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The 42nd week of his second administration was another busy week for President Donald Trump.
This week, Trump signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in history, supported the use of H-1B visas to hire foreign workers, announced plans to order the Justice Department to evaluate ties between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other American figures, and pardoned people accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
Here’s a look at what happened.
End of government shutdown
On Wednesday evening, Trump signed legislation that the House and Senate passed earlier in the week to refund the government, as the consequences of the funding shortfall began to pile up, such as missed paychecks for federal employees and airline delays due to understaffed air traffic controllers.
The bill keeps the government funded at FY 2025 spending levels through Jan. 30 to give lawmakers the opportunity to set a longer FY 2026 appropriations measure.
The measure also allocates spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), on which more than 42 million Americans rely, through September. The program helps low-income or low-income individuals or families buy groceries with a debit card.
Trump Cancels $4.9 Billion Foreign Aid, Pushes Death Penalty in Washington, and Ties on ALL KIM
President Donald Trump signed legislation passed by the House and Senate earlier in the week to refund the government. (Mariam Zuhaib/Associated Press)
Additionally, the measure reverses layoffs that the Trump administration implemented earlier in October and pays employees for their time off.
Criticisms of foreign worker visas
Trump also conducted an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, which aired Monday and Tuesday, in which he said it was important to bring foreign workers to the United States on H-1B visas to “attract talent” to the United States. After Ingraham asserted that the United States had talent at home, Trump disagreed.
“No, you don’t. No, you don’t. You don’t, you don’t have certain talents, and people need to learn!” » Trump said. “You can’t take people off an unemployment line and tell them I’m going to put you in a factory where we’re going to make missiles.”
LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN HISTORY NEARLY LIKELY ENDED AS HOUSE MOVES FUNDING BILL
H-1B visas allow U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers for up to six years.
This is an issue that remains controversial among MAGA supporters. Those who support the program claim it is essential to U.S. competitiveness, but opponents say visa holders deprive Americans of jobs.
Trump’s statements have drawn criticism from those who make up his base. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., later rebuked Trump’s statements and said she was “America first and America only.”
“I believe in the American people,” Greene said. “I am one of you. I believe you are good, talented, creative, intelligent, hardworking and want to succeed. I am strongly against replacing you with foreign labor, like with the H1Bs.”
Trump signs bill ending longest government shutdown in US history
President Donald Trump speaks during a breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
In response to these criticisms, the White House pointed to the Trump administration’s September announcement that a $100,000 annual fee would be imposed on businesses seeking an H-1B visa. Additionally, the White House noted that the Department of Labor launched Project Firewall in September to try to ensure that employers do not abuse the H-1B visa process.
Separately, Trump also defended previous statements supporting allowing up to 600,000 people. Chinese students in his interview with Ingraham, he claimed that they needed to study in the United States so that American universities would not “go bankrupt.”
Trump’s former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, said doing so would be a “massive mistake.”
“This would be a huge gift to China and a threat to the United States,” Haley said in a post on X on Thursday.
More Epstein documents
Additionally, Trump announced Friday that he would order the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with former President Bill Clinton, former Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and others.
The announcement came after Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday released thousands of documents related to Epstein — including emails in which Trump was mentioned. However, the documents do not allege any wrongdoing on Trump’s part and only show Epstein mentioning him.
“It’s another Russia, Russia, Russia scam, with all the arrows pointing at the Democrats,” Trump said in a Truth Social article on Friday. “Records show that these men, and many others, spent much of their lives with Epstein and on his ‘island.’ Stay tuned!!!”
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, February 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Clinton denied ever visiting Epstein’s island and wrote in his 2024 memoir “Citizen” that he wished they had never met. A spokesperson for Summers did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Presidential pardons
On Sunday evening, the Trump administration announced that the president had pardoned more than 70 people accused of seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But presidential pardons only apply to federal charges, and those involved are not facing any federal charges — meaning the move is primarily a symbolic gesture.
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Among those pardoned are Trump allies, such as the former New York mayor and the president’s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who claimed the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. Giuliani is currently embroiled in a case in Arizona where he faces election interference charges for the statements.
Other figures pardoned include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.
