WASHINGTON − SpeakerMike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he is shutting down House operations early this week, sending lawmakers home even sooner ahead of a five-week summer recess, as tensions over Jeffrey Epstein's case filescontinue to boil. Lawmakers were scheduled to leave Washington on July 24 and be out through the month of August, returning to their states and districts. But as Democrats and a handful of Republicans threaten to upend regular legislative operations over efforts to unseal files related to the disgraced financier and sex offender, Johnson said he would be cutting the schedule short and ending with votes on July 23. "We're not going to play political games with this," Johnson said in a news conference July 22. MAGA voters' displeasure over the Justice Department's recent review of Epstein's case has driven a wedge between PresidentDonald Trumpand his usually loyal base. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Speaker Johnson shuts down House early amid Epstein debates
