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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson offered her boss a pat on the back after his Department of Justice released a batch of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Jackson's remarks came after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche admitted that the DOJ would flout federal law by declining to release "all" of the Epstein files by Friday. It also came after President Donald Trump fought a bipartisan effort to see the files released.

The internet lit up Friday after Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced she would not seek reelection next year, abruptly opening up a rare Senate seat in ruby-red Wyoming and ending her tenure after a single term.

Lummis revealed her decision shortly after the Senate adjourned for the holiday break, saying in a statement that she did not feel she had another six-year term in her, The Hill reported. The timing and sudden nature of the announcement caught many political observers off guard and immediately sparked online speculation about who might jump into the race.

Recently elected Pope Leo XIV has appointed a new bishop with outspoken pro-migrant beliefs — right in President Donald Trump's backyard.

According to KSNT News, Leo "named the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of a predominantly Hispanic church in the Queens borough of New York City, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida. The diocese is home to the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump, whose get-tough immigration policies have drawn objections from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman warns that the GOP’s proposed health care plan would make insurance far less affordable for most Americans. Writing on Substack, Krugman explained that while the plan superficially replaces government subsidies with direct payments, Republicans are unlikely to provide enough support to keep coverage accessible. As a result, millions could drop insurance, leaving a sicker, older pool behind and driving premiums even higher. He also criticized Trump’s recent national address as evidence of poor governance and policy mismanagement.

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A manager who was fired from President Donald Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club has filed an explosive lawsuit detailing horrific conditions, reported The Daily Beast on Friday, and noting that even Trump himself was disgusted by the state of the facility.

"The president was dragged into the state of the $350,000-a-year New Jersey club in a lawsuit brought by a fired manager, who claims she was forced out of her job for flagging the dire health violations at the New Jersey club’s clubhouse bistro restaurant," reported Laura Esposito. According to the report, the lawsuit claims the club "had maggots and mold in [Trump's] favorite self-serve ice cream, while it employed drunk kitchen staff and lecherous managers who drunkenly phoned female wait staff to demand they come to their homes late at night."

Among the attractions at the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) conference being held in Phoenix, Arizona this weekend is an opportunity for attendees to get their picture taken in front of a re-creation of the tent where founder Charlie Kirk was murdered.

The four-day event, called "America Fest" is the first major gathering since Kirk was shot in the neck by an assassin as he took questions at a Utah college.

Author and journalist Michael Wolff says he’s been unable to serve a subpoena to First Lady Melania Trump as part of a legal fight stemming from dueling lawsuits between the two. Wolff, who is being sued by Melania Trump for $1 billion over statements about her past, claims process servers have been blocked from delivering papers at both the White House and Trump Tower, with servers refusing to proceed once they realized the target was the first lady. Wolff suggested her extensive security detail has made routine legal service effectively impossible.

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As President Donald Trump’s approval ratings sink deeper in his second term, critics say the White House’s increasingly over-the-top praise signals anxiety about his fading grip on power. On The New Republic’s “Daily Blast” podcast, commentators pointed to press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s glowing — and misleading — claim that the Kennedy Center board unanimously voted to rename the venue after Trump as a revealing example. According to analysts Greg Sargent and Moira Donegan, such exaggerated flattery reflects growing awareness inside Trumpworld that his political standing is eroding, driven by poor polling, electoral setbacks, internal fractures within the GOP, and mounting concerns about his age and public performances.

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At the same time that government workers were affixing Donald Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a former House Republican expressed his disgust with the power play and said it will hurt the party.

Appearing with MS NOW host Ana Cabrera, ex-Rep Charlie Dent (R-PA) said the naming change will face an uphill battle because it will require Senate approval for the permanent change and that is not a war Republicans need as the party is struggling.