Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Now that his “big, beautiful bill” has passed through Congress, they are making Medicaid a top talking point ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. Republicans, meanwhile, are doubling down on Medicaid reform included in Trump’s megabill, which also includes sweeping legislation on taxes, immigration and energy.

At Attorney General Pam Bondi’s direction, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday formally moved to unseal long-secret grand jury transcripts from the Jeffrey Epstein case, citing what it called intense public interest in the notorious sex trafficking investigation.

During a celebratory dinner at the White House with a number of Donald Trump’s GOP allies, including several Republican lawmakers from Congress, the president signaled that 10 more hostages in Gaza would be “coming very shortly.”The dinner was largely focused on touting the achievements Republicans have had over the last six months, but while praising his administration’s work on foreign policy, Trump commented about the hostages.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday it plans to reduce its workforce by 23% and close its research and development office. The loss of more than 3,000 employees comes after layoffs and incentives to leave the agency amid the Trump administration’s broad effort to streamline the federal government.

New York City’s leading mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, is raising eyebrows once again for appearing to suggest prisons are not important in a recently resurfaced video.Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman and the Democratic nominee for mayor, made the comments in a 2020 interview while running for state office.

In a landmark nomination that reshapes nearly two centuries of tradition, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte has been tapped to serve as the next superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.If confirmed by the Senate, he will become the first Marine to hold the top post in the Academy’s 180-year history.The move was announced Friday by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as part of a broader slate of military leadership nominations.