‘Iconic, heroic, trailblazing’: Democrats praise Pelosi’s work after she announces plan to retire – US politics live

4.57pm GMT Oversight Democrats request interview with former Prince Andrew's as part of ongoing Epstein investigation Democrats on the House oversight committee have sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, to request his cooperation in their ongoing investigation into the handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, including sitting for a transcribed interview. “Your long-standing friendship with Mr. Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation,” the lawmakers write to the former prince, who has officially been stripped of his royal titles. “This close relationship with Mr. Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together,’ further confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr. Epstein and his co-conspirators.” The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, said that rich and powerful men have “evaded justice for far too long”, noting that the former prince has the “opportunity to come clean and provide justice” for the survivors of Epstein’s abuse. 4.31pm GMT 'Iconic, heroic, trailblazing': Democrats praise Pelosi's tenure following retirement announcement Several Democrats, including those running to fill Nancy Pelosi’s seat, have praised the former House speaker for almost four decades in office. House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called Pelosi an “iconic, heroic, trailblazing, legendary and transformational leader” in a statement. “She is the greatest Speaker of all time,” he added. “Guiding her life’s work has always been her strong faith, tremendous patriotism and belief that we have a Republic worth keeping.” Senator Adam Schiff, of California, said that Pelosi has been “an indelible part of every major progressive accomplishment in the 21st century”, while describing her as a “mentor and friend”. “Her voice carried far beyond the walls of Congress,” Schiff said. “She represented the United States on the world stage, trailblazing while balancing the demands of an unruly Congress, and like Ginger Rogers – she did it backwards, and in heels.” Meanwhile, Saikat Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff for congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who launched a primary challenge against the speaker emerita, described Pelosi’s decision as “doing something truly rare in Washington: making room for the next one”. Another challenger, state senator Scott Weiner, praised Pelosi’s legislative accomplishments: “Millions of lives have been transformed for the better through the laws she has passed and the example of fearless leadership she has provided our country.” 4.02pm GMT US airline regulators are expected to publish a list of 40 airports serving “high-volume markets” where air traffic will be reduced on Friday, a move that would force airlines to cancel thousands of flights and create a cascade of scheduling issues and delays at some of the nation’s largest airports. The Federal Administration Agency has said flights are being reduced to maintain safety during the ongoing federal government shutdown, now the longest recorded and with no sign of a resolution between Republicans and Democrats to end the federal budget standoff, now in its 37th day.Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by the aviation analytics firm Cirium. ABC News said it had obtained a list of affected airports, which includes Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, all three New York City-area airports and Chicago O’Hare. The flight reductions, the outlet reported, will start at 4% on Friday and work up to 10%. The flights affected by these reductions are scheduled during the hours of 6am to 10pm. The likely airspace shutdown comes two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday – typically the busiest travel period of the year – and raises pressures on lawmakers to reach a deal to end the shutdown. 3.50pm GMT Johnson says that he's confident supreme court will say Trump's tariffs are legally sound On the subject of Wednesday’s supreme court arguments, the House speaker said that a majority of the court will agree that the Trump administration has the “legal authority” to continue its sweeping tariffs. This, despite skepticism from almost all of the justices on the bench, including the conservative wing of the court. Johnson remained confident today:“ If I felt like the executive branch had overstepped its bounds on trade or on the tariffs or something, I would have stepped in … I believe that what [Trump’s] done is well within the bounds. And so we’ll see what the court does.” 3.25pm GMT Johnson also referred to Nancy Pelosi’s decision to not seek re-election as a direct consequence of the internal fighting within the Democratic party. “That is a very important sign that I hope that you all will delve into” Johnson said. “Even the famous San Francisco liberal is not far left enough for the neo-Marxists.” Updated at 3.45pm GMT 3.18pm GMT Johnson continues to blast Mamdani's victory in New York At his daily press conference at the US Capitol today, House speaker Mike Johnson continued to disparage Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory in New York. “A 34-year-old Marxist is now the leader of the Democratic Party,” Johnson said, despite that Mamdani identifies as a Democratic Socialist. “Right now, the energy is on the side of the Marxist. Look no further than the top two Democrats here in Congress this year, every day they have to bend the knee to the socialists,” the speaker added, referring to Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minoirty leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of whom represent New York, and have been resolute that members of their party should not support the GOP-drawn funding bill to reopen the government. “If they vote to reopen the government, the Senate Democrats are afraid that the radicals in their party will say that they caved,” Johnson said today. 3.05pm GMT Top Senate Republican continues to pour cold water on Trump's filibuster ambitions John Thune, the Senate majority leader, continues to dismiss any hopes of abolishing the filibuster, despite Donald Trump’s insistence. “There just aren’t the votes in the Senate, and for that matter, not even close,” Thune told the Daily Caller. A reminder, there are two ways to eliminate the procedural mechanism. The first, and most straightforward method, requires changing the language of the Senate rule 22. This, however, requires a two-thirds majority in the upper chamber to formally change the text (an unlikely order). The other avenue, known informally as the “nuclear” option, which works by using a simple majority to set a new precedent in the Senate. Notably, this isn’t a rewrite to the actual rules, so it only pertains to legislative business at hand. 2.45pm GMT As speaker, Pelosi guided House Democrats through moments of extraordinary consequence: the 2008 financial crisis, the passage of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2010 – her greatest legislative achievement – and, in her final years of leadership, sweeping climate and infrastructure measures under President Biden. Her tenacity – and self-assuredness – is legendary. “I have no doubt that if I decided to run, I would win,” Pelosi told CNN in an interview that aired earlier this week. “That isn’t even a question.” Even after losing the gavel following the 2010 midterm wipeout, when some in her caucus urged her to step aside, she ran for leader again and won. Eight years later, she reclaimed the speakership, navigating a divided caucus that included an historic class of Democratic women and new progressive voices unafraid to clash with the party’s leadership. Over two decades, Pelosi became one of the most vilified figures in Republican politics, targeted in attack ads that turned her into a symbol of everything the right reviled about Democratic governance. Shortly before the 2022 midterm elections, the vitriol spilled into violence, when a hammer-wielding assailant broke into their San Francisco home and attacked her husband, later saying he planned to kidnap Pelosi and interrogate her. 2.28pm GMT Pelosi’s decision comes amid an intra-party reckoning over its aging leaders. In 2022, she relinquished her role as House Democratic leader, declaring that the “hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect”. But she chose to remain in the House, where Democrats bestowed on her the title of “speaker emerita”. Pelosi played a key role pushing Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in 2024. Biden’s decline in office, and his eventual withdrawal from the campaign, exacerbated concerns about age and term limits. Several long-serving House Democrats are facing challenges from younger candidates calling for generational change, and Pelosi allies such as Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Jerry Nadler of New York have already announced their retirements. Pelosi’s departure from the race, long anticipated, will jolt the primary fight for a rare open Democratic seat in the heart of San Francisco she has occupied in Congress since 1987. Two Democrats have already jumped into the race and more will likely join. 2.16pm GMT Nancy Pelosi, former House speaker, will not seek re-election to Congress The former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will not seek re-election to Congress in 2026, she announced in a video today. “I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,” said Pelosi, 85, who represents most of San Francisco and has spent almost 40 years in office. The lawmaker is currently serving her 20th term in Congress, and in 2007 she became the first female speaker of the House. “I was able to represent our city and our country around the world with patriotism and pride. I say to my colleagues in the house all the time, no matter what title they have bestowed upon me, there has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco’,” Pelosi continued in today’s video announcement. Updated at 4.16pm GMT 1.41pm GMT Record-breaking government shutdown enters day 37 It’s now day 37 of the ongoing government shutdown, the longest on record, with both parties continuing to blame the other for the lapse in funding. For his part, Donald Trump has turned his attention to the filibuster – the procedural mechanism that requires 60 votes in the Senate to end debate on a piece of legislation and bring it to the floor for a vote. He’s hammered home his wishes on Truth Social, and in front of lawmakers at a White House breakfast on Tuesday. Later today we’ll hear from House Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. We’ll make sure to bring you the latest as it happens. 1.13pm GMT Donald Trump is in Washington today. Per the White House schedule, he’s due to make an announcement at 11am in the Oval Office. We’re waiting to hear back about the details. Later, the president will take part in multilateral meetings with Central Asian countries. These are currently closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that changes. 