The Trump administration is still trying to regain control of the public conversation while the Department of Justice works to uncover more details on the Jeffrey Epstein case. House Speaker Mike Johnson has become a key figure in a growing split among Republicans, leading to canceled votes in Congress as more people want to know how close the president and Epstein actually were. According to The Guardian, the Department of Justice is taking its own steps to reach out to Maxwell. The Deputy Attorney General announced plans to meet with her in the coming days. This is a new development, as the Department had not previously tried to see if Maxwell was willing to share information. Officials stressed their commitment to following the facts wherever they lead, saying no one is above the law and no lead will be ignored. While an earlier review of FBI files on Epstein did not find enough evidence to investigate other uncharged individuals, the Department’s decision to contact Maxwell suggests a fresh effort to uncover any “uncomfortable truths” she may know about people who harmed victims. Maxwell’s lawyer confirmed talks with the government, saying she is ready to testify honestly. Everyone wants to know more about Epstein, despite Trump trying to silence them House Republican leaders have struggled to manage legislative business, as the Epstein scandal has brought key committee work to a standstill. The House Rules Committee, which prepares bills for votes, hit a roadblock when Democrats pushed for a vote on a bill demanding the release of documents related to Epstein. Instead of dealing with this challenge, Republicans chose to delay the committee meeting for the week, making it unlikely the group will meet again before Congress takes its August break. This means several bills that only needed a simple majority to pass will not be voted on, forcing the House to hold its final scheduled votes earlier than planned. No further votes are expected until September, leaving many lawmakers frustrated. The top Democrat on the Rules Committee criticized Republicans for walking away from their own priorities to avoid a vote they had once supported. Amazing. Now Trump and his team are reportedly reaching out to influencers on X and other platforms to cool it on the Epstein files—after milking the story for votes and donations from their base. They pushed it for years, and now they want silence?#EpsteinClientList pic.twitter.com/hMFwhxgrnf— AmericaBarkinBoss (@BarkinBossJam) July 15, 2025 The main point of conflict is the push to release documents connected to the Epstein case. The Trump administration has repeatedly called for transparency, with the president himself saying he wants as much information as possible to be made public, but still trying to calm down any talk about it. Despite the administration’s public support for transparency, Speaker Johnson at first resisted calls for a quick vote in Congress to release Epstein-related files. He said he wanted to give the administration time to continue its work, suggesting that Congress might not need to act right away. However, his position seemed to change as tensions within the Republican Party grew. A major step in the investigation came when a House Oversight subcommittee approved a motion to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned associate, to testify before Congress. The motion was introduced by a Republican congressman from Tennessee and backed by the Oversight committee chair, who promised to move quickly on the subpoena. We’ll have to wait to see if there’s really a push for the truth.