House GOP leaders returning to Capitol Hill this week from the long summer break will be immediately confronted with the radioactive subject of Jeffrey Epstein.

Top Republicans had accelerated their July exit from Washington in part to avoid the thorny Epstein saga and were hoping the attention swirling around the convicted sex offender would dissolve over the five-week recess, allowing Congress to move on to other things in September.

Instead, the focus on Epstein is poised to erupt beginning in the earliest days of Congress’s return, creating challenges for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and GOP leaders just as they’re racing to prevent a government shutdown on Sept. 30.

The issue will come at them from various angles — and quickly.

On Wednesday, a pair of bipartisan lawmakers will hos

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