12.53pm GMT The US supreme court appeared skeptical of the legal basis of the Trump administration’s sweeping global tariff regime on Wednesday after justices questioned the president’s authority to impose the levies. Justices heard oral arguments on Wednesday morning on the legality of Donald Trump’s tariffs , a crucial legal test of his controversial economic strategy – and power. Even conservative justices sounded doubtful of the strength of the Trump administration’s position. “The vehicle is the imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been a core power of Congress,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. In a series of executive orders issued earlier this year, Donald Trump cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, a 1977 law which in some circumstances grants the president authority to regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency, as he slapped steep duties on imports into the US. The supreme court – controlled by a rightwing supermajority crafted by Trump – is reviewing whether IEEPA grants the president the authority to levy a tariff, a word not mentioned in the law. Congress is granted sole authority under the constitution to levy taxes. The court has until the end of its term, in July 2026, to issue a ruling on the case. “We don’t contend that what’s being exercised here is the power to tax,” argued Dean John Sauer, US solicitor general, defending the Trump administration in the case. “It’s the power to regulate foreign commerce. These are regulatory tariffs.” “I just don’t understand this argument,” said the liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor. “You want to say tariffs are not taxes, but that’s exactly what they are.” Related: US supreme court justices express skepticism over legality of Trump tariffs 12.21pm GMT The US is ending temporary deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals, which for more than a decade allowed people from the east African country to stay in the US after escaping conflict. In a notice published on Wednesday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said conditions in South Sudan no longer met the statutory requirements for temporary protected status. The agency said South Sudanese nationals with status through the programme had 60 days to leave the US or face deportation. “Based on the department’s review, the secretary has determined the situation in South Sudan no longer meets the criteria for an ongoing armed conflict that poses a serious threat to the personal safety of returning South Sudanese nationals,” the notice says. In a statement, USCIS said South Sudanese nationals who used the Customs and Border Protection mobile app to report their departure could receive “a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and potential future opportunities for legal immigration”. Temporary protected status gives foreign nationals access to work permits and allows them to temporarily live and work legally in the US when their home countries are unsafe to return to. South Sudan’s designation, which was first authorised by the Barack Obama administration in 2011 because of armed conflict, expired on Monday after many extensions. The designation had so far been approved for about 232 people from the country. Related: US ends deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals 12.03pm GMT As the US federal shutdown enters its second month, government workers are accusing the Trump administration of being “out of control” and bullying people who are “simply trying to do their best”. The shutdown surpassed 35 days this week, beating the previous record set under Donald Trump’s first presidential term. About 700,000 federal employees are furloughed without pay, and about 700,000 additional federal workers have been working without pay through the shutdown. Affected workers say the shutdown has been a continuation of attacks they have experienced under the Trump administration, from mass firings – many of which have been overturned or blocked in federal courts – to drastic budget cuts, pushes to take early retirements or resignation buyouts, and threats of withholding back pay for workers furloughed during the shutdown. “It’s already been a chaotic year,” said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, who works at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh). She was initially fired along with most employees at the agency, but reinstated in May after a court intervened to block most of the firings. “For many agencies, like the one that I am employed by, we’ve been effectively shut down for many months already because of the reductions in force that have already happened, and all of the attacks that we’ve been seeing on the federal workforce,” said Niemeier-Walsh, who is also vice-president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3840. “It’s become out of control, and I really hope that this shutdown is a wake-up call of how bad things have gotten.” In November, furloughed government employees received furlough extension notices, although many notices did not contain assurances they would receive back pay once the government reopens. Denial of back pay has been a threat repeatedly made by the Trump administration during the shutdown, along with firings during the shutdown, which were blocked in a federal court. “I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever