Beltway Insider: Trump/Epstein Files, Trump’s Homeless War, Israel/Gaza, Kennedy Center, Idaho College Killer

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Saturday, 26 July 2025 20:18

Written by Janet Walker

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) again proved his loyalty to President Trump, by adjourning the House for the summer break, before a critical vote could be called on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The President's job approval rating, according to Gallup featured in The New York Times for the period ending July 27, 2025, of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President decreased by 6% to 37% and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as president increased by 5% percent to 58%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Trump/Epstein Files, GOP Breaks, Political Retribution, Ukraine/Russia, Texas Floods

Trump Downplays Epstein Files

President Trump is swatting the Jeffrey Epstein association in his usual manner, by pivoting the topic to the others who also knew Epstein, including prominent democrats, and pointing to a lack in leadership in the previous administration as the urgency to release the Epstein files increases.

Trump, who was once a staple on the Palm Beach, Florida and New York City social scene, has never denied that he knew Jeffrey Epstein. Nor has he denied, from time to time, socializing with the convicted sex offender, before his arrest.

Prior to Trump's decision to become a political candidate, in 2002, "Trump was quoted in a New York Magazine profile of Epstein — "Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery" — describing him as "a terrific guy," saying he's known Epstein for 15 years. "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump said. Trump flew on Epstein's jets between Palm Beach and New York, at least seven times according to flight logs," CNN reported.

Three House Republicans supported a measure presented by Pennsylvania Democrat Summer Lee, which forced the House Oversight Committee to act. Under House rules, subpoena's must be issued, and republicans are not wasting any time in announcing the names of those democrats who will also be subpoenaed which of course includes former President Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton, and of course former FBI director James Comey, one of Trumps favorite targets. Others include former Attorney Generals and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller.

With Republicans heading home for the break, they will be gauging the temperature of their constituents as well as the MAGA donors and benefactors. As the possibility of Mr. Trump facing a second impeachment hearing, in as many presidencies, if these files unearth the criminal involvement that many on the Hill expect, is very real. However, as the House investigates the allegations and brings the charges, and the Senate holds the trial and votes on conviction, it remains unclear if republicans, in both houses, where they hold the majority, would actually vote to impeach.

House Speaker Closes House Session Early

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, (R-LA) adjourned the session one week early, in an effort to sidestep the Jeffrey Epstein issue as a growing bipartisan swell continued to demand the files, in their entirety, be released.

The Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has effectively closed the case, which created an uproar in the chambers causing the House Rules Committee to inundate the floor with bills, which would cause a vote, as the hard line republican control was fading with House members, from both sides, want to know the truth.

"The speaker's stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as many of President Donald Trump's supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding that the House intervene in the matter," APnews.com reported.

After the House adjournment, any vote has been pushed to September at the earliest.

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Trump's War on Homelessness

President Trump has declared war on the Homeless population across the nation with a new executive order that would direct officials to enforce mandatory hospitalization of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or those around them.

The executive order, "also instructs agencies to prioritize funding for mental health and drug courts — and to not fund "harm reduction" programs that the administration said facilitate illegal drug use. It also called for agencies to prioritize funding states and cities that to the "maximum extent" enforce laws on open-air drug use, prohibitions on urban camping, loitering and squatting," The Washington Post reported.

While the administrations efforts may reflect a strongarmed approach to combat homelessness, especially of individuals who pose a risk to others, it is a beginning.  

Israel's Extermination of Gaza

The nearly two year siege of Gaza has left a dwindling population of less than two million Palestinians, who occupied the Gaza Strip at the time of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. After the initial occupation, bombings, and heavy shelling, that killed 60,000 Palestinians, and left the survivors to either enter encampments, hoping to find international aid, or seek shelter in the ruins.

The blockade on aid, which has once again thrust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the forefront of international politics, has recently resulted in the images of emaciated Palestinian children, so malnourished that their bones can be counted being released by media in every nation, drawing rebukes from the British, France, and German governments.

Even with assurances by Netanyahu that aid will be distributed, often, as in the past, the aid workers have been killed by Israeli forces, casualties of generations of animosity between the two ethnicities. Over the past two years, the hunger crisis in Gaza has only continued to grow, and now, it has reached a tipping point. With more than 100 children recently counted among those who starved to death, the historical similarities, cannot be overlooked.

