Kevin Warsh, former governor of the US Federal Reserve, walks to lunch during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. The annual event has been a historic breeding ground for media deals and is usually a forum for tech and media elites to discuss the future of their industry. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced conservative economist and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as his pick to be the new Federal Reserve chairman.
In a post on Truth Social early Friday morning, Trump said that he has “known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.”
“He will never let you down,” Trump continued.
Warsh previously served on the Fed’s board of governors from 2006 to 2011. He was a top adviser to then-Fed chairman Ben Bernanke during the 2008 financial crisis, serving as a liaison between the central bank and Wall Street. During that time, he was an inflation “hawk” — skeptical of the Fed’s ultra-low interest rate policy. But in more recent interviews, Warsh has heaped praise on Trump and called for “regime change” at the Fed.
On Thursday, Trump said that he had “chosen a very good person” while walking the carpet at the Kennedy Center ahead of the premiere of the documentary about first lady Melania Trump.
Trump said his pick to replace current Chairman Jerome Powell is an “outstanding person and a person that won’t be too surprising to people.”
“A lot of people think that this is somebody that could have been there a few years ago,” Trump went on. “It’s going to be somebody that is very respected, somebody that’s known to everybody in the financial world. And I think it’s going to be a very good choice.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell over the past year for his cautious approach to lowering interest rates.
Powell’s term as chairman expires in May.
Earlier this month, in an extraordinary escalation of the months-long attack on the independence of the Federal Reserve, Powell announced that federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation related to a multi-year renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Earlier this week, at its first meeting since news of the investigation surfaced, the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady.
Trump said that the Fed governors who voted earlier this week to pause interest rates will change their minds once there is a new chair.
“If they respect the Fed chairman, they’ll be with us all the way,” Trump said. “They want to see the country be great.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar attends a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on Jan. 16, 2026, in St Paul, Minnesota. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork on Thursday to create a campaign committee to run for governor in the state — the latest step indicating that she is nearing an official announcement to enter the race.
A source close to the senator said that her filing “is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run. The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days.”
Klobuchar is widely seen as the most popular Democrat in the state, and could help the party avoid a pitched primary fight to succeed Gov. Tim Walz, who dropped his bid for reelection as governor earlier this month.
Walz decided to suspend his run for a third term amid intensifying federal pressure on his state following a welfare fraud investigation. Walz said he would not run for reelection because he would not be able to give a campaign all of his attention as he works to defend Minnesota against those allegations of fraud.
The state has been at the center of the Trump’s administration immigration crackdown, drawing large protests following a federal agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good, and threats from President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, a law that authorizes the use of the military on U.S. soil for certain purposes.
Frey defended himself and Walz on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, calling the investigation “deeply concerning,” and saying he intends to comply with it.
“Look, we have done nothing wrong, so of course we will comply in it, but at the same time, we need to be understanding how wild this is,” Frey said.
In a statement posted on X, Walz called the investigation “political theater.”
“This Justice Department investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice,” Walz said the statement. “It is a partisan distraction.”
Klobuchar, who is also seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate after running in 2020, won reelection to the Senate in 2024.
One Democratic Party county chair in Minnesota, speaking with ABC News after Walz dropped out of the race, said that Klobuchar likely would have a lock on the party’s nomination if she runs.
Another county party chair told ABC News at the time that to some in the party, a bid by Klobuchar didn’t seem to make sense because she could be a candidate for Senate Majority Leader if Democrats flip the chamber. Klobuchar is currently a member of Democratic Senate leadership.
Earlier this week, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would not run for governor.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a news conference with Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Thomas Massie and Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivors on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol, November 18, 2025 in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene hit back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol alongside women victimized by late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump withdrew his support for Greene, one of his staunchest allies, over the weekend after she criticized him and his administration for their handling of the Epstein investigation, along with other matters.
“I was called a traitor by a man that I fought for five, no, actually, six years for, and I gave him my loyalty for free,” Greene said, referencing a social media post from Trump over the weekend where he called her “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene.”
“I won my first election without his endorsement, beating eight men in a primary, and I’ve never owed him anything, but I fought for him, for the policies and for America first, and he called me a traitor for standing with these women and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition.”
Greene appeared to insinuate on Tuesday that Trump was the “traitor.”
“Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me now,” Greene continued.
The comments came ahead of Tuesday’s House vote on a bill to force the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein, an effort Trump opposed for months before suddenly reversing himself as it became clear enough Republicans would vote in favor.
At the press conference with Epstein survivors outside the Capitol, Greene was praised by the bill’s co-sponsors Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie as well as several survivors.
“When Ro and I started this effort, most discharge petitions never make it, maybe only 4%, so we had long odds, but we had some brave women on the Republican side. My colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is one of them who’s here with us today. You cannot even imagine the consequences that they have suffered,” Massie said.
