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427-1: House Votes Overwhelmingly to Release Epstein Files, Senate Passes — Will Trump Sign?

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By Lauren Burke

At a press conference at the base of the steps of the U.S. House on a cold November morning, just hours before a vote to release the files related to the case of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, there was blunt and direct talk.

“Fighting so hard against the most powerful people in the world — even the President of the United States. I was called a traitor by a man that I fought for six years for,” said Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“I gave him my loyalty for free… and I’ve never owed him anything but I fought for him for the policies of America First. He called me a traitor for standing for these women,” Rep. Greene added. The Georgia Republican stood in front of a group of 30 women who identify themselves as survivors of sexual violence perpetrated by the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein died in federal custody under suspicious circumstances on August 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.

Less than four hours later, members of the U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to make the Epstein files public. The vote was a stunning 427-1. Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins was the only House member to vote against releasing the files. Democrat Ro Khanna of California wrote that, “427-1 is a landslide for survivors,” after the vote.

The chief architect of the effort for the files to be released, Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, told reporters in a hallway off the House Chamber after the vote that many of his Republican colleagues were relieved that President Trump suddenly reversed course and called for the files to be released in the last 48 hours.

The test of Trump’s course reversal will come soon. Hours after the U.S. House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the U.S. Senate passed it by unanimous consent after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer requested passage, and no Republican Senator objected.

The question of the Epstein files now heads to the desk of President Trump to become law, and the files will all be publicly released.

Trump’s whiplash reversal on the question of the files gave Republicans who supported the President cover from critics in the MAGA-controlled GOP. In the end, President Trump went from attacking both Republicans Massie and Greene and then suddenly announcing that he would sign the release of the files into law.

Rep. Greene appears to be in the midst of a major political transition against divisive politics that have grown worse under President Trump. Greene told CNN on November 16 that the murder of Charlie Kirk was part of the reason for her change in thinking on the state of political affairs.

The House floor erupted in loud, prolonged applause after the gavel was struck and the final tally was called by the Chair.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Speaker Mike Johnson put up a chart displaying his reasons as to why he felt the Senate should change the language in the Epstein files resolution passed in the House. Saying that he’d spoken to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Johnson sounded as if there could be a change coming from GOP Senators. There wasn’t.

The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein who appeared at the early morning presser on the House side of the U.S. Capitol also appeared at an evening event at the tech Rayburn House Office Building after the vote. It was clear that their presence mattered to members of Congress, considering whether the files should be public.

Epstein Files Battle Explodes as Redactions Shield Trump and Other Powerful Figures

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Confidential File

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The fight over the Epstein files reached a boiling point today as Congress moves to force their release, but the real story has already unfolded behind closed doors. The documents were scrubbed long before lawmakers ever approached the floor. What should have been a moment of transparency has become a demonstration of how political power shields itself while the public is told to wait.

“Once the House passes the bill to release the Epstein files today, I will move for the Senate to immediately take it up and pass it,” Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, stated. He added that “Republicans have spent months trying to protect Donald Trump and hide what’s in the files,” and he said the American people want the truth.

According to Bloomberg News, Donald Trump’s name appears throughout the Epstein materials. What has not been widely reported is that an FBI FOIA review team blacked out Trump’s name and the names of other high-profile figures. Three people familiar with the review process said the redactions were completed before the Justice Department and FBI declared that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

“The only reason the House is voting today is because the Trump administration is refusing to comply with a subpoena,” Rep. Kelly Morrison of Minnesota, a Democrat, stated. She said the president and his administration “are legally required to release the files to Congress,” and she added that leaders have “been complicit in covering up the horrific abuses of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.” She ended by saying, “Today we will say no more.”

Inside the FBI, the work stretched across two facilities in Winchester, Virginia. Director Kash Patel ordered agents from the New York and Washington field offices to join FOIA employees and review every Epstein-related document. Nearly one thousand staff worked through the night to process grand jury testimony, prosecutors’ materials, and decades of investigative files.

