The MAGA base is currently in a tizzy over the Trump Justice Department’s release of a report that seems to refute most Jeffrey Epstein-related conspiracy theories. The report, released earlier this month, concluded that the late convicted sex trafficker was not murdered, did not keep a “client list,” and that no further investigation is warranted when it comes to prosecuting other people concerning Epstein’s crimes.
This goes against a widespread mythology that has festered, with egging on from Trump-adjacent media figures, for many years, with some versions indicating that large swathes of Hollywood and the Democratic Party must have been complicit, if not actively involved, with Epstein’s crimes. And lots of people in the MAGA base are unhappy.
Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to make hay of the chaos, with Democrats on the House Rules Committee pushing earlier this week to release the Justice Department’s Epstein files. Because Democrats are in the minority in the House and on the committee, they needed Republican votes to pass the measure, structured as an amendment to crypto-related legislation.
Here are the 7 Republicans who voted not to release the Epstein files. Share this far and wide to vote them out in the midterms.
Rules Committee members who voted to block the Epstein list.
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)
Chip Roy (R-TX)
Erin Houchin… pic.twitter.com/3mniGlMMGX— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) July 15, 2025
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They did not get it, with most of the Republicans on the committee voting down the amendment. While Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) joined the Democrats in voting for the Amendment, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) didn’t vote, the other Republicans — Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN), Rep. Nicholas A. Langworthy (R-NY), Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) Brian Jack (R-GA) — all voted against the measure, per a social media post. Norman switched his vote to no on a later, slightly different version of the amendment.
The measure would have forced Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the files on a public website within 30 days. The legislation would have only gone into effect had it passed the full House, as well as the Senate and sign-off by the White House, indicating that the push was more of a messaging effort than anything else.
“The question with Epstein is: Whose side are you on?” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who wrote the amendment, said before the vote, per Axios. “Are you on the side of the rich and powerful, or are you on the side of the people?”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
