Justice department will release Epstein files within 30 days, says US attorney general – US politics live

8.52pm GMT As of 3.52pm ET, on a grey afternoon in Washington, we’ve yet to hear from the White House about whether the press will watch Donald Trump sign the bill directing the justice department to release unclassified documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. We’ll make sure to update you if that changes. Updated at 8.53pm GMT 8.44pm GMT Trump nominates new CFPB director, in move that allows Vought to continue dismantling agency The president has nominated a new director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), in a move that allows the current acting director, Russell Vought, who also serves as the director of the office of management and budget, to remain in his position and continue dismantling the agency. Trump’s decision to nominate Stuart Levenbach, an official in the budget office, as the permanent director provides a crucial loophole that allows Vought to stay put, three weeks before he would otherwise have to step aside. Federal law says that an acting official can only serve for 210 days, unless the president nominates another person for the position. Vought took over the CFPB earlier this year, and has consistently pushed for the watchdog’s elimination, including trying to fire most of its staff. Today, Elizabeth Warren – the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee – said that Levenbach’s nomination was “nothing more than a front for Russ Vought to stay on as acting director indefinitely as he tries to illegally close down the agency”. Updated at 8.52pm GMT 8.09pm GMT Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmental activist who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, will run for California governor, he announced on Wednesday. The 68-year-old joins a crowded field of candidates seeking to replace Gavin Newsom, and in a statement released this week pledged to focus on the state’s intractable affordability crisis. “Californians deserve a life they can afford. But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living. We need to get back to basics. And that means making corporations pay their fair share again,” Steyer said. With Newsom termed out from running again, several prominent Democrats have entered the race, including former congresswoman Katie Porter; Xavier Becerra, a former US cabinet member; Antonio Villaraigosa, a former state lawmaker who served as the LA mayor; and Betty Yee, who was the state controller from 2015 to 2023. Congressman Eric Swalwell is expected to announce plans to run. Porter was considered the frontrunner until October when video emerged of her appearing frustrated with a journalist during an interview with a local news outlet and threatening to walk out. In the aftermath of the incident, Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff who is running for governor, took the lead in polling. Steve Hilton, a former David Cameron adviser and Fox News host, is also running as a Republican. Related: Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer announces run for California governor Updated at 8.16pm GMT 7.54pm GMT New poll shows that majority of voters would back a Democratic congressional candidate in 2026 A majority of nationally registered voters said they would back a Democratic congressional candidate if the 2026 midterms were held today, according to a new poll by NPR/PBS News/Marist University. While 55% of respondents said they would support a Democrat, 41% would support the Republican, and 3% would back another candidate. Notably, 39% of the Americans surveyed said that they blame Democrats for the record-breaking government shutdown. Trump received 34% of the responsibility, while 26% blame congressional Republicans. 7.15pm GMT Here's a recap of the day so far The US justice department will release files from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, Pam Bondi, the attorney general, has said, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force Donald Trump’s administration to make them public. At a news conference today, Bondi confirmed that the justice department will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days, as required by legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate yesterday. “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” she said. However, the department may have to hold back material that could affect Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures who associated with Epstein. They could argue that releasing certain documents would be prejudicial. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it will not release a full US jobs report for the month of October, following the country’s longest ever federal government shutdown. Instead, the available figures will be published with November’s data in mid-December, the BLS said. The October data is expected to show negative job growth after about 100,000 federal workers participated in the deferred-resignation program and formally left payrolls in late September during the shutdown. In federal court today, Lindsey Halligan, the president’s handpicked choice for interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, and another prosecutor acknowledged that the entire grand jury never saw the final indictment against James Comey. Halligan charged the former FBI director with lying to Congress in September. But when the prosecution was questioned by Judge Michael Nachmanoff today, they admitted that the a new version of the indictment was not presented to the full panel after it rejected one of the charges. The US has signalled to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end Russia’s war that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, the sources said. Updated at 7.41pm GMT 6.48pm GMT Prosecutors admit that entire grand jury did not see final indictment against James Comey In federal court today, Lindsey Halligan (the president’s handpicked choice for interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia) and another prosecutor acknowledged that the entire grand jury never saw the final indictment against James Comey. Halligan charged the former FBI director with lying to Congress in September. But when the prosecution was probed by Judge Michael Nachmanoff today, they admitted that the a new version of the indictment was not presented to the full panel, after they rejected one of the charges. Instead, Halligan gave the grand jury’s foreperson an updated version to sign. “The foreperson and another grand juror was also present,” she confirmed to Nachmanoff. “There is no indictment,” said Comey’s attorney Michael Dreeben, arguing that this error is grounds for dismissal. Updated at 7.00pm GMT 6.20pm GMT A Republican attempt to censure Stacey Plaskett, a Democratic delegate, over her real-time texts with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein collapsed on the House floor on Tuesday night, prompting a confrontation on the chamber floor and accusations that party leaders had struck a deal to protect members on both sides facing ethics controversies. The measure, which would have formally reprimanded Plaskett and removed her from the House intelligence committee over her text message exchanges with Epstein during a hearing, failed by a vote of 209 to 214. Republicans Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas and Dave Joyce of Ohio voted with all Democrats against the resolution, while three other Republicans voted present. When newly released materials exposed Plaskett, a Democrat from the US Virgin Islands, for exchanging real-time messages with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing, all Democrats voted against her censure. Then, immediately after the vote, Democrats withdrew a planned censure resolution against Cory Mills, a Florida Republican representative facing allegations of stolen valor, financial misconduct and domestic abuse. Mills has denied the accusations. The sequence prompted Lauren Boebert, a representative of Colorado, to shout at fellow Republicans on the House floor, wagging her finger and at one point directly confronting Mills. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican representative from Florida, attempted to raise a parliamentary inquiry asking Mike Johnson, the House speaker, to “explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives”. “Get it, girl,” Boebert shouted in response. Related: House Republicans’ attempt to censure Democrat over texts with Epstein fails Updated at 6.22pm GMT 5.55pm GMT Bureau of Labor Statistics says October jobs report won't be released until mid-December The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it will not release a full US jobs report for the month of October, following the country’s longest ever federal government shutdown. Instead, the available figures will be published with November’s data in mid-December, the BLS said. The October data is expected to show negative job growth after around 100,000 federal workers participated in the deferred resignation program and formally left payrolls in late September during the shutdown. The announcement will have major implications for the Federal Reserve, whose officials are debating whether to lower interest rates again when they meet next month. On this the New York Times notes: “Policymakers have grown more divided in recent weeks, with those inclined to cut rates emphasizing their concerns about the labor market and those hesitant to make a move focusing on the risks posed by inflation reaccelerating again. Typically, new economic data would help to resolve some of those differences. But the Fed will not have much new data in hand much new data before it has to make its decision on 10 December.” Updated at 5.56pm GMT 5.45pm GMT Justice department will release Epstein files within 30 days, Bondi says The US justice department will release files from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days, attorney general Pam Bondi has said, after Congress voted nearly unanimously to force Donald Trump’s administration to make them public. The scandal has been a thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges. At a news conference today, Bondi confirmed that the DOJ will release its Epstein-related material within 30 days, as required by legislation that passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate yesterday. “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency,” she said. But that release may not be comprehensive, as the agency may have to hold back material that could impact Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures who associated with Epstein. The department will also protect the identities of any sex-trafficking victims whose names appear in the documents, she said. Updated at 6.11pm GMT 5.28pm GMT The US president says the United States is “going to be selling Saudi Arabia some of the greatest military equipment ever built” and says “the airplanes” would be “approved very quickly”. Yesterday, Trump confirmed the US would sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, marking the first sale of the advanced fighter jets to a Middle Eastern state other than Israel. Updated at 5.32pm GMT 5.25pm GMT Trump also says that $270bn in agreements and sales were being signed between “dozens of companies” today. Updated at 5.25pm GMT 5.24pm GMT Trump reiterates that he signed an agreement designating Saudi Arabia a major non-Nato ally at last night’s dinner with the crown prince. “We’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major, non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said last night. The US currently has 19 other countries listed as major non-Nato allies, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. “A stronger and more capable alliance will advance the interests of both countries, and it will serve the highest interest of peace,” Trump said during the dinner. 