Congress

This is how Democrats say Oversight Republicans are trying to squash the Epstein investigation

Published

2 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Members of both parties have for months been hijacking House Oversight Committee business to call votes on subpoenas for high-profile figures in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — and Democrats say chair James Comer has quietly instituted a new strategy to contain the practice.

The Kentucky Republican’s workaround, they allege, is to hold “roundtables” on various issues within the panel’s jurisdiction rather than hearings. Roundtables are more informal and don’t permit members to offer motions to subpoena witnesses during unrelated committee business, as is allowed during hearings.

Over the past year, some GOP members have joined with Democrats to take advantage of the panel’s subpoena rules. In July, they voted on a surprise motion to release the full Epstein files when top congressional Republicans were dragging their feet. Lawmakers also compelled now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify and were prepared to haul in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, too, before he said he would appear before the committee voluntarily.

This trend is outlined in a new memo prepared by Oversight Democratic staff, obtained by Blue Light News, which claims that by moving to roundtables, Republicans “are avoiding the only forum where Democrats can force votes, demand documents, and hold the majority accountable.”

“We’ve heard from committee members, both Republicans and Democrats, that they are frustrated,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in an interview Monday. “We have important investigative work, and they want to do this right as we are in the middle of this single, largest government cover-up in the modern history of the Congress. And they want to neuter the Oversight Committee. Give me a break.”

A spokesperson for Oversight Republicans, when reached for comment, did not address a question about whether the uptick in roundtables was intended to prevent subpoena votes. The spokesperson said the panel “continues to hold many hearings” and will host a markup on fraud prevention legislation next week.

“Roundtables provide opportunities to have more substantive and direct conversations with ordinary Americans about issues facing communities across the U.S.,” the spokesperson said.

But the members’ subpoena free-for-all over the past nine months has undoubtedly created a complicated political dynamic for Comer. He has become the de facto leader of the congressional Epstein probe, forcing him to balance calls for transparency with the political fallout of Trump’s onetime relationship with the late, convicted sex offender.

Republicans have noticed the connection between the spike in subpoenas and the subsequent increase in roundtables in lieu of hearings.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), during a March subcommittee roundtable on mental health issues, at one point said, “It’s no secret why we are not doing a formal hearing today. We’d like this hearing to be solely focused on the issue before you, and there is some concern that — both parties are guilty of this — that they make motions in the middle of the hearing and try to bring up unrelated topics.”

Republicans have also gone on subpoena sprees of their own, most notably by forcing the February depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) suggested she wasn’t happy about the new status quo.

While stopping short of criticizing roundtables directly, she said in an interview, “I am a fan of committees that like to do the motions to subpoena.”

The last full-committee hearing convened by House Oversight was in March, on fraud in Minnesota. At that hearing, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina forced a vote to subpoena Bondi for her handling of the federal Epstein investigation. Five Republicans joined all Democrats present in voting for the subpoena motion, and Bondi’s recent ouster isn’t quelling calls for her to appear before the panel under oath.

Since that time, first lady Melania Trump delivered a public statement denying she was ever victimized by Epstein and urging Congress to hold hearings with true victims — an entreaty that could resonate with Mace and others who are bought into the subpoena exercise, though Comer has indicated he plans on having such hearings.

In the meantime, Oversight subcommittees have held five roundtables this year alone on topics such as artificial intelligence and the Internal Revenue Service. The full committee is scheduled to convene a sixth roundtable Tuesday morning addressing “lawfare against American agriculture.”

That’s compared to the two subcommittee roundtables listed for all of 2025; Comer hosted no full committee roundtables since becoming chair in 2023, the panel’s website shows.

Several Oversight Republicans said in interviews they appreciate the opportunity to examine policy areas without the partisan mudslinging and subpoena distractions that Oversight has become known for this term.

“When you’re really trying to get to the bottom of something, it’s a much more conducive way of doing it,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) argued during a recent committee hearing on the misuse of federal funds in Minnesota that the subpoena-happy approach taken by his colleagues is undermining the seriousness of the panel’s work.

“Listen to your Uncle Clay, America — you don’t just normally start out with a subpoena introduced as a vote by a member,” Higgins said. “I object to this process that is false and not reflective of the serious investigative work that the Oversight committee performs day in and day out.”

“Very well said,” Comer replied.

Congress

House GOP leaders prep for farm bill floor fight ahead

Published

10 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Republican leaders are shifting into high gear to boost support for the farm bill ahead of next week’s planned vote on the package, according to a whip notice obtained by Blue Light News on Monday.

Leadership is preparing for a vote on the bill the week of April 27, with an amendment deadline of April 22, as POLITICO first reported.

