President Donald Trump made clear late Sunday that he wants the House to pass legislation this week that would direct the Justice Department to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender, in a bid to get the issue off the table. “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. The House Oversight Committee last week released tens of thousands of Epstein's email correspondences, and a successful discharge petition forced Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to schedule floor consideration as early as Tuesday of a measure that would direct the Justice Department to release more files related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking. The bill would specifically bar the Trump administration from withholding records because of “political sensitivity," meaning that there could be more records referencing Trump himself or other prominent Democrats or Republicans. “Epstein had set up a rape island where rich and powerful men were abusing young girls with impunity,” California Rep. Ro Khanna, the lead Democrat on the effort to release the files, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And there are thousands of victims, and rich and powerful men still have buildings named after them, scholarships named after them. This is not partisan. They all need to be held accountable. The Epstein class needs to go.” The House has a backlog of other bills to consider as well, since Johnson opted to keep the House out of legislative session during the record-breaking government shutdown. Among the headline items is a bill from Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., seeking to change pre-trial detention and bail policies in Washington, D.C., by mandating pre-trial detention for alleged violent offenses and to block the use of cashless bail for some other alleged crimes. There’s another D.C.-related measure on the docket designed to intervene to overturn the District's 2022 policing overhaul. The office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., argued in its preview of the floor schedule that the 2022 overhaul “placed harmful and burdensome requirements on the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.” Senate seeks spending deal The Senate returns Tuesday afternoon. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is hoping to get the gears turning this week on a package of up to five fiscal 2026 appropriation bills, using the Defense spending measure as the vehicle for a larger package. The process for combining the bills into a single package — which could include Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD — is not easy, since bypassing the Senate’s rules regarding amendments to appropriation bills generally requires unanimous consent. It seemed doubtful over the weekend that senators would reach a quick consensus on the package. In the meantime, nominations will occupy the floor agenda, starting with Trump's choice of Ho Nieh to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The matter of the Epstein files will likely soon be before the Senate as well, after expected House passage. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., also appearing on “Meet the Press” Sunday, expressed skepticism that the contents of the Epstein files would be particularly harmful to Trump. Barrasso said he thought the Justice Department under the Biden administration would have targeted Trump if there had been reason to do so. “I think they would've gone after President Trump if there was anything there. To me, this Epstein matter, as well as the shutdown, they're trying to get out of the pain they've caused the country in the shutdown, and that's why the Democrats want to use this, and they want to make President Trump a lame-duck president,” Barrasso said. Senate and House committees will be back in action after the shutdown and busy this week. The House Administration Committee has a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would ban stock trading by members of Congress. Advocates hope the hearing is the first step toward getting a floor vote. Senate panels, meanwhile, will be looking at the effects of the recent partial government shutdown and efforts to change the way shutdowns are addressed. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee this week will mark up a resolution designed to reduce the rate of pay for senators during a shutdown. And the Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee that handles aviation policy has scheduled a hearing on the effects of shutdowns on air travel. Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in a statement announcing the hearing, “it’s critical that we address the damage done and look at the long-term effects of the shutdown. I look forward to discussing with industry how Congress can work to alleviate the strain on air traffic controllers and TSA agents, as well as ensure safety for passengers and sustainable operations for our airlines, general and business aviation stakeholders.” Aris Folley, Justin Papp and Aidan Quigley contributed to this report.
