Today in one sentence: Jeffrey Epstein wrote that “of course [Trump] knew about the girls”; after a 50-day delay, Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress, immediately providing the final signature needed to force a House vote on releasing the Justice Department’s Epstein files; the House returned to session for the first time in 54 days to vote to end the 43-day government shutdown after the Senate advanced the measure yesterday with help from eight Democrats; House Republicans plan to overturn a provision in the shutdown-ending funding package that allows senators to sue the federal government for at least $500,000 if their electronic or phone records are obtained without their knowledge; the White House was caught off guard after Trump promoted a 50-year mortgage idea that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had pitched to him without vetting; Fannie Mae ethics officials were pushed out after they examined whether Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records for Democratic officials; and 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s management of the government.

1/ Jeffrey Epstein wrote that “of course [Trump] knew about the girls,” referring to his recruitment of young women who worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, according to emails released by House Democrats from Epstein’s estate. In another message, Epstein said Trump “spent hours at my house with” Virginia Giuffre, who Republicans later identified as the victim mentioned in the redacted email, and “has never once been mentioned.” The White House, meanwhile, accused Democrats of “selectively leak[ing] emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.” Republicans on the Oversight Committee released 20,000 additional pages from Epstein’s estate and said Democrats were “cherry-picking documents.” Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, had publicly said Trump “was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever.” Trump called the release a “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” accusing Democrats of using it “to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown.” He warned that “only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap” and said “there should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else,” urging Republicans to focus on reopening the government. (NBC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Politico / CNBC / Axios / Bloomberg / NPR / Associated Press / The Guardian / ABC News / CNN)

  • Jeffrey Epstein claimed he could help Russia’s foreign minister “understand Trump,” according to 2018 emails. In the messages, Epstein told European official Thorbjorn Jagland that Russian envoy Sergei Lavrov should “get insight on talking to me” and said he had discussed Trump with Moscow’s late U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin. (Politico)

  • Trump is reportedly not considering a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “it’s not something he’s talking about or even thinking about,” despite Trump saying in July he “wouldn’t rule it out.” (Axios)

2/ After a 50-day delay, Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress, immediately providing the final signature needed to force a House vote on releasing the Justice Department’s Epstein files. Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to seat her had delayed the vote and left her Arizona district unrepresented during the shutdown. “Justice cannot wait another day,” Grijalva said as she signed the petition backed by all Democrats and four Republicans. Hours later, Trump administration officials held a Situation Room meeting with Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of the four Republican signers, to address the petition and the release of new Epstein emails that mentioned Trump. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel attended the meeting. (Washington Post / CNN / NPR / NBC News / Axios / Washington Post / CBS News / ABC News / Associated Press / CNN / CNBC / Politico)

3/ The House returned to session for the first time in 54 days to vote to end the 43-day government shutdown after the Senate advanced the measure yesterday with help from eight Democrats. The package would fund most agencies through Jan. 30, provide full-year funding for SNAP and several other departments, and restore federal workers fired during the shutdown, while leaving out the Affordable Care Act subsidy extension Democrats had demanded. Senate Republicans pledged a December vote on the subsidies, without guaranteeing an outcome. In response, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would file a discharge petition to force a vote on a three-year ACA tax credit extension, a maneuver that would need 218 signatures. [Editor’s note: The vote to end the government shutdown is happening as I publish today’s edition. Meaning, this summary could be old news by the time you read this.] (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / Axios / Politico / ABC News / NBC News / CNBC / NPR / Washington Post)

  • House Republicans plan to overturn a provision in the shutdown-ending funding package that allows senators to sue the federal government for at least $500,000 if their electronic or phone records are obtained without their knowledge. The language, inserted at the direction of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, applies retroactively to data requests since 2022 and would benefit eight Republican senators who had their phone records subpoenaed during Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (Politico / Reuters / NBC News / Politico / CBS News)

  • The October jobs and inflation reports are “likely never being released” because the government shutdown prevented the Bureau of Labor Statistics from collecting key data. The White House blamed Democrats for the shutdown and said they “may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system,” warning that missing October CPI and jobs figures will leave policymakers at the Federal Reserve “flying blind at a critical period.” (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / Politico)

poll/ 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s management of the government, down from 43% in March. Republican approval dropped to 68% from 81%, and independents’ approval fell to 25% from 38%. Trump’s overall job approval stands at 36%, down from 37% in October.(Associated Press)

⏭️ Notably Next: Your government has been shut down for 43 days; the 2026 midterms are in 356 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. Utah District Court Judge Dianna Gibson rejected the Republican-drawn congressional map and ordered the state to use a plaintiff-submitted map that creates a Democratic-leaning district in northern Salt Lake County. Gibson wrote that lawmakers’ map “unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats,” while Utah Republican Party Chairman Robert Axson called the ruling “the arrogance of a judge playing King from the bench.” Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said she would implement the court-ordered map unless an appeals court intervenes.(Associated Press / Salt Lake Tribune / NBC News / Washington Post)

  2. The White House was caught off guard after Trump promoted a 50-year mortgage idea that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had pitched to him without vetting. Some officials said Trump endorsed the concept to “get Pulte to shut up about it,” while Trump later said, “All it means is you pay less per month.” (Politico / Bloomberg / CBS News)

  3. Fannie Mae ethics officials were pushed out after they examined whether Bill Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records for Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James. The probe was sent to FHFA Acting Inspector General Joe Allen, who then referred it to federal prosecutors before he was asked to step down. FHFA dismissed the allegations as “false and defamatory,” even as firings inside Fannie Mae widened and Pulte’s influence over the mortgage agencies grew. (Wall Street Journal / The Guardian / Washington Post)

  4. The Trump administration declared the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure illegal, blocking it from drawing new money from the Federal Reserve and putting the agency on course to run out of cash in early 2026. A new Justice Department opinion reinterpreted Dodd-Frank’s “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System” to mean profits only, arguing that “if the Federal Reserve has no profits, it cannot transfer money to the CFPB,” even though courts and Texas’s Republican attorney general had previously rejected that theory. Acting Director Russ Vought has already requested $0 in new Fed funding and moved to fire about 90% of the bureau’s staff. (The Guardian / Reuters / Bloomberg / Politico)

  5. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a classified opinion saying U.S. personnel involved in Trump’s boat strikes in Latin America wouldn’t face future prosecution regardless of the legality of the operations. The memo argued the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” under the president’s Article II authority. Analysts said the opinion attempts to frame cartel activity as war to bypass peacetime limits on lethal force, while the Pentagon insisted the 19 strikes that killed 76 people complied with U.S. and international law.(Washington Post)

  6. The Trump administration is preparing a five-year offshore drilling plan that would open the California coast to new oil leases for the first time in decades, along with lease sales in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and across Alaska. Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed the proposal as “dead on arrival” and said “over our dead body” when asked about drilling near California. (Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

  7. In just one week in October, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that “The FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack” before charges were filed, used the FBI jet for personal trips to a wrestling event in Pennsylvania, his girlfriend’s home in Nashville, and the Boondoggle Ranch in Texas despite prior White House instructions to limit nonessential travel. Patel called his critics “clickbait haters” and said “this FBI has never been stronger.” (Wall Street Journal)

Four years ago today: Day 297: "Beyond the pale."
Five years ago today: Day 1393: "Very stressful."
Six years ago today: Day 1027: Another state of mind.
Seven years ago today: Day 662: Infected.