'Deal with it': Top Senate Republican gives Mike Johnson an ultimatum over Epstein scandal

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R–S.D.) said Wednesday House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) will need to take responsibility for handling the escalating Jeffrey Epstein controversy that has effectively halted House activity until the fall.

“In some fashion, in some way, he’s going to have to handle it and deal with it,” Thune told reporters from his Senate office, according to Politico. He added: “Sounds like, yeah, that’ll be a September [issue].”

Johnson declared an early adjournment for the House this week amid rising tension among Republicans, driven by bipartisan demands for more transparency around Epstein-related documents. The speaker’s decision to send members home early for the summer paused the House agenda amid the Epstein controversy.

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“He’s kind of handling it how I believe he thinks he needs to,” Thune said of Johnson.

“He has a constituency out there that feels, in his caucus at least, that feels very strongly about it, and can make it difficult to get anything else done," Thune said.

“I’m not hearing the hue and cry, I guess I would say, to do a deep dive into this — to hold hearings or anything like that,” Thune noted. “At least not at the moment.”

Thune and President Donald Trump have briefly discussed the Epstein matter “in passing," per the report. According to Thune, Trump emphasized that “there are other priorities that should take precedence.”

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“He hasn’t made any specific point with me in conversations other than to reference what’s going on, what the House is saying,” Thune said. “I think he has an opinion, which he’s stated, that he’s shared with me, but he hasn’t given us any direction or suggestion or anything like that.”

Meanwhile, a House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday evening to subpoena the Department of Justice for files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The motion, passed by an 8–2 margin, directs Chair James Comer to issue the subpoena in line with committee rules governing such actions.

Three Republicans joined Democrats in backing the effort, prompting Comer, chair of the full House Oversight Committee, to formally sign off on it before the subpoena can be officially served.

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