Today in Politics, Bulletin 176. 7/22/25

… Speaker Mike Johnson shut down the House today to avoid a vote on the Epstein Files. Johnson sent the House home early for summer recess and canceled all scheduled votes and business to prevent a vote on the bipartisan motion to release the Epstein files.

… Politico: “House GOP leaders are sending members home early for summer recess, spurred by the deepening Epstein crisis. The decision comes after Republicans lost control of the floor over bipartisan pressure to vote on releasing Epstein-related docs.”

… AOC: “Ummm so let me get this straight: Republicans have ground Congress to a halt and are considering adjourning the entire House for 6 weeks to avoid releasing the info they have on Epstein? What is going on here?”

… Elon Musk: “There is only one reason to avoid voting on releasing the Epstein files.”

… Newsmax host Carl Higbie: “Whaaaat the F***!!!”

… Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman: “The House floor is frozen because House Republicans are rebelling against Speaker Johnson’s strategy for dealing with the Epstein Files. The Rules Committee is supposed to hold the line for the leadership and vote down any Democratic amendments. But they are unwilling to kill Epstein amendments, which means Johnson's leadership team cannot bring anything to the floor.”

… “Johnson is caught between a House Republican Conference that is wary about voting against Epstein related measures and a president who wants nothing to do with revisiting the sordid episode. Massie’s discharge petition will ripen in Sept. So the WH/DOJ have some time to try to quell Rs concerns. Meanwhile, this week has largely turned into a waste.”

… “Johnson has said that he will wait until Aug to give the Trump admin time to get these docs out. So now it's on the Trump admin. if they don’t do anything in the next month, Johnson won't be able to do anything about action on Massie/Khanna in the House. If Trump admin puts something out that satisfies Rs, there's a chance they can kill the discharge petition. The WH isn’t doing anything really to help House Rs. Why? I assume because they think House Rs will fold for Trump and take bullets for him, because they always do.”

… Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to Fox: “Isn't it Interesting that it takes conspiracy theories on a conspiracy to shut down the US House of Representatives. Shows you how deep this admin is in these conspiracy theories.”

… Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) to Fox: “Certainly the Epstein one seems to be, topic du jour. We've got to get past that so that we can get on to the work of Congress. I leave that decision up to the Speaker. I'm not in charge here. I do think that we have to come to some sort of resolution sooner rather than later. We cannot let this drag on.”

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) who filed the bipartisan bill on Epstein with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to Fox on why Trump keeps attacking him: “Dogs don't bark at parked cars, right? This bill is moving. This is coming to a vote. We've got enough Republican co-sponsors of the bill, twice as many as we need right now, such that when they sign it and every Democrat signs this, we're going to force a vote on it. It's not going away.”

… Johnson to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN): “The discharge petition is a political ploy. The Democrats are playing games with this. They want to try to damage the president. They want to go after President Trump. They want to put speed bumps in the way of all the progress we're making and they see here a political opportunity.”

… Massie: “You don't lose your base over one single thing, but Johnson's eroding his base. More importantly, if we don't take the right side of this issue, it's going to cost us votes in the midterms. People are becoming despondent. They're apathetic. Why would they go vote if they gave us the House, the Senate and the WH and the transparency and justice they were promised doesn't happen?”

… Massie to NOTUS on Johnson: “I think this is the referendum on his leadership. Who's he going to pick? Is he going to pick the pedophiles and the underage sex traffickers, or is he going to pick the American people and justice for the victims?”

… Johnson was asked about Massie’s comments: “I don’t understand how Thomas Massie’s mind works.”

… Dem Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) to Fox: “During the Biden admin, I talked about the Epstein files, and I noted that Trump was all over the Epstein files that were already released. There's multiple pictures of Trump and Epstein. There's multiple videos. There are bizarre quotes from Trump about Epstein. There are plane logs of Trump on Epstein's plane. And now we know there's his creepy birthday card. Trump is all over the Epstein files.”

… Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) on CNN: “Q - Would you ever use subpoena power to try to find out more info about Epstein? SMITH: That's not a common thing I've utilized within the Ways and Means Committee. Q- But you did use subpoena power with Hunter Biden. SMITH: That was the only time I used it.”

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… Trump has launched a 4-part strategy to deal with his Epstein crisis: 1. Pledge that they will release grand jury transcripts; 2. Secure a statement from Ghislaine Maxwell exonerating Trump; 3. Continue to talk about prosecuting Barack Obama and others based on Tulsi Gabbard’s report; 4. Flood the zone with bullshit to distract his base.

Strategy 1: Grand Jury transcripts

… Trump knows very well that these contain less than 1% of the evidence in the case and also there would have been no reason to present any testimony or evidence about Trump to the Epstein grand jury to secure his indictment.

… A judge has to also find good cause to take the unusual step of unsealing them. This today from Politico: “Judge Engelmayer, who is handling one of the DOJ requests to unseal Epstein grand jury docs, says he needs: 1. A detailed explanation from DOJ by July 29. 2. A response from Maxwell by Aug. 5. 3. Letters from victims by Aug. 5.”

… Right-wing podcaster Candace Owens on grand jury transcripts: "Is Trump playing games? Yes, I'm sorry. He's flat out playing games thinking that we're stupid. He's always been a bit wishy-washy on Epstein."

Strategy 2: Get a statement from Maxwell exonerating him

… Maxwell has every reason to lie at this point to protect Trump. DOJ can dangle a Rule 35 motion to her attorneys to reduce her 20-year prison sentence. A pardon is highly unlikely because that isn’t necessary - Trump can have DOJ do the dirty work for him. Maxwell knows if she implicates Trump in wrongdoing, her remaining time in prison may end the way Epstein’s did. But if she lies for him to claim he’s innocent, she will likely get a significant reduction of her time for “cooperation.”

… Dep. AG Todd Blanche announced this today: “This DOJ does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say. Therefore, at the direction of AG Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors. I anticipate meeting with Maxwell in the coming days.”

… Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus to CNN: “I can confirm that we are in discussions with the govt and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”

… Rep. Marge Greene (R-GA) to NYT: “Greene says she is skeptical of anything Maxwell has to say because ‘she could be bartering for something.’”

… MAGA activist and podcaster Laura Loomer: “Today’s statement by Pam Bondi seems like a massive cope. Why wasn’t this ‘interview’ with Maxwell done on day 1? Shouldn’t they have already done this? Maybe there is a mix up in communication. But I just can’t help but wonder whether or not this has already happened. And if not, why?”

… Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Newsmax: “President Trump and Pam Bondi are committed to protecting women and girls. President Trump has done so much to protect women and girls. We know that they want to break apart these human trafficking rings.”

… CPAC announcement: “Pam Bondi is a ‘CONFIRMED SPEAKER’ at our ‘International Summit Against Human Trafficking’ organized by the CPAC Center for Combating Human Trafficking on Wednesday, July 23 at the US Capitol.”

Strategy 3: Talk about prosecuting Obama and his senior officials

… DNI Tulsi Gabbard released a ridiculous report that claimed Obama and his senior officials knew that Russia did not attempt to interfere in the 2016 election. Her conclusion was based on the fact that intel reports concluded that Russia did not hack voting machines. However, several reports showed conclusively that Russia did attempt to interfere to help Trump in many other ways which were well-documented - something Gabbard now ignores.

… NBC’s Garrett Haake: “President Trump says DNI has proof of President Obama ‘treasonous’ acts re: 2016. If true, that evidence would've been missed by a bipartisan Senate Intel Committee investigation, Trump 1.0 DOJ, Special Counsels Mueller and Durham, survived through 4 years of Biden, then were found in less than 6 months by Gabbard.”

… Trump was asked today who DOJ should target based on Gabbard’s criminal referral to DOJ: “It would be President Obama. And Biden was there with him, but the leader of the gang was Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. He's guilty. This is treason. There should be very severe consequences. Whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly - it's criminal.”

… Trump: "We caught Hillary Clinton. We caught Barack Hussein Obama and people under him - Susan Rice. The names are all there. You ought take a look at that and stop talking about nonsense, because this is big stuff. This is irrefutable proof that Obama was trying to lead a coup. This is the biggest scandal in the history of this country.”

… Conservative National Review editor Andy McCarthy: “Do Trump intel officials speak with each other? Does Tulsi Gabbard, the DNI, read the reports generated by the CIA? There is good reason to wonder. Gabbard urges DOJ to prosecute Obama officials - again, nothing new here (except she’s contradicted by what the Trump CIA found just the week before).”

… Trump also posted to Truth Social: “Obama himself manufactured the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe, and numerous others participated in this, THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY! Irrefutable EVIDENCE. A major threat to our Country!!!”

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Newsmax: "Democrats tried to change this country into a socialist-communist country for the last 4 years. These people need to lawyer up and they need to find out really what it's really like to be under the gun - putting their hand up, testifying in front of people all over this country."

… Barack Obama then issued a statement: "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this WH with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Sen Intel Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio."

… Right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh: “Trump is making a bunch of posts on Truth Social showing Obama and others in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs. Gabbard is doing a bunch of Fox hits and posting threads on Twitter. All that is fine, but none of that matters if they fail to actually make arrests. Barack Obama himself should be in handcuffs. You cannot allege a treasonous conspiracy and then do nothing about it.”

… Walsh: “If I seem a bit cynical, it’s because the typical pattern by Republicans is to make these claims on social media but never in a court of law, and I’m tired of it. Funny memes and outraged soundbites on Fox are not going to cut it anymore.”

… Speaker Johnson told CBN that the House might bring Obama in for a deposition: "If it's uncomfortable for him, he shouldn't have been involved in overseeing this, which is what it appears to us has happened.”

… Aaron Rupar: “Total mentions on Fox Business so far today: Obama-53. Epstein-1.”

Strategy 4: Flood the zone with bullshit to distract his base

… Every day since this crisis began, Trump has thrown out many attempts to distract his MAGA base with red meat and culture war nonsense. He claimed that he persuaded Coke to switch to cane sugar from corn syrup, he sued WSJ and Rupert Murdoch, he made an announcement about paper straws, he attacked Colbert, Kimmel and Stewart, he posted a blizzard of memes - including an AI video of a woman in a bikini catching a snake. He argued that Washington’s NFL team and Cleveland’s baseball team should change their names back to Redskins and Indians. On and on and on. But all the tricks that worked for him in the past don’t seem to be working this time.

… James Comer’s House Oversight Committee: “The Committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible. Since Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with DOJ and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her.”

… Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) told CNN that he wants Bondi to testify before the House: “I really would like the committee of jurisdiction to bring her in and say, hey, you started this off with the binders. Please explain that. We're led to believe there are going to be some prosecutions. If we're going to prosecute, we assume there's going to be convictions. And I think that's really the disconnect.”

… But more incriminating details just keep coming out every day. People: “A former employee of Trump claimed in a new interview that the president and Jeffrey Epstein were once caught bringing girls into Trump's casino who were not old enough to gamble. The WH denies the allegations. Jack O’Donnell, who oversaw the Atlantic City Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino for 4 years in the 1980s, spoke with CNN about the president's friendship with the late billionaire.”

… “One alleged instance stood out to the former casino boss. He claimed that one night in the late 1980s, Trump and Epstein visited Trump Plaza with 3 women and brought them onto the casino floor despite them being under 21. O'Donnell said he found out about the incident the following day, when state casino commission inspectors were waiting for him in his office. An inspector, it seems, had identified one of the girls with Trump and Epstein as ‘the No. 3-ranked tennis player in the world.’”

… "He happened to be a tennis fan and he said, 'Jack, I know she’s 19 years old.' They had determined that the women that they brought down were underage to be in the casino. I did tell him in that conversation, 'I don’t think you should be hanging out with this guy, just so you know, and you certainly shouldn’t be doing that in Atlantic City.'"

… "In my mind, Epstein was his best friend throughout the time I was there for 4 years,” O’Donnell said, noting that the pair "frequently" came to Trump's casino together.

… WH Comms Director Steven Cheung was asked by People about O’Donnell’s allegations: “Jack O'Donnell is a stone cold loser who is a liar and fraud. This is completely fabricated story from his warped imagination as he suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his pea-sized brain.”

… Trump posted today: “We had the Greatest Six Months of any President in the History of our Country, and all the Fake News wants to talk about is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax!”

… CNN reported that the head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch just resigned in protest over Kristi Noem’s new policy which delayed teams from being dispatched to save lives during the Texas flooding for several days: “Ken Pagurek’s departure comes less than 3 weeks after a delayed FEMA response to catastrophic flooding in central Texas caused by bureaucratic hurdles put in place by the DHS, which oversees the disaster response agency.”

… “Pagurek told colleagues at FEMA that the delay was the tipping point that led to his voluntary departure after months of frustration with the Trump admin’s efforts to dismantle the agency. It took more than 72 hours after the flooding for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to authorize the deployment of FEMA’s search and rescue network.”

… Noem’s office issued a statement about Pagurek’s resignation: “It is laughable that a career public employee, who claims to serve the American people, would choose to resign over our refusal to hastily approve a 6-figure deployment contract without basic financial oversight. We’re being responsible with taxpayer dollars, that’s our job.”

… Rescue teams had to wait days for Noem to approve the urgent request to send them to the flooding to save children. Maybe she was tied up doing more important things her special friend and ‘chief of staff’ Corey Lewandowski.

