The solution was in about the Epstein Dossier Act. What had to happen was for Speaker Mike Johnson to pass the bill and force its passage through the House of Representatives, and then for Majority Leader John Thune to bog down the bill in the Senate by claiming that the legislation needed corrections and rewrites.
The intention was apparently that the bill would get stuck in an endless loop of trial in the Senate, and that the files would not be released.
What ended up happening was that Chuck Schumer took immediate action to pass the legislation via consent. For some reason, zero Republicans objected, so the bill passed the Senate and was brought to Trump’s desk.
According to Politico, this development left Trump and the White House frustrated and vowing revenge:
The administration’s offensive comes amid intense frustration from the president and his top officials, who say a few wayward Republicans have been working with Democrats to bring a “distraction” to the fore. Furthermore, White House officials fear that no amount of disclosure will be enough to satisfy a significant portion of their base.
…
The plan to attack — a threadbare tactic for the president — will test whether Trump still has the political power to bully people into submission and ensure that those who challenge him pay a political price. It comes as questions arise about whether the president has lost his iron grip on the Republican Party and is entering his lame duck period.
Speaker Mike Johnson convinced himself that the Senate was going to bury this bill, but he was wrong.
The story continues below.
