Trump blasts Democrats over Epstein files, celebrates House approval of $9B budget cuts

Former US President Donald Trump has reignited controversy surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, questioning why Democrats failed to act on alleged evidence tying him to the disgraced financier. In a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday, Trump claimed Democrats had full access to Epstein-related files for years but came up empty-handed.

“If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!” Trump wrote.

His statement coincided with a tense day on Capitol Hill, where Republicans pushed through a significant rollback of federal spending — marking the first successful presidential rescissions request in decades. The House of Representatives gave final approval to Trump’s proposal to claw back approximately $9 billion in funding, including massive cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid programs.

House Narrowly Passes Trump’s Budget Cuts

The bill passed the House with a razor-thin margin of 216–213 and now awaits the President’s signature. According to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), the measure is a crucial step toward restoring “fiscal sanity.”

“We need to get back to fiscal sanity, and this is an important step,” Johnson said.

The cuts include a $1.1 billion reduction for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $8 billion slashed from global aid initiatives, many of which support countries battling poverty, disease, and political instability.

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Senate Approves Measure Without Democratic Support

Earlier Thursday, the Senate approved the bill by a 51–48 vote, with no Democrats backing the measure. The final passage in the House was delayed as Democrats pushed for a separate vote on the public release of Epstein-related documents, arguing that transparency remains essential in high-profile abuse cases.

Despite the spending cuts, critics remain unconvinced about the Republicans’ motives. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the GOP of using budget control as political theater.

“No one is buying the notion that Republicans are actually trying to improve wasteful spending,” Jeffries said.

The move follows Trump’s recent tax and spending reforms, which passed without any Democratic support. According to the Congressional Budget Office, those changes are expected to increase the national debt by approximately $3.3 trillion over the next decade.