What to know today
- MAXWELL MEETING: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a second day in a row today.
- PARDON QUESTION: President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House this morning that he “hasn’t thought about” pardoning Maxwell, but added that he’s “allowed to do it.”
- SCOTLAND TRIP: Trump traveled to Scotland for a five-day trip, his first visit to the United Kingdom since his re-election.
- SANTOS REPORTS TO PRISON: Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has begun serving a more than seven-year prison sentence today after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud and identity theft.
House Oversight Democrats issue letter to Epstein estate requesting copy of ‘birthday book'
Two California Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Committee said today that they’re requesting a complete and unredacted copy of the “birthday book” from the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's estate, by Aug. 10.
In a letter to Epstein's estate, Rep. Robert Garcia, a ranking Democrat on the committee, and Rep. Ro Khanna, said the book “may provide information essential to further our constitutionally obligated congressional efforts,” citing the book’s “clear relevance” to the Epstein case.
“As President Trump continues desperate attempts to quell public interest in the release of files related to his long-time friend, convicted sex offender, and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, we write with deep concern regarding potential public corruption, abuse of power, and failures in the federal law enforcement response to the Epstein case,” they wrote.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that President Trump had sent a birthday letter that included a drawing of a naked woman that appeared in a book that Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell had compiled to commemorate Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. Trump has denied writing the alleged birthday message and sued the newspaper for defamation.
Federal judge dismisses Trump administration’s lawsuit against Chicago over its sanctuary city policies
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump administration that sought to block the enforcement of several “sanctuary policies” in Illinois that restricted the ability of local officials to aid federal immigration authorities in detainment operations.
In a 64-page decision, District Court Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins, a Biden appointee, granted a motion by the state of Illinois to dismiss the case after determining the United States lacks standing to sue over the sanctuary policies.
The judge noted in the ruling that Illinois’ decision to enact the sanctuary laws are protected by the 10th amendment, which declares that any powers not specifically given to the federal government, or denied to the states, by the Constitution, are retained by the states.
DOJ granted Ghislaine Maxwell limited immunity during meetings with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche
A senior administration official confirms to NBC News that Ghislaine Maxwell was granted limited immunity by the Justice Department in order to answer questions about the Jeffrey Epstein case.
This type of immunity allowed Maxwell to answer questions from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche without fear that the information she provided could later be used against her in any future cases or proceedings.
The immunity is “limited” because it only covers Maxwell if she tells the truth; if it’s later determined that she lied during the interviews then the deal is off the table.
An immunity agreement like this one, often called “a queen for a day” deal, is common in criminal cases when a defendant offers to cooperate with prosecutors and provide information on an investigation and potential codefendants.
As part of the agreement, that information generally cannot be used against the defendant down the road.
In exchange, prosecutors will commonly consider the defendant’s cooperation while recommending a lighter sentence for a plea deal, or in some cases outright immunity from prosecution.
This is not unexpected in this case, it would have been highly unlikely that Maxwell would have just agreed to answer questions without some type of prearranged deal made by her attorneys.
What is different is that Maxwell has already been tried, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking underage girls.
A second government official says Maxwell answered questions for about nine hours over a two-day period.
Maxwell’s attorneys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Department had no comment when asked what will be done with the information Maxwell provided during the interviews, or any next steps, referring NBC News to Trump’s comments today which did not directly answer that question.
New Jersey Gov. Murphy on ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’: ‘Bad, bad, bad’ for his state
Reporting from Colorado springs, Colo.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy had one word for Trump’s massive tax-and-spend bill and the impact some predict it will have on the Garden State.
“Bad, bad, bad,” Murphy said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the National Governors Association summer meeting in Colorado springs, Colo., Murphy discussed today how the bill might impact his state’s residents — as well as the gubernatorial race to replace him.
“The bill has — I would use the word — catastrophic, potential consequences for New Jersey,” Murphy said. “No state has the kind of money that can replace the federal support here.”
Trump’s law has emerged as one of the central themes of the state’s race for governor — only one of two this year — with Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee in the contest, blasting it over its looming cuts to social safety net programs such as Medicaid and food assistance and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli touting its tax-cut provisions.
The New Jersey Department of Human Services estimated that around 350,000 residents who are eligible for Medicaid would lose health care coverage “because of bureaucratic barriers,” and warned that the state’s food assistance program, which affects 800,000 residents, is at risk unless the state can raise between $100 million and $300 million.
Murphy, who is term-limited, said the law “undoes an enormous amount of good” in his state and “is going to hurt a lot of people.”