Survivor Haley Robson, in her remarks, said if Greene ever decided to read names of people connected to Epstein on the House floor, she would stand with her and hold her hand.
Greene on Tuesday was asked if she takes Trump at his word after he said on Monday he would sign the bill to release the Epstein files if it reaches his desk, and if she has confidence these files will be released.
“I only take people’s actions seriously, no longer words,” Greene said.
“I’ll tell you, because I’m — I wasn’t a Johnny-come-lately to the MAGA train. I was Day 1 [in] 2015. And there’s a big difference in those Americans and those that decided to support President Trump later on,” Greene said.
Greene said “watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — After months of anticipation, the House is finally set to vote Tuesday on a bill ordering the release of the Justice Department’s files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose purported ties to both Democrats and Republicans have fueled speculation across the country and prompted investigations on Capitol Hill seeking to uncover details about the billionaire’s network of political and financial connections.
After President Donald Trump reversed course over the weekend and urged House Republicans to “vote to release the Epstein files,” the bill appears headed for the Senate despite a monthslong campaign by Speaker Mike Johnson to block its release.
Johnson told House Republicans during a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning that he will support the resolution, according to multiple sources. In the meeting, he told members to “vote your conscience.”
Johnson later confirmed during a press conference, “I’m gonna vote to move this forward” despite calling the bill “recklessly flawed.”
“I think it could be close to a unanimous vote because everybody here, all the Republicans, want to go on record to show for maximum transparency. But they also want to know that we’re demanding that this stuff get corrected before it has ever moved through the process and is complete,” he said.
Johnson said he spoke to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and said he hopes the Senate will amend the Epstein files bill.
The speaker accused Democrats of “forcing a political show vote on the Epstein files.”
Johnson has tried to avoid holding a vote in the lower chamber on the Epstein matter. In late July, Johnson sent the House home a day early for August recess because the House was paralyzed in a stalemate over the Epstein issue.
The speaker also sent the House home for more than 50 days during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — delaying the swearing in of Democrat Adelita Grijalva. After the shutdown ended last week, the Arizona Democrat became the 218th signature on the Epstein discharge petition, compelling the speaker to bring a bill co-sponsored by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to the floor for a vote this week.
Johnson on Monday continued to raise concerns about the legislation and said he has spoken to Trump “quite a bit” about it.
“[Trump’s] statements speak for themselves,” Johnson said leaving the House floor on Monday. “He has nothing, he has never had anything to hide. He and I had the same concern, that we wanted to ensure that victims of these heinous crimes were completely protected from disclosure. Those who don’t want their names to be out there, and I am not sure the discharge petition does that and that’s part of the problem.”
“We’ll give them everything. Sure. I would let them, let the Senate look at it. Let anybody look at it,” Trump said of the full Epstein files. “But don’t talk about it too much, because honestly, I don’t want to take it away from us.”
Trump does not need to wait for Congress to act — he could order the release immediately.
The measure — called “The Epstein Files Transparency Act” — would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to make available all “unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” in the Department of Justice’s possession related to Epstein.
The DOJ and FBI released a joint statement in July that stated a review uncovered no evidence of any client list kept by Epstein or other evidence that would predicate a criminal investigation of any uncharged parties.
The legislation seeks federal records on Epstein and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as other individuals, including government officials, named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s “criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity, plea agreements or investigatory proceedings.” Victims’ names and other identifying information would be excluded from disclosure, as would any items that may depict or contain child sex abuse material, according to the text of the proposed bill.
Trump, in a post on social media on Sunday, stressed that the Justice Department has “already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the public” on Epstein.
“The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to. I DON’T CARE!” Trump added.
The bill is expected to pass in the House with dozens of Republicans potentially voting in favor — shifting the political pressure to Thune to follow suit with a vote in the upper chamber. If it passes in the Senate, it will go to Trump’s desk for him to sign it into law.
For months, Johnson has pointed at the House Oversight Committee’s inquiry — claiming that the panel’s probe is more far-reaching than the Khanna-Massie bill. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has sought additional documents from the Epstein estate and testimony from Epstein’s associates, including former President Bill Clinton.
Proponents of the bill argue that “the record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency.”
“I would remind my Republican colleagues who are deciding how to vote, Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement. But in 2030, he’s not going to be the president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files,” Massie told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “And the president can’t protect you then.”
Even if the measure passes through the House and Senate and is ultimately signed into law by Trump, it’s unlikely the Justice Department would release the entire Epstein file, according to sources. Any materials related to ongoing investigations or White House claims of executive privilege will likely remain out of public view.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking young girls and women.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. She was convicted on five counts of aiding Epstein in his abuse of underage girls in December 2021.
