Launch multi-committee Epstein attack

House Dems launch multi-committee Epstein attack on Republicans on last day before recess

The strategy, backed by Democratic leadership, is further grinding legislative business to a halt.

By Nicholas Wu, Lawrence Ukenye and Benjamin Guggenheim

Locked out of power, House Democrats are using every opportunity to further divide Republicans over the Jeffrey Epstein saga.

In committee markups, hearings and in procedural motions on the House floor, Democrats have sought to force votes that would force Republicans to take positions on whether to release the Epstein files — slowing down legislative business and, in some cases, grinding it to a halt.

It’s part of a formal, concerted strategy being backed by House Democratic leadership, according to a person granted anonymity to share private party deliberations. And it’s already forcing House Republicans to respond.

Speaker Mike Johnson already announced the House would leave for August recess a day earlier than scheduled after a clash in the Rules Committee over an Epstein-related amendment prevented some legislation from being considered on the House floor.

Republican leaders aren’t planning to allow any votes on legislation that would compel, or express support for, the release of the Epstein files after the August recess after the Trump administration moved to release grand jury information related to the case. But hours before the House was scheduled to take its last floor votes for the week before breaking for recess, Democrats were pursuing workarounds to that blockade.

The GOP-led House Education and Workforce Committee pulled an entire bill — a measure related to enhancing detection of human trafficking — from consideration during a markup because Democrats were rolling out amendments tying the bill to Epstein.

One amendment, from Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), would have required the Department of Labor to include case studies about Epstein’s affairs as part of training efforts, while another filed by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) would have mandated the agency to release all unclassified documents about Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

Bonamici said in an interview former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta was pressured to resign from his post as U.S. Attorney in Florida due to an outcry over his handling of the Epstein case: “We think people should know what information they have, and if [Republicans] support transparency, they should vote for this amendment to release that information.”

During a House Energy and Commerce markup on student athlete legislation, Democrats forced Republicans to take another vote to release materials related to the case against the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in his jail cell by suicide in 2019.

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) introduced an amendment during that meeting that would require Trump to publicize Epstein documents related to Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and U.S. gymnastics doctor who was charged with sexually assaulting hundreds of girls and women. News reports in 2023 indicated that Epstein had attempted to contact Nassar while the two were both incarcerated for sex crimes.

Veasey’s amendment also would have tied the purpose of the underlying bill being debated in committee — to codify the public rights of student athletes and provide legal protections to college sports officials — would not go into effect until those materials were released.

Republicans voted to table, or kill, the amendment after House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) ruled that it was not germane — a common tactic to swat away proposals from the minority party.