The House of Representatives is leaving Washington early for its five-week August recess due to tensions over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The fallout from the debate has frozen House business, and leadership has opted to cut the week short and leave town before things escalate further. The final House votes before September are now scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The House Rules Committee is not planning to hold votes this week to prepare major legislation for the House floor, meaning any remaining votes will likely be on small, noncontroversial bills. Democrats planned to force further votes on amendments aimed at pressuring the Justice Department to release all its documents on Epstein. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) insisted that the House would continue its work “all week,” but Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) officially noticed the change in schedule. Republicans are pressuring leadership to take up a nonbinding resolution demanding full disclosure from the DOJ before the August recess.
The House of Representatives has resorted to early bail for its August recess due to the ongoing Epstein files controversy.
