The House will leave for its August recess a day earlier than planned as Republican leaders hope to sap the momentum behind a GOP push by Rep. Thomas Massie to force the chamber to vote on a Jeffrey Epstein-related measure.

The House is leaving Washington early as Republicans clash over the Jeffrey Epstein files. House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Epstein as some Republicans push for a vote on the matter.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that the Department of Justice wants to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend. Maxwell was convicted in 2020 of helping the disgraced financier sexually abuse underage girls and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.

Representative Ted Lieu said “Trump is all over the Epstein files.” He called the Republican lawmakers’ move “a coverup of epic proportions.”

He—the president, their leader, the martyr who had endured scandals and prosecution and an assassin’s bullet on their behalf—had repeatedly told them it was time to move on, and that alone should suffice. Why, he groused, would the White House add fuel to the fire, would it play into the media’s narrative?

The move comes after The Journal reported that the president sent Jeffrey Epstein a birthday card in 2003 with a drawing of a naked woman.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that the Department of Justice wants to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend. Maxwell was convicted in 2020 of helping the disgraced financier sexually abuse underage girls and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.

Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee joins Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to the baseless claims made by Donald Trump and his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard,