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Congress

House Dems predict major GOP support on bill to release Epstein files

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8 months ago

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House Democrats believe there will be overwhelming support from Republicans on an inevitable floor vote on a bill that would compel the Justice Department to quickly release materials related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaker Mike Johnson is scheduled Wednesday afternoon to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat whose addition to the House will provide the 218th vote on a so-called discharge petition — a procedural maneuver that allows rank-and-file members to end-run leadership and force the vote on legislation, in this case the measure demanding the release of the Epstein files.

Assuming the bill gets passed in the House, it would still require approval by the Senate and to be signed into law by President Donald Trump. Senate GOP leaders have not guaranteed they would hold a vote in their chamber.

But Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the co-sponsor of the bill with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), told reporters Wednesday he believed “40 to 50” Republicans would join Democrats in supporting the bill in the House.

“If we get that kind of overwhelming vote, that’s going to push the Senate, and it’s going to push for a release of the files from the Justice Department,” Khanna said.

Trump officials are still waging an intense pressure campaign to get at least one of three House Republican women to remove their name from the discharge effort, according to two people granted anonymity to share private conversations. If that push is successful, it would complicate efforts to get the measure on the floor in the first place, as Republicans are more likely to vote in favor of the legislation itself than they are to sign onto a discharge petition seen as an outwardly antagonistic gesture toward leadership.

Democrats’ optimism is growing, though, following the release of an explosive new email suggesting that Trump knew of Epstein’s sex trafficking activities. That correspondence was singled out by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, part of a huge tranche of files from the Epstein estate the panel rolled out Wednesday. Republicans have claimed Democrats were selectively releasing the materials as part of an effort to damage Trump.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, maintained that his team publicized key documents as soon as they were able to review the trove of new materials.

“It’s always interesting that Republicans … only when we release a certain batch, will they then follow up and say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t release that,’” he told reporters.

Garcia said he had “talked to numerous Republicans that are planning to vote ‘yes.’”

House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland said in an interview that the new materials confirmed long-held suspicions among Democrats about Trump’s ties to Epstein.

“Of course, Donald Trump knew what was going on,” Raskin said. “Jeffrey Epstein was his best friend, and there’s a reason that they flocked together.”

Trump has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein allegations. No evidence has so far suggested that Trump took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation. The president also has maintained that he and Epstein had a falling out years ago.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

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Congress

Mitch McConnell is still in the hospital after medical episode, his office says

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4 minutes ago

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July 2, 2026

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Sen. Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized, his office said in a statement Thursday — without offering details about a recent medical episode that has renewed concern about the health of the former Republican majority leader.

McConnell “continues his recovery in the hospital” and “continues to improve,” his office said.

“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” the statement said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

The statement did not explain why he was hospitalized last month.

The update comes after multiple outlets reported details of a first responder dispatch call indicating emergency medical personnel responded to McConnell’s home last month to treat an unconscious person who had experienced “cardiac arrest.”

Blue Light News has not independently verified the dispatch call.

The 84-year-old senator, who is retiring at the end of this term, has experienced multiple medical incidents in recent years. On two occasions in 2023, he froze while speaking with reporters. He has also suffered multiple falls and temporarily used a wheelchair, a move his office described at the time as a precautionary measure.

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House Ethics says it doesn’t have information to share on lawmaker sexual misconduct settlements

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8 hours ago

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July 2, 2026

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The House adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring the House Ethics Committee to release information on taxpayer funds used to pay out sexual misconduct settlements with lawmakers — but the committee now says it has no information it can share.

In a statement Thursday, the committee reiterated it does not manage sexual harassment lawsuits or their settlements; taxpayers have not footed the bill for those payments since 2018.

Since that time, according to the statement, “the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or other sexual misconduct by a Member.”

Instead, the bipartisan Ethics Committee said it was up to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publicly release a list of each member who has received settlements for sexual misconduct allegations, as mandated by the resolution championed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

The committee, in the Thursday statement, said it “fully supports the release of information about sexual misconduct settlements and calls on OCWR to abide by [the resolution] and make publicly available information about Member sexual misconduct matters resulting in payment of taxpayer funds.”

Massie, in a text message Thursday, said “OCWR can release it.”

The OCWR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee has been under pressure in recent months to show it takes allegations of sexual misconduct against colleagues seriously. Two former House members — Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) — were forced to resign earlier this year amid serious accusations against them.

The renewed reckoning has prompted new questions about whether the House is up to the task of policing its own. The resolution earlier this week was adopted nearly unanimously, with just one member, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), voting “present.”

House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said in an interview earlier this week that while he would support Massie’s resolution, the relevant “information was already out in the public domain.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

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Congress

AOC endorses El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race

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10 hours ago

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July 2, 2026

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for Michigan’s open Senate seat on Thursday, a decision that comes as progressives look to capitalize off a series of recent high-profile primary victories in New York, Colorado and elsewhere.

Her endorsement could provide El-Sayed with a critical boost just over a month before the state’s Aug. 4 primary. The former public health official is locked in a heated contest against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow for the right to take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.

It also comes as El-Sayed has risen to the top of the pack in recent public polling.

Virtually any Democratic path to flipping the Senate in this year’s midterms would see the party hold the open Michigan Senate seat, with two-term Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) retiring at the end of his term.

The race has emerged as perhaps the largest battleground over the ideological future of the party. El-Sayed, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, has collected endorsements from progressives, while Stevens has the tacit backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with AIPAC also boosting her candidacy.

El-Sayed, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with The New York Times, is her party’s best chance.

“Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” she said. “And I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now.”

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