House Democrats are moving quickly to capitalize on the growing schism in the Republican Party, hoping to jam a wedge between Donald Trump and his own MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory. Democrats are now the ones forcing votes on releasing "the Epstein files," because they know what an untenable position it puts the Republicans in. They can either vote to release the files or they can (gasp!) vote for the cover-up to continue! You can see why Democrats are having so much fun with it all.

Some Republicans are trying to have it both ways, without much success. Here is Speaker Mike Johnson saying what he knows his base voters want to hear, right before voting against actually doing anything about it:

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that he supported the release of the Epstein files days after [Donald] Trump's Justice Department said the matter was effectively closed. Johnson is a close Trump ally and has never broken so publicly with the president on an issue.

"I'm for transparency," Johnson told Benny Johnson. "It's a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it."

But at the same time Johnson publicly called for the files to be released, he opposed a procedural motion advanced on Tuesday by Democrats that would have set up a House vote to release them.

If he was being honest, then why wouldn't he have voted for exactly what he just said he supported? That is an unanswerable question, and precisely the pickle that the Democratic motion was designed to put all the Republicans in. While Donald Trump keeps desperately trying to sweep the entire issue under the rug, his base is getting more and more angry. And Republicans in Congress are caught in the middle.

Some are already breaking with Trump and voting for the Democratic measure, but so far not enough of them are doing so to force the issue. The measure brought up by Democrats lost in the Rules Committee by a 5-6 vote, but one Republican voted for it. Then later on the floor, another attempt was made, and some serious arm-twisting had to happen:

Johnson's interview was released Tuesday afternoon moments after Democrats nearly won a significant victory on the House floor that would have forced the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. If Republicans had not blocked the procedural motion, they would have been forced to vote on a measure to release the Epstein files sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) and supported by House Democratic leadership.

. . .

Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) and his team were seen working to convince holdouts from the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, who appeared willing to join with Democrats to approve the Khanna resolution, which would have required the Justice Department to preserve and release all documents related to Epstein. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) was seen yelling at Emmer's floor director before voting to block the resolution. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) chose not to cast a vote after Emmer spent minutes talking to him.

GOP leaders immediately closed the vote after they notched enough GOP support to block the resolution from moving forward, prompting Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) to yell toward Republicans, "Come on, we need the files!"

Khanna is now vowing to reintroduce his measure "again and again," which is going to keep the pressure on the Republicans. They're already facing a growing anger from their own base, and being forced to vote over and over again against what the base is demanding is only going to drive that wedge deeper. Sooner or later, enough Republicans might cross the aisle to pass the measure, which would be a big slap in the face for Trump.

Democrats know this is a lose-lose issue for Republicans, which is why they're having such fun trolling Republicans about it all. Democrats can sanctimoniously call for transparency, knowing full well that the entire exercise is just about causing embarrassment for Trump and his minions at the Department of Justice and F.B.I. Here's just a taste of this:

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) called for transparency on the issue on Monday, saying the "American people deserve to know the truth."

"If you're not hiding anything, prove that to the American people," Jeffries said at his weekly news conference. "And if you are trying to hide something, as many of Donald Trump's MAGA supporters apparently believe, then the Congress should work hard to uncover the truth for the American people."

Representative Marc Veasey, who introduced his own motion to force Trump to release the Epstein files, had similar things to say: "Democrats think that there's something in these files. MAGA voters think there's something in these files, and when you have that large of a collective voice in the American constituency... then release the files."

Democrats have even created a parody account on social media to provide "daily updates" on whether or not the Epstein files have been released yet (so far the answer keeps coming up as: "No").

The most amusing thing about all of this is the fact that this is a problem entirely of the Republicans' own creation. They have been fanning the flames of this conspiracy theory for years now, which has given rise to all of that anger out there in their own base. They promised that they would reveal the Epstein files if Trump got elected, and now they are seemingly refusing to do so. Democrats had nothing to do with any of this, but they sure are having fun taunting the Republicans with the MAGA base's demands.

Trump is hoping this whole thing will go away, and prove to be nothing more than a tempest in a teapot. He may soon try to distract everyone with some incredibly controversial action or decision (since distraction is how he always handles any pressure from the public). And it's a stretch to say that the Epstein files will crater his own support with the MAGA base. Eventually Trump may come up with some wild explanation that the MAGA base can swallow, although to date he has not been able to do so.

But no matter how it ends, the longer this goes on the better it is for Democrats. The more MAGA voters that get disillusioned with Trump and his team, the easier it is going to be to win the midterms, after all. And since the Republicans brought all of this upon themselves, all Democrats have to do is taunt them from the sidelines. It's not Democratic voters who are angry about the Epstein files after all, it is the MAGA voters. And the more Democrats force Republicans in Congress to disappoint these voters, the better. So here's hoping Ro Khanna makes good on his pledge and brings his measure up over and over again. Because the Republicans deserve to squirm.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant