Speaker Johnson refuses to allow Epstein vote as House set to recess early

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Speaker Johnson refuses to allow Epstein vote as House set to recess early

By STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO
Updated 12:28 PM EDT, July 22, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week’s legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House “space” to release the Epstein information on its own, despite the bipartisan push for legislation that would require more records to be released.

“There’s no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they’re already doing,” Johnson said at his weekly press conference, his last before lawmakers depart Washington on Wednesday for their traditional August recess.

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The speaker’s stance seemed unlikely to satisfy many GOP members who are threatening to support a bipartisan bill meant to pry information from the Justice Department. Even before Johnson spoke, a Republican-controlled subcommittee of the powerful House Committee on Oversight was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for a deposition.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/congress-jeffrey-epstein-trump-f2a03eca247268b14a9e38858338eded

[johnnyfins]

1. weasel pedophile enabler

[Scott Alan Swaggerty]

2. A month-long vacation to not have to deal with Epstein... your "representatives", ladies and gentlemen

[Wiz Imp]

3. This proves that Johnson is a either a total moron or criminally hiding something

The thing is, there is no guarantee how a vote would work out, though there are probably a number of Republican reps who would vote to release the information, as would most if not all Democrats. If the House voted to release the info, then all the pressure and backlash against them would be gone. But by not even allowing a vote, it just reinforces the idea that something is being hidden by not only Trump, and Bondi and PAtel, but by Johnson as well. This will ensure that the pressure on the Republicans will only grow over the next month plus. Johnson could probably tamp down the backlash somewhat by simply allowing the vote. By blocking it, he guarantees the the cries of a coverup will just get louder.