Democrats pushing the discharge petition predicted that Republicans would rush to support the measure once it hit the floor.
Republicans are bracing for a significant chunk of the conference to vote for Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) Epstein file disclosure bill once it lands on the House floor.
Senior Republicans privately believe dozens of Republicans will vote for it, possibly 100 or more, according to five people granted anonymity to speak candidly. Democrats pushing the petition publicly predicted that Republicans would rush to support the measure once it hit the floor.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said earlier Wednesday that he’d vote in favor of a bill demanding the Justice Department release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, but expressed confidence in the House Oversight Committee’s work in releasing information related to the case.
“I think it’s a little bit of a false hope that’s going to provide these great results,” Bacon told MSNBC about the discharge petition. “It’s still got to work its way through the Senate and the president. But we’re already getting a lot of results.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) also said he’d vote for the measure when it comes to the House floor.
“Sure I’d support it, absolutely,” he said in a brief interview. “Unless there’s some reason not to. I don’t see any reason not to.”
Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a vulnerable Republican in a Pennsylvania swing district, said in an interview he also would vote for Epstein bill on the floor.