Kennedy considering firing members of preventive services task force
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering removing all 16 members of a highly influential advisory committee that offers guidance about preventive health services, such as cancer screenings, HIV prevention medications or tests for osteoporosis, according to two people familiar with the plan.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force is a group of independent doctors, nurses and public health experts who volunteer to regularly review volumes of the latest scientific research about diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and mental health, as well as mammograms for breast cancer.
Health and Human Services’ spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an emailed statement Friday that “no final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again.”
Mark Cuban discusses AI — but not politics — at governors summit
Reporting from Colorado springs, Colo.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban discussed the future of artificial intelligence at the National Governors Association summer meeting today, dipping his toes into a big political event without addressing his political future.
Cuban sat down for a lengthy chat with NGA Chair and Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis on the first day of the summit in Colorado springs, discussing the business and technological possibilities of AI.
“It’s the most consequential technology we’ve ever seen,” Cuban said. “It’s not Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s not the Terminator.”
Cuban, however, was not asked any questions about his political future.
The tech and entertainment entrepreneur, a Democrat, said earlier this year that he would not run for president in 2028. But speculation surrounding Cuban perked up again last month after he revealed on The Bulwark podcast that he had been under consideration last year as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate — but that he wasn’t interested and declined an offer to be vetted.
“My response was, ‘I’m not very good as the number two person,’” he said on the podcast.
Some Republicans push to undo gambling tax hike they passed in Trump’s megabill
Reporting from Washington
Some top Republicans are regretting that they inserted a tax hike on gamblers into Trump’s megabill, with several lawmakers who supported the legislation now calling for rolling back that policy.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, told NBC News that the provision was a “mistake” and needs to be undone.
“It was definitely not something that we did in the House. I don’t understand why the Senate decided to do something like that,” Smith said in a brief interview Wednesday. “I’m interested in making sure that we fix the Senate’s mistake.”
The new law cuts the tax deduction on “wagering losses” from 100% to 90% of losses starting in 2026, disrupting the current dynamic where bettors can offset losses with gains and pay taxes only on net earnings. The new policy could tax gamblers even in years in which they break even or net-out losses.
HIV/AIDS program that saved millions of lives faces cuts under Trump
Reporting from Washington
The Trump administration is considering a dramatic cutback and eventual phasing out of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. program to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries that has been widely credited with saving 26 million lives since its inception in 2003, according to multiple congressional and administration officials.
Created during the George W. Bush administration, PEPFAR was launched with star-power support from U2 frontman and advocate for developing countries, Bono, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank. In the two decades since, it enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress.
But as the Trump administration has sought to cut costs across the U.S. government, particularly for global aid programs, PEPFAR has come up on the chopping block. The administration initially proposed a cut of $400 million from next year’s budget, but that funding was restored at the last minute by the Republican-led Senate last week, keeping it going in the short term.
Trump says there's a '50-50' chance of working out E.U. deal
Shortly after landing in Scotland, Trump spoke to reporters about the status of a trade deal with the European Union, saying, "I think we have a good 50-50, chance" at making a trade deal this weekend.
Before he took questions, Trump said he looked forward to meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, telling reporters, “We’ll see if we make a deal. Ursula will be here, highly respected woman, so we look forward to that.”
"Nothing," the president said when asked about what was left to work out in a deal with the U.K.
"I think it's more of a celebration," he said about the U.K. trade deal, adding, "It's a great deal for both. And we're going to have a meeting on other things, other than the deal. The deal is concluded."
Vance to continue ‘big, beautiful bill’ salesmanship at Ohio event next week
Reporting from Cleveland
Vice President JD Vance will head back out on the road next week as part of his continued effort to promote the megabill that the White House pushed through Congress this month.
Vance is scheduled to visit a steel plant Monday in Canton, Ohio, a person familiar with the plans told NBC News.
Former GOP Rep. George Santos now in the custody of Federal Bureau of Prisons
Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is now in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in Fairton, New Jersey, according to an agency spokesperson.
Santos is starting his 7-year prison sentence today. The prison is located in the southern part of the state and is a medium-security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum-security detention center, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The prison contains a total of 800 inmates.
Senior DOJ official says Attorney General Pam Bondi is healing from a torn cornea
A senior Justice Department official tells NBC News that Bondi continues to heal from a torn cornea, but it has not prevented her from doing day-to-day work and meeting with staff.
Bondi abruptly canceled her scheduled Wednesday appearance at CPAC’s anti-trafficking summit in Washington, citing her recovery from a health issue.
As all the attention swirls around Bondi and the Justice Department over the Epstein saga, there has been online chatter about Bondi’s whereabouts since then.
