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In today's issue:

▪ House panel votes to subpoena Epstein files

▪ GOP challenge to Hochul comes into focus

▪ US upbeat over pending EU trade deal

▪ Trump's AI playbook

The White House is escalating its push to move on from the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, even as the story keeps growing and GOP lawmakers step up efforts to get files from the Justice Department.

Wednesday’s news cycle was dominated by a Wall Street Journal report that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein files. Other outlets have confirmed the reporting.

The disclosure reportedly came during a broader briefing on the reexamination of the case by federal agents and prosecutors. Also present at the meeting was the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche.

The White House on Wednesday brushed off the revelation, with communications director Steven Cheung saying in a statement that “the fact is that the President kicked [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep.”

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,” he added.

As White House officials try to end speculation about the Epstein files and shift attention to other matters, House Republican leaders are muddying the waters — seeking information but also spreading blame to Democrats.

ON CAPITOL HILL, the House on Wednesday broke for its weeks-long August recess, closing up shop one day earlier than planned as the chamber remained in a logjam over material on Epstein, a disgraced financier and sex offender. But Democrats managed to gain last-minute Republican support for their Epstein-related amendments in the Oversight and Reform Committee.

A House Oversight subpanel on Wednesday approved several subpoenas including one directing the DOJ to turn over materials relating to the Epstein files. The federal law enforcement subcommittee also approved a motion to subpoena several high-profile Democratic officials, including former President Clinton, for their testimony.

The panel approved the Epstein motion, offered by Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), in an 8-2 vote, with GOP Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Brian Jack (Ga.) joining Democrats in favor. Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will be required to sign the subpoena before it can officially be issued, according to committee rules.

“The public deserves to know who was complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes, including people with immense power in our government,” ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “Today’s vote was just the first step toward accountability, and we will continue pushing for the truth.”

The motions for subpoenas come after the full Oversight committee on Tuesday approved a subpoena for Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison for aiding Epstein in child sex trafficking. Comer officially issued that subpoena on Wednesday.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the House will take “appropriate action” when it returns to Washington in the fall if the Trump administration does not release the Epstein files.

“This information should have come out a long time ago,” Johnson told reporters. “I’ve been an advocate of that, we all have. But that process is underway right now, and we’ve got to zealously guard that and protect it and make sure it’s happening.”

The DOJ is separately also looking to speak with Maxwell in the "coming days," Blanche said Monday.

▪ The Hill: Johnson on Wednesday openly questioned if Maxwell would be a credible witness.

▪ The Hill: A federal judge in Florida rejected the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from investigations into Epstein.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are not happy with the House conservatives who have hijacked the congressional agenda to make the disclosure of Epstein files their burning focus, writes The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. The House is about to leave town for a five-week recess despite having passed only two of the regular appropriations bills for fiscal 2026.

“You can’t do anything because of Epstein,” one senior GOP senator fumed. “Wow, what a way to shut it down. … How does it happen? We’re supposed to be focusing on governing the country. Let’s not get caught up in the tabloid exposé stuff. Let’s keep the government open. Let’s pass appropriations bills. Let’s do the boring stuff of governing and let other people get all ginned up about who’s sleeping with who.”

▪ The Hill: Senate Republicans miffed as House bolts for recess while they stay behind.

AS CONGRESS TAKES ACTION, the White House has moved to cloud the narrative surrounding the Epstein saga by releasing a flurry of other files — from allegations of an Obama-era “hoax” about Russian interference in the 2016 election to documents about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. — prompting criticism the moves are a distraction.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday released another tranche of documents alleging Obama administration officials misled the public about Russian interference in 2016.

The DOJ later

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