Massie on Epstein files: ‘We can’t avoid justice to avoid embarrassment for some very powerful men’
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(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said Sunday that those who might be in the Jeffrey Epstein files need to be held accountable regardless of their social status.
“We can’t avoid justice just to avoid embarrassment for some very powerful men, Massie told ABC News’ “This Week” Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said there will be enough votes in the House to force a vote on his and Massie’s discharge petition to release the files.
“We have the 218 votes, 216 already support it. There are two vacancies that haven’t been reported as much, but two Democrats are going to be joining and they are both committed to signing it. That’s going to happen by the end of September,” Khanna said.
(WASHINGTON) — As the Trump administration says it’s continuing its effort to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government through cuts at key agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the Education Department, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is touting her ongoing investigations that she said work to protect millions of Americans from restricted access to higher education and retirement benefits.
“We cannot stand by and let Trump abuse his power by ripping away the programs that help people breathe a little easier,” Warren said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “People voted Democrats into office to fight for them, and they do not expect us to roll over and play dead.”
The Massachusetts Democrat, a former teacher and fierce defender of public education, launched her Save Our Schools campaign this spring to investigate the administration’s attempts to shutter the Department of Education. The investigations probe the Department of Education’s cuts including downsizing the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office and changes to the student loan system.
Democrats contend slashing FSA’s workforce will hinder low-income Americans’ access to college and urged the agency to rehire employees critical to its financial aid operations.
In April, Warren launched the Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to combat the administration’s so-called “attack on Americans’ Social Security” at the Social Security Administration (SSA), which is responsible for distributing retirement disability, and survivor benefits to more than 70 million Americans. So far, Warren said her campaign has worked to cut down Social Security wait times on the phone and in person at regional offices.
Warren urged President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency to take their “hands off” Social Security. She said her pressure campaign — which included an inspector general review of the agency — has impeded Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano from making additional layoffs after the agency announced it was aiming to cut roughly 7,000 people from its workforce.
Warren said if Democrats do nothing, the Trump administration will “go ahead with no pushback.”
“There’s a lot of anger over what Trump and the Republicans are trying to do to the Social Security Administration,” she said. “We will push back with everything we’ve got.”
While Trump has vowed to safeguard Social Security and Medicare, some actions from the administration have raised concerns about potential impacts on the program — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments that the so-called Trump savings accounts for newborns could be a “back door” to start privatizing Social Security. Bessent later walked back the comments.
The Trump administration says its workforce restructuring is part of the president’s efforts to cut waste, fraud and abuse and improve Americans’ lives, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told ABC News. He added that the president’s success through DOGE is “undisputed and legal.”
Republicans argue the SSA changes will ensure fraudsters won’t tamper with retirees’ benefits and streamline the experience by utilizing artificial intelligence.
Warren said large-scale changes to these agencies could have dire consequences for Americans.
“Save Our Schools and the Social Security War Room are two ways that, internally, the Democrats are fighting back against administration cuts that undermine people all across this country,” Warren said.
SSA has said the focus of its workforce reduction and organizational restructuring is to eliminate things that don’t provide “mission critical” services. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon also stressed she is not defunding federal programs and will continue to perform all of the agency’s “statutory duties.”
Through a combination of federal investigations, oversight, storytelling and even lawsuits, Warren told ABC News her campaigns have worked to provide the administration with checks and balances. Warren took credit for recently helping millions of students receive roughly $6 billion in FY25 title funding that is typically allocated on July 1, but was withheld for more than three weeks by the Office of Management and Budget for a “programmatic review” of education funding.
During the funding freeze, McMahon told ABC News that the administration wanted to ensure that student programs had “the right focus” and funds weren’t being misused.
“We organized groups and individuals to pressure the department to release those funds…,” Warren said. “This matters because that’s the money that’s often used for our kids with special needs, for after-school programs and others who help our kids get a high-quality education.”
Despite union criticism that the Education Department is carrying out unlawful layoffs, the department’s spokesperson, Madi Biedermann, told ABC News the agency followed all applicable laws and regulations when implementing its reduction in force.
Before the Senate left town, Warren vowed to continue fighting for the federal workforce.
“The Trump administration is committed to undercutting Social Security and eliminating the Department of Education,” she said. “This is not going to be a one and done.”
A view of a B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover attends Preakness 147 hosted by 1/ST at Pimlico Race Course, May 21, 2022, in Baltimore. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — Two B-2 bombers were flown into Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson ahead of Friday’s summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to two officials.
The stealth bombers are the same kind used by the U.S. to strike Iran’s nuclear sites in June’s Operation Midnight Hammer.
The B-2 is considered a symbol of U.S. power, as the bombers can fly around the world nonstop and can carry both conventional and nuclear munitions.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
The high-stakes summit at the Anchorage base comes as the U.S. seeks a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.
It marks the first time in a decade that Putin has traveled to the U.S.
One key party who will not be in attendance at Friday’s summit is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump said Thursday he hopes the summit will lead to a second meeting that would include Zelenskyy.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy boards a NextGen Amtrak Acela train for a trip to Boston following a news conference for the upgraded train’s first day of service along the Northeast Corridor on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Transportation announced new high-speed Acela trains during a Wednesday news conference, which included details about how the agency is “reclaiming the management” of Union Station in Washington, D.C., in an effort to restore it and bolster financial opportunities in it.
Joined by Amtrak leaders, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy helped announce the launch of the NextGen Acela, which Amtrak is calling a high-speed rail service. The NextGen Acela had its inaugural ride from Washington to New York City’s Penn Station Wednesday morning following the announcement.
Duffy said that high-speed trains should be available in the United States — not just abroad. He said these high-speed trains will carry more people, which will lead to better pricing and an overall “better traveling experience for the American public.”
Amtrak President Roger Harris described the new trains as “premium, convenient and comfortable.” The trains are being marketed as the future of high-speed rail with Harris saying they will travel 160 miles per hour. Harris also noted that 95% of the trains are made in the United States and the investment in the new Acela trains helped generate 15,000 new jobs across the country.
While Amtrak is promoting that the trains are high speed, its schedules show the new train is slower than existing ones on the route — by 3-7 minutes per trip between Washington and New York City.
“Trip time improvements will continue to be determined based on infrastructure improvements we will also make along the Corridor. This includes updating and modernizing the tracks and overhead wires,” an Amtrak spokesperson said in response.
Duffy also announced that Union Station is “back under DOT control” in an effort to better restore and monetize it. Though the Union Station has previously been owned by the Department of Transportation, it has been under various agreements and leases.
“Not a power play — we’ve always had it, but we think we can manage the property better,” Duffy said of control of Union Station. “Bring in more tenants, bring in more revenue and that revenue is going to allow us to make investments in this beautiful building.”
Duffy said the effort aligns with President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce crime and homelessness in Washington and beautify Union Station. He added that Trump “wants Union Station to be beautiful again, he wants transit to be safe again, and he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that.”
“We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station,” Duffy said. “We want a place where businesses want to obtain leases and set up shop and serve the community of D.C. and also the people who travel into D.C. via train. But also … if you want to go to a great meal and you want to go shopping, you want to come to Union Station because it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, it’s safe.”
Last week, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Union Station to thank National Guard members stationed there. During the visit, Vance spoke to reporters about Union Station and crime there.
“You have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless. You have the mentally ill who harass, who threaten violence, who attack families, and they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness. There should be a place where you can come and share a meal or go shopping with your family. It should not be a place where parents of small children are afraid to bring them,” Vance said.