She was last seen Tuesday morning swearing in the new DEA Administrator Terry Cole at the Justice Department.
House Ethics Committee says AOC needs to pay for some Met Gala gifts
The House Ethics Committee released reports on some of its ongoing investigations today, including its finding that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., violated House rules "by impermissibly accepting a gift of free admission to the 2021 Met Gala for her partner and by failing to pay full fair market value for some of the items worn to the event."
"The Committee did not find evidence that Representative Ocasio-Cortez intentionally underpaid for any goods or services received in connection with the Met Gala," the bipartisan committee wrote. "In many instances, the congresswoman relied on the advice of counsel in determining appropriate payment amounts. ... However, the Committee did find evidence suggesting that the designer may have lowered costs in response to statements from Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s staff, and that payments to vendors were significantly delayed and, in several cases, did not occur until after OCC initiated its investigation.”
The committee recommended that Ocasio-Cortez “make additional payments of personal funds to compensate for the fair market value of certain expenses.”
Additionally, the committee released a report on Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., finding that his wife “may have purchased stock based on confidential or material nonpublic information that Representative Kelly had learned during his official job duties.”
The committee recommended that the congressman and his wife “divest of all shares of Cleveland-Cliffs before taking any further official action relating to the company.”
The panel did not recommend any additional disciplinary action against either Ocasio-Cortez or Kelly.
DOJ's Maxwell questioning done for the day, her attorney says
Maxwell attorney David Oscar Markus said the deputy attorney general has finished his questioning of Maxwell for the day.
“We started this morning right around 9 o’clock, and went to now lunchtime, and we’re finished after all day, yesterday and today, Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half, she answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question,” Markus said.
“They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything,” Markus said.
It was unclear whether Blanche intends to question her further. Markus said he did not know whether the discussions would have any impact on her case.
"We don’t know how it’s going to play out. We just know that this was the first opportunity she’s ever been given to answer questions about what happened and so the truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein, and she’s the person who’s answering those questions,” he said.
Prosecutors and the judge who oversaw her 2021 trial have said that Maxwell had made multiple false statements under oath and failed to take responsibility for her actions. She's serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking minors.
"People have questioned her honesty, which I think is just wrong," Markus said.
Asked if she'd got any offer of clemency from the government, the lawyer said no offer had been made.
Trump, European Commission president to hold trade talks in Scotland on Sunday
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will hold trade talks with Trump in Scotland on Sunday.
U.S. stocks jumped to the highs of the day on the news. Together, the E.U.’s 27 nations are America’s largest trading partner.
Von der Leyen also said she spoke to Trump today and they had a “good call.”
Earlier this month, Trump threatened to hit the E.U. with a 30% tariff.
White House keeps pressure on Fed Chair Powell day after Trump appeared to back off
Hours after Trump appeared to take the temperature down with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the White House on Friday resumed its attacks on the central bank chief and its headquarters renovation.
After touring the central bank’s main office on Thursday afternoon, Trump told reporters that he wouldn’t consider the construction project a fireable offense for Powell. “I feel good about it,” Trump said about his relationship with the Fed chair. He added that “I just don’t think it’s necessary” to attempt to fire Powell.
U.S. lifts some Myanmar sanctions after junta leader praises Trump
The U.S. has lifted sanctions on several allies of Myanmar’s military leaders, days after the head of the Southeast Asian nation’s ruling junta praised Trump in a letter asking for sanctions relief and a reduced tariff rate.
The companies and individuals had been sanctioned by the Biden administration in connection with the 2021 military coup that ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a letter dated July 11, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing asked Trump to consider easing sanctions and reducing the 40% U.S. tariff on Myanmar goods that is set to take effect Aug. 1.
“The senior general acknowledged the president’s strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot,” the letter said, according to Reuters, which cited state media.
The Treasury Department did not say why the sanctions were being lifted, and the White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment overnight.
Myanmar is a major source of strategically important rare earth minerals, supplies of which the Trump administration is focused on securing to reduce U.S. dependence on China, which has threatened export controls.
Trump says Supreme Court immunity ruling could help Obama
Trump said this morning that former President Barack Obama would be protected by the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that Trump himself had some level of immunity from prosecution in his previous election interference case.
Trump told reporters before departing for Scotland that the ruling "doesn’t help the people around him at all, but it probably helps him," adding, "Obama owes me big."
Trump has accused Obama and senior officials in his administration of trying to damage his presidential election chances in 2016 by making a bogus intelligence assessment that said Russia — and specifically Russian President Vladimir Putin — tried to help him defeat the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard made the accusation earlier this week, alleging it was supported by a report by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee that she has declassified.