Not everyone agreed with how the review unfolded. Michael Seidel, section chief of the Record and Information Dissemination Section, objected to the directives. Patel blamed him for delays in getting records to Special Counsel Pam Bondi. Seidel was told he could retire or be fired. He chose to retire.

“President Trump has the power to release the files today,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, a Democrat, stated. He said millions of survivors of sexual abuse are watching to see whether leaders in the United States will confront powerful abusers. He added that survivors believe answers “can be found in the bank records of abusers,” and he warned financial institutions that “if they are hiding records, then we will be coming after them.”

According to Bloomberg News, the FOIA team used privacy exemptions to justify blacking out Trump’s name and others. Because Trump was a private citizen when the Epstein investigation began in 2006, his name was withheld under rules meant to shield private individuals from embarrassment.

“We have a little more work ahead of us, but my hope is Leader Thune will do the right thing,” Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat, stated, referring to Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, the top Republican in the chamber.

Fractures are appearing even inside Trump’s own party. “Trump called me a traitor for supporting Epstein survivors,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Republican, stated. She accused the president of tearing apart his own movement by refusing to release the files.

The survivors themselves delivered the sharpest message. “We are launching a political movement to expose the systems that protected predators for far too long,” survivor Lisa Phillips stated. Wendy, another survivor, said she and others never asked to be pushed into political warfare and added, “Standing on the right side of history is not a comfortable place to be.” Sky Roberts, the brother of Virginia Giuffre, cried as he said Epstein trafficked his sister to a network of rich and powerful people. He said his sister made a “monumental impact” by speaking out.

The names inside the Epstein files belong to some of the most powerful figures in the world. Their presence does not prove criminal conduct. It reveals proximity. And proximity is exactly what many have tried to deny for years.

“Americans are tired of waiting and are demanding to see the truth,” Schumer stated.

Trump and GOP Drive Shutdown While Families Face Soaring Premiums

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The United States capitol building with a crack and red Government Shutdown stamp

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

MAGA Republicans have shut down the government once again after lawmakers failed to strike a deal to keep the lights on, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without pay and millions of Americans facing the possibility of losing affordable health care. At the center of the crisis is a dispute over Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Democrats are demanding that subsidies be extended and that deep Medicaid cuts be reversed. Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, have rejected those calls and pushed ahead with a funding bill that excludes the protections. The result is a standoff with devastating consequences. Officials told Black Press USA that the shutdown will furlough roughly 750,000 federal employees each day in an already compromised economy, with Trump’s administration warning that many will not simply be furloughed but permanently laid off. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to prepare not only for temporary cuts but for reduction-in-force notices that would erase positions. Entire programs that fall outside of Trump’s priorities are at risk of being dismantled.

Democrats blocked the Republican plan after warning that allowing the subsidies to expire would make health insurance unaffordable for millions of working families. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the fight is about protecting ordinary people from financial ruin. They stated that Trump is ignoring the suffering of Americans and instead is “obsessively posting crazed deepfake videos” while refusing to negotiate in good faith. The financial stakes are clear. According to new research from KFF, premiums for many families are already expected to rise by more than 100 percent if enhanced tax credits are not extended. Nearly 24 million Americans who buy their own coverage could see their costs double or even triple. For low-income enrollers, the losses would be crushing. A worker in Texas making $23,000 annually would see premiums jump from zero to $920, an amount equal to nearly a quarter of their annual food budget. Moderate-income households face even starker realities. A 60-year-old couple in Florida earning $85,000 would lose more than $16,000 in tax credits and see premiums soar by $21,000 in a single year. Their coverage would consume nearly one-third of their income.

