Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he plans to hold a House vote next week on a measure mandating the full disclosure of Justice Department files related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Johnson announced those plans just hours after newly sworn Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) completed a discharge petition mandating a floor vote on the Epstein measure. His is a quicker timeline than is mandated under the rules governing discharge petitions, which would require a vote in early December.
House Republicans are eager to put the Epstein controversy in the rear-view mirror to the greatest extent possible as they seek to catch up after losing weeks of work due to Johnson’s decision to keep the chamber out of session during the government shutdown.
They are expecting a mass defection of Republican lawmakers on the vote — perhaps 100 or more — despite President Donald Trump calling the Epstein allegations a Democratic hoax.
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