House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke in favor of a discharge petition demanding the Justice Department release more records on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, accusing Democrats of politicizing "the unspeakable tragedies" to damage the Trump administration.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) vowed to vote in favor of a bill to release files on Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday in a sharp reversal from his earlier stance, and one that drew an immediate rebuke from one Democratic lawmaker.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has tapped Senate Majority Leader John Thune to take up the torch of blocking the release of the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein. During a press conference Tuesday, Johnson announced that he would support the House petition to release the government’s files on the alleged sex trafficker—but not without throwing one final wrench in the plans of lawmakers who support the measure.

House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered the oath of office to U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva on Nov. 12, winding down a nearly seven-week-long standoff that became a flashpoint for Democratic complaints and teeing up a politically sensitive vote on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.