thought that we would have our government attacking government employees,” said Omar Algeciras, who works at the Department of Labor. “ I think this is the epitome of harassment, bullying and attacks on people that are simply trying to do their best to provide a service or services to American workers.” Related: Workers decry Trump officials as ‘out of control’ as longest shutdown drags on 11.48am GMT Michael Durant watched through night-vision goggles as two 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs slammed on to the Panamanian airbase while he hovered off the country’s south coast in a Black Hawk helicopter. “A gigantic flash, followed by a boom … [like] the largest lightning strike you’ve ever seen in your life,” the retired US army pilot recalled of the opening salvo of the Battle of Rio Hato Airfield in December 1989. The stealth bomber blitzkrieg and subsequent army ranger assault marked the start of the US invasion of Panama – Operation Just Cause – designed to dethrone Panama’s military dictator, Manuel Noriega. Durant and his colleagues had orders to capture the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) base to stop troops coming to Noriega’s rescue. Over the coming days, the pilot and more than 25,000 other American troops hunted the autocrat, who finally surrendered on 3 January 1990. Memories of Just Cause have resurfaced in recent weeks after Donald Trump ordered the largest US military buildup in Latin America and the Caribbean since that invasion almost four decades ago. A seventh of US naval assets – including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford – have been sent to the region since August, with B-52 bombers and special forces spotted off Venezuela’s northern coast. Airstrikes on alleged drug boats in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea have killed more than 60 people. Officially, the deployment of warships, Reaper drones and about 10,000 service personnel is part of a crackdown on Latin American narco-traffickers who Trump accuses of flooding the US with drugs. But many suspect Trump’s real goal is toppling Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, just as George HW Bush toppled Noriega before he was tried and jailed in the US. Some members of Venezuela’s opposition appear keen for a replay of Just Cause, on an even greater scale. The exiled politician Leopoldo López recently voiced support for a US attack to unseat Maduro, who is widely believed to have stolen last year’s presidential election. But many observers, including Trump backers, question the wisdom of invading a country 12 times larger than Panama, and more politically and geographically complex. Related: US military buildup off Venezuela coast stirs echoes of 1989 Panama invasion 11.29am GMT President Donald Trump appealed directly to China’s Xi Jinping to free jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai when the two leaders met in South Korea last week, according to three people briefed on the talks and a US administration official, Reuters reported. Trump did not discuss a specific deal to free Lai but spoke more broadly about concerns surrounding the 77-year-old publishing mogul’s health and well-being after his lengthy trial on national security charges, one of the people said. Trump spent less than five minutes discussing the issue, the person added. “President Trump brought up Jimmy Lai’s case, just as he said he would,” said the administration official. “Both president Trump and president Xi engaged in the discussion that followed.” “It was raised by Trump and noted by Xi,” a third person said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the leaders’ meeting. That person said Trump suggested that Lai’s release would be good for US-China relations and beneficial for China’s image. 11.16am GMT Donald Trump appeared to be sharing everything on his mind all at once on Wednesday as he posted more than 30 Truth Social posts in less than three hours. The posts, of which there were 33 between 4.17pm and 6.40pm ET, came a day after Democrats won in a series of elections across the United States in New York, California, Virginia, and New Jersey. Trump’s posts ranged in subject matter. In a handful of missives, Trump made recommendations to his followers to buy books written by former FBI special agent Nicole Parker, Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell, Georgia congressman Barry Loudermilk, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro, and his own former lawyer, Christina Bobb. Most notably, Trump penned the foreword for Bobb’s book. Other posts included videos of Trump appearing to read nearly verbatim from his own previously posted Truth Social text posts. They appeared to be artificially generated, but the Guardian could not independently confirm. Users on social media platform X asked Grok about their authenticity and Grok noted they were indeed AI. Upon asking the White House for more information, the Guardian received an automated response that read in part: “Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays.” The videos feature Trump standing in front of a podium in an unknown room and covered topics such as his recent meeting with the prime minister of Japan, his G2 meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping, Walmart allegedly lowering its prices, and more. Related: Trump goes on posting frenzy a day after Democrats win key elections 11.02am GMT The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, and