The House speaker announced that lawmakers would leave a day early for a five-week break from Washington as tensions soar over Epstein files.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote.

Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson will send members of Congress home until September to avoid a vote on releasing files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, as Donald Trump’s allies seek to contain a spiralling crisis over the administration’s handling of the case.

The Justice Department is preparing to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, as the Trump Administration faces pressure to unearth new evidence in the case of the deceased financier and release long-promised files related to Epstein’s network.

A sudden resurgence of interest in the late convicted sex offender, and unanswered questions about his crimes, has been measurable this month in book sales, Netflix streams and YouTube searches.