Politics

(WASHINGTON) — President Trump asked a group of Republican lawmakers how they felt about him firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and told them he would “likely” fire Powell “soon,” according to two White House officials and sources familiar with the Tuesday evening meeting.

The Republican lawmakers expressed their approval of Trump’s intention to fire him, according to the White House officials and sources on Wednesday.

According to one lawmaker in the room, President Trump made it clear he wanted Powell gone and signaled he could move in that direction, but the president was also responding to the reception from other Republicans who were on board with the idea.

Trump mentioned this meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, saying he discussed the “concept of firing him.”

“I said, what do you think? Almost every one of them said I should, but I’m more conservative than they are,” Trump told reporters.

This development follows Trump’s ongoing pressure campaign to get Powell to lower interest rates. Powell has said the Fed would have cut rates by now if it weren’t for inflation concerns as the result of President Trump’s tariff policy.

While a decision on Powell could come at any time or not come at all, sources caution that a decision is not final until President Trump makes an announcement publicly.

Trump on Wednesday dismissed reports that he drafted a letter to fire Powell.

“Are you completely ruling out the idea of firing Jerome Powell?” a reporter asked Trump in the Oval Office.

“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,” Trump said.

Trump allies and top White House officials have been raising questions about the $2.5 billion dollar renovation of two historic Fed buildings on the National Mall, with some suggesting it could be weaponized against Powell to remove him from his role.

“We’re very concerned. He’s doing a little renovation for 2.5 billion of the Fed building — building a — a renovation, and they have a close to $900 million cost overrun. And it’s a shame, but the biggest cost overrun is the cost overrun for interest rates,” Trump said.

ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers asked Trump if he’s calling for an investigation into Powell.

Powell has requested a review of the Federal Reserve’s renovation project by the agency’s inspector general.

While many legal scholars argue that Trump does not have the authority to fire Powell, the Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett told Jon Karl on “This Week” on Sunday that he believes Trump can fire Powell if “there’s cause.”

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, took to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon to issue a stark warning against removing Powell.

“The consequence of firing a Fed chair just because political people don’t agree with that economic decision will be to undermine the credibility of the United States government going forward,” Tillis said. “And I would argue, if it happens, you’re going to see a pretty immediate response. We’ve got to avoid that.”

ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans on Wednesday followed directions from President Donald Trump to move forward with a package of legislation that includes three cryptocurrency measures — a day after hard-liners defied the president and tanked it.

The House passed the procedural motion after the hard-liners failed to advance it on Tuesday. Still there was some drama as several Republicans voted against it before changing their votes.

On Tuesday, Trump said he made a deal with the Republicans who voted against the crypto bills — CLARITY, GENIUS and Anti CBDC Surveillance Act.

Trump — who has said crypto is a top priority for his administration — said in a social media post on Tuesday that he met in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 GOP members needed to pass the package and that they “all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule.” Trump did not provide specifics about the deal.

That conservatives who voted against the rule on Tuesday wanted the crypto bills combined into one big package, rather than take separate standalone votes on each measure.

Johnson on Tuesday thanked Trump for helping lock down the necessary votes to advance the crypto legislation.

“I’m thankful for President Trump getting involved tonight to ensure that we can pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow and agreeing again to help us advance additional crypto legislation in the coming days,” Johnson said, referencing the name of one of the bills.

Earlier Tuesday, a dozen House Republicans bucked Trump and Johnson to prevent the legislation from advancing on the floor — joining the entire Democratic caucus — and, at least temporarily, freezing activity in the House. The final tally was 196-223.

Johnson had said earlier that while he anticipated that there may be enough opposition to defeat the effort, he felt that it was “important” to try to advance the bills. Republicans have a narrow majority in the House — with 220 Republicans compared to 212 Democrats.

“This is the legislative process. We have some members who really, really want to emphasize the House’s product,” Johnson said. “They want to, want to push that and merge them together. We’re trying to work with the White House and with our Senate partners on this. I think everybody is insistent that we’re going to do all three, but some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.”

Trump touted the legislation on Tuesday, urging Republicans to advance the bills.