5.15pm GMT Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, have been delivering remarks to the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center. I’ll bring you any key lines that come out of that here. 5.04pm GMT US proposals to end Russia's war involve Ukraine giving up land and some weapons – reports The US has signalled to Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end Russia’s war which proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the proposals included cutting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, among other things. Washington wants Kyiv to accept the main points, the sources said. Earlier, we covered Axios’s report of a secret US 28-point peace plan, hammered out with Russia (and without any direct input from Ukraine and other European allies), that is now on the table to end the war. According to Axios’s sources, the plan’s 28 points fall into four general buckets: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine. And this morning, Politico reported, citing a senior White House official, that “they expect a framework for ending the conflict to be agreed by all parties by the end of this month – and possibly ‘as soon as this week’”. Trump administration officials told the outlet last night that they were on the brink of a major breakthrough and it seemed as though the plan would be presented to Zelenskyy as a fait accompli. “What we are going to present [to Ukraine] is reasonable,” the senior White House official told Politico, with the mood in the administration one in which Zelenskyy, under pressure on the battlefield and at home in the face of a mounting corruption scandal, must accept what’s on offer. You can follow my colleague Jakub Krupa’s coverage of the war here: Related: Death toll from Russian attack rises to 25 as Ukraine says it will raise issue at UN – Europe live Updated at 5.18pm GMT 4.28pm GMT Comey's lawyers argue that Trump's public comments prove case is a political attack Lawyers for James Comey are arguing that the case against the former FBI director is nothing more than a personal attack, born out of Donald Trump’s desire to prosecute his political adversary. “This is an extraordinary case and it merits an extraordinary remedy,” Comey’s defense lawyer, Michael Dreeben, said today at a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Dreeben added that the president’s public comments about Comey are “effectively an admission that this is a political prosecution and not based on evidence”. A reminder that Comey is charged with lying to Congress in 2020, and has pleaded not guilty. On Monday, another federal judge found evidence of “government misconduct” in how Lindsey Halligan, the interim US attorney general for the eastern district of Virginia, secured criminal charges against the former FBI director, and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to Comey’s defense team. Updated at 7.58pm GMT 3.52pm GMT House set to repeal funding bill provision to allow senators to sue government over phone records Later today, we’re expecting a vote in the House that would repeal a provision tucked into the stopgap spending bill passed last week (which ended the record-breaking government shutdown) that allows senators to sue the federal government because their phone records were subpoenaed in 2023 by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Most Republicans in the House have derided the measure, while the Senate majority leader, John Thune, remained convinced it was necessary. “The House is going to do what they’re going to do with it,” he said of the lower chamber lawmakers. “It doesn’t apply to them.” However, a number of GOP senators have indicated they’re happy to do away with the provision. This even includes some of the eight lawmakers whose phone data the FBI sought and obtained as part of Jack Smith’s investigation. That vote is currently scheduled for 8:15pm ET. 3.31pm GMT Senate receives and passes bill to release Epstein files, heads to Trump for signing The Senate has now officially received the bill, passed in the House, which calls on the justice department to release the complete Epstein files. On Tuesday the upper chamber passed the legislation with unanimous consent – which means it now heads directly to Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. As I noted in my last post, we’re not clear on when that will be, since his schedule hasn’t been updated. 3.09pm GMT One quick note, there haven’t been any changes to Donald Trump’s schedule today, per the press pool. Which means, as of now, the president doesn’t have any time allotted to sign the bill forcing the justice department to release the full batch of Jeffrey Epstein files. We’ll keep you updated if things change throughout the day. 2.48pm GMT Exclusive: State department to cut 38 universities from research program over DEI policies The state department is proposing to suspend 38 universities including Harvard and Yale from a federal research partnership program because they engage in diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices, according to an internal memo and spreadsheet obtained by the Guardian. The memo, dated 17 November, recommends excluding institutions from the Diplomacy Lab – a program that pairs university researchers with state department policy offices – if they “openly engage in DEI hiring practices” or set DEI objectives for candidate pools. Elite institutions including Stanford University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University