the FAA administrator, Bryan Bedford, said on Wednesday the federal government would be reducing airline traffic by 10% at 40 “high volume markets” beginning on Friday if the government shutdown does not end by then. The announcement did not specify which 40 airports would see the reduction and said that a complete list would be announced on Thursday with cuts likely at the nation’s 30 busiest airports, including those serving New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas. The reduction will affect cargo, private and passenger traffic. Reuters reported that the cuts would begin at 4% on Friday, escalate to 5% Saturday and 6% at Sunday, before reaching 10% next week, and that international flights were to be exempted from the initial cuts. Aviaion analytics firm Cirium estimated that the cuts would reduce as many as 1,800 flights and over 268,000 airline seats. The comments come after Duffy warned earlier this week that the US may close portions of its airspace if the shutdown, now on its record-breaking 36th day, does not end. Duffy and Bedford repeatedly framed the decision as a pre-emptive, safety and data-driven measure. Bedford said that air traffic was currently operating safely, but that the FAA was concerned about widespread reports of fatigue from flight controllers. “As we slice the data more granularly, we are seeing pressures build in a way that we don’t feel, if we allow it to go unchecked, will allow us to continue to tell the public that we operate the safest airline system in the world” Bedford said. “Many of these employees, they’re the head of household,” Duffy said. “When they lose income they are confronted with real-world difficulties on how they pay their bills.” Related: US to cut airline traffic by 10% due to shutdown, Trump transport chief says 10.39am GMT Senate to vote on bipartisan legislation to stop unauthorized war against Venezuela Good morning and welcome to our coverage of US politics as the record-breaking government shutdown drags on and president Donald Trump continues to rail against various targets following Democrat electoral successes on Tuesday. But first, let’s look at the Senate vote today on bipartisan legislation to stop an unauthorized war against Venezuela. The proposals from Democrats Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff along with independently minded Republican senator Rand Paul would block the use of the US armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless that action has been authorized by Congress. This follows reports that the Trump administration is considering land strikes inside the country. It also follows yet another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean and as an aircraft carrier began heading to the region in a new expansion of military firepower. The attack on Tuesday killed two people aboard the vessel, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign in South American waters up to at least 66 people in at least 16 strikes. A similar vote which would have blocked such strikes failed in Congress last month. Meanwhile, Schiff said on X: The Trump admin is laying the groundwork for potential military action inside Venezuela. Tomorrow, on a bipartisan basis, we will force a vote to block this unauthorized use of military force. Congress must assert its authority to stop America from being dragged into a new war. In other developments: Democrats took a victory lap after Tuesday’s election day wins with the chair of Democratic National Committee saying the party “is all gas, no brakes” and “this is not your grandfather’s Democratic party”. Despite that, Jared Golden, a democratic representative for Maine, announced Wednesday that he wouldn’t seek re-election, which could pose a challenge for Democrats in the highly contested seat. A federal judge in Chicago issued a temporary restraining order that requires an immigration facility to improve its conditions. The ruling came after detainees sued the government over what they say are “inhumane”, unsanitary and crowded conditions. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said that if a deal isn’t reached in the government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will cut 10% of flights in 40 major airports across the country. The announcement did not specify which 40 airports would see the reduction, but Duffy said it will affect cargo, private and passenger traffic. The US supreme court appeared skeptical of the legal basis of the Trump administration’s sweeping global tariff regime on Wednesday after justices questioned the president’s authority to impose the levies. The question at the heart of the case is whether the Trump administration’s tariffs violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law which only gives the president authority to “regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency”. As he hosted Republican senators at the White House, Donald Trump offered some initial thoughts on the Democratic victories across the country on election night. “Last night, it was not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas. But I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” the president said. On Capitol Hill, amid the government shutdown (now the longest on record), Republicans continued to rebuke Democrats for failing to pass a stopgap funding bill. House speaker Mike Johnson also used his daily press conference to both downplay and foreshadow what Tuesday’s election results suggest going forward. Updated at 12.00pm GMT