WASHINGTON—Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta resigned from his post Friday morning following public scrutiny of his involvement with a plea bargain agreement for billionaire Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago. President Donald Trump announced the resignation, effective in a week, with Acosta standing next to him. Acosta said that he did not want his handling of the Epstein case to distract from the work of the Labor Department and that the focus should instead be on the strength of the U.S. economy.

WASHINGTON—Immigration and Customs Enforcement could begin nationwide raids to deport illegal immigrants as early as this weekend after President Donald Trump postponed the effort late last month. To protect ICE officers, the agency has not released to the public the exact time for the beginning of the sweep. When announcing the sweep last month, the president said it marked the beginning of a long-term push to deport millions of people residing illegally in the United States.

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump ended his effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census Thursday, announcing in a news conference that he would instead sign an executive order to count U.S. citizens. The order would direct every federal department and agency to give all records related to the number of citizens and noncitizens to the Department of Commerce. “It is essential that we have a clear breakdown of the number of citizens and noncitizens that make up the U.S. populations,” he said. Trump predicted that the administration could find 90 percent or more of the U.S.

WASHINGTON—The start of the 2020 presidential campaign cycle may be dominating headlines at the moment, but another crucial political battle is shaping up down the ballot from President Donald Trump and his eventual opponent. The race for control of the U.S. Senate in 2020 will determine whether Republicans can continue to confirm conservative judges to the federal judiciary, ward off liberal policies such as the Green New Deal or universal healthcare, and defend pro-family positions.

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is meeting with conservative internet influencers and politicians on Thursday to discuss the perceptions of bias on social media. The summit is intended to bring together “digital leaders for a robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today’s online environment,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said.

WASHINGTON—A female senior military officer has accused the nominee for the Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairmanship of sexual misconduct. The anonymous accuser told the Associated Press that Gen. John Hyten made repeated inappropriate advances toward her while she was his aide in 2017 and tried to destroy her career after she rejected him.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Fort Worth, Texas, ruled in December that former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law became unconstitutional when Congress eliminated the individual mandate, a tax on those without insurance, in 2017.