and the University of Southern California are among those marked for suspension, effective 1 January 2026. Other targeted schools include American University, George Washington University, Syracuse University and several University of California campuses. An accompanying spreadsheet, reviewed by the Guardian, uses a color-coded system to evaluate 75 universities on a four-point scale, with institutions showing “clear DEI hiring policy” marked in red for suspension and those with “merit-based hiring with no evidence of DEI” marked in green to maintain partnerships. The suspensions follow Trump’s near year-long campaign against DEI in higher education. In January, he declared diversity programs “illegal” and ordered agencies to force universities receiving federal grants to certify compliance or lose funding, with a 21 April deadline. In April, he moved to terminate accreditors that require DEI practices, threatening universities’ ability to access federal student aid. Read more of Joseph’s report below. Related: State department to cut 38 universities from research program over DEI policies 2.18pm GMT My colleague Jakub Krupa is covering the latest out of Ukraine, and the latest Russian strike on Ternopil. You can follow along with his reporting below. Related: Death toll from Russian attack rises to 25 as Ukraine says it will raise issue at UN – Europe live Updated at 6.11pm GMT 1.57pm GMT Trump administration crafting plan with Russia to end war in Ukraine - report The Trump administration is working with Russia to craft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to a report by Axios. Citing unnamed US and Russian officials, a 28-point peace plan is inspired by Trump’s deal to end the war in Gaza. According to Axios’ sources, the plan falls into four general buckets: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is leading the drafting of the plan Trump’s envoy and has discussed it extensively with top Russian diplomat, Kirill Dmitriev. The aim, according to Dmitriev is to produce a written document along those lines before Trump and Putin next meet. According to Axios’ Barak Ravid, Witkoff also met with Ukraine’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, earlier this week in Miami, Florida. This comes as an overnight strike by Russia on western Ukraine killed 25 people and left 73 people injured, according to Ukrainian interior ministry Updated at 6.12pm GMT 1.27pm GMT A reminder that all but one member of the House, Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins, voted on Tuesday for the justice department to release the complete trove of Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate approved the legislation by unanimous consent, and it’s expected to hit the president’s desk today. My colleagues have put together a helpful graphic to show just how widespread the support in House was for the bill. 1.06pm GMT Donald Trump is on day two of the Saudi crown prince’s visit to Washington. Later, around noon ET, the president will travel to the Kennedy Center and deliver remarks at the US-Saudi investment forum, where Mohammed bin Salman will be in attendance. Also speaking at the event – billionaire and Doge mastermind Elon Musk. 12.52pm GMT Larry Summers steps down from OpenAI board following release of Epstein emails - report Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary and Harvard professor, told Axios on Wednesday that he was resigning from the OpenAI board following the publication of a series of email exchanges he had with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. His resignation comes one day after Charlie Stadtlander, the New York Times’ executive director for media relations and communications, said the publication was cutting ties with him amid new revelations about his relationship with Epstein from documents released by members of the House last week. The documents revealed that Summers maintained a friendly relationship with Epstein long after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008, and continued to correspond with him until 5 July 2019, the day before Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges. “In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement to Axios. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company and look forward to following their progress.” The Senate is expected to formally vote on Wednesday on a bill that would force the full release of the investigative files related to Epstein. Some of the documents that have already been released appear to suggest that Donald Trump “knew about the girls” procured for Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring and that he had once Trump “spent hours” with one victim at Epstein’s house. Updated at 1.46pm GMT 12.33pm GMT Former FBI director James Comey to appear in court Former FBI director James Comey is set to return to court on Wednesday, where his lawyers will argue that Donald Trump unlawfully directed the Justice Department to prosecute as a form of malicious retribution. Comey was charged with lying to Congress in 2020 just days after Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his attorneys arguing that the charges are an example of vindictive prosecution. On Monday, Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ruled that the justice department engaged in a “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” on its way to indicting Comey and directed prosecutors to produce to defense lawyers all grand jury materials from the case. Updated at 2.43pm GMT 12.22pm GMT Mike Pence says 'I did my duty' in UK talk touching on January 6, tariffs and MBS visit Former Vice President Mike Pence is speaking at Chatham House in London, reflecting on the US and its place in the world today. He was diplomatic when discussing Donald