Friday, November 14, 2025

Congress takes steps to release Epstein files

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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Nov 14 2025

Demands to release the emails sent by convicted child-sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein have been getting louder and louder since President Donald Trump took office, and Congress may be set to do just that.

Hey there, This is America readers, Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent for USA TODAY.

Now that Rep. Adelita Grijalva , D-Arizona, has been sworn-in, the U.S. House of Representatives has reached the 218 signatures needed to file a discharge petition and force a vote on the Trump administration releasing all files related to Epstein.

It is something mostly supported by Democrats, who brought 214 signatures to the petition with their minority caucus, but don't forget the four Republicans who've joined up to make this possible.The White House is putting pressure on some of them to drop the subject.

One of the four lawmakers -- Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia -- said she was contacted by a Trump administration official who tried to pressure her to withdraw from the petition.

Anouska De Georgiou pauses during her remarks at a press conference to discuss the Epstein Files Transparency bill, directing the release of the remaining files related to the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 3, 2025.

Jonathan Ernst, Reuters

For more on what's happening with the Epstein files, check out USA TODAY Network's coverage:

Epstein email claims Trump 'knew about the girls': The disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker wrote that Trump "spent hours at my house" with one of Epstein's victims and allegedly "knew about the girls," according to emails released by House Democrats this week.

New Epstein emails intensify debate in Congress as Trump pressures Republicans: The White House called the email release a "smear," and Trump said on social media that Democrats are trying to "deflect" from other issues.

'I am the one able to take him down.' What Epstein said about Trump: A USA TODAY review of the trove shows the convicted sex offender had significant concerns about his former friend and confidant in the years before his death, which was ruled a suicide.

Six-figure earners and SNAP recipients feeling economic squeeze

There was a time when making $100,000 a year meant you were living on easy street, but more Americans in that bracket say they're living paycheck to paycheck.

A new Harris poll , conducted over the summer, found one in three six-figure earners described themselves as financially distressed where another two in three said that salary is not a sign of wealth.

"People used to feel when you got to six figures or above that it was a sign of financial stability," Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer and futurist at The Harris Poll, told USA TODAY. "And now we just see that as a sign of surviving, and being in survival mode."Things are even more dire for those making less, we've learned.

A survey completed for CouponFollow this month shows those who get SNAP, better known as food stamps, are going to struggle with holiday meals even after Congress put an end to the historic government shutdown this week.

Roughly 72% of SNAP recipients surveyed are biting their nails with a "number of families facing reduced budgets," said Clay Cary, a senior analyst and retail expert at CouponFollow.

That means going to food pantries, skipping meals or opting out of hosting for the holidays altogether.

Thanks for reading! See you back next week with more stories of justice from across the country