Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the cam

The House is leaving Washington a day early for it's five-week August recess after tensions erupted over efforts to force release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Why it matters: Fallout from the debate over the Epstein files has effectively frozen House business.

The turmoil in Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein probe isn't going away anytime soon after the House Speaker ended the legislative session early before the August break.

There’s no pretending otherwise: disgraced and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein has hijacked Washington.

WASHINGTON—Furor over disclosures from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation brought the House of Representatives to a standstill, prompting Republican leadership to cut short this week’s session and put off any action until September as some GOP members demanded votes on more releases related to the disgraced financier and sex offender.

Trump on Tuesday said “I don’t follow it too much” when asked by reporters about the backlash to his administration’s handling of the Epstein investigatory documents.