… Alina Habba was ousted from her position as US Attorney for NJ after a 17-judge panel voted to remove her since her interim appointment expired and she doesn’t have the votes to be confirmed by the Senate. Habba blamed Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who urged judges to reject her: “I believe in separation of powers and you are not allowed to influence or try to influence the judiciary and fed judges. It is inappropriate and obstruction and it is wrong. The separation of powers is so important because it prevents tyranny.”

… The judges then appointed First Assistant US Attorney and Republican Desiree Grace to fill Habba’s position, a seasoned fed prosecutor with deep legal experience and a resume that couldn’t be more different from Habba’s media-centric profile. Grace has served in the US Attorney’s office since 2016, led the criminal division, clerked for NJ Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Third Circuit Judge Morton Greenberg.

… Pam Bondi then announced that Desiree Grace was removed from her position: Alina Habba has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant. Accordingly, the First Assistant US Attorney in NJ has just been removed. This DOJ does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”

… WSJ: “President Trump’s tariffs haven’t sparked a major inflation spike yet, but Amazon has reportedly raised prices on hundreds of everyday items over the past several months. On avg, prices across a range of low-cost items, including deodorant and protein shakes, increased 5.2% on Amazon from Jan. 20-July 1, according to a WSJ analysis of pricing data from e-commerce firm Traject Data. The Journal analyzed nearly 2,500 items and found that while Amazon’s prices rose on 1,200 of its cheapest household goods.”

… Punchbowl: “House Republicans are trying to rename part of the Kennedy Center for Melania Trump. A GOP amendment on the Interior spending bill states, ‘The Opera House located in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts shall be known and designated as the ‘First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.’” The Amendment passed in committee today.

… Deportation Czar Tom Homan was on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to talk about what he is going to do now that Congress has just tripled his budget, which will make ICE the largest law enforcement organization in America: “We are going to flood the zone of sanctuary cities. We are sending additional agents. We’re going to flood the neighborhoods with officers. We’re going to flood worksite enforcements.”

… Homan was asked about the controversial policy of ICE officers wearing masks. He blamed Democrats: "The masks I think are important. How do we get rid of the masks? Stop the hateful rhetoric - I specifically mean members of Congress. If members of Congress can compare ICE to the Nazis, that gives some of those people on the far left - it emboldens them to take action."

… Homan was asked about every poll showing Americans don’t support his methods by solid majorities: "I don't believe the polls."

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville talked about ICE on Newsmax: "If they're shot at, they need to shoot back. We need to take advantage of what's going on right now and make sure we take our streets back. That's the voters for the Democratic Party, these people that are breaking all these laws all over the country."

… Miami Herald: “Immigration detention is big business, and business is booming in the Florida Everglades. To quickly build and operate the migrant detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz, the DeSantis administration has already committed more than $200 million to private contractors. That’s about half the detention center’s estimated $450 million annual price tag.”

… Thomas Kennedy, FL Immigration Coalition: “Over $200 million in taxpayer dollars have been committed to private companies in no bid contracts to build this depraved detention camp in the Everglades. Just one politically connected vendor got a $78 million contract.”

… WaPo: “The detention of two Italian nationals at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is sparking criticism from lawmakers in Italy, who are calling on their country’s conservative government to speak out. Gaetano Costa and Fernando Artese are being held in ‘inhuman and degrading’ conditions at the facility, said Laura Boldrini, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party. Angelo Bonelli of the Green Europe party said the two Italians had been ‘locked in cages, without access to a lawyer, deprived of dignity, water and decent food.’”

… The Express: “The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents 98% of all police officers in Scotland, said the force has already breached health and safety standards in the run up to the visit by the US president. Thousands of officers are expected to be involved in what Police Scotland has described as a ‘significant policing operation’. The WH confirmed Trump will visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire July 25-29. The visit is likely to result in widespread protests, following similar demonstrations during his last visit to Scotland.”

… David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said that Scotland simply doesn’t have enough police officers to deal with security for Trump and protesters: "We currently have workforce agreements in place to protect police officers and provide minimum standards of Health and Safety at work.”

… Matthew Gertz with Media Matters: “It's bad that the WH is banning WSJ from the trip - but I think the bigger scandal is that the president of the United States and his entourage are flying to Scotland on the public's dime so he can ‘open a new 18-hole golf course at his resort.’”

… Jonathan Saenz, President of Texas Values, has withdrawn his organization’s endorsement of AG Ken Paxton in his race to unseat Sen. John Cornyn because of Paxton’s wife Angela’s recent divorce petition alleging “recent discoveries”. Saenz to WaPo: “There’s no question that adultery is an attack on marriage.”

