"Such bulls**t": Not every Democrat wants to talk about Epstein

• House Democrats' messaging arm sent members an alert Wednesday urging them to "amplify" a Wall Street Journal report that President Trump is in the Epstein files and demand that "House Republicans stop covering up for Trump."
• Several House Democrats said they would rather spend August discussing more substantive policy matters, however, with one who spoke on condition of anonymity telling Axios: "Candidly, this whole thing is just such bulls**t."

Driving the news: Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), the co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, told Axios he is "not really focused" on Epstein.

• "I think the big focus is going to be on health care, because that's what people care about, and I don't think this issue is big outside the Beltway," he said.
• Similarly, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told Axios in a text message: "We will focus on [the 'big, beautiful bill'], Medicaid, and tariffs raising costs."

The other side: Other Democrats argued that going after Republicans on policy and slamming them on Epstein aren't mutually exclusive. "I think all these issues are linked together," Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) told Axios.

• "Trump is willing to lie and betray his own people, and he's willing to take away your health care to give it to his rich friends. ... I think it's all part of one story," said Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a former CPC chair, said similarly: "I'm talking about Medicaid, I'm talking about tax breaks to billionaires — and I'm talking about Epstein, because he fits right in there."

State of play: Jeffries has surprised some of his members by bear-hugging rank-and-file efforts to force the release of the Epstein files despite his usual reluctance to engage on salacious issues.

• His messaging arm, the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, sent out several emails to members' offices last week on how to message on Epstein, as Politico first reported.
• "We've encouraged members to lean into this, to talk to their constituents about it," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a DPCC co-chair. "It's an opportunity to speak with people who might usually disagree with you."
• The DPCC is set to meet early next week to discuss messaging for the August recess, according to a senior House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

What he's saying: Asked at a Wednesday press conference if he is concerned the Epstein issue would overshadow Democrats' attacks on Trump's "big, beautiful bill," Jeffries said, "The reality is that it's all connected."

• "Donald Trump, his administration and House Republicans have delivered nothing more than a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires," he said.
• The senior House Democrat said the issue has been a boon for Jeffries' leadership: "He knows how he wants to unite us. He's very deeply engaged. ... He's got his vision."

Between the lines: "Do I think this is going to win us the election? No. But ... this is a great opportunity for [Republicans] to kill each other," a third House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Axios.

• The lawmaker called the Epstein issue "great, tawdry soap opera s**t," and said that "MAGA attacking MAGA equals a win for us. So the more that happens, the more we can foment that, the better."
• The lawmaker said the issue is also an "opportunity to throw some red meat" to the "insatiable" grassroots base, but added: "We have to be careful not to get led around by the nose by feeding the beast every hour. At the end of the day, we have to be for something."

The bottom line: "Everybody's got to do what they're comfortable with," the senior House Democrat told Axios.

• "But we have to talk about the 'big, bad bill,' we have to talk about how the health care system is broken," they said, "and we've got to talk about the corruption. And that's what we're going to do."