 2028 presidential race.
If elected, a Democratic president would have plenty to worry about aside from White House decor; war and peace can easily fill up a day. But a new president may face considerable pressure from within the Democratic fold to do something about a massive new ballroom forever linked to Trump.
Already, prominent Democratic officials are workshopping ideas for repurposing the space in favor of something that’s decidedly un-Trump. If any of these come to fruition, the $300 million ballroom that Trump birthed could take on a function that he never intended.
White House announces trade deal with Switzerland and Liechtenstein
The White House has just announced a trade deal with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, saying in a statement that U.S. tariffs on them would be lowered to a cumulative reciprocal tariff rate no higher than 15%.
“On November 14, 2025, the United States announced that the country-specific additional tariff for Switzerland would be limited to a maximum of 15%," the agreement says.
In response, Switzerland said it would reduce import duties on a range of U.S. products, including industrial products, fish and seafood and agricultural products.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer teased the deal with Switzerland this morning under which he said manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, gold smelting, and railway equipment would come to the U.S.
This follows yesterday’s announcements of U.S. trade agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Ecuador.
Study shows state and local opposition to new data centers is gaining steam
A new study found the total value of blocked or delayed data center projects during a three-month stretch earlier this year exceeded the total in the prior two years, signaling accelerating opposition to a foundational piece of artificial intelligence development in the U.S.
The study — conducted by Data Center Watch, a project of AI intelligence firm 10a Labs that tracks local data center activity — found that an estimated $98 billion in data center projects were blocked or delayed from late March through June. That compares to $64 billion worth of projects that were blocked or delayed between 2023 and late March 2025.
“Opposition to data centers is accelerating,” the authors wrote in the report, shared exclusively with NBC News. “As political resistance builds and local organizing becomes more coordinated, this is now a sustained and intensifying trend.”
Leaders in both parties are locked in competition to encourage tech giants to put sprawling data centers in their states, looking for an economic leg up and an innovation edge in the early days of the artificial intelligence boom. But resident backlash has intensified in recent months as the projects have contributed to rising electricity bills, among other concerns.
Fani Willis replacement named in Trump election interference case
The head of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, Peter Skandalakis, said today that he will replace Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in overseeing her election interference case against Trump and numerous co-defendants.
Willis, a Democrat, was disqualified from the case over conflict of interest issues late last year and exhausted her appeals in September. Skandalakis, a Republican, was tasked with finding a replacement prosecutor, but said everyone he contacted declined the appointment.
Skandalakis said he plans to continue his comprehensive review of the materials his office started receiving from the Willis’ team Oct. 29 and will “make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed.”
In his new role, Skandalakis will have the authority to either proceed with the prosecution, which has been stuck in legal limbo for well over year, or drop the case.
“You have to look at the case as if you’re starting from scratch,” he told NBC News in an interview last year, when asked about the possibility of Willis being disqualified.
Skandalakis’ decision was announced on the day Judge Scott McAfee had set for him to find a replacement. The judge said he would otherwise dismiss the case.
"While it would have been simple to allow Judge McAfee’s deadline to lapse or to inform the Court that no conflict prosecutor could be secured — thereby allowing the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution — I did not believe that to be the right course of action," he said in a statement.
"The public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case. Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent determination about how best to proceed," Skandalakis added.
Trump attorney Steve Sadow hailed the appointment and the official end of Willis' involvement in the case.
“This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end. We remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump,” Sadow said.
Skandalakis, a former district attorney, has stepped in for Willis in the investigation before. After Willis was disqualified from investigating now-Lt. Gov. Burt Jones' alleged role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, he eventually named himself to oversee the probe. After a five month investigation, he decided not to charge Jones, finding he "did not act with criminal intent."
Poll: Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they have a good friend in the other party
Despite a polarized, partisan political environment, most voters who consider themselves a member of a party say they have a close friend on the other side of the aisle, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
However, Democrats in the poll were less likely to say they have a close, cross-party friendship, the results show.
More than 8 in 10 Republicans (82%) said they have at least one close friend who is a Democrat, while a little more than 6 in 10 Democrats (64%) are close friends with a Republican — a gap of 18 percentage points.
That difference is most pronounced among voters who are most loyal to each party and more ideological.
Pennsylvania Democrats seek to roll momentum from judicial elections into House battles
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is highlighting the party’s success last week in swing and red counties that voted for Trump in 2024, arguing it can build upon off-year election results in the upcoming midterms, the party chairman wrote in a memo published today.
Pennsylvania Democrats pointed to substantial victories in three judicial retention races, as well as downballot elections in 15 counties, including key swing counties such as Bucks, Erie, Luzerne and Northampton, as well as wins from traditionally Republican areas such as Lancaster and Beaver counties.
“This is bad news for the Pennsylvania Republicans who have completely embraced Trump and the most unpopular elements of Washington politics — from higher costs and taxes, to rampant corruption and attacks on our democracy,” Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale wrote in a memo. “Whether it’s Stacy Garrity, Doug Mastriano, Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, Scott Perry, or Brian Fitzpatrick, the GOP candidates up in 2026 have championed an agenda of chaos and high prices, and they will be held responsible for it with Pennsylvania voters.”
Democratic judges won by 3 to 15 points in Beaver, Berks, Columbia, Cumberland, Lancaster, Luzerne, Montour, Pike, Union, Washington and Westmoreland counties — all places Trump has won three times — in last week’s off-year elections (elections that have been more favorable to Democrats in recent cycles).
Some of those counties will host competitive U.S. House races next year that will be key to determining congressional control, with DePasquale going after GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Scott Perry, Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie in the memo.
Air travel disruptions continue despite government shutdown
After the longest shutdown in American history, the federal government is slowly beginning to reopen, but challenges persist at airports across the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration still forcing airlines to slash 6% of flights ahead of the Thanksgiving travel rush. It comes as federal workers are still waiting on paychecks. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports for "TODAY."
Trump official refers Rep. Eric Swalwell for a federal criminal probe over alleged mortgage fraud
A top housing official in Trump’s administration has referred California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to the Justice Department for a potential federal criminal probe, based on allegations of mortgage and tax fraud related to a Washington, D.C., home, according to a person familiar with the referral.
He is the fourth Democratic official to face mortgage fraud allegations in recent months.
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged in a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday that Swalwell may have made false or misleading statements in loan documents.
The matter has also been referred to the agency’s acting inspector general, this person said.
“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement to NBC News.
Vance says he will ‘sit down’ with Trump after midterms to discuss 2028
Vance said during an interview that aired last night that he will speak with Trump after the midterms about a potential 2028 presidential bid.
During a Fox News interview, Vance said he remains focused on his role as vice president, but would discuss the matter with Trump after midterms.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to win the midterms, and then after that, I’m going to sit down with the President of the United States and talk to him about it. But let’s focus on the now,” Vance said.
Trump has previously said that Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be his top picks in 2028.
Vance said in the interview that if Rubio decided to run “we can cross that bridge when we come to it,” and that viewing Rubio as a rival “would be ridiculous.”
Rep. Chuy Garcia’s ploy to hand-pick successor sparks Democratic infighting
Democratic Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s ploy to hand-pick his successor for his Illinois seat has sparked a war of words between congressional Democrats. The divisions come at the exact time the party is trying to unify behind issues such as health care, affordability and releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
On Wednesday night, just as the House was prepared to vote to reopen the government, a fellow Democrat, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state, took to the floor and ripped into Garcia, sparking shock and outrage from many of her Democratic colleagues. Both are members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Gluesenkamp Perez, known as MGP on Capitol Hill, offered a House resolution disapproving of Garcia’s actions this fall when he filed paperwork to run for re-election in 2026, then announced he was retiring after the filing deadline. Meanwhile, his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, had filed her own paperwork to run for the seat just hours before that same Nov. 3 deadline, ensuring that she would be the only Democrat on the ballot running for that deep-blue Chicago-area seat. The two are not related.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell concedes re-election fight to progressive activist Katie Wilson
First-term Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell conceded his re-election fight to progressive activist Katie Wilson yesterday, handing another victory to leftist Democrats around the country frustrated with unaffordability, homelessness, public safety and the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Harrell, a centrist Democrat who previously served three terms on the City Council, led in early results. But Washington conducts all-mail elections, with ballots postmarked by Election Day. Later-arriving votes, which historically trend more liberal, broke heavily in Wilson’s favor, adding to a progressive shift to the left nationally.
Epstein survivors urge Congress to release all the files on the sex trafficker
Two women who say they were sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein urged Congress to compel the Justice Department to release all the files on the accused sex trafficker, whose powerful friends included President Donald Trump.
Liz Stein and Jess Michaels made these comments during an interview with NBC News yesterday, where they were joined by freshly minted Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Moments after she was sworn in Wednesday, and with Stein and Michaels looking on, Grijvala provided the crucial 218th signature needed to bypass GOP leaders and force a floor vote on the issue.
“We need the American people to not stop putting the pressure on,” Michaels said. “We can’t stop putting the pressure, because it’s only one tiny victory.”
How long will impacts of government shutdown last?
The federal government is now back open, but the impacts could last for days or longer including at America’s airports. NBC News’ Ryan Nobles reports.
Federal employee paychecks should arrive within days, administration official says
The White House is urging federal agencies to send paychecks to employees out “expeditiously and accurately,” a senior administration official told NBC News.
Some federal workers, including at the General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs, are expected to get paychecks as soon as this weekend, the senior official said.
Other departments, including Education, State, Interior, Transportation and some agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the Social Security Administration, could get their back pay by Monday, the official said.
Still others, including Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Treasury and the DOJ, could receive their checks by the middle of next week, the official said.
Smithsonian museums will start to reopen today
The Smithsonian has announced it will reopen several museums today, including the Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum and its annex in Virginia, which houses planes and space artifacts.
Other museums and the National Zoo are set to reopen on a “rolling basis by Monday,” the Smithsonian’s website said.