The increases come at a time when families are already under strain from inflation. Rising food, housing, and utility costs are combined with health expenses to push working households closer to the brink. The burden will fall hardest on small business owners, farmers, and gig workers, groups that Republicans often claim to represent. KFF analysis also shows that Black Americans, who disproportionately rely on ACA coverage, will be among those most severely affected. Many already live on thinner margins and face higher rates of chronic illness. For those families, the spike in health care costs combined with the threat of Medicaid cuts could be devastating. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services will furlough nearly half of its staff. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, work to track disease outbreaks will continue, but prevention research will stop. At the National Institutes of Health, patients already enrolled in clinical trials will continue receiving treatment, but no new patients will be admitted to potentially life-saving studies. The Food and Drug Administration warned that its ability to review new drug applications and medical devices will be severely impaired.

The damage extends beyond health care. National parks will remain open with skeletal staffing, risking vandalism and safety hazards. Smithsonian museums will stay open for a few days, but could eventually shut down. Federal contracts will stall, benefit payments could face delays, and agencies from education to environmental services will be hamstrung. Economists warn that the longer the shutdown continues, the greater the impact on the broader economy. Goldman Sachs projected that gross domestic product will fall by 0.15 percentage points each week as the government remains closed, with effects rippling into the private sector and eroding consumer confidence. Wall Street already reacted with early losses as markets opened on the first day of the shutdown.

The political standoff is showing no signs of easing. MAGA Republicans have no appetite to digest Americans enjoying affordable healthcare and have prioritized tax breaks for billionaires instead. Democrats insist there will be no deal without protections for the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Both sides know the stakes reach beyond the shutdown. For Democrats, the fight is about protecting vulnerable Americans. For Trump and Republicans, it is about cementing an agenda that weakens federal programs and reshapes health care in the name of cost-cutting. As the shutdown enters its first days, millions of Americans are left in limbo. Families struggling to pay for food and rent now face the prospect of health care costs doubling or tripling. Schumer and Jeffries issued a warning in their joint statement. “President Trump’s behavior has become more erratic and unhinged,” the duo stated jointly. “Instead of negotiating a bipartisan agreement in good faith, he is obsessively posting crazed deepfake videos.”

Trump’s Shutdown Warning: Permanent Federal Layoffs Could Follow

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Government Bailout (Photo by Douglass Rissing)

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The nation is bracing for a government shutdown unlike any in its history. At the center stands President Donald Trump, who has declared that if Congress cannot keep the government open, federal workers may not just be furloughed — they may be permanently fired.

“We are going to cut a lot of the people that … we’re able to cut on a permanent basis,” Trump told NBC News. “I’d rather not do that.” Traditionally, shutdowns have meant furloughs followed by back pay when the government reopens. Trump’s directives are different. The White House Office of Management and Budget has told agencies to treat the closure as an “opportunity” to reduce staff. “Federal employees are not bargaining chips. They are veterans, caregivers, law enforcement officers, and neighbors who serve their country and fellow Americans every day. They deserve stability and respect, not pink slips and political games,” the American Federation of Government Employees stated.

“Of course, you become frugal with your spending, only buying what you need. You prepare for a furlough. Except in this case, with Trump, you prepare to be unjustly laid off,” a park ranger told TIME. “It seems like posturing. I don’t think they will do that. But President Trump has been willing to take big risks,” Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolfe Research, said. “This is just running over innocent bystanders. It’s not only bad economics … but it’s profoundly unfair,” Jared Bernstein, former White House adviser, said.

“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 this week,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated. “Brace yourselves for one hell of a storm,” a senior Democratic aide said. For millions of families, the storm is not politics — it is food on the table, rent due, medicine bought or delayed. This time, the stakes reach beyond Washington. The country is being told to prepare not only for a shutdown, but for the sudden dismantling of its own civil service.