"British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the country was "working urgently with the Jordanian authorities to get British aid onto planes and into Gaza. The images of starvation and desperation in Gaza are utterly horrifying," Starmer wrote Friday in the Mirror newspaper. "News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late — but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route," The Washington Post reported.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has joined the British Prime Minister in the efforts to attempt to make a dent in this daily deepening humanitarian crisis. Currently, Gaza would need more than 120 trucks of food aid daily, over the past week, about 600 for the week were given access. Even then, once aid arrives, the routes to distribution centers are filled with challenges as the starving attempt to rush the vehicles, many have been killed, or pirates hijack the trucks selling it on the black market.

Air drops, pallets of flour, beans, lentils, and other supplies are now the only option. Jordanian officials have indicated they will work to deliver aid, in anyway allowed, as the Palestinians are starving. Air drops create their own chaos, as pallets are very heavy, at times miss the intended target and can inadvertently kill civilians on the ground. However, at this point, if the choice is between allowing the Palestinians to starve or air drop pallets, is simple drop the pallets.

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict has evolved into more than a retaliatory strike and a supported effort to destroy Hamas, Hezbollah and those who fund these terror groups. It has become the systematic extinction of the remaining Palestinian people. The world waited once before in history, and said, never again. Now is the time to impress upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end his war with the Palestinian refugees.  

The Two State Solution

Macron, announced, he will recognize Palestine as an independent state at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September. The first G7 nation to do so, and the first step toward a two state solution.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  wrote on X "We strongly condemn President Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre. Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it. Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel."

Kennedy Center Opera House

The Republican led House Appropriation Committee presented an initiative to rename The Kennedy Center Opera House, the second largest theater in the Kennedy Center complex, the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.

This proposed change pits the First Lady, who has appeared to loathe the scope of her husband's position, on the front lines of a media eviscerating. Changing the name, in an attempt to erase the nation's history, in favor of a First Lady who has repeatedly refused to use her position to address or lead initiatives on many of the nation's social issues and has chosen instead to remain voiceless when she could be a champion of any number of causes including childhood obesity, childhood nutrition, art education in schools, literacy, or champion causes directly related to the fashion industry, or women, in general.

The renaming of a public monument is an honor for service to the nation; the First Lady appears to have chosen to ignore her duties and the great responsibility the office holds.

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Coronavirus Total

At the order of the President of the United States, the U.S. no longer recognizes the value of The World Health Organization. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually.  The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants.

For the seven days ending July 27, 2025, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 41,965 to 778,407,760. The total worldwide death toll increased by 285 to 7,098,440 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated July 6, 2025, from the World Health Organization).

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Idaho Quadruple College Killer Sentenced

Bryan Kohrberger, 30, a former Washington State University Ph.D. student, was sentenced this week to four consecutive life sentences for the first degree murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, at their off campus Moscow, Idaho home in 2022.

The plea deal, which included an additional ten years added to his sentence for burglary, sharply divided the families, as the central question of why Kohberger committed the crimes, murdering his victims with such uncontrolled rage, will never be answered.

The victims relatives and surviving roommates addressed the court, some directing comments to a stoic Kohberger, who failed to react or make eye contact with anyone.

Since the announcement plea deal, details of the murders have been made public including a general conclusion that Kernodle and Chapin were collateral damage, and never part of Kohberger's original intent.

Kohberger entered the home through an opened sliding glass door on the second floor and went directly to Mogen's third floor room, where he found Mogen and Goncalves, who fell asleep in the same bed. This disrupted what federal authorities believe was possibly the killer main intent: to either rape Mogen or rape and murder her. His rage toward Goncalves, who had recently moved out of the house, resulted in the severest injuries according to retired FBI Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, "stabbing her more than 20 times in the face until she was unrecognizable, and also strangling her," citing the autopsy report.

"Why did he do it? At a sentencing hearing in Boise, Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler said the answer may never be revealed. "By continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance," he said. "We give him agency. We give him power,"' reported The Washington Post.

For more information on President Donald Trump: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.