MaddowBlog-Speaker Mike Johnson's strategy on Epstein Files Transparency Act fails in spectacular fashion

[LetMyPeopleVote]

As the dust settles on a tumultuous process, spare a thought for the House speaker, whose strategy flopped in multiple ways.

House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to have a specific strategy on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

It’s amazing just how spectacularly it flopped. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-11-19T14:27:41.282Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/speaker-johnsons-strategy-epstein-files-transparency-act-fails-spectac-rcna244767

After months of divisive debate and wrangling behind the scenes, the House finally voted on Tuesday afternoon to approve the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would force disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Although many Republicans fought against the effort for much of the year, the final tally was lopsided: The bipartisan measure cleared the lower chamber on a 427-1 vote.

The legislation initially faced an uncertain fate in the Republican-led Senate, and it was far from clear when or whether the bill would reach the floor. But that’s when things got interesting. As MS NOW reported:

Hours after the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to force the release of files from the Justice Department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the Senate moved to approve the legislation by unanimous consent — sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk and bringing the yearslong campaign to release some of America’s most scrutinized documents to its final stage.

.....Ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s vote, Johnson said he’d vote for the legislation he’d opposed, but there was a catch: The GOP leader said he was “very confident” that the Senate would “amend” the measure and send it back to the House.

In other words, Johnson believed the House vote would simply be the start of a larger process that would include a variety of Senate actions — followed by another House vote.

That didn’t happen. Maybe Johnson was confused; maybe Senate Majority Leader John Thune changed his mind; maybe Republican senators wanted to get it all over with and didn’t much care about the House speaker’s expectations.

Whatever the explanation, Johnson’s strategy flopped.

As work wrapped up on Tuesday night, the House speaker conceded to reporters that he was “deeply disappointed” in the outcome. The reaction wasn’t surprising: Senators from both parties treated Johnson and his concerns like an afterthought, adding to the Louisiana Republican’s list of failures.