Editorial cartoons for Nov. 16, 2025: Epstein emails released, government shutdown ends

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s emails mentioning President Donald Trump were made public last week by House Democrats, raising questions again about what Trump knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and girls. The names of other powerful men, including Democrats Bill Clinton and Larry Summers, were also found in the emails.

Walt Handelsman leads this week’s editorial cartoon gallery with his view of Trump’s signature red tie pinned to the floor by the Epstein files. Nick Anderson assembles them into the “Arc de Trump.” Mike Luckovich sees Trump caught in the Epstein spider web. Nick Anderson’s Trump is marooned on an island of Epstein emails. To Bill Bramhall, Trump is Sisyphus rolling the Epstein boulder up the mountain, again.

The week’s other big news was the end of the seven-week government shutdown after a faction of Democrats broke ranks to end the stalemate. Anderson’s Republican Party claims it won the shutdown by refusing to “help Americans get affordable health care.” Drew Sheneman sees the Democrats’ capitulation as treachery. Michael Ramirez draws a train wreck representing the U.S. economy, as the engineer cries, “The shutdown is over. Everyone back to work.” Bramhall’s Uncle Sam resets the shutdown clock to two months from now, when the temporary spending legislation expires.

Other topics in this week’s gallery include Trump’s pardon of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; high grocery prices; the end of the line for the penny; and Veterans Day.

Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.