During the last four months, the House Republican leadership has treated the Jeffrey Epstein discharge petition as if it were toxic nuclear waste.
Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leaders dismissed the petition, in part saying that the Epstein petition was nothing more than a cry for help from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a disgruntled anti-Trump RINO. Johnson has even tiptoed around whether he and the NRCC would endorse Massie this cycle. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his allies launched millions of dollars worth of TV ads against Massie.
Trump administration officials warned they were keeping track of who signed the petition. Last week, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was called to the White House as part of a pressure campaign to get the Colorado Republican to remove her signature from the petition. A number of senior administration officials were put in front of Boebert to make the case that the effort was a waste of time. It didn’t work.
Most shockingly, Trump publicly broke with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — one of the original MAGA disciples — in part over her decision to sign onto the Epstein petition.
But today, the House will likely pass the measure — perhaps even unanimously. House Republican leaders wanted to approve the measure under unanimous consent and tried to do that last week, but Democrats demanded a recorded vote.
Trump’s shift, which came in the form of a Truth Social post late Sunday night, has also upended the dynamics in the Senate, where the bill was supposed to die. Many Senate Republicans now believe the bill will ultimately pass. The question is how — and whether senators will be forced to take a roll-call vote.
Before Trump’s about-face, Senate Democrats were planning to gum up the floor with unanimous-consent requests in a bid to make Republicans look bad for shelving the petition. Democrats could still pursue that strategy, and Republicans could simply allow it to pass without fanfare and get it off their plates.
Alternatively, Senate Majority Leader John Thune could try to pre-empt Democrats by seeking unanimous consent to pass the bill. In that scenario, a Democrat could object and demand a roll-call vote to put senators on the record.
So there are plenty of potential options here. Thune isn’t expected to reveal his thinking on it until after the House sends the bill over.
Either way, GOP senators are frustrated with Trump’s posture on this issue. Not only did Trump effectively prolong the Epstein story, he also dragged Senate Republicans — who have been able to largely avoid the drama while the focus was on the House — right into the mess.
Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Monday if he’d sign the petition if it reached his desk.
“Sure I would,” Trump declared.
The Epstein Effect. This is a remarkable turnaround for Republicans in Washington, even with the volatile Trump in the White House.
The truth is Trump saw the writing on the wall among House Republicans and started leading the parade before he could be run over by it. It became abundantly clear that Trump had absolutely no chance of pulling away support for the resolution, so he got on board, administration sources said.
Nothing screams “lame duck” like having dozens of Republicans voting against you — which is what would’ve happened if Trump didn’t give in.
In fact, Trump is facing some cracks in his otherwise impenetrable shield, as far as Republicans are concerned. Indiana Republicans have been rejecting his entreaties to redraw the state’s congressional map. Senate Republicans refuse to blow up the filibuster. And now this.
Privately, Hill Republicans complain that Trump and senior administration officials should’ve gotten on board far earlier and saved GOP congressional leaders a serious political headache. Trump and senior Republicans need to get Epstein out of the headlines as soon as possible, no matter how it’s done.
But if you think that a conveyor belt of documents from Main Justice will start dumping new Epstein material on the Hill, think again.
The legislation stipulates that the Justice Department can withhold documents if they “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”
Trump just announced that he wants the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to former President Bill Clinton, JP Morgan Chase and Co., former Harvard University President Larry Summers, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman “and many other people and institutions.” So the fight isn’t over yet.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he expects a “huge” House vote today. But Scalise wants the Senate to make “appropriate amendments to protect the innocent.” Johnson said he hoped the Senate would add protections for whistleblowers.
“Obviously, we didn’t get that opportunity with the discharge,” Scalise said.
If the Senate does make any changes, the House will have to vote once again. And the Epstein saga will continue on Capitol Hill.
News: Senate Democrats are introducing their version of legislation repealing a controversial provision in the government funding bill that allows senators to sue for $500,000 if their phone records were obtained as part of the Jan. 6 investigation.
The provision, which was slipped into the Legislative Branch funding bill by Senate Republicans before the broader shutdown-ending deal passed the chamber last week, has united Senate Democrats and the entire House in opposition.
Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) are leading the new effort in their chamber. Heinrich is the top Democrat on the Legislative Branch appropriations subcommittee.
“[N]egotiating a $500,000 windfall for yourself while refusing to help everyday Americans is wrong and deserves to be called out,” Heinrich said.