“The GENIUS Act is going to put our Great Nation lightyears ahead of China, Europe, and all others, who are trying endlessly to catch up, but they just can’t do it,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday. “Digital Assets are the FUTURE, and we are leading by a lot! Get the first Vote done this afternoon (ALL REPUBLICANS SHOULD VOTE YES!).”

The vote came during what the White House is calling “Crypto Week” and marks a rare instance when House Republicans have defied Trump’s direction.

Trump, who launched his own crypto meme coin earlier this year, recently said he is a “fan of crypto” and called it a “very powerful industry” that the U.S. has “dominated.”

“I’m president. And what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important,” Trump said last month. “If we didn’t have it, China would.”

Once a crypto skeptic, Trump and his family have fully immersed themselves in the cryptocurrency marketplace, developing not only the $TRUMP meme coin, but also a bitcoin mining firm, a stablecoin firm and a crypto reserve.

ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump continued Wednesday to dismiss calls within his own party for more transparency into the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and made claims, without evidence, that the controversy was designed to undermine him.

In a lengthy social media post, which included references to the president’s previous claims about the 2017 Russian election interference probe, Trump blamed Democrats for creating what he called a “scam” and “hoax.”

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘b——–,’ hook, line, and sinker,” he wrote.

Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have come under fire from conservatives on the Hill and across the country for declining to release the Epstein probe files in their entirety.

The Justice Department and FBI last week stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a “client list” of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Bondi should explain the administration’s handling of the case especially after she told Fox News in February that Epstein’s alleged “client list” was “sitting on my desk now to review.”

Johnson also did not rule out responding to growing calls from Republican lawmakers to have Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, testify before Congress.

“I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent in this,” Johnson said when asked about Maxwell potentially testifying before Congress.

In his post, Trump disavowed those who focus on the Epstein story rather than his accomplishments.

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump said.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told reporters that former Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Jill Biden “should” be subpoenaed in the panel’s investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental capacity while in office after another top Biden official pleaded the Fifth today.

“Well, I think they should,” Comer told ABC when asked if the committee should subpoena Harris and Jill Biden. “They should have already issued statements. They should have already done public relations campaign to sit down and answer questions. They should go on FOX, they should go on CNN and answer questions.”

Anthony Bernal, a veteran aide of three Democratic presidential administrations — Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden — whose service culminated as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady, on Wednesday invoked the Fifth Amendment twice during a closed-door deposition before the committee investigating former President Biden’s mental capacity while in office.

Comer also said the committee has scheduled a slate of depositions with former Biden officials in the GOP’s investigation of the Biden administration’s use of the presidential auto-pen. At President Donald Trump’s urging, Republicans have taken aim at Biden’s clemency actions signed during his final hours in office — wondering whether staff acted on their own accord or at the direction of the president.

“So we’re going to bring in everyone. We’re moving up the line,” Comer later added. “So we’ve started with the lower-level staffers that we think were the ones that actually put the documents in the autopen and pressed power. Now we’re moving up to the people that we think told the staffers to use the autopen. So we’ll — we’ll see where that takes us. But I think the possibility is very good that — that we’ll be asking members of the family to come in and talk.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Just as the Senate began debate on the rescissions package that would strip the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of two years’ worth of its funding, the Trump administration filed a new lawsuit against the three CPB board members whom the president has attempted to fire but have refused to leave.

Tuesday’s filing, in US District Court in Washington, is the latest volley in a monthslong legal fight between the administration and the entity that funds the nation’s public radio and television stations. It seeks to affirm President Donald Trump’s power to remove members of the CPB board — a power the corporation and its board members insist he doesn’t have.

“As recent Supreme Court orders have recognized, the President cannot meaningfully exercise his executive power under Article II of the Constitution without the power to select — and, when necessary, remove — those who hold federal office,” the administration’s filing says. “Personnel is policy, after all.”

CPB and its board members argue that while the president has the power to appoint the organization’s board members, there is no provision in the law that allows Trump to fire them.

Last month, a district court judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction on behalf of the three CPB board members whom the White House sought to fire in April, saying they had not proved the need for early judicial intervention in the case. But Judge Randolph Moss also noted that the board had the ability to change its own bylaws, which it did in May, to only permit the ouster of sitting board members — “by any person or authority, including the President of the United States,” with the concurrence of two-thirds of the board.

