Insider Trading, Epstein Docs on Deck
Two long-sought legislative items are on deck for next week, as the House gets back to work in earnest after almost two months away.
First, a ban on congressional stock trading will get a long-sought hearing Wednesday, Maeve Sheehey reports. The House Administration Committee will discuss (but not mark up) the bipartisan legislation that, proponents say, will boost Americans’ trust in Congress.
Some of the ban’s advocates are skeptical of the hearing. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) questioned whether it was designed to “draw attention away from the fact that you’re not actually working on the bill,” and threatened to force a vote. Read More
Secondly, a vote is on deck on a resolution to seek more Jeffrey Epstein documents from DOJ.
Lawmakers have pushed for more information, pitting President Donald Trump against some members of his own party. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Nancy Mace (S.C.) have said they would join with Democrats to force a vote to release the files.
The action will come less than a week after House Democrats released a selection of emails suggesting the president knew of Epstein’s activities. Trump has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein nearly two decades ago and was not aware of the late financier’s sex trafficking. He called this issue a “hoax” and said “only a very bad, or stupid, Republican” would fall into the “trap.” Read More
Also Read:
- Epstein’s Emails Reveal Book Purchases on Trump, Money and Power
- GOP’s Shutdown Win Tees Up Health Care as Key Midterm Issue
What’s a Spending Bill Without Earmarks?
Republicans offered few concessions in this week’s deal to end the government shutdown. The cherry on top: nearly $1.4 billion earmarked in the funding bill for projects in GOP members’ districts, Jack Fitzpatrick reports. Read More
See Also:
Trump Nominees Withdraw at Record Rate
The White House has withdrawn more than 50 nominees for mid-level posts across the government so far this Congress, Lillianna Byington reports. That’s more than in any single year over the last few decades, an exclusive Bloomberg Government analysis shows.
A growing number are backing out because they don’t have enough support from Senate Republicans.
Nominees including Paul Ingrassia to head the Office of Special Counsel, EJ Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Ed Martin for US attorney were scrapped when it was clear the White House didn’t have enough GOP backing. Ingrassia’s withdrawal is the most recent high-profile example of a candidate who had to be pulled after key Republican senators pledged opposition following reports of controversial text messages. Read More
See Also: Trump Changes How Judicial Nominees Get Publicly Revealed
If You Start Me Up...
There will be no screeching of metaphorical tires as the government slowly returns to operations after the shutdown, certainly not when it comes to the economy and associated data.
The October jobs report won’t have an unemployment rate, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Fox News. “The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re going to get half the employment report,” ie., just the jobs number, he said.
It’s possible the other monthly jobs report that was missed during the shutdown — the September report, which was due Oct. 3 — will come out next week. Data collection for that report was completed by the time the shutdown began. Read More
Meanwhile, those who went without paychecks have some light: House staff will get paid by Tuesday, Sheehey reports. TSA officers will get $10,000 bonuses after working without pay, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced.
Coming Soon to Voters: Tariff Relief
Voters could soon see some pocketbook relief. Trump is readying substantial tariff cuts designed to address high food prices and a series of new trade deals as he seeks to address voter concerns over the cost of goods.
Administration officials have also previewed broader tariff exemptions that could cut levies on popular food products across the board. That could include carve-outs for beef and citrus products, The New York Times reports.
The push comes after electoral victories for Democrats last week across a number of key state and local races where candidates stressed affordability concerns. Read More
See Also: What to Buy as Tariffs and Inflation Reshape Holiday Pricing
What to Watch Next Week
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia goes to the White House on Tuesday for his first US visit in 7 years.
Bloomberg Government holds “Maps, Money and Midterm Madness,” a discussion of key legislative priorities for each party heading into 2026. Speakers include White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.). The Tuesday event is at capacity, but more info is here.
The Fed on Wednesday releases minutes from its Oct. 28-29 meeting, when it cut rates by a quarter point amid dissents from both sides. Concerns that a December rate cut may not come to pass helped drag stocks down yesterday.
On the Hill
The House will take up several key pieces of legislation, including:
- A resolution directing the DOJ to publicly disclose unclassified records relating to Jeffrey Epstein (
H. Res. 581 ) - A bill to repeal a provision giving senators the right to sue the government for failing to notify them that their data was disclosed (because of the Jan. 6 investigation) (
H.R. 6019 ) - A series of homeland bills covering issues including drug trafficking and human smuggling (
H.R. 4071 ), AI cybersecurity (H.R. 5078 ), generative AI terrorism (H.R. 1736 ), and Tren de Aragua (H.R. 4070 ) - Energy bills, including one covering refineries (
H.R. 3109 ) - DC-related legislation covering cash bail (
H.R. 5214 ) and repealing the district’s “policing and justice reform” law (H.R. 5107 )
The Senate will hold a pro forma session Monday, then formally return for a roll call vote Tuesday evening. Senators will hold a procedural vote Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to advance Ho Nieh’s nomination to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Senators are also looking to make progress on the next package of spending bills when they return.
For more on Congress getting back into action, see today’s Congress Tracker newsletter or revisit yesterday’s Bloomberg Government webinar on how the legislation to reopen the federal government came together and what to expect the rest of the year.
Listen: Mamdani Tax Plans Hard to Realize
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s plans for an expansive affordability agenda paid for by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals will be tough to realize—a political reality local tax practitioners are reminding worried clients.
“There’s been kind of some demystifying as to how can or how will the mayor be able to make these ideas or proposals law,” Jeremy Gove, a state and local tax counsel at Eversheds Sutherland, tells Bloomberg Tax editor Benjamin Freed in the latest episode of Talking Tax.
Listen here and subscribe to Talking Tax on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Megaphone, or Audible.
Before You Go
No Immunity: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) must face federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers outside an immigration detention facility, a judge ruled, rejecting a Trump-style argument that she is protected by legislative immunity. Read More
Tax Leaker Sentence: The Trump Organization is asking a DC court not to go easy on Charles Littlejohn, who “severely impacted” the organization by disclosing IRS information related to Trump, family members, and “hundreds” of affiliated entities to news organizations. Read More
H-1B Expansion Blowback: Trump’s recent support for more H-1B visas is causing rare pushback from the party’s right flank. “Legal immigration, in my opinion, needs to be effectively paused or frozen while we figure our system out,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Bloomberg Government. Read More
Fetterman Hospitalized: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was hospitalized Thursday after a fall near his home outside of Pittsburgh, The New York Times and others reported. The 56-year-old suffered a stroke in 2022.
‘Operation Southern Spear': Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced a new operation against “narco-terrorists” in the Western Hemisphere, but his social media post offered no further information about what it would entail. House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), meanwhile, says the administration should publicly present its legal justification for the effort, calling it “completely legal,” Roxana Tiron and Mica Soellner report. Read More
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