House GOP's Epstein files headache is back
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Representative Thomas Massie speaks to members of the media outside the Capitol on Sept. 15. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Epstein files fight that consumed the House last year is threatening to engulf Republicans all over again.
Why it matters: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is now just one Republican away from having the support he needs to force another politically painful Epstein vote — and he and his allies are hunting for the final GOP signature.
- Retiring Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) signed Massie's new discharge petition Monday, joining Massie and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
- Massie and Mace told Axios they're actively targeting retiring Republicans and members in vulnerable districts for the fourth GOP signature that will get them the magic number to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
- Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), one of four Republicans who bucked President Trump and GOP leadership to sign Massie's first Epstein petition last year, told Axios she's considering signing again and has been having conversations with Massie.
The big picture: The push is reviving one of the most disruptive fights of Trump's second term for House Republicans.
- Last year's Epstein discharge petition became a months-long headache for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and the White House before ultimately securing 218 signatures and forcing the issue onto the House floor. The bill passed with almost unanimous support in the House.
- The Epstein Files Transparency Act II would enforce and expand the release of remaining files at DOJ.
- "The Department of Justice continues to unlawfully withhold over 3 million Epstein files that should be released to the public. In addition, the DOJ is unlawfully maintaining heavy redactions on the files it is releasing," Massie wrote in a statement last month.
Reality check: Even if Massie locks down the Republican support he needs this week, the House is set to leave Washington Thursday until after the November midterms, meaning any potential floor showdown would come post-election.
- Democrats also still need to provide the remaining signatures needed to reach the 218 required to discharge the bill, though Democratic leadership is encouraging members to sign on.
- Massie said he views that as just a logistical problem: "I haven't found any Democrat who's against it."
Behind the scenes: Massie and Mace are focusing their recruitment efforts on Republicans who may have less to lose from crossing Trump.
- "I've got one hero slot left," Massie told Axios.
- Massie said he's talking to members in districts "where they're polling 10 points down," arguing they can either stay off the petition and risk losing anyway or sign it and make the issue part of their reelection pitch.
- Mace told Axios she is also "talking to Republicans who are leaving, and some Republican districts that we need to focus in on now."
The intrigue: Boebert could provide the fourth Republican signature, but Massie says he doesn't expect the Republicans who took the political risk last year to do it again.
- "Anybody who did the first one is not obligated to put their head in the guillotine again," Massie said when asked about Boebert. "I think it's somebody else's turn."
- "Ralph Norman did it. He's a new one, and I think there are other new ones out there that we can get," he added.
Between the lines: Massie is again accusing Johnson of manipulating the House calendar to deny him the time needed to force a vote.
- Johnson recently canceled two of the House's three remaining September workweeks.
- "He got a call from somebody that's above his pay grade that said, 'Take those two days off the calendar. Don't you dare give Massie the runway to get that plane off the ground,'" Massie said.
- Johnson, after calling Massie "stupid" for suggesting the House would add recess time, then formally moved to cancel session weeks, as Massie had predicted.