The new case has also been assigned to Judge Moss — the same judge who has been overseeing the CBP board members’ lawsuit.

Tuesday’s suit by the government seeks a judge’s order declaring that the three CPB board members in question — Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman — “do not lawfully serve” as members. Former President Joe Biden appointed the board members.

The administration is also asking the court to void any actions taken by the three board members, and to order the refund of any salary they might have been paid since the White House directed their dismissals in late April.

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(WASHINGTON) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two top deputies at the Department of Health and Human Services, ABC News has learned.

Heather Flick Melanson, Kennedy’s chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff of policy, are departing, according to a department spokesperson and another person familiar with the decisions.

Neither Flick nor Anderson immediately responded to an ABC News request for comment.

No reason was given for the ousters. The person familiar with the situation told ABC that Kennedy “has every right to make personnel decisions.”

“Secretary Kennedy has made a leadership change within the Immediate Office of the Secretary,” according to a statement provided by an HHS spokesperson to ABC News. “Effective immediately, Matt Buckham will serve as Acting Chief of Staff.”

“Mr. Buckham currently serves as the Kennedy’s White House liaison at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees the recruitment and onboarding of political appointees across the agency. He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role,” the statement continued.

“Secretary Kennedy thanks the outgoing leadership for their service and looks forward to working closely with Mr. Buckham as the Department continues advancing its mission to Make America Healthy Again,” the statement concluded.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is praising an Internal Revenue Service’s court filing, which effectively clears the way for churches to endorse political candidates — a reversal of decades of legal precedent.

Yet half a dozen religious leaders told ABC News they didn’t foresee a large increase in political endorsements from their peers, despite last week’s IRS court filing. The filing said it would not revoke nonprofit status from two Texas churches, Sand Springs Church and First Baptist Church Waskom, for doing so.

The filing formalizes for the first time a lack of enforcement of the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which prohibits nonprofits from endorsing or opposing political candidates if they want to remain tax exempt. Both political parties have tested the line in trying to harness the power of the pulpit, with many Republicans wooing evangelical leaders while Democrats often try to curry favor with Black churches.

“God is once again welcomed back into our public square,” Trump said of the filing during a White House Faith Office summit on Monday.

The president has opposed the Johnson Amendment since his first term. He said he asked religious leaders for their endorsements while running in 2015, but came up against the barrier of the Johnson amendment.

“I said, ‘you have more power than anybody, but you’re not allowed to use your power.’ I said, ‘we’re going to get rid of that because people want to hear what you have to say more than anybody else,'” Trump said Monday. “You were even afraid to talk about it. But they’re not afraid any longer, and I think they appreciate it.”

Tax experts predict the filing could transform how money flows around elections, making houses of worship a way to avoid both taxes and transparency for campaign finances.

Ellen Aprill, a professor emerita of tax law at Loyola Marymount University Law School, said the filing could open the door to political campaigns channeling money through churches to take advantage of their tax-exempt status and lower application and reporting requirements.

Unlike other 501c3 organizations, churches are not required to file 990 forms disclosing financial information, leadership and activities. They also qualify automatically for tax exemption — while other nonprofits have to apply.

“One of my concerns, and others of us in this area, is this will encourage the creation of fraudulent churches who want to be able to get tax deductible money to engage in opposing or supporting candidates … so they don’t have to disclose any other campaign intervention activities,” Aprill said.

Many evangelical Christians viewed the filing as a win for free-speech rights.

Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, praised the filing and said he “personally thanked President Trump” for the outcome.

“This would have never happened without the strong leadership of our great President Donald Trump!” Jeffress wrote in an X post. “Government has NO BUSINESS regulating what is said in pulpits!”

Jeffress was on Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board during his first campaign and had expressed support for the president in the leadup to the 2024 election, which he said led the IRS to investigate his church. Jeffress’ church is distinct from First Baptist Church Waskom, the plaintiff in the case against the IRS.

Cary Gordon, senior pastor and president at Cornerstone Church in Sioux City, Iowa, said he thought “anyone with half a brain” could see that “the Johnson Amendment was unconstitutional.”

A longtime opponent of the amendment, Gordon has said since 2010 that he hopes the IRS would sue him for his political speech so that he could fight the agency in court. That year, Gordon led an effort organizing religious leaders across Iowa to oppose retention for three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who supported same-sex marriage. The IRS has not sued Gordon.