Trump, saying he remained proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration, though “it didn’t end the way I wanted it to” – Pence split from Trump when he refused to block certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory at the Capitol on 6 January 2021 as rioters incited by Trump chanted “hang Mike Pence”. “I will always believe, by god’s grace, that I did my duty that day in January 2021,” Pence said to loud applause. However, Pence said he disagreed on Trump’s statements on Tuesday during a White House visit with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman. Trump brushed off questions from a reporter about a US intelligence assessment that the prince had approved the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a US green-card holder and Washington Post columnist, saying “things happen” and that bin Salman “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that”. “I would not have made that statement,” he said without much more detail, adding that the visit would have gone much differently had he been in the Oval Office. Pence also distanced himself from Trump’s global tariffs, saying he believes that while tariffs “have a use as a means of facilitating negotiation…I believe in free trade with free nations.” “The simple truth is at the American founding, taxes on tea were kind of an issue,” he said as the crowd laughed. “Those were tariffs. By the time they got around to that second draft of an American government in 1787 that we call the constitution of the United States, the one thing they wanted to make clear was that no one person could impose import tariffs and taxes on the American people, that it would be done by the elected representatives of the American people. I’m hopeful that our supreme court will draw the same conclusion.” Updated at 12.37pm GMT 11.34am GMT Democrats and Republicans celebrate passage of bill to release Epstein files Hello and thank you for joining us on the US politics live blog. I’m Vivian Ho and I will be bringing you the latest news over the next few hours. The Senate agreed on Tuesday by unanimous consent to approve legislation that would force the release of investigative files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The move came mere hours after a 427-1 vote in the US House to pass the bipartisan measure that Donald Trump had been fighting for months. “Americans are done being lied to. These survivors deserve full transparency. Every document, every truth, every name,” Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a longtime Trump ally who split from the president over the Epstein files, posted on X on Tuesday. The scandal over the Epstein files has dogged Trump since his return to the White House. For months, the president has dismissed the uproar over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”. Over the weekend, he relented and urged Republican lawmakers to vote for the measure that many of their constituents demanded they support. “I don’t care when the Senate passes the House Bill, whether tonight, or at some other time in the near future, I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the victories that we’ve had,” the president posted on Truth Social on Tuesday. The Senate majority leader, John Thune, told CNN that the bipartisan bill will likely be sent to Trump’s desk for signing on Wednesday, after the House formally transmits the bill and the Senate officially approves it. Trump told reporters on Monday that he would sign the bill. Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat who sponsored the bill alongside Republican congressman Thomas Massie, posted on X that Trump “should have the survivors who made this possible at the bill’s signing.” “Against all odds, the survivors kept fighting,” Khanna said. “This victory is theirs.” In other developments: Backlash related to the Epstein files, some of which have already been made public by members of the House, has begun: the New York Times said it will be cutting ties with the former treasury secretary Larry Summers after documents revealed that Summers maintained a friendly relationship with Epstein long after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in 2008. Trump is set to speak at a US-Saudi forum focused on investment on Wednesday. After a White House visit on Tuesday from Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said that the US and Saudi Arabia have entered into a security agreement that would ease weapons transfers between the two countries and elevate Saudi Arabia to a “major non-Nato ally,” Politico reports. This came after Trump brushed off questions from a reporter about a US intelligence assessment that the prince had approved the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a US green-card holder and Washington Post columnist. Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, called Trump’s remarks “a disgrace”. “‘Things happen,’ he said. Actually, someone made them happen. And that was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He had Jamal Khashoggi assassinated, and then he and his government lied about what happened.” Federal judges are set to hear arguments on Wednesday afternoon to determine a preliminary injunction request in two consolidated challenges to North Carolina’s congressional map, which was redrawn with the aim of adding more Republicans to Congress. On Tuesday, a panel of federal judges ruled that Texas cannot use 2025 congressional maps, which added five Republican districts, for the 2026 midterms and must use the 2021 boundaries. Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote: “Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.” A new Marquette Law School survey finds more people are favoring Democrats than Republicans in the anticipated 2026 vote for Congress. Updated at 12.09pm GMT