EXCLUSIVE – House GOP leadership won’t push Republicans to vote against a bill to release all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein when it inevitably comes to the floor after the government shutdown.
Leaders don’t normally whip against privileged motions, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) told the Washington Examiner, and the pending Epstein discharge petition pushed by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) will not be an exception.
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“We don’t whip privileged motions, we never have,” Emmer said. “We whip legislation that the speaker has deemed something we’re trying to get across the House floor.”
House leadership hasn’t scheduled a vote on Khanna and Massie’s Epstein Files Transparency Act, which calls for the full release of the criminal files with redactions to protect the victims. But the bipartisan pair are close to forcing a floor action by collecting signatures from the majority of House members through a so-called discharge petition to bring the matter up for a vote.
Emmer claimed the bill is a “non-issue” that won’t require the normal whip operation, where leaders would tell members to vote “no” and make sure they follow through.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Emmer said on Friday. “That is not the most important thing to Americans today. Right now, today, the most important thing to them is, ‘How am I gonna feed my kids? How am I gonna pay my mortgage? How am I gonna pay the car loan? How am I gonna pay my utility bill? That’s front and center.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a non-issue. Whatever will be, will be,” he added.
Polls as recently as October suggest that there’s bipartisan public support for releasing the criminal files on Epstein, who died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors. About three-quarters of Americans support the release of all the Epstein files, per a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll.
President Donald Trump and his allies campaigned on releasing the files related to Epstein, who traveled in powerful circles and once counted Trump and former President Bill Clinton as friends. However, this summer, the Justice Department backed away from a public release and denied the existence of a “client list,” despite Attorney General Pam Bondi claiming it was on her desk in February.
The poll found that 67% of Republicans want all the files released. A majority of Americans, 61%, disapprove of how the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files, including 88% of Democrats, 55% of Republicans, and 69% of independents.
The story of the Epstein files “gets lost in 15 other stories that are going on right now,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion, said to PBS News. But, he said, Republican voters seem to be drawing a red line with Trump and Republicans on this issue.
“For whatever reason, this [issue] seems to have hit home more than any of the others,” Miringoff said.
Though the administration has released batches of files to the House Oversight Committee, Democrats point out that most of the information provided to the committee had already been public knowledge. Additional information was heavily redacted.
Emmer said he wholeheartedly supports all of the files being released, with redactions to protect victims. Massie and Khanna’s bill does this, but House GOP leadership has said Republicans should allow Oversight to conduct its investigation to provide for maximum transparency while also being methodical about protecting the privacy of those who were alleged to have been sex trafficked by Epstein.
The bill has 217 signatures. Once Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva is sworn in to Congress, she has pledged to be the 218th and final signature that will “ripen” the petition and force leadership to bring it to the floor.
“When we come back, we’ll deal with it, we’ll move on,” Emmer said. “We have to do the business of the American people. And by the way, we want to see these things released, but we want to make sure that when they’re released, you’re not unnecessarily harming victims.”
“As a lawyer, I want to make sure that people are protected at the same time,” he added. “I think all of it should be exposed to the extent that it doesn’t harm victims or innocents.”
Grijalva’s swearing-in has become a point of contention on Capitol Hill as the shutdown continues.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has delayed swearing in Grijalva but has denied that it is because of the Epstein discharge petition. Instead, he says he’s following House procedure and will swear her in once Democrats vote to reopen the government.
The speaker sparred with Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over Grijalva’s swearing-in delay, which the senators claimed was an “excuse” to avoid a vote on the discharge petition.
“That’s totally absurd. You guys are experts at red herrings and distractions. …There’s nothing to do with Epstein,” Johnson said in response to the senators’ accusations.
Republicans, mostly leadership, have typically viewed the discharge petitions as “tools of the minority.” But GOP rank-and-file members like Massie and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) have used them to force votes on legislation or resolutions to change House rules that leadership doesn’t want to bring to the floor.
Leadership avoided a vote on Luna’s petition for remote voting for new parents by striking a deal to formalize “vote pairing.”
The discharge petition under Massie, however, is a different story. Often a thorn in the side of leadership, Massie is unlikely to strike any deal with leadership to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein files. This would put several Republicans on record voting against releasing the files, which could be a politically damaging vote given the MAGA base’s push to have the information public.
Johnson and Massie have been at odds for months as the Kentucky lawmaker’s relationship with Trump has soured, with the speaker stating that he doesn’t understand Massie’s motivation on the discharge petition and “I don’t know how his mind works.” He noted back in the summer that he and Massie “never agree these days.”
Emmer acknowledged the disagreements but didn’t dwell on them.
“We may not agree on certain things, but no, I’ve never had a problem with Thomas telling me where he’s at or what he needs help with and what he doesn’t want — he’s always very clear on that stuff,” the whip said, adding that he’s unsure what “suggestion” could be made to get Massie to back off the petition.
JOHNSON SAYS EPSTEIN FILES HAVE ‘NOTHING TO DO’ WITH NOT SWEARING IN GRIJALVA
Emmer said that, as whip, there’s “nothing difficult about communication and honesty” despite the GOP conference’s different ideological and legislative priorities.
“I think that’s been the most fun thing I’ve had is, I can be rather blunt, and members seem to appreciate it because they don’t want all the drama,” Emmer said. “They don’t want to be guessing where they’re at or what they need to do.”