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Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

We’re now five days from a government shutdown, with no negotiations between the two parties in sight. At one point, President Trump agreed to meet with Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, but then called the meeting off, saying their “unserious and ridiculous demands” meant it wouldn’t accomplish anything. You’d still think that for the sake of appearances, the Republican leaders who control Congress would keep their troops in town in case of a last-minute deal to avoid a shutdown or to get stuff done before it happens. Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson is keeping the House in recess.

Punchbowl News has the official GOP rationalization:

Johnson doesn’t want Republicans back in Washington next week with nothing to do. The House Republican leadership feels as if they’ve already done their job by passing a CR. Calling members back is a concession they have more work to do, GOP sources said.

Okay, maybe. But there’s another reason Johnson might want the House floor inactive in the days just ahead. Democrat Adelita Grijalva’s special-election victory in Arizona on Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by her father’s death means there will be 214 Democrats in the House once she’s sworn in. She’s indicated she will instantly sign the discharge petition sponsored by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the Justice Department to release everything it has on that explosive scandal. Three other Republicans, all of whom have been outspoken in various ways about pedophilia and sexual abuse, have signed the petition as well: Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace. Grijalva is likely to provide the 218th signature, the last needed to put the Epstein Act before the House. This is very much not what Johnson wants; he’s been ordered by the White House to let the president and Pam Bondi handle the Epstein matter without any messy and potentially disastrous public disclosures.

But here’s the catch: Grijalva can’t be sworn in until the House is in session. The longer Johnson can put this off, the more time he and the White House have to increase pressure on Boebert, Greene, and Mace to take their names off that discharge petition (Massie is considered incorrigible). And even if that effort fails, delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in gives them more time to gin up some distractions from the Epstein issue. So maybe the Speaker wants to give his troops a break while the government shuts down, or maybe he has other smelly fish to fry.

Mike Johnson May Want a Government Shutdown to Avoid Epstein Files Vote

Mike Johnson May Want a Government Shutdown to Avoid Epstein Files Vote