Sometimes in politics the worst wounds are the self-inflicted ones.
The Epstein files and the government shutdown don’t seem related at first glance. These are two separate questions. The first is to keep government funded and open. The other is the refusal of Donald Trump and his party to follow through on their campaign promise to release the records of one of America’s most high-profile sex criminals.
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Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) created this problem for Speaker Johnson with their discharge petition, which would force the House to vote on legislation requiring the Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.
A discharge petition requires 218 signatures to reach the House and force a vote.
A few weeks ago, Adelita Grijalva won a special election to fill the remainder of her late father’s term in Arizona’s Third District. Grijalva had already committed to signing the discharge petition and would become the 218th signature needed to force a vote.
The Trump White House is determined to stop the impeachment push, which is why Grijalva has not been seated, even though there is recent precedent for Johnson to seat members who won special elections while the House was not in session.
After certification of Arizona special election resultsAttorney General Kris Mayes threatened to sue President Johnson if he did not immediately seat Grijalva, a threat that Johnson clearly did not anticipate. The speaker became even more unhinged when asked why he wouldn’t serve as a Democrat in the Arizona House of Representatives.
During an interview on CNBC, Johnson was asked why he didn’t sit Grijalva and there were clear signs of cracks.
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