By Hannah Rabinowitz, Donald Judd, Paula Reid and Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — Some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress aren’t satisfied by his decision to not release additional files from the Jeffrey Epstein case, and it’s threatening to deepen the MAGA divide he now faces from his base.

Privately, Trump’s White House team has been trying to shift public attention away from the administration’s position on the files, but House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday became the highest-ranking Republican to say he, too, wants to see more details from the investigation, as the speaker faces pressure from some in his own ranks to take the unusual step of using Congress’ power to investigate the matter itself.

“I’m for transparency,” Johnson said in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, when asked about calls from his own members, including GOP Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to take more actions like subpoena the Justice Department for the documents or appoint a special counsel.

“It’s a very delicate subject. We should put everything out there and let the people decide it,” the Louisiana Republican said.

Johnson made clear that he trusts Trump and backs Attorney General Pam Bondi. Still, the speaker’s decision to pressure the president publicly to release more details on Epstein’s case is a rare – and surprising – instance of friction between Trump and his loyal acolytes in Congress. The speaker was among multiple Hill Republicans who said Tuesday they were not content with the information released so far surrounding the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

One of those Republicans, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who voted with Democrats in a committee vote Monday night that would have forced the Justice Department to release more information on the case, warned that Trump could be hurt politically if his administration isn’t more transparent on the issue.

“I think that the American people need to see what’s in there, and that’s not hard to understand. Across the board, government’s supposed to work for us,” Norman said, later adding, “If there’s nothing there, show the blank sheet.”

Asked by CNN about the president’s desire to move on from Epstein, Norman said: “That’s fine, but I don’t want to see him hurt in this, and transparency is just the best way to go.”

GOP Rep. Chip Roy also told CNN he also wants more transparency from the Justice Department on the case, saying that he and his colleagues will keep pushing the administration to address the issue.

“We want to see more information,” Roy said when pressed on whether the DOJ memo was enough for him.

So far, Republicans aren’t using their power in Congress to defy Trump on the floor: House Republicans unanimously rejected an attempt by Democrats to tuck language into an unrelated bill forcing the DOJ to release all of its Epstein files within 30 days.

Trump and his team, however, still have more work to do to assuage the concerns of some in their party.

The White House attempted to contain the intraparty furor Tuesday, as Bondi swatted away the possibility that she could release more case files — which Trump himself had previously suggested.

Bondi said Tuesday that last week’s memo declining to release files on Epstein “speaks for itself,” rejecting questions about making more documents public.

“Today our memo speaks for itself, and we will get back to you about anything else,” Bondi told reporters Tuesday, responding to questions about Trump’s earlier comment that she should release “whatever she thinks is credible.”

At the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he stood behind Bondi, responding to a question about his daughter-in-law Lara Trump saying that there needs to be “more transparency” around the Epstein investigation.

“The attorney general has handled that very well … really done a very good job,” Trump said.

“I would like to see that also,” the president added, in an apparent reference to the call for more transparency. “But I think the attorney general — the credibility is very important, and you want credible evidence for something like that, and I think the attorney general’s handled it very well.”

Additionally, Trump said Bondi has not told him that his name appears in the Epstein files, despite previous accusations from his former ally Elon Musk.

“No, no, she’s given just a very quick briefing,” Trump told reporters.

Bondi’s comments came during a press conference at the Drug Enforcement Agency, highlighting law enforcement seizures of 64,000 pounds of methamphetamines — including those in pill form — in drug busts since January. Several happened over the July Fourth holiday weekend.

Though the surge in drugs like meth-laced pills is a national threat — and drug cases are of particular importance to the attorney general — it was not enough to divert attention from the Epstein controversy.

The department is keen to change the conversation around Epstein, sources tell CNN, and is prioritizing putting Bondi in front of cameras to discuss other Trump priorities like the drug busts discussed Tuesday. Their hope is that the controversy will die down despite the enormous amount of backlash the department is facing from Trump’s own supporters.

That was evident during the event Tuesday, as reporters repeatedly asked about additional disclosures, as well as her relationship with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Bondi repeatedly said she would not answer questions on the matter.

Bondi said that she, Patel and Bongino are “all committed” to “fighting as a team” to accomplish Trump administration priorities like reducing violent crime.

“I’m going to be here as long as the president wants me here, and I believe he’s made that crystal clear it’s four years,” Bondi said of the drama and subsequent calls for her resignation.

“Well, three and a half now, right?” she said.

Trump was also asked at the White House if he has faith in Bongino, who CNN has reported has clashed with Bondi over the release of files related to the Epstein investigation.

“I like Dan Bongino,” Trump said.

Another one of Trump’s loyalists in Congress, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, agreed.

Jordan insisted repeatedly that he has “confidence in President Trump” when pressed on right wing criticism over the lack of information that has been released related to the case.

“I like Dan Bongino, I like Kash Patel, Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche,” he said, adding that he has “total confidence in President Trump and his team.”

Pressed on whether he personally has further questions about the Epstein case, Jordan repeated that he has confidence in the president.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Kit Maher, Alison Main, Manu Raju and Casey Riddle contributed to this report.

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