Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he plans to hold a House vote next week on a measure mandating the full disclosure of Justice Department files related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Johnson announced those plans just hours after newly sworn Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) completed a discharge petition mandating a floor vote on the Epstein measure. His is a quicker timeline than is mandated under the rules governing discharge petitions, which would require a vote in early December.

House Republicans are eager to put the Epstein controversy in the rear-view mirror to the greatest extent possible as they seek to catch up after losing weeks of work due to Johnson’s decision to keep the chamber out of session during the government shutdown.

They are expecting a mass defection of Republican lawmakers on the vote — perhaps 100 or more — despite President Donald Trump calling the Epstein allegations a Democratic hoax.

The House is on track to vote on disclosing files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a newly sworn-in Democrat completed a bipartisan effort Wednesday to sidestep Republican leaders over the opposition of President Donald Trump.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona signed the discharge petition immediately after she was sworn in by Speaker Mike Johnson after a record 50-day wait and delivered remarks critical of the GOP attempts to keep Justice Department files under wraps.

“It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration,” she said, adding, “That is why I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files — justice cannot wait another day.”

The vote is expected in early December, according to aides from both parties.

Grijalva had expressed no special interest in the Epstein case prior to her Sept. 23 election. But she became intertwined in the fate of a bipartisan effort to disclose Justice Department files related to the disgraced financier after it became clear she could provide the final necessary signature on a discharge petition forcing a House vote on the matter.

She has had to wait seven weeks to do that, however, with Johnson refusing to seat her as the House stayed out of session for the duration of the government shutdown.

Democrats have railed against the speaker, accusing him of seeking to propagate an Epstein coverup on behalf of Trump. Johnson, in turn, said the wait had nothing to do with Epstein and everything to do with Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass a House-approved measure to reopen the government. The lengthy delay prompted a lawsuit by the Arizona attorney general that is now rendered moot.

Grijalva played down her connection to the Epstein push in a brief interview Wednesday, saying it was “not what I was elected to do.” But she added that she still planned to sign: “It sort of continues this push that the American people have to really demand transparency and consequences, legal consequences for anyone implicated in those files.”

Her addition to the House also narrows Republicans’ majority to 219-214, meaning Johnson can now lose only two votes if all members are voting. Grijalva’s first votes will be on the funding package to end the shutdown.

Grijalva, a former member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, won a special election to fill the seat held by her late father Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a longtime progressive leader, who died in March at 77.

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.

House Democrats believe there will be overwhelming support from Republicans on an inevitable floor vote on a bill that would compel the Justice Department to quickly release materials related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaker Mike Johnson is scheduled Wednesday afternoon to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat whose addition to the House will provide the 218th vote on a so-called discharge petition — a procedural maneuver that allows rank-and-file members to end-run leadership and force the vote on legislation, in this case the measure demanding the release of the Epstein files.

Assuming the bill gets passed in the House, it would still require approval by the Senate and to be signed into law by President Donald Trump. Senate GOP leaders have not guaranteed they would hold a vote in their chamber.

But Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the co-sponsor of the bill with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), told reporters Wednesday he believed “40 to 50” Republicans would join Democrats in supporting the bill in the House.

“If we get that kind of overwhelming vote, that’s going to push the Senate, and it’s going to push for a release of the files from the Justice Department,” Khanna said.

Trump officials are still waging an intense pressure campaign to get at least one of three House Republican women to remove their name from the discharge effort, according to two people granted anonymity to share private conversations. If that push is successful, it would complicate efforts to get the measure on the floor in the first place, as Republicans are more likely to vote in favor of the legislation itself than they are to sign onto a discharge petition seen as an outwardly antagonistic gesture toward leadership.

Democrats’ optimism is growing, though, following the release of an explosive new email suggesting that Trump knew of Epstein’s sex trafficking activities. That correspondence was singled out by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, part of a huge tranche of files from the Epstein estate the panel rolled out Wednesday. Republicans have claimed Democrats were selectively releasing the materials as part of an effort to damage Trump.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, maintained that his team publicized key documents as soon as they were able to review the trove of new materials.

“It’s always interesting that Republicans … only when we release a certain batch, will they then follow up and say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t release that,’” he told reporters.

Garcia said he had “talked to numerous Republicans that are planning to vote ‘yes.’”

House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland said in an interview that the new materials confirmed long-held suspicions among Democrats about Trump’s ties to Epstein.

“Of course, Donald Trump knew what was going on,” Raskin said. “Jeffrey Epstein was his best friend, and there’s a reason that they flocked together.”

Trump has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein allegations. No evidence has so far suggested that Trump took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation. The president also has maintained that he and Epstein had a falling out years ago.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez laid the blame Wednesday for a disappointing deal ending the 43-day government shutdown at the feet of Senate Democrats as a whole — not just Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — noting there were “eight Democrats who coordinated” with Republicans to end the standoff.

“There’s a lot of focus rightfully on Leader Schumer, but I do think that when it comes to the Senate, it is Senate Democrats that select their leadership,” Ocasio-Cortez said about her fellow New York Democrat in a brief interview. “And so I actually think this problem is much bigger than Leader Schumer.”

