Congressional insider warns Mike Johnson's delay is about the Epstein files—not a shutdown

Punchbowl News reported Friday morning that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) may not bring lawmakers back to the U.S. Capitol all next week. The government is expected to shut down at midnight on Wednesday.

But one top congressional staffer noted that it isn't actually about the shutdown that's looming.

People will read this as a shutdown thing, but for Mike Johnson, it is 100% an Epstein files thing, and nobody knows that better than House Republicans," wrote Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), in a post on his social media.

The files detail the years-long investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee continues to obtain documents from the Justice Department as part of its request for the files; however, it is unclear whether they will release all the files without redactions.

There is a bipartisan effort to mandate that all files be submitted to the committee, so officials can ensure that President Donald Trump's administration is not hiding anything.

The House Oversight Democrats released a new bundle of information on Friday from the Epstein estate showing a link between tech billionaire Elon Musk and Epstein.