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⚠️ Plus: Musk’s third party draws GOP skepticism
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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION officials are on the defensive over questions about convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following a Department of Justice (DOJ) report that found the disgraced financier did not have a “client list” and died by suicide.
At an open-press Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump erupted at a reporter who asked for clarifications about the DOJ report, which was released in conjunction with the FBI.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump scolded. “This guy’s been talked about for years…are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That’s unbelievable.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi stepped in to address lingering questions about the evidence in the case, including her remarks from a February interview in which she said the Epstein client list was “on my desk.”
Bondi on Tuesday clarified that the client list was never on her desk, but rather she was referring to the entire Epstein case file, which she said was primarily made up of “tens of thousands” of pornographic videos involving children that are “never to see the light of day.”
The DOJ also released roughly 11 hours of video surveillance footage to show that Epstein was not murdered in his jail cell. However, internet sleuths discovered that about one minute had been cut out of the video.
“The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide,” Bondi said Tuesday.
The attorney general explained the Bureau of Prisons uses the same surveillance video and that every night they “redo the video,” so the same minute is always missing.
“So we’re looking for that video to release that as well to show that a minute is missing every night. And that’s it on Epstein.”
MAGA OUTRAGE
The administration is trying to tamp down outrage from some of Trump’s most vocal allies, who have expressed anger and disbelief in the wake of the DOJ and FBI findings.
Many on the right have aimed their frustrations at Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. For years, Patel and Bongino have called for the release of all information pertaining to Epstein and his alleged clients.
“I’m looking at this memo. It says there’s no client list,” saidFox News host Will Cain. “Well, I don’t know what that means. There’s no printed-out piece of paper with lists of names on it, but there are clients, right?”
“So, am I to believe that it was all just Jeffrey Epstein and the victims on those videos? It’s just hard to accept there’s nothing more to see here,” Cain added.
Trump praised Patel and Bongino in a social media post amid the furor, although he did not mention the Epstein case specifically.
“We have the Greatest Law Enforcement professionals in the World, but ‘Politics’ and Corrupt Leadership often prevented them from doing their job. That is no longer the case, and now, they have been unleashed to do their jobs, and they are doing just that,” Trump wrote.
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly slammed Bondi, who earlier this year invited a group of right-wing influencers to the White House and gave them binders with information on the Epstein case. The influencers proudly paraded around the White House grounds with the binders, although the information contained within had long been public.
“[They] did not deserve the humiliation that she heaped upon them,” Kelly said on an episode of the “After Party” podcast.
Elon Musk is among those who weighed in voicing frustration at the findings, calling it the “final straw.” Musk had previously alleged that Trump wanted to keep the Epstein files secret because he was implicated in them — a charge Trump has repeatedly denied.
Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday called on the DOJ to release any potential references to Trump that might exist in the Epstein case files, while accusing Bondi of shielding potentially damaging information about him.
“This Administration has repeatedly claimed that President Trump is ‘the most transparent and accessible president in American history’,” Rep Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the panel, wrote in a letter to the DOJ. “So far, your DOJ has not only failed to live up to this promise, but you have also consistently hidden from the American public materials and information that may be damaging to President Trump.”
“Your conduct is particularly worrisome as it appears to be part of a pattern of using the DOJ to cover up evidence of criminal wrongdoing by President Trump, including information allegedly contained in the Epstein files,” he continued.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.) said “the American people deserve to know the truth” regardless of “who it impacts.”
Luna said there is plenty of evidence that does not pertain to the victims that can be released.
“The truth will always come out one way or another,”Luna posted on X.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the findings in a Monday press briefing.
“This administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be held accountable,” she said. “They committed to an exhaustive investigation. That’s what they did, and they provided the results of that.”
💡Perspective:
• Public: Officials must provide transparency on Epstein files.
President Trump said he would not provide an “amnesty” program that would offer help to farms and migrant farm workers, but announced a new program intended to support the agriculture industry.
The Transportation Safety Administration will allow passengers at select airports to keep their shoes on as they go through security checkpoints.
Churches and other houses of worship registered as tax-exempt nonprofits can endorse political candidates to their congregations, the IRS said in a new interpretation of the tax code.
President Trump lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he defended his decision to send more weapons to Ukraine.
During a Cabinet meeting that was open to the press, Trump accused Putin of slow-walking a peace deal and said he’s fed up with the Russian leader.
“I’m not happy with Putin, I can tell you that much right now,” Trump said. “He’s killing a lot of people and a lot of them are his soldiers, his soldiers and their soldiers and it’s now up to 7,000 a week.”
“We get a lot of bull—- thrown at us by Putin… he’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” Trump added.
The president said he’s looking “very strongly” at a bill in the Senate to slap new sanctions on Russia, as Moscow’s war with Ukraine drags on.
This comes after Trump announced his administration would restart shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine, days after a pause.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to,” Trump told reporters during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he added.
ELSEWHERE…
Netanyahu met with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, a day after meeting with Trump at the White House.
The Israeli leader met Tuesday with Vice President Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as officials speak optimistically about a potential 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.
“We accepted a proposal that came from the mediators, it’s a good proposal, it matches Steve Witkoff’s original idea,” Netanyahu said, referring to Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East.
“We think we’ve gotten closer to it, I hope we can cross the line, that is our purpose,” he added. “The less I speak about it publicly the more likely we might get it.”
MEANWHILE…
It’s a big week for trade relations, as Trump sends out letters to global leaders detailing new tariffs set to take effect Aug. 1 for countries that don’t reach a new trade deal with the U.S.
On Monday, Trump said the tariff deadline is “not 100 percent firm,” if countries are negotiating in good faith.
On Tuesday, Trump said the deadline is absolute.
“Aug. 1 they pay,” Trump said during the Cabinet meeting.
So far, only Vietnam, the United Kingdom and China have reached deals with the U.S. for some tariff relief.
“We could make a lot for deals, its just too time consuming, makes things a little more time consuming,” Trump said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is on pace to take in more than $300 billion this year from the tariffs.
Read more:
•Trump takes a bite out of congressional power with TikTok, agenda bill.
The death toll from the flash floods in central Texas has surpassed 100 as search and rescue efforts continue throughout the Hill Country.
Rescuers had recovered 84 bodies as of Monday, including 56 adults and 28 children. Many of the child fatalities came from the Camp Mystic summer Christian camp that takes place near the Guadalupe River in Kerr County.
“They’ve gone through something that is absolutely horrific and it’s heartbreaking to watch these families suffer,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday, recounting tearful exchanges with the families of victims.
A rare and ferocious deluge caused the fatal flooding that took place over hilly terrain in the early hours of the morning on a holiday weekend, when many people were out in nature.
Some Democrats and media outlets have raised questions about staffing levels at the National Weather Service (NWS) following the staffing cuts and buyouts that have spanned the government this year.
The Department of Homeland Security said NWS was fully staffed and detailed the alerts that were sent out ahead of the floods, as meteorologists tracked the storm system and warned of the coming danger.
Noem on Tuesday detailed the federal response, which included a partnership between Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R-Texas) emergency responders and federal responders, including the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.
The White House reacted furiously to suggestions that government cuts were to blame for fatalities.
“Blaming President Trump for this flood is a depraved lie and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt sad Monday.
Still, finger-pointing has broken out between local, state and federal officials, even if the warning system functioned as intended.
The Hill’s Saul Elbeinwrites: “The timeline of the floods on Friday, experts say, revealed a deadly gap in the “last mile” system that turns those forecasts into life-saving action.”
The Austin Fire Chief is on the defensive after firefighters accused him of actions that delayed deployment of specialized search and rescue crews.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and his family were on a pre-planned vacation in Greece at the time of the floods, but his office said he returned “as fast as humanly possible” when the floods struck.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said the state should consider sirens for flood-prone areas.
Elon Musk’s pledge to create a third political party over frustration with President Trump’s spending bill is being met with warnings and skepticism from Republicans.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) praised Musk for his work as a businessman and for cutting spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling him “one of the most innovative entrepreneurs” in the history of the world.
But DeSantis warned that Musk’s “America Party” could wind up peeling off votes from Republicans.
“The problem is when you do another party… that would likely end up meaning the Democrats would win all the competitive Senate and House races,” DeSantis said at a press conference, arguing that Musk should instead back primary challenges against Republicans he views as insufficiently conservative.
Trump’s former adviser deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Musk’s deep pockets to fund the third party should be a big concern for Republicans. However, he argued that third party efforts have historically failed because there’s no natural base of support.
“These attempts are always ones that end up kind of being futile to some degree because the two-party system,”Gidley said on Newsmax’s American Agenda. “While a lot of people lament it, it’s disconcerting when you try to start a new party and you don’t have a base from which to draw.”
Musk’s efforts have drawn some interest from independent-minded politicians who don’t feel they have a home in either the Republican or Democratic parties.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who founded the independent Forward Party, said he’s been “in touch” with Musk about the America Party.
“I’m excited for anyone who wants to move on from the duopoly, and I’m happy to help give someone a sense of what the path looks like,” Yang said.
The Hill’s Emily Brooksanalyzes the America Party here, including its Libertarian-adjacent platform; polling that shows broad support for a potential third party; and skepticism that the effort will amount to anything.
Speaking of independents…Dan Osborn, the industrial mechanic who narrowly lost a Senate bid as an independent against Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) last year, will run again as an independent in 2026, this time against Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).
MEANWHILE…
The Senate is preparing to take up DOGE’s rescissions package, which seeks to claw back $9.4 billion in federal spending, primarily on foreign aid and public media.
There’s a July 18 deadline to pass the package.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, will determine the next steps. Collins has been a prominent critic of the proposed clawbacks, most notably those aimed at cutting a George W. Bush-era AIDS-prevent program known as PEPFAR.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) warned Tuesday that the clawbacks would be “poison” ahead of upcoming bipartisan negotiations for the 12 annual spending bills.
MORE POLITICS…
•The Senate and House campaign arms rolled out their first ads of the cycle since Republicans passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” and both focus on the GOP’s Medicaid cuts.
