Today in One Sentence. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Trump administration of mishandling the Epstein files and called on the Justice Department to reinterview key witnesses and investigate allegations against Epstein’s associates; House Republicans blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; the U.S. military evacuated 13 aircraft from a second British air base following a reported threat from Iran; British police arrested a senior U.S. Army soldier on suspicion of spying for Russia; consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected, but down from September’s 0.6% increase; gas fell below $4 a gallon nationwide for the first time since July; House Republicans elected Jim Jordan as their new leader; and 71% of Americans want Congress to pass legislation to end Trump’s war with Iran.

1/ The Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Trump administration of mishandling the Epstein files and called on the Justice Department to reinterview key witnesses and investigate allegations against Epstein’s associates. The committee’s report blamed decades of failures by law enforcement and federal prosecutors for allowing Epstein’s abuse to continue. “Epstein operated with impunity, shielded and enabled by powerful connections and a justice system that repeatedly failed his victims,” Chairman James Comer said. The report noted that the department missed disclosure deadlines, exposed victims’ information through deficient redactions, concealed names of alleged co-conspirators, and had not given survivors access to their own records. Republicans, however, concluded that there was no evidence implicating Trump in Epstein’s crimes. Meanwhile, the committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, called the report “based on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings on Jeffrey Epstein,” claimed the department was illegally withholding more than 2.5 million pages of records, and vowed to continue the investigation when Democrats take control of the House in January, saying “Our work is just getting started.” (Associated Press / Politico / CBS News / ABC News / CNBC / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg / The Hill)

2/ House Republicans blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sending the charges to committee and effectively killing it for the remainder of the Republican-controlled Congress. Rep. Thomas Massie, the only Republican to join Democrats to oppose the move, accused Hegseth of waging war in Iran without congressional authorization, dismantling safeguards against civilian casualties, directing unlawful strikes on suspected drug boats, and retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Hegseth, however, dismissed the charges as “partisan policy disagreements” and called the impeachment effort “sabotage,” adding: “I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.” Democrats could revive the impeachment effort when they take control of Congress in January. (New York Times / CBS News / ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios)

  • EARLIER: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Rep. Thomas Massie’s impeachment effort a “farce” and “sabotage” prior to a House vote. Hegseth said Massie’s eight articles of impeachment put “a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time.” Trump, meanwhile, gave Hegseth an “‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER” (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News / Axios / CBS News)

  • EXPLAINED: The eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. “The charges accuse the defense secretary of illegally starting the war with Iran, directing extrajudicial killings and ignoring laws meant to minimize civilian casualties.”

3/ The U.S. military evacuated 13 aircraft from a second British air base following a reported threat from Iran. Flight-tracking data showed 10 refueling tankers and three Ospreys departed RAF Mildenhall as security at the base and nearby RAF Lakenheath rose to FPCON Charlie – the military’s second-highest alert level, which indicates that a terrorist attack is considered likely. Last month, the military withdrew bombers from RAF Fairford over a suspected Iran-linked plot. Trump, meanwhile, said renewed military action against Iran “doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing” at this point. (Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / CBS News)

4/ British police arrested a senior U.S. Army soldier on suspicion of spying for Russia. The 41-year-old was assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps near Gloucester, and was suspected of trying to steal secret information from NATO for Russia. However, officials said no sensitive information was passed to Russia. The unnamed soldier remains in custody at a London police station after being arrested under Britain’s National Security Act. FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest “involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies.” (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CNN / Washington Post)

5/ Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected, but down from September’s 0.6% increase. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3% for the third straight month, while food prices climbed 0.5%. Prior to the October CPI report, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said a half-point interest rate hike should be considered in December if core prices rose at least 0.3%. The department, meanwhile, didn’t publish a year-over-year inflation rate, because last year’s government shutdown prevented it from collecting October 2025 data. (NBC News / Associated Press / CNN / Washington Post / CNBC / Axios / Bloomberg)

6/ Gas fell below $4 a gallon nationwide for the first time since July. While the national average reached $3.98, down nearly 39 cents from a month ago, gas remains about a dollar a gallon higher than when the war with Iran began. (CNBC / NPR / Washington Post / NBC News)

7/ House Republicans elected Jim Jordan as their new leader. Jordan defeated Steve Scalise, who has served as the No. 2 House Republican since 2014, in a closed-door, secret ballot. The Judiciary Committee chair and Freedom Caucus co-founder will replace Speaker Mike Johnson in January after Republicans lost more than 40 House seats in the midterms. Jordan told colleagues that he’s “battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook.” (Axios / Associated Press / NPR / CBS News / NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico)

  • Senate Republicans reelected John Thune as their leader. The South Dakota senator didn’t face a challenge from any other Republican. (Associated Press / Bloomberg)
  • Bernie Sanders won’t support Chuck Schumer as the Senate Democratic majority leader in the new Congress. “The time is now for change,” said Sanders. “And I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader.” (Associated Press)

poll/ 71% of Americans want Congress to pass legislation to end Trump’s war with Iran, including 93% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans. (Reuters)

The 2028 presidential election is in 728 days.

✏️ Notables.

  1. ICE hired at least 19 officers with past misconduct allegations or criminal charges, or other employment red flags, according to leaked DHS personnel records and public documents. (Washington Post)

  2. Whistleblowers warned House Democrats that the Interior Department is destroying records tied to Trump’s construction projects in Washington. The top Democrat in the House Natural Resources committee plans to ask the Interior Department to “preserve all records and data responsive to oversight” the congressional panel oversees. (CNN)

  3. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer was paid to make political posts on social media, but didn’t disclose the payments, according to a former Trump campaign adviser and three others. Payment records reportedly showed more than $60,000 sent to Loomer since May 2025. The Federal Trade Commission requires disclosures by bloggers and influencers when they’ve been paid to endorse a product. The agency doesn’t have jurisdiction over political ads. (Washington Post)

  4. The Trump administration awarded nearly $40 million in federal funding to a company months after a fund tied to Trump Jr. and Eric Trump invested in its parent company. “XpresTest has years of experience conducting disease screening in U.S. airports but has never worked with Ebola or provided biosecurity services abroad. It’s “a new thing for us,” the company’s CEO said.” (ProPublica)

  5. Trump said he plans to issue “tremendous numbers” of pardons before leaving office. He said pardoning himself was “not unreasonable,” but that he doesn’t expect to do it. (ABC News)