White House Press Secrtary Karoline Leavitt is shortly due to brief reporters for the first time since November 4. LIVESTREAM Leavitt is likely to tout legislation to reopen the federal government, which is expected to pass the House of Representatives at roughly 19:00 ET 00:00 GMT.
- Later this evening, President Donald Trump will host finance leaders at the White House for a dinner; attendees are expected to include the chief executives of Nasdaq and JPMorgan Chase, per Reuters.
- A potential political headache for the Trump administration: When the House of Representatives gavels in at 16:00 ET 21:00 GMT, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will swear in Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who won a special election in Arizona in September.
- Grijalva will provide the 218th and final signature to a discharge petition, forcing a full House vote on releasing Department of Justice files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. While Trump weathered a political storm related to Epstein during the summer without significant blowback, the story is a potential wedge issue for the GOP.
- Earlier today, the New York Times published a report suggesting that Trump may have had greater knowledge of Epstein's crimes than previously asserted.
- Looking forward, Axios reports that US and Saudi officials have been holding “intense negotiations to finalize a broad set of agreements, including a defense pact, ahead of next week's White House visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”