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Politico
an hour ago
- Politics
- Politico
House GOP readies Maxwell subpoena over Epstein files
House Republicans have lost control of the floor over their Jeffrey Epstein blow-up, and they're struggling to chart a path out of the crisis. GOP leaders are talking with Trump administration officials, searching for ways to appease Republican members incensed over the lack of public information and Speaker Mike Johnson's handling of the matter broadly. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, as he headed into a House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning, said in a brief interview that Republican leaders and others are now trying to 'expedite' the administration's release of information over the August recess. 'I think a lot of members are frustrated that for years, Democrats covered for Epstein. But ultimately, they also know that President Trump's in court right now trying to unseal the documents, and for whatever reason, the courts have sealed a lot of those records,' Scalise said. 'We hope they unseal those and show them to the public,' said Scalise, 'and we're trying to get that expedited.' Johnson also addressed the issue inside the conference meeting, according to people familiar with his private remarks. He mostly reiterated what he's been saying publicly, that President Donald Trump and the House GOP are pushing for 'transparency' but some caution is needed to protect the names of victims. He pressed House Republicans to not let Democrats score political points on Epstein, appearing to suggest they should hold the line against any Epstein-related votes for now. At their own weekly caucus meeting elsewhere in the Capitol Tuesday morning, House Democrats were gloating. 'It is extraordinary that they're so scared shitless over these Epstein files, that they've done something that I've never seen happen before. I mean, basically they just shut down for the week,' said House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). McGovern was referring to the events of the day before, when Republican leaders chose to cancel several floor votes for the week than allow Democrats to force a vote in the Rules Committee on bipartisan legislation from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would compel the release of Epstein documents. Meanwhile, getting grand jury information unsealed will be a tall task, and it's possible Republicans won't get any of that information before lawmakers return from recess in September. Epstein was a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019. Asked about Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell testifying before Congress, as some lawmakers are calling for, Scalise noted that Attorney General Pam Bondi was seeking to speak with Maxwell. He added, however, that the Judiciary Committee 'is looking at a number of items here.' Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said of the Epstein documents, 'We will push to get to that exposed.' Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

3 hours ago
- Politics
House paralyzed over Epstein files for 2nd week in a row
Another week, another stalemate in the House of Representatives over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. The GOP-led Rules Committee -- which was working on advancing a slate of unrelated bills -- came to a halt Monday evening because Democrats announced their plan to force a committee vote on bipartisan legislation that would call for the release of the Epstein files. Republicans on the panel decided to recess the meeting with lawmakers saying there were no plans to reconvene at all. South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman said Monday he and the other Republicans on the committee did not want to vote on Democrats' Epstein amendments, calling the effort "grandstanding." Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters it was "unlikely" the committee would meet this week at all. This means that House Republicans will not hold votes this week on several key measures, including an immigration bill and legislation to establish new ZIP codes, because Democrats on the panel continue to force tough votes over releasing the Epstein files. The House plans to depart for a long August recess on Thursday without holding votes on the planned measures. The lower chamber can still vote on measures under suspension, which requires a two-thirds majority. With no action by the Rules Committee, the House will vote on two minor bills both under suspension on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Republicans also plan to meet behind closed doors Tuesday morning for their weekly conference meeting, which is followed by a news conference from Speaker Mike Johnson.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Johnson says House won't vote on Epstein resolution before recess
The House will not vote on a resolution calling for the release of some documents related to Jeffrey Epstein before the August recess, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on Monday, despite growing GOP outcry over the Trump administration's handling of the case. The news came after the House Rules Committee advanced the measure last week, and as the lower chamber prepares to break for the weeks-long August recess on Thursday. Asked if the House will vote on the resolution before leaving Washington, Johnson told reporters: 'No.' The Speaker said he wants to leave time for the administration to act on the matter before moving ahead with congressional action. Last week, President Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to request that the grand jury transcripts in the Epstein case be unsealed. Trump has tried to downplay the matter, urging Republicans to drop the issue. 'Here's what I would say about the Epstein files: There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House, and the president on maximum transparency,' Johnson said in the Capitol on Monday. 'He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released. He's asked the attorney general to request the grand jury files of the court. All of that is in process right now.' 