• U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) recently filed a dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Department of Justice while seeking records of “various episodes of potential executive branch misconduct or corruption,” according to Schiff’s office. One of the FOIA requests asks for records related to federal anti money-laundering suspicious activity reports that showed more than 4,000 wire transfers totaling $1 billion involving Jeffrey Epstein and some of his associates between 2003 and 2019. A separate request asks for records related to the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker and associate of Epstein, from Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas. The senators filed both of these FOIAs, along with 10 FOIAs on separate topics, after parallel inquiries and requests were “summarily ignored or met by incomplete answers from recalcitrant Trump administration officials despite Congress’ constitutional oversight power,” a release from Schiff’s office stated. “It is Congress’ constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch, but under Donald Trump, the administration has either stonewalled or outright refused to answer many of the questions the American people are asking,” Schiff said. Sen. Blumenthal described the Trump administration as “allowing corruption, deception, and misconduct to take hold and fester within our government, and said the FOIA requests are attempts “to bring about desperately needed accountability and transparency.”
• On Nov. 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit—alongside a multistate coalition including Washington—against the Trump administration to challenge abrupt changes that would cut ongoing support from established homeless housing programs. In early November, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released new funding provisions in its 2025 Continuum of Care notice of funding opportunity. These changes include a number of rules that will disadvantage and defund housing programs with a proven record of success in addressing homelessness, according to Newsom’s office. Specifically, the federal government now imposes a cap that restricts California’s Continuum of Care programs to using only 30 percent of funds for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing. “While Donald Trump is busy hosting parties and showing off his gold-plated decor, Americans are worried about groceries, rent, and basic stability,” Newsom said in a Nov. 25 statement. “Most families can’t fall back on inherited wealth or walk away from failure through bankruptcy—but they’re the ones stuck paying for his chaos and incompetence. For all Trump’s talk about others feeding at the trough, there’s really only one ‘piggy’ here—and he’ll find it in his own gilded mirror.”
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) formally congratulated the Los Angeles Dodgers on their World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, while becoming the first team in 25 years to earn back-to-back World Series titles. “In a season defined by grit, the Dodgers closed out a historic championship run with an instant Game 7 classic that will echo through baseball forever. From global superstars like Shohei and Yamamoto to unsung heroes like Miggy Ro and Will Klein, every single player played a pivotal role in cementing a Dodgers dynasty to keep Los Angeles atop the baseball world,” Padilla said in a Nov. 21 statement. “Congratulations to Dave Roberts and the entire Dodgers organization on earning their third title in six years and giving Angelenos a lifetime of memories to cherish.”
This article appears in Dec 4 – Dec 11, 2025.