House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Mike Johnson are in rare alignment in their disapproval of the Justice Department cataloging the search history of lawmakers who have gone to review the unredacted Epstein files.

Why it matters: It's a fresh and high-octane scandal for Attorney General Pam Bondi at a time when she is already facing bipartisan heat over her handling of the DOJ files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

• "There is no bottom for the Trump administration," Jeffries said today at a press conference.
• The Democratic leader called the DOJ practice "a disgrace" that violates "the principles of separate and coequal branches of government."
• ⚡️ Johnson said it wasn't "appropriate" for anyone to be tracking what members of Congress are searching — though he speculated that it may have been "an oversight."

That was before a DOJ spokesperson told Axios that, as part of the congressional review of unredacted Epstein files, "DOJ logs all searches made on its systems to protect against the release of victim information."

Catch up quick: Bondi was photographed at a testy House Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday with notes that showed a "search history" for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) referencing specific Epstein files.

• Jayapal was among several Judiciary members who went this week to view the unredacted files.
• 📔 Bondi appeared to have rejoinders teed up for specific Judiciary members, with ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) accusing her of having a "burn book" on Democrats.

👀 What we're watching: Democrats told us they're eyeing an array of responses, including legal action, a congressionally-led probe into the matter, a letter demanding DOJ change its policy and a request for a DOJ inspector general inquiry.

• Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told us she spoke to Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who is "interested in having leadership involved."
• And even some Republicans are up in arms. "They're tagging the documents that members of Congress search for and open and review," Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told reporters. "I didn't like it."

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— Andrew Solender and Kate Santaliz

🛝 Congress is sliding toward a "no-pressure" shutdown, with both parties content to claim political wins as a department backfilled with billions of dollars experiences a funding lapse.

Why it matters: The lack of urgency to try to prevent the Department of Homeland Security shutdown at day's end tomorrow underscores how routine funding interruptions have become.

• It also reveals the lowered political stakes both sides see in allowing the latest one to take hold.
• Lawmakers left Washington today for international trips and a weeklong recess, despite circumstances that in a previous era would have precluded them from taking a break without fear of political consequences.

Now, each side sees an upside to letting DHS shut down.

• For Democrats, refusing to vote for DHS funding without significant GOP concessions on ICE reforms plays well to a base that is demanding its party to do more to oppose President Trump (especially with polling showing even independents have soured on ICE's tactics).
• And Republicans have the comfort of knowing ICE and CBP are funded because the GOP gave the agencies $75 billion through the massive reconciliation package last year.

🚘 Driving the news: Before lawmakers skipped town today (with many headed to the Munich Security Conference in Germany), the sides were not anywhere close to a deal.

• Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's Democrats rejected multiple attempts from GOP leaders today to pass a short-term DHS funding measure. Before that, Democrats spent the morning meeting about the Trump administration's attempted indictments of multiple Democratic lawmakers, not government funding.
• 🔎 Senate Democrats also reviewed the legislative text of a counteroffer from the White House on ICE reforms, sources told us. The proposal was panned as insufficient.
• Congress isn't expected back in Washington until the week of Feb 23. The shutdown would be 10 days old by then.

Reality check: There are still pressure points pushing Schumer and Majority Leader John Thune toward a deal.

• The DHS shutdown may impact airport travel, disaster response and cyber monitoring starting as soon as tomorrow, Axios' Herb Scribner writes.
• And as lawmakers found out during the record-breaking government shutdown last year, the longer a shutdown drags on, the more it affects essential government services — and the shorter the public's patience can become.

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— Stephen Neukam

Jeffries pushed back hard today when we questioned him about potential protests by his members at the Feb. 24 State of the Union.

Why it matters: He basically flamed one of his own Democrats in the process.

• Asked about Rep. Shri Thanedar saying he would "love to show some resistance" during the speech, Jeffries said he "hasn't had a conversation" with the Michigan Democrat.
• "You often quote him as a source as it relates to what may or may not happen on the House floor, and then it never materializes," he told us, likely referring to a forced impeachment vote that Thanedar pulled at the eleventh hour.

The bottom line: Jeffries signaled he isn't worried about disruptions.

• "I think our perspective is just, we have them on the run, let's stay on offense and conduct ourselves accordingly," he said.
• Jeffries has privately instructed his members to either attend the Feb. 24 speech with "silent defiance" or boycott it.

Watch the back and forth here.

— Andrew Solender