Gordon said although he thinks “hardly any pastors in the country will ever” endorse a candidate, the filing could allow religious leaders to address politics more directly.

“The issue is not, ‘oh no, they’re going to endorse someone.’ It’s really about free speech and being able to communicate on any issue someone might perceive as political in a sermon, which must be done because all of our problems are moral, all of our problems are theological,” he said.

Brad Sherman, a former Iowa state representative who founded Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville, Iowa, and is now running for governor, said he thought the filing was “long overdue,” but he didn’t anticipate a surge in endorsements.

“There are other reasons why pastors and Christian leaders do not endorse candidates,” Sherman said, adding that some leaders may be wary of pushback from their congregations.

Regarding whether the filing would lead him to consider seeking endorsements from religious leaders during his own campaign, he said, “I haven’t really thought much about it yet, but yes, it may influence that to some degree.”

Reactions from leaders of Black churches were more mixed.

Rev. Thomas Bowen, who served in the Biden White House as a faith liaison and preaches in Black churches both in Ohio and D.C., said he was concerned the filing could risk turning churches into “campaign surrogates.”

“For me, the new ruling opens the doors to money that’s just not transparent, money that can be used for political influence,” Bowen said. “The fear that our sacred spaces will be at risk of becoming these stages for unchecked influence causes me to tell folk to tread carefully … Moral authority is sacred and it must never be sold for access.”

Unlike Bowen, Pastor Jamal Bryant said he approved of the filing. Bryant heads a congregation with more than 10,000 members at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, which hosted Democratic nominee Kamala Harris when she visited the state during the 2024 presidential elections.

Bryant said he would “absolutely” consider explicitly endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, including in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

“There’s a whole lot on the line,” he said. “All of America is going to be leaning in with intentionality for the midterm election on who best will speak for the masses.”

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(WASHINGTON) — After an earlier setback for the Trump administration when House Republicans failed to advance a key procedural vote on a package of legislation including three crypto measures, President Donald Trump said late Tuesday he has made a deal with Republican members of Congress to advance the legislation on Wednesday.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he met in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 GOP members needed to pass the package.

“After a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule,” Trump said. “Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was at the meeting via telephone, and looks forward to taking the Vote as early as possible.”

Trump did not provide specifics about the deal.

In a lengthy statement released later, Johnson thanked Trump for helping lock down the necessary votes to advance the crypto legislation.

“I’m thankful for President Trump getting involved tonight to ensure that we can pass the GENIUS Act tomorrow and agreeing again to help us advance additional crypto legislation in the coming days,” Johnson said, referencing the name of one of the bills.

Earlier Tuesday, a dozen House Republicans bucked Trump and Johnson to prevent the legislation from advancing on the floor — joining the entire Democratic caucus — and, at least temporarily, freezing activity in the House. The final tally was 196-223.

Johnson had said earlier that while he anticipated that there may be enough opposition to defeat the effort, he felt that it was “important” to try to advance the bills. Republicans have a narrow majority in the House — with 220 Republicans compared to 212 Democrats.

Johnson said that he would attempt to work with Republican holdouts to answer questions.

The speaker explained that conservatives who voted against the rule want the crypto bills — CLARITY, GENIUS and Anti CBDC Surveillance Act — combined into one big package, rather than take separate standalone votes on each measure.

“This is the legislative process. We have some members who really, really want to emphasize the House’s product,” Johnson said. “They want to, want to push that and merge them together. We’re trying to work with the White House and with our Senate partners on this. I think everybody is insistent that we’re going to do all three, but some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.”

The intraparty rebellion comes after Trump strongly urged Republicans to vote in favor of advancing the crypto bills.

“The GENIUS Act is going to put our Great Nation lightyears ahead of China, Europe, and all others, who are trying endlessly to catch up, but they just can’t do it,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday. “Digital Assets are the FUTURE, and we are leading by a lot! Get the first Vote done this afternoon (ALL REPUBLICANS SHOULD VOTE YES!).”

