With Congress back in session after the August recess, pressure has once again been mounting for more answers surrounding the Epstein case. In a surprise moment during an interview, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) claimed Trump's disgust with Epstein's actions dates back decades — and involved an "FBI informant."

In a walking interview with CNN reporter Manu Raju on Friday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addressed concerns over the Epstein files and the efforts of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for disclosure.

'When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago. He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down.'

Speaker Johnson criticized Massie and his "antics," claiming that Massie's "attacks" were "totally unfounded." Massie has led the charge in pushing for disclosure of the Epstein files in the form of a discharge petition.

Johnson called the discharge petition "mooted" and "not necessary," adding that six women who came forward on Thursday "represent as many as a thousand other women, most of whom are not comfortable coming forward."

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The reporter pressed him on Trump's calling the Epstein debacle a "hoax," leading to an unexpected statement.

"I've talked to him about this many times. ... It's been misrepresented. He's not saying what Epstein did is a hoax. ... It's a terrible, unspeakable evil. He believes that himself," Johnson said. "When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago. He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down."

It is not clear whom Speaker Johnson was referring to as an "FBI informant." However, it is not publicly confirmed whether Trump or Epstein ever worked in this capacity for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Blaze News contacted Speaker Johnson's office and the White House but did not receive a response.

This is a developing story.

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Trump looks to rally Republicans as Senate takes up his 'big, beautiful bill'

Congress is back in session, and President Donald Trump has wasted no time lobbying lawmakers to pass his "big, beautiful bill" in the Senate.

House Republicans narrowly passed reconciliation by a 215-214 vote in May after weeks of negotiations that crescendoed with Trump's appearance on Capitol Hill to rein in remaining holdouts. After a dramatic saga on the House side, the bill was sent to the Senate, where it will inevitably be rewritten and returned to the House.

The Senate is now back in session with the hopes of sending the bill back by the July 4 deadline, but trouble is already beginning to emerge in the upper chamber.

'So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.'

Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was one of the first senators to draw a red line with respect to reconciliation. Hawley has repeatedly said that any cuts to Medicaid make him a "no" vote on the landmark legislation and has said the president backs his position.

"So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' but what nobody understands is that it's the single biggest Spending Cut in History, by far!" Trump said Monday. "But there will be NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.

"The only 'cutting' we will do is for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, something that should have been done by the Incompetent, Radical Left Democrats for the last four years, but wasn’t," Trump added.

Although there haven't been any direct cuts to the program, House conservatives fought for amendments to the Medicaid work requirements that would weed out bad actors and ensure that only those eligible receive the benefits. These work requirements were integral in gaining support from fiscal conservatives, and any attempt to roll them back may cost Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) some votes.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Fiscal conservatives on the Senate side are also giving Trump a hard time, particularly Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Trump has likened Paul to Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky in public and in private, noting their refusal to vote for other spending bills in the past. Massie was one of the two "no" votes on the bill in the House, and Paul is expected to vote against it in the Senate.

"The math doesn't add up," Paul said Tuesday. "I'm not supporting a bill that increases the debt by $5T. I refuse to support maintaining Biden spending levels."

"Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas," Trump said Tuesday. "His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!"

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

With reconciliation talks back in full swing on the Senate side, Trump has been keeping Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at arm's length.

Thune can afford to lose only three votes on the bill due to the 53-seat majority Republicans secured in November. Thune has reiterated his goal to find more savings and to permanently extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act just as Trump has asked for, and he is pushing for the July 4 deadline.

"When the American people elected [Trump] and a Republican Congress last November, they expected us to deliver," Thune said Tuesday. "We’ve worked hard to deliver on our mandate, and we are not taking our foot off the gas."

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Elon Musk takes jab at Trump’s 'big, beautiful, bill': 'I was disappointed'

President Donald Trump was working around the clock with House Republican leadership to secure enough votes for his "big, beautiful bill." After several overnight sessions and closed-door meetings, the bill passed the House last week with just one vote to spare.

Although many Trump allies championed the achievement, DOGE head Elon Musk expressed disappointment with the landmark legislation.

'I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both.'

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

In the days leading up to the vote, the fate of the bill was still unclear. Apart from spending hawks demanding deeper cuts and significant Medicaid reform, the SALT Caucus Republicans kept demanding a higher and higher cap for state and local tax deductions.

With several roadblocks in the way of the bill, Trump met with House Republicans multiple times both on the Hill and in the White House in an attempt to shepherd any defectors. The bill later passed in a 215-214 vote, with two Republicans voting against the bill, one voting present, and two not voting at all.

While most Republicans and Trump allies took a victory lap, Musk said he was "disappointed" by the bill.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said.

"I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful," Musk added. "But I don't know if it could be both."

'Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment.'

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Musk is not alone in his disappointment. Several House Republicans, like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), said the bill does not do enough to address federal spending. Notably, Harris was one of the conservative holdouts leading up to the vote and was the only Republican who voted present on the bill.

“I share Mr. Musk’s concerns about the short-term adverse effect on the federal deficit of the limited spending reductions in the BBB," Harris told Blaze News. "Debt markets remained concerned about U.S. total debt and annual deficits. Hopefully the Senate will take those concerns into consideration as the legislative process moves forward.”

Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio echoed Musk's concerns about spending, urging the Senate to deepen spending cuts. Davidson and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky were the only two GOP members to vote against the bill.

"Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment," Davidson said.

The bill is now on its way to the Senate, where lawmakers will inevitably rewrite major portions of the bill before punting it back over to the House before the proposed July 4 deadline.

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Spending hawks dig their heels in as White House battles to keep 'big, beautiful bill' afloat

Tensions are running high in Congress as the White House keeps pressuring fiscal conservatives to get on board with President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."

Despite Trump's Hail Mary pitch to Republicans, specifically fiscal conservatives, Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill, reconciliation talks seem to be going south. While the Rules Committee wraps up its overnight markup, Republicans are still looking for the off-ramp to get their bill passed.

The whole process has been consumed by Republican factions making incompatible demands. The SALT Caucus Republicans were offered a tentative, and very generous, $40,000 cap for state and local tax deductions. Meanwhile, some members of the House Freedom Caucus have pushed for earlier implementation of Medicaid work requirements.

Although both factions made progress toward their respective goals, it still seems like nobody is happy.

'We're going to work with our colleagues to deliver, but there's a long way to go.'

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas have been two of the most outspoken voices within the conference advocating for fiscal responsibility. Although both acknowledged that moving work requirements to an earlier date rather than the original 2029 implementation was a step in the right direction, they remain unpersuaded by Republican leadership and even the president.

"Look, we are greatly encouraged by the progress that's been made in the last 24 hours," Harris said during a presser Wednesday. "... I'm not sure this can be done this week. I'm pretty confident it can be done in 10 days.”

"We're going to work with the president today," Roy said during the presser. "We're going to work with our colleagues to deliver, but there's a long way to go. I want to be very clear. We've got to deliver on what we're talking about, but we're not going to be able to get the bill done, and that's what we're trying to achieve.”

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Harris told reporters that they initially struck a deal with the White House last night but that they've since walked away from the agreement. A White House official countered the claim and said the administration offered Harris and other spending hawks an array of policy options that the president would allow on the condition that they are able to get the votes.

Trump is now set to meet face-to-face with the House Freedom Caucus and Republican leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). Notably, Emmer has not yet scheduled the floor vote as, the fate of Trump's bill hangs in the balance.

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Big, beautiful bill advances after 18-hour markup marathon while SALT talks go south

The House's big, beautiful bill passed through the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday morning along party lines after an 18-hour overnight markup. While this is a win for House Republicans, additional roadblocks appeared after negotiations with SALT Caucus members took a turn for the worse.

The SALT Caucus' primary advocacy focuses on increasing and even eliminating the federal deduction cap on state and local taxes. The deduction was capped at $10,000 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. While codifying many of President Donald Trump's campaign promises, like no tax on tips and overtime, the GOP tax bill also raises the SALT cap to $30,000.

'They can sit and negotiate with themselves all they want, but there will be no changes unless I and the committee agree.'

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, the only SALT Caucus member who sits on Ways and Means, was also the only SALT Caucus member who supported the committee bill.

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

"These provisions will save individuals and families thousands of dollars annually, and with today's passage out of committee, we are a step closer to delivering relief," Malliotakis said.

However, other SALT Caucus members continue to dig their heels in as the tension ramps up behind closed doors.

During a late-night meeting with leadership and SALT Caucus members, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attempted to negotiate a deal with Republicans in the SALT Caucus, all of whom represent blue states. The negotiations went south after the members booted Malliotakis from the meeting even though she is the only member with direct influence on tax policy.

“As the only SALT Caucus member on Ways and Means, all I know is they can sit and negotiate with themselves all they want, but there will be no changes unless I and the committee agree," Malliotakis said.

Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Johnson, who initially went into the meeting hoping to strike a deal that night, later said he expects negotiations to continue through the weekend.

"This bill, as written, with a $30,000 cap for those making under $400,000, is just woefully inadequate," Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said Wednesday of the bill. "So no, this does not have my support, it will not have my support, and if this bill comes to the floor for a vote, I will vote no."

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