NEWNow you can hearken to Fox Information articles!
The forty second week of his second administration was one other busy one for President Donald Trump.
This week, Trump signed laws ending the longest authorities shutdown in historical past, backed utilizing H-1B visas to rent international employees, introduced plans to order the Justice Division to guage ties between convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein and different U.S. figures, and issued pardons to these accused of looking for to overturn the 2020 election.
Here is a have a look at what occurred.
Authorities shutdown ends
On Wednesday night, Trump signed laws that the Home and Senate handed earlier within the week to fund the federal government once more, as penalties of the lapse in funding began to mount, corresponding to missed paychecks for federal employees and airline delays as a result of air site visitors controller staffing shortages.
The invoice maintains funding for the federal government in line with fiscal 12 months 2025 spending ranges by Jan. 30 to supply a window for lawmakers to nail down an extended appropriations measure for FY 2026.
The measure additionally allocates spending for the Supplemental Vitamin Help Program (SNAP), which greater than 42 million People depend on, by September. This system helps non- or low-income people or households to buy groceries on a debit card.
TRUMP CANCELS $4.9B FOREIGN AID, PUSHES DC DEATH PENALTY, TOUTS KIM TIES
President Donald Trump signed laws that the Home and Senate handed earlier within the week to fund the federal government once more. (Mariam Zuhaib/The Related Press)
Moreover, the measure reverses layoffs the Trump administration set into movement earlier in October, and pays staff for his or her absence.
Overseas employee visa criticism
Trump additionally carried out a sit-down interview with Fox Information’ Laura Ingraham that aired each Monday and Tuesday, the place he stated that bringing international employees to the U.S. on H-1B visas is necessary to “herald expertise” to the U.S. After Ingraham claimed that the U.S. has expertise at residence, Trump disagreed.
“No, you don’t. No, you don’t. You don’t have, you don’t have sure skills, and other people must study!” Trump stated. “You possibly can’t take folks off an unemployment line and say I’m gonna put you right into a manufacturing facility the place we’re gonna make missiles.”
LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN HISTORY NEARS LIKELY END AS HOUSE MOVES ON FUNDING BILL
H-1B visas allow U.S. firms to rent extremely expert international employees for as much as six years.
It is a difficulty that has remained controversial amongst MAGA supporters. Those that again this system declare it’s essential to U.S. competitiveness, however opponents say that the visa holders are taking away jobs from People.
Trump’s statements earned him criticism from those who make up his base. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., rebuked Trump’s statements afterward and stated that she is “America First and America Solely.”
“I consider within the American folks,” Greene stated. “I’m one among you.I consider you’re good, gifted, inventive, clever, hardworking, and wish to obtain. I’m solidly towards you being changed by international labor, like with H1Bs.”
TRUMP SIGNS BILL ENDING LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY

President Donald Trump speaks throughout a breakfast with Senate and Home Republicans within the State Eating Room of the White Home, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/The Assocaited Press )
In response to the criticism, the White Home pointed to the Trump administration’s announcement in September that will require a $100,000 annual payment for firms looking for to acquire an H-1B visa. Plus, the White Home famous that the Division of Labor launched Venture Firewall in September in an try to make sure employers do not abuse the H-1B visa course of.
Individually, Trump additionally defended earlier statements supporting permitting as much as 600,000 Chinese language college students to return to the U.S. in his interview with Ingraham, and asserted that they need to examine within the U.S. so U.S. schools don’t “exit of enterprise.”
Former Trump U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley stated doing so could be a “huge mistake.”
“That may be an enormous present to China and a risk to the USA,” Haley stated in a publish on X on Thursday.
Extra Epstein paperwork
Moreover, Trump introduced Friday that he would order the Justice Division and the FBI to probe financier and convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with these together with former President Invoice Clinton, former Treasury Secretary throughout the Clinton administration Larry Summers, and others.
The announcement got here after each Democrats and Republicans on the Home Oversight and Authorities Reform Committee launched 1000’s of paperwork Wednesday associated to Epstein — together with emails the place Trump was talked about. Nonetheless, the paperwork don’t allege wrongdoing from Trump and easily present Epstein mentioning him.
“That is one other Russia, Russia, Russia Rip-off, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” Trump stated in a Fact Social publish Friday. “Information present that these males, and plenty of others, spent massive parts of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’ Keep tuned!!!”

Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and actual property developer Donald Trump as they pose collectively on the Mar-a-Lago property, Palm Seaside, Florida, Feb. 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Photos)
Clinton has denied that he ever visited Epstein’s island, and wrote in his 2024 memoir “Citizen” that he wished they’d by no means met. A spokesperson for Summers didn’t reply to a request for remark from Fox Information Digital.
Presidential pardons
Late Sunday, the Trump administration introduced the president had issued pardons for greater than 70 folks accused of looking for to overturn the 2020 election outcomes.
However presidential pardons solely apply federal expenses and people concerned don’t have any federal expenses leveled towards them – which means the transfer is primarily a symbolic gesture.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
These pardoned embrace Trump allies like former New York Metropolis mayor and the president’s former private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who claimed that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. Giuliani is presently caught up in a case in Arizona the place he faces state expenses for election interference for these statements.
Different distinguished figures pardoned embrace former White Home chief of employees Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.