The no votes came from Reps. Andy Biggs, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, Andrew Clyde, Eli Crane, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Harris, Anna Paulina Luna, Scott Perry, Chip Roy, Keith Self and Victoria Spartz. Majority Leader Steve Scalise also changed his vote to “no” to preserve the capability to call the measure back up for another attempted vote.

Luna, a Florida Republican, told ABC News that she is “pro-crypto,” but voted against the procedural vote because she continues to have concerns about creating a “backdoor” to a Central Bank Digital Currency — a worry echoed by Greene.

“I just voted NO on the Rule for the GENIUS Act because it does not include a ban on Central Bank Digital Currency and because Speaker Johnson did not allow us to submit amendments to the GENIUS Act,” Greene, R-Ga., posted on X. “Americans do not want a government-controlled Central Bank Digital Currency. Republicans have a duty to ban CBDC. President Trump included a ban on CBDC in his January 23rd executive order and Congress must also include the ban on CBDC in the GENIUS Act.”

The vote came during what the White House is calling “Crypto Week” and marks a rare instance when House Republicans have defied Trump’s direction.

Trump, who launched his own crypto meme coin earlier this year, recently said he is a “fan of crypto” and called it a “very powerful industry” that the U.S. has “dominated.”

“I’m president. And what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important,” Trump said last month. “If we didn’t have it, China would.”

Once a crypto skeptic, Trump and his family have fully immersed themselves in the cryptocurrency marketplace, developing not only the $TRUMP meme coin, but also a bitcoin mining firm, a stablecoin firm and a crypto reserve.

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(WASHINGTON) — When financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was in the news for his arrest for sex trafficking and eventual death in 2019, Democrats distanced themselves from the onetime donor, disavowing his campaign contributions and condemning conservative conspiracy theories about his death.

Six years later, many Democrats and party leaders are leaning into the GOP infighting and far-right anger over the Trump administration’s handling of the case, raising the issue in press conferences, social media posts and on the floor of the House.

“The American people deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as it relates to this whole sordid Jeffrey Epstein matter,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday. “Democrats didn’t put the Jeffrey Epstein thing into the public domain. This was a conspiracy that Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and these MAGA extremists have been fanning the flames of for the last several years and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced an amendment to a cryptocurrency bill set for a House vote this week that would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to “retain, preserve and compile” Epstein-related records and release them within 30 days.

Khanna’s measure failed on a 5-7 vote in the House Rules Committee, though Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted with Democrats.

On the House floor Tuesday, Democrats raised the issue again, in an unsuccessful effort to force consideration of Khanna’s amendment to get all Republicans on the record.

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, also introduced a resolution this week calling for the release of “all” unclassified records on Epstein.

Both Democrats told ABC News that the issue underscores the “us versus the elites” dynamic they believe has emerged in politics across America.

“It goes to the central question of our times: Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the American people who feel that rich and powerful interests have their thumb on the scale and haven’t given them a fair shake? Or are you on the side of protecting the rich and powerful?” Khanna said.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., for weeks has led efforts demanding an explanation from the Justice Department about withholding the files.

“A lot of the people who believe all these conspiracy theories did so because they were told that they were accurate by the current FBI director [Kash Patel] and [FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino],” he said.

Before Trump’s election victory, both Patel and Bongino raised questions on conservative podcasts about the withholding of records. Since they have been in office, they have defended the administration’s handling of the situation.

“There could be two reasons for that. One is that it’s all made up for clicks and to make money, and that there’s no basis in fact or evidence, or there is some truth to it, and they’re trying to hide it,”Goldman added.

“People don’t like being misled and don’t like being promised things that are not delivered. And that’s true as it relates to the Epstein files and it’s true as it relates to all of Donald Trump’s campaign promises,” he said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin has also raised the issue, telling The Bulwark that Democrats are “going to call [Trump] out” for not sharing more records.

The committee also created an X account, called “TrumpEpsteinBot,” to tweet about whether the administration has released the files.

Some Democrats believe the party should be focusing their messaging on the real-world impacts of Trump and Republicans’ policy and legislative agenda.

“This all causes divisions in the MAGA base, which serves Democrats well,” one Democratic operative told ABC News. “But beyond that, most voters are still going to vote based on their pocketbooks.”

A White House spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Democrats’ attacks against the administration over the Epstein case.

