The GOP faces “the summer of dissatisfaction” as Epstein files are a controversy intensifies

William Shakespeare wrote on “the winter of our dissatisfaction” in Richard III. The line following this famous quote suggests a dark winter transformed into a “glorious summer” and that “the clouds” are now “in the deep breast of the buried ocean”.

Well, this “glorious summer” can have dissipated for the republicans of the house.

2025 is now the summer of dissatisfaction. The game is cleared on Epstein files.

Or, as the Bard could say, “release or not to release. This is the question.”

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The American Capitol in Washington, DC, saw Wednesday June 25, 2025. (Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Many Republicans want the Epstein problem to disappear. But there is a cohort of republicans of the conservative chamber – well exploited in the Maga database – which are apoplectic that the Trump administration has not coughing the files. This group of legislators represents a central component of the Trump coalition which prevailed last year. And it becomes more unhappy day by day.

“I don’t think this problem disappears in August,” said representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky. “You are not losing your base on a single thing. But (President Donald Trump) erodes his base. More importantly, if we do not take the right side of this question, it will cost us votes in mid-term. People become discouraged. They are apathetic.”

Massie teams up several weeks ago with the representative Ro Khanna, D-Calif., To force the room to vote to demand the release of the files. But this measure only matures at the end of this week. But if the house is not in session …

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California’s Democratic Representative of California, on the right, is expressed during an audience of the Chamber Committee on February 28, 2023 at the American Capitol in Washington, DC (Office of the Ro Khanna representative)

The Democrats were more than happy with the egg in the Epstein file effort – especially since some Republicans were thwarted by Johnson and how the leaders of the GOP managed the problem.

“I am not quite certain of his strategy,” said Chamber Mike Johnson, R-La., About Massie. “I don’t understand Thomas Massie’s motivation. I really don’t know how her mind works.”

But the leaders of the GOP in the room cut the house one day earlier than expected for the “recess of August” of five and a half weeks. Johnson described in August as “no doubt the most important work month on our calendar” while the Republicans try to meet the voters and the adoption of the “great and beautiful bill”. Johnson called the release of Epstein files running “Roughshod”.

On Wednesday, Johnson played with the Congressional Press Body to fight against the story that the room let out early to avoid dealing with the Epstein issue.

“The congress published calendar was decided in December 2024. And it has been published since. We are filling the calendar,” said Johnson.

Chamber Mike Johnson, R-La., Said that he did not understand the motivations of Thomas Massie to press Epstein’s problem. (Kent Nishimura / Getty images)

But the room did not summon the votes as scheduled for Thursday. And even some Republicans did not buy Johnson’s argument.

“I guess we get tired of these two-hour work weeks here,” complained about representative Tim Buchett, R-Tenn. “I’m fed up. I came here to work.”

But the impasse on Epstein files forced the house to remove a bill by representative Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., To strengthen sanctions against people who enter the United States illegally and are expelled-then try to come back. This is one of the reasons why the room collected Thursday from the schedule.

“I want some of these problems to go to bed. Admittedly, Epstein seems to be the subject of the day. We have to go beyond that,” said Bice. “We have to arrive at a kind of resolution. Bouet later. We cannot let it light up.”

But with the house made, this subject – which should be a lay -up for the republicans of the house – will remain in suspense until recess.

The representative Ralph Norman, RS.C., did not care about the house that cuts the city early.

The representative Ralph Norman, RS.C., arrives for a meeting of the Republicans of the Chamber at the Capitol Visitor Center on the bill on budget reconciliation on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, included via Getty Images)

“We were not going to do so much this week anyway,” said Norman.

But he pointed out how the Democrats suddenly defended the Epstein problem because the misdeeds put the Republicans in a solution and potentially caused Trump headache.

“Democrats are trying to use it as a corner problem, that’s the only thing they have,” said Norman.

Massie said that her resolution with Khanna would ripen for a vote when the House would meet in September. He suggested that it would marinate under the hot sun and August.

“Dogs do not absence in parked cars, right? This bill is moving. This votes. We have enough republican co-sponsors of the bill. Twice as much as we need at the moment,” said Massie. “We are going to force a vote on this subject. He does not disappear.”

Representative Thomas Massie, r-ky., Arrives from the Caucus meeting of the Chamber Republican Conference at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, included via Getty Images)

In fact, while the House was trying to take its last votes until September, the representative Summer Lee, D-Penn., Voted on the chamber’s surveillance sub-comity on the application of the federal law, demanding an assignment of the Epstein files.

“I expect my republican colleagues to care because their voters certainly care about the sexual trafficking of children, whether by the immigration system such as this hearing, or by an American citizen facilitating other powerful American citizens. It is time for them to prove it,” said Lee.

The Pennsylvania Democrat could read the room. The conservative republicans interested in Epstein files included panel membership: the representative Clay Higgins, R-La., Is the president of the subcommittee. Representatives Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Brian Jack, R-GA.; Nancy Mace, RS.C.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; And Scott Perry, R-Penn., has formed the rest of the GOP list.

Representative Ralph Norman, RS.C. said the issue of Epstein files had become a “corner problem” for the Republicans. (APO photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

The panel voted 8-2 to assign Epstein’s files – but only after Perry modified Lee’s plan by simultaneously issuing assignments to appear for former president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the former directors of the FBI James Comey and Robert Mueller, with the former prosecutor General Loreral Sessions, and Alberto, Eric Merrick Garland, Bill Barran, Jeff. Gonzales.

In short, it does not disappear.

The Chamber’s credits committee provided for a “marking session” for Thursday to prepare the annual trade, justice and science for soil bill. But the leaders suddenly canceled this meeting on Wednesday evening. Part of this was due to “exhaustion” because the members persisted in Washington so long this summer. Part of this was because the room canceled the votes. The members of the credit committee did not want to be in Washington. But the other component was the threat of Epstein amendments.

So they pulled the catch.

This came after Johnson and the head of the majority of the room, Steve Scalizes, R -La., Wanted to tell journalists that the committees would always meet – even if the room canceled the votes for the rest of the week.

The head of the majority of the chamber, representative Steve Scalie, r-la., Is addressed to journalists at a press conference after a meeting of the republican conference of the Chamber at the American Capitol on July 18, 2023, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

“We have nine or ten committees working, markings this week. Many tomorrow,” said Johnson on Wednesday.

“We are going to have committee meetings until Thursday. And there is still a lot of work,” said scalizes. “Most members know that the work of the congress is mainly done in a committee.”

But not this time.

Admittedly, the Chamber’s supervisory committee has submitted a closed-door testimony of the former Chief of Staff of the Biden Administration, Ron Klain, on the cognitive capacities of President Joe Biden. But that was almost everything for the house.

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“Today marks the first day of the room which is embarking on their recess in Epstein,” said Chuck Schumer, head of the Senate minority, DN.Y. “And already the history that the Republicans hoped that Fade would become quietly becoming stronger on time.”

“It will continue to percolate,” predicted Khanna. “It’s just breathing more life.”

August is often a void of news. And so something should fill the void. Epstein files could be.

And that only feeds the summer of dissatisfaction.