That means, for the first time, the House could vote on whether to compel the DOJ to make its Epstein investigation public — a vote Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leadership have tried to block. So why are Republicans in such a panic? And what happens if this really goes to the floor...
The New Democrat has already made the case for why DOJ should have already released the Epstein files. As Fred Schneider said back in August:
"The speculation (and I'm sure it's true) is that the reason why President Trump doesn't want his Attorney General Pam Bondi, to release the Epstein files, because he knows he's all over them and it would be very embarrassing for him. Even though there's probably nothing in them that could probably incriminate him of anything relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
But my point is, for reasons that I've already laid out, is Donald Trump literally has nothing to lose here in releasing them. He's already the most unpopular 2nd term President, at least in the television and internet age. People who dislike and hate him now, won't dislike and hate him more after those files are released to the public.
When the far-right of the Republican Party was talking about "family values", morality and character, the need for these things in our government, that was just something they used to attack Democrats. That's not what they care about. Someone could literally be a convicted felon, a serial liar and adulterer... if that person is on their side and represents their political values. And Mr. Trump's professional celebrity base, would probably just view him as a bigger "rockstar" and "badass", after the Epstein files are released...
From The New Democrat
And as Derik Schneider said 2 weeks later:
"As far as the Epstein files, it's hard to imagine a sitting U.S. President being more unpopular than Donald John Trump. He's now in Joe Biden's range as far as political unpopularity, with his low 40s and upper 30s approval rating. Releasing the Epstein files even with him all over them, couldn't hurt himself anymore than what he's already done to his own political standing. If anything, it would probably just make him seem cooler with his reality TV base and perhaps even Independents who voted for him, because they think he's a "badass" or something:
"Yeah!!! The Donald rolls with pimps and sex traffickers!!! He's even a bigger badass than we thought".
From The New Democrat
I'll get to what Chris Cillizza said... later. But first I want to make more of an observational and practical point about the problems with trying to govern a 435 member institution, with just a 3 seat majority (Speaker Mike Johnson must feel like he's president of a high school student council, instead of the U.S. House of Representatives) and the weakness of running a scorched-earth political campaign, where the ultimate goal is just to have 1 more Electoral College vote, than your opponent.
Just go back 20 years... President George W. Bush had a 15 seats majority in the House of Representatives. Even that, is a small majority, by modern standards, but if G.W. Bush was all over the Epstein files, like water in a pool, ketchup on fries, gold diggers on wealthy men, etc... (let your imagination run wild on that) imagine (if you will) that George and Jeff met somewhere in Texas in the 1970s... maybe Epstein visits Texas looking more more female recruits and they became friends during G.W.'s drinking days... 4 votes Republicans wouldn't be nearly enough to get a discharged petition passed about anything. House Democrats, or maverick Republicans, or a combination, would've need 16 House Republicans to vote with all 202 House Democrats, to pass a discharge petition about anything, back in 2005-06.
But unlike Donald John Trump, George Walker Bush (whatever you think of the man personally and politically) was a big tent Republican. It wasn't just the far-right and center-right Republicans who didn't like him, but who voted for him anyway, and 1 more independent than what John Kerry got back in 2004. President Bush locked down all the Republican base and won the independents with a solid majority. Why?
Because he was more trusted on national security than the Democrats
He was pro-legal immigration, who didn't scare minorities, gays, or women.
He wasn't a wannabe dictator, or a criminal, not a convicted felon, or insurrectionist, fraudster, womanizer, etc.
At least before Hurricane Katrina, Americans tended to like G.W. Bush, at least personally, even though his 2nd term was very rough for him and his party, politically. Donald Trump doesn't have any of the political attributes that even President Bush had. Outside of his Anglo-Saxon fundamentalist base, his professional, urban reality TV people, and his MAGA bros... no one in America even thinks that Donald J. Trump is even a decent man.
So when you run a political campaign that's only geared to your base and no one else and you treat anyone who even dares question you, about anything, as nothing but traitors, criminals, and terrorists,... sure, you can win a presidential election doing that in our social media political climate, but your governing majority in Congress, will be very slim because you got the other half of the country and more people, who are always against you.
You win the election going scorched-earth, but you don't expand your party, even in Congress. And when you get in trouble politically, like with the Epstein files, that puts pressure on your own party to do something about it. And when you are only working with a 3 seat majority in the House, out of 433 seated members, (as of today) it doesn't take much for your party to act against you, in the House.
Now if anyone is still awake after reading all of that, I'll get into what Chris Cilliza is talking about as well.
So with Adeliate Grijalva's (daughter of former U.S. Representative, the late Raul Grijalva) winning her father's old House seat, House Democrats now have 214 out of 433 seated members in the House. So, yes, unless Speaker Johnson calls for a permanent vacation and House recess for the rest of this Congress, Representative Massie will get his discharge petition sighed and passed, with the help from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivering all 214 House Democrats to vote yes.
But don't break out the cigars and champaign just yet. (Especially if you don't smoke or drink alcohol) The Mike Johnson permanent vacation and recess crack, is just a half-joke. The House Republican Leadership might try something like that, just to prevent the House from voting on this resolution. But it probably won't work.
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