WASHINGTON— House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week’s legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote.
Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House “space” to release the Epstein information on its own, despite the bipartisan push for legislation that aims to force the release of more documents.
“There’s no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they’re already doing,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference, his last before lawmakers depart Washington on Wednesday for their traditional August recess.
The speaker’s stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as many of President Donald Trump’s supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding that the House intervene in the matter. “The public’s not going to let this die, and rightfully so,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican.
Will Ghislaine Maxwell’s deposition happen?
Even before Johnson spoke Tuesday morning, the powerful House Committee on Oversight was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for a deposition.
The Republican chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said there will be a negotiation with Maxwell’s attorney over the terms of the deposition and that it could happen at the prison where she is serving a lengthy sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. The Justice Department also indicated Tuesday it was separately seeking to interview Maxwell.
While Democrats on the House Oversight Committee supported the action, the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, warned that her testimony should be treated with skepticism.
“We should be looking and continue to push for a full release of the files,” Garcia told reporters. “I think it’s important for people to know that she obviously is a documented liar and someone that has caused enormous harm to young girls and women.”
Trump didn’t address the issue during a reception for House Republicans at the White House on Tuesday night but heaped praise on Johnson, saying he would “go down as one of the great speakers at any time in history.” In remarks alongside Trump, Johnson made no mention of it either.
Speaker Johnson’s control of the House is under threat
Johnson decided to end the House’s legislative business early this week after he essentially lost control of the powerful House Rules Committee, which sends bills to the floor for debates and votes. Late Monday evening, business on that panel ground to a halt when the Republicans on the committee abruptly recessed proceedings rather than risk more proposals from Democrats pushing them to release Epstein files.
Republicans had teed up votes on legislation to increase penalties for migrants who enter the country illegally, to ease permitting for water infrastructure and to roll back several Biden-era regulations. All those bills were put on hold, at least until after the August recess.
