In a rare break with President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson reversed course on Tuesday to take the position that the Department of Justice should “put everything out there” when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein.
“I’m for transparency,” Johnson said. “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”
That position stands in contrast to the one Johnson advocated for on Monday, when he deferred to the White House and said he had faith in Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision-making.
After continued backlash from Republican voters over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files — first saying they would release materials about Epstein’s clients and the government’s investigation into the disgraced financier who was charged with sex trafficking minors before now maintaining that the files either don’t exist or were put together by Democrats — Johnson quickly changed his tune.
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On Tuesday, he told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that Bondi “needs to come forward and explain” why the administration isn’t releasing materials.
Johnson, who derives much of his power as House speaker from Trump, was careful to train his criticism on Bondi and not the president, but his break from Trump was one of the most significant departures from what the president has advocated during his second term.
Trump promised during his campaign to publicize the full probe into Epstein. But now, Bondi is opting not to release any more documents or information, saying there aren’t any more documents after previously saying she had them on her desk.
The reversal has left many MAGA voters stunned and upset — and it’s injected new life into some conspiracy theories and concerns about Trump’s own past with Epstein.
The situation is so dire that many of the Republicans in Congress most faithful to Trump are now asking for more information.
Meanwhile, Trump is standing by Bondi, telling reporters on Tuesday that she has “handled it very well.”
“Whatever she thinks is credible,” Trump said, “she should release.”
To this point, that hasn’t been much. And if Trump’s most loyal lawmakers are any indication, that will have to change.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters in Congress, has been calling on the Justice Department and the FBI to release more documents related to Epstein.
“Ultimately what ends up happening is when you have so much conflicting messaging from multiple administrations, it creates a gray area,” Luna told reporters on Tuesday. “But, I mean, I’ve advocated for transparency. I will continue to advocate for it.”
Johnson said he hadn’t spoken with Luna about her specific proposal. But other die-hard MAGA lawmakers are also calling for a larger investigation. Other MAGA stalwarts in Congress, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, have been publicly calling for a larger investigation and document release.
Greene told NOTUS on Monday that she thinks “the people are right to demand” more information.
“I just think that it’s a punch in the gut when regular people go to jail all the time, when they mess up and do something wrong, and then it always seems the rich, powerful elites escape,” she told The New York Times on Tuesday.
For Boebert, Greene’s old friend turned congressional nemesis, just calling for more information is just the start.
“We deserve the truth about the Epstein Files,” Boebert posted Tuesday to X. “I’m ready for a Special Counsel to handle this.”
Not to be outdone, Rep. Nancy Mace said she wants to see “arrests” in the Epstein case.
“I believe we need answers on Epstein,” Mace said Monday on X.
Some Republicans are calling on Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison for working as one of Epstein’s associates, to testify before Congress. Sen. Mike Lee, who often propagates right-wing conspiracy theories on X, argued that members of Congress are broadly supportive of a Maxwell hearing.
“There might be a tiny few in Congress who’d be opposed to having Ghislaine Maxwell testify, but we shouldn’t assume it’s anything more than that — especially until we know who these people are,” Lee wrote.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress have rebuffed legislative efforts to demand more answers.
A nonbinding resolution from Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey demanding that the Trump administration release all files related to Epstein is unlikely to get a vote. And an amendment from Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to force the release of all Epstein-related files was rejected in the Rules Committee when Democrats tried to get a floor vote on it during the debate of a cryptocurrency bill.
Another attempt from Democrats to force a vote through procedural means failed on the House floor Tuesday as well.
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