By LUKE BROADWATER Relenting to pressure from his base, President Donald Trump earlier this week announced on social media that he signed legislation calling on the Justice Department to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days. Trump’s signature does not guarantee the release of all the files. The bill contains significant exceptions, including a provision protecting continuing investigations, which could mean many documents would stay confi

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference about flooding in Kerrville, July 5, 2025. Jordan Vonderhaar/The New York Times) By MAXINE JOSELOW and SCOTT DANCE A task force formed by President Donald Trump to consider changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recommended that it should not be abolished, according to four people briefed on the matter, a position that conflicts with Trump’s earlier assertion that the agency should “go awa

An aerial view of the Dali container ship with a collapsed section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge across its bow after it collided with the bridge early Tuesday morning in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. At a hearing on the crash that led to the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, investigators said the six construction workers might have survived if the police had warned them in time. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times) By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON The tiny band on a

The Department of Education building in Washington, Nov. 13, 2025. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 20925, an aggressive plan to continue dismantling the Education Department, ending the agency’s role in supporting academics at elementary and high schools and in expanding access to college. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By MICHAEL C. BENDER The Trump administration earlier this week announced an aggressive plan to continue dismantling the Education Depa

Sky Roberts, brother of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, speaks as his wife, Amanda Roberts, holds a photo of Virginia at a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the Capitol in Washington, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. The House was expected to vote overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand that the Justice Department release all files related to its investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an a

A great egret flies over the marsh on Johns Island, S.C., July 25, 2025. The Trump administration proposed on Monday, Nov. 17, to significantly limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit pollution in wetlands, rivers and other bodies of water across the country. (Madeline Gray/The New York Times) By MAXINE JOSELOW The Trump administration proposed earlier this week to significantly limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit pollution in

By SCOTT DANCE and MAXINE JOSELOW David Richardson has resigned as acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, injecting even greater uncertainty into the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul the federal role in disaster response. Karen Evans, a senior political appointee at FEMA who earlier this year led an overhaul of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, will take over as acting FEMA administrator Dec. 1, according to the Ho

Passengers at Reagan National Airport in Washington on Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of reduced operations at 40 airports around the country. The leaders of the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Sunday, Nov. 16, they were ending flight restrictions at 40 airports that were imposed just over a week ago during the government shutdown, citing improved staffing levels among air traffic controllers. (Andrew Leyden/The New York Times) B