GOP leadership will be talking to Republican lawmakers on the House floor during Tuesday’s 3 p.m. vote, recommending a “yes” vote on the bill, according to the notice.

The notice sent by Whip Tom Emmer’s floor director emphasizes that the bill is budget-neutral and prioritizes “responsible spending on agriculture,” language meant to appeal to fiscal conservatives who typically oppose spending on the massive package that governs all major nutrition and agriculture programs.

“This bill expands on investments in rural communities, returns science-backed management to our national forests, and restores regulatory certainty in the interstate marketplace,” according to the whip notice. “Interstate marketplace” refers to controversial provisions in the package that would bar states from requiring pesticide labeling that differs from EPA guidance and undo restrictions of livestock sales under laws like California’s Proposition 12.

Those moves have sown division among Republicans and created uncertainty that they can garner enough support to pass the package. House Agriculture Committee staffhave been in private whip talks with other caucus members for weeks since the markup in early March. The bill advanced out of committee in a 34-17 vote.

The whip notice also highlights Republican priorities like efforts to strengthen “Buy American” requirements for school meals and crack down on foreign purchases of U.S. farmland.

Negotiations on the farm bill — which is meant to be reauthorized every five years — have been stalled due to partisan fighting over nutrition and climate-smart agriculture policies. Republicans used a major cut to spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to pay for tax cuts and farm safety net improvements in their massive tax and spending package last year, sparking anger among Democrats.

House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) said in an interview Monday that he doesn’t expect the vote on the farm bill to be delayed due to other legislative battles like the ongoing fight over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“I have not had any indication” of delays, Thompson said.

Congress

Mejia sworn in to the House

Published

11 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrat Analilia Mejia is the newest member of the House, sworn in Monday evening by Speaker Mike Johnson after winning a special election in New Jersey last week.

The move narrows Johnson’s majority to 217-214-1, meaning the GOP can afford no more than one defection on a party-line vote. But GOP leaders are confident they will gain a little more breathing room later this week.

The House Ethics Committee is set to render judgment on Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) Tuesday, and Republicans granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations expect her to be expelled as soon as Wednesday.

Congress

House Ethics panel issues rare statement committing to helping secure a sexual harassment-free workplace

Published

18 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee released a statement Monday calling for victims of sexual misconduct to report their accusations to congressional authorities — and affirming its commitment to “maintaining a congressional workplace free from” sexual harassment, abuse and assault.

“There should be zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, harassment, or discrimination in the halls of Congress, or in any employment setting,” the committee members said.

It’s an unusual public-facing step from a panel that operates overwhelmingly behind closed doors, but comes amid renewed scrutiny over how Congress polices its own members for impropriety: Just under one week ago, then-Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) resigned following allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with, or sexual assault of, former staffers.

In the wake of the Gonzales allegations that emerged earlier this year, the House was poised to vote on a measure from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that would have forced the release of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers. The House Ethics Committee’s bipartisan leadership took the unusual step of releasing a statement condemning the resolution, with Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) arguing it would have a chilling effect for victims.

The full chamber voted to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, which would effectively kill the effort.

“The greatest hurdle the Committee faces in evaluating allegations of sexual misconduct is in convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories,” the members said in their statement Monday. “Accordingly, the Committee’s practice has been to release only the information that is necessary to hold Members accountable for misconduct and address public reporting that impacts the integrity of the House.”

Members of the committee noted that their panel does not have the authority to handle lawsuits related to sexual misconduct allegations.

“Anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a House member or staffer, or who has knowledge of such conduct” should contact not only the Ethics panel, members said Monday, but also the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights — which handles claims from legislative branch staffers who may have experienced misconduct — or the Office of Employee Advocacy — which provides legal services to House staffers who may be bringing those claims.

The panel also on Monday released a listof 28 instanceswhere the panel investigated members for allegations of sexual misconduct, going all the way back to 1976.

In about a dozen of these cases, the investigations ended when there was a “loss of jurisdiction,” meaning the lawmaker departed Congress and the committee no longer had standing to conclude its work.

The list includes just one ongoing probe: one relating to Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has been accused of various improprieties, including illicitly engaging in federal contracts while in federal office. The Ethics list noted that the inquiry involves allegations of “Sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” He also has been accused by a former girlfriend of threatening to release her nude videos; Mills has denied the allegations.

“Over the last decade, the Committee has adopted a more aggressive and robust approach to allegations of sexual misconduct,” the Ethics Committee said. “Since 2017, the Committee has initiated investigations in 20 matters involving allegations of sexual misconduct by a Member. The Committee has also investigated several Members for their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by their senior staff.”