GOP populists plot to repeatedly bypass Mike Johnson
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House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at an interview in Washington, D.C. on July 23. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) right flank is trying to bypass him repeatedly next month by forcing votes on releasing the Epstein files and banning congressional stock trading.
Why it matters: The tool these lawmakers are planning to use — the discharge petition — has been the source of growing controversy in the House in recent years.
- A discharge petition allows the House rank-and-file to force a vote on any piece of legislation if at least 218 members — a majority of the chamber — sign on.
- Top Republicans have discouraged the use of the maneuver, arguing it would effectively turn over control of the House floor to Democrats, but GOP populists have increasingly ignored that guidance.
State of play: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wants to force a vote on Rep. Tim Burchett's (R-Tenn.) bill to ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from trading or owning stocks.
- Tamping down congressional stock trading has been a cause célèbre for lawmakers in both parties for years, but congressional leaders have largely stonewalled their efforts to secure a vote.
- Another discharge petition from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on forcing the release of the Justice Department's documents on Jeffrey Epstein is set to trigger a vote within days of the House's return to session next month.
Between the lines: The Epstein petition is widely expected to obtain 218 signatures, with most Democrats and several right-wing Republicans likely to sign on.
- Luna's petition may be more contentious, sources said, as there have already months of bipartisan negotiations around carefully crafting a stock trading bill that can pass with support from leadership.
- Several Democrats told Axios that Luna may not get the bipartisan support she needs to pass her bill unless she coordinates with that bipartisan group.
Flashback: Luna previously secured 218 signatures this spring for a vote on allowing House members who are new parents to vote by proxy for up to three months, but the vote never came to pass.
- Johnson slipped a provision into an unrelated procedural measure to kill the discharge, but it failed. He then scrapped House votes until Luna agreed to a compromise.
- One House Republican involved in that saga, speaking on the condition of anonymity, predicted that Johnson would have a tougher time trying to spike the Epstein and stock trading discharge petitions.
- That is "much harder to do on these issues since they've had a lot more national attention," the lawmaker told Axios, "Epstein especially."
Zoom out: The Epstein push is a clear revolt against both President Trump, who has dismissed the matter, and Johnson, who has called for transparency but quashed several rogue efforts to release the files.
- Johnson has indicated his support for a stock trading ban, but it's unclear if he would support doing so through a discharge petition that could undermine his authority.
- Trump, for his part, has voiced support for a stock trading ban in theory, but opposed a bipartisan Senate bill that would have extended the ban to future presidents and vice presidents.
- A spokesperson for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.
The bottom line: Both measures could also run aground in the Senate, which is less given to populist passions than the House and has a 60-vote threshold that makes it a harder for them to pass legislation.
