As lawmakers return to Washington from the holiday recess, the House is preparing for a turbulent January marked by unfinished fights over health care, a looming government funding deadline, and renewed conflict over the Department of Justice’s handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The coming weeks are expected to test an already fractious chamber, with partisan tensions flaring and cross-party alliances emerging in unexpected places. From oversight battles to economic anxieties tied to health insurance costs, the House faces a crowded and politically charged agenda.
Epstein files fuel renewed oversight clash
At the center of the oversight storm is the DOJ’s slow, rolling release of Epstein-related documents, which lawmakers from both parties say has fallen short of what Congress ordered. The department missed a Dec. 19 statutory deadline, citing the need to protect victims’ identities, but that explanation has done little to calm critics.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who led the bipartisan push to force a vote compelling the DOJ to release the files, say they are now drafting a resolution to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in inherent contempt of Congress. Massie said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that inherent contempt would be the “quickest way” to get justice for the victims, while Khanna said such a move could fine Bondi “for every day that she’s not releasing the documents.”
The Justice Department has not backed down. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche responded on NBC’s “Meet the Press” by saying, “Bring it on,” arguing that complying with the law’s redaction requirements should take precedence over hitting a deadline.
Democrats on key committees have been particularly vocal. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accused the DOJ of making “illegal redactions” that appear to be “protecting powerful men who raped and abused women and girls,” calling the delay “a criminal White House cover-up.” Garcia and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said they are “examining all legal options” in response.
Republicans turn focus toward the Clintons
Republicans, meanwhile, are signaling they will use their own Epstein-related investigation to put prominent Democrats on the defensive. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has warned that former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could face contempt proceedings if they do not comply with demands for in-person depositions about their personal relationships with Epstein.
In a Dec. 15 letter, Comer said the committee had scheduled depositions for Jan. 13 and Jan. 14 after prolonged negotiations. “If your clients do not comply with these new dates, the Committee will move immediately to contempt proceedings,” Comer wrote.
A spokesperson for the Clintons has urged the DOJ to release all Epstein materials, arguing that selective disclosures — including photos of the former president with Epstein — are being used to imply wrongdoing by individuals who have been repeatedly cleared by the department under administrations of both parties.
ObamaCare subsidies return to the floor
Beyond investigations, health care will dominate the House’s legislative agenda. Enhanced ObamaCare subsidies expired at the end of 2025, raising the prospect of sharply higher premiums for roughly 22 million people who buy coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
A vote to extend the subsidies for three years is now set for mid-January after four Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan, Ryan Mackenzie, and Mike Lawler — joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force the bill to the floor. The move followed failed negotiations with GOP leaders over allowing amendments that would pair an extension with reforms.
Passage of a clean three-year extension remains unlikely, particularly after the Senate blocked a similar proposal in December. Still, moderates in both chambers are searching for a compromise. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Jeanne Shaheen, Bernie Moreno, and Angus King met with House moderates after the petition succeeded.
“It’s too late to avoid the shock factor, but it’s not too late to do something about it,” Murkowski said after the meeting.
GOP signals broader health care push
Republican leaders say they plan to counter Democratic messaging by pressing ahead with their own health care agenda. Speaker Mike Johnson said in December that the party is “looking at another reconciliation package” in “the first quarter of next year” focused on reforms designed to lower costs and expand access.
“All of it is geared again, for reducing premiums, increasing access to care and quality of care,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of different issues that must be addressed in a very complex system. … You don’t just go flip switches and change it. It takes some time.”
A GOP-backed bill passed in December — the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act — included funding for cost-sharing reductions, reforms to pharmacy benefit managers, and an expansion of association health plans. It did not include other Republican priorities such as expanded health savings accounts, which some in the party have floated as an alternative to subsidies.
Funding deadline looms
Overlaying all of these debates is the risk of another government shutdown. Most federal funding expires on Jan. 30 under a continuing resolution that ended November’s record-length shutdown. So far, Congress has passed only three of the 12 annual appropriations bills, covering a small slice of discretionary spending.
Before the recess, the Senate was close to a deal on a sweeping “minibus” package funding major departments, but negotiations stalled amid Democratic concerns about President Trump’s threat to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research. One Republican senator warned that the delay could cause lawmakers to “walk into a potential government shutdown.”
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