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On Politics

Mon Nov 17 2025

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Hello readers. Happy Monday and welcome to another week of OnPolitics! Kathryn Palmer here, getting you up to speed on today's news after the weekend.

Trump changes his tune on Epstein files

After Speaker Mike Johnson last week bowed to pressure amid a growing rebellion in the House pushing for a vote to release the Epstein files, the president, it appears, is following suit.

Trump reversed his position and gave his party permission to back a bill that would require the Department of Justice to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after spending months opposing it.

But even with his endorsement, the Epstein Transparency Act needs to pass the Senate and get the president's signature. The measure would require the DOJ to release all materials related to investigations involving Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, including flight logs and travel records and individuals, companies and groups named or referenced in the inquiry.

A protester holds a sign related to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files outside of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025.

Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

A politics pit stop:

•	"We ain't ready." Michelle Obama says the country is not going to elect a woman president yet
•	How Dick Cheney, a longtime Democratic bogeyman, became an ally opposing Trump
•	Donald Trump pardons a Jan. 6 rioter who pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges
•	Homeland Security says immigration agents are "surging" to Charlotte, North Carolina

Who won the shutdown? New poll says GOP

Most Americans now believe Republicans, rather than Democrats, won the government shutdown fight

That's coming from a new CBS News/YouGov poll, conducted between Nov. 13 and 14. It found that 55% of Americans believe Trump and Republicans got more of what they wanted from negotiations that ended the shutdown. Only 6% said Democrats came out on top, and 24% said neither party was victorious.

The survey stands in stark contrast to polls taken during the shutdown that showed Republicans shouldering the brunt of voter criticism.

MAGA is fighting: Trump breaks with Marjorie Taylor Greene

The Epstein files and the disgraced former financier's former friendship with the president has long rankled even some of the most devoted MAGA figures. Among the most vocal, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene now finds herself in Trump's crosshairs.

A back-and-forth spat with Greene reached a fever pitch in recent days when the president withdrew his endorsement of the Georgia Republican and assigned her a nickname − an act he typically reserves for his fiercest political foes.

"All I see 'Wacky' Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" Trump wrote on social media Nov. 14, in reference to concerns Greene floated about his focus on foreign policy, the government shutdown and controversy surrounding Epstein.

On social media, Greene has claimed Trump's anger over the files is what "sent him over the edge."

The following day, Trump upped his nickname slights on the congressmember, posting: "Marjorie "Traitor" Green is a disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY!"

Questions, thoughts, concerns? Reach out at kapalmer@usatoday.com.