Ocasio-Cortez, a leader of the party’s progressive wing, put Schumer on blast in March after he voted to advance Republican legislation to keep the government open. Some House Democrats have privately floated support for a potential Ocasio-Cortez primary bid against Schumer in 2028, something she has neither embraced nor ruled out.

Asked on Wednesday if she has confidence in Schumer as leader, Ocasio-Cortez said she “certainly disagreed with what just happened.”

“We had a responsibility to develop, to deliver on health care subsidies, and the Senate failed to do that,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez, in later remarks to reporters, acknowledged the calls for her to mount a 2028 Senate run, potentially against Schumer, but again sidestepped questions about her intentions.

“That is years from now,” she said. “I have to remind my own constituents, because they think that this election is this year.”

Schumer did not endorse or vote for the agreement that eight members of his caucus reached with Republicans that will reopen the government open but will not guarantee an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits that Democrats are fighting for. But those calling for new leadership point to the fact that he couldn’t keep his caucus together and didn’t do more to head off the effort.

At least five House Democrats have called for Schumer to step aside as the party’s leader in the Senate. No Democratic senators have done so.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s title.

The White House committed in writing Wednesday that President Donald Trump will sign the bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history once the House passes it.

In a statement of administration policy, the Trump administration urged every lawmaker to back the measure, which would reopen the government through Jan. 30 and fund some federal agencies through next September. The House is expected to vote Wednesday evening to clear the legislation for Trump’s signature, after the Senate passed the package Monday night.

Even as the White House encouraged House lawmakers to vote in support of the bipartisan measure, the administration took partisan swipes in the official memo, claiming that the funding lapse was “forced upon the American people by congressional Democrats.”

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has won the backing of a key Republican senator who had earlier threatened to vote against him over concerns about the agency’s handling of workplace harassment.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he will support acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill, who is Trump’s pick to permanently lead the agency. Kennedy’s endorsement clears a major hurdle for Hill, whose nomination has broad backing from the banking industry and other Senate Republicans, and paves the way for a vote in the Senate Banking Committee.

Kennedy last month threw up a surprise roadblock when he said he wouldn’t vote for Hill until the FDIC produced a report detailing how it has addressed sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct. Kennedy said at the time he had “heard nothing” from Hill about the issue since he took over as acting chair in January.

“I am satisfied with the progress the agency is making,” Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday. “I intend to vote to confirm Mr. Travis Hill as FDIC Chairman. This is no country for creepy old men.”

Kennedy’s office released the FDIC report he requested, which outlined “long-overdue plans” to improve the agency’s workplace culture and confirmed that progress was underway.

According to the report, 26 employees “left the agency specifically due to substantiated allegations of misconduct” in the 2025 fiscal year— either because they were fired or resigned before they could be terminated. The report also detailed previously announced efforts to revamp the complaint process, bolster training and establish new offices focused on professional conduct and cracking down on harassment.

“I have instituted new leadership across the agency, and today not a single FDIC executive with substantiated allegations of misconduct remains with the agency,” Hill wrote in the report.

The issue drew scrutiny from Democrats as well. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Banking Committee’s top Democrat, criticized Hill at his confirmation hearing last month, arguing there was “no record” he took action to address the FDIC’s toxic workplace culture before it was exposed in 2023.

The revelations about widespread harassment and discrimination, which emerged during the Biden administration, engulfed former FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg’s final months in office last year. Under pressure from lawmakers, the longtime Democratic appointee agreed to step down in May 2024 once a successor was confirmed. But the Senate never voted on President Joe Biden’s nominee. Gruenberg ultimately resigned the day before Trump’s second inauguration earlier this year.

Jack Schlossberg officially entered the race to fill an open New York City House seat on Wednesday, the latest in a long line of Kennedys to join the political arena.

A Democratic influencer and grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, Schlossberg has cultivated a dedicated following on social media in recent years and recently served as a political correspondent at Vogue ahead of the 2024 election. Now, he hopes to parlay his notoriety into a successful campaign for a deep-blue New York House seat being vacated by the dean of New York’s congressional delegation, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Nadler announced his plans not to seek reelection in September.

POLITICO reported last week that Schlossberg planned to enter the race.

“I’m not running because I have all the answers to our problems,” he said in a video announcement. “I’m running because the people of New York 12 do. I want to listen to your struggles, hear your stories, amplify your voice, go to Washington and execute on your behalf.”

Schlossberg cast his campaign as a cog in the broader Democratic effort to stymie President Donald Trump’s political agenda — and to quash any talk of a third term.

“We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives,” he said. “With control of Congress, there’s nothing we can’t do. Without it, we’re helpless to a third term.”

Though the president has mused about running again for president in 2028 — and sold plenty of merch attesting to future electoral ambitions — Trump in October conceded he cannot run again under the Constitution.

But while Schlossberg boasts prodigious skill on social media, alongside more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, he’s far from the favorite in the coming Democratic primary for the House seat.

That would be New York Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Nadler’s heir apparent and a key political ally to many in New York.