Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans break with Trump on Epstein

One of the leading Republicans on Capitol Hill broke with the Trump administration’s decision not to release the files of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as the controversy deepened over the handling of an issue that has caused unprecedented division among the GOP base.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday that he supported the release of the Epstein files, days after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department said the matter was effectively closed. Johnson is a close Trump ally and has never broken so publicly with the president on an issue.

“I’m for transparency,” Johnson told Benny Johnson. “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.”

Even as Johnson publicly called for the files to be released, he opposed a procedural motion advanced Tuesday by Democrats that would have set up a House vote to release them.

On the podcast, Speaker Johnson said that Attorney General Pam Bondi “needs to come forward and explain” the confusion she has brewed after she said in interviews earlier this year that the purported Epstein “client list” was sitting on her desk for review, suggesting it would be released. Bondi and other Justice Department officials now say the client list — which some claim would reveal the names of powerful figures who allegedly participated in Epstein’s crimes — does not exist.

“I like Pam. I think she’s done a good job, but we need the DOJ focusing on the major priorities,” he said. “I’m anxious to put this behind us.”

The rift with the Trump administration over an issue near to the heart of the president’s MAGA base suggests that the roiling debate over Epstein is far from over. Many of the president’s supporters believed him when they were promised that once he was restored to the White House, his administration would release the files that Trump long claimed his predecessor was hiding. Now, they are angry.

But Trump is backing Bondi and has called for his supporters to move on.

On Tuesday, Trump said Bondi gave him “a very quick briefing” on the Epstein documents before baselessly blaming previous Democratic administrations for creating the files.

“We’ve gone through years of [attacks], but she’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her,” Trump said in defense of Bondi. “Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”

Johnson’s interview was released Tuesday afternoon, moments after Democrats nearly won a significant victory on the House floor. If Republicans had not blocked the procedural motion, they would have been forced to vote on a measure to release the files that was sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) and supported by House Democratic leadership.

Hours later, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) signed on to Khanna’s resolution and said that he planned to go around GOP leadership’s wishes and force a vote on the matter as soon as next week. Massie must recruit five other Republicans to join all Democrats in signing a discharge petition, a procedural measure that would force the House to vote before the chamber adjourns for an August recess.

“If your Representative won’t sign the discharge petition, ask why,” Massie said.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) called for transparency on the issue Monday, saying the “American people deserve to know the truth.”

“If you’re not hiding anything, prove that to the American people,” Jeffries said at his weekly news conference. “And if you are trying to hide something, as many of Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters apparently believe, then the Congress should work hard to uncover the truth for the American people.”

Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) and his team were seen working to persuade holdouts from the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, who appeared willing to join with Democrats to approve the Khanna resolution, which would have required the Justice Department to preserve and release all documents related to Epstein. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) was seen yelling at Emmer’s floor director before voting to block the resolution. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) chose not to cast a vote after Emmer spent minutes talking to him.

GOP leaders immediately closed the vote after they notched enough Republican support to block the resolution, prompting Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) to yell toward Republicans, “Come on, we need the files!”

Several House Republicans want the Epstein files to be released but did not want to join Democrats in forcing the issue. Instead, they hope to persuade colleagues to press the issue further, according to several lawmakers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private and ongoing conversations.

The episode marks a pivot in the fight around the Epstein files and shines a spotlight on the cracks among Republicans.

The controversy blew up last week after Bondi released a memo denying the existence of an Epstein client list, validating a Biden-era Justice Department report that Epstein died by suicide and declaring that the Trump administration would release no more documents on the matter.

Backlash from some prominent corners of Trump’s base was fast and brutal. But some high-profile Democrats have also joined the fray, sensing that a perceived lack of transparency is quickly becoming a problem for Republicans in Congress who have long demanded answers on Epstein.

“It has clearly been a very serious situation for the administration, and many people are speaking out online,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) told CNN on Monday. “A lot of people in MAGA really want to know more information about the people that were involved with Jeffrey Epstein.”

Democrats are attacking the issue from all sides, with some introducing legislation demanding the administration release the files, while others have tucked language into a spending bill to ensure documents related to Epstein are preserved.

And in perhaps the most humorous plea for sunlight, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) posted a video of himself on X playing the guitar and singing a rendition of the indie song “Dreamsicle” about the saga.

“Epstein died by suicide. Believe that and you must be blind,” Johnson crooned. “Trump’s howling at the moon. Release the Epstein files soon.”

Democrats see the opening and are using the little power they have in the congressional minority to try to exert influence. And in the meantime, they are putting GOP colleagues in a tough spot: forced to vote on the record against releasing files they have long demanded while they have yet to launch their own investigations into the matter.

Tuesday marked the second vote on Khanna’s amendment calling on Bondi to release all documents related to Epstein. It was earlier rejected by the House Rules panel, where it received support from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) also introduced Monday a resolution demanding that the Trump administration release related files and force relevant House committees to investigate a possible cover-up, among other measures. It is unlikely to be taken up for a floor vote by a GOP majority, and a similarly worded amendment was rejected by the House Rules Committee on Monday evening.

Veasey said that unlike other conspiracy theories Trump and the MAGA orbit have pushed in the past, “people are taking this seriously.”

“Democrats think that there’s something in these files. MAGA voters think there’s something in these files, and when you have that large of a collective voice in the American constituency … then release the files,” he said.

On Tuesday, 18 House Judiciary Committee Democrats joined the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin (Maryland), in sending a four-page letter to Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a Trump acolyte, asking him to hold a bipartisan hearing on “the Trump administration’s recent handling of the Epstein matter,” including testimony from Bondi and other officials at the Justice Department and FBI.

In the Senate, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) offered an amendment — which was unanimously inserted into a spending bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee — that would force the Justice Department to preserve any evidence related to the Epstein investigation. It’s unclear if the underlying legislation will pass the Senate and be adopted in the House.

Other Democrats have chosen trolling and theatrics as a tactic. The Democratic National Committee created an X account asking, “Has Trump released the Epstein files?” Each day it posts “No.” House Majority PAC, the fundraising arm for House Democrats, immediately launched the “GOP Epstein Simps Target List,” targeting politically vulnerable Republicans on social media who supported blocking Khanna’s measure — despite having previously called for the release of the Epstein files.

Democratic lawmakers and aides say that there is no coordinated strategy to amplify the issue, but they have noticed that their messaging is breaking through for once, and they are looking to exploit a mess of Republicans’ own making. House Democrats in particular are betting that by forcing the issue, they can show the American public that they would conduct oversight of the Trump administration if they win back the majority and are committed to holding billionaires and corrupt politicians to account.

“We’re taking this populist sentiment in the country and saying, no, the rebirth of the Democratic Party, the ‘new Democratic Party’ is going to be the party that’s going to hold the elites accountable and be on the side of transparency and reform,” Khanna said. “We’re willing to call out the establishment, even if they’re the establishment on our side.”

It’s unclear how Democrats will continue to force the issue. Most Republicans believe that the issue will resolve itself, but Democrats are not convinced.

“I think most of us believe what’s appropriate will be released when it is time for the president to release it,” Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) said.

“I don’t have the same confidence you do given the flip-flopping we’ve seen,” Rep. Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), the top Democrat on the panel, said. “I need a neck brace.”

Kadia Goba contributed to this report.