ABC News’ John Parkinson, Lauren Peller and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to “come forward and explain” the Trump administration’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein files.

In an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson, the speaker urged Bondi to further clarify her past comment about reviewing Epstein’s alleged “client list.”

“Pam Bondi, I don’t know when she originally made the statement. I think she was talking about documents, as I understood, that they were on her desk. I don’t know that she was specific about a list or whatever, but she needs to come forward and explain that to everybody,” Johnson said.

“I like Pam. I mean, I think she’s done a good job. We need the DOJ focusing on the major priorities,” Johnson said during the interview.

Bondi came under fire over her comments to Fox News in February when asked about Epstein’s alleged “client list.” She told the outlet at the time, “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”

After the Justice Department and FBI last week stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a “client list” of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women, Bondi said her comments to Fox News were simply referring to a “file” on Epstein.

That explanation, though, has done little to quell outrage from MAGA supporters on the administration’s handling of Epstein.

Johnson also weighed in on growing calls from Republican lawmakers to have Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, testify before Congress.

“I’m for transparency. We’re intellectually consistent in this” Johnson said when asked about Maxwell potentially testifying before Congress.

Johnson said while he is not “privy to facts” and “this isn’t my lane,” he also said “we need to put it out there.”

“We’ll see what happens. I do trust the president. I know his heart and head is in the right place. I don’t question that at all. I am convinced they are going to sort this out,” the speaker said.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett told ABC News he is “not happy” with how Bondi has handled the Epstein matter. Like Johnson, he called on Bondi to explain her past comments on the “client list.”

“You know, I know it’s the 1,000-pound gorilla in the room, but I’m not happy. Nobody’s happy about it. Nobody knows what’s going on,” Burchett said.

Later in a letter sent Tuesday, Burchett called on House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to invite Maxwell to testify in a public hearing.

“Should Ms. Maxwell refuse the invitation, I encourage you to use subpoena powers,” Burchett wrote in the letter, saying the American people have “questions” about the Epstein case. “It is well beyond time those questions are answered,” he said.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said the Epstein files should be made public and directly called for Maxwell to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I think all this stuff ought to be public. I mean, I think all of the all the documents, should all be public,” Hawley said. “I think we’d all ought to be out in the open. I’m a big fan of declassifying– I think this isn’t technically classified. It’s just, you know, close hold for prosecution, but I think we ought to put it all out there.”

“I think it’s reasonable for the American people to ask who he [Epstein] sex trafficked these young women to — if anybody besides himself,” added Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy. “And if there were others involved, why haven’t they been prosecuted? That’s a perfectly understandable question, and I think the Justice Department is going to have to answer it.”

Late Tuesday afternoon, Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie said he plans to pursue a procedural gambit to trigger a House vote on legislation that would force the release of the “complete” Epstein files.

Massie plans to offer a discharge petition, which requires 218 signatures and allows the majority of the chamber to circumvent GOP leaders. There would only be floor action if the resolution receives enough support. A waiting period of seven legislative days kicks off once the petition has enough signatures, so this could become a headache for GOP leaders after August recess.

“We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes. Americans were promised justice and transparency. We’re introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the US House of Representatives on releasing the COMPLETE files,” Massie said in a post on X.

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, also speaking to the podcaster Benny Johnson in a separate interview, said she would support creating a special counsel to investigate the Epstein matter.

“There has to be a special investigation into this if we aren’t going to be provided information,” she said.

Boebert also had a suggestion for who should lead the probe.

“Matt Gaetz as a special counsel? Absolutely,” she said. Gaetz, a former GOP congressman from Florida, was once the subject of a multiyear federal sex-trafficking investigation. Gaetz had long denied any wrongdoing and the probe ended with no charges against Gaetz.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House on Tuesday tried to force a vote and debate on California Rep. Ro Khanna’s amendment that would have demanded the release of all the Epstein files. Their effort failed by just one vote after a nearly 45-minute vote.

House Judiciary Democrats penned a letter to committee chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday demanding a hearing with Trump administration officials from the DOJ and FBI on the Epstein files.

Jordan, though, publicly expressed unwavering support

“I have total confidence in President Tump and his team,” Jordan told ABC News when asked if he had any questions regarding the Epstein case or if Bondi mishandled the situation.

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