NOT GOING AWAY: House GOP leaders returning to Capitol Hill today will be immediately confronted with the radioactive subject of Jeffrey Epstein.
Top Republicans had accelerated their July exit from Washington in part to avoid the thorny Epstein issue, and were hoping the attention swirling around the late sex offender would dissolve over the weeks-long recess.
Instead, the focus on Epstein is poised to erupt, creating headaches for Johnson and his leadership team as they race to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and members of his committee will meet privately today with Epstein victims.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Sunday told NBC's "Meet the Press" he is "very confident" the House will pass a bipartisan measure he's sponsoring with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that calls for release of all files related to Epstein.
The lawmakers plan to hold an event Wednesday at the Capitol with some survivors of sexual abuse committed by Epstein and his imprisoned co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
"We will have the petition live on Sept. 2. We have all 212 Democrats committed to signing it. He has 12 Republicans. Only six of them have to sign it," Khanna said.
Massie posted on Monday he is praying Johnson "will listen to the pleas of these victims for justice and quit trying to block a vote on our legislation to release the Epstein files."
▪ The New York Times: Comer has been vocal about seeking Epstein documents, both from the government and the disgraced financier's estate.
▪ The Hill: A House panel investigating Epstein has withdrawn a subpoena for former FBI Director Robert Mueller, citing his health.
CRIME AND FEDERALIZATION: National Guard members and other federal law enforcement officers are in their fourth week patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., after Trump invoked the Home Rule Act to federalize the city's police department.
But the president's 30-day emergency order will expire this month, requiring him to ask Congress for an extension. Trump on Monday declared D.C. a "crime free zone" and pushed for other Democratic-run cities to work with his administration to bring down crime in their areas.
Data provided by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) shows that since the federal takeover, carjackings are down 87 percent, while violent crime is down 45 percent.
Congressional Republicans are developing a "comprehensive crime bill" at Trump's behest, his latest effort to push the issue to the foreground of politics. Details remain scarce, but both Johnson and Thune are said to be working on the legislation.
Leading House Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees have already introduced legislation to terminate Trump's federal takeover of D.C. police.
▪ NewsNation: The House Oversight Committee will call D.C. officials, including Bowser, to testify about crime and safety.
▪ The New York Times: Red state governors have sent National Guard members to D.C. to crack down on crime. But cities in their own states have higher crime rates than the nation's capital.
▪ The Chicago Tribune: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday announced a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Chicago but did not say if it would be accompanied by National Guard deployment.
HEALTH POLICY: With his nomination as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump pledged he'd empower Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a notable vaccine skeptic and champion of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement — to "go wild" on health care.
Kennedy's changes to his department, from ousting CDC Director Susan Monarez to increasingly restrictive vaccine authorizations, have sounded alarm bells for public health leaders and even some Republicans.
Nine former CDC directors on Monday spoke out against Kennedy in a New York Times op-ed, accusing the secretary of "endangering" Americans' health.
"Mr. Kennedy has fired thousands of federal health workers and severely weakened programs designed to protect Americans from cancer, heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury, violence and more," they wrote, before listing some of Kennedy's actions as HHS secretary — including downplaying vaccines and canceling research grants.
Trump on Monday called on pharmaceutical companies to "justify the success" of their COVID-19 drugs after the Food and Drug Administration set new limits on who can receive vaccines for the virus.
Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and one of the co-authors of the op-ed, told ABC News' "This Week" that people should listen to their doctor, not politicians, about vaccine recommendations.
"We are still seeing 200 children each year die from COVID, and the vast majority of those children are unvaccinated," said Besser, a pediatrician. "My recommendation is … stop listening to the politicians, talk to your doctor about what's right for you."
▪ CNN: These are the conditions that make you eligible for an updated COVID-19 vaccine.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: The turmoil inside MAHA is about more than just vaccines.
FED POLITICS: Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook is suing the Trump administration in a bid to retain her job. A judge set a Tuesday deadline for filings in Cook's case, which was complicated by a new criminal referral to the Justice Department. Cook is being accused of mortgage fraud, allegations the White House cites as cause for her firing.
Trump's attempt to remove Cook — as he pressures the bank to cut interest rates — get to the heart of the question about the Fed's independence and the limits of Trump's presidential powers.
The Senate is likely to meet the White House's goal of fast-tracking Stephen Miran's Fed confirmation before its September rate-setting meeting. His hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Miran, the White House's economic adviser, is one of Trump's chief strategists for scaling back the Fed's autonomy.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Loans on several of Cook's properties are at the center of a Trump administration effort to oust her — and gain more control over the central bank.
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