Democrats accuse Mike Johnson of halting House proceedings to dodge vote on releasing Epstein files
WASHINGTON, DC: Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly shut Congress down Tuesday, July 22, cutting short the week’s business and sending lawmakers packing for an early summer break.
The surprise move slams the brakes on a potential showdown that could’ve forced Republicans to vote on releasing long-sought files tied to disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats were ready to turn up the heat and press the Justice Department to make the records public, but Johnson hit the kill switch before things could get messy.
Mike Johnson is 'done being lectured on transparency' amid Epstein chaos
Johnson was visibly agitated at a press conference. “We’re done being lectured on transparency," he snapped, before accusing Democrats of using the Epstein saga for political theater.
“Endless efforts to politicize the Epstein investigation,” he grumbled, while insisting his party had been “intellectually consistent the entire time.” Johnson said, “We’re not going to play political games with this.”
This week was supposed to be action-packed. Republicans had lined up bills targeting undocumented immigrants, rolling back Biden-era rules, and trimming environmental red tape. But all of that got steamrolled the second Epstein’s ghost came knocking.
Behind the scenes, the House Rules Committee—usually the gatekeeper for what makes it to the floor—was in chaos. Most Republicans on the committee, except for South Carolina’s Ralph Norman, didn’t even want to touch the Epstein issue. When Democrats tried to force it back into the conversation on Monday, GOP leaders opted out entirely.
Norman told reporters Tuesday, “The Democrats want to make an issue of it every minute. It’s just theater; it’s a waste of time. It’s not a good use of our time to sit there for hours on end while they put up amendment after amendment.”
By Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers were only expected to vote on a few noncontroversial bills—before taking a break until September.
But not everyone was thrilled. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene remarked, “Crimes have been committed. If there’s no justice and no accountability, people are going to get sick of it. That’s where people largely are.”
Kentucky’s Thomas Massie didn’t mince words either. After the closed-door GOP meeting Tuesday, he walked out and said Johnson basically told them to ignore the Epstein saga.
“He just told us in there to stick their heads in the sand about this Epstein thing,” Massie fumed. He also accused Johnson of offering no clear reason for delaying a vote.
Johnson fired back. “Some here are much more frustrating than others,” he said, clearly referring to Massie. “I don’t know how his mind works; I don’t know what he’s thinking.” Johnson concluded, “Bless his heart.”
Democrats smell blood amid GOP Epstein copout
Across the aisle, Democrats wasted no time capitalizing on the GOP retreat.
California Rep Robert Garcia, top Dem on the Oversight Committee, snarked, “They do whatever Donald Trump tells them to do. Donald Trump has done a complete 180, and we’ve got to hold them to the fire. The public is interested. I think the public is on our side here.”
House Majority PAC spokeswoman Katarina Flicker declared, “Mike Johnson just confirmed what we already know: House Republicans will do anything to protect the elite, powerful, and well-connected," as quoted by the New York Times.
Democrats are accusing Republicans of not just running away from the Epstein vote, but also protecting powerful people with a lot to lose.
Behind the scenes, GOP offices have reportedly been swamped with calls and social media pressure from MAGA demanding they push for transparency in the Epstein scandal.
Last week, Johnson said the Epstein documents “needed to come out.” But by Monday, he was back to his usual deference to Trump. On Tuesday, he told reporters there’d be no vote this summer and that Trump needed “space” to decide how to proceed.
He also claimed Republicans were “united” on the issue and needed to be “judicious and careful about protecting the innocent.”
But Norman, the lone GOP Rules Committee defector, insisted on social media, “The American people deserve action, not excuses. Let’s vote on it before August recess and get it DONE!!”
Massie is reportedly already plotting a September sneak attack. He says he’ll use a rare discharge petition that allows members to bypass leadership and team up with Democrats and force the vote himself.
Ghislaine Maxwell gets a subpoena
Amid the chaos on the House floor, the Oversight Committee did manage to pull one eyebrow-raising move before the lights went out.
On Tuesday, they voted to subpoena disgraced socialite and Epstein’s longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition. She’s currently serving a 20-year sentence on a sex-trafficking conviction, but Republicans still want her on the record.
Tennessee’s Tim Burchett pushed the motion forward, and several GOP members backed him, including committee chair James Comer of Kentucky.
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