That report found that most of the 2017 intelligence assessment that Russia interfered in the election to hurt Clinton’s candidacy was "sound," but it disputed a finding that Putin tried to help Trump win.
Obama and his former officials have dismissed the allegations as meritless, and Democrats have said the accusations are aimed at distracting the public from concerns about the Trump administration's transparency over the case of the late convicted sex-offender Jeffery Epstein.
A bipartisan Senate report on the 2016 election supported the intelligence assessment that Russia spread disinformation and leaked stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee to harm Clinton and help Trump in the race.
Trump says he and Fed Chair Powell had a 'very good meeting' yesterday
Trump said this morning that he had a "very good meeting" with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell yesterday after the president toured the central bank's building in Washington, D.C.
"I think we had a very good meeting," Trump told reporters. "I think we had a very good meeting on interest rates. And he said to me ... very strongly, 'The country is doing well.'"
"And I got that to mean that I think he's going to start recommending lower rates," Trump said.
The president's positive comments about Powell are a sharp reversal from his continuing attacks on the Fed chair over his handling of interest rates and come after awkward interaction on camera yesterday in which Powell corrected Trump about the costs of renovations to the central bank's headquarters.
Trump says he has not thought about pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
Trump didn't seem to rule out the possibility of pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in prison after being convicted of sex trafficking charges for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
"I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about," Trump told reporters outside the White House this morning before leaving for a trip to Scotland.
His comments come as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting with Maxwell and her attorney for a second consecutive day in Florida today.
Trump said he wasn't sure how their conversation has gone, but when asked if Maxwell should be trusted to tell the truth, the president said Blanche is "a professional lawyer" and "he's been through things like this before."
Trump says Hamas didn't want a deal and it will be 'hunted down'
Speaking to reporters this morning, Trump said Hamas didn't want to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel and said the terrorist group's members "want to die."
"It got to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job," Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Trump said Hamas "pulled out" of the negotiations." "They’re going to have to fight and they’re going to have to clean it up. You’re going to have to get rid of it," he said.
"I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to be hunted down," he added.
His comments come after Trump's top envoy, Steve Witkoff, said yesterday that he was pulling the U.S. team of negotiators out of Doha, Qatar, after Hamas' latest response in the talks, saying it "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza."
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer says she will 'finally be able to say what really happened'
Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, said ahead of a second day of an interview with top Justice Department officials that his client "has been treated very unfairly" for more than five years and has no reason to lie in answering their questions.
"If you looked up scapegoat in the dictionary, her face would be next to the definition, next to the dictionary definition of it," Markus told reporters in Florida. "So, you know, we’re grateful for this opportunity to finally be able to say what really happened, and that’s what we’re going to do, yesterday and today."
He claimed that Maxwell has experienced "terrible, awful conditions for five years."
"We wouldn’t keep animals the way she’s been kept in prison," he said, adding that "it’s unbelievable that she can keep her spirits up this high, and we’re proud of her."
"We just ask that folks look at what she has to say with an open mind, and that’s what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has promised us, and everything she says can be corroborated, and she’s telling the truth. She’s got no reason to lie at this point, and she’s going to keep telling the truth."
Trump endorses former Rep. Mike Rogers for Senate in Michigan
Trump endorsed Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for Senate in Michigan in a post on Truth Social last night.
"America First Patriot Mike Rogers is running for U.S. Senate in the Great State of Michigan, a State I love and WON BIG!" Trump wrote.
"From the U.S. Army to Congress, Mike has served our Nation with distinction, and will bring that same Fighting Spirit to the U.S. Senate," Trump added.
The president said Rogers would work in the Senate to grow the economy, cut taxes and regulations, and work to secure the southern border, all of which are main parts of his agenda.
"Mike Rogers has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" he wrote.
Rogers launched his campaign in April, running again for Senate after he lost in last year's election to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin by less than half a percentage point.
Democrats blast deputy AG’s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who used to be Trump’s personal lawyer, met privately in a Florida courthouse with convicted Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and her lawyers and is expected to meet with her again today. Democrats blast the meeting, calling it “incredibly suspicious.” NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for "TODAY."
Former GOP Rep. George Santos to report to prison today
Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is set to report to prison today after he pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Santos was sentenced in April to more than seven years in prison. The judge also ordered him to pay nearly $374,000 in restitution and more than $200,000 in forfeiture.
Santos was expelled from Congress in late 2023 after he fabricated parts of his resume, and he faced a 23-count indictment and a House ethics probe.
Santos wrote a farewell post on X last night.
