During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.

The White House is dismissing a report that President Trump was told back in May that his name was among the "truckload" of people in the Epstein files. Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting right now with convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The House left a day early for a summer break that Sen. Chuck Schumer has dubbed "the Epstein recess" as Democrats try to capitalize on a major pain point for Republicans.

The lesson for Democrats is that they should force confrontations, especially when they drive a wedge into the GOP base.