Top White House officials are feuding over the Jeffrey Epstein files, despite President Trump's demand that they — and the American public — move on, officials tell Axios' Marc Caputo.

Behind the scenes: Trump quickly dismissed a reporter's question yesterday about whether Attorney General Pam Bondi had told him he was in the sex trafficker's files.

• But last week, a similar media inquiry had sent the White House "into a tizzy" — and helped fuel mistrust between the Department of Justice and the FBI.

The backstory: The fallout over the Epstein case continues to haunt Trump's team, 10 days after DOJ's about-face announcement that it wouldn't disclose any more details about Epstein, that he had no client list, and that he'd killed himself in prison and wasn't murdered.

• That angered Trump's MAGA loyalists who — thanks in part to Trump and his aides — had been convinced the president would reveal all about Epstein and his alleged cabal of powerful pedophiles. Suddenly, long-held conspiracy theories were fueled by new disappointment.
• The issue also irks Trump. "Pissed-off Trump is no fun for anyone," said an outside Trump adviser who's in frequent contact with administration officials. "The president wants to talk about his accomplishments. This isn't that."

👀 Inside the room: The blowback over DOJ's decision led to an intense shouting match in the White House last week between Bondi and the FBI's deputy director, Dan Bongino, as Axios first reported.

• Unreported until now: After the Bondi-Bongino blowout, a reporter asked whether Bondi had informed Trump that his name was in the Epstein files.
• Trump has long denied wrongdoing in the case. No evidence has emerged indicating otherwise, but he was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The reporter's question alarmed White House and DOJ personnel about the appearance that the administration had shut down the release of more Epstein information to protect Trump from embarrassing disclosures. Speculation about that swept across some cable news channels.

• "It put people in a tizzy," a source familiar with the discussions told Axios.

The story didn't run. But yesterday, a reporter publicly asked Trump about the rumor that Bondi had told him his name was in Epstein's files.

• "No, no. She's given us just a very quick briefing," Trump said at the White House, calling the Epstein files a non-story, old news and even "fake news."
• On releasing more Epstein information, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md.: "He's dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. ... It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring. ... Anything that's credible, I would say: Let them have it."

🏛️ House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a podcast interview: "I'm for transparency. ... We should put everything out there and let the people decide it. ... I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there."

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s super PAC co-hosted an organizing call for supporters and influencers last week, stirring speculation that he's positioning for a run at the White House in 2028, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes.

• Why it matters: A 2028 presidential campaign wasn't explicitly discussed. But two people with knowledge of the call came away believing it was a step toward another campaign for Kennedy, whose long-shot run in 2024 wound up helping Donald Trump to victory.

Those leading the call included MAHA PAC leader Tony Lyons, vaccine scientist-turned-skeptic Robert Malone, and Kennedy's top adviser Stefanie Spear, according to two people who were on the call and two others familiar with it.

• Entertainer Russell Brand and motivational speaker Tony Robbins also spoke on the call, two of the sources said.
• Several who were involved saw Lyons' participation as a sign that the PAC would help prepare a campaign and fundraising machine in waiting for Kennedy, to be ready if he chooses to run.

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The AI arms race is here, and Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania are on the front lines, Axios Pittsburgh's Ryan Deto writes from yesterday's AI-energy summit in the city.

• Why it matters: Pittsburgh has reinvented itself since the steel industry's collapse, staving off economic fallout. Those efforts haven't created a booming and fast-growing metropolis.

Now the region and state's biggest leaders are confident it could reach those heights if it can attract enough investment for AI.

• President Trump spoke and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) hosted. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and dozens of leaders in tech, energy and diplomacy participated in the summit.

🖼️ The big picture: Big investments unveiled in Pittsburgh — plus the C-suite and Cabinet wattage there — highlight how fueling data centers is a massive challenge and opportunity, Axios Generate author Ben Geman writes.

• The numbers are eye-popping. The biggest announcement was Blackstone's plan to invest $25 billion in data centers and gas-fired energy in Pennsylvania.

Share this story ... 5 takeaways from the summit, by Axios' Ben Geman.

The whole crypto market is going up, with bitcoin setting new all-time highs almost every other day, Axios Crypto author Brady Dale writes.

• Why it matters: Investors who have conviction about bitcoin or another cryptocurrency have a decent shot at doing well, provided they have the nerve to ride out some drops and stick around a while.

Bitcoin has been periodically setting new all-time highs ever since spot ETFs were approved in early 2024. It first broke $100,000 late last year.

• Go deeper: Why investors lose money when bitcoin rises.

Illegal crossings at the nation's borders have fallen to their lowest point since modern record-keeping on crossings began, Axios' Russell Contreras writes from new U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers.

• Why it matters: The data suggest that President Trump's hardline immigration approach — especially along the U.S.-Mexico border — may be achieving its goal, even as the administration has not stopped all noncitizens without papers from entry.

Zoom in: There were 25,228 total encounters nationwide in June, which is the lowest monthly total since CBP was founded in 2003.

• The Southwest border saw 6,072 apprehensions, a 15% drop from the previous record in March.
• The agency hit its lowest recorded single-day total on June 28 with only 136 apprehensions, CBP said.

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Nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens (72%) say they use AI for companionship, with more than half of those doing so every day, Axios' Megan Morrone writes from a new survey.

• Why it matters: AI companions can be dangerous to young users, posing an "unacceptable risk," according to Common Sense Media, which published the findings.

🧮 By the numbers: 34% of teens who use AI companions report that they've felt uncomfortable with something the bot has "said or done."

• Most teens still prefer people to bots. 80% of AI companion users say they spend more time with real friends.

Over half (67%) still find AI conversations less satisfying than human conversations.

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Susan Page, USA Today's Washington bureau chief, is finishing up reporting in London for "The Queen and Her Presidents," a new book due out April 21, 2026 — the day Queen Elizabeth II would've turned 100.

• Why it matters: Page's reporting will reveal "the Queen's surprising views on key political issues" and "her private opinions on the 13 presidents she met," the publisher says in the book announcement.

The book is based on interviews with President Trump and former President Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and others.

• Trump told Page: "She was so cool."

Between the lines: Elizabeth — who met more sitting presidents than any other person in history — had a long history with the Kennedys, a frosty relationship with Richard Nixon and bizarre encounters with Jimmy Carter.

• More on the book.

"Superman's" opening marks the biggest weekend debut ever for a solo Superman movie — one not part of a larger crossover or franchise team-up, Sara Fischer and Christine Wang write for Axios Media Trends.

• Why it matters: The fate of the DC Comics franchise, and to a smaller extent Warner Bros. Pictures, is riding on the film's success.

The movie's $122 million domestic debut boasts the third-biggest opening of the year, behind "A Minecraft Movie" and "Jurassic World Rebirth."

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