Democrats Dig In: Healthcare at the Center of Looming Shutdown Fight

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Hand holding heart for medicine and health care. health insurance health concept. health insurance business for hospital. heartbeat lone, cardiogram. vector design

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The air in Washington has grown thick with a familiar tension, the kind that precedes the shuttering of government offices and the silencing of paychecks for thousands of workers. Yet at the heart of this looming shutdown lies something far greater than partisan brinkmanship: a ferocious fight for the soul of America’s healthcare. Democrats have planted themselves firmly in the path of what they call a reckless assault on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. They are not speaking in the language of compromise this time. They are speaking in the cadence of survival—for the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the working families who stand to see their coverage ripped away.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned of what was at stake. “Senators will have to choose: to stand with Donald Trump and keep the same lousy status quo and cause the Trump healthcare shutdown, or stand with the American people, protect their healthcare, and keep the government functioning,” he said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries framed the fight with defiance. “We don’t work for Donald Trump, we don’t work for JD Vance, we don’t work for Elon Musk, we work for the American people. And that is why we are a hard no on the partisan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut the healthcare of everyday Americans,” he stated.

In their joint letter to President Trump, Schumer and Jeffries accused him of deliberately courting a shutdown to “gut the healthcare of the American people.” They wrote, “We do not understand why you prefer to shut down the government rather than protect the healthcare and quality of life of the American people,” they stated.  Journalist Karen Tumulty analyzed the Democrats’ approach, noting that the minority party, though constrained in power, is wielding rare leverage in this moment. They have tied their stand to demands that strike at the heart of Trump’s agenda: restoring Medicaid funds slashed earlier this year, extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire, and halting the administration’s freeze on appropriated dollars. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland cut to the essence of Democratic resistance. “I’m not going to write a blank check for a lawless president. That is my starting point here,” he said.

The stakes, Democrats argue, are not abstract. They warn that millions could see premiums soar, hospitals and clinics could close, and the poorest communities—urban and rural alike—could be left without care. In Delaware, Sen. Chris Coons described how both the most urban and most rural hospitals in his state depend heavily on Medicaid. “Part of our challenge is lots of people haven’t felt that yet, but they will next month,” he said. The president has brushed aside these warnings, saying there may be “a closed country for a period of time,” even as he pledged to shield the military and Social Security checks, he stated. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made clear where he stands. “I’m on Team Fight. You don’t think Republicans would use every ounce of leverage they would have in this circumstance?” he said. For Democrats, the fight is not just about numbers on a spreadsheet, but about what kind of nation America chooses to be. They are wagering that voters, when confronted with rising costs and shuttered care, will see the struggle not as political theater but as a line drawn in defense of their health and their dignity.

Congress Moves to Block Trump’s Social Security Assault

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

In its nonstop assault on the most vulnerable Americans, the Trump administration is preparing to impose sweeping cuts to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program that provides a lifeline for the nation’s poorest seniors, children, and severely disabled adults. The proposed rule would strip eligibility from hundreds of thousands and slash monthly payments by as much as one-third, even as new data confirms Social Security’s trust funds are facing insolvency within the next decade.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), nearly 400,000 people stand to lose critical income. That includes more than 275,000 who would see cuts of about $300 a month, and over 100,000 who could lose their benefits entirely. The changes target families already under strain, specifically SSI recipients living with relatives who receive SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Reversing Protections for Struggling Families

The Biden administration had expanded the definition of “public assistance household,” shielding recipients from the harshest penalties. That safeguard ensured that low-income families receiving food assistance would not be punished for offering shelter to an elderly parent or disabled child. Trump’s rollback would erase that protection, returning to outdated rules from 1980. “Receiving food assistance from SNAP would no longer be enough to qualify a family as a ‘public assistance household,” CBPP analysts warned. “The resulting SSI benefit cuts would be felt in low-income households with disabled family members or older relatives across the country”. The typical multi-person SNAP household with an SSI recipient survives on about $17,000 annually—well below the poverty line. Under the new rule, a woman with Down Syndrome living with low-income parents could see her benefits plunge from $967 to less than $700 a month, with families forced to track and report household expenses line by line.

