Fight over Epstein files holds up Trump DOGE cuts bill
Republicans on the House Rules Committee huddled with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for more than an hour Thursday afternoon as the group searched for a path forward on the Epstein saga, which has inundated Capitol Hill and fractured the GOP.
The Senate approved the $9 billion rescissions package in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and the clock is ticking on the matter.
If the measure is not codified by Friday, the White House must release the funds it requested to withhold. Because the Senate made changes to the package to remove a provision cutting funding for a global AIDS fund, the House must bring up the bill again through the House Rules Committee before it goes to the House floor.
The discussion over what to do about the Epstein saga — and negotiations with Johnson and GOP leadership about a GOP-backed Epstein file release measure — is delaying that effort.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said that the panel was originally supposed to meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday to consider the rescissions package, but that got pushed as the Republicans negotiated on how to handle the Epstein matter.
A number of Republicans have called for the release of the documents related to Epstein as they air frustration with how the Trump administration has handled the matter. Additionally, GOP lawmakers on the Rules panel have taken immense heat from the MAGA base for shooting down a Democrat-led amendment in committee earlier this week demanding the disclosure of more information.
Leaving the meeting, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), the only Republican on the panel to vote in favor of the Democratic amendment earlier this week, said the group was nearing a solution, but declined to disclose any details.
'It's a good plan,' Norman told reporters. 'It's getting very close.'
Ahead of the gathering, two sources told The Hill that Johnson was considering backing a measure calling for the disclosure of files related to Epstein. The structure and language of the measure remains unclear, but one source said it would likely protect the names of victims and whistleblowers involved in the Epstein saga.
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