'My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing and if further Congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that,' he added. 'But I don't think we're at that point right now because we agree with the president.' Johnson's announcement came less than one week after Republicans on the House Rules Committee advanced a non-binding resolution calling for the release of some information related to the case involving Epstein, a convicted sex offender. It specifically directs Bondi to publicize 'all credible' documents, communications and metadata related to the investigations of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking, but allows her to make exemptions. The panel advanced the resolution after GOP lawmakers on the committee voted down a similar measure earlier in the week that was spearheaded by Democrats. Republicans on the panel took heat from the MAGA base after opposing the measure, which prompted the vote on the GOP-crafted legislation last week. Asked last week if he would stage a vote on the legislation Johnson stopped short of making any commitments, suggesting the purpose was to give Republicans on the panel political cover. 'The Republicans on the Rules Committee, most of them that were present, voted against Democrat amendments to try to hijack that. That was the right thing for them,' Johnson said last week. 'They were wrongfully tarred and feathered by people who did not understand what was happening and said that they were covering up for they were in favor of concealing Epstein files. It's simply not true.' 'So the resolution that was advanced tonight in the Rules Committee was for them to go on record and say no, of course, we're for transparency, of course,' he continued. 'Every single one of the Republicans on the Rules Committee are for transparency and for releasing the files, just as the president of the United States is, and they wanted that to make crystal clear. Make it crystal clear. I think their vote tonight did.' Still, there is deep frustration among some Republicans over the administration's handling of the case. Trump campaigned on releasing the files and many people now in his Cabinet helped amplify theories about what was in them. Underscoring that sentiment, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has teamed up with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on a resolution to release the files in the case. The pair is vowing to start a discharge petition for the legislation in an attempt to force it to the floor. The resolution already has at least 10 GOP co-sponsors. Johnson on Monday downplayed the effort. 'Discharge petitions are never a good idea in the House,' he told reporters on Monday. 'It is a tool of the minority party, not the majority. The majority party has stated its position, and it is mine and it is the president's, that we want maximum disclosure. So the rest of it is a political game that Democrats are playing and I hope Republicans won't go into that.' Other rank-and-file Republicans — including some of the president's closest allies — have expressed their displeasure with how the administration has approached the situation. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the president's top supporters on Capitol Hill, aired an ominous message Monday morning. 'If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People. If not. The base will turn and there's no going back. Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies. They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else,' she wrote on X. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Epstein furor upends House for second week in row
The Jeffrey Epstein saga is causing chaos in the House for the second week in a row, as threats of Democrats forcing politically tough votes are prompting House GOP leadership to toss out many of their plans for the week. The trouble started as soon as lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday, when the House Rules Committee, which sets up action for bills on the floor, met to tee up votes to rescind Biden-era rules and on an immigration bill. But Democrats, who had forced Republicans on the panel into a number of politically difficult votes on the Epstein matter last week, threatened to do so again. They planned to stage a vote on bringing legislation to the floor that would compel the release of the Epstein files. Rather than face those votes, Republicans are opting to simply not tee up any votes at all, according to multiple members of the panel — leaving the House with no floor business in the days ahead of August recess beyond noncontroversial suspension bills, fast-track measures that need two-thirds support to pass. 'Democrats keep putting all these amendments up. They want to make Epstein — and, you know, we're all for transparency, and we're going to do that, but what they want to do is grandstand. They said they'll be there all night, we'll be there all night,' Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the Rules Committee, told reporters. He added that the committee was not expected to return, and the House would only deal with suspension votes. Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, confirmed that the panel would not reconvene for the rest of the week. 'We're done,' McGovern told The Hill. 'Not reporting out a rule, we're done for the night, we're done for the week. … There's some issues going on within the Republican conference, I think around the Epstein stuff, that they can't seem to get under control. So we'll do probably suspensions for the remainder of the week.' It is the second time in as many weeks the so-called Epstein files saga has thwarted GOP leadership's plans for the House floor. Republicans on the Rules Committee last week had tried to address the Epstein matter after being lambasted by the public over rejecting a Democratic amendment, an effort that delayed action on a bill to codify Department of Government Efficiency cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid for hours. The GOP members on the panel came up with a nonbinding resolution calling for the release of more files and teed it up for floor action. But GOP leadership has no plans to bring the matter for a vote. Johnson said earlier Monday that the House would not vote on the legislation before the August recess — which is scheduled to begin after votes on Thursday. Instead, Johnson said he wanted to give the administration time to act on the matter on its own. 