BURSTHouse GOP leaders are racing to squash any internal rebellion over Jeffrey Epstein, launching a series of moves designed to appease the Republicans demanding more information be released on the late financier and convicted sex offender.
GOP leaders on Tuesday added a last-minute vote to this week’s calendar, providing rank-and-file Republicans with a formal outlet to register their support for congressional investigations into Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison for crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors.
Separately, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, held a lengthy, emotional closed-door meeting on Tuesday with bipartisan members of the panel and a handful of Epstein’s accusers, using Congress’s first day back in Washington to examine the thorny topic.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined that meeting for more than two hours — an extraordinary dedication of time from a busy Speaker designed to demonstrate that GOP leaders are serious about tackling an issue that’s pitting President Trump against leading figures in his own MAGA base.
And Tuesday evening, the House Oversight Committee made public the first batch of Epstein-related files it received from the Justice Department last month as the result of a subpoena.
The moves are a clear attempt to counter an effort from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force a vote on their own resolution directing the Department of Justice to publicly release materials relating to the Epstein matter. The pair is scheduled to host a media event Wednesday morning with Epstein victims to promote their proposal.
Massie on Tuesday formally filed the discharge petition that, if it reaches 218 signatures, would force GOP leaders to address the matter on the House floor. If all Democrats sign on, it would take just five more Republicans to reach that threshold — and Massie told reporters he is confident it will get there.
That underlying resolution, introduced in July following furor over the Justice Department memo asserting there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein case, has been cosponsored by 11 other Republicans — but not all of them are willing to sign the petition, amid new moves from the Oversight Committee and pressure from the White House.
“There is a pressure campaign from the White House right now on those folks,” Massie said, referring to his measure’s cosponsors.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said he heard from the White House on the matter but declined to say if he would sign the discharge petition, adding that wants to keep his "powder dry.”
And Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who also attended the emotional Oversight meeting with the Epstein accusers, referenced their desire to redact personal identifying information: “We got to rethink the whole files thing. Apparently, there's some files that they don't want out.”
Before he signs a discharge petition, Burchett said, he wants to “clarify that we can protect what they need protected.” But he added he thinks the information could be released.
Massie is poised to get some Republican support, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) saying she believes the files would be released regardless of the discharge petition, but that she would likely sign it.
Johnson, though, said the discharge petition is now a “moot point” and "superfluous” in wake of a series of subpoenas from the Oversight Committee over the past month, which he said already have the force of law.
Those include subpoenas demanding documents from the Justice Department, testimony from high-profile Democrats, and information from the Epstein estate.
The Massie-Khanna bill, by contrast, would need approval from the Republican-controlled Senate and President Trump’s signature to take effect.
The Speaker also said the Massie-Khanna measure was “inartfully drafted” and did not adequately protect victims.
“We want to bring justice to every single person who is involved in the Epstein evils and the cover-up thereof, but we also want to be equally certain we protect the innocent victims,” Johnson said.
The GOP saw its legislative plans grind to a halt in July when Democrats — joined by some Republicans — demanded to vote on a bill requiring more Epstein disclosure from a reluctant Trump administration. As Congress returned to Washington this week, GOP leaders are taking aggressive steps to prevent a replay of the July impasse.
The vote newly scheduled for this week is on legislation directing the Oversight Committee to continue its investigation into the Epstein case and release any new information provided by the Trump administration and Epstein’s estate — an investigation that Democrats have taken credit for after a few Republicans joined a motion from Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) to subpoena the Justice Department for the full “Epstein Files.”
Critics are quick to note that the new resolution from GOP leadership stops short of requiring the Department of Justice to release the files in its possession, which is the central demand of those supporting the Massie/Khanna bill.
“That's what people want; that's what people have been asking for,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), senior Democrat on the House Rules Committee.
He dismissed Comer’s bill as a gambit by GOP leaders to create the appearance of disclosure without requiring it.
“It's mumbo jumbo. It's not real. Maybe that gives some people some cover, but it's hard for me to believe that anybody would fall for that,” he said.
“Read the Comer bill — it's cover,” he added. “I mean, this is pretty simple: Release the files."
Despite the White House pressure and alternate moves from GOP leadership, Massie is optimistic about Republicans signing on to his discharge petition.
“Eventually, the people are not going to be satisfied with what's happening in the Oversight Committee. It's not going to bring the closure they're looking for,” Massie said.
Johnson brushed off Massie’s move. “I would describe virtually everything Thomas Massie says as related to this issue as meaningless,” the Speaker told reporters on Tuesday.