Republicans are split on extending Obamacare tax breaks as higher costs loom
Republican leaders are facing growing calls from their members to extend a bucket of funding for the Affordable Care Act that is slated to expire at the end of this year as some look to avert insurance premium hikes and millions of Americans losing health coverage.
But the cause faces opposition from conservatives who detest “Obamacare,” as the law is nicknamed, and don’t want to lift a finger to protect it. Some argue it’d be too expensive to continue the premium tax credits, which cost more than $30 billion per year and were initially adopted as part of a Covid response.
Tulsi Gabbard’s ‘treason’ allegation triggers a high-wire act from Obama world
To former aides who worked in Barack Obama’s White House, the Trump administration’s allegations of “treason” carried the stench of desperation from a president straining to shift the focus from a burgeoning scandal around Jeffrey Epstein.
Still, they’re grappling with how to contain the unprecedented accusations National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has leveled, even as they dismiss them as asinine, interviews with more than half a dozen people who worked in Obama’s White House or on his campaigns reveal.
Powell publicly fact-checks Trump over costs of Fed renovations
Trump has been pushing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates and he ramped up the pressure by publicly examining costly renovations the Fed is making during a visit yesterday. Powell took the rare step to publicly fact-check the president about the project’s price tag and it all played out in front of cameras. NBC’s Christine Romans reports for "TODAY."
Former Jan. 6 prosecutor and ex-DOJ employees sue Trump administration over firings
It was late afternoon on the last Friday in June, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon was in his office in Tampa, Florida, interviewing a victim for an upcoming trial via Zoom.
Alongside a special agent, Gordon was preparing the victim to be a witness in a Justice Department case against a lawyer the Justice Department alleged had been scamming clients.
There was a knock at the door, Gordon later told NBC News, and he didn’t answer; at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida, there was a culture of not just popping in when the door is closed. But the door popped open, and there stood the office manager, ashen-faced.
The office manager is in charge of security, and Gordon thought for a moment that something might have happened to his family. Gordon muted the Zoom call, and the office manager handed him a piece of paper.
It was a one-page letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. He’d been terminated from federal service.
“No explanation. No advance warning. No description of what the cause was,” Gordon said in an interview. “Now, I knew why. I knew it had to be my Jan. 6 work.”
Gordon had been senior trial counsel in the Capitol Siege Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, which prosecuted alleged rioters involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His title reflected some of the high-profile cases he’d taken on during the Jan. 6 investigation and the role he played in helping other federal prosecutors.
At the time of his firing, Gordon had long been working on other cases back home in Florida. He had recently been assigned to co-lead a case against two people accused of stealing more than $100 million from a medical trust for people with disabilities, as well as injured workers and retirees. Just two days before he was fired, he’d received an “outstanding” rating on his performance review.
Now, along with two other recently fired Justice Department employees, Gordon is pushing back, suing the Trump administration late yesterday over their dismissals. The suit argues that the normal procedures federal employees are expected to go through to address their grievances — the Merit Systems Protection Board — are fundamentally broken because of the Trump administration’s actions.
Padilla proposes pathway to citizenship and legal status
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., today announced an immigration bill that would broaden pathways to obtain legal status and citizenship for longtime residents of the U.S, including "Dreamers," highly skilled workers and people with Temporary Protected Status.
The bill, called the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929, would make immigrants who have been living in the United States continuously for at least seven years eligible for permanent legal status. This would update an existing statute that was last amended in 1986, which set the cut off date for eligibility at 1972.
It would also provide a pathway for "Dreamers" and people with H-1B work visas to obtain green cards.
Padilla first introduced the bill in 2022 but it never got passed the Judiciary Committee. A version was introduced in the House by Rep. Zoe Lofgren and similarly languished in committee. Both versions will be reintroduced Monday, Padilla said.
“We believe this is the first step,” he said, adding that changing public opinion is the key ingredient this time.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 79% of Americans say immigration is a good thing compared to 64% in 2024. Support for allowing undocumented immigrants to become U.S. citizens has increased to 78% compared to 70% last year.
“What we’re seeing in practice is not what people signed up for,” he said of Trump's immigration directives. “The overreach, how extreme and cruel the administration has become about immigration enforcement, has shifted public opinion about Donald Trump and his policies.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to hold second meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell today
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said last night that he plans to continue his conversation with Epstein’s longtime accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell today. The two spoke for several hours yesterday as the administration seeks to probe Maxwell for additional information about Epstein’s case.
Attorney General Pam Bondi chose Blanche to speak with Maxwell in an attempt to “pursue justice” after a decision by the Justice Department to no longer release information from the federal investigation into Epstein roiled Trump’s base.
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Bondi said this week on X.