Republican rebels on Wednesday ramped up the pressure on their party to force the Trump administration to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein, hosting victims of the convicted sex offender at the Capitol, where they delivered harrowing pleas for Congress to act.

The dramatic demonstration seemed to leave most Republicans unmoved, however, and GOP leaders stepped up their own efforts to defuse the Epstein controversy by approving an alternative bill designed to bolster an ongoing investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The competing maneuvers have created a kind of stalemate — at least for now — between the clashing GOP factions in a debate that’s ruptured their party and infuriated the MAGA loyalists who helped propel President Trump into the White House for a second time.

On one side, the rebels — led by Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) — are short of the Republican support they need to compel the Justice Department (DOJ) to release its Epstein files. Their discharge petition is two Republicans shy of forcing that vote.

On the other side, Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) and his leadership team appear to be a long way from quelling the internal revolt over the fate of the sensitive documents. And the appearance of the Epstein victims on Capitol Hill sparked a media frenzy that has made that task only tougher.

The impasse means the issue is certain to hover over Trump and the GOP conference well into September, creating new........

© The Hill