From CBS News: The House will leave town early for its monthlong summer break as members clash over the release of files related to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The lower chamber was originally scheduled to be in session through Thursday, but votes were scrapped as Democrats and some Republicans push for a floor vote to force the release of the Epstein files. Lawmakers will now head home until Sept. 2, after votes on Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday night, the Epstein controversy disrupted another House Rules Committee meeting — the last hurdle for most legislation before it gets a floor vote — when Democrats threatened to make Republicans take more uncomfortable votes on Epstein-related amendments.
The committee instead recessed for the remainder of the week, blocking the House from passing legislation with a simple majority. The House can still bypass the committee and approve noncontroversial legislation with a two-thirds majority.
During a press conference Tuesday, Johnson slammed Democrats’ “endless efforts to politicize the Epstein controversy.”
“I believe in maximum transparency. I think every single House Republican will say the same thing…We also understand the other part of that duty is that we get to protect innocent victims…” he said.
He further noted that the Democrats had control for the last four years, and never once released any information on the case.
WATCH BELOW:
.@SpeakerJohnson on Epstein Files: “I believe in maximum transparency. I think every single House Republican will say the same thing…We also understand the other part of that duty is that we get to protect innocent victims…” pic.twitter.com/RHyxd6aVjf
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 22, 2025
BREAKING:
Mike Johnson just canceled votes for Thursday and is sending the House home early for summer recess in order to shut down Democratic efforts to demand more votes on releasing the Epstein files.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 22, 2025
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