By Ali Halloum
AFRO Intern
[email protected]
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has sent representatives on their August break early in an attempt to delay votes relating to the release of files pertaining to accused pedophile and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, this has also delayed votes on several items, adding to a legislative backlog in the 119th Congress, critics say.
The move came after lawmakers introduced a resolution calling for the release of Epstein-related files.
Speaker Johnson justified his decision in a July 23 news conference, saying, “We’re not going to play political games with this,” and calling the resolution “haphazard.” He also criticized Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the lone Republican co-sponsoring the resolution.
“I don’t understand Thomas Massey’s motivation,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. Thomas Massey could have brought his discharge petition any time over the last four and a half years.”
Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who represents Maryland’s 7th District, which comprises most of Baltimore City and portions of Baltimore County, called the move by the speaker a “classic case of the tail wagging the dog,” adding that Johnson has “no control over his members.”
“We’ve seen this sort of thing happen repeatedly, where votes are left open for three hours or when the work week has been truncated,” Mfume told the AFRO. “When Nancy Pelosi was speaker of the House, the House ran efficiently, effectively, like a well-oiled engine. Now it’s a lot of start and stop, and you don’t know what to always expect.”
As a result of Johnson’s early closure of the House, crucial appropriation bills and any subsequent votes on amendments or procedure will not be worked on, further contributing to the legislative gridlock. As of press time, only two of the 12 required appropriations bills have been voted on by the 119th Congress.
This also includes appropriation for several community funding projects in the 7th District. These funds were already approved by Congress, however, the early closure of the House is expected to add to delays in the appropriations process.
“We’re so far behind in taking care of the needs of people that it’s ridiculous,” Mfume said. “So my constituents, just like constituents in most districts around this country, have to, again, wait longer than anticipated to get those things that are part-and-parcel of the funding process.”
This comes on the heels of a bill introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and co-sponsored by 10 Democrats, as well as Thomas Massie, which would have required the U.S. attorney general to release all files held by the Department of Justice related to Epstein.
“The business of the United States now is put on hold again because in this case, members of the Republican Party do not want to offend Donald Trump by voting for anything that would open up the case files on Jeffrey Epstein,” Mfume said.
Mfume told the AFRO that he and other House Democrats will continue efforts to put Republican votes on the record, adding that Democrats proposed over 500 amendments to the recently passed federal budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
“This is a fight, and we’re going to continue to fight,” the Maryland Democrat said. “We’re going to continue to set the record so that this time next year, when people are turning their attention toward elections, no one will be able to hide and run away from the fact that they voted one way or another or that they refused to vote or that they blocked initiatives designed to help people in this country.”
The House of Representatives will end its session on July 23 and will return on Sept. 1 after the August recess.