Democrats are in open revolt after eight members of their Senate caucus broke ranks Sunday night and voted to advance a stopgap deal to reopen the government, setting off a political firestorm that is now engulfing party leadership and even daytime TV.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blasted the move as “a mistake.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called it “a very bad night.” Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of being ineffective. The View’s Sunny Hostin piled on, saying Schumer should be replaced.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” Khanna wrote on X. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”After 40 days of shutdown gridlock, eight Senate Democrats — none facing reelection in 2026 — sided with Republicans to move the House-passed bill forward. Schumer himself voted no, but that hasn’t saved him from the fury of his own party.
“Don’t endorse or say who you voted for in NYC despite there being a Dem candidate,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) sneered online, slamming Schumer for refusing to back democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York’s mayoral race. “Get Dem Senators to negotiate a terrible ‘deal’ that does nothing real about healthcare. Screw over a national political party. Profile of scourge? Next.”
Sens. Dick Durbin, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, and independent Angus King — who caucuses with Democrats — all voted to advance the measure, clearing the way to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The House is expected to take up the compromise later this week. Democratic leaders there say they’ll oppose it, but swing-district members could face heavy pressure to vote yes.
Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership,” Moulton wrote on X. “If @ChuckSchumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote ‘No’ tonight and hold the line on healthcare. Maybe now @EdMarkey will finally join me in pledging not to vote for Schumer?”
Schumer insisted Sunday night he’ll “keep fighting,” but many Democrats are openly questioning his grip on the caucus. They had long opposed the measure because it didn’t fix expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies — but as the shutdown stretched into its sixth week, with flights canceled, food benefits disappearing, and federal workers unpaid, the pressure to act became unbearable.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) turned her fire on Republicans, saying, “I want Republicans to actually grow a backbone and say, regardless of what Donald Trump says, we’re actually going to restore these cuts on health care — but it looks like I’ve lost that fight.”
Murphy wasn’t buying the compromise. “This bill doesn’t do anything to arrest the health care catastrophe, nor does it constrain in any meaningful way President Trump’s illegality,” he said. “I think the voters were pretty clear on Tuesday night what they wanted Congress to do … and I am really saddened that we didn’t listen to them.”
Democrats say they’ve been promised a December Senate vote on extending ACA tax credits and the rehiring of government workers fired during the shutdown. But Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said that’s not enough. “A wink and a nod to deal with this health care crisis later — with no actual guarantees — is just not enough,” she said.
Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin agreed: “The promise of a vote in over a month does not meet that threshold.”
DNC Chair Ken Martin called the vote “a betrayal of the American people,” blaming Republicans and President Trump. “The voters will never forget the day Trump turned his back on them so he could focus on building his gilded ballroom,” Martin said.
Jeffrey Epstein allegedly claimed that prosecutors in New York dangled a deal in front of him—one that would set him free if he agreed to falsely implicate President Donald Trump in his crimes.
The explosive claim comes from Epstein’s former cellmate, ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione, who detailed the alleged conversation in a pardon petition obtained by the New York Post.
According to Tartaglione, Epstein said lead prosecutor Maurene Comey—daughter of former FBI Director James Comey—personally told him he could walk free if he tied Trump to his sex-trafficking case.
Tartaglione, now 57, shared a cell with Epstein in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center after the disgraced financier’s 2019 arrest.
In his filing, Tartaglione wrote that prosecutors “told Epstein that if he said President Trump was involved with Epstein’s crimes, he would walk free.”
He further claimed that Epstein described a conversation with Maurene Comey, who allegedly told him, “He didn’t have to prove anything, as long as President Trump’s people could not disprove it.”
Epstein reportedly said Comey bragged that “the FBI were her people, not his [President Trump’s],” suggesting a political bias inside the prosecution team.
The documents reviewed by the Post do not specify what exact crimes Trump was supposed to be implicated in.
At the time of his death, Epstein faced charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy but was rumored to be under investigation for other potential crimes, including financial misdealing and blackmail.
Maurene Comey served as lead prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including those involving Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Tartaglione himself.
Attempts to reach Comey for comment were unsuccessful, and the Department of Justice declined to respond.
The revelation adds another layer to the questions surrounding Epstein’s 2019 death, which was officially ruled a suicide but continues to spark widespread skepticism.
Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019—just weeks after sharing the explosive story with Tartaglione.
Tartaglione claimed that Epstein had insisted, “President Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes.”
The two men were housed together until Epstein’s first suicide attempt in July 2019, after which he was placed on suicide watch and later returned to a new cell.
Tartaglione, a former K9 officer from Westchester, was later convicted in 2024 for killing four men during a botched 2016 cocaine deal.
In his own legal filings, he now alleges that evidence in his murder case was manipulated, phone data was tampered with, and video evidence was “altered, spliced, mutilated and destroyed.”
He also claims that one of his workers, Marcos Cruz, confessed to arranging the murders for a cartel but was pressured by investigators to change his story.
The former cop further accused the prosecution’s star witness, bodybuilder Joseph Biggs, of fabricating testimony after meeting with prosecutors around 30 times.
Biggs later admitted to shooting one of the victims and was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in the murders.
Despite his own conviction, Tartaglione’s new claim about Epstein and Comey raises serious concerns about potential political motives behind Epstein’s prosecution.
Maurene Comey was fired from her position at the Justice Department in July, just days after the Department of Justice and FBI concluded that Epstein had died by suicide and did not maintain a client list.
BREAKING: Anna Paulina Luna Claims The Biden DOJ DESTROYED…
Representative Anna Paulina Luna has leveled explosive information against the Biden Department of Justice, claiming that critical materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have been deliberately destroyed.
This assertion, if proven true, would represent one of the most damning instances of governmental obstruction and cover-up in recent history.
Luna, who chairs a congressional task force focused on federal transparency, has stated unequivocally that she possesses evidence implicating high-ranking officials in the DOJ.
According to her, these officials not only failed to disclose materials related to Epstein but actively destroyed them to conceal the extent of powerful individuals’ involvement in Epstein’s criminal network.
She introduced legislation titled the SHRED Act, aimed at imposing severe penalties on government agents who destroy or conceal federal records. The proposed bill calls for 20 years to life in prison for anyone caught eliminating evidence in cases of national significance.
“Even if they are conducting a criminal investigation, you should probably pick up the phone and call us,” Luna told Fox News. “We have been more than patient.”
These developments come amid growing conservative suspicion that the Biden administration has no interest in unmasking Epstein’s full network. The notion that key records could be gone forever only intensifies fears that justice is being buried under a bureaucratic rug.
Luna’s office has reportedly sent multiple requests to the Department of Justice demanding clarity on the handling of Epstein-related materials. So far, those inquiries have been met with either vague responses or complete silence.
The congresswoman did not mince words in her public statements, suggesting that the DOJ’s behavior constitutes a deliberate act of obstruction. If true, such actions could violate federal law and trigger an entirely new legal battle.
“The Biden DOJ has obstructed Congress, ignored subpoenas, and now appears to have destroyed critical evidence,” Luna said. “This is corruption at the highest level.”
Critics argue that this is yet another example of double standards in Washington. “Had this been a Republican-led DOJ accused of destroying documents in a child sex trafficking case, the media would be apoplectic,” one conservative commentator noted.
For years, the Epstein case has symbolized the deep rot within America’s elite circles. The financier’s suspicious death in prison and the subsequent lack of high-profile indictments have fueled accusations of a widespread cover-up.
Now, Luna’s allegations breathe new life into those concerns. If records were indeed destroyed, the implications are profound. It would mean that the DOJ, under Biden, actively shielded criminals from justice.
What’s more troubling is that these destroyed materials could have named prominent individuals—politicians, celebrities, and global financiers—who participated in or enabled Epstein’s crimes.
In this context, Luna’s SHRED Act isn’t just legislative symbolism. It is a clarion call for accountability in an era marked by elite impunity. Her bill seeks to ensure that future officials think twice before erasing truth from the historical record.
Despite Luna’s repeated calls for transparency, there has been no formal response from Attorney General Merrick Garland. The silence speaks volumes to many who believe the DOJ is stonewalling on purpose.
Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers have rallied behind Luna. A growing number of Republicans in the House and Senate are voicing support for investigations into the DOJ’s handling of Epstein evidence.
Some have even floated the idea of appointing a special counsel to probe the matter independently. Given the stakes, such a move may be the only path forward to restore public confidence.