Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is sending lawmakers home early for the August recess in order to avoid having to hold votes on releasing files related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- The House had been scheduled to be in session through Thursday but will instead scrap its legislative agenda for the week and leave town on Wednesday for its month-long break.
The move comes as the speaker faces mounting pressure from Democrats and some Republicans to hold a vote to compel the Trump administration to release the Epstein files.
- President Trump, who campaigned on releasing the documents, now wants people to move on from the "hoax," and disavowed his "past supporters" last week for continuing to drive the issue.
The House Rules Committee, which controls the floor agenda, recessed for the remainder of the week on Monday night after Democrats threatened to make Republicans take more uncomfortable votes on Epstein-related amendments.
- With the House floor effectively frozen, lawmakers will instead vote on a slew of noncontroversial measures under suspension of the rules before leaving town.
Speaker Johnson accused Democrats of trying to "play political games" and said his party would not be "lectured on transparency."
- "We are not going to let them use this as a political battering ram. The Rules Committee became the ground for them to do that," he told reporters.
The speaker insisted House Republicans and the Trump administration are committed to "maximum transparency" but cited the need to protect innocent victims wrapped up in the case.
- "When the Epstein records are turned over to the public, which we must do as quickly as possible, we have to also be very judicious and careful about protecting the innocent," he said.
The issue was reignited earlier this month after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo saying Mr. Epstein died by suicide and that there was no credible evidence of a "client list."
- The memo was met with fierce backlash, particularly from some of President Trump's most strident supporters who had long questioned the official story and pushed for the release of all documents related to the case.
Following the backlash, the Justice Department filed motions to unseal grand jury records related to Mr. Epstein, which are being considered by two federal judges.
- The motions, however, did little to quell the GOP rebellion over the issue and several lawmakers have since made moves to try to bring more information to light.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) recently filed a discharge petition to try to force a vote on their bill to compel the Trump administration to release the documents.
Their discharge petition, which is a tool to circumvent House leadership and bring a bill directly to the floor, will ripen when lawmakers return from the August recess.
- "This bill is moving. This is coming to a vote," Rep. Massie said. "We've got enough Republican cosponsors of the bill."
Earlier in the day, a House Oversight subcommittee voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime partner of Mr. Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a sex-trafficking conviction.
- "We've just got to get to the bottom of this thing, folks. It's four years and we don't need to tolerate this stuff anymore," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who introduced the motion, said on social media.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also announced he had requested an interview with Ms. Maxwell "to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department."
- "I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days," he said in a statement. "Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now."
President Trump told reporters he was not aware of the Justice Department's request but said it "sounds appropriate."
He also urged the media to stop asking about Mr. Epstein, saying reporters should instead focus on what he claimed was a plot by President Obama to rig the 2016 election — a claim the former president's office called "ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."
- "The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold," President Trump said, accusing his predecessor of "treason."
- "Whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people."
Watch the remarks from Speaker Johnson, Rep. Massie and President Trump.
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