… Treasury Sec Scott Bessent was asked on Fox Business this morning when all those trade deals we keep hearing about are going to be announced: “I think you're gonna see them in the next couple days. No one creates leverage like President Trump. We're about to announce a rash of trade deals in the coming days."

… At least he didn’t use “two weeks” this time.

… Detroit Free Press: “General Motors' net income plummeted 35% in Q2 compared with the same quarter in 2024 as increased costs and industry uncertainty stemming from Trump’s ongoing automotive tariffs cost the company $1.1 billion. GM reported earnings for the first quarter the automaker said tariffs meaningfully impacted its bottom line after warning it could lose billions due to higher import tax for vehicles and the materials required to make them.”

… GM CFO Paul Jacobson to shareholders: “The $1.1 billion tariff hit was slightly lower than expected due to the timing of certain indirect tariff costs. As a result, we will likely see third-quarter net tariff costs higher than in the second quarter as we continue to produce and import vehicles from Canada, Mexico and Korea to avoid interruptions for our customers and dealers.”

… Bobby Kogan, American Progress Director of Fed Budget Policy: “Final CBO score of the ‘big beautiful bill’ is out. Biggest Medicaid cuts ever - in fact, 4 times the size of the previous biggest - $894-$990 billion. It kicks 10 million people off health insurance. Biggest SNAP cuts ever - $187 billion. But it still increases the deficit by $3.4 trillion from huge tax cuts.”

… Marge Greene told Fox she will vote to shut down the govt in Sept: “I’m not voting for a September 30th CR. That is totally unacceptable. I’m giving everyone adequate notice. That's that is not what this majority should be about. Under Speaker Johnson's leadership, we have had to vote on CR after CR after CR. I've only ever done one because President Trump asked me to.”

… Greene: “We have had the entire year to get our appropriations done. And actually do our budget, our government funding. And it is an absolute failure to ask us to vote on a September 30th CR and I'm not doing it. It's up to Speaker Johnson to get our appropriations done.”

… NOTUS: “Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus who routinely calls for extensive cuts to Medicaid and other government programs, received the most earmarks ($21.5 million) in the Ag Appropriations bill for projects in his district.”

… Reuters: “The Trump admin is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program. The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to US military communications.”

… It looks like Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) is about to announce a run for Governor: “Make plans to join me Sunday the 27th to hear some exciting news about the future of South Carolina! Use the link to sign up, and I look forward to seeing you there!”

… Rep. Nancy Mace (R-Crazytown) has made about 5,000 posts signaling that she will run for governor of SC also, but with all things Mace it could just be for attention since she doesn’t do anything substantive for her constituents.

… Connor ‘Pinesap’, who said in a debate with Mehdi Hasan he believes America should become an autocracy and said it is important for the US to remain majority white: “Unfortunately I lost my job. I was cancelled for expressing heterosexual christian beliefs. I’m frankly kind of destroyed. I’m feel our society is being torn apart by the lack of God in people’s lives. I’m the evil one for calling that out. I just don’t understand that. There are so many martyrs in our movement who get cancelled.”

… Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the single biggest spreader of disinformation on social media in the Congress, was celebrating another great victory by Trump while posting a fake resignation letter allegedly from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. After a few hundred people told him it was a fake he finally deleted it.

… KY Gov and Democratic presidential contender Andy Beshear will be on the cover of Vogue next month. From their profile: “Beshear is the most popular Democratic governor in the country—and he’s achieved this in a state that has become a GOP stronghold. Donald Trump is incredibly popular here—he won KY by 30 points in 2024—but so is Andy Beshear, and this is the source of his mystique.”

… “Beshear’s elections have all been close, but in each the margin has widened: In 2015 he was elected AG by 0.2%, and then in 2019, he won the governorship by about 5,000 votes—KY’s closest gubernatorial contest in more than a century. Four years later, in 2023, with Democrats 12 months from a national wipeout, Beshear was reelected by 5 points. ‘A landslide,’ he jokes.”

… “And he accomplished this without turning away from the values and priorities of the left. When KY Republicans recently put forward bills dismantling DEI programs at public universities and setting medical guidelines around emergency abortions (KY has a near-total abortion ban), Beshear took out his veto pen.”

… Former DNC Chair Jamie Harrison: “He hasn’t been shy about standing up for the things that he believes in. And to do that in Mitch McConnell’s red Kentucky? And still get reelected? It shows that he has some real political skill.”

… Beshear on his Vogue cover: “I might be the first person in Vogue to wear Gap jeans.”