Force Republicans to respond

Senate Democrats again try to force Republicans to respond to Epstein case

From CNN’s Sarah Ferris and Molly English

Senate Democrats have made another attempt to force their GOP counterparts to respond to the growing furor over the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee tried but failed to add language about Epstein to an unrelated opioid bill.

The push to require the White House to release more information on Epstein, led by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, was ultimately unsuccessful. The committee’s Republicans agreed to a different measure that would neuter Booker’s language. Booker later agreed to withdraw his amendment.

Republicans, including Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, argued that Democrats’ push to tie the bipartisan opioid bill to Epstein would interfere with the legislation and delay its results. Grassley repeatedly asked Booker to withdraw his amendment, but the Democrat initially refused.

“Nothing we are voting on today is going to change any of the debate about the Epstein files,” GOP Sen. John Cornyn said, adding that he trusts Attorney General Pam Bondi to uncover the truth about the Epstein case.

But Democrats, including Booker, strongly pushed back.

“What Sen. Cornyn did today was to block the truth,” Booker said.

After the committee meeting, Cornyn told reporters that if Booker had insisted on continuing to pursue his amendment, it would have “cost American lives” by stymieing the opioid bill. “Fortunately, he was finally persuaded that was a bad idea,” Cornyn said.