(The Center Square) – The U.S. House of Representatives is sending lawmakers home early for the August recess after Democrats forced legislative business to a standstill Monday when demanding the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Republican leadership recessed a Rules Committee meeting Monday after Democrats pushed for a vote to make the Epstein files public. Upon losing control of the floor, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Tuesday that the House would be adjourning for the summer early.
Rather than resolving the issue with Democrats this week, Johnson opted to shut the House down altogether, punting the issue of the Epstein files to after the August break. Johnson is maintaining his agreement with the White House that the House would wait to vote on releasing the files until Congress is back in session in September.
Committees will work through Thursday as scheduled, but no more votes will occur on the House floor after Wednesday night. The House is set to come back into session after Labor Day.
Johnson’s decision Tuesday to close up shop early was a turnaround from his comments the previous night.
“We’re not sending anybody home,” Johnson told reporters after the Rules Committee recessed Monday.
After making the announcement to recess early, Johnson blasted Democrats for stalling legislative business and vowed not to “participate in another one of the Democrats’ political games.”
“We’re done being lectured about transparency here by the same party that orchestrated one of the most shameless, dangerous political cover ups in the history of this country or any government on the face of planet Earth,” Johnson said, referring to the alleged cover up of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline.
Many congressional Republicans have backed Democrats’ push for the release of the Epstein files and have been unsatisfied after President Donald Trump walked back his promise to publish Epstein’s list of clients.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., filed a bipartisan discharge petition last week to force the release of the files with the support of other Republicans, including Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Meanwhile, Trump is pressuring the Senate to stay in session during their planned August recess to make progress on the 130 nominations still awaiting Senate confirmation. Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., has not made the call on whether to cancel some or all of the chamber’s recess at the time of publication.