Fallout Across the States

Every state would be affected. California could lose benefits for 57,600 people, New York 35,900, Florida 30,800, and Texas 23,600. Even small states like Vermont, Wyoming, and Alaska face losses. Advocates warn that the proposal would drive more disabled people into institutions, increase homelessness, and add crushing red tape. The cuts come as Social Security marked its 90th anniversary. Nearly 70 million Americans depend on the program, but the latest Trustees’ report projects its trust funds will be depleted by 2034, triggering an automatic 23% cut to monthly checks unless Congress acts.

Unions and Lawmakers Push Back

Unions and community groups are mobilizing. The AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better in a Union” bus tour stopped in Bakersfield, California, where California Nurses Association president Sandy Reding blasted the Trump budget bill as “a cruel piece of legislation that will have disastrous consequences for the most vulnerable in our communities, including the patients I care for in Bakersfield.” In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President Everett Kelley pledged to fight Social Security staffing cuts. “Across the country, we are using our voice—as workers, as parents, as people who care about our communities—to demand that this administration and Congress do whatever it takes to protect Social Security,” Kelley asserted. “The American people deserve nothing less.”

Democratic leaders are also taking action. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is preparing a September bill he calls the “Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act,” aimed at reversing Trump’s cuts, reopening shuttered field offices, and restoring staffing. “Social Security to me means my life,” said Ellen Carter, a New York recipient. “It means medicine gets paid; it means that I have a place to sleep at night.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a companion bill in the Senate that would add $5 billion in funding, restore staff, safeguard data, and launch an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the Trump administration’s Social Security cutbacks. “Trump and his Republican allies have made it crystal clear—holding on to earned benefits requires vigilant defense,” Wyden said.

The Stakes for Millions

For the 7.5 million Americans who rely on SSI each month, including many with severe disabilities, the stakes are life and death. “For 90 years, we’ve kept America’s greatest anti-poverty success story alive,” Jessica Lapointe, president of AFGE Council 220, told reporters. “We serve widows, orphans, the elderly, disabled, every vulnerable soul in your families and your communities, and they deserve respect and dignity when they come for their earned benefits.”

Sen. Schumer Says Senate Will Vote on Changes to Filibuster by MLK Day

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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The U.S. Senate will vote by January 17 on whether the chamber will adopt new rules to circumvent the filibuster to facilitate passing of upcoming voting rights and social justice bills, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday, January 3.

“The Senate was designed to protect the political rights of the minority in the chamber, through the promise of debate and the opportunity to amend. But over the years, those rights have been warped and contorted to obstruct and embarrass the will of the majority – something our Founders explicitly opposed,” Sen. Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues.

“The Constitution specified what measures demanded a supermajority – including impeachment or the ratification of treaties. But they explicitly rejected supermajority requirements for legislation, having learned firsthand of such a requirement’s defects under the Articles of Confederation,” he continued.

Although the Senate is evenly split with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, Sen. Schumer’s party controls the majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris positioned to cast any tie-breaking vote.

Still, a significant hurdle remains in the senator’s own party.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has remained steadfast in opposition to any changes to the filibuster, a centuries-old rule rooted in racism.

Sen. Manchin’s opposition to several pieces of legislation has created a swath of defeat to several key pieces of legislation on his party’s agenda, making it increasingly difficult for President Joe Biden and others to fulfill campaign promises to made to voters, particularly those in the African American community.

Recent history shows that when Republicans controlled the Senate, they bent tradition and rules to push through their party’s agenda, including two controversial Supreme Court nominations.

With GOP-led voter suppression laws in states across the country and the continued police killings of unarmed African Americans, many have pushed for legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the George Floyd Justice and Policing bill.

Both measures would supersede laws already on the books, make it easier for people of color to vote and hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.

“The weaponization of rules [means that rules] once meant to short-circuit obstruction have been hijacked to guarantee obstruction. We must ask ourselves: if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the State level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same? We must adapt,” said Sen. Schumer.

“The Senate must evolve like it has many times before. The Senate was designed to evolve and has evolved many times in our history.”

Sen. Schumer continued:

“The fight for the ballot is as old as the Republic. Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy. We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.”