Mike Johnson faces bipartisan heat over delayed vote on Epstein files
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Speaker Mike Johnson, accompanied by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Oct. 3. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to keep his chamber on recess during the government shutdown is stalling a long-awaited vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Why it matters: The delay of Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) discharge petition has fueled frustration among Democrats, and even some Republicans, who argue Johnson is keeping lawmakers out of town to avoid the politically charged vote.
- But Johnson called claims that he's keeping the House out to avoid the vote "totally absurd."
- "This has nothing to do with that. It's another red herring," he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," adding, "I want every page of this out."
Driving the news: Johnson tacked on another week to the chamber's two-week-long recess, in part to pressure Senate Democrats to accept the GOP's stopgap funding bill.
- Democrats quickly accused Johnson of keeping lawmakers out of session to avoid a vote on the petition.
- "Johnson and the House Republicans care more about protecting the Epstein files than protecting the American people," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference Friday following Johnson's announcement.
- Johnson has said he'll bring the House back once the Senate "does its job."
What they're saying: "Why are we in recess? Because the day we go back into session, I have 218 votes for the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files," Massie posted on X on Sunday.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the four GOP signatories on the petition, told Axios in a statement Monday: "The House has so much work to do, why aren't we coming back in session?"
- "Not being in session certainly does avoid the Epstein discharge petition, which I've never understood why it's anything to hide. Aren't we all against convicted pedophiles and anyone who enables them?"
Catch up quick: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) won a special election to replace her late father almost two weeks ago, and will be the 218th signature on the petition.
- Democrats have demanded Johnson swear Grijalva in immediately, but the speaker said he will do so when the House returns to session.
Between the lines: Members have been sworn in when the House was on recess before — including Florida GOP Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis, who took office just 24 hours after they were elected in April.
- But because Johnson canceled votes on Sept. 29 and 30, before Grijalva's election, the speaker's office made no plans to swear her in before the House returns.
The bottom line: The four GOP defectors have signaled they won't remove their names from the petition, despite pressure from leadership and the White House.
- "I'm not coming off [the] discharge petition," Greene told Axios on Monday.
- "They're solid. They're not moving," Massie told Axios in September.
