Epstein drama shadows Congress as funding fight heats up

By Rachel Schilke | Washington Examiner

The House returns to Washington in September, and headlines indicate they will not be bored.

In the month since congressional lawmakers left Capitol Hill to return to their home districts and states, both Democrats and Republicans have been plagued by contentious topics and social issues that threaten to cast a shadow over official business.

After passing President Donald Trump‘s major tax and spending cuts bill, Republicans left town and hit the road to promote the “big, beautiful bill.” At times, centrist lawmakers have been hit with angry constituents as Democrats continue to message that the tax legislation benefits the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

But on their way out of Washington, Republicans were put in a tricky position, as their conservative voting base entered a civil war over whether to release all the files related to disgraced and since-deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

The Epstein files continue to spurn rare moments of bipartisanship, giving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) a headache as he balances having “no daylight” between Trump and his agenda with his razor-thin majority, where hardliners and centrists don’t always get along. 

But don’t expect many bipartisan moments after the Epstein drama.

The parties have already splintered over Trump’s decision to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, and the National Guard in a response to rising crime in the district.

Republicans are primarily on board with this federal District of Columbia takeover, arguing it is evident that the capital is being overrun by crime and Congress should therefore revoke Washington’s “home rule.” Democrats, on the other hand, are blasting this move as a sign of impending authoritarianism and call it an unprecedented overreach in presidential authority.

Redistricting efforts in Texas and California are kickstarting a gerrymandering war, with a California Republican looking to ban states from mid-decade redistricting nationally. 

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