Johnson Plans Maneuver to Quash Epstein Rebellion in US House

Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the furor from within his own party over releasing files involving disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will dissipate before the House returns in September. And if it doesn’t, he has a backup plan.

“I’m not concerned this has any lasting impact inside the House,” Johnson (R-La.) said at an exclusive Bloomberg Government roundtable Wednesday.

Johnson spoke two days after the House halted legislative action this week over the Epstein controversy. Conservative dissident Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wants to force a binding vote on the files’ release when the House returns in September.

The speaker’s comments shed light on how House Republican leaders will seek to avoid another intraparty blow-up following President Donald Trump’s recent pivot on whether to release the files.

The House will leave Wednesday afternoon for summer recess after Johnson decided to send lawmakers home early to avoid more votes on files related to Epstein, a deceased convicted child sex offender. Massie plans to force a vote on his binding resolution through a discharge petition when the House returns in September — forcing House Republicans to choose whether to vote for releasing the files, as their furthest-right supporters demand, and risk their relationship with Trump.

Johnson said the Trump administration is committed to releasing all available files, so he’s hopeful the dispute is no longer relevant in a month. If he’s wrong, he said the House Rules Committee’s resolution is better crafted than Massie’s language.

“If we deem a necessity of moving forward on action in early September, then we would — I would — prefer the House Rules resolution,” Johnson said, referring to a leadership-crafted, nonbinding resolution that Massie and Democrats dismiss as smoke and mirrors.

Massie has promised to push forward with his discharge petition in September, when it will become ripe for signatures. Johnson criticized the Massie measure as “wanting,” saying it “doesn’t have adequate protections for the innocent” Epstein victims, which Massie and Democrats deny.

“It is a watershed moment for the speaker of the House,” Massie said this week, carrying a “The Epstein Files: Phase 2” binder as a prop. Massie said Johnson could either “ostensibly support the president’s position, which is that you don’t need to release this, or can be for the American people.”

Johnson downplayed GOP support for Massie’s measure, contending that “he’s the only Republican remaining on his discharge, because the gambit was exposed for what it is, and the other Republicans peeled off.” But at least two Republicans — Reps. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) — confirmed via text message Wednesday morning that they remain as cosponsors on the resolution (H. Res. 581). As of publication, 11 House Republicans remain listed as cosponsors on congress.gov.

If Massie’s measure retains its bipartisan support and gathers enough signatures to force a vote in September, Johnson said the nonbinding House Rules Committee resolution “would moot the Massie discharge.”

Johnson’s comments indicate he’ll use a similar technique he used in the Rules Committee last week to neutralize binding Democratic amendments on the Epstein files: Giving Republicans a nonbinding alternative to instead support. This would allow them to rebut Democrats’ campaign attacks accusing Republicans of voting to shield the Epstein files.

Democrats plan to lean on the transparency argument throughout August recess, when they expect House Republicans to face constituents who are frustrated they haven’t seen the full Epstein files. Rules Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) called the nonbinding Johnson-aligned resolution a “cover vote,” saying he’ll “be surprised if they even bring it to the floor.”