Trump Administration News Updates and DOJ Epstein Files Release on 19 December 2025
The Department of Justice will release Epstein files by 19 December 2025 to meet the legal deadline, with the release expected on Friday. Newly released Epstein-related photos by Democrats include images of Bill Gates with a redacted-faced woman and Noam Chomsky on a plane with Epstein; however, these undated and uncaptioned photos do not indicate wrongdoing. Among the files are also photos showing lines from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita written on a woman’s body, foreign passports, and a text-message screenshot about an 18-year-old from Russia, though the context remains unclear.
The Kennedy Center board has voted to add Donald Trump's name, potentially renaming the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, although the legality of this change is uncertain. Meanwhile, the US Consumer Price Index rose by 2.7% in the year to November, down from 3% in September and below economists' expectations of approximately 3.1%.
The Trump administration is moving to end gender-affirming care for minors by initiating rulemaking through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to bar puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgeries for minors participating in Medicare or Medicaid.
Regarding military benefits, the $1,776 'warrior dividend' payments to troops come from a congressionally approved housing supplement, not from tariff revenues. Additionally, President Trump has signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana as less dangerous, loosening some restrictions on research and regulation, but stopping short of legalizing cannabis nationwide.
