Plan comes after major New York Times report alleges files became source of crisis within Trump administration

Democrats on the House oversight committee, led by Representative Robert Garcia, plan to call on JD Vance to testify on the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files following a major report on Wednesday from the New York Times, which described how the Epstein files became the source of an internal crisis within Trump’s administration.

Garcia will call on the committee chair, James Comer, to summon the vice-president to speak, according to a post from Max Cohen, a reporter with Punchbowl News. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Vance would agree to appear.

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© Photograph: Matt Rourke/Reuters

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/Reuters

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/Reuters

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Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows.

As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis.

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© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

Vice-president says deal could ‘absolutely’ come before midterms, as US strikes Iran after downing of helicopter

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The US-Israel war on Iran could conclude in a week or a few months, vice-president JD Vance has said, as the downing of a US army helicopter sparked the latest flare-up in the conflict.

In the latest vague assessment from the Trump administration on the future of its controversial war, Vance claimed the US is “very close to achieving” a peace deal with Iran, adding that it could “absolutely” come before the midterm elections.

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance is pressing federal prosecutors to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud.

House report alleged governor and state attorney general knew of ‘widespread taxpayer fraud’ in social programs

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The US vice-president, JD Vance, asked the Department of Justice to investigate Tim Walz, his rival in the 2024 election, after a congressional report renewed allegations of inaction and retaliation over fraud schemes in Minnesota.

In the Trump administration’s latest broadside against the midwestern state and its political leaders, Vance referred Walz, its Democratic governor, and Keith Ellison, its Democratic attorney general, for investigation.

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© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Senior administration officials jump on death of Henry Nowak – and statements echo language of the far right

Over a breathtaking few days that spanned Saturday’s 82nd anniversary of D-day, senior Trump administration officials have trampled over diplomatic protocol to tear into Europe’s immigration and anti-racism policies and argue that such actions could end western civilization.

From the United States, Vice-President JD Vance and other administration officials jumped on a controversial murder case in Britain to accuse Keir Starmer’s government of lacking the Trump administration’s “political will and leadership” to stop mass migration and defend national sovereignty.

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© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA