**Discharge Petition Forces Speaker Mike Johnson’s Hand on Epstein Legislation**
*By Meredith Lee Hill | Politico | November 14, 2025, 5:47 PM EST*
President Donald Trump has made repeated attempts to kill the effort, but a discharge petition has forced Speaker Mike Johnson’s hand.
Under the current GOP plan, the House Rules Committee is set to approve a procedural measure Monday night to advance eight bills for floor consideration, including language to tee up the Epstein legislation. If that measure is approved on the floor—likely early Tuesday afternoon—debate and a final vote on the Epstein bill could immediately follow.
GOP leaders are considering whether to postpone the Epstein vote until Tuesday evening.
Scores of Republicans are expected to break ranks and support the bill, which would then have to be approved by the Senate and signed by Trump to take effect. Neither is likely, but the process could drag out for weeks, extending the controversy over Trump’s ties to Epstein.
Epstein said in a 2019 email released by the House Oversight Committee this week that Trump “knew about the girls” he was trafficking, but Trump has denied wrongdoing. There is no evidence to suggest that Trump took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation.
Four Republicans who signed on to the discharge petition forcing the vote—Rep. Thomas Massie, along with Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina—are expected to examine Johnson’s moves very closely. Together, they could block any procedural measure that would undercut the Epstein legislation, postpone it, or otherwise alter it.
Such a blockade would freeze the House floor just as GOP leaders attempt to bring the House back for an aggressive work schedule following a seven-week recess ordered by Johnson amid the record government shutdown.
*Read more at Politico.com.*
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**Topics:** Government, Politics/Elections
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