House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) blasted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after he co-sponsored a discharge petition that would force a vote on a resolution compelling the Justice Department to release information pertaining to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie partnered with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on the petition amid controversy surrounding a Justice Department memo claiming Epstein did not have a list of high-profile individuals who used his illicit trafficking services.
A reporter asked Johnson on Tuesday about his comments that he is in alignment with the Trump administration on the Epstein files. “But it doesn’t seem like you’re in lockstep with all of your House Republicans,” the reporter said. “Thomas Massie just said this is going to come back and bite Republicans. What do you say to those fissures inside your conference?”
“Thomas Massie is the one trying to bite Republicans. I’m not quite sure what his strategy is,” Johnson answered. “But it’s not just him. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be calling off the week tomorrow—you’d be seeing rules on the floor. I understand the issue.”
The Speaker continued, “We’re not going to play political games with this. We’ve all been very clear and transparent.”
Johnson insisted that the White House is already in the process of releasing the Epstein Files. “As I’ve said many times, there’s no daylight between the White House and the House on this,” Johnson said. “You have to allow the legislation to ripen, and you also have to allow the administration the space to do what it is already doing.”
Johnson further pointed out that President Donald Trump “has now ordered his DOJ to do what we’ve needed them to do for years—and that is to get everything released.”
“There’s no purpose for Congress to push an administration to do something they’re already doing,” the Speaker concluded.
House Speaker Mike Johnson blasts Rep. Thomas Massie over pushing for the release of the Epstein Files.
— Hotep Jeffiziah Charles🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) July 22, 2025
"Thomas Massie is the one trying to bite Republicans...I'm not quite certain what his strategy is." pic.twitter.com/qMg46US95W
Massie responded to Johnson’s remarks in a statement to Townhall. “I thought competent people including the President and AG and my colleagues were trying to release these files,” the lawmaker said. “When it became obvious they weren’t, I stepped up and used parliamentary procedures and bipartisanship to do it.”
Trump has been on the warpath against Massie since he first opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed earlier this month. He has threatened to support a primary challenge against the lawmaker on multiple occasions.
In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, the president referred to Massie as “the worst Republican Congressman, and an almost guaranteed NO VOTE each and every time.” He said Massie “is an Embarrassment to Kentucky” and characterized him as “lazy, slow moving, and totally disingenuous.”
“Looking for someone good to run against this guy, someone I can Endorse and vigorously campaign for!” Trump added.
In response, Massie told told NBC News’ Sahil Kapur that he’s not worried about a primary challenge and said Trump’s allies are “wasting millions of dollars against me, and they’re gonna lose the majority because of that.”
Trump trashes @RepThomasMassie, again. I asked Massie about his threat a few hours ago. He said he isn’t worried. He says Trump allies are “wasting millions of dollars against me, and they're gonna lose the majority because of that.” He predicts it will “backfire tremendously.”
Trump trashes @RepThomasMassie, again. I asked Massie about his threat a few hours ago. He said he isn’t worried. He says Trump allies are “wasting millions of dollars against me, and they're gonna lose the majority because of that.” He predicts it will “backfire tremendously.” pic.twitter.com/OmyISgiaLl
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 22, 2025
Ten other Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) have signed onto the discharge petition.
The resolution would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish the Epstein Files within 30 days and prohibit redactions based on “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.” It orders the release of “flight logs or travel records,” “internal DOJ communications,” and “documentation of Epstein’s detention or death.”
Johnson’s contention that the White House is already working on releasing the files isn’t entirely accurate. President Trump did order Bondi to release grand jury testimony in the Epstein case, but not the broader Justice Department or investigative files, which remain sealed.
Moreover, it will likely take months for the grand jury testimony to be released — if it is released at all. Even in this case, the documents would likely be heavily redacted, meaning it probably won’t detail the information people are calling for.