Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday that the House will be starting its summer break one day earlier than planned after legislative action in the chamber ground to a halt as Republican leaders sought to avoid votes on releasing information in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The furor over the Epstein case and calls for the release of related files continue to embroil and frustrate President Donald Trump and top congressional Republicans, despite their efforts to distance themselves from the subject.
The early recess comes after Democrats pushed to force another procedural vote calling for the release of files in the Epstein case. Congressional Republicans have been divided on the issue, caught between a president furiously trying to shift the public’s focus and a base of voters angrily demanding action. When Democrats pressed to force another vote calling for the release of the Epstein files, some Republicans on the House Rules Committee balked at the idea of taking another perilous vote on the issue. The result was essentially paralysis. Republican leaders decided to punt on Thursday’s planned votes and head out Wednesday until September.
Johnson criticized what he called “Democrats’ endless efforts to politicize the Epstein controversy and the whole investigation” and said that lawmakers must be sure to protect innocent victims in the case. “What we refuse to do is participate in another one of the Democrats’ political games,” Johnson told reporters at a Tuesday news conference. “This is a serious matter. We are not going to let them use this as a political battering ram.”
Why it matters: “Mr. Johnson’s decision to shut down the House early was the latest example of how the speaker has in many ways ceded the chamber’s independence in order to please or avoid angering Mr. Trump,” Annie Karni and Michael Gold write in The New York Times. “In the case of the Epstein files, House Republicans are once again surrendering their institutional autonomy to appease a vengeful president. Afraid to cross Mr. Trump, but equally fearful of right-wing supporters who are demanding the release of the material, they chose to simply pack up and go home. In doing so, they also undermined their own agenda, punting what were to have been their last substantive votes before the summer break.”
What’s next: House committees will still be working through the week, but House floor action will be done after Wednesday. The pending House adjournment early means that any move to require the release of Epstein-related files won’t reach the House floor until September — if ever. Republican leaders may be hoping that a five-week-long break will relieve some of the pressure to push for that release. But the furor over the case hasn’t died down and isn’t likely to, given the pressure from many Republicans, Democrats and the MAGA base. Lawmakers may be hearing a lot about the issue from constituents back home.
Rep. Thomas Massie, an obstreperous Kentucky Republican who often breaks from Trump and GOP leadership, and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are still looking to force a vote compelling the release of Epstein files via a discharge petition.
Johnson was clearly frustrated by Massie’s effort. “Some people seem to enjoy trying to inflict political pain on their own teammates,” the speaker said. “I try to follow Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: ‘Never speak evil of another Republican.’ My gosh, it’s hard to do sometimes around here. I also try to follow the scripture: ‘Bless those who persecute you.’ So, let me just say about Thomas Massie, could you just accept my Southern, ‘Bless his heart?’ I don’t know what else to say about it.”