House Republicans appear likely to drop several legislative priorities for the week to prevent Democratic lawmakers from forcing votes requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release information related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The House Rules Committee abruptly disbanded Monday evening to avoid giving Democrats an opportunity to call up amendments that would require the Trump administration to release most documents related to Epstein. The impasse comes as Democratic lawmakers are hammering their Republican colleagues over their reluctance to compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish materials related to the late convicted sex predator and show no signs of relenting before the House leaves Washington for the August recess.
“Democrats keep putting all these amendments up,” Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House rules panel, told reporters. “We’re all for transparency. We’re going to do that. But what they want to do is grandstand.”
Republicans on the House Rules Committee accused their Democratic colleagues of intentionally disrupting the advancement of major legislation to the House floor by threatening to force a series of votes on amendments compelling the release of the Epstein-related records. Most GOP lawmakers have been unwilling to support a legally-binding measure that would compel the DOJ to release the documents. Trump, who has directed Bondi to begin seeking the release of grand jury testimony related to Epstein, would likely veto similar legislation.
The House was scheduled to vote on legislation this week increasing penalties on individuals who illegally cross the border, fast-tracking the permitting process to spur development and rolling back Biden-era resource management plans restricting oil and gas development and coal leasing.
However, the House rules panel’s decision to suspend efforts to advance these bills to the floor would delay their consideration until September. Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber would continue to vote on bipartisan bills under suspension of the rules, which requires the support of two-thirds of members voting for passage.
Johnson also said Monday that he would postpone a vote on a GOP-backed resolution regarding Epstein, until lawmakers return from the August recess to give the Trump administration time to release additional documents related to the predator.
“There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House and President Trump on maximum transparency,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released … all of that is in process right now.”
The DOJ asked a federal court in Manhattan Friday to release grand jury testimony involving the government’s prosecution of Epstein, who was indicted in July 2019 on sex-trafficking charges. He died by suicide in a New York prison cell less than a month later.
Johnson’s decision to postpone a vote on GOP lawmakers’ nonbinding resolution has caught flak from some conservative Republicans urging quick congressional action.
“Republicans have put forward a serious resolution that addresses the issue head-on,” Norman also said. “But instead of allowing it to move forward, Republican leadership has stalled. This is about getting results for the American people, and that starts with giving our resolution a vote.”
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of House GOP leadership, is also calling on Johnson to put his bipartisan legislation on the floor that would compel the administration to release most of its records related to Epstein. Massie and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna’s bill would exempt information that would identify victims and contain child pornography and other physical abuse.
“Why not vote on the binding Massie-Khanna Epstein legislation this week @SpeakerJohnson” Massie wrote on the social media platform X Monday afternoon. “We should punt this until after the 5 week recess, nor should we wait for my discharge petition to ripen and collect the required signatures to force the vote.”
House GOP leadership has repeatedly excoriated Democrats’s newfound interest in documents related to Epstein despite not pressing for transparency when former President Joe Biden was in the Oval Office.
“Where were these ‘interested’ Democrats for four years when they could have released all of it?” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Monday. “They have no credibility because they had no desire to release it when they were in control.”
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