'Here's what I would say about the Epstein files: There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House, and the president on maximum transparency,' Johnson said in the Capitol on Monday. 'He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released. He's asked the attorney general to request the grand jury files of the court. All of that is in process right now.' 'My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing, and if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that,' he added. 'But I don't think we're at that point right now because we agree with the president.' One source said that holding a floor vote on the nonbinding resolution was suggested to leadership as a way to avoid the headaches over votes forced by Democrats, and that was not the favored option by leadership. The dilemma for Republicans came up in a meeting with leadership and other top House leaders on Monday, two sources told The Hill. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), who sits on the Rules Committee, raised concerns with having to vote on the Democratic-led amendment — which has key differences from the GOP-crafted one — in the panel meeting and instead advocated for voting on the Republican resolution or a different measure for transparency, one of the sources said. A competing Epstein measure from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — one that would, if passed by both chambers and signed by the president, have more teeth — is further complicating the Epstein dynamic. Massie and Khanna have pledged to force a vote on their Epstein-release bill through the discharge petition process, if they can get 218 House members to sign on. If all Democrats in the House and all the Republicans who have already co-sponsored the resolution do so, they can back GOP leadership into a corner. Due to procedural rules, any vote wouldn't take place until at least after the House returns from August recess in September — by which time many Republicans hope the Epstein furor will have died down. But Massie — carrying a binder that read 'The Epstein Files: Phase 2' in reference to the notorious 'Phase 1' binders that Attorney General Pam Bondi distributed to MAGA influencers earlier this year — expects there will still be an appetite for that forced vote. 'This is not going away,' Massie said Monday. Johnson defended the decision Monday night, contending that Republicans would not play into the Democrats' 'political games.' He also said there was no time-sensitive legislation that had to be dealt with under a rule this week. 'There was nothing else that was time-sensitive this week that we needed to handle by way of a rule so the work of the House will continue all week, we'll be here doing our work, and we won't have the Democrats, we won't we won't allow them a platform to try and engage in political games,' Johnson said. 'So that's all it was.' House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) downplayed the significance of the logjam, saying the House this week can still vote on suspensions and focus on committee meetings and hearings. 'We still have a lot of other work to do,' he told reporters. Updated at 10:24 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Politico
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Capitol agenda: House GOP eyes an early exit over Epstein meltdown
Summer break might come early for the House, as Speaker Mike Johnson faces a Jeffrey Epstein problem that just won't quit. Republican leaders are considering sending the House home as early as Wednesday, after a bipartisan clash over the so-called Epstein files broke the Rules Committee Monday night. Rules recessed after Democrats threatened to force a vote on Epstein — a move that is now derailing floor action planned for this week. Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Monday night the plan is still to stay until Thursday. The House can still work through suspension votes on relatively uncontroversial, bipartisan measures that can get two-thirds support from members. 'We're not sending anybody home,' Johnson said. It's making for an awkward megabill celebration Tuesday night at the White House, where Trump is planning to host Republican lawmakers. GOP leaders have an understanding with the White House that the House will not vote on releasing further Epstein documents before the August recess. 'The Trump administration's petitioned the courts to release some of the sealed documents,' Scalise said in an interview. 'Hopefully, the court acts swiftly. It'd be important if they got that out.' Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has a discharge petition that would require the release of Epstein-related documents, is undeterred and warning that support for his effort will only be bigger when Congress returns in September. He says at least a dozen Republicans support his proposal – and he appears to have the backing of Theo Von as well. What else we're watching: — Senate Dems prepare for funding fights: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is beginning to organize Democrats around a looming government funding battle. He'll talk Tuesday with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the funding endgame strategy and continue his behind-the-scenes discussions with senators on how to utilize their leverage. — Garbarino to lead Homeland: Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) will be the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, after the Republican steering committee approved him after two ballots Monday night. He'll likely